Every minute Deva spent with Darius made her feelings for him grow. She knew she was falling extremely hard for him, but was afraid of telling him or confessing it to herself. She just couldn't get enough of him. She also noticed the butterflies she had for Lucian were quickly fading away to nothing, and as the days passed, she saw less and less of Lucian. She hadn't spoken to him much and every time they got close, he would pull himself away.

Deva was awake but refused to open her eyes. Her bed was comfortable, and she was still tired and way too lazy to get up. She tossed her hand to the side expecting to touch Darius, but all she got was an empty impression.

Why would he leave without telling her? She tried hiding her disappointment; after all it wasn't like he was on a leash or something.

Deva felt the bed gently dip and then tiny kisses trail their way up her neck.  An instant smile flashed on her face. "Wake up my beautiful human girlfriend," his deep velvet voice sang to her.

She shook her head and murmured in Romanian, "Mai cinci minute."

His soft lips teased her skin on her jaw. "I don't know what you said but it sounded sexy."

Deva chuckled. "Five more minutes."

He pressed his lips to hers ever so lightly, and when she lifted herself up to get a better feel, he pulled away. "Nope. I need you up now."

She pouted. "No."

"Fine," he shifted his position to sit on the bed. "I guess you don't want your surprise."

Deva's eyes immediately opened, and she took in his attire. Why was he all dressed up? His skin even looked extra flawless.

"What surprise?"

His gorgeous smile that she always melted to formed on his face before he bent down and kissed her on the lips. "Happy birthday sweetheart."

Birthday, she thought confused. What day was it anyway? Then like a train hitting a wall it all came back to her. Damn, and she thought she could avoid this day forever. "It's not my birthday."

He laughed at her feeble attempt. "You know the more time I spend with you the easier it is to catch your lies."

"Who told you?" But then she already knew the answer. "Julia."

"Yes you are correct, the trusted best friend."

Deva sat on her elbow. "I'll get her later for that."

"Yes later, but for now I need you to get dressed." He pulled her swiftly off the bed with no effort.

She opened her closet and decided to wear something more flattering then her usual raggedy getup. It was after all her birthday. "Where are we going?"

"We," he exaggerated. "Nowhere yet, but you do have a morning date today."

What? Confusion was definitely in the air. "I have a date without you." She quickly pulled down her shirt before running out the closet to make sure she heard right. "And you are encouraging this?"

When she was back in her room she spotted Darius smiling and Lucian next to him also wearing the exact same smirk.

"What's going on here?" Panic hit her. Wasn't Lucian mad at her and his brother?

"Lucian is taking you out this morning for your birthday, and then I have you for the rest of the day," Darius explained.

A part of her was really happy to see Lucian again, but something about this was still off. "Really?"

Darius only chuckled before closing the distance between them. "Yes really."

"I'll wait for you outside," Lucian said making his way to the exit already.

Darius cupped her face. "I know it's been weird and difficult lately with this whole situation, but he is my brother. I don't want to have a quarrel with him, and I know you don't want one either."

She nodded in agreement. I was difficult being around him. "You're right I don't."

He kissed her forehead. "Then let's move on. I know he misses you and your friendship."

She pressed her lips to his in a final kiss. "Have I ever told you how amazing you are?"

"Nope."

"Well you are. Thank you for this." She took a step back. "I'll see you tonight then, my vampire muffin boyfriend."

Deva was out the door and spotted Lucian's leisure figure leaning against the wall. He took her hand when she approached and wasted no time teleporting them to an unfamiliar place. He led her through a small crowd of French speaking people and into a tiny café.

"Paris?" She questioned.

He nodded. "This café has the best breakfast."

A pretty waitress with a French bun led them to the outside patio where she placed them at a small table overlooking the busy streets. It also had an incredible view of the Eiffel Tower. The woman began to speak French, completely losing Deva in the process, but of course Lucian came to her rescue with his French speaking skills. A moment later the woman walked away, but not without giving Lucian a flirty wink.

"The French seem friendly," Deva commented lifting her napkin and placing it on her lap.

"Yes I suppose." Lucian studied her from across the table. It should have bothered her, but for some reason she let it slide, but something was definitely on his mind.

"I'm sorry Deva."

"For what exactly," she really wasn't sure why. In a way she thought it should have been the other way around. Shouldn't it have been her apologizing?

