Deva felt something holding her down, and when she opened her eyes she was still in Darius' arms. He did not leave during the night like she thought he would. She gently lifted his arm from around her waist and quietly got out of bed. He didn't wake or stir. She needed some air and space away from things, from him. She tip toed to the door grabbing a sweater to cover the dress she was still wearing from the party and silently walked out without him noticing. She didn't have time to change.

Walking barefoot through the halls Deva felt like she could finally relax. The events from the night before were still fresh in her head, and it was only making her headache worse. She found herself in front of the fountain in the gardens and took in the view of the magnificent sunrise. It was still a bit early telling by the sky.

She sat of the bench swing and hugged her knees to her chest. She tried blocking all thoughts from her head because they were leading her nowhere. She didn't know how long she was out there for, but soon the sun was high in the sky, and the gardeners were out and about. She still didn't make a move to get up.

"Oh my lady, I've been looking everywhere for you." She heard a frantic Amy say a short ways away. "The Queen requests the presence of all the ladies."

"Alright," Deva hesitantly stood, but Amy handed her heels before getting the chance to do so.

"The Queen wants every girl to wear heels. You are to have a dance lesson today."

"Thank you Amy. I really appreciate it."

She sweetly smiled. "It's been my pleasure my lady."

They began heading towards the castle's back entrance when Amy opened her mouth again. "Prince Darius was in your room last time I checked."

Deva wasn't sure how to respond. "Then perhaps you can get him out before I return."

"Yes of course my lady." There was an eerie sound in her voice that made Deva turn to her, but Amy was already walking away towards Deva's room.

She brushed it off. Her mind was in so many places that nothing seemed right anymore. Deva nodded to Jeffery politely. He opened the doors to the ball room where Deva thought was the only decent place to have dance lessons, and she was right. Inside she saw the Queen and other girls crowded around.

The Queen smiled as Deva walked up. "I hope you are doing well my dear."

Deva cracked a pathetic smile. "I'm fine."

"Good. Now that everyone is here, I would like to begin. Last night was one of the most interesting nights by far. All you ladies showed great promise in the challenge I presented you with. In a few days, the kingdom will hold a grand ball but not just any ball, a masquerade. You ladies will be at the height of entertainment. That is why you are here today. You will be learning to dance the dance of the old days, a traditional group dance that was often danced by the royals of the court."

Some of the girls' faces lit up with excitement. "And to help us out today are a few of the party guests from last night."

Coming in from the left side of the room were five handsome vampire men that Deva had seen the night before. Max and Ryan were among them. Max glistened when he spotted her.

"Now pick your partners please." The Queen said in a rushed tone. The men spread out and Max ended up in front of Deva.

"Will you be my partner?" He asked in a childlike tone.

"Sure if you promise not to bite." She took the hand he was offering her.

He grinned. "You have to promise the same." He led her to the middle of the dance floor and lined her up with the rest of the girls. "Nice dress. It looks even better on you the second time around."

"You know Max that's the only reason I wore it again," she said sarcastically.

The music began to play, and Deva felt Deja vu settle inside her. It was the same song and dance that she and Darius shared during one of the dreams they shared. The footwork easily came back to her, and she was flowing effortlessly across the dance floor with Max leading her way. She liked the dance and was really ecstatic that they were going to be dancing to it for the masquerade.

"Wow Deva you're really good," Max whispered in her ear while circling around her.

"I've danced to this before."

"That's impossible. This dance has been dead for quite some time." He was a little shocked.

"Darius showed me."

Max danced silently for a few minutes, not replying back to her comment. "That was very stupid and very brave what you pulled yesterday with him."

"I had to do it." She didn't say anymore. She didn't want to talk about it, and Max took the hint.

The Queen was very impressed with her dance abilities and let her go early before all the other girls. Heading down the corridor, she prayed Darius was out of her room.

