June, 2019

Stepping off the tube, the King's Cross underground platform was littered with humans stopping and starting in movement as they tried to shuffle their way to their destinations.

With a lack of patience—and time—I shoved past the other passengers slowly navigating their way towards the exit. Fixed on my mission, I weaved through the crowd, making my painstakingly slow ascent up the escalator to the streets. As humanly as I could make it, I jogged towards the St. Pancras International station, gaze seeking out the departures board.

The area reeked of coffee, baked goods, and a touch of bleach from the nearby cleaner mopping up a spill. Chatter, laughter, and the squeaking of luggage wheels bounced around the large, open, echoing entry area in loud bursts, making my stomach churn as I struggled to focus amongst the many distractions.

But it didn't take long to finally locate the board. As my eyes zeroed in on the black screen, I scanned its digital lettering for any train matching Serena's directions.

EUROSTAR

11:00 BRUSSELS

Platform 5

BOARDING

"Fuck," I hissed under my breath, my gaze flickering to the clock adjacent telling me I had twenty minutes left until the train departed.

At once, my legs pivoted towards the check-in desk. Without a care, I pushed past those already in the line, receiving a plethora of "Oi"s and "You right, mate"s as I barged on through.

"Sorry," I threw back at the fuming queue before facing the equally unamused check-in lady.

"Sir," she already started scold me, "You need to get to the back of the—"

But before she could even finish her lecture, I pulled the magic to my eyes, hooking her in and cutting her off. "I'm very sorry to do this," I started, as though acknowledging something I was about to force her to forget would absolve me of my sins, "But I don't have time to hear how wrong what I just did was. What I need you to do is print me a ticket for the Eurostar departing to Brussels at 11:00."

"But that one is already boarding," she replied in a monotone manner, too consumed by the spell to exhibit any semblance of emotion. "You won't make it—"

"I will be very fast at getting there if you print me a ticket right now." Now, I could have avoided this whole step and just ran past the ticket checkpoint and security, bewitching anyone on the way who tried to stop me for not having a boarding pass or ID. But there were cameras in a place like this, and the cascading ramifications of barging straight through would see many more mishaps for me to cover up later. The last thing us mutants needed was any more eyes on us, suspecting the supernatural in their midst.

"Very well, sir. Will you be travelling Standard, Premier, or Business Premier?"

"Whatever. Print me whatever. I just need to be on that train."

"Okay. Any luggage?"

"What? No. Just print the ticket." I wanted to glance at the clock to know how much time I had wasted—and how fast I would have to run after this without causing alarm to the humans or security. But breaking eye contact would break the spell, so I bided my time.

Yet even if I could convince her to comply with my directions, I couldn't make her move any faster.

Fingers starting to tap on the counter with impatience as my mind counted the seconds turning into minutes, I kept my gaze fixed on the woman as she slowly punched in my details—a necessary evil to print me a ticket apparently—with her two index fingers moving at a snail's pace across the keys.

What felt like hours later, the ticket finally passed into my hand as she said, "It's at platform 5. You will have to hurry. Make sure you get your pass—"

But I was already off, planning the exact phrasing I'd throw at the guard to by-step the fact I had no identification with me and thus should not be travelling internationally right now.

In the end, it took little effort to overcome the next hurdle, though it did slow my steps. I handed my ticket to the officer as I reached the gate, already compelling his gaze to mine as he accepted the paper and asked for my passport.

"You've already checked it," I told him, compelling him to believe me.

"You're right, sir," he replied. "I'm very sorry." Then he handed me back the ticket and told me to be quick. "Only five minutes until doors close."

Once again, I was off, heart pounding in my chest as I followed the signs towards the platform.

And once my gaze finally fixed on the train—with two minutes to go—I ran a little faster than I should have and gained a few shocked stares along the way.

Though when my foot finally stepped onto the train just before the doors closed behind me, a sigh of relief exited my body.

The Train Attendant attempted to redirect me towards the business carriages as per the seat the check-in lady had booked me. But, knowing Olivia wouldn't have afforded such luxuries, I dismissed her hospitality and pivoted towards the Standard Seating carriages instead.