"I shouldn't have spoken so harshly when I found out about you and Darius. It was wrong of me to do so."

His sad features only made the guilt in her heart sink farther. "No Loosh. I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you...honestly."

"I know Deva," he leaned over the table. "I know, and I want you to stop being sorry. It's not your fault. You can't help who you fall in love with," his words rung true from experience.

"You're a good guy Loosh."

"Just not the guy for you," she wanted to say something but he quickly continued. "Deva I see the way my brother looks at you, and never have I seen him in such control than when he is with you. He has changed. Before, he was just a lost soul always worrying about what others expected him to be, especially father. He can see past that when he is with you, and for that, I am happy."

Deva smiled with pride. "Darius is a kind and generous person. He just doesn't like showing it."

Lucian smiled. "He never did." He paused to look into Deva's soulful eyes. "I have witnessed my brother's neglect of love for many years. He may not admit it, but I know he craves to love and be loved in return. I have never once gotten into a fight with my brothers." Lucian chuckled and Deva watched the joy fill his eyes. "At least not anything serious, but when I found out about the two of you, I was consumed with hatred for him. I can't describe what revolting things filled my head, the awful things I wanted to do to my brother."

Lucian dropped his head in shame. "I have a horrible temper Deva. I am embarrassed and will forever be ashamed for even thinking those thoughts. He is my own brother; as children we promised to always have each other's backs and to never fight with one another. I will not lie; I envy him for stealing your heart."

"I'm sorry for being the cause of it all Loosh."

He silenced her with his deep stare. "No Deva. I was weak and let my emotions get the best of me. You are a very special person, and you deserve everything you want and desire. I will not stand in the way of your happiness or my brother's. I just don't want to lose you as a friend."

Deva reached forward and captured his hand in both of hers. "You can't get rid of me that easily. I promise our friendship won't end here. Lucian you are very important to me, and I'm sorry it can't be more, but I still want you in my life. I will always value our time together."

He bent down and kissed her hand. "Good, then friends we shall be."

Their breakfast was then brought to the table ending their conversation. For once, Deva felt at ease and didn't fear to think; everything was going to turn out fine. The breakfast date went wonderful and nothing felt out of place. Deva and Lucian picked up their friendship and enjoyed their meal like they were long lost friends.

"Well Evie seems like a decent girl." It was bugging Deva that she didn't know anything about her.

Lucian was a little surprised she'd bring Evie up at all. "Yes she is."

Deva took another sip of her coffee. "Do you think she'll be the next queen?" It was a scary thought to think it was now down to Julia, Evie, and herself.

"I'm not sure. She is very level headed and an easy going person. I could definitely see her being the queen but I also see that with you as well. Evie is very good company to have."

Deva was happy to hear it. She wanted Lucian to have someone to go to.

Lucian dropped his gaze to his phone and cursed. "Darius is going to kill me. I was supposed to have you back ten minutes ago."

Deva got up. "Don't worry I'll soften him up for you. He won't touch you, I promise."

He laughed and took her into his arms. "I think I'm going to like having you around him then."

Soon enough, they were standing in the middle of the forest next to a beautiful lake. She felt Lucian's arms leave her, and she turned to find Darius leaning against a tree trunk with an impatient look on his face.

Lucian quickly disappeared and Deva made her way to Darius. "Miss me?"

He engulfed her in his arms. "Every second."

"What are we doing here?"

He took her hand, and they went over to the edge of the lake. "I want to show you something." He let her go and started pulling off his shirt. Deva couldn't help it when her jaw dropped, and her eyes examined every inch of his glorious rippled planes of perfection. She didn't think she would ever get used to seeing such incredible bulging muscles.

Darius could feel her stare burning hot patches on his skin. He was not objecting in any way.

"You know sweetheart you are my girlfriend now; therefore I'm all yours so don't be afraid to touch what is yours."

His devious grin and tone made her eyes focus, and she stepped right in front of him pressing her chest right up against his. Her fingertips playfully teased their way up his abdomen and she felt him shutter with pleasure.

"Yeah, I guess I forgot that part." She stood up on her tippy toes and pecked his lips. "Being your girlfriend has its perks."

He ran his hands down her torso to her curvaceous hips where he grabbed a hand full of her shirt and slowly lifted it. "We're going to get a little wet."

"A little," her soft voice mumbled.

