Hey guys! Hope you're all doing good. I'm pumped because it's almost spring and that's my favorite season! Just a few more days! I haven't been getting very many reviews lately but thanks to those of you who did: XOStarbrightXO, Miss Kaydence, Cookiedoodles168, and jess120 (who needs to stop making fun of my BFF's brother in her reviews). You guys are so great!

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The nightmares started the first night Cosmina got home. The same dream that had plagued her for years after she left Romania had returned with a vengeance as soon as she returned to Atlin. She had still suffered from the nightmares while at the palace but they were less frequent, sometimes only once or twice a month as opposed to the nightly terrors she had at home.

She hated going to bed and postponed it as long as possible every night, but no matter how exhausted she was the nightmares still came.

"Come on, Mina, it wasn't that bad," Crina poked her best friend in the side and gave her a smile as they got into the car.

"That movie was awful and you know it. We shouldn't have wasted our time," Cosmina countered.

Cosmina watched Crina roll her eyes in the rearview mirror before changing the subject. Crina could talk faster than anyone and it was one of the things Cosmina loved about her.

"You just ran a stop sign," Crina said, leaning forward between Cosmina and her boyfriend so that she was no longer in the backseat, "I don't know if I'm comfortable with you driving," she teased.

Without looking Cosmina knew he had rolled his eyes, "Relax, Crina, there's nobody out driving this late, but if you really want I'll make sure to stop at the next one and you can get out and walk home."

Crina stuck her tongue out but retreated to the backseat without another word.

Cosmina knew what would happen and wanted to scream at her best friend to get out of the car or at least put on her seat belt, but like always she couldn't form the words.

The car stopped at the next stop sign and Crina gave the driver a smug look. He pulled forward again, shaking his head at his friend.

"You're quiet," he turned to Cosmina, "Is everything okay?"

She could only nod, holding onto the dashboard as hard as she could, her eyes squeezed shut.

It's not real she told herself this is just a dream, it's not really happening.

"Mina?"

They were on a wider street now, going faster than they should have but he didn't think it mattered, they were the only car on the road.

"I know you didn't like the movie, but is there something more wrong?"

Cosmina shook her head, just wanting him to pay attention to the road.

"Look at me," he implored, and she did.

She knew what would happen but her blue eyes opened reflexively. He was staring at her, his eyes so open and full of love that it hurt. In that second, where he was focused on Cosmina and not driving, a car came speeding off of a side street and right toward them.

Cosmina was the only one who saw it, she opened her mouth to issue a warning, but it was too late.

The truck smashed into them, shattering the driver's side of the car. Glass was everywhere and Cosmina felt blood soaking into her shirt. It was hers and someone else's. Crina let out a mangled scream as she went flying and Cosmina mirrored the sound. Cosmina kept screaming, knowing there was nothing she could do. She was forced to sit and watch as Brandon's bright blue eyes bore into hers until the moment the life left them.

Cosmina shot up in bed, her throat aching from screaming. She panted for a minute, feeling her heart rushing. Finally she began to feel normal again. She took deep breaths, trying to convince herself that she was alright.

A soft knock sounded on her door and Cosmina didn't bother answering, knowing whichever one of her brothers was there would just come in anyway.

A minute later her door swung open, revealing her twin brother Fane. He always had an uncanny sense for when she was upset, although tonight he had probably heard her screaming.

"Are you okay, Mina?" he asked.

Wordlessly Cosmina shook her head.

The nightmares had always been bad for her, she had to relive losing Gabriel every time she closed her eyes, but they were so much worse now. Ever since returning home as a part of the Elite her dreams had changed. Now instead of what had really happened, Gabriel driving during the crash, it was always Brandon. She had to watch Brandon die every single night in her nightmare, just as she had watched Gabriel die in real life.

Fane crossed the room and sat down on the edge of her bed. He pulled Cosmina to him and rubbed her back soothingly.

"Was it the dream again?"

Cosmina nodded and turned to bury her face in her brother's shirt. He hugged her even tighter and Cosmina finally allowed herself to let the dream go and feel safe.

After a minutes Fane spoke, sounding worried, "I'd hoped that you being in the Selection would help stop the nightmares. I thought if you finally allowed yourself to move on from Gabriel then the nightmares would stop."

"They did," Cosmina whispered.

"What?"

"The nightmares about Gabriel stopped. Now it's Brandon. Every time the car crashes, it's Brandon that I watch die," she was still whispering and she couldn't look her brother in the eyes as she admitted it.