"Sir, you're going the wrong way," she complained behind me.

But I ignored her.

My hands gripped to the rails as I stumbled my way down the quickly moving train, all the while my head whipped left and right, searching the rows for the familiar fairy.

London whizzed by outside the train, and it didn't take long until the world went black as we headed underground at an even faster speed, on track for the English Channel.

It was at the fifth carriage, just after the section-dividing doors swooshed open in front of me, that I knew I had the right train. The carriage was consumed in the familiar notes of watermelon and hibiscus amidst the metal, oil, glue under the fresh carpet, and alcoholic disinfectant wiped over the surfaces before boarding. I knew she was there before my eyes finally locked on her.

We had emerged above ground again for a moment as we whirled past the British countryside. Gaze turned out the window in one of the seats towards the back of the coach, a familiar crease had nestled its way between her brows as she nibbled at her bottom lip, evidently lost in thought.

But after I took a couple steps down the aisle towards her—still too far away for her to hear me—that crease quickly disappeared.

Body going stiff, she paused for a moment, gaze still locked on the passing scenery out the window. Though her emerald eyes had frozen still, no longer flickering back and forth at the world fleeting by.

Then, at once, her head snapped my way in a knowing manner, gaze seeking me out. As if she knew I was here. As if she sensed me like I sensed her smell. Which was a little odd. But I didn't have time to ponder it, too entranced by my mission at hand.

Disbelief washed over her face as I kept shuffling down the train towards her.

"What are you—" she started to say as I entered her perceived hearing distance.

But I had instead turned my attention to the passenger next to her. "Sorry to trouble you, sir," I started, "But would you mind swapping seats with me?"

"Huh?" he asked, barely glancing at me and instead at my ticket I held up in his view as a method to convince him. "Business? Do you know how far—"

But as his grumpy gaze finally made its way up towards mine, I hooked him immediately in my hold as I replied, "I'm sure you will be much more comfortable there. Plus there is a paid-for dining experience and roomier seats."

"Why, yes. You're quite right," he mumbled back, voice void of emotion as he stumbled to his feet. "Thank you for the offer."

I stepped back in the aisle, helping him get his luggage down before moving out of his way.

But with the seat finally free and the man gone, I eventually slumped my way into the open spot next to Olivia before she could even think of running... if that was ever her intention.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" she barked at me in a hushed tone—too wary of the quiet ambiance in the carriage to disturb it with the anger I could hear lurking in her tone.

"I could ask you the same thing," I hissed back, not ready to forget how furious I was at her for this hairbrained adventure she had departed on. Alone. With only two people apparently aware. Two people who were equally as ignorant as her about the dangerousness of this 'holiday' of hers.

"What do you mean?" she retorted.

"Do you really think going to Windeck is a wise idea?"

I watched her face mar with shock once again. But it didn't take long for the realisation to replace it, her eyes narrowing before she said, "Who told you?"

"Faye and Serena."

"For crying out loud," she muttered under her breath as she looked away from me. "Can they ever keep a—"

"It seems you, too, know that this is a stupid idea, otherwise you wouldn't have tried swearing them to secrecy."

"It's not a stupid idea," she mumbled, almost as if she wasn't quite convinced of the words she let escape her mouth. "But I'm running out of options." Though she didn't ruminate for too long. Shaking her head, she glanced back at me and asked, "How did this even come up with them?"

"I came looking for you," I replied simply.

"But... why? I thought you were avoiding me."

"That was the old plan."

"And the new plan is?"

"Not important to discuss just yet. I'll tell you when we're back in London."

Heaving a sigh, she rested her head against the window and replied with, "Okay. But that won't be until Monday."

"Oh, no. That will be tonight. You and I are taking the next Eurostar back the moment we get off at Br—"

"Excuse me?" Her head snapped up once more, her gaze narrowing. "Who do you think you are? My mum?"

I scoffed. "Of course I don't—"

"You can't just follow me onto this train and demand I return with you. I'm going to Windeck."

"You can't go there, Olivia. Unless you have a death wish."

