Chapter One
As I woke, I was hit with a blinding headache from not only the 5 drinks I consumed at the beginning of the flight but also from the glaring sunshine streaming through the aeroplane window. Not even the indulgence of a first class seat can help me escape the morning sun. Whilst rubbing my temple and contemplating a hair of the dog drink, I glance over to my right to see Jill, the reason for my sudden life uprooting, gently snoring. This delicate, innocent fifteen year old girl carries the weight of our ancient society on her shoulders and she hasn't even finished high school yet. Jill, or Princess Jillian Dragomir as she is known in Moroi society, is slowly waking from her light slumber. With her dishevelled hair and sleepy eyes, she turns to me and smiles. I know Jill feels eternally indebted to me and she will do whatever she can to make my life easier but I am wrecked with guilt knowing that she is feeling my hangover just as severely as I am. Our Moroi society is built around ancient Vampires and our elemental magic. Our magic is based on the four elements, Water, Fire, Earth and Wind but only recently it was discovered that a fifth type of magic existed and it just so happens that I was one of the lucky few who possess this magic. Spirit is a very powerful and dangerous magic that was still relatively new to our people and very few were actually aware of the powers we wielded. Of the few spirit users I associated with, we all had control over different skills within our magic. One of the few skills that we all had in common was our ability to heal. The ability to heal is a godsend for those injured around us but the power it takes to heal causes extreme backlash from the spirit. Most spirit users medicated themselves to deal with the spirit backlash, the darkness and turmoil that spirit causes in your mind always catches up with you. In extreme cases Spirit can be used to heal those on the brink of death or even those who have crossed over the line into death. The reason Jill feels indebted to me is the latter of the skills. At a recent royal engagement, the dissidents of our royal court attacked and Jill was target number one. Unfortunately the attack succeeded and Jill passed over into death. Without even thinking, I wielded more spirit than I knew I could touch and returned Jill to the land of the living. But this did not happen without repercussion. Jill and I were now destined to spend our lives bonded to one another. Jill saw into my mind, into my soul and into all my demons and in return she felt my highs, my lows and unfortunately for her at this moment, my hangovers. It is because of the bond that I was sent along on this adventure. In front of me sat Eddie Castile and Abe Mazur. Eddie was a Dhampir guardian and a loyal, brave and not to mention one of the most fierce dhampirs I had yet to come across. He was also one of the best friends of the girl who broke my heart, so seeing his face caused me constant and continual pain. Not to mention he is kind of a kiss arse. Eddie was commissioned by Queen Vasilisa Dragomir to protect Jill and keep her safe until her position at Royal Court was safe. Sat beside Eddie was Abe, another face to put towards the memory of my broke heart. Abe Mazur was an extremely powerful and feared Moroi, he orchestrated the escape and planned the hiding of Jill. Oh and not to mention, he was the father of Rose Hathaway, the aforementioned heartbreaker. I could barely blame Rose for breaking my heart, she was romantically entangled with the love of her life when we met and it was foolish of me to believe that I could ever earn a place in her heart. The only wrongdoing I could place upon Rose, was dragging me into the confusing and messy situation that is her love life. She is happy with her ridiculous Russian lover and I am here, landing in LAX hiding with a bunch of teenagers and a crooked old Moroi.
"She never meant to hurt you Adrian and you know that" I looked up to see Jill smiling at me from the side of her mouth. She could feel the ache in my heart and she knew that I was wallowing. Instead of dignifying her statement with a response, I pressed the call button and ordered another gin and tonic. Nursing my drink, I turned to look out into the sunlight, allowing the sun to illuminate my face, I closed my eyes and basked in the light. Behind the protective windows I could feel the beauty and warmth of the sun but wasn't weakened by its power. This sunshine is my future. Until Jill's position at court is safe, we will be living in Palm Springs and spend our days avoiding its constant heat and sun rays. I was glad Jill was alive but at this moment, this bond was just another nail in the coffin of my life.