"The barrier?" I asked.

He nodded as his eyes flicked around the room. "Someone is trying to get through it. Someone unwelcome."

"Who do you think it is?" I asked, eyeing the windows suspiciously. The hum in my body grew stronger, the power rising in my veins as my hands began to tingle. "Nova?"

His head snapped to the side and he looked at me. His eyes, normally a beautiful blue with violet streaked through them, were completely violet and practically glowing with power. I felt a gentle brush against my skin just as his energy met with mine. I had never felt such power from him, coming off in waves so strong I could almost see it.

Before either of us could say anything, the door to the apartment exploded. The force of the blast sent both of us flying backwards as pieces of drywall and splintered wood rained down around us. The air rushed out of my lungs on impact but I scrambled to my feet as quickly as I could, struggling to breath through the dust and debris floating in the air. 

To my right, I saw that Nova had hit a wall and appeared to be slightly dazed, his eyes momentarily unfocused. I rushed to his side, pushing away all thoughts of our unexpected guest as I helped him to his feet. I could literally feel the energy in the room crackly around us as my heart raced in my chest and my whole body began to tingle, from the top of my head down to my toes. The edges of my vision tinged with green but I ignored it, knowing it was only the continued rise of power inside me.

"Are you okay?" he asked quickly, his eyes trained on the now busted doorway.

"Yeah, I think so." My voice shook slightly but I sounded much more calm than I felt. "You?"

He nodded in response, a muscle in his jaw twitched and his eyes narrowed. 

I looked at the door and saw two large men standing just on the other side. They were well over six feet tall, possibly closer to seven, and the muscles in their arms rippled as they clenched their fists, bright violet eyes intensely zeroing in on the two of us. The men's faces were nearly identical with sharp chiseled features, strong jaws and scars that looked like claw marks from their cheeks to their necks. 

As I watched, they entered the apartment, satisfied smirks sitting arrogantly on their lips. I instinctively grabbed Nova's left hand and gripped it as if my life depended on it, and for all I knew it most likely did. My abilities had not been honed like his had been, having only Nova to teach me when he could. I hoped I knew enough not to die.

"What do you want?" Nova asked the men, his voice deceptively calm. 

The two men, I was pretty positive they were twins, looked at each other before flicking their sinister gazes back to us. 

"The royal treatment, Your Majesty." one of them said, his deep voice holding an unfamiliar accent as his violet eyes challenging Nova. "No reason to make this difficult."

His words were a jab at Nova. The man knew who he was, that he was the hidden son of the Lost Prince. Realization hit me like a truck; Nova was also a Prince. My best friend was royalty, an heir to the Folmorian Throne.

"I think you've come to the wrong place. There's no royalty here," Nova replied conversationally. 

"I beg to differ, lad," the man replied evenly. "But we can do this the hard way if you prefer."

Nova didn't move nor did his expression change, but I felt his power grow. The gentle brush, once a velvet caress on my arms, steadily grew harder, like pins and needles pricking at my skin faster and faster. His hand grew warm in mine and I kept my face blank, not wanting to alert the intruders of impending violence. 

Slow smiles began to form on the men's faces, eagerness dancing maliciously in their eyes. By this point, my body felt as if it was vibrating, the tingling having increased tremendously. It was so intense I wondered if anyone else was aware, or if I was actually moving?

I glanced at Nova and found him looking at me in complete astonishment, confusion and disbelief filling his eyes. His eyes widened further when he shifted his focus to our joined hands causing me to look down as well. A faint glow emanated from between our palms, a distorted haze of colors pulsing as if it were a heartbeat. 

I tried to pull my hand away but Nova gripped my hand even tighter. 

"Don't let go, no matter what." His words were quiet and his lips moved almost imperceptibly as he spoke.

Even though I was unsure of what was happening, I gave his hand a squeeze letting him know I understood. Whatever it meant, whatever was happening, and despite the fact that he had kept something so big from me, I trusted him. I knew that he wouldn't hurt me.

"Alright, Your Majesty," the man said, his hands at his side beginning to pulse a bluish light, "if you insist."

Suddenly the room exploded into chaos. Nova shoved me to the floor behind the couch, our hands still clasped. The smell of ozone blanketed the room as the buzz of electricity met my ears. Nova cursed and straightened on his knees and flung his free arm as if throwing a baseball. A small swirling ball of flame left his right hand and flew towards the two men but they separated just in time. The orb hit the wall behind them and sizzled out, leaving behind a blackened scorch mark.