As she was passing a room she wasn't familiar with, she heard music, a piano playing. She stopped in front of the door and quietly opened it. Lucian was sitting in front of the beautiful grand piano, and he was so into his playing that he hadn't even noticed Deva come into the room.

He was playing moonlight sonata with such feeling and emotion, it made the moment that much more intense. Deva watched in awe and was enchanted by every stroke and brush he did against the keys. Lucian had his eyes closed, and Deva was so curious to know what he was thinking, what was going on in his artistic mind. She hadn't noticed how close up she moved to him, but as he was finishing his last notes he gradually turned. His eyes were warm and lit up at the sight of her.

"Deva!" He shot up from his seat and hugged her close. He was warm, and she let herself melt in his embrace.

"Yes my dear Loosh. It is I."

"I was worried." He pulled away and looked her face over and then he scanned her neck. His facial expressions fell, and she knew she still had a few bruises.

"I'm fine Loosh."

He brought his gaze back up and searched her brown eyes as if hoping to find something. "Deva-"

"Loosh I made him mad. I didn't expect much less."

"He had no right to treat you like that." He said in disgust.

She placed her hands on both sides of his face hoping to calm him down. "If I remember correctly you smacked me my first day here."

He shook his head. "That was before I knew you."

"Yes, but last night I spoke out of place. Darius was only reacting that way because it is his nature to. I'm not mad at him."

Lucian pulled back as if remembering something. She stared into his long and distant eyes. "Are you still mad at me Deva?"

She took a deep breath. "I could never truly be mad at you guys. I'm sorry I was so harsh. I was just overwhelmed with it all."

He brushed his finger across her cheek. "We never meant to hurt you."

"I know Loosh, and I forgive you. For everything." She wrapped her arms around his neck as he laced his arms about her waist. "I need to forgive you because it seems like I'm going to be around for a while."

"For forever Deva," he whispered. "We'll always want you here. I will always want you here...with me."

She just nodded her head in his neck, not trusting the right words to come out of her mouth. She was so torn between two worlds, two situations, that she didn't know how to deal with them. She was really starting to care for the brothers more than she promised herself she would. They were secretly making a place in her heart that she was trying to keep shielded.

A moment later Loosh whispered into her ear, "Close your eyes."

Deva complied. "Why?"

"Because there are a few people who really want to see you."

Lucian then teleported them to another room and Deva found her close friends crowded around a table. Izzy put down the book she was holding and ran into Deva's arms pulling her so tight that Deva felt like a boulder was crushing up against her.

"Deva how could you?"

Deva patted Izzy's back to comfort all her worried thoughts. "I know I'm sorry. I should have given you a better heads up."

Izzy pulled away, glaring at her. "Yes you should have."

"I know. Next time I promise-"

"Next time?" Izzy asked with a furious tone.

"There's not going to be a next time love." Marcus came up from behind them and whisked Deva into a tight bear hug. "Don't you ever pull off a stunt like that again."

"I'm sorry," she whispered into his neck. Marcus raised his gaze to her face, and she could tell he was still a bit mad about the whole situation.

"Are you Deva? Are you really sorry?" He fumed. Deva didn't know how to respond. Of course she was sorry, but she was afraid if she spoke Marcus would only get madder. "Do you have any idea what kind of predicament you put yourself in? He could have killed you Deva; killed YOU."

She understood his anger, but did he really have that little faith in his brother? "Marcus your mother and father were there just in case. They knew exactly what was going on." It wasn't completely a lie, and it was hopefully something to calm his nerves.

"Just promise me you won't do it again, and not just for me but for Julia and Izzy as well. You mean a lot to all of us; so you can't just put yourself in danger like that."

She heard someone approaching and saw Julia walking their way with dark bags under her eyes. Deva never thought of the distress she would put on the others because of her actions. Deva moved around Marcus and pulled Julia in a gentle embrace, holding on to her with all her might.