"Okay a lot."

She raised her arms and he slipped her shirt off then openly admired her body. Her first instinct was to cover her exposed top half, but the lustful and soft look in his eyes reassured her that he was not disgusted in any way.

The purple lace bra she was wearing hugged her in all the right places, driving Darius over the edge.

"You know vampire, just because you're my boyfriend now doesn't mean you get to feel me up any time you want."

His hands quickly reached forward and crushed her to him. "You want to see about that."

She shook her head. "Not today. I'm still curious about my surprise."

His playful eyes glistened. "I think you're going to love it." He stepped back and handed her a device that was supposed to help her breathe underwater.

"Just follow me," Darius helped her in the water and they both began to swim towards the bottom.

The deeper they swam the darker it got but once they reached close to the bottom Deva noticed a strange glow coming from some of the plants at the bottom of the lake. The beautiful neon looking colors of purple, pink, and green lit up the way for Deva to see. Darius took her hand and glided towards the left were a cave was hidden.

Darius pushed back the straying seaweed and led her inside. They came up to an opening in the cave were water did not seep through. Deva pushed herself up and rested on the rock while taking the device from her mouth. The cave was covered with symbols and markings in a language Deva had never seen before. She traced her fingers over the ancient writing.

"What is all this?"

He came up behind her. "This is a cave filled with many stories of the past."

She was fascinated by every mark made on the stone cold rock. "Tell me one of the stories."

He smiled and pulled her to the edge of the cave where he sat down and placed her on top of him. "I'll tell you the one my mother told me the first time she brought me here."

Deva rested her head against his chest, and he gently ran his hand through her long hair as he remembered the story. "That mark over there of the woman," he pointed to a delicate drawing on the left side. "Her name was Aeliana. She was considered to be one of the most beautiful women in the land, but also the most spirited. She guarded herself and didn't submit to any. Her headstrong attitude scared most men away, but one day a royal from a different land caught her eye and somehow he tamed her."

"Tamed her? I don't like that word. It makes her sound like a horse or something." Deva admitted.

Darius kissed her hair. "I'm sorry wrong wording, sweetheart. He swept her off her feet and made her want to be with him instead of against him."

She nodded her head in approval and he continued.

"The story goes that Aeliana eventually fell in love with Charis, but one day a mysterious man named Drusus showed up who claimed to be his long lost brother. Aeliana disliked Drusus from the start. Then something happened to Aeliana and Charis' relationship, and she pushed herself away from him giving Drusus the perfect opportunity to take advantage. Somehow he deceived her into loving him also. Aeliana cursed herself for loving two men."

Darius twirled a small strand of Deva's hair between his fingers. The pause of the story was eating at Deva's curiosity.

"What happened?"

"Well from what I remember Aeliana was pushed, pulled, and twisted by both men till she couldn't handle it anymore. She ran away and was never heard of again."

"What?" Deva twisted in his arms to get a better look at his face. "You're serious, that's how it ends? That was a horrible story."

"Sorry sweetheart. I didn't exactly write history."

Deva shook her head, not believing a story that good could have such a horrible ending. Aeliana must have been some coward if she couldn't face what she needed and ran away instead.

"You don't have any long lost brothers do you?"

Darius chuckled. "Not that I know of."

"That's reassuring." She pressed forward and covered his lips with her own. The rest of their evening was spent exploring the cave. Darius was right; Deva enjoyed every minute of their time there. The drawing covered walls were beyond words, and the tales he told her were far more enchanting than the fairytales she was used to. Time was slowly creeping by, and they had to return to the castle.

The lake wasn't too far and the walk back was sweet and peaceful.  Once they reached the inside, Darius led Deva to her room. "You have one last surprise; so get dressed and we'll go."

Deva groaned. "Another one? Darius honestly I'm a simple girl. I don't need any more surprises; this day can't get any better."

She finally had Lucian back in her life, and she just spent the last few hours with the man of her dreams.

"It definitely can sweetheart. Now hurry and get dressed. I'll wait outside your door."

Deva's hair had already dried from the walk to the castle; so all she had to do was throw on something suitable to wear. Deva opened the door to walk out to meet Darius and also spotted Lucian with him talking quietly with each other.

"Okay, what's going on?"

Both brothers twisted around to get a good look at her. Her arms were crossed and she looked very impatient and irritated.

