Chapter 3

Never in my life had I perspired so much by doing so little, I was drenched in sweat despite being extremely cold as we leisurely walked to the caves after school the next day. The closer we got the worse I felt as fear held me in a vice-like grip, but I muscled through. God only knows what Lexi and James would think if I pulled out last minute so despite the nagging voice in the back of my mind screaming at me to get out, I pushed it further back and muscled through as the voice softened to a low hum. Still there but a lot easier to ignore. I hated ignoring my subconscious, nothing good has ever come from it, but this time I owed it to myself and my best friends to just enjoy myself. I needed to be more like my mother on this weekend than my father. As much as I love both of them, my mother just sounds like she had way more fun at our age than dad, who was just as rigid and law-abiding as he is now – though mom swears he smiles more. So I pushed the voice down deeper and took a deep breath channeling my inner Rose Hathaway, before following behind my friends as they disappeared into the caves. We were guarding Lexi in standard formation, but a lot tighter than we would have outside the cave. There was about two feet of space between James' back and Lexi's front and the same amount of space between Lexi's back and my front. They come first – it's a mantra that had been drilled into us since birth, meaning that we exist to protect them – they being Moroi. That was especially true for James and I when it came to Lexi, regardless of her being our friend and her mother being the Queen, she was also part of the smallest royal line - numbers concerned. She was to be kept safe at all times, which is why I couldn't believe James actually wanted to go through with this. James had stolen a recent map of the caves from the Guardian offices and he was snaking us through the maze-like tunnels in the cave with easy proficiency. I was stunned when I saw dim light at the caves end and a cab already waiting for us. I relaxed instantly, not even realizing I'd been tense the whole walk through the cave. My hands, having been balled up in tight fists relaxed alongside my body and I was aware of the crescent shaped nail marks that were - no doubt - indented in my palms. "That was so much easier than I would have ever expected." James quipped as we all breathed in the fresh crisp morning air, only then did I notice how wet and moldy it had smelt in the caves. We piled into the cab and James handed the driver a wad of small bills as he asked to drop us off at the airport. The car had barely started moving when I fell asleep against James' shoulder.

I didn't know how long the drive was to the airport, but it felt like I had been sleeping for forever when I was lightly shaken. As guardians, we'd been trained to be awake and alert immediately upon waking, whether you'd been sound asleep for hours or taken a ten minute nap. We always had to be ready and it was as deeply ingrained in us as our mantra was. I smiled as I heard the driver tell James he'd never seen anyone wake up so fast, it filled me with a sense of pride and I could see on James' face that he shared the same as his only answer to the driver was a curt smile. Luckily we didn't have anything but carry-ons so we didn't need to check our bags and we made sure to book our tickets online so we wouldn't have to wait in line or answer unnecessary questions. Instead we just made our way towards our gate where passengers were already boarding. I was still a little rigid and smiled inwardly when I saw James' body language portrayed the same, I knew we'd both be on high alert this weekend but that we'd relax considerably on the flight. Just as I predicted, James and I relaxed like we were in our own rooms at the academy once the plane ascended, laughing and joking all the way to Atlantic City. I still didn't know what we were going to do once we arrived, it's not like we could go to the casinos or really drink unless we go to The Witching Hour. I didn't quite like that idea, it wasn't safe. There would be a heavy guardian presence, but we couldn't risk being seen and that's where the danger came in. I had a sneaky suspicion that we'd be holed up in our hotel room all weekend, but even that had to be better than being held prisoner in a prison-esque school on your sixteenth birthday. I was suddenly extremely grateful for my friends and their crazy idea of a wild weekend. I wasn't even worried about the fallout – if there'd even be any – that our little expedition would cause. I should have probably been worried about the fact that I wasn't worried, but I figured I was just channeling my mother exceptionally well.

