A/N: Happy Early Thanksgiving! I hope you guys eat as much as you can and have a good one. Let's see, what I'm I the most thankful for? Having amazing people like you who love this story as much as I do, because I really put my all into it and it's truly apart of me now.

A thank you to my beautiful reviewers: RoxyPony, Ferretgirlsz, Amela333, Slytherin Queen 1.30 and StoleTheSpider.

Let's see, time for a bribe. If I get 30 reviews, I will update in two days! Let's see if you can do it.

Listening to "Haunted", "Enchanted" and "Story of Us" by Taylor Swift... yeah she's my favorite, you better know that by now!

"C'mon Darren!" I hissed, keeping my voice low trying not to have any stalagmite fall from the ceiling. I looked back checking my footing on the needles as we made our way through. My trials weren't for a while, but Kayden was relentless and I agreed with her when it came to the fact that I would need as much help and experience I could get. I winced as my flesh was sliced, I was sweating beyond belief, and it was hot in the practice tunnel. Each time a drop of sweat would slide from the bridge of my nose I would pause, hoping the small droplet wouldn't start an avalanche of stalagmite.

"Just come back down here!" Kayden called, I could hear her rolling her eyes from her tone.

"No!" I objected, as Darren started to backtrack, "We're going to finish!"

"Stop being stubborn and get your skinny ass-"

"You're losing too much blood up there, we need to seal your wounds!" Vanez informed us, cutting Kayden short.

"Come on, Ron." Darren spoke softly, calming me down in my newly found frustration. I took a deep breath and backtracked through what I liked to call the path of needles test course, and landed on the ground with a light thud, as I jumped from the entrance.

"You weren't gripping hard enough." I heard Vanez scold Darren from my spot of Kayden striding around me, examining my newly torn openings.

"It's like gripping onto a rod covered in WD-40!"

"That's why you must grip harder."

"But it hurts, I'll cut my hands to shreds if I-"

"Which would you prefer?" Vanez shot back, "Bloody hands, or a stalagmite through the heart?"

"That was a dumb question." Darren groaned.

"Well, you're going to be cut to shreds, so make peace with it now and stop crying about how you're never going to be able to play the piano again!"

"I can't play the piano anyways..." Darren sassed, looking over at me. I took in his appearance, it probably hadn't changed to anyone else, but I knew his every detail like the back of my hand. He was still lean, and slender, but more cut than he ever had been. I could see the muscles in his neck from what I guessed was him clenching his teeth, because his jaw was strong and distinct. Along with his arms which had to be my favorite part of his change, I liked his new strength, it made everything from his kisses, to his warm embraces a little more powerful. He was maybe to have aged a year but his eyes were aged a lifetime. They were tired, and stripped from all of their innocence that I took for granted. His hair fell onto his face as he examined the deep gashes on his palms, I couldn't help but smile when I saw the expression on his face. It was the same expression he had when something he planned went wrong, the same expression he had when for my 13th birthday he tried to surprise me by having balloons tied on my chair when I went into each one of my six classes. But each time I walked in, they were always tied to the seat next to mine, and he would have to go and untie the balloons from the partner seat and place them on mine, and had the same look on his face. Eyebrows pushed together, lips slightly pursed into a pout.

"Hello, earth to Ronnie!" Kayden waved a hand in front of my face, the other filled with herbs. She grabbed my hands and rubbed the herbs into the cuts. I sucked in air through my teeth, jerking my hands back.

"Ow Kayden, what is that?" I whined, holding my wrist.

"Quit being such a baby, it's to help you heal." She sighed, tugging my hands back and finally finishing by wrapping my hands with guaze.

"You're done for the day, go get something to eat." I heard Vanez dismiss Darren. My heart dropped to my stomach as Darren came behind me, swooping me from my feet and placing a couple of kisses on my neck. I turned around and frowned, running my fingers across the cuts on his faces.

"Ouch." He whispered. I raised my eyebrows, pulling my hand away quickly.

"I'm sorry," I apologized, a smirk appearing on my lips. I stood on the tips of my toes, lightly placing my lips on each cut before arriving at his lips, which greeted mine hungrily. He let out a playful growl lifting me up as I wrapped my legs around his waist, my giggles muffled by the kiss.

"Are you two done yet?" Kayden huffed, Darren set me down and I spun around quickly on the balls of my feet. It was easy to get distracted whenever he was around, and the world just was non-existent whenever I returned to the safety of his arms. I must have, no matter how impossible it may seem, forgotten about Kayden's presence.

It was nearing sunrise when we made our way to the dining hall. I smiled and felt a pinch of familiarity when I saw Cassie turned towards Evra, her eyes holding the same kind of love you saw when an old couple was walking down the street, unconditional, caring, kind and timeless. She was smiling brightly, grabbing pieces of bread from off the table, ripping off small pieces and pushing them into her mouth. We must have been a sight for sore eyes, as Darren, Kayden and I walked into the hall. The strong presence of the general being surrounded by limping, patched up, still bleeding half-vampires.

"What happened to you two?" Evra asked, raising a brow above his golden eyes.

"Looks like you got in a fight with one ANGRY cat." Cassie joked, her teeth showing as she peeked at the gashes under the gauze.

"Yea, more like trying to find a piece of hay in a needle stack." Darren laughed sarcastically.

"No, seriously." I finished, sitting down next to Cassie, Darren's hand lounging protectively on my thigh, showing his possession- well somewhat possession, to the male vampires around him.

"So, any news on that crazy vampaneze after you guys?" Kayden asked nonchalantly, passing me some bat broth and a mug of warm blood. Cassie shuddered, she wasn't used to seeing vampirism in the open, because when we were at the Cirque we went off and drank once everyone was asleep, instead of chugging blood out of mugs.

