Noah's plan to starve me of blood quickly went south.

Over the previous days, Marianno and I had come to the conclusion that I only needed a small amount of the disgusting red liquid to function, compared to vampires. The second day after Noah cut off my blood supply, however, I woke up on the wrong side of Arthur's bed.

I sat up and glared at the annoying bright lights coming in through the window.

"Why in the world did we not close the curtains?"

Arthur, already up and about, raised his brow from where he stood in the door of his closet. "Cheerful this morning, are we not?"

I flipped him off, pushed off the covers and rose. I already felt an itch in my throat. Knowing the reason for it only made me more irritated. I didn't like being dependent on anything, let alone blood.

"I just know today is going to be absolutely terrific," I mumbled.

"It's going to be as bad as you believe it will be," Arthur said. "Starting out the day with a negative mindset will certainly not help."

I glared at him. "You're being a little too reasonable for me, this morning. Just let me brood in peace."

He chuckled and came closer. He was already dressed in an immaculate suit. He looked good enough to eat.

"Why are you all dressed up?" I asked.

"Today will be judgement day for the people involved in the gate scheme," he said. My scowl deepened. I didn't want him to go there alone. Other than the obvious female attention he would be getting looking like that, he was still under threats from his enemies.

"Everything will be fine," he said, tugging on a lock of my hair. The blond strands were wild and untamed this morning. He rubbed the strands between his fingers with a fascinated expression.

"What's with you and hair?" I asked, pulling my hair away. He grabbed the lock again and looked at it with a small smile.

"Just your hair," he said. "Some time ago, cloth of gold was a trendy fabric for royalty and nobility. I used to love watching the process of weaving gold. Your hair reminds me of that. Spun gold."

I raised my brow, though I could feel heat crawling up my neck. "You're being very flattering this morning."

He grinned. "Just remember my sweet words when the urge to attack Charles hits you."

My mood was considerably better after Arthur's teasing. I had a big breakfast, but no matter how much water I drank, there was just an odd thirst that refused to be quenched.

It was still bearable. So when Noah announced we'd be taking a long run in the woods with Charles, my mood did not sink that much. Thankfully, Amanda tagged along.

Arthur's words did somehow prove to be prophetic, however.

After about twenty minutes of full on sprinting, my breathing turned heavy and my thirst intensified no matter how much water I chugged.

"You're slow," Charles said, falling into step beside me. He had been ahead of Amanda and I, right next to Noah.

I didn't glance at him. We were deep in the forest, way out of the perimeter of Arthur's house. The golden canopy of trees above us held every shade of autumn, and the wind was icy despite the bright sun shining through the branches.

"Charles, don't start again," Amanda said.

"What? I can't even speak to her, now?" he asked.

"You're spoiling for a fight," Amanda said, slowing her steps. "You better not start anything."

"I don't take orders from you," Charles snarled. I looked at him, wide eyed. He wasn't speaking to Amanda that way, was he?

"Watch your mouth, kid," Amanda said, stopping. Her eyes had turned an icy color, turning her into a haunting beauty.

"Or what?" Charles asked, his eyes alight with anger, standing right in front of Amanda. "You've been defending her like she's one of us ever since she came!"

"Hey!" I said, moving towards them. Noah was nowhere to be seen. He must have gone ahead. "Stop it. Your problem is with me, Charles. Leave Amanda alone."

He didn't even look at me. "If Arthur gets hurt because of her, you're responsible for it."

"Stop being ridiculous!" Amanda said, jabbing a finger in his chest. "Arthur already explained things to you. She's part of Arthur's life from now on. You're being stupidly sensitive about everything related to her and it makes you look like a jealous little boy!"

SLAP.

Numb, I stared at Amanda in shock. Her hand cradled her cheek and her blonde hair covered her face. He just slapped her.

Charles just slapped her.

Before the thought fully registered in my brain, my knife was sailing through the air. Charles cursed, getting his face away just in time. Yet the knife still managed to graze his cheek, drawing blood.

I didn't linger on the scent of blood or how it made me crave a taste. All I felt was the ugly anger that bubbled in the pit of my stomach. It rose to burn my chest and narrow my vision.

How dare he! How dare he hit her?!

