Mist (Book Three of the Royals Trilogy)

Chapter Four

When we pulled away, both of us were breathless and out eyes met and I couldn't help but smile widely at him. Adrenaline was cursing through my veins and I hadn't ever felt so alive, not even when I was hunting. "That was," he began, but his words trailed of. 

"perfect," I finished and his smile widened, reaching his eyes. 

The door from the building opened and a family walked out laughing and talking, making Mark and I step back. "We should head back," he whispered and I nodded.

The drive back to camp was quiet but there was something comforting about the silence between us. This time, there was no hurry to get back, I didn't think either of us wanted to go back to our reality.

We reached the gates faster than I had liked and I took my time to take off my helmet and step off the bike. Mark was waiting for me close to the gates but we were still a safe distance away from the gate. "Hold on," I whispered as I caught up to him and kissed him one last time, I knew it was going to be our last kiss for a while. Mark didn't hesitate, he engulfed me into an embrace and kissed me passionately. 

Voices coming closer made us pull away and we quickly separated and walked with a safe distance between us. Mark ran his gadget ID over a scanner at the front gate and the doors opened enough to let us through. "I think we should go our separate ways from here," I said and he didn't argue. 

"I had a good time with you, Sky. You really amaze me," Mark said with a smile. 

I was thankful the night was dark so that he wouldn't be able to see my blushing cheeks. "I had a wonderful time Mark, thank you." We waved to one another and then headed our own ways.

I reached my cabin a couple of minutes later, it was dark inside and I supposed Blair was still at the cafeteria with her brother since it was still early and Blair rarely liked to spend time alone in the cabin since I became her roommate. 

To my surprise, I was wrong. Blair was on her bed, cleaning her daggers and her gun. She turned to look at me when I opened the door. "Hey, what are you going in the dark?" I asked as I turned on the lights. My partner didn't look too happy. "What's wrong?" 

She sighed and shook her head, "it's nothing. I just had a fight with Elda. I heard she denied you access to see your sister and I went over to her cabin to give her a piece of my mind. She wasn't too happy with what I said and somehow she brought up my case. The case I exposed to the Council of Elders when I became a Trainee so they would let me leave camp. Anyway, she threatened to send me away if I started rebelling."

My eyes widened and I took as seat on my bed, opposite from her. "What is that supposed mean? Where could she possibly send you away?" 

Blair shrugged and put her weapons down. "I didn't ask but she does have the power to transfer me to another camp, or even worse, she can send me away to an impossible mission from which I won't come back. Like my father." 

I sighed and shook my head, I couldn't understand why Elda had to feel powerful and over others or she'd act up and start to threat others. "She won't do any of that, if she does send you away, I'll make sure to get you off the map so that you can go to Hunter Liam, at least until things calm down." My friend nodded but she didn't say anything more. "I'm going to take a shower." 

I grabbed my clothes and walked into the bathroom. In the shower, it was warm and I got in without hesitation. I wished water could wash our problems away, I wished things were that simple. 

When I finally stepped out of the shower and got into my clothes, I cleaned up the bathroom before stepping out. Blair was still sitting where she had been but now she was reading a book. "It's the first time I've seen you read," I said in surprise. I heard Blair put the book down and turn to look at me. 

"Sometimes I read, I bought a couple of books some years back and sometimes I read them to feel... normal," she said nonchalantly and I frowned. I was sad she was forced to be someone she wasn't. 

"Someday you will," I said confidently and she only nodded. 

"Where were you all day?" she asked, probably wanting to change the subject. 

I tensed and hesitated. I did want to tell her, but I had to make sure no one was listening to us. I used the device on my wrist to let a small robot out. Using the screen on the wristband, I programmed the robot to search for any sign of eavesdropping technologies like microphones, recorders or cameras. 

When the robot was done scanning, I turned to Blair, she was looking at me with a raised eyebrow, her arms were crossed in front of her chest. "Was there a reason you needed to do that?" she asked slowly.

I sighed and nodded, "yes, it was necessary because I don't want anyone knowing about... Mark and me." I could see Blair's expression turn to one of shock. 

"You were out with Mark?" she whispered-yelled with wide eyes. 

Slowly, I nodded my head. "Yes, it wasn't like it was planned. I was just upset about not being able to see my sister and then I saw Devion laying unconscious on a gurney and-" 

"What?" she asked in bewilderment. "What do you mean he was unconscious?"

I sighed, "I was going to tell you tomorrow with the others. I saw him being pushed into a very secured room and he didn't look too good." 

Blair sighed, "I wonder what she's doing to him, if he's doing it to him who says she's not doing the same thing to the other supernatural. Who's to say that Dalia isn't dead already."

I flinched and quickly shook my head, "no, I don't think she's dead. I also saw her and Richard heading down to the cells and I heard Dalia's name being mentioned."

"I think we should go down and talk to that witch. If there's someone who knows more about Elda and what she needs, it's her," Blair said as she got up and started to head for the door. 

"Hold on, now?" I asked in shock. My partner nodded her head as she stopped at the door. "We can't go down there now, we need to think about this. We need to talk to the others first. Besides, it's getting late and if we try to get past the guards and go down there tonight, it'll look suspicious. The last thing we need is Elda becoming distrustful of us." 

