Hi! A new chapter's here! It's also a bit shorter than the others because I had like a really long chapter, so i decided to post it in two parts. The second part is already finished and comming up soon. Oh, thank you for the FIVE new reviews! You guys make me so happy! Please, keep up with that! :D As always, there are spoilers, it all belongs to Richelle Mead. And I'm sorry for the mistakes I probably made. So – enjoy and please keep reviewing!

Our bedtime at Court was always late, and when Eddie finally completely moved to my room, it was way past it. Which was no wonder, since we already came in the middle of the night. We both showered quickly and then headed to bed.
Of course I couldn't sleep with him in my room. I was too nervous, even when his breathing became calm and slow. I went to bathroom for like ten times and then started with midnigt snacks from the mini fridge, glancing at Eddie's peaceful expression every time. He looked like a sleeping angel.
Then I finally settled in bed and tried to calm down.
"I can't sleep," I finally said out loud after a few more minutes.
"Yeah, me neither."
I jumped up alarmed. I didn't expect a response. Eddie was acting like he's asleep for the whole time I was all over the room.
"Is it because of me?" I asked with guilt starting to choke me. "No, of course not. I can normally sleep in whatever conditions. But right now..."
"Yeah, I know what you mean." I paused for a second. "Hey, did you realise they really are all coupled up now? Except for... Well... Us, of course?"
He nodded, so we started to talk and didn't sleep for the rest of the night. Then I heard stepps in the hallway.
"It's 6 am," Eddie said suprised. "Oh. Um... We should probably get some sleep as long as we can," I told him. He nodded and turned around in bed, so that I could see his back. I shrugged and did the same. But it still took me a while to fall asleep.
Knocking on the door woke me up. "Go open up..." I murmured with a sleepy voice still half dreaming. But when I opened my eyes, I noticed that Eddie was already dressed and that it was dark outside. It was in the middle of the day.
"What time is it?" I asked.
"10 am," Eddie told me and opened the door. It was Rose. "We're going out," she told us. "You two comming? Or you want some more alone time?"
Eddie rolled his eyes and laughed and I quickly got up blushing.
Wait. Was it okay he just laughed? Should he be embarrassed too? Was he too close to Rose? Was Rose dangerous?
For god's sake, Jill, relax, I told myself. Rose was just his good friend. And also mine. And she was in a serious relationship with Dimitri whom she was gead over heels in love with.
Maybe I had some problems with jelousy lately.
"We're comming," I told Rose. She smiled and left. I glanced at Eddie, grabbed some clothes (including a bikini of course) and ran to the bathroom.
When I saw my reflection in the mirror it honestly freaked me out. I even shrieked quietly. My curls were almost bigger than me and my eyes looked like I was having an awful hangover. I knew how that looks. Not from my own experience.
In moments like that I was sure I know why Eddie didn't want to be with me. He wasn't even in love with me. I mean, why would he be?
Then a flashback from a few hours ago hit me. I was laying in bed with my eyes closed, trying to sleep. Then I looked at Eddie. He was looking at me with such a warm expression on his face, such admiration, such love. I knew. He loved me just as much as I loved him.
But why did things have to be so complicated?
I sighed and reached for my toothbrush. Then I got dressed, washed my face and brushed my hair. After a few seconds of staring at mayself in the mirror I decided I look fine and left the bathroom.
Eddie was already beach ready in the room. I took a deep breath. He was seriously working the whole shirtless thing. It probably came from all the working out and training he had as a guardian. It didn't matter, although. He still looked smoking hot.
It was already 11 am when I got out. I didn't realise how long I took. "You think they're still waiting for us?" I asked Eddie. He shook his head.
"They called earlier. They're already at the beach."
They really were. It wasn't until we got there when I realised how many of us there really were, especially since Olive joined the group. We occupied half of the hotel beach.
"Damn it, we look like a camp, people!" I yelled down the shore. Adrian waved at me from a few feet away. I pulled my clothes off and stayed in the bikini like others.
The bond told me Adrian loved that. Sydney was leaning on his chest and they were both even more relaxed than at Court. It even felt great for me, feeling how they were enjoying the warmth.
There was no sun, of course. We were still on the night schedule. Comming from Palm Springs, I honestly kind of missed it.