"I'm so sorry Juls. I promise. I promise I won't do anything that dangerous again."

Julia squeezed her. "Are you sure you're capable of keeping that promise?"

Deva laughed, her friend knew her too well. "I promise to do my best." Julia nodded and both girls pulled away.

"How about we get away for a while?" Izzy asked trying to lighten the mood.

"Sounds good to me. How about we go to the cabin? We haven't been there in ages." Marcus suggested.

"That's a really good idea. It would be nice to get away from all this chaos," Lucian added scooting closer to Deva and Julia. "What do you girls think?"

"I'm up for anything as long as we feed my belly soon. It's starting to yell at me," Deva said looking down at her stomach with a pointed look.

Lucian agreed. "Well what would your belly like to have?"

She rubbed her chin and thought of the foods she hadn't had in a while. "Chinese."

"Ok," he took her hand in his like it was the most natural thing to do. Deva didn't mind, but it did catch her off guard. Only couples hold hands.

"I'll take Deva and get the food for all of us while you three can head out to the cabin. We should be there by the time you arrive."

Marcus nodded and Lucian pulled Deva closer to him before teleporting. She was getting so used to the dynamic shift that she didn't even close her eyes this time. It was really like a flash movement. One second she was at the castle then she blinked and the next she was facing Chinatown.

 They were in a damp alley that opened up to tiny shops and different stores that had Chinese scribbles all over.

"Are we in China?" She had to ask which earned her a kiss on the forehead and a chuckle in response.

"No baby doll, but something very similar."

Lucian squeezed her hand gently and led her into the open streets of the busy Chinatown. There were so many different scents of food that it was hard to breathe. Deva pressed her nose into Lucian's shoulder to smell his cologne when they passed by a seafood stand that smelt of dead fish.

"I hate seafood."

He wrapped his arm around her waist. "We're almost there."

Pushing through a small crowd, they finally reached the place he was looking for. It was a clean feng shui kind of place that had a small garden and pond to the left side of the entrance.

"Neat," she said poking her finger in the water at the fish.

Lucian pulled her hand away and made her follow him to the front desk, ruining her fun. A short thin man threw on a big smile once he spotted Lucian approach. Deva scrunched her brows. Did Lucian come here often?

The Chinese man began to speak fluently in his own foreign language, losing Deva completely. Lucian responded, speaking in the same tongue as the old man.

Deva's head reflexed to the side to gaze up at Lucian in wonder. "You speak Chinese?"

Lucian shrugged. "I've been to a lot of places baby."

"Of course because you're older than stone," she sarcastically ranted. "You probably know fifty different languages."

"Forty-two actually."

Deva folded her arms over her chest. "Whatever."

Lucian leaned close and took hold of her chin, playfully nudging it from side to side. "Someone sounds a bit jealous."

"I am." She narrowed her eyes at him. She always wanted to travel and explore the world. All Lucian had to do was snap his fingers, and there he was.

"If you behave, I promise to take you to every single place on your bucket list."

Deva bit her lip, not sure if she could actually stay out of trouble for long.

"Um excuse me," they both heard a female voice say from behind them. They turned and saw two women in their twenties dressed in the tightest clothes Deva had ever seen. Was it even legal to wear that kind of see through skimpy outfits out on the street?

The one with jet black hair and slightly slanted eyes was staring at Lucian like he was dessert. She even had the audacity to lick her lips in a very sensual and provocative way.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but you look so familiar," the girl went on by taking a step closer to Lucian.

The other girl bit her lip and curled her finger around her reddish locks. "Yes you look so familiar. Are you an actor? You must be with a face like yours. We must have seen you in a movie."

Deva bit her tongue. Did Lucian seriously expect her to behave and keep quiet with those two around?

"Nope, sorry ladies I'm not an actor. You must have me confused with someone else."

Lucian started rubbing circles on the small of Deva's back. She figured it was his way of calming her down. To be honest, she didn't think it was working. The girls refused to let it go and leave.

