I shrugged, glancing over my shoulder and smiling at her. Her eyes were narrowed in on me. "Look around you, we"re in a forest. There are plenty of snakes and spiders that will kill you as quick as any vampire."
My smile widened as blood drained from her face. I was satisfied that I"d managed to make her uncomfortable. We walked for a while and I smiled every time I heard her gasp and squeal behind me.
"You have a friend waiting for you in the middle of a forest? You really are a shady character," Tate chuckled nervously.
"It must be that vampire boy," Faith added. "The one that they supposedly brought back from the dead."
I ignored them. Talking about Hunter with strangers wasn"t on my to-do list today and soon enough, we came to the entrance of the underground holding cells. I couldn"t believe they were still holding him down here. He wasn"t a vampire anymore and deserved the same amount of protection as everyone else.
"Wait here," I told the siblings.
"That"s not happening." Faith almost chuckled, placing her hand on my shoulder and applying an unnecessary amount of pressure. "Where you go, we go."
I shrugged her off and turned abruptly, crossing my arms tightly over my chest. I was getting really tired of her following me around and telling me what to do. She was almost as bad as Eli was when I first came to Sage.
"Yeah? Well, I"m going down into this tunnel."
"Tunnel?" Tate asked, his eyes flitting nervously to its entrance and back. I noticed his chest rise and fall a little quickly. He swiped at the thin layer of sweat on his forehead. He was claustrophobic. This was going to be too easy.
"Come with me if you want," I stated casually. "It"s awfully dense and tight down there. You might have to crawl toward the end."
"We"ll wait here."
Faith turned to her brother, her green eyes glowering at him. "Like h.e.l.l we are. Don"t be such a sook, Tate."
"You can go, but I"m waiting right here. Besides, where can she go? There"s only one entrance and exit."
Faith watched her brother for a few long seconds before exhaling and turning her attention back to me. "You have fifteen minutes and then I"m coming down to get you. Got it?"
Without a word, I whirled on my heel and entered the tunnel. It was actually quite s.p.a.cious, but I wasn"t lying when I said it was dense. I could feel little beads of sweat form on the back of my neck and when I reached the bottom, I peered through the mirror to see what kind of mood Hunter was in. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning on his jean-clad knees with his elbows. Although I couldn"t see his face, he seemed bored. His black hair was getting long and it tumbled across his forehead. He impatiently flicked it away before his blue eyes swept over to the mirror, making my stomach drop. He was looking right at me, his face pinched in frustration. Did he know I was here?
I stepped away from the mirror and over to the door. A loud clank reverberated through the holding area as I pushed the door open. I kept my gaze on the dirty, concrete floor as I closed it behind me and I dragged in a deep inhale through my nose before turning to look at him. His blue gaze flitted to my face and my heartbeat sped up. His eyes were heavy, sleepy, and dark bags hung underneath them. He looked as tired as I felt.
"Hey," I managed to say and the corner of his lips twitched.
"Hey."
I stepped closer.
"De Luca doesn"t want to come in and say hi?"
His bitter tone startled me. "I came by myself," I told him. "And I brought you a few things."
I studied his expression and watched it shift from annoyed to relieved.
"Can I sit?" I asked, gesturing to the bed.
He nodded, his gaze dropping to the floor. Slowly, I made my way over to the bed and sat down.
"You didn"t have to bring me anything. I"ve gotten used to counting the cracks in the concrete wall."
I smiled. "Yeah, that sounds like a lot more fun."
I pulled a red deck of cards from the bag. "Do you want to play?"
Hunter glanced at the cards and then at my face, like he was trying to understand what I was doing exactly. His blues eyes darkened and his lips straightened into a thin line.
"Did they send you? To see if I"m sired to you?"
"No," I answered truthfully. "I"m here of my own accord. As a friend."
He shook his head. "I thought that ship had sailed. This is the first time you"ve visited me since that day."
He was referring to the day I got out of the hospital months ago. Back then, Hunter"s emotions were all over the place because he"d been transformed back into a G.o.d. He demanded things I couldn"t provide and I had to leave. I couldn"t handle it. He was right. I hadn"t returned since then and maybe that was awfully "unfriend-like" of me.
"I know. I"ve been dealing with a few things of my own...between training and Eli and now the elite guards," I exhaled, dropping the cards back into the bag. "As selfish as it sounds, I really haven"t found time for anyone else, but I"m here now, right?"