And, hm, back at Court my first association for vacation was Eddie rubbing sunscream on my back. I should've thought of the fact that I wouldn't need it at night. It was a good thing I was Moroi. It meant I could see well at night. Almost as well as during the day.
After I placed my towel next to Eddie's on the sand, I closed my eyes and went back to sweet, sweet dreams.
"Hey, let's go down the shore for a walk. I wanna see if there's anything down there. I think there is," a familiar voice said, but I couldn't tell who it was. I couldn't even tell if it was real or a dream, I was still too sleepy.
That is, until the voice's owner kicked me.
"Ouch! What was that for?" I exclaimed opening my eyes. Angeline's blue ones were staring at me. She looked mad, but her expression soothed when she saw mine.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you or something. You're okay, right? I just hate it when people ignore me," she sighed and gave me an apologetic smile.
"I'm fine. And," I told her, "Don't blame the people who ignore you because they're a sleep." She smiled.
"Angeline, what do you think you're doing? Jill's your charge! You protect her, not hurt her! PROTECT! P-R-O-T-E-C-T! I should've knocked you down for this!" exclaimed Eddie. He, as always when he assumed I was in danger, appeared out of nowhere. I thought he was also asleep. Well, if he was, I knew he wasn't gonna fall back to sleep soon, because he was pissed off. His eyes were burning with rage, and I was all over it. I probably shouldn't have liked it, but I kind of did.
"Oh, relax. She didn't mean any harm. Also, it proves how prepared she is to face an enemy," I pointed out. He was about to say something else, but I turned back to Angeline, ignoring him on purpose, even though it was totally hot what he was doing. I was kind of playing with him.
"So, Angeline? What did you even ask that was so important?"
"I said," she rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed about repeating herself, "Let's go down the shore for a walk. To explore a little more, since we didn't yesterday."
Ouf, I felt kind of bad about that. She was forced (I sure said she didn't have to, but it was obvious that everyone did it) to get inside because of my fallout, when all she wanted to do was have some fun. That was actually what all of us wanted. That was the reason we were having this vacation.
"Let's go," I told her with a geniue smile. "Eddie, you comming?" He smiled too.
"Do I have a choice?"
"No, not really."
"Thanks, guys!" said Angeline and hugged first me, then Trey, who'd been standing on the side during the whole thing. At least he got his part now. It wasn't just a hug. What I'd learned in the past months with Angeline, was that it was all or nothing with her.
"Hey, what's that about?" Adrian asked. Sydney rolled her eyes with a smile. "They're going on a walk."
Without any further conversation they joined us. Sometimes it was like they had a bond too. Well, they probably did, but not like mine at all.
After walking for a little while I noticed a bunch of boats in the water with a sign above them. I stepped closer to read it.
"Look, rent a boat. I wish I could drive one," I sighed. I already saw myself driving a boat with my awkward skills... Nope. Not a good idea. I'd kill someone. But I loved water. It was the element I'd specialised in.
"I can drive a boat," Eddie told me. Of course he could. It didn't seem right that he couldn't. But it still made him just more perfect in my eyes. Him driving a boat... and me on it. That seemed like a good idea. One we should definetly try out.
"Lets rent one! I can use my family bank account!" I said excited. "I don't know," he replied and shook his head. He had that strict guardian look that meant he thought I could get hurt.
"Oh, come on! What could happen? You know you want it too!" I begged. I gave him that innocent look of a poor little girl who doesn't ever get to have any fun because she's a princess. I did it because I knew he couldn't refuse anything when he saw it. He felt too sorry for me.
"Fine," he sighed. But I could see he was happy about it too. His face softened. He DID want to go! I knew him so well. I knew he wanted to have some fun too.
I cheered in excitment about my victory and wrapped my arms around him. He chuckled and pulled me a bit closer.
"Awww." That was Adrian's voice in my head. It was frustrating, someone else in your brain. Sometimes the bond just annoyed me. He did that on purpose. He liked teasing me like that. No other girl had that kind of problem. Being teased directly into her head. Well, maybe it was still better than if anyone but me heard it.
Then I realised I'm hugging Eddie. He was hugging me back, of course. It was nice to feel his hands on my back, like we were meant to be like this.
But I couldn't just hug him like that in public!
