I followed Jacobi carefully across the concrete, looking around as though Aveline or Xander would be waiting for me. Didn't Aveline tell me she wouldn't be too far away? I breathed deeply in anxiety, but continued to follow the quiet Master towards what looked like a decent sized private jet. When Jacobi began to climb the steps onto the jet, I halted.

"Where is everyone?" I finally asked, sounding as nervous as I felt.

Jacobi looked back at me briefly before looking around as if he only just noticed the fact that we were alone as well. Then he smirked, looking back at me. "They took the larger jet." He continued up the steps without me. I hesitated, looking at my surroundings.

I'd never actually flown on a plane before. It wasn't as though I was afraid of heights. My temporary friends in one of my high schools had taken me to a theme park with them one day. It was the first time I had been on a roller coaster. I still could remember the adrenaline of that slow climb up the high arch just before it dropped, raising me up weightlessly. It wasn't the jet that made me nervous. It was the unknown location I was being flown to that laid heavily on my thoughts.

"Are you coming or were you planning on slipping away into the darkness?"

I looked up the steps to see Jacobi waiting with eyes narrowed.

"I'm afraid," I answered honestly, plucking at the silk of my dress anxiously. I didn't elaborate further, being that I wasn't sure what I was afraid of. Or maybe I wasn't sure what I wasn't afraid of. At this point, I could possibly fear my own shadow.

"Either you can come on this jet with me or you can refuse," He said carefully, his words darkening significantly as his eyes began to blacken. "I can promise more terrifying things than whatever you can think of if you refuse." My heart began to pulse rapidly in my chest, the threat as clear as his demonic eyes. Regardless if he meant it or not, it was very motivational and I promptly decided whatever anxiety I had wasn't as sensible as my fear of him.

I quickly took the steps, my heels clicking against the metal. When I reached Jacobi, I nearly slipped and abruptly grasped for his hand, perhaps thinking of the familiarity I had with Aveline and Xander. Noticing my mistake immediately, I tried to pull away. His hand clamped over mine before I could and suddenly I was tugged towards him. I grabbed his arm to steady me, looking up to inhale sharply at his nearness, his eyes still black and frightening. My heart thrummed in my throat and I tried once again to pull away but was held firm.

"It's a type of satisfaction," Jacobi's deep voice rolled over my skin, causing my eyes to close in response as I froze. "To know a Monet fears me like you do. After all your family has done..." His fingers brushed over my cheek slowly. I opened my eyes, trembling as his demonic eyes nearly hypnotized me in fear. "Only to leave one of theirs out in the open for a monster like me to take."

I was suddenly struck by his words. How many times had I thought of Jacobi as a monster, even as he gave Aveline a small smile and risked his strength to heal someone he claimed to hate? I had clear reason to think him as a monster, after all that's what Jacobi wanted me to see him as. It's how he planned to make my death easier should I not reveal my "hidden monstrous" side myself. By allowing myself to fear him, I gave him the power to be a monster.

I swallowed with difficulty, trying to calm my trembling fear. Then I looked bravely into those demonic eyes, widening mine but not looking away. "You're no monster," I whimpered, despite my words, "You're just angry."

"Maybe I'm just thirsty," His eyes became impossibly darker, causing my fear to amplify. I tried to jerk away from him, but his grip was iron. Obviously, he hadn't been completely joking when he had asked if I was offering myself before. Did he mean to feed on me now? I panicked at the thought, struggling to breathe around it. "If I'm not a monster, why are you so afraid, Elysia?"

I couldn't think of the right thing to say to him. The obvious answer was because Jacobi was just terrifying, angry or thirsty, it didn't matter. I couldn't pretend he wasn't frightening. I couldn't put on a brave face and tell him to back off. I was too pathetic... a coward.

"That's what I thought," He moved away from me, but lifted my arm in a way to lead me up the rest of the steps into the jet. I stumbled a few times before I finally made it through the door with shaky legs. The inside of the jet was cozy. There were multiple, rotating armchairs which looked immensely comfortable and even a couch with a table in front. In another area sat a station for snacks, drinks, and probably alcohol. Then on the interior wall was a built-in, platinum TV which was currently off and unused. The theme color seemed to be tanned white and oak brown. It wasn't what I had expected.

Once Jacobi had released me, I immediately sat at one of the nearest armchairs. The door to the jet was lifted closed and Jacobi was in front of the snack area pouring a glass of thick, red... it had to be what I was thinking it was. His black eyes peered at me briefly just before he took a deliberately lengthy drink. A deep anxiety rose inside of me once again, though I wasn't sure why. It wasn't like he was drinking my blood, which was a good thing, wasn't it?

In all my time with Aveline and Xander, I had never seen them feed. Sure, they had bitten me, but it was to claim me. They didn't actually feed off of me. I knew they went out for blood often because they'd tell me so, but I hadn't seen them actually ingesting blood themselves. Something about seeing Jacobi down that glass of blood unnerved me, like bringing another piece of my reality to light.

