DAMIAN

Things have changed. I can't believe I spent almost an hour searching for the best hair products. Yeah, I tend to do asinine things for Camille. And these days It includes not getting any of my priority straight and going back on my words.

Four words.

Stay. Away. From. Her.

I can't even do that. I don't think I can bear not seeing her for long. This isn't who I am. I'm not the type of person that says one thing and do another. I always keep my word but something has changed in me and I don't know what it is. I know I was angry at myself for what I said to Camille. The look on her, I still remember it and it plagues me to this moment. Camille is a strong young woman, an alpha, something I know she got from her grandmother. She always says what she thinks without caring what other people thinks. She never backs down from a fight and doesn't shy away from her responsibilities.

But I saw her face yesterday morning when I told her no. I can't explain what it means for me being who and what I am, but if I were to pretend to be human of a moment, I would say it broke my heart. Seeing her looking so hurt and sad has been giving me heartache and I don't know how to fix it.

Father was away for almost three months and thing's gone wrong during his absence like one of his teachers giving birth. If he was here he would have made arrangements for someone to take over her class but it was too late and he was already lagging behind on so many. So when he voiced out some of his troubles, which included his worry about Camille's failure in her basic spells class, I offered to step up to take over the class. Not because I want to help. It's all for a selfish reason, something I didn't possess but comes easily since I've known Camille. I decided to teach the class because watching her from the shadow isn't enough, I need to be around her.

I understand she's angry and my presence keeps pissing her off, but it's just one of the things she has to endure because I am not walking away.

Opening the portal to her room, I get off inside. The portal remains after getting out because I'm just dropping off her supplies, I'll leave before she knows I'm here. But somehow, I doubt that will be the case. I stand still, tense when my eyes drops on her bed, where she's supposed to be sleeping. I look around for her roommate, Jessica but she isn't here. Camille is alone.

Moving to drop the box of her hair products and the new latest iPhone I bought for her, before giving her my full attention. She's asleep but isn't laying on her bed. Instead she's floating horizontally in the air. I should turn back and enter the portal that leads back to my house but I won't. Something is going on with her and I need to know what. It's bad enough that the great dragon is making himself visible to her. And she's hallucinating in the middle of the day too. Her actions earlier are concerning but father doesn't think anything is the problem.

I was in the middle of showing the class how beneficial that clove leaves is when she slapped her palms on her desk and stood up. Honestly I thought she was walking out of the class but she stalked towards me and destroyed my desk. I took one look at her and knew it wasn't her. Her voice, her eyes. They weren't Camille's and I know who's it was.

I fear she isn't taking things as serious as she should. She has an idea of what's going on but she won't say anything. I know she speaks to herself thinking someone is around but she didn't tell me anything.

And now this. If it was under normal circumstances, I would leave her, thinking it's just her flight powers working while she sleeps but that's not it. Everyone has a aura, even humans. Camille's aura always change because she's many things. So they stick to what power she uses most of the time and change over time. There's always a common pattern and no matter what it changes to, her aura is always bright.

That isn't the case today. The first I notice when I step into this room is the change in the energy. It's negative and dark. Something Camille doesn't have but somehow it's here.

There's only one person I know that gives off negative and dark energy, and I won't be surprised if she's the one. I just need to confirm.

I move closer to her and watch her hands dangling. "Where are you, Camille? Show me what you see." I whisper and wrap my fingers around her wrist.

In a flash, I see light switches on and off before a figure appears in front of me, touching my chest. Lurytendra appears out of nowhere. She says, "I see you, Dam-El. I see you."

I close my eyes and remove my fingers from her wrist, breaking the contact. I stagger back and stare at Camille, who is still floating in air.

She knows.

I shake my head and jump into my portal. I land in my room at the mansion and close it. Not wasting anymore time, I rush out of my room to find father at the place we believe to be Malakai Stark's underground station when he was on earth. When we first got to earth, we tried looking for him but his existence in his world was erased but we found his mansion. We used this place to try and locate him but when we didn't, father turned the place into his home office, his own station. The place he control the El Gate since he can't be physically in Di Hipsodat and still be here, so manages everything from this place.

I get off the elevator that leads there to see father in air, watching the series of opened events. My father's powers including time manipulation and ability to visualize the event that has happened in the past even the ones he never witnessed. They call him the all-seer because he sees everything that has happened but not the ones that will happen.

