I felt her fear before I heard her screams.

The nightmare, snaking out to me, pulled me from my own sleep. It was all too familiar to me: the squeal of twisting metal, heat brushing her skin, the smells of iron and smoke. It was suffocating - images that had become part of my own intrinsic memory, though I barely remembered the moments myself.

I jolted out of bed, dark hair slick against my forehead. I had to pull the long strands away from where they wrapped, tangled around my neck and constricting my already labored breathing.

Lissa thrashed in her bed, caught in a whimper. I felt like lighting, flashing the distance between our beds for the million time, grabbing ahold of her shoulder.

"Liss," I begged, shaking her. "Liss, you have to wake up."

She let out a choked gasp. "Andre," she bemoaned. "Are you-"

"You aren't there anymore. You're here, with me. Just me," I corrected myself, moving myself under her as I felt her shaking lessen. "Please, just wake up."

Her eyes fluttered where her head was laid in my lap, breathing slowing as I ran my hand through her hair. Sleep loosened its grip on her and she desperately opened her eyes, straining to keep them open. As often as I woke her from these nightmares, I knew that she was afraid to close her eyes again afterwards, afraid that the images would be there waiting, carved into her eyelids.

"It's okay," I whispered to her, leaning forward to turn on the lamp, not that we needed much of its dim light with our eyesight. "Everything's okay. We aren't there."

Our housemate's cat, Oscar, crept into the room, leaping onto the bed beside Lissa. His eyes regarded me warily, as he always did – something about dhampirs set most animals off. She sat up, scooping him into his arms and swiveling until she sat cross-legged next to me, our arms barely brushing.

The glow of the lamp allowed me to see her face better, and I jolted to realization

"When did we last do a feeding?" Even in the low lighting, I could see how pale she was, paler than her natural fairness. With all our tests in school this week occupying my mind, I couldn't remember the last time she had taken blood. No wonder the nightmare had crept in – she looked exhausted beyond the lack of sleep - they always came more frequently in times of stress. "It's been, what three days? Why didn't you remind me?"

She shrugged, focused on Oscar in her lap. "We both had so much on our plate this week… I didn't want to—"

"Don't even say that," I interrupted, bumping into her shoulder in jest as I shifted into a more available position, trying to make light of the situation. Oscar leapt from her lap at my proximity, freeing her hands from their previous work scratching him. "Okay, let's do this."

"Rose, I don't—"

"Come on, " I almost teased, hushing her as I tossed my hair behind my shoulder. "It'll make you feel better."

She couldn't deny it. Once she saw my neck, the offer overwhelmed her protests. The hunger flashed in her eyes, her lips parting to expose the fangs Moroi naturally kept hidden, especially while living among humans, as we did.

During each of our feedings, especially the early ones, her fangs had struck me as out of place among the otherwise angel-like qualities of her face. Now, however, I locked into them with fervent focus, my heart racing in anticipation as they swarmed closer to my tender skin. I hated feeling this way, though I knew that the bliss of the bite would wash away any lingering fear that the feeling in my heart had turned to… well, desperation.

Her fangs pinched into me and I bit down a cry, hoping not to rouse our housemates beyond what they may have heard of Lissa's nightmare. The pain disappeared as soon as it came, and my mouth tumbled open into a sigh as a wave of deep, crimson bliss set my body alight. The high was unlike any other I had experienced – a weight of comfort and pleasure all in one, blanketing me in hope and unadulterated elation. I was floating, lost in the chemicals intrinsic to a Moroi's saliva, and I seemed to exist beyond my own body.

All too quickly, it was gone.

Lissa made clean work of it, running her thumb across her lips as she shoved a pillow behind me. "Are you okay, Rose?"

"Uh," I struggled to grasp the words, still riding the high's memories, and dizzy from the blood loss. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just need some sleep."

She was up in a heartbeat, pale jade eyes not leaving my own brown ones. "I'm going to grab you some electrolytes."

Though the real bliss of a Moroi bite was gone as soon as their lips left your skin, the memories felt tangible in my veins. I glanced over to Oscar where he sat on the windowsill and sighed, "If only you—" I couldn't form words yet, but I was awake enough to realize that the cat was laser-focused, watching something outside the way he watched, well, me.

Gingerly, I rose from the bed, smile wavering. Black dots flitted across my vision. I grabbed onto Lissa's nightstand, waiting for them to dissipate before peering into the darkness of night.

At three in the morning, our small college town was mostly settled asleep. Across the street, a flickering lamppost illuminated the only sign of life beyond our own home – a man gazing back into my own eyes.

I didn't need to know who the man was to know exactly why he was here. Oscar's reaction to him, wary and on edge, was a mirror to how he acted around me and a sharp contrast to the loving, docile kitten most people experienced him to be.

Adrenaline coursed through me as I fell out of sight of the window, pressing myself further into the room and grabbing for the jeans I had haphazardly thrown on the floor last night. In another second, I had one arm shoved in my coat, the other occupied shoving both Lissa and I's wallets in our emergency backpack – which we saved for moments like this.