Jacobi took a seat on the couch without saying a word. I jumped when a voice came over an intercom, stating simply, "Preparing for take-off". I immediately scrambled for some form of seatbelt, finding one in my armchair and latching it together around me. When I looked up, I found Jacobi's eyes watching me with mild amusement. They were no longer black and empty, but that golden brown which reminded me of an autumn sunset. I felt heat rising to my skin quickly.

"Shouldn't you put on a seatbelt?" I muttered out of bitterness towards my irrational reaction. In response, he stretched his legs out in front of him, raising his arms to fold his hands behind his head. Once he was leaned back in the couch and comfortable, he only looked at me as though challenging me. For a moment, I only watched him watching me, but then I reached down and undid my own seatbelt. I could be daring as well. I didn't always have to be a coward.

The jet started up and I quickly clamped my hands around the arm rests. So much for appearing brave of some sort. But as the jet began moving, I didn't feel brave or scared. I felt the speed as it began to rush across the concrete, pushing me back against my chair. I felt the power as it hummed around me. And then I gasped as I felt it no longer touch the ground, taking me with it. That was it. I was officially flying for the first time in my life and it didn't terrify me. If anything, it thrilled me.

"When you said you were afraid before, it wasn't because you'd be alone with me for a length of time," Jacobi's voice interrupted my thoughts. I quickly looked from nothing to him, where his frown was present and unsure. I looked down nervously, not quite sure I wanted to converse with him any longer after his previous stunt.

Not wanting to anger him, I decided to answer even though his question hadn't really been a question, "No... I... I've never flown before and... I don't know where we're going. It made me nervous." I began picking at my fingers absently, avoiding looking at Jacobi further. I didn't want any more black eyes swallowing my ease and squeezing out fear.

"I apologize. If I had known that's what you meant, if I had fed before we left, I wouldn't have been so threatening," He told me, causing me to blink up at him in surprise. "We're going to Missouri. St. Louis, to be exact." I wasn't sure how to react to him. I didn't know if he was just telling me just to tell me or if he was trying to actually have a pleasant conversation. Only moments ago he was telling me how my fear satisfied him and now he was easing my fear of the unknown. I couldn't tell what was up or down with him.

"Corentine was from there?" I decided to quietly poke around my curiosity to see if I could get some sort of answers. If anything, I could revert to a quiet stone should things go bad.

"Not from there, no. McElroy became a Master after he made her, so she did stay with him in his territory until she found her mate," Jacobi explained simply. I shifted in my chair, trying to remember what I read about how vampires became Masters, but I couldn't recall an exact answer.

"How... never mind," I really shouldn't try to pretend Jacobi was either of my vampire companions. He obviously wasn't.

"How what?"

I held my breath for a moment, but decided to brave it. "How do you become a Master vampire? I don't remember reading about it..." Jacobi tilted his head curiously. I avoided those eyes, afraid of what they said. Perhaps he'd think I was too curious. Maybe he'd threaten me until I knew to be silent again. After all, he wasn't some book, tutor, or vampire guide to the supernatural.

"You just do," He stated, "Some grow into it, others are... born that way."

I decided not to inquire further into that matter. Being that he was actually answering my questions, I instead decided to go the unintelligent route and ask more personal questions. "Did you know Corentine's mate? Were you close with him?"

Now Jacobi leaned forward. Though he was on the couch, which held a table between us and some distance between that, I felt my space diminishing quickly. I tensed, trying to prepare for his anger, but it never came. Instead, he only watched me with determination, as though trying to discern if he should answer or hurt me.

"I was close to her mate," He finally said, his voice guarded. "I can understand why the Eastmund's didn't tell you about her. If Corentine ever heard you mention her, she probably would have killed you regardless of my orders." I considered telling him that she tried that anyways, but paused when I realized his words confused me. Something in the use of his pronouns threw me off; the way he said 'tell you about her' and 'mention her'.

"What do you mean: her?" I asked, confused.

"Adelaide," He answered shortly.

"Adelaide... what?" I was more confused than before. I wasn't sure why he'd changed the conversation from Corentine's mate to his own lost potential mate. Maybe he was purposely trying to confuse me for his own amusement, but something in the way he watched me seemed very much sincere.

"Corentine's mate." I stared at him for a few moments further, trying to connect the dots.

"Adelaide was your mate," I stated, hesitating. Jacobi leaned back once again and raised his eyebrows for a second before shaking his head.

"She was my sister, through our Maker," He told me simply, "She was Corentine's mate."

I opened my mouth but was speechless. Then I tried to think about what Aveline had told me that had led me to think Adelaide was Jacobi's potential mate. Adelaide was Eve's Kindred, her newest one. She bound her to our coterie while Adelaide was still bonded to her Maker. In a way, Adelaide was entrusted to Jacobi for protection, like a little sister. They were close. Some thought they would be Mates...

Had she meant to add something more after that? Why wouldn't she tell me 'except oh she was Corentine's mate...'? Then the way that Adelaide had been haunting my dreams, telling me to tell Jacobi something, it seemed like she was more likely to be his mate than Corentine's.

"Oh... wow," I was stunned.

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