Blair stood at the door, looking thoughtful as she replayed in her mind what I had just said. "You're right. I know. I just want this to be over with," she said, for the first time in all the months I had come to know her, this was the only time I'd ever heard her sound so tired and defeated. Almost sounding hopeless.

"I agree with you, I think we should go down to talk to Dalia, but not before the whole team knows what is happening. That is why, tomorrow we'll leave before dusk to head to the other side of town. We're supposed to meet there with your father," I continued calmly as she walked back towards her bed. 

"What do you mean?" she asked, puzzled. 

"When I went out with Mark, first we went to talk to Hunter Liam, to get him to go to the meeting tomorrow. If Gideon sees him there and listens to what he has to say, that might help us persuade your brother about seeing the truth. Otherwise, I think he'll be very reluctant to believe Elda is capable of evil, he is her favorite, afer all," I whispered and I could see my friend tense as I finished talking but she didn't object. It was true. 

"Did he agree?" she asked hesitantly, her hands were closed together tightly. 

I nodded my head, "he'll be there. Don't worry, no Hunter will see him, we'll make sure of it." Blair didn't say anything but I could tell she wasn't convinced. 

"Why can't we meet him at his secret location? I mean, you and Mark did go to see him," she said slowly. 

"It's too risky, if we're followed, I don't think we will, but if we are, they'll be able to capture your father or worse. It's better to meet in a public location." Some stiffness disappeared from her shoulders and she nodded in understanding. 

"It'll be just one day to talk about everything that is happening and we'll talk about breaking into the cells. We need a good plan and a distraction so that we're able to go down without getting caught by one of Elda's allies," I finished, trying to sound reasonable. 

"Fine, but no more waiting, I want this to end before things get out of hand," she confessed coldly and I nodded my head. I couldn't promise her that things wouldn't get uncomfortable and bloody in the upcoming days, weeks, even months, but we could try and prevent the worst cas scenario. 

"You said you went to see my father first, where did you go to next?" Blair asked suspiciously and I turned away so she wouldn't be able to see my blush.

"We went on a date," I said honestly. A silent yet excited smile, reached my friend's lips. 

"Really? How was it? Where did you go? What happened?" she asked eagerly as she let herself drop on the bed and then turning to look at me, her eyes fixed on me as she waited for a response. 

"I took him bowling and we actually had a really good time. I hadn't laughed like that in a while and it was nice to spend time with him and just pretend we were normal teenagers on a normal date," I said, I could feel the edges of my lips turning up in a wide smile. 

"You and Mark went bowling? Cool, I've never gone bowling," Blair said in awe. I looked at her for a couple of moments and then shook my head.

"Hasn't any Hunter gone bowling before?" I asked in disbelief and Blair laughed.

"No, it isn't very common for us to go play games in the city." Blair said, she sounded disappointed. 

"Bowling isn't a game, it's a sport," I said smugly and after a silent moment, the both of us laughed at the way I had said it.

"So, it was a date. That's... I don't know, I've never been on a date, I don't know what to say," she said nervously after our fit of laughter. 

"Don't worry, I understand. To answer your question, I think there will be more dates coming up. Your half-brother is someone easy to talk to, and he's very comprehensive. He's also very curious and enthusiastic from what he told me. Stories of the younger, rebellious Mark Argent," I said with a smile. 

"So he told you about his missions off camp?" It sounded like a rhetorical question but even so, I nodded. 

"I like him, I like spending time with him," I confessed shyly as I turned away. 

My friend smiled warmly at me and nodded. "He's a good guy both of my brothers are."

"Do you think Gideon and Melissa could ever..." I trailed of, noticing Blair had stiffened. 

"I don't know, you heard my brother this morning, he told her they couldn't be together," Blair said with a shrug and I frowned. 

"That doesn't mean they can't have feelings for each other, Mark and I aren't supposed to be together either and yet, here we are, sneaking off on dates," I said with a sly chuckle. 

"I don't think Gideon likes breaking the rules, I do think he's... intrigued by Melissa but I don't like it," she confessed slowly.

I raised my eyebrow at her, "are you jealous?" 

She quickly shook her head, "no, it's not that I am jealous. I am worried about him. He doesn't know how to be discrete or keep a lie."

My eyes widened, "jeez, that's good to know." 

Quickly, Blair realized her mistake and shook her head, "no, that's not what I meant. I'm sure he won't ever blow our cover, not even if he decides not to help us and I don't think he knows about you and Mark and he won't go telling Elda about that." 

I nodded my head hesitantly, "I understand. But he's going to have to learn to keep a lie." Blair didn't say anything and after a couple of silent minutes I sighed. 

"I'm going to sleep, I feel exhausted," a big yawn escaped me as I got under the covers.

"Me too, and I have a feeling the next couple of weeks will be spent without much time to sleep." She turned off the lights and I heard her moving numerous times before she finally kept still.

A sigh left me, as silence played in the background. I closed my eyes and images of today's event replayed in my mind. At first those dreams of tonight's night with Mark surrounded me and I could feel his soft lips on mine just as clearly as I had in real life. Suddenly, the vision changed and the last thing I saw was Devion laying on the spotless, white floor with my sister by his side, both of them were bleeding badly but only Emma could see me. Then she let out a scream of pain and before my mind blackened, I saw a pair of blue eyes.