He turned his body toward me and all of his muscles were tensed. "Did you say elite guards?"
"Yeah. We have to go to a hearing in the council"s city. We leave tomorrow and the elite guards are here to make sure I don"t do anything stupid."
His blue eyes flared desperately, widening into full circles as he launched himself to his feet, startling me. "You"re leaving? You can"t leave! You can"t leave me here!" His chest began to rise and fall rapidly as he paced the room, his shoes scuffing the rough concrete. After a few minutes, he stopped pacing and leaned his forehead against the far wall, tapping his knuckles in an uneven rhythm.
"Hunter, you"re comi-"
"Ruby, I"m connected to you," he interrupted me. "You left with Eli yesterday and I couldn"t breathe, my chest hurt and I freaked out...I don"t want to go through that again. You have to convince them to let me go with you."
He didn"t look at me when he spoke and I kept my gaze fixated on the back of his head.
"How do you know I left with Eli? It could have been Mila or Xavier."
He shook his head. "I know when you"re around him...I feel everything."
Oh. G.o.d. No. Surely, he didn"t mean everything. He turned to face me, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans. His face was sullen and uncomfortable. I felt warmth rush to my cheeks and an uncomfortable heat seared down my neck. "You mean you feel-"
"Everything." He emphasized the word, making my stomach turn.
Well, the visit definitely took a turn for the worst. I certainly didn"t want to rub that part of mine and Eli"s relationship in Hunter"s face. It surely couldn"t be something he enjoyed feeling.
"Sorry," I muttered.
He shrugged. "I can put up with all of that, mostly because I like to feel you happy, but I can"t deal with not being near you...It"s torture."
Aching for a change of subject, I said, "I was about to tell you that you"re coming with us. The council wants to see you, too."
Hunter with drew his hands from his pockets and ran them roughly through his hair. "Oh..." His eyes widened again. "You can"t tell anyone what I just told you, Ruby. If they know I"m sired to you, for sure they"ll keep me locked up longer, please."
I rose to my feet, rubbing my sweaty palms along my pants. "I can"t promise you that. Eli will find out I came here today and he"ll ask questions about you. I can"t lie to him."
I dropped the plastic bag onto the unmade bed and Hunter took a step toward me.
"I"m not asking you to lie. I"m asking you to withhold the truth for a little while, that"s all."
I exhaled. "I can"t and I won"t keep it from Eli, but I can try and keep it from Mr. Aleksandrov."
He pondered it for a little while before replying. "Good enough."
He stepped closer and his arms shot out, pulling me into a hug. The touch of his skin shocked me. It was so warm. So alive. I smiled. I did that. I brought him back. When he pulled back, he kept his hands firmly on my shoulders.
"What time are we leaving tomorrow?"he asked, his mood skyrocketing from depressed to excited.
"First light, probably."
"So I"ll see you then?"
"Yeah...I guess you will."
I realized my fifteen minutes was probably coming to an end and I didn"t want Faith to witness any exchange of kind words between Hunter and I. She was sneaky and I don"t like sneaky.
"Now that I know we"re connected, I"ll try my hardest not to make you uncomfortable...it"s not fair to you."
I felt it was appropriate to refrain from any kind of s.e.xual activity while Hunter was connected to me-not just for his sake, but mine and Eli"s, too. The time we spent together didn"t need to be broadcasted emotionally to a third party-especially Hunter who, let"s face it, would kill to be in Eli"s position. No pun intended.
A c.o.c.ky smile spread across his lips. Of course he"d really like that suggestion. "If Eli didn"t like me before he certainly isn"t going to like me after you cut him off from se-"
"Okay!" I interrupted, placing my hands on my hips. "I get it."
He laughed and it was so full of life I even flinched a little."I appreciate the offer, but I don"t want you to change anything because of our situation." He pursed his lips together before blowing out a breath of air. "I know how happy you get when you"re with him and it"s the only time I feel happiness-true happiness through our connection."
"Thanks, but I"m not willing to have an audience when we...you know." I felt stupid just saying it.
His blue eyes surveyed me with amus.e.m.e.nt and it was the first time in a long time that I saw the old Hunter. "Fair enough."
"I"ll see you tomorrow," I said, turning away from him.
"Ruby..." His voice stopped me in my tracks, forcing me back around to him. "I never thanked you for bringing me back... so thank you giving me a second chance. I don"t know how I"m ever going to be able to repay you."