"Take my hand and we'll show you," Lucian extended his hand and she hesitantly took it. Before she knew it all three of them were standing in the middle of a quiet neighborhood. The tall oak trees and paved sidewalks looked so familiar. Deva had to do a few double takes before realizing were she was.

Turning to face Darius, she asked, "Are we really here?"

"Yes Deva, this isn't an illusion. You are actually home."

Deva's hands began to shake as she walked around the large oak tree to get a view of the house she grew up in. Everything was still the same; the multi colored flowers her father planted every year were still blooming, the porch swing still rocked on its own, and the black cat her brother loved so much still liked to rest in the bed of flowers by the driveway.

It was all hitting her so fast. "Why did you bring me here?"

"Because I wanted to give you something you've wanted since the moment you arrived at the castle," Darius' response filled her ears, but the sight of her parents walking out of the house made her surroundings stop.

It looked like her parents were enjoying refreshing beverages as they occupied the swing on the porch. She remembered how fond her parents were about rocking on the swing while admiring their garden.

"Deva you can do whatever you want while we are here. If you want to speak to them it will be fine with us," Lucian tried to explain. The only thing stopping her was that she still had to go back with them.

Deva swallowed all thoughts of going over to her parents and hugging them. She couldn't do that to them. They probably already thought she was dead; why make the situation worse? Especially when she knew she'd have to leave them just as quickly she got there.

"No. I don't want to disrupt their lives, especially after everything they probably went through to let me go." She took one last glance before turning to Lucian. "But I want to go to one last place before we go back to the castle. Take me to the hospital that is just a few blocks away from here."

Lucian took her hand and teleported them like she requested. Deva let go of their hands as soon as the white dull walls of the hospital came into sight. She casually walked through the halls like she had been there a hundred times before while Lucian and Darius trailed behind her. Eventually she stopped in front of a room on the fifth floor and took a deep breath before opening it.

The sound of beeping hospital equipment echoed about the room, and Deva took slow gentle steps toward the bed in the center.

Deva froze as soon as she saw the figure of the beautiful man laying peacefully still on the hospital bed. His weak and quiet chest slowly rose and fell evenly.

"Lucian, Darius, this is Nicholas." She went a few more steps and took in Nicholas' strong and stubble jaw, sharp defined nose, and long lashes that still kept his eyes shut. "Remember when I told you I never had a boyfriend," she didn't turn around to see their answer. "I kinda lied."

Lucian and Darius didn't make any move to come closer to her as she placed her hand over the planes of Nicholas' face. Even with her touch, his eyes were still closed, and she secretly willed them to do the opposite.

"Nick and I grew up together. We didn't exactly have a label, but it was clear that we were inseparable." Deva stroked Nicholas' cheek and brow; his skin was so pale and lifeless. "He was my protector, my rock, and my best friend. Nick was the biggest jock I knew; he was his father's golden boy. Nick was captain of every sport back in school and he had a ring of guys follow his every move and every word. Nick was a leader, never a follower." She smiled at the memory.

"There was this one day when a friend of mine invited us to a party. Nick always went with me; he refused to let me go without him, but every other Friday he would have dinner with his family so he couldn't make this one. We argued for hours because no matter how much I pleaded for him to let me go by myself, he just wouldn't give in. I was so mad at him."

Deva shook her head and forced back the tears that secretly wanted to come out. "I ended up going behind his back, and I went to the party. Some of his friends saw me drinking and making my way around the crowd and they immediately called him up." Deva laughed, but the brothers heard no humor in her voice. "I was so stubborn that he had thrown me over his shoulder in order to get me to leave. We started yelling at each other on our way home. The best part about our relationship was that no matter how big of a fight we got into, we would always forgive each other."

Deva began pushing back the loose strands of Nicholas' hair so she could take in the sight of him more clearly. "I was always the loud crazy one, but he...Nick was always the calm one, the gentle one when it came to me. He was like the voice of reason in my crazy mind." Deva turned her head to finally look at the brothers. Her eyes landed on Lucian, and a weak smile formed on her face. "You reminded me somewhat of him Loosh. I guess that's why I got along with you so well from the beginning."

Lucian tried to smile, but the hidden pain written on her face made him stop. When she got no reaction from them, she turned back to gaze at Nick.