Charles turned my way, holding his hands up. My fist landed on his lips before he could utter a word.

"You asshole!" I snarled, aiming another fist his way.

He dodged. "Calm down, Elle!"

"Calm down!" I asked, kicking his left knee. He jumped away. "What the fùck to do you mean, calm down?!"

"If you'll just listen-"

I launched into a relentless attack of fists and kicks. The fact that he did not retaliate did not escape me, yet I could not stop to think about the reason why. All I could think of was him hurting Amanda. I loved Amanda. She should not be hurt. My anger was a river, and Charles' voice was the rain that made it swell. Amanda's voice was lost in the background.

Wind whistled past my ears as I faked a left jab then landed an uppercut. I was faster than usual. I could see Charles' every move, every rise and fall of his chest. I could hear his breathing and the rush of his blood. I could smell his sweat and the sweet tang of his blood. I could almost taste it.

All my senses were attuned to Charles. Just like a wolf's razor sharp focus on its prey.

The thrill of the fight clouded my brain, fanning the flames of my anger. Charles' throat glistened with sweat as he dodged my attacks left and right. My gums ached. The reason for the fight escaped my mind.

Then I lost it.

A relentless urge took over all my senses. It was as if I was watching myself act, with no control over what my body did. There was this incessant need that didn't abate. It drove my movements with growing fury.

Until I was latching onto Charles like a monkey, my teeth buried in his neck.

The taste of blood overwhelmed my senses. I blacked out.

When I was aware again, I was on my back on the ground, Noah hovering over me. He was holding my wrists together over my head, sitting on my legs.

His lips shaped words I couldn't understand. The edge of my vision was a red haze that threatened to swallow everything in sight.

I was struggling against his hold. To do what? I didn't know. I was detached from reality, feeling my limbs move like a stranger's, in a place where nothing made sense anymore.

A piercing emotion reached through the murky waves blanketing my mind. I gasped, falling in and out of consciousness. The emotion got stronger and more coherent to my jumbled mind. Faintly, I recognized the tightness in my chest as panic. Yet it wasn't mine.

Arthur.

The name beat down the limbs of insanity tugging me underwater. It pulled at the strings of memory. Dark eyes. Golden skin. A dimpled smile and a warm embrace. The face broke through the madness. Through blurred vision, Arthur's face melded with Noah's.

Slowly, my senses came back. Noah's words cleared out.

"Fight it, Elle," Noah said. "Fight it, come on. You're stronger than this."

Snarling. There was a loud snarling echoing around us. Like the sounds that crazed beast might make. I realized it was me. My chest was trembling with the force of it.

With colossal effort, I made myself stop. It was like trying to push a mountain with my bare arms.

Then I became aware of my body trying to fight off Noah's hold. His grip on my wrists was bruising, because I was trying to fight it off. A deep breath. I forced my muscles to relax. My entire body gave a strong jolt, then I went limp.

The scent of blood was in every breath I took, its taste a heavenly aroma whetting my thirst. I needed more of it. I needed-

"Elle?" Noah said.

"I'm fine." My voice came out as a croak. Noah's scarred face came into focus. The blue sky peeked through the tree leaves behind him.

He let go of me. Instantly, I closed my eyes and curled into myself, hugging my knees. It was difficult to keep my mind off the taste and smell of blood.

"Is she alright?" Charles asked.

His voice made the beast lurch against the chains inside of me. I made a gurgling sound and tightened my arms around myself. Keeping myself still was the most difficult thing I'd ever done. My muscles spasmed, revolting against my orders to stay put.

My magic was a quivering energy rushing through my veins. It felt incredibly strong, like I could set fire to the entire continent. But it was confused, shaking. There was danger, but it didn't know where it was. It didn't know how to protect me.

The danger was inside of me, however, and only I could keep it in check.

Noah replied to Charles. The ringing in my ears and the pressure inside my head increased the longer I resisted the urge to unfurl and attack the closest person. My brain was going to turn into mush.

"Go away," I said. It came out as gargled words. My magic rushed forward. I barely kept it from exploding out of my skin. the pressure in my head increased. "Go away!"