I smiled. "You don"t have to repay me. I"m the reason you were in that situation in the first place. All the things you did will fade away. I hardly remember anything from when I was a vampire...it"s all hazy, like a bad dream."
"Speaking of bad dreams..." he muttered, stuffing his hands into his pockets again. "Six weeks is a long time to thrive on so little sleep."
He knew? Of course he knew. His emotions were linked to mine, so every time I was torn from sleep and about to vomit with fear, so was he.
"If the past is anything to go off, the nightmares will pa.s.s. These ones are just taking longer."
The disapproval in his exhale came through loud and clear. "Eli doesn"t know?"
"No, and I don"t plan on telling him. He doesn"t have nightmares-no guardian has nightmares."
"They"re different than us. They"re raised differently-taught differently. You can walk around in their uniform and call yourself a guardian all you want, but you"re still one of us. If you tell him, he"ll help you through it."
He was right, I knew that, but if I told Eli that I was having nightmares, he"d get all worried about me and he already had so much to deal with. Pulling double shifts wasn"t easy-for anyone-and it wasn"t like he could spend the night with me to keep me company.
"There"s too much going on right now, Hunter. I can"t tell him. I"ve thought about it a million times and in no scenario can he help me."
Hunter"s eyes narrowed while his jaw clenched imperceptibly. He wasn"t happy, but there wasn"t anything he could really do about it.
"I have to go, but I"ll see you tomorrow."
He gave me a tight smile and I exited the room. I was relieved to see the waiting room empty when I stepped out of Hunter"s cell. I"d hate for Faith to know about my nightmares. Especially since she seemed to want to make my life a living h.e.l.l. G.o.d knows why. Before this morning I had no idea who she was. Faith, however, seemed to think she knew all about me. I walked as fast as I could up the tunnel, and when I stepped out into the fresh air, a blast of cool air whipped instantly through my hair. I smiled at Faith as I raised a hand to my face to push a few wayward strands away from my eyes.
"Good doggy." I chuckled darkly at her. "You stayed. Do you want a treat?"
Her fists clenched at her sides as she glared at me from under her lashes.
"Relax." I laughed, stepping closer to her. "I"m only playing with you."
She opened her mouth to speak, but a snapping twig caught our attention. It was a guardian angel in an all black uniform, cradling a rifle close to his chest. His golden hair glistened slightly in the sun as the wind tossed it around a little. It was strange... seeing a guardian with a gun.
"Are you finished?" he asked, sauntering closer to the opening of the tunnel.
"Yes."
He began to enter to the cave.
"What are you doing?" Faith asked him and he almost sank into himself. He seemed awed that someone like Faith was talking to him and I almost gagged. She was an elite, and apparently normal guardians admired elite guardians.
"I"m checking the door," he replied to her in a tone that sounded more like a question than a response.
She flicked her head at him and he disappeared into the darkness. Faith"s attention fell back onto me and she smiled. "Would you look at that? Your own people don"t trust you."
"It"s protocol. I"m sure the door gets double checked after ever visit."
With that annoying smile still in place, she said, "Whatever makes you feel better."
The walk back to the house was quick, and thankfully neither Tate nor Faith spoke to me. As soon as I was inside, I slammed my door with a wide smile, knowing that I was officially alone with my own thoughts. Having people tail you around was exhausting-especially when one of them was constantly on your a.s.s about everything. I strolled through the house, enjoying the silence, and entered my bedroom. My gaze fell onto all of the clothes spilled over my mattress. I really didn"t want to pack, and I threw myself onto the bed, landing awkwardly on the piles. Surely it wouldn"t hurt to close my eyes for a little while? My chest felt heavy even after I dragged in a deep inhale through my nose and let it out through my mouth. I was completely drained and all I needed was some time off my feet.
"Ruby?"
My eyes shot open and my heart slammed against my ribcage as I sat bolt upright. I blinked quickly in an attempt to force them to adjust to the dark. What the h.e.l.l? Had I fallen asleep?
The lamp flicked on and its dull light illumined the room. I squinted while my gaze traveled up the black guardian uniform in front of me and over a full set of lips before resting on a pair of green eyes. Seeing him eased my rapidly beating pulse.
"You scared me." I ran a hand over my face and then raked it through my hair. My hair was soft today and its strands slid effortlessly through my fingertips.
He stepped forward, glancing down his nose at me. "You weren"t at dinner and I was worried."