"Uno!" I stepped through the door just in time to hear Amya's triumphant cry and watch Zeke toss a handful of cards down onto the ground with a scowl while his sister laughed.

"It's a stupid game," Zeke replied, leaning back in his chair.

"Zeke's never been the best at card games," Andrea said, still laughing.

Clearing my throat, all three heads turned to me. "Enjoying yourselves?"

Zeke and Andrea immediately sobered, beginning to gather up their card game, and Amya's gaze turned from amusement to irritation. "We're trying."

"I was just keeping her company, as you requested," Andrea said, standing from the table. "Now that you're back, I'll just be heading back to my room."

"Me too," Zeke added, following closely behind his sister as they made a beeline for the door.

I turned my attention to Amya who had turned her attention to her phone as soon as the other two left. "They have jobs to do. Don't distract them."

Ignoring me and frowning down at her mobile, she squinted her eyes, typing furiously. Bringing it closer to her face, she huffed and held it out to me impatiently. "Help."

Coming closer, I caught a whiff of the whiskey on her breath and studied her more closely. Her eyes shone brightly and her cheeks were red, not from the excitement of the game, but the heat of the alcohol buzzing through her veins. "Are you drunk?"

She offered a single nod, shaking her phone at me. Pulling it from her grasp, I looked down at the screen. Shane's name was displayed at the top along with a string of messages, asking her to call him. At the bottom sat her reply, currently unsent. 'Stip mdssaging me.'

"Who gave you alcohol?"

"Stole yours," she replied with a smile, pulling my now half-empty two-hundred-year-old bottle of whiskey from behind her in the chair. "Good taste."

Taking it from her and setting it on the table, I pulled her to her feet. For once, she offered no complaint, leaning into me as she stood. "You'll regret this in the morning."

"That's no different than any other morning." Lifting her head to smile up at me, she crooked a finger at me and whispered, "Wanna know a secret?"

Guiding her toward the bedroom, I bent my head indulgently toward her. "What?"

She giggled, wrapping an arm around my waist and pressing herself more firmly into my side. "I don't hate you as much as I want to. Actually..." she trailed off and stopped moving as she considered before smiling back up at me. "I don't think I hate you at all. Which is why I hate you so much."

"That's redundant."

She laughed, "I wanna throw up."

Nearly an hour later, Amya was freshly showered and dressed in a clean pair of pajamas, crawling into bed. She looked up at me expectantly, grabbing my hand before I could step away. "The sun's up, aren't you going to bed?"

"Later."

She tugged once, offering a sleepy smile. "I won't like you again when I'm sober. Stay with me while I'm drunk."

"I don't think so."

"Because you don't like me?"

"Yes." No.

The smile didn't leave her face, as if to tell me she knew the truth. Moving back up onto her knees, she shuffled to the end of the bed and stood back up. "Well then there will be no problems when I deny this in the morning." Lifting herself up on her toes as she wrapped her arms around my neck, she kissed me.

Surprise only threw me off for a moment before my arm wrapped firmly around her, pulling her as close as possible, returning the heat of her mouth with a passion I hadn't felt in over a century. Taking a step forward, I fell with her when she lost her balance, falling back onto the bed, one hand snaking under the hem of her shirt to feel the warmth of her skin. I could taste the whiskey on her tongue, but it wasn't nearly as intoxicating as the rest of her.

Hooking a leg around and locking her fingers in my hair, she hummed her approval, arching toward me. My mouth left hers, trailing kisses down her neck, pausing briefly at her shoulder.

"Damn," she gasped on a moan, watching me through slitted lids. "I shouldn't have done this."

"Too late," I replied in a hoarse voice, one hand curling around a breast.

I watched hungrily as she bit her lip to muffle another moan. "Oh God."

Unable to stop myself, I pulled her tank top up over her head, nipping at the breast I'd previously had in my hand. She arched even more desperately, the nails of one digging into my shoulder while the other hand fought with the button to my pants.

Gritting my teeth, I pulled away, breaking out of her grasp and standing near the edge of the bed. She remained sprawled out on the bed, her chest heaving as she struggled for air, watching me with desire. My gaze fell to her bare breasts, and I clenched my fists as I struggled not to finish what we'd started. "You're drunk."

Pushing herself up to a sitting position and pulling the sheet up to cover herself, she leveled me with an annoyed look. "If I were sober, you wouldn't stand a chance," she stated bluntly.

"When you're sober, we can discuss it," I replied. And we would be discussing it because now that I'd had my hands on her, there was no denying the pull I felt.