"Anastasia? No, Mr. Crepsley is talking to some of the princes to try and get something arranged, they're going to contact Mr. Tall and see what they can do." Evra sighed, the poor guy, Darren and I had gotten him into more trouble than he ever imagined he could get in. Darren and Evra began talking, jabbering on about things I had no interest honing in on, thankfully Kayden was right beside me in my distance.

"I really think you have a good chance of passing the trials. But this isn't training Kayden anymore, I'm your friend Kayden, so how are things holding up?" She smiled, quickly changing back into my sister figure instead of the single expressioned general that was barking orders at me, pushing me further than my limits. I instantly reddened when I saw someone step behind her, she frowned when she saw the quick change in my mood.

"What is it?" She asked, more annoyed than nervous.

"Kayden," Arrow started, placing a hand on her shoulder. I looked down at my broth, trying to stiffle a laugh when Kayden's eyes looked as though they would almost pop out of her head.

"Uhm, hello Sire." she greeted, getting up from her seat the fastest I have ever seen anyone move, vampire or human.

"Would you mind taking a walk with me? I need to speak with you." He invited.

"Of course."

Cassie rocked backwards on my bed, her legs folding out from their indian styled position and sprawling out on my bed. I didn't like sleeping in a coffin, or a hammock because of the fact that I moved a lot when I slept, so I would abruptly wake up in the middle of the night due to the contact of my face to the floor, and a coffin was too restricted. Thankfully Seba arranged getting me an amazing bed with a light canopy, that probably had the softest covers I had ever felt.

"I don't know how you do it." Cassie admitted, pressing a palm to her forehead.

"Do what?" It was cool having my best friend there, it felt as though we were in my tent at the Cirque Du Freak, when the only problem was Mr. Crepsley being on what we liked to call his man-period and yelling at me for no reason, or not having an outfit to wear for the next show. It was insane how my problems skyrocketed to another level of complication.

"Go through all of this stuff, it's like everyday you, or Darren are in some sort of peril."

"Mhm."

"I mean, if I had to watch Evra go through things that he may not survive, I don't think I could handle it! And thankfully you're not the typical damsel in distress." Cassie leaned up giving me a wink, I grinned before pushing a stray curl out of my face and resuming to speak,

"I just don't think there's any use getting worked up or worrying about something I have no control over. It'd just be a waste of time and energy that I could be focusing on somewhere else, you know? It's not like me doing or saying anything could possibly change or help the situation in any way."

"Exactly, it's surprising how you always know what to do."

"I don't half the time, honestly."

"Yes you do, or at least you're really good at faking it!"

"Well, you know me, I'm a great actress." I joked, Cassie just rolled her eyes. I missed our conversations, even though I could contact with her through my dreams, the connection was well- sketchy.

"But let's shimmy away from the sad situations, shall we?" Cassie offered, I nodded eagerly. "Who was that guy that Kayden got all nervous around today? She almost jumped out of her skin when she saw him!"

"Oh I know!" I gushed, "That's Arrow, he's a Vampire Prince."

"Dreamy," Cassie approved, "In a rough, bald, Kayden-suitable way."

"He totally has the hots for her, but she's a Vampire General, so she can't just go on and be flirty, their titles make things kind of difficult."

"But you've already started to figure a way to get around that, haven't you?"

"Cassandra Thompson, you know me too well. Am I really getting that predictable?"

"Oh boy, you're a clever one, you know that? I see that look in your eyes, when those gears start turning," Cassie had sat up and placed her finger on my forehead, "and sometimes, I get kind of nervous!"

"Oh hush up."

"So, you've seemed to have bonded with the new girl, am I correct?" Arrow asked, turning his head to look at Kayden. She felt as if though her tounge was swelled and she wouldn't be able to give him a direct answer. It was the invisible sweat, and clammy feeling of her palms, the feeling that she hadn't gotten since she was human- gods know how long that was, and on a date with one of the local boys, that had her so infatuated with Arrow.

"Yes, you could say that." Kayden smiled to herself, Ronnie and Kayden had gotten along better than she had expected. Whenever something was wrong Ronnie was the first one at her door, with something in hand that would instantly make her feel better. The young half-vampire was unpredictable and Kayden loved how easily excited the girl would get, and of course a wit that matched hers.

"And her and the other boy, they're mates?" Arrow prodded, leaning against one of the cave walls in the perfect position that showed his tattoos and cuts of muscles, causing Kayden to swoon silently.

"Basically" Kayden nodded.

"That could be very dangerous," Arrow shook his head, looking down at the ground, "If something happened to one of them, the other could go into total mental breakdown. It's not always good when you're that dependent on someone."

"Yes," Kayden agreed, "But you have to understand they were turned together. So it's obvious that they were each other's support, I've never seen two people so deeply passionate, crazy, confident and committed to eachother-"

"-that's exactly what could be dangerous."

"Come on, Sire you can't tell me you don't admire that in two people that are so young." Kayden tried her hardest to not step her boundaries, "don't you ever want that love again?"

"I think I may be starting to believe that I will have it." He smiled slightly, and causing Kayden to die a little inside, his eyes were honest and caring and she couldn't believe what he had just said.

"But, the prophecy Desmond has presented to us is a distinct one. We have kept it from Larten, due to Tiny's orders and you must keep to your position and not speak this to anyone. But the girl may go stray from the path of light, there's a darkness in her, that could be easily brought out by rage and start a wildfire for both the plans and well, if a certain chain of events is set off and that happens" he paused, trying to pick his worlds carefully "I don't know how to say this-"

"-What is it, Sire?" Kayden pushed eagerly.

"You'll have to kill her."