The man that had spoken rounded the couch, approaching Nova with an angry look on his face. Too busy watching them, I didn't think to pay attention to the other man. I felt a hand wrap around my forearm and I was roughly jerked back, my hand being wrenched away from Nova's. 

Letting out a small scream of surprise, I was twisted around to face my captor. The man smelled of stale cigarettes as he gripped both of my arms and leered down at me.

"Wanna play little girl?" he asked in a sickly sweet voice.

I brought my hands up to push him away as a rush of warmth raced down my arms. Instead of pushing him away, I found myself being once again thrown backward. I landed hard on my left side, my arm smashing into my ribs. I groaned as I sat up and shook my head, looking over to where the man should have been.

He lay sprawled on the floor on the other side of the room, eyes closed and body unmoving other than the rise and fall of his chest. I didn't take time to question what had happened as I switched my attention back to Nova and the other man.

They were squaring off, both with various minor wounds, each with one hand around the other's throat and orbs ready to burst in their free hands. 

"You don't want to do this, young Prince," the man growled as the blue orb crackled in his hand. "Just come with us and talk to Torch."

"I don't have shit to say to him," Nova spat in response, his eyes glowing brighter. "He can go fuck himself."

"That was the wrong decision," the man said as his orb brightened. 

I lunged towards them, my heart racing with fear for Nova. Then, suddenly the man was no longer in front of Nova but across the room. August had appeared out of nowhere and now had the man pinned by his throat against the wall, the drywall behind him caving in and crumbling from impact. 

The man clawed at his throat in an attempt to free himself as he struggled for air. Recognition flashed across his face and his eyes filled with fear as he focused on August's face mere inches from his. His back was to me so I couldn't see August's expression but whatever the man saw on it caused him to visibly pale.

I latched onto Nova's hand once more and wrapped my other arm around his, clinging to him as we watched the scene before us.

"Aug-August Maines," the man croaked out in both fear and surprise.

"Hello, Weston," August drawled, his voice hard and angry. "You made the wrong decision to come here."

The man's eyes widened.

"Tell Torch it was a deadend," August warned. "You know I will find out if you told him any different. Do you understand?"

The man nodded but said nothing. 

"Good. Now take Wyndal and get out of my sight. Don't ever come back here," he growled as he shoved Weston away from the wall and onto the floor.

Weston quickly scrambled to his feet and to the other man, who I guessed to be Wyndal. He shook him until he roused enough to stand and quickly fled from the apartment as if the devil himself was after them. 

The three of us stood in silence, the lingering scent of ozone and singed wood still hanging in the air. The living room was destroyed. Scorch marks dotted the walls, the coffee table lay in pieces, and a hole was burnt into the middle of the couch. Debris littered the floor and dust still floated throughout the room. It looked like a bomb had gone off.

"Well, I don't think we'll be getting that deposit back now," Nova said dryly as he looked around.

A short bark of exhausted laughter burst from my mouth. After everything that had just happened, almost getting killed again, and that was what he was thinking about.

What the fuck is happening to us?

"Is anyone going to explain what just happened?" I asked into the silence still slightly breathless.

"Weston and Wyndal busted into your apartment and tried to kill you both, or kidnap more likely," August replied flatly. 

I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"I'm aware of that, jackass. But why? Who were they?" I growled through clenched. 

"Bad men," he replied simply. 

I clenched my fists at my sides as I glared at him, my vision sharpened and the edges once again tinted green. My body hummed as I fought to keep my temper down. From the corner of my eye I saw Nova's head turn towards me but I was focused solely on August. 

His ability to aggravate me was unlike anyone I had ever met. Something about him got under my skin, leaving me raw and vulnerable. His continued actions of avoiding the truth wasn't helping to determine my opinion of him either. 

August held my gaze, his face blank and his eyes calm, giving nothing away. He raised an eyebrow almost as if in challenge.

"I am not an incompetent child," I told him, my voice low and surprisingly even. "I need answers, August. Now."

To my surprise, he nodded.

"I understand but not now," he stated as if it wasn't a big deal.

I threw up my hands in exasperation. 

"Are you fucking kidding me?!"