"I'll be fine."

"You won't—"

"I'll be fine. Rüdiger is gone, Stephen is there, and I'm not as weak as I used to be, though I'm sure you don't believe that. And, death wish or not, I'm out of options."

Shaking my head, I leaned closer before I whispered quietly, wary of listening ears, "I can organise for my mum to come to London to give you back your memories. Don't be so foolish by thinking you have to go to her."

Her head snapped my way, gaze glaring, nose just shy of touching mine.

I flinched back, though she seemed unphased by our proximity.

"The memories are just a part of it, Lukas. It's the only thing I could offer Faye and Serena to ensure they didn't try to talk me out of it."

Tilting my head, I replied, "Then what exactly—"

She looked forward again, lips pressing together almost as if she was reluctant to tell me. And, just as I was about to press her, she finally admitted, "I'm going to find the cure. It has to be there somewhere."

"The cure..." I repeated at a loss for words as I processed what she was alluding to. But once it hit me... "You don't seriously think you can waltz in and they will give it to you, do you?"

She shrugged back. "I can at least try."

"And you will die."

Though she didn't care for my warning. Or, perhaps, she already accepted this as a potential outcome. Regardless, she glanced at me once more with an expression of defeat before facing forward again. "I'm running out of options," she repeated.

Taking a steady breath, I tried to control my tone before I shouted at her and caused all eyes to turn on us. Because who knew who was on board. Who knew who was listening in on our conversation. "There are plenty of other options."

"Not for me," she mumbled back, chin tucking closer to her chest in defeat. "I can't do it, Lukas. I can't... do what Emma can." It seemed even Olivia knew to be careful with her choice of words, which had me feeling slightly more relieved.

"I know," I said back.

But she wasn't done. She hadn't forgiven herself yet. "Don't get me wrong. I don't blame anyone for how they're dealing with this. I get that the... current method is all you have. But I can't help that way. I can't shake the memory of what they were before... that they're innocent people. That they don't know what they're doing."

She looked at me in desperation, the scenes from the lab evidently replaying through her mind. I'd be lying if I didn't think of it sometimes too... of the humans crammed into cages, slowly dissenting to madness as the illness transformed them into monsters.

"I came to help not hurt," she added after a few moments of shared silence.

Nodding, I pressed my lips together as I watched her eyes begin to glisten.

"And I just don't know how to help if I don't... search further."

"I know," I said once more, and this time she seemed to believe me. Or maybe she felt she had said everything she needed me to hear. Regardless, I then explained, "But you don't need to go to Windeck to do what you want to do. I have... another way."

"How?" she barely made audible, hope filling her gaze.

Glancing around the train at the other passengers, everyone seemed fixated on their own surroundings, oblivious to the conversation going on in our row. But just because they looked like they were paying us no mind didn't mean they necessarily were. Turning back to Olivia, I whispered, "I can't tell you here."

Lips pressing together, her gaze also swept the carriage, as if she knew what I was hinting at. After seeming to also not find anyone suspicious of our recent exchanges, she still nodded at me in understanding. "There's only a twenty minute layover in Brussels though and I have to check in. There might not be enough time."

"Can't you just trust me and come back to London?"

She shook her head. "Not before hearing this so-called plan."

With a sigh, I asked, "And in Frankfurt?"

Her mouth fell open in shock, a touch of noise spluttering out of her almost as if she were about to ask how I knew the itinerary, but she seemed to find the answer to her question before asking it. Her mouth snapped shut again, a look of annoyance crossing her face before she replied with, "Like, thirty minutes."

"It's not enough," I muttered, glancing forward.

She shrugged. "Can you tell me in code or something?"

Shaking my head as the words came out of her mouth, I then said, "I have an idea though."

"You do?"

After glancing around once more at the other passengers, I leaned closer to her, lips just shy of her ear—though not before taking a deep breath earlier to avoid inhaling her intoxicating sweet scent.

I did my best to ignore her heartbeat accelerating and her breathing hitching as I whispered in her ear, "Meet me in the lavatory in five minutes. Two slow knocks, then three quick ones."