"Nick hated when we fought. He pulled the car over in the middle of nowhere so he could calm me down. It was dark; really, really dark outside. Nick took off his seatbelt so he could lean over and kiss me."  She paused and two silent tears fell down her cheek. "We didn't see the semi-truck coming towards us at 50 mph. Nick crashed through the windshield and fell into a coma right after surgery. I had a minor concussion. "Deva struggled for the right words. "The doctors told us the chance of full recovery was 15 out of 100. His family refused to let him go. His mother blamed me, his family blamed me, I even blamed me."

"Deva-"Darius tried to find some words to sooth her distress, but she wouldn't allow it.

"If it wasn't for me, Nick and I would probably be fighting over who would make it to the Super Bowl instead of him laying here lost and alone in his own mind." She sobbed and spoke through her tears. "I condemned him to this life. I don't deserve to be happy after what I did, after what I put him through."

"Deva," Darius spoke cupping her face, forcing her to look at him even though she was relentless to do so. "Deva you have to stop. Just stop thinking like that. Nick wouldn't want you to. He wouldn't want you to spend the rest of your life wallowing in self-pity after everything he did for you. All the times he protected you and pulled you out of your own destruction. Do you really think he wouldn't have protected you then knowing his fate?"

Hot tears fell from her eyes and landed on Darius' hand. He wiped them away.

"I killed him Dar. I took away his life because this...what he is now is not living."

"No Deva. You did not kill him. Some things in life we just can't stop from happening."

She shook her head in agony, and Darius felt his heart breaking from all her pain. "It should have been me Dar. I should have died."

"Don't, don't you dare say that," his deep harsh voice conveyed both his and Lucian's opinion on her statement. "Things happen for a reason. Tragedy happens so that we may see the beauty that follows. You survived Deva. You are alive and well; so don't take for granted the second chance life had to offer you."

Deva shut her eyes and rested her forehead on Darius'. "It's not fair Dar."

"I know sweetheart. Life is not meant to be fair, but worth living. You just need to find the things worth living for."

Deva had always dreamed of coming back here once she was forced to the castle, but never did she anticipate or imagine the emotions going on through her head would be so intense. She knew what she had to do and nodded her head before slowly pulling away. Instantly she missed the warmth and protection Darius' arms provided her with.

She leaned over the hospital bed getting as close to Nick's face as possible. "I'm sorry Nicky. I'm so so sorry." She pressed her lips to his frozen mouth. The small contact left her aching when she pulled away. "I have to let you go...but you'll always be in my heart."

She wished for a brief second that she could see his beautiful haunting hazel eyes one last time before she went. Deva closed her eyes and backed away from his sleeping form. She was engulfed in strong arms and she gladly welcomed them.

When she finally had the strength to open her eyes again they were in her room. Lucian gave her a weak smile and a quick nod to his brother before walking out of the room. She wasn't too sure what was going on in his head but at the moment she didn't have the strength to stop him. Darius picked her up bridal style and laid her on the bed. She snuggled closer to his chest and took in his intoxicating smell to get rid of some of her wondering thoughts.

"Is Loosh alright?" She couldn't help but ask.

His hand began rubbing circles on her back. "Yes. He's just struggling with new questions."

"Like?"

"He's wondering if the only reason you wanted to get close to him was because you wanted something that reminded you of Nicholas."

She swallowed. "That might be true, but I didn't realize I was doing it at first." Deva felt awful for possibly hurting Lucian again, and Darius saw this.

"Don't worry about him sweetheart. Lucian will get over it."

Deva nodded and sunk deeper into his body. The quiet stillness of the room engulfed them for a few minutes.

"You tried so hard to hide Nicholas away from me when I was tapping into your memories. I don't know if you were doing it on purpose or subconsciously, but it took me a while to see it all."

Deva didn't know how to respond because honestly she didn't want Darius or anyone to know that part of her life in the beginning.

"I just can't imagine what else you are pushing away or trying so hard to hide from me."

She raised her head and tenderly kissed his cheek. "I'm sure eventually all my secrets will come out, but until then I'm going to hide them as long as I can."

Darius felt her rest her head back down, and he secretly hid his pain that was caused by her words. Did she not trust him enough to tell him? She must have gone to extreme lengths to hide her secrets so well.

The mind was a difficult thing to read, but Darius was very good at it, and somehow Deva's insane mind was just too complicated to tap into even for him.

 ______________________

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