Cosmina wasn't sure what had brought on the change. Maybe it was Prince Matthew's death, making her think that losing Brandon was a real possibility, or maybe it was just being separated from Brandon. Whatever it was, Cosmina was finding it harder and harder to get a good night's sleep.

"Oh, Mina," her twin hugged her even tighter and pressed a kiss on the top of her head.

"Don't tell Decebel," she said to Fane, "you know how much he worries about me. I don't want to add to it. He already wanted me to drop out of the Selection and stay at home, this will just make him more determined."

"Maybe he has a point."

Cosmina shook her head, "I can't imagine dropping out of the Selection. It's been good for me and I've made some amazing friends. I care about Brandon too much to drop out like this."

"Is he really worth all this heartache, Cosmina?" her brother asked kindly.

"Yes, Fane, he is. Once you meet him, you'll see. He's really good for me. I can't wait for you to meet him tomorrow when he comes." Cosmina had been watching Brandon's progress across the country on the news and she couldn't wait until tomorrow night when he'd get to Atlin and she'd finally be able to see him again.

"Yeah, I'll be a whole lot better when I meet him than Decebel will be."

"You have to help me control him," Cosmina begged, "you know he's going to go crazy and try to act all protective, he'll make a total fool of himself."

"His fiancé has a much better chance of controlling him than I do. Have you asked her?"

Cosmina nodded, "Jennifer said she'll try, but it'll take all of us to keep him under control. Please say you'll help me."

"I'll help you if you promise to try and get some more sleep. You're going to have a long enough day tomorrow, you don't need to be exhausted on top of it."

The smile faded from Cosmina's face at the thought of falling back to sleep and reliving the dream again.

"I'm serious, Cosmina, at least try."

Cosmina pulled away from Fane but didn't lay down again.

"Do you want me to bring you something? Like warm milk or tea?"

Cosmina thought about the offer but shook her head, "Could you just stay here for a little bit? Just until I fall asleep."

Fane smiled, "Of course, little sister. I'll stay as long as you need me to."

"Thanks," Cosmina got back under her blankets and laid down. She felt Fane stand up but knew he wouldn't leave her, "I love you," she told him.

"Love you too," he said, "now go to sleep."

Cosmina sighed but closed her eyes, hoping that her nightmares were done for the night. She wished it were morning already. If it were morning she would be much closer to seeing Brandon again, plus she wouldn't have to worry about her nightmares anymore.

She felt Fane adjust the blanket on her and knew he was really worried. He was probably as tired as she was but he would never let it show. She vowed to fall asleep quickly so that he could leave.

Cosmina lay still for a few more minutes and felt exhaustion all over her body. She really was tired and there was no escaping it, so she finally relaxed and let sleep claim her.

Priya's life in the palace had gotten much more exciting once she was no longer part of the Selection. Because of Matthew's death she had been helping out Amelia with almost all aspects of the royal life. She had completely organized Brandon's schedule for visiting with the Elite and she was the one who had to check in on him every night and make sure things were going well wherever he was. Amelia had convinced Priya to help with things she had never dreamed of, like organizing Natalie and Brooklyn's public appearances and helping the Queen out with her philanthropy work. Priya was busy from dawn until dusk, but she wouldn't have it any other way.

She'd been super busy for weeks, but things were finally starting to get back to normal and Priya was able to take a day off. Brandon had been gone for five weeks and he still had another five to go before the Elite would come back and the palace would be thrown into chaos again. Priya was glad to have the break before she had to begin training the Elite and working with her friends on more of the political aspects of being a princess.

Priya had spent her day off with Natalie. They had gone shopping around Angeles and stopped in on several local businesses, raising awareness for helping the Illéan economy. They were photographed at several of their stops and Priya had no doubt the pictures would be all over the news the next day. With the Elite gone, the country was lacking in any royal gossip so an outing with a princess and former Selected was sure to get their attention.

"That was so fun," Nat exclaimed, sitting down on her bed and taking off her heels.

Priya nodded, "It was a great way to spend my day off."

"It's so nice to have you around the palace more," Natalie told her friend, "I like seeing you every day."

"Yeah," Priya smiled, "I feel like I've gotten closer to all of you because of it."

"I know we have," Nat said, "I'd be shocked if you've gotten closer to Ryan though. He's hardly spoken to anyone since Matt died. I tried to talk with him this morning and he wouldn't even listen to me. I'm worried about him, especially with Brandon being gone."