Before she had a chance to think it over or accept or reject my request, I lunged out of my seat and made my way to the bathroom, desperate to get it ready.

Locked in the cubicle, I was quick to start channelling my magic out of my hands, whispering incantations around the cabin to block the sound. Once I was finished, I then checked every nook and cranny for bugs—something I evidently didn't do well in Windeck based on the fact my uncle seemed to know everything.

I had just finished pushing the plastic wall back over the toilet's hiden cistern when my actions were halted by two fast knocks, followed by three slow ones.

With suspicious eyes, I channelled my magic once more through the door, taking no time to sigh in relief as I felt her essence standing on the other side.

Quickly unlatching the door, I yanked her in with me just as she said, "Shit! It was two slo—"

"You can't remember anything, can you Olivia?" I couldn't help but tease as I locked the door behind us, forcing the magical seal back into place.

Her eyes narrowed at me before letting out a quiet, though very fiery, "Firstly, you just hit me with a direction and took off before I could check if I had heard correctly, as if I have a photographic memory or something. Secondly, if you want someone to blame for my memory being so shoddy, how about you look at your reflection over there."

I let my gaze follow her hand towards the mirror, pointing directly at me, and a chuckle escaped my mouth before I could stop it. Though just as I realised what I was doing, so did Olivia.

The smile dropped from my face as the hopefulness flocked to her eyes, her breath catching and heart accelerating once more.

I may need her for my plan, I reminded myself, But I can't let her get too close again. Focus, Lukas. You two aren't friends. You're not here to banter, but to pitch your proposition.

Clearing my throat, I redirected us back to the mission at hand. "This room is sealed by magic, so it's just us now. We can talk freely."

Though my wishful attempt to distract the thoughts swirling in her brain and causing that heart to thrum so loudly through the tight space was for nought. Because, as I took a reluctant breath in desperately needing to fill my lungs before I let out my plan, I became overwhelmed by the mouth-watering scent of her poisonous, tempting blood. Which only became ten-times worse as my words of our aloneness seemed to make the pounding even faster.

Unable to stop myself, I glanced at her face to decipher why she was reacting so theatrically. And, to my dismay, her eyes were averted, and an oh-so-familiar pink tinge had washed over her cheeks, her lips turned up slightly in content.

It's not what you think, I tried to tell my mind as memories of our past swirled through of the last times she reacted like this around me. It's not possible for it to be that.

Closing my eyes, I took another deep breath—this time to calm my heart that seemed to be reacting totally differently to how I had desired—though my throat burned with hunger again, making the words I needed to say jumble in their order.

"So," she broke the silence as I tried to concentrate on swallowing the saliva pooling in my mouth.

One bite will kill you, I tried to reason with myself.

"What was your plan?" she squeaked, emerald eyes snapping up to mine, that heart still pounding away, that delectable blush still pooling over her porcelain cheeks and making me wonder just what she'd taste like.

"My plan," I repeated, trying to pull myself back to the present. Trying to remember where I was and tame the beast inside me who evidently also had a death wish.

I didn't want her to see I had lost my composure. But alas, I knew it was becoming more evident by the second and my gaze kept leaving hers, trailing instead down her delicate skin, fixating on the pulsing vein in her jugular.

My actions were totally unhelpful. Noticing my wondering eyes, the flush of her cheeks spread down her neck, her breathing becoming more sharp and shallow, the air around us closing in and filling with static.

As a last ditch attempt, I shook my head and as much of the distracting thoughts I had with it, desperately searching for a sentence in my brain to get me going. And once I found it, I blurted, "I need you to help me catch a Made so that we can get a sample of its blood."

Now that was definitely not how you were supposed to start, dummy.

And I knew I was already on the losing side of this fight as I watched that crease return between her brows, as I observed the pink deplete from her face, and listened to the thrumming slow to a regular rhythm as my words sank in.

Desperate, I opened my mouth again before she could shut it down, starting to waffle what I could remember of the rest of the spiel I had planned all last night and morning.

Will Olivia go back to London with Lukas? Let me know how you think she will respond.