"Ha ha, very funny.. I'll be in my room," She started walking towards the door, about to pass me, but my voice took her attention. "Actually, princess," She looked at me, clearly not liking the nickname I had for her. "You could be useful. Get dressed and come downstairs. We might find out where the necklace is." ~ Dimitri's POV The power my family held for centuries was a curse. We were all unmercifully cursed with that strength, force running underneath our veins. Cursed in this world and since forever, I knew there was no escaping. The only light in my life was Amelia. She gave me the best gift, and I was ready to destroy anyone who got in my way to protect her and my daughter. I was a ruling now.. Venedocia.. But I never felt more exposed than I was. They knew my weaknesses. And I made sure that they all knew the consequences as well. Anyone who dared to disrespect my queen, to lay a finger on my family ended up dead. Perhaps it was because my mind was haunted by the past. A wave of darkness that almost took us all under only a few years ago. So many unfinished things still left like that made me keep wondering how and when was the time to actually finish that. Put an an to it. Christian kept insisting, but some things needed to be handled at certain time. Otherwise we would have to go through the same damn nightmare all over again. But I did know one thing. That I will do right by her. My daughter. Annabelle. And I will never let the history repeat itself. "Dimitri," That soft tone, the voice I knew so well took my attention. I looked up just to see Amelia walking in. "You've been here all day." I tried making the situation as calmed as possible, knowing that she was maybe the only one that worried as much, knowing that the only purpose was to keep Annabelle safe and away from Adam. Who was still not dead. I looked at her as I stood up, each time taking in every feature of hers, absorbing every little shape her figure held. So fucking beautiful. The waves on her hair seemed to have a lighter shine when she walked in the bright room, and those wide eyes of dark green and ember was what gave her away more than anything else. The black shirt and jeans she was wearing lined every curve and edge on her body, making an insane contrast with her pale skin. But when I rounded the desk and walked closer, I knew exactly what was going through her mind. Even though those hazels still held that same spark of fire, they've grown colder with time, more serious and focused on nothing else but safety. Having her on the same page as me made things easier, but at the same time, I kept asking and pushing her to tell me everything that was on her mind, because if we wanted this to work, we had to do it together. Christian was the one that worried me. "There were a lot of things I had to take care of today," I told her as I took her hand and she took a few lazy steps towards me. Her eyes searched me for more answers, almost as if she was trying to read more than I said. She inhaled softly wanting to say something, but I seemed to break whatever thought was going through her head when I pressed my lips against hers. I hadn't seen her all day, she couldn't turn the subjects so quickly. Something about having her close to myself filled me up, as always leaving me breathless when she was near, completely lost and compelled. That lavander smell filled my senses, and my mind seemed instantly mixed. She knew how to do that so effortlessly easy, and there I was wondering what I did to deserve her. But when she pulled away, looking downwards for a second, I knew she was not going to give up so easily. As always, whenever I held her hand, she did that little caress with her thumb before she looked up at me. "Things about Adam?" I closed my eyes for another second and released a slight breath. I didn't want to lie to her. She was into this as much as all of us were. "I sent Aldon and Luke to check up on the house today." She looked at me with such curiosity and concentration in her eyes, but I didn't have all the answers for her. Yet. "I expect that there's still more time.. Till the spell breaks." I added, and she instantly looked away. "What if I can redo the spell.." Her voice slightly trailed off as she took a small step backwards. "Calliope already said that that's impossible. You don't have that kind of energy." She closed her eyes for a second, putting a few stands away from her face. I wanted to tell her to not over think it, but I knew that I was no better.. If Adam woke up before we could stop him it would only make things more difficult. And Annabelle had already inherited all of out enemies. That's everything that was wrong with this world we lived in. I heard her exhale a sharp breath before she looked back at me. "I'm not staying here, Dimitri. Right now, Annabelle will be safest with my mom, and we both know that we'll get nowhere with just sitting here. Christian is already a step ahead of us.. He's after the necklace." I nodded my head. Nothing new. Christian always tested his limits, no matter what I told him. "I figured it out." She was right. Annabelle was supposed to stay as far away from this as possible. We agreed that we were going to protect her innocence as long as possible, and Adam running around freeing and wanting to destroy us was not the way to do it. I glanced back at her, just to find her arms firmly crossed against her chest, her eyes focused on on thing then another within seconds, with a such concentration I've never seen behind those hazels before. "Hey, baby, look at me," She looked up quickly, her eyes searching mine for a second, but she was certain in her decision and I completely agreed with that. I just needed to hear from Aldon and Luke. "I'm serious. I know that Annabelle was born into this world just like us, but the least we can do is protect her for as long as possible, because we both know how it turned out for us." I leaned on the desk and the smallest pull was enough for her to get closer. When I pressed my lips against her forehead I could feel her hand slightly relaxing in mine. "Okay," I broke the silence causing her look up at me. "We'll do that. You know I'll do anything to keep you two safe." She nodded her head slightly, her lips parting to say something, but the buzzing of my phone interrupted her. I took it, just to see a text from Luke. I thought that it might be it, that they figured something out, and I knew Amelia was searching my face for answers. But we were long away from the answers we needed. And it seemed like there were things we didn't understand yet to cross our way. Non of us lived in peace, but after that day, a storm greater than the one before seemed to hang over us. "What is it?" "It's fine, the spell still lasts." I tried studying his words once more.. "They just saw a pale light on the way out." I looked back at her, but she just seemed to be focusing on my words. "Could it mean anything?"