Shock is written over Alvena's face. I call her name, but she doesn't give me a response. Do I need to repeat?

I part my lips to say something, but she holds a thin finger to my lip as she shakes her head in contemplation.

"They want me dead." Alvena finally sits down next to me.

I nod.

"Should I confront Master?" I ask hopefully.

Mistress shakes her head. "He won't protect me," she bites out bitterly.

I believe, deep inside, Master will protect her with his life. But if I do...

Alvena looks at me with her beady eyes and places her hand atop mine.

...if I do, I'd steal her freedom forever.

Without another word, I take her hand and take her out of Argid. She doesn't ask where we're going, only trusting me with all that she is.

My mistress...is an interesting woman.

For all she knows, I could be bringing her to Master.

But still...

Even after getting hurt by vampires time and again, she still chooses to believe in one—a Disabled one at that.

Because she whole-heartedly believes, no matter how strong rules and social conventions may be, there are things that might just be stronger.

I too, am testing this theory one final time as I reach for the door standing between a chance of escaping and a dead end.

A guard sticks out his head from behind the gray castle walls and looks upon our cloaked figures. He eyes us suspiciously in which I kindly return the gesture.

Upon recognizing the red color in my eyes, he shows a slight discomfort before sending his companion to relay the message to their lord. It appears they are weary of us.

Minutes pass and still no one arrives. Alvena tugs at my sleeve and I spare her a glance.

"Let's just go," her small voice sounds from underneath her oversized hood.

I shake my head slightly as I look back up at the guards whispering among themselves. Suddenly, they stop and stand back on guard as haste footsteps sound across the hallways.

There's an urgent excitement in his steps, as if he's itching to abandon his noble walk.

"Open the gates!"

Alvena and I step cautiously into the Emberwind castle. Standing in the front waiting for us is Lucien with a worried expression sitting on his otherwise flawless face.

"Eve!" he cries in joy as he takes the chance to embrace me in his arms.

"Will you help us or not?" I ask sternly.

Lucien's emerald eyes brush by a quiet Alvena before returning to me.

"Yes...of course," he finally says in defeat. "But what I did last time was the right call."

"They took Nero away."

My blunt statement didn't get much reaction from Alvena. On the other hand, Lucien looks offended.

"If I didn't report you, then all of you, not just little Alek would have been taken. I can't let that happen to you Eve." His eyes look at me as if he's not finished saying what he wants. "Do you understand?"

My head nods on its own.

"You were just making sure I'm safe."

He smiles a sad smile. "Yes."

"You always do what's best for me."

"Yes."

"But this time, I'm asking you to help me. Help me, even if it isn't what's good for me."

I've never been this assertive to anyone before. Lucien knows this too.

With a sigh, he changes direction and leads us down another side of his mansion castle. We follow him into a big room with nothing more than simple furniture, much unlike our own home back in Argid.

"Milady, please don't find this accommodation too belittling," Lucien says to Alvena who doesn't seem the least bit dissatisfied. "It's best to keep your stay here as secret as possible. No servants come to this side of the castle."

Mistress thanks Lucien before he escorts himself out of the room to give her time to rest from the long journey.

As soon as Alvena falls asleep, I sneak out of the room and wander my way to the lord of the house.

Lord of Emberwind makes himself easy to find, standing out on the open balcony and admiring the beauty of the night. I don't hesitate in joining his open invitation.

"Why didn't you just refuse us?"

"Then Eve would be disappointed with me."

"You will be punished for hiding us."

"I don't think I can live with you disappointed in me," he repeats the same thing, all the while not taking his green-eyes off the moon.

I want to ask why he would always go out of his way to do things for me. Whether it is going all the way to Argid to just sip some tea or accompanying me on errands in faraway cities, he's just always there.

When I'm in doubt or swimming in confusion, Lucien always seems to have some sort of solution.

In stark contrast, I have nothing to offer him. There's nothing he needs from me that I can give.

And he knows that.

So why?

"I don't understand you, Lucien."

Whenever Lucien chooses not to explain things to me, it means he knows things that he himself can't do anything about.

In those instances, I realize all over again, how undeserving of his attention I am.

I call his name. Only then, does he turn to look at me. The eerie calmness in his gaze confirms my suspicion.

Something bad is going to happen soon.

At that moment, something in me just wanted to let him know.

"If it was you who bought me from the church that day, I would have the time to understand you better."

Lucien shakes his head with a weak smile.

"If the Ayers weren't so afraid of showing their most beautiful daughter to the rest of the world, we'd have much more time to understand each other."

Only he would think someone with eyes like me beautiful.

And somehow, I get ahead of myself and feel that I might just be that whenever I'm around him.

But before Lucien...my life is promised to Master.

"They will soon know Alvena is missing. Hunters will come searching here. Lucien, I have to leave with her to-"

"I'll grant you access to the Border."

My eyes widen at his sudden proposal.

Did I hear wrong?

The Border has always been off limits to anyone not associated with the military.

Since Lucien is a high noble of the Western District, he's responsible for safeguarding a part of the Border. As such, his title reflects his power, but if anything goes wrong, it falls on his shoulders.

"No. You can't do that. You'll be charged with-"

"Evelyn," he cuts me off sharply. "There's nowhere else you can take her. The minute you came to me and not Alek, you knew what's going to happen and you did it anyways!"

I let him talk.

"You left because you wanted to give her a chance of freedom, didn't you?"

Yes.

"You came knowing that it was all or nothing?"

Yes.

"You came believing that I would help you."

"Yes...but-"

"Then this is the only way there is to help."

Again, Lucien's eyes look like they want to tell me so much more, but he remains quiet now.

My voice is stuck in my throat as I fumble for something to convince him otherwise. But in the end, I stay silent because he is right. There is no other way.

"We will head out tomorrow," I assert.

He nods in approval at my resolve before sending me off to get some rest.

Before drifting off to some much-needed sleep, I recall thinking...

If Lucien asked for my hand once more, I wouldn't fight the idea of letting him take it.