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makes him evil. He will commit a wicked act to prevent one.”
    Arrick rested his hands on my shoulders and I looked into his eyes. Our connection immediately locked as our emotions intertwined. “I’ve watched over you all your life, Claire. I will not let him take you again. To live in his false world of peace that has an endless darkness building beneath it.”
    His words struck a chord within me and I latched onto him with a bearlike hug that would rival any of Robin’s. I knew Arrick was right whether Nicolae’s blood inside me wanted to admit it or not. This was going to be a struggle I could not face alone and it strengthened me to know that I had Arrick by my side, as he always had been my entire life.
    When I finally released him, he swung the duffel bag back over his shoulder. “Let’s go,” he said, smiling reassuringly, quickening his pace to reach the Mercedes.
    I followed him at a steady trot until I felt the hairs on my neck prickle. Arrick sensed something too and looked over his shoulder at me. Something was watching us, just beyond the reach of our senses. I quickened my stride trying to ignore the pain as the wounds on my legs and torso tore with the movement, reaching the Mercedes in seconds. Arrick was already there; in the driver’s seat, key already in the ignition, he reached out a hand to pull me in. I jumped onto the smooth leather seat and he slammed on the gas before I even shut the door.
    “Something was out there,” I said as I pressed my hand against a reopened wound on my thigh. I rolled down the window and stuck my head out to look behind us. “You felt that right? What was it?”
    Arrick pressed a button rolling up the window after I sat back down. “Yeah I felt it.” He gripped the steering wheel turning his knuckles white.
    “What was it?”
    He glanced into the rear view mirror as we sped down the empty highway. “I don’t know.”

Chapter_2
     
    We drove on in silence until the electricity in our nerves died down. I didn’t want to say it out loud, but I had a sinking suspicious that Ana was watching us. Just like Arrick said, she would plot and plan, taking her time until the perfect moment to strike. She was going to watch me, haunting my every step until she was ready to strike. My stomach grew queasy at the thought, but I was determined to be prepared for that moment, whenever it may be.
    “Are you excited?” Arrick asked. There was a lighter sound to his tone, but it seemed forced.
    “About?” I couldn’t imagine what I could possibly be excited about considering the situation we were in.
    “Going home.”
    I got the feeling that he might be the excited one. I had never known my real home and Arrick had been assigned to guard over me. He had to leave his home and live in hiding for eighteen years in a different region.
    “I don’t know really. I’m not sure I feel like I really have a home right now.” How could I be excited? With my current track record something was bound to rip me from this new home soon enough.
    “Don’t let it get to you, Claire. You will love it in Naos.” He gripped the shifter, adjusting the gears on the Mercedes.
    “Naos?”
    “That’s the capital of the Zakarian region. The most beautiful city in the world. I can’t wait to show it to you.”
    His happiness now seemed genuine, and I hoped it would be infectious. I envied his joyous and seemingly care-free mood.
    I adjusted my body on the leather seats and directed my attention to Arrick and off the endless darkness of the night as I searched for what hunted us. “All the cities of the region are named after constellations and stars, right?”
    “Yes, in honor of the goddess. In the ancient tongue it means, ‘dwelling of a God’. In a mythical tale, the goddess sailed down from the sky on the moonlight in a ship called Naos. That is how the city it got its name.”
    “Tell me about Naos.” I rested my head on the back of the seat as Arrick spoke.
    “It’s an ancient