"You got a minute father," I speak out. I don't like disturbing him when he works in order to keep his concentration, so he will see everything and won't miss anything.

"I have all the time in the world for you, son," he replies and moves his hand to the side to switch the event he's watching. I recognize the chamber that houses the El Gate.

"What's going on?" I ask.

"Someone got into Di Hipsodat without me opening the El Gate. It was unauthorized." He answerss and zooms in. It's just like watching a footage from a CCTV camera.

"Do you who it is?"

Getting inside Di Hipsodat is impossible, whoever broke in must have some guts because El hates intruders and uninvited guest.

He shakes his head and nods. I'm not sure which answer I should choose until he speaks. "I have an idea but I'm not certain. What do you want?"

"I want to talk about Camille." I cut to the chase, that grabs his attention enough to stop what he's doing. He waves his arms around and the whole thing disappears.

He descends and lands on his feet in front of me. "What about her?" He cocks his eyebrows.

"What are you and El up to?" Without beating around the busy, I go straight to the point.

He frowns. "I do not understand what you ask."

I sigh and tell him, "She's been dreaming, father. And she has been seeing what she isn't supposed to see," I tell him without letting him have the whole information. For all I know he is in on it.

El saw me looking in Camille's head. It's a matter of time before she sends word for me through my father and seeing as he appears not to know what I'm talking about, it means she hasn't reached out to him. And I need to know what he knows before she does.

"Cami has feelings for you." He begins with that. That is not what I'm here for but I will let him finish before I say anything else. "And I can tell from your interaction earlier that you have feelings for her too."

"Your point?"

His face grows hard. I know it's not because of my tone. It's the reply itself.

"You didn't even deny it. Dam-El, Cami isn't your mate." He reminds me.

"You don't think I know that." I snap. Of course I know Camille isn't my mate but I've spent millennials waiting for mine.

"I don't think you do. There's a bright future ahead of her and you working on those feelings might jeopardize what we've been working on." He manages to let that slip. That's his way of asking me to back off. And he said 'we'. He just admitted to it.

I take a step towards him and say, "You are letting her swim with the sharks when you know she can't swim. I thought you care about her."

I know he cares about her but he isn't acting like it.

"I do care about her, in fact I love the girl like my own. She's gone through so much but you know who has my loyalty. Our loyalty, don't forget what we came here for." He remind me but that's just the point, I don't know what we came for. I thought it was to find Ulrik's father, Malakai Stark but we got sidetracked and stayed more than we intended to for Camille but now I'm starting to see that that's not even the whole truth.

"Pray tell, what it is we really came to do?"

He watches me like I watch Camille when I tell her to stay away from me. He is loyal to El and there's nothing he won't do for her.

"Cami is not your mate, Dam-El, remember that."

"Why are you so loyal to El? I know what's it like but yours is over the top." I blurt it.

Dihipians are loyal subject to their royals and I know this because I'm one and I'm very loyal to my queen but there are some lines I won't cross, not even for the sake of loyalty.

Father sighs before answering. "I owe her so many things including my life and yours."

"Everyone owes her. Tough shit." I shrug.

We owe her for defending the realm from enemies. We owe her for kicking that enslaver Riga off the throne. We owe her for all the fight she's won for Di Hipsodat. I know this but I refuse to do all her bidding.

"This is different. I messed up once and I promised to spend the eternity making it up to her." He responds.

Now I get it, she has something on him.

"You got sloppy and she caught you?"

He shakes his head and chuckles sadly. "Not quite. Maybe I will tell you one day."

"I don't like the game you're playing and I hope you know what you're doing, father."

I can't say I know El more than my father because he watched her grown, but I know her and everything she's capable of. I shouldn't be telling my dad this, he knows since he's her right hand.

He nods, and gives me his piece. "I hope you think before taking your next step. She has your loyalty. Earth might have made you soft. Made you forget who you are but you didn't earn the name Dam-El by doubting her. You're changing son, she's changing you."

Yeah, I know. But that's a topic for another day.

"Need any help finding the intruder?" I offer.

He shakes his head and fly, taking his position in the middle of the events boxes. "No, I've got it."

"Okay, talk to you later."

I need to stay close to Camille, now more than ever because I see the new gemini boy she's hanging with. And he is not who he seems.