Amanda, Charles and Noah were still there. I could hear their heartbeats clearer and louder than their voices. My entire body shook. My mind was threatening to blank again. I growled, holding onto the last vestiges of self-control by a flimsy thread.

My mind blanked out.

When I woke up, I was crouching, my vision edged in red. Noah, Charles and Amanda stood in a half circle in front of me. I tasted my own blood.

"Go away!" I cried. It was so difficult to keep myself still, to not move forward, I was shaking with the urge.

My magic threatened to flare again.

No, no, no. I couldn't lose control. I couldn't hurt them. My ears rang.

Chest tight, my hand crept down to my thigh sheath. With a shaky hand, I pulled the blade and held it against my chest. The pointed tip aligned with my heart. I had to put an end to it.

The three moved forward as one. My magic ran loose. Horrified, I pulled it inside, but it didn't listen.

So instead of trying to pull the flames in, I guided them upward, until all I could see around me was a blue spiral of fire shooting skyward.

The blue was edged in red. Whether it was my vision or the flames themselves, I didn't know.

My clothes burned. The fire did not hurt me, but the blade pointed to my chest felt like molten lava against my skin. The pain was a welcome respite.

A sharp emotion broke through the fog in my head, once again. I paused the painfully slow knife in its trek to my heart.

As my flames filled the sky and my brain struggled to stay in control, the emotions grew stronger and stronger, bringing with them a resemblance of reason.

Like wind, Arthur's strong presence through the bond blew out the fog of insanity until my body gave a final jerk and I dropped to my knees.

I blinked. My vision was a perfect blue, no longer tinged in red. Air left my lungs in a loud whoosh. The ringing in my ears lessened, and my brain no longer felt like it was being squeezed by a clamp.

Then a shadow walked through the blue. The familiar big frame walked into the flames. Scared for him, I wanted to suck the magic inside but my power failed me. It took all I had to just keep it contained and pointing upward, I couldn't suck it back in.

Arthur closed the distance between us. The flames didn't hurt him. Numb, I stared as his clothes disintegrated. He crouched beside me, his face through the layer of blue recognizable and his hair dancing in the fire.

His hand closed on mine. My fist was closed near my heart. The blade had disintegrated and my empty fist rested on my bleeding chest. I had broken through the skin there.

He removed my hand from my chest and closed his arms around me. Disapproval, anger and concern flowed through the bond, and beneath it all was a roiling sea of darkness that threatened to ruin the world. But I was too relieved to have Arthur nearby. If anyone could keep me from hurting others, he could.

I closed my eyes. Minutes later, my magic slowly retreated until I could no longer feel the flames outside my body. The energy was safely tucked in, no longer confused or uneasy.

Safe. We were safe.

I didn't lose consciousness, thank goodness. If anything, my mind was getting clearer, clearer than it had been ever since I cut off blood.

As the heat from my flames died down, I became increasingly aware of the fact that both of us were butt naked. I buried my face in his neck, keeping my eyes closed.

"We're not decent," was the first thing I mumbled. Arthur did not utter a word, a few seconds later, a blanket was wrapped around my shoulders. I had no time to think where it came from. Arthur rose with me in his arms. I opened my eyes.

"Put me down, I can walk," I said. He hesitated. I met his eyes and sucked in a breath. They were completely black. A vein throbbed in his temple, and his magic tightened around us in a thick layer, as if daring the world to come close.

"I can walk," I repeated. He stared me down. If he thought he'd scare me into letting him carry me, he had another thing coming. "Put me down."

His handsome face remained immovable, but his left eye twitched. Slowly, he put me on my feet and left his hands around my waist while I tested my legs. Yep. Still working.

I took a step away and looked around. Amanda, Charles and Noah were nowhere to be found. Worry, guilt, shame twisted an ugly knot in my guts. I had lost it. I had hurt Charles.

My heart threatened to go haywire. The last thing I needed was an anxiety attack right now.

Shoulders tight, I took a step away from Arthur. A glance down made me realize he was still naked.

"Would you put something on," I grumbled, walking towards the house on shaky legs. The earth around where I'd stood moments before was razed clean of plants, even the dirt looked scorched. I glanced up. Hopefully, no birds had been harmed when I'd redirected my fire upward.