I let go and took a step back, but couldn't take my look away from his gorgeous eyes. His gaze was locked on mine too. There was some tension between us. I was shibbering. Things like that happened all the time and it was getting more and more awkward.
My look slidd from his eyes down to his lips and I took a breath trying to calm down before I could-
"I wanna go too!" Angeline's voice broke the silence. Great, I thought. I almost groaned in dissapproval, but then I realised it was just because I was about to lose my alone time with Eddie. Like I didn't have enough of that in the room that we shared.
I blushed uncontrolabley. Luckily no one noticed. What was up with the whole jelousy thing lately?
"I can drive it," Trey smiled. "Then let's go too!" Angeline shrieked. "Umm... we're broke. We can't," Trey replied, obviously dissapointed he had to let her down, even though he was pretty good at trying to hide it. Angeline didn't do so well. Her face fell and she looked like she was about to burst into tears.
"I'll pay. I've got enough money," I offered. "Really?" Angeline breathed. I nodded. I was feeling kinda generous. And guilty because I was against them having a good time at first. I mean, they were getting their own boat anyway.
Angeline jumped up and hugged me and Trey (again). It seemed to be a hugging day.
We got into the boats after I paid to their owner. I rented them for two hours.
Angeline and Trey didn't exactly get far because they were making out all along, but Eddie and I had the time of our lives.
He took my advice from the plane and completely relaxed. Things weren't even awkward. He looked like a god, or as Sydney would say, an anthic statue. His hair was floating in the wind, making it looked like gold. His warm brown eyes were shining like in those rare moments that were honestly my favorite kind in the world because I could see he was happy. His tanned skin - that came from being allowed to be on the sun - made him look like a model from a magazine cover. I'd totally buy that kind of magazine.
I wanted to kiss him the whole time, but I held myself. I knew I'd just ruin everything. We had so much fun without making a scene from a chick flick.
"We should buy one of these things!" I yelled over the wind. He wouldn't hear me otherwise, even though he was only a few inches away, which I was perfectly aware of the whole time we were on the boat.
Eddie laughed. "This one will do!"
We really got a great one. The brand was called Elan, which Eddie commented as a high quality boat. I've honestly never heard of it, but I also had no idea about boats. It suprised me a bit that Eddie did.
I could, although, admitt it was a gorgeous boat. I loved it. It was metalic gray with black stripes and looked like a Ferarri in the boat categoria. It was also astonishingly comfortabe with white leather seats, but it wouldn't be too hot in it during the day because it had a moving roof. I'd buy it anytime.
And my driver sure loved it. The way he touched the turning wheel reminded me of the way Sydney treated Adrian's mustang. This boat seemed to be the perfect way to spend time for both of us.
"I could buy it, you know! If the owner would let me!"
Eddie looked at me suprised and slowed down, so the engine went a bit more quiet, back to the point where we could normaly talk.
"Jill, you can't just buy a boat. I mean... Sure you can, theoretically, but do you really need one?" His eyes weren't shining anymore, he looked concerned. It was true, I was acting a bit out of my mind lately, but it wasn't that bad... Right?
"I didn't say I need one, I just saw how happy you were and how much fun we were having." He was still looking at me with that shadow on his face, even though his expression softened a little bit. I sighed and contined: "Look, all the royals buy stuff they don't need. We'd use this thing every time we'd be here, you know? Like this time."
His face became really... Weird, especially when I mentioned the royals.
"Jill, I'm worried about you, you know. First that thing in the lobby, don't think I didn't notice. It was actually a very good idea, but definetly NOT you. And now this? You're really acting a bit weird, you know!"
I was about to say something. Something in the 'You're just my guardian, don't tell me what to do!' style, but when he saw my face, he calmed down a bit and continued: "I'm not trying to lecture you or anything, I just don't get it. What's going on? This isn't normal. Not for you. You're nothing like those stuck up royals, the fact that you're here with me proves it. Please, just..." He gave me a desperat look, like he doesn't know what else to say.
I didn't want to show it, but his words hit me. He was right. What was wrong with me? The whole jelousy thing, and... And buying a boat really wasn't something I'd do.
And why did he know me so well? Almost like he could read my mind sometimes. He could read me. He could see trough me. And the way he noticed how jelous I was. How? Why?