"Then you must come here often?" The black haired girl tried again to get Lucian's attention.

Deva began to sneeze dramatically and just like she planned captured everyone's eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry I'm allergic to the smell of cheap prostitutes."

"Who did you just call cheap prostitutes little bitch?" The red head fired back.

"The only two skanks in here who were pathetically trying to hit on my man right in front of me." Deva spoke in a cool tone.

"Why, you worried we could actually interest him more than you? You honestly have nothing to offer him anyway." The girl with slanted eyes flipped her hair back from her shoulders.

Deva felt a hot flame flow through her body. She always had a bad temper so this girl really didn't want to get Deva started.

"Deva baby let it go," Lucian whispered but he couldn't hide the hint of amusement in his voice.

"As opposed to the STDs you two trashy street hookers can offer him."

"We don't have STDs," the redhead tried to clarify looking at Lucian.

"Is it AIDS then?" Deva asked tilting her head to the side. "Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

She felt Lucian's vibrating chuckle behind her. The two girls were boiling up at this point and Deva honestly thought that they wanted to fight her. She wouldn't have minded a fight; after all she did miss her work out this morning.

Lucian quickly grabbed the paper bag the old man had handed him and tugged on Deva's waist to pull her towards the exit. The girls were still giving her death stares and before Lucian could pull her out the door Deva couldn't resist yelling out, "Too many freaks, not enough circuses."

Deva was laughing hysterically at the heated faces the girls gave her.

"Do you ever behave?" Lucian asked, breaking off her laughter.

"I'm sorry Loosh. I couldn't resist. It's like a drug. I just can't help but make fun of people."

Lucian shook his head trying to act disappointed, but he couldn't fool Deva.

She leaned forward and grazed his lips softly, tauntingly against the nape of his neck. "Are you sure you want me to behave Loosh?" She playfully bit down on his skin and then placed a kiss over the same area. "Are you really really sure you want me to?"

Lucian groaned. "No, I like you just the way you are."

Deva closed her eyes for the briefest second, and when she opened them again they were standing in a wooden cabin. Izzy, Marcus, and Julia were overlapping each other on the couches in front of a fireplace.

Their whole afternoon was spent telling old memories or incredible adventures only a very old vampire could have. When the sun was slowly setting Deva proposed a new activity.

"Let's play the hat game."

Marcus raised his brow. "What's the hat game?"

"It's a game were we all write down one of our darkest secrets and place them in a hat. With each secret we pull out, we have to figure out who it belongs to."

Marcus snickered. "Sounds fun."

Deva nodded. "It is. Is everyone down?"

Everyone agreed, and once all the notes containing secrets were in the hat, Izzy volunteered to be the first to pick one out. Izzy unfolded the paper and read, "My favorite movie is 'The Notebook'." They all turned to scan each other's faces.

Deva burst into a fit of giggles when she figured out who the secret belonged to. "Seriously Marcus?"

Marcus shrugged his shoulder as everyone else joined in the laugh. "What can I say? I'm a sensitive guy."

"Or a gay one," Lucian commented.

"Whatever bro. Girls like a sensitive guy." Marcus looked at Deva and Julia with a handsome grin. "Am I right?"

"Totally," Deva insisted. "Chicks love a sensitive guy who cries on her shoulder over the simplest things."

"That's what I thought." Marcus smiled and winked at Julia.

Deva was about to question their little exchange of looks, but Lucian was already pulling out another secret from the hat. "I stripped for an old people's home."

Deva narrowed her eyes at her best friend because she knew the whole story behind that little secret.

"Who was that? Julia?" Izzy asked.

Julia's face turned to a lighter shade of red. "Guilty."

"Really," Marcus questioned.

"It was a stupid dare!" She groaned in humiliation.

"What are you talking about? It was a brilliant dare. I honestly didn't think she'd do it but she made me proud." Deva smiled, "And I think she gave three old men heart attacks."