I stumbled into the kitchen, where Lissa stood considering all the options in the pantry and our housemate, Jeremy, sat at the table, eyes deep in his book. I shoved Lissa's jacket into her arms, reaching to open and immediately chug the Gatorade that was placed next to her on the counter, presumably pulled out for me.

"Rose, you shouldn't -"

It seemed interrupting her was my pattern for the night. "Get some shoes on. We have to go Now."

She froze, registering my words before folding herself into the jacket and shoving her feet into the nearest pair of shoes. "You're sure?"

I nodded, glancing over to our ever-curious roommate. "What's wrong?" he asked.

The thought was easy. "Liss. Get his keys."

Without hesitating, she turned to him, trust pouring into the bond. She knew when to listen to me – I had already gotten us this far despite the relentless efforts of the world we'd escaped from.

"What are you talking about?" Jeremy was still baffled, glancing between us nervously until Lissa caught his eyes, holding them while she smiled warmly. I could feel the compulsion well up inside of her, a dim golden pulse.

"We need to take your car," she spoke, almost soothingly. "Can you get me your keys?"

His face slackened and I bit my lip. While few Moroi had such strong control over compulsion as Lissa, we had been taught our whole lives that using even what little you had of it was expressly immoral. As I stared at Jeremy, his body slack like a rag doll as he reached into his pocket and handed over his keychain, I understood why.

Lissa thanked him, unnecessarily. "Where is it parked?"

He gave us simple, clear instructions to his car. Four blocks away.

"Thank you, " she repeated, sliding the keys into my hands without breaking their eye contact. "We're going to leave but when we do, forget you ever saw us tonight. You studied all night."

Weak to her control, he nodded, gazing adoringly at her. The human lack of resistance was one of the reasons it was so easy to get a place in this townhouse to begin with.

"Let's go, Liss."

Outside, the rush of crisp air did little to help the woozy feeling in my head. A lingering effect of the bite, I stumbled every few steps. Lissa, already the slower one in our pair, did her best to keep me upright and guide me in the path I had nearly already forgotten.

Anxiety rippled between us, "Rose… what are we going to do if- if they catch us?"

"I won't let them," I said fiercely, feeling stronger every second, even if it was just psychosomatic. "They've found us before, but they didn't catch us then and they won't get us now. We'll drive to the train station. Get the first tickets out. Exit halfway to the destination and catch another. They'll lose the trail, we'll be fine."

That's how it had been for two years. We skipped from small town to small town, just under everyone's noses, trading schools and just trying to graduate. With one more year left, it seemed as if we were in the home stretch. Maybe this next destination could finally be the last.

We surged forward, but Lissa's ears perked up, sharper senses than my own. "Do you hear that?"

With only a short delay, I picked up on the footsteps, moving fast. We were only halfway to the car.

"Liss," I started, picking up my pace. "We have to run."

"You can't, Rose."

"Just run."

I pushed all my energy and willpower into the burst – my body still slow to the takeoff, working through the blood loss and the endorphins of her bite. Regardless, I urged my muscles to stop protesting, unsure if I was dragging Lissa or if she was the one leading me.

My eyes locked onto Jeremy's car ahead of us, just as the footfalls of our pursuers drew closer. We were so close –

So close, and a man stepped directly into our path. I skidded to a stop and jerked Lissa behind me, stopping her with my superior reflexes. Here he was. The man I had seen underneath the lamppost.

He was older than us, mid-twenties if the lighting was right. Stocky. He was built like, well, the Hulk. Around my height, maybe a hair shorter, and packing muscles that seemed to go above and beyond the usual dhampir standard.

I almost laughed.

But more people encircled us. Maybe ten or more guardians, more than enough for any royal event or teaching roster.

I backed further from the man who approached us, pulling Lissa tightly to myself. It had been a while since I had fought, just as long as we had been away, but I knew that, if it came down to it, I would go down swinging for my charge.

"Princess –"

"Don't talk to her," I growled, lashing out.

I was a fool. Even with full control of my body, I would have been a fool. Stepping forward to take on the real-life hulk was a mistake from the get-go. However, novice training necessitated that I focus on the biggest target outright – neutralize the greatest enemy. And this guy, stepping towards us, had hit a nerve.

The kick I jutted out towards him probably hurt me more than it did him, considering he brushed it aside like nothing. He likely hadn't meant to knock me off my feet completely, but my lack of practice coupled with my endorphin-induced lack of response time made me feel like ragdoll Jeremy, minutes that seemed like hours ago.

He caught my arm as I headed for the curb, saving me from a tough fall.

As I steadied myself, jerking away from him, the hair covering my neck slipped away. I saw his brows lift at the recognition in his eyes. It didn't take a genius to see what he saw – a blood whore.

I shifted my hair back over the sticky wound, backing into Lissa.

Her hand caught mine and she squeezed, strong emotions flaring up in the bond.

Decisiveness carried the lot.

Rose, I heard her clearly through the bond. It's over. It's time.

If only she could have known the consequences.