And the weirdest of all... Even seeing trough me, he still didn't notice that we're meant to be! Come on!
"Fine, I won't buy the boat," I said rolling my eyes. "That's not what I... Never mind," he sighed and speeded the boat up again.
It was funny, how sometimes he was the only one I needed next to me. We completed eachother, I couldn't be perfect without him. But sometimes we could be eachother's biggest enemy, fighting like little kids. Although I was mad at him, it still felt wrong.
Everything was the same as before, but I just couldn't relax anymore. He was right. I was acting nothing like myself, and I had no idea why.
Eddie landed the boat at our 'camp' for a second, letting me to get off, since we were driving close anyway. Then he drove it back to the owner to anchor it.
Trey and Angeline didn't get very far, so they just returned the boat after the time passed and walked back. Sydney and Adrian, who didn't get a ride, returned soon after we left. They were happily making out for a while when I got off the boat. Everyone else was also doing something on their towels or in the water, so I just joined them.
"Hey, you!" a female voice yelled behind me.
"Yeah?" I asked.
The girl walked towards me. She was a dhampir, a bit older than me and obviously also on vacation. I noticed natives weren't very excited about going to the crouded beach in tiny bikinis, like this girl seemed to be. She had very tanned, probably not naturaly dark skin and platinum blond, almost white pixie cut. There was a small ring in her nose and she looked like a barbie gone bad.
"You know that guy you were with in the boat? That dhampir?"
Eddie? My heart stopped. Why would she want him?
The girl seemed to consider her words while the wheels in my head were spinning. She slapped her forehead and then punched my shoulder in, what, some weird attempt to apologise?
"Sorry, sistah, of course you know him if he's driving you around in a boat, huh?" She laughed. "Seriously, I have no idea what I'm saying. I was gonna ask if he's single. I mean, he's goddamn hot!"
I smiled politely and considered what to do. I was about to say we're dating, but... That would be a lot like what I did a day before to the girl in reception. I didn't want that, so I decided to tell the truth.
"Um, yeah, he's single. For now. But, you see, the thing is... I noticed how hot he is too. We, um, kinda have a thing between us. We're not, you know, together yet, but it's just a question of time." She was staring at me with her eyebrows raised. "I hope," I added.
Did I go too far?
She stared at me for a little longer and then exclaimed: "Oh, yeah, sure, I get it! I can't believe I didn't think of that! I'm not gonna steal the guy from you! Don't worry, girl, I have my fingers crossed for a hot couple like the two of you!"
She jumped up and hugged me, slapped my back and left. I stared behind her with my mouth open.
"Wow," I muttered. Then I placed myself on the towel and stared at the stars for a while. That was the way Eddie's eyes sparkled when he was happy. No, his eyes were prettier.
It wasn't long before Adrian came down the beach towards me with Sydney. I sat up as soon as I felt him. "Jailbait, we're getting some lunch. You wanna come?" he asked.
The bond told me he had another reason to ask me. He was worried because Sydney didn't eat much more than before reeducation, which left her too skinny. I knew it couldn't be good for her, since I could still see all of her ribbs. She wasn't starving herself anymore, but she was used to not eating a lot, so that couldn't change very fast. Adrian assumed it'd be easier for her to eat if she saw more people around her eat. That's where he was hoping me to come in, and of course I couldn't refuse it. The way he cared about her was adorable.
And I was hungry.
"Sure, I could use some food," I smiled.
So, we headed to the hotel buffet restaurant and even managed to find seats on the terrase. It was a hard thing to do at 2 pm, because everyone had lunch around that time. And everyone wanted to eat with a view. Sometimes it really payed off to be royal, even though they didn't kick someone away from their table.
Of course I didn't want that.
Adrian decided to be a gentleman and get mine and Sydney's lunch besides his own. We told him what we wanted before, but I was sure he was about to bring much more than ordered in an attempt to feed us (Sydney).
While waiting I noticed Sydney was looking at me, opened her mouth every once in a while and bit her lip right away. I knew her well to be comfortable with her. She felt the same about me now. We were like sisters.
So, that meant I also knew her well enough to realise something was up.
"Um, do you have a question or something?" I asked in a cautios tone.
"I do, actually," she replied. "What's up with you and Eddie now?"