Still holding the sheet to her chest, she looked around before leaning forward to grab her top from the other side of the bed, struggling to pull it back on. "You can try." She cast me one more wistful once over and sighed. "I'm going to be so mad at myself in the morning." Without another word, she laid down and rolled to give me her back. I stared at the back of her head in frustrated disbelief before turning and quickly heading for the door. It would be a long day.

***

"You really have a knack for causing trouble, don't you?"

Letting out a long breath, I leaned back in the swing chair I was in and cast Aurelia a sidelong glance. "Don't you have anywhere we could meet with more color?"

She laughed, "That hardly seems like your most pressing issue."

I shrugged, "If you're referring to my drunken escapades, then honestly, that's on you."

"Really?" she asked, sounding intrigued. "How so?"

"I got drunk to see if it would stop the visions."

"Yet here we are."

"Yet here we are," I repeated, the frustration clear in my voice.

"And what will you do with him?" Aurelia asked gently.

Instead of butterflies, I felt like their mutant counterparts were dancing in my stomach. I swallowed hard, "Nothing. We're enemies; he knows that."

"Didn't seem like he cared."

"He stopped, didn't he?"

"Is that why you're upset? Because he stopped?"

"Of course not," I sniffed. "We were making a mistake. I was drunk and feeling alone. It's not my best quality."

"You shouldn't waste the opportunity to be happy," she told me with a voice that sounded mournful. "You don't know when it will suddenly come to an end."

I didn't open my eyes when I woke. Afraid that I might find Cassian nearby and awake as well, I stayed as still as possible, trying to listen for any indication that he was in the room with me. Cracking one eye open just enough to see through, I found that the bed, at least, was vacant except for me. Straining to listen for any further sign of life without giving myself away, I heard only silence.

Popping up into a sitting position as relief flowed through me, I threw off the covers and swung my legs over the edge. Maybe if I was quiet enough, I could sneak all the way out and go find Andrea. Convincing her to let me room with her shouldn't be too difficult.

"Going somewhere?"

I'm not proud of the surprised scream that left my lungs at the sound of his voice from the darkness, but I did my best to calm myself as I struggled to make him out in the shadows, somewhere near his closet. "You scared me." Trying my best to look more annoyed than panicked, I crossed my arms and squinted my eyes to peer in the direction that his voice had come from. "Why are you slinking around?"

"I can hear your heart beating from here."

Sensing danger, I continued my struggle to appear indifferent. "You're lurking creepily in the shadows instead of stepping into the light, of course, you can hear my heart beating. As much as I'd love to continue this weird little game, I'm going to have to excuse myself to the bathroom."

Cassian appeared in front of the bathroom door instantly, a violent look in his eyes. "How did you sleep?"

"Fine," I said, still attempting to look annoyed rather than nervous. "Although I don't remember coming in here last night. You don't have to carry me if I fall asleep on the couch. Just leave me there, okay?"

"You weren't on the couch," he said, taking a step toward me. Instinctively, I took a half-step back before remembering I needed to stand my ground.

"I wasn't?" I asked, feigning confusion before allowing understanding to replace it. "I got into your whiskey last night, didn't I?" Offering a laugh, I shrugged one shoulder, "Hope you weren't saving it for a special occasion. I must've drank at least half of the bottle with Andrea and Zeke. I can't remember anything after we started playing Uno. Did I annoy you? Is that why you're acting so irritable?"

"Annoy me?"

"Look," I said, unable to keep my eyes from looking wistfully at the door. "I'm sorry if I caused you more trouble than usual. I was just trying to enjoy myself. You can't blame me for that, can you?"

"I can't?"

I felt the back of my legs hit the edge of the bed and realized with a growing sense of alarm that at some point I'd begun backing away from him again. I looked to the left, wondering how far I'd get if I tried to duck to the side. "Are you going to keep repeating my questions? If you are, I'd really like to be able to go to the bathroom now."

He studied my face, looking as if he'd love nothing more than to devour me here and now. "You don't remember anything about last night?"

"No," I snapped, deciding to go for it and ducking to the left to move around him.

His hand wrapped around my right wrist like a shackle, and I turned my head slightly to look at him. "Would you like me to remind you?"

I swallowed hard and averted my eyes. "No thanks. I'm sure if it was important, I'd have remembered."

Cassian gave one hard tug and I lost my balance, stumbling sideways with a yelp into his arms. His arm wrapped around my waist like a vice, holding me against his body. "Amya?"

Refusing to meet his gaze, I kept my head lowered, staring determinedly at the floor. "Yes?"

"You'll pay for last night." His grip on me loosened and I ran, slamming the bathroom door behind me.