"It's not safe here. More may come," he continued, ignoring my outburst. "We need to leave."

"And go where?" Nova asked, speaking up finally. 

"With me," August answered and waved a hand in the direction of the bedrooms. "Pack. Essentials only."

Nova merely nodded, not questioning the demand and headed towards his room. I heard his door shut seconds later as I continued to glare at August.

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" I snarled, crossing my arms and ignoring the butterflies in my stomach brought on by his presence. "You may have gotten rid of those guys but you refuse to tell me what you know about all of this!"

In the blink of an eye, my back was pressed against the wall and I found myself trapped. August had his arms braced on the wall on either side of my head, his face angled down to look at me as he caged me in. His black hair fell forward and I could feel the tips graze my forehead as his silver eyes bore down into mine. This close I could see tiny flecks, almost like small cracks, of purple in his eyes that shot through his irises, almost imperceptibly, and slightly into the whites of his eyes. 

"I seem to remember telling you quite a bit last night," he said quietly, his breath fanning my face and the scent of his cologne clouding my senses. "Now is not the time for this, Princess."

I stared up at him transfixed, feeling myself on the edge of falling into the silver and violet pools. I was drowning in his eyes and I found myself never wanting to stop.

"But it all seems like riddles, August," I whispered, my eyes blurring with angry, unshed tears. "I don't understand why these things keep happening."

 "I won't let anything happen to you and right now that's all you need to know." He leaned closer, his nose lightly grazing my jaw. "Trust me, Princess."

He looked at me a moment longer before he stepped back. I let out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding, my heart racing. All previous thoughts of arguing with him had fled my mind, leaving me with nothing more to say. Unable to respond, I quietly made my way to my room.

I quickly packed a small bag with a few changes of clothes and the basic necessities to get me through. I didn't know where we were going or how long we would be gone. I wasn't even sure I would ever see this room again. I double checked my bag and just before I left the room, I made sure to slip my necklace over my head. In my rush to leave that morning, I had forgotten it. I also slipped the letter into my purse before taking one last look around. 

"Nevada, are you ready?" Nova's voice pulled me out of my nostalgia and I turned to find him standing in my doorway. 

I still wasn't sure what to say to him so I simply nodded. Nova glanced over his shoulder before stepping through my doorway and shutting it behind him. I looked at him curiously, wondering what he was doing. 

"Were you expecting him?" Nova asked, his voice so low I almost couldn't hear him. 

I looked at him as if he had just grown a second head.

"Are you seriously asking me that? I asked you if you knew how to find him. If I was expecting him, why would I ask that?" I pointed out in a rushed whisper.

"Oh, yeah. Right," he replied scratching the back of his neck. "Does he… "

Nova trailed off and didn't look at me. I waited a moment for him to continue but he didn't. 

"Does he what?" I pressed.

The tips of Nova's ears turned slightly pink as he said, "Does he watch you?"

"Watch me?"

"Like, does he follow you and stuff?" he asked, looking uncomfortable. 

"I don't know about 'and stuff' but he's been coming to the bookstore during my shifts for the last week." I answered with a shrug. "Why?"

"Hatter, the vampire he was with that night, remember?" Nova asked in a bit of a rush, referring to the night we had been attacked by wolves. 

"Yeah, your manager, right?"

He nodded. "Well, I noticed him following me the other day and confronted him last night."

My eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Really? What did he say?"

"Not much, but what can you say to someone that threatened to kill you?"

"You what?"

"He rubs me the wrong way, I don't know. I saw him at the bar and I just kind of... lost it." Nova rubbed his face in frustration and then looked back at me, his eyes nervous. "You don't think, uh, that Hatter will be wherever August is going to take us do you? I mean, they seem to know each other."

I studied his face for a moment and noticed that he seemed embarrassed by the direction of the conversation. It was intriguing since Nova was a very open person and it took a lot to make him uncomfortable or even blush, which was something else he had been doing. But before I could say anything August's voice came from the other side of the door.

"We need to go."

I looked at Nova with an apologetic smile. "It's very possible."

His face fell but he nodded reluctantly as he followed me from the room. August was standing by the busted frame to the front door with a look of mild irritation. Without another word, we trailed from the apartment and towards a future that was a complete mystery, but each step I took felt like one more towards a fate I wasn't ready for.