This time I was the one who bit her lip. Sydney pretty much knew all there was to know. Which was also everything I knew. Now she was asking for more and I honestly didn't know what to tell her.
"Well," I started carefully, "I like him, he likes me, we both know it, we both admit it, but..."
Sydney raised her hand to stop me with a small laugh. "I know the theory. I'm just wondering how come are you not together yet. Yes, I'm not a relationship expert, still, and yet I know this is against all the rules of... Normality. Especially since I sent him back to Amberwood SPECIFICALLY because he loves you!"
I sighed. She had a point.
And she wasn't done yet: "And I'm really suprised you didn't fix this up. I mean, mostly you and your advice are responsible for Adrian getting over Rose, us ending up together and staying together trough it all, Trey and Angeline accepting their love, now Neil getting the gut to talk to Olive, and from what I've heard you told Mikhail Tanner to just ask Sonya to marry him before she loses her mind and turns into something else on the list of creepy creatures!"
Yeah, I was kind of proud of all this. Especially the last one. It sounds more like something Rose or Angeline would do. Luckilly I found a way to delete my image of an innocent goodie goodie. At least with people that mattered. The truth was I wasn't like that for a long time. Being in Adrian's head didn't help the matters.
"I am pretty good, huh?" I asked. Sydney smiled. "My point was... All the things you've achieved, so many of them love related, but what about you?"
I sighed. "I don't know. You're right. It's like I can advice everyone but myself. And it would be much easier if Eddie wasn't pushing me away."
Sydney was about to say something else, but Adrian already came back. As I predicted, he was barely carrying all the unordered stuff he brought us. Sydney frowned. "What about 'the small one' don't you understand?"
"Oops. Looks like I'm getting senile," he shrugged. Sydney rolled her eyes. "I don't think so. I hate to break it to you, but you're 22."
Adrian shrugged again with a smirk. "Looks like I forgot that too. You can't deny it anymore, can you?"
Then we finished our lunch and returned to the beach. "Where were you guys? Without any guardians or anything?" Eddie asked. "Oh, god," I sighed. Was he always that paranoid or it just didn't bother me so much before?
"Come on, we just went to get some lunch. You know the whole island is bursting with guardians. Seriously, relax a bit," I said. Eddie bit his lip, looking sorry or maybe almost a bit hurt.
"Sorry, I was just worried," he said quietly in a tone that made it almost impossible be stay mad at him. Maybe he still didn't completely recover from our fight earlier. However, I hated to see him like that, so I decided that maybe I had to be the one to relax.
Seriously, what was it? What was wrong with me? PMS?
"Not funny, universe," I murmured.
I placed myself back on the towel, still slightly in a bad mood. The ocean was very relaxing to look at, but there was a storm in me, and it was breaking all the doors without a proper reason.
"Hey, Jill, why so down?" someone asked me. I looked up and realised it was Christian. "I don't even know... Is it that obvious?" I said with a small smile. "Well, you're looking at the sea like it killed your whole family on Christmas," he said and made me laugh.
"Look, I know what'll cheer you up," he said after a few seconds. I looked at him curious. "Yeah? Bring it on. Impress me."
He leaned down closer to me and made the sand under his feet creak. "So, you see that hill over there?" he asked. I followed his gaze and nodded. The ground was lifted just a little bit, barely to be called a hill, but enough not to see what was on the other side. It was covered with bushes, not too big to get trough.
"Well," Christian continued, "I've been to the other side like, what, half an hour ago. It's a beach like this one, but it's completely empty. And there are some palm trees, and the sea is pretty close, and it's very spacious..."
I was starting to see where he was going with this...
"Are you still up for some magic?" he asked.
And... I guessed.
"Hell yeah! Let's go!"

I know, not much of a big finish, but I still hope you liked this chapter! The next one's comming up, as mentioned before, really soon. Probably in a day or two.

Did you see the book trailers for The Ruby Circle? Antoher one's comming out on Wednesday and the first two totally killed me… I hope writing this story even has a point, because I'm worried there won't be a hapy ending…

However, i'll keep writing anyway. As you may have noticed, they're gonna be on vacation for a little while, because first, they deserve it ;) and second, a loooot more still has to happen. I hope you like it – let me know!