The room easily filled with laughter again, but soon Julia reached in and pulled out another note. She gasped before reading it out loud. "I wanted to kill myself once."

Every head in the room turned to Deva who frowned in return. "What? That wasn't mine. I'm not suicidal." And of course they didn't believe her. She gave them every excuse not to. "Okay guys I know I'm not known for having rational thoughts at moments, but I promise I have never thought about killing myself willingly. I value my soul." It would go against everything she believed in if she killed herself.

"It was mine," a soft timid voice said coming from Izzy.

"Iz," Lucian said highly confused about his sister's declaration.

Izzy rubbed her arm nervously before answering her brother. "It was a long time ago."

"Why?" Marcus asked in a heartbreaking tone of sadness.

Izzy raised her eyes to her brothers. "It was after I killed a man. He was the first person to die under my hands." She then shifted her gaze to Deva. "I hated myself so much for losing control.  I began to think like you Deva, that all vampires were monsters, and all I knew now how to do was kill."

"Izzy I never meant-"

Deva was cut off by Izzy's voice once again explaining. "No Deva I understand where you are coming from. We as vampires have to do some horrifying things to stay alive."

"I don't think that anymore Iz. I know you're not a monster." Deva pleaded in hopes to making her friend feel better.

"I'm glad." Izzy's warm smile lit Deva's heart with compassion.

"Izzy what made you stop from killing yourself?" Deva had to ask.

Izzy began to play with her fingers.  "It was Darius. I was on a bridge overlooking the deep dark water of the ocean when he found me. I told him what I had done, and he shared with me a story that made me rethink my situation. He made me realize that what I did was not something I could have controlled my first time. He convinced me that over time I would control the urge."

Her confession only made Deva interested in knowing the story Darius told her that night on the bridge. She made a note to herself to remember to ask Darius about it later.

They didn't talk about the matter any further because they knew that Izzy didn't really want to remember that part of her life.

Marcus leaned in a pulled out another note. "I hate blondes, but secretly want a blonde baby."

Everyone turned to Deva who only shrugged in return. "What? They are so cute when they are little. I'm not sure what happens when they get older though."

Marcus rolled his eyes, and Deva reached for the last note which could only belong to Lucian. Deva scanned the words on the note and hesitated to say it out loud.

"Come on Dev. Tell us what Lucian's secret is."

Deva gulped. "I think I'm falling in love."

The room went quiet, and Deva felt her heart beating faster than a humming bird's. What could she say to that? Was he talking about her? Deva had to get out of this situation; so she yawned and lazily shut her eyes slightly.

"I don't know about you, but I'm beat." Deva got up and searched the room for a blanket.

"Me too. Let's go to our room." Izzy chimed in, looping her arm through both Deva and Julia's. The girls in no time made it to the last room on the left side of the hall. The room was large and spacious, and there was plenty of room on the bed for the three of them.

Izzy handed Deva a bag filled with pjs. "Pick which ever ones you like."

Deva went with the simple black shirt and plaid red pants. She crawled into bed in between Izzy and Julia. She shifted her body and faced Julia who was staring at her intensely.

"Deva?"

"Yeah, Juls." Deva responded curiously.

"Are you in love?"

Deva shut her eyes, not wanting to relieve anything. "I don't think so."

"I know you like Marcus more as a brother, but I don't know what you and Lucian are or what you and Darius have." Why was her friend all of a sudden so curious?

"It's okay Deva you can tell us," she heard Izzy say from behind her.

Deva swallowed the big lump in her throat. "Guys I honestly don't know. Both guys make me feel so different. It's so easy with Loosh and yet Darius...well Darius just pushes my buttons and yet I still don't hate him for it."

The room stilled, and Deva sighed in relief. She didn't want to talk about it anymore, especially when she too was confused about the situation herself.

________________________________________ 

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