"You know, I haven't seen him in weeks, which is really unusual. When was the last time he ate dinner with everyone?"

Nat shook her head, "I can't even remember. He and dad got in a huge fight right before Brandon left and I've hardly seen him since. He says he just wants to be alone and my parents have been so busy lately I don't think they've even noticed how absent he's been."

"I hope he's okay," Priya said, thinking about the boy she'd grown up with and how out of character he'd been lately, "maybe I'll try talking to him later."

"You should," Nat said emphatically, "if there anyone he'll listen to, it's you."

Priya smiled, doubting shed have much luck if Natalie hadn't been able to get anything out of him.

"I'll do my best," Priya promised.

"Thanks, Priya, I know you'll be able to talk some sense into him."

"I hope so," Priya said as she left Natalie's room and headed down the hall to Ryan's. She knocked on the door and when there was no answer she pushed in.

Priya honestly hadn't expected Ryan to be in his room but she wanted to try it before she looked other places. When she was sure he wasn't there she headed outside. It was possible he was holed up somewhere in the palace, hidden where no one would ever look, but Priya didn't think so. She'd known Ryan almost her whole life and when he was upset he needed space and outside was where he'd go. Before she went out she stopped by the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of whiskey. If Ryan wasn't in the mood to talk at least he'd probably let her stay.

Priya walked through the gardens, not sure where he would be. He wasn't on any of the main paths and she was about to start looking through the side paths when she spotted the stables. She knew instantly that's where he was.

Priya had always loved horses and she couldn't count the number of times Ryan had accompanied her for rides around the grounds. He liked horses almost as much as she did and Priya knew that was where he had to be.

She slowly walked over to the stables and opened the door. Normally there were grooms or stablehands there but when she looked inside she didn't see anyone. The door swung shut behind her and Priya inhaled, letting the horsey smell wash over her.

She walked down the center aisle, admiring all the horses around her and stopping every so often to stroke one of them.

"Ryan?" she called softly, "I know you're here."

She continued her way through the stable, listening for any sound that Ryan was there.

"Come on, please talk to me."

She walked a few more feet before stopping and planting her feet, "I'm not leaving until you talk to me," she declared.

Her voice echoed but she stood her ground, knowing he was there.

"Why do you care, Priya?" Ryan called, "Don't you have something better to do than track me down?"

Priya looked around in the dim light and finally spotted Ryan sprawled out on a pile of hay in a corner. Normally the stable was kept cleaner than that so Priya had no doubt Ryan had taken apart the bale himself along with sending out all the stablehands.

"What are you doing out here? People are worried about you."

Ryan snorted, "Yeah, right. You're the first person who's actually wanted to speak with me in weeks. Nobody else even cares what I do. They just think I'm a screwup who's throwing my life away."

"Nobody thinks that," Priya said softly as she walked over and stood above Ryan.

"Really? Because those are almost the exact words my father used."

"What?" Priya dropped to the ground and sat on the hay next to Ryan, "He didn't."

"He did. When Brandon was leaving I offered to help my dad with things, because Matt- because he's not here to do it anymore. I thought it might be good to help my dad out in some of his meetings, especially since I've disappointed him so much over the last few years. Do you want to know what he did? He laughed in my face. He said there's no way I would want to be useful. If I went to those meetings I would just be in the way since I haven't really helped there before. Then he told me if I really wanted to be help I should just get lost, so you know what? That's exactly what I did." Ryan didn't even look at Priya as he spoke and she was scared that if she did anything he would stop speaking at all, "Except, I can't actually get lost because I don't know how to do anything!" He screamed the sentence and finally turned to Priya and his voice broke, "I don't know how to do anything. Growing up here everything was done for me and now that it's time for me to leave I can't because I'd just screw up that and make another mess for my father to clean up. I'm not going to prove him right."

"You're not a screwup," Priya told him softly, putting a hand on his arm and trying to get him to look at her.

"Aren't I? I've pretty much thrown away my life. I was such an idiot. I let my feelings for Annika screw things up and now nobody trusts me anymore. Ever since I refused a Selection my dad has hated me. It's been two years, shouldn't he let it go by now?"

"Ryan, it's not that simple. You really hurt him when you did that. You're the most like your dad out of your brothers, I think he expected you to be as excited as he was about a Selection, so when you refused it, it really hurt him."

"Well now I'm trying to make up for that and he doesn't care. Not one bit." Ryan looked near crying and Priya didn't know what to do. She'd never seen her friend that emotional before, but it didn't last long, "Don't let me monopolize the conversation. What's new with you, Priya?"