Arthur walked quietly beside me. This silence was loaded.

I was calmer now, it was as if the earlier episode was a bad dream. I could hardly believe it had actually happened.

"Is Charles alright?" I asked after a few moments. He didn't reply. His anger through the bond said it all. Tightening my hand on the blanket, I tried to keep my face blank and my end of the bond from seeping any emotion.

I would get angry, too, if someone I cared about had almost had their throat torn apart. Arthur cared about Charles a great deal, he was almost a son to him.

Shame tightened my throat. It was difficult to keep my head up with the weight of what could have happened sitting heavily on my chest. I hoped Charles was okay.

He had slapped Amanda. Even now, the thought made me bristle. But I kept my anger in check. If anything, Amanda was the one who would want to do the honors and teach him a lesson. And Harvey. I didn't think Charles would go unpunished. Yet something felt off, now that the edge of blood lust and anger dulled. It was very off character for Charles to hurt Amanda, even odder that Amanda had actually allowed him to land a slap in the first place.

The house appeared through the trees. We hadn't met a single person on the way, even the security details who'd been scattered through the woods earlier were nowhere to be seen.

Inside the house was the same, there was no staff in sight, no sign of Amanda or Charles or Noah. Where in the world was everyone?

The door opened to Arthur's room before we even reached it. Arthur's telekinetic magic was thick in the air. It was almost visible. A mirage-like energy that warped everything in sight.

At the sight of the bed, my bones suddenly weighed a ton. I sat down, still holding the blanket around me. Then I realized that this was the same blanket with which I had covered myself the night before. How in the word did Arthur manage to get it all the way from this room. The amount of magic and control that would take was unbelievable.

Arthur disappeared into the closet. Five seconds later, he emerged wearing a pair of sweatpants and nothing else. I kept my attention away from his face, unable to face the disapproval and anger.

And just when had I started caring about his opinion? To the point where I felt a sharp pain in my heart at the idea of hurting him or someone he cared about?

The fact that I was in the wrong only made my heart hurt further. I had screwed up. Big time. And I was adult enough to admit it.

"I'm sorry," I said, looking away. He didn't say anything for the longest time, and with every second of his silence my heart chipped a little more.

"What are you sorry for?" he asked, his voice low and gravely, as if it took a great deal of effort to get the words out.

I sighed. "What do you think I'm sorry for?" I grumbled. He didn't have to rub my nose in it. "I almost tore Charles' throat out, I just..."

I shook my head. Remembering the earlier haze I'd been in made my heart kick up its pace again. I took deep breaths.

Arthur crouched in front of me, his hands on the bed on either side of me.

"Look at me," he said.

I pursed my lips and stared at his chin.

"Look at me," he ordered again, in that tone which left no doubt he expected total obedience. It irritated me.

"Don't talk to me like that," I snapped at his chin. "I know you're angry, and you have the right to be, but don't talk to-"

"Why am I angry?" he asked.

I wanted to growl. "Because I hurt Charles. Why else would you be angry?"

He made a frustrated sound deep in his throat, his hands fisted the sheets. "Damn you, Elle. Charles can handle you just fine, blood lust or not. That little scratch you put on him won't slow him down, especially since he was expecting it."

Expecting it?

"Wait," I shook my head, finally meeting his black eyes. "Why the hell are you angry, then?"

His lips lifted in a silent snarl. With a sharp tug, his hand pulled the blanket covering my chest to reveal the scar from the silver knife.

"You hurt yourself, damn it," he growled, his magic lashing out. The walls shook under the force of it. My skin pebbled. "And you were about to do much worse if I hadn't showed up."

I stared at the tender pink spot on my chest and swallowed. He was right. If he hadn't showed up...

"And you're wondering why I'm angry?" he continued. I didn't think I had ever seen him so pissed off. "You promised me."

I tugged the blanket back over myself. "I-"

But there were no words. No excuse was good enough. I had promised him. I never took my promises lightly, the fact that I was only half sane was no excuse, especially since the sane part of me was the one that had made the decision to drive the blade through my heart. At the time, it had seemed like the only way out.

So I met his eyes and said the only thing I could, and should, in that situation, "I'm sorry."

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