Priya spread her skirt out beneath her and leaned against the hay, unscrewing the top of the whiskey bottle and taking a swig before handing it to Ryan.

"I saw my mother today. I went to her office this morning before my shopping trip with Nat. She already knew about my promotion but I told her about some of the things I've been doing since Matt's death. She told me to quit."

Ryan's eyes widened but he remained silent, letting her finish.

"She thinks Amelia is taking advantage of me by having me do menial work. She thinks I should be more involved in the politics and that I should go back to my old job. She doesn't think I can handle training the Elite and being more of a diplomat, so she wants me to quit." Priya stayed silent, letting her words sink in before she whispered, "The worst part is I'm scared she's right. Every day I question whether or not I made the right choice and after speaking with her, I'm not sure I did."

Ryan took a long drink of whiskey before he answered her, "You did, Priya. I've never seen you work harder than right after Matt died. I don't think Amelia could have handled things without you. You've seriously done a great job and if your mom can't see that then you should stop worrying about what she thinks."

"You really think so?"

Ryan nodded and took another drink, "This is the part where you tell me not to worry about what my dad thinks and to just live my life."

Priya shook her head and took the bottle back from Ryan, "I don't think you should. You've been not caring what he thought for two years. If you're serious about wanting to help and showing him you've changed, then you need to do it. You can't go back to what wasn't working. You need to go back to the palace and keep offering help. He'll have to let you eventually and when he does you need to show him that you're serious. Maybe then he'll start trusting you with more things."

Ryan took in her words and nodded, "You're right, Priya. I just needed someone to make me realize that. Thanks."

Priya smiled and took another sip, "You're welcome. You know you can always talk to me, right. I can't even imagine what it's been like for your family, but I care about all of you. Whenever you need something, I'll be there for you."

Ryan pulled Priya to him and gave her a hug, "Thanks. I really need that right now. It's been hard. Matthew was the one I always went to. He was my older brother and now he's gone. He was the only person who really understood me, you know? I could go to him with anything and he had a way of making it better. Now, I don't have anyone. Natalie has you to talk with, Brook has Lorenzo, and Brandon has all of his Selected. I used to have Matt but not anymore, and I thought I found someone, but now she's gone too."

"Annika?" Priya asked softly, picking up on his words from before and who had hurt him.

"Actually no," Ryan told her, "it was someone else but I haven't seen her in weeks, and anyway I don't think she feels the same about me. She was here for Brandon."

"Ryan, don't tell me you like one of Brandon's Selected. That could be bad for both of you, you have to be careful."

"I know. And I know I shouldn't like her, but she's just so easy to talk with and I really just want to talk with her, especially since I haven't been speaking with my family much."

"You can't reach out to her," Priya warned, "until Brandon eliminates her you need to stay away from her."

"I know!" Ryan shouted, "I know I can't talk to her and I shouldn't even but thinking about her, but Priya you just don't understand. She's the only one who actually cares about me. She doesn't judge me and I know she'd be able to help me figure out this whole thing with my dad. I just wish I could talk with her."

"But you can't, Ryan. If anyone found out you'd be hurting her."

"I know. I can't talk with her," he thought for a minute, "but maybe you could."

"What?" Priya gasped.

"I can't call her, but what if I wrote her a letter. You could mail it out for me and put your name on the envelope. Nobody would know."

"I would know!"

"Come on, Priya, you said you wanted to help me."

"I want to help you, Ryan, not be arrested for treason."

"You won't be arrested, I'll make sure of it. I just need her to know I'm thinking about her, please Priya."

Priya looked at Ryan's earnest hazel eyes and sighed, "I'm going to regret this, aren't I?"

Ryan's smile lit up the dark stables and Priya felt her own mouth grin in response, "You won't, I promise."

Priya wasn't sure if it was the alcohol making her lose her common sense or just the fact that she'd never before seen Ryan so serious about something, but whatever it was it made her relent, "One letter, okay?"

Ryan grinned and snatched the bottle from her hand, downing the last of it, "One letter is all I need."

...

Alright, I would love to know what you thought of this chapter so leave me a review and let me know. Reading your reviews motivates me to write faster so the more I get the sooner I'll have a chapter out! Also, I've been thinking about when this story is over possibly making a series of one-shots set in this world with the characters. There's a poll up on my profile about it or you can just let me know what you think in the reviews. If you're not interested in reading it then I won't write it.

Thanks for reading!

~Jen