Atlantic City wasn't like anything I could have ever imagined, yes I'd been to and from the academy and the royal court countless times in my life and I've even been to Russia a handful of times since I'd been old enough to remember. We'd visit dad's family every couple of years and he would gush about the architecture – as much as a man of his stature and resolve can gush about anything – which is more than most people would think. Dad was a man of steely resolve with killer instincts. The same hands that nursed my scraped knees back to health, also killed undead creatures of the night with quick forceful strikes. I thought again at how disappointed my dad would be if we were to get caught, while I stared at the passing neon signs lighting up the night sky as we made our way to our hotel. We booked that ahead of time as well, so we could just check in without being questioned. The hotel wasn't extravagant or overtly luxurious, but it was nicer than the academy and probably the last place anyone would look for us, provided that they even notice we're gone in the first place or in Atlantic City for that matter. We've taken great care to be as inconspicuous as we possibly could and I couldn't think of anyone ever finding us here, unless we were followed which was also highly unlikely. We'd been standing in the lobby of the hotel for way too long and I was getting really antsy, I also noticed an Asian looking guy following Lexi around the room – albeit only with his eyes and I silently signaled James, who nodded that he'd noticed too. The next sequence of events happened rather quickly, Asian guy confidently got up – he couldn't have been older than eighteen – and purposefully walked up to Lexi. He was about ten feet away – which was already too close for comfort in my opinion – when both James and I interjected and moved in front of Lexi. Asian guy looked confused but kept advancing regardless. "I almost thought you were an extremely important person, but it seems you're goon squad are just kids." He spoke as soon as he was within earshot of Lexi, the next part he directed to me specifically. "What are you, thirteen?" If it hadn't been for James' hand on my shoulder I would have probably gotten us thrown out by going twelve rounds with Mr. kung pow chicken – or rather one round by the looks of it. "Lils, James, stand down." Lexi said and James immediately moved out of the way, but I hesitated. "Lex…" I started to protest when she apologized, "Sorry my brother and sister are a little overprotective." I was momentarily stunned, but I still didn't budge. "Lilith, stand down." Her voice had that royal air to it and I was just about to move when the guy spoke again. "You guys don't look related at all." "Jeez, ever heard of a term called adoption, creep?" Were the last words I managed to get out before James all but dragged me away. "You can thank me later, little damphir." James breathed into my ear, while his arm around my waist held me securely in place. When James was sure I'd relaxed, he walked us over to the couches and took a seat next to me. He placed his hand firmly on my thigh, no doubt a reminder not to try anything, though I couldn't possibly understand why. The couches were close enough to the reception desk so we could keep an eye on Lexi, who was flipping her hair over her shoulder animatedly every couple minutes. I fake gagged at the display, knowing full well Lexi was flirting her little butt of, strangely James shared my sentiment seconds later.

Lexi and the Asian guy had been talking and laughing for close to an hour, when smiled at her and nodded before making his way over to us at the couch. I fought the urge to jump up, but James squeezed my thigh and shot me a warning look. I sighed rather dejectedly and he eyed James' hand suspiciously as he came to a standstill in front of us. "I don't want to risk sounding rude again, but it's a little weird holding your sisters leg like that." James chuckled and again the guy looked confused, like we knew some secret joke he wasn't in on. "I could let go, but are you sure that's a risk you're willing to take?" Asian guy sighed and shook his head, but it seemed like he wasn't done talking. "I came over here to apologize actually, Alexandra told me I was out of line. In my defense though you are a tiny little thing, can you really blame me for my indiscretion?" He did sound extremely sincere and his clearly well-developed vocabulary was definitely scoring him some brownie points. I was silent for quite some time, but then I let a smile slowly play at my lips and I saw him breathe a sigh of relief. He had just about turned around to walk back to Lexi, when I had a brilliant idea – one I knew my "siblings" would approve of. "Hey." I yelled, but I didn't know his name and he wasn't turning around. "Hey, creep," I tried again and he stopped dead and slowly turned around. I immediately put my hands up in defense. "I'm sorry, I don't know your name." I apologized sincerely and he smiled as he walked back over and extended his hand. "Daniel," he said curtly and I accepted his hand. He had a firm grip, which was a good sign in my opinion. He wasn't one of those guys who thought a girl would break from a handshake. "Lilith," I replied. "Don't feel obligated, but you don't by any chance know any great places we can let loose for a little?" I asked immediately as I didn't want to run the risk of wasting his time. He eyed me cautiously and when he didn't answer I explained. "Sorry, it's just that this is our birthday weekend and Atlantic City seemed like a good idea, but we don't really know what we're doing other than spending the weekend holed up in a hotel room." He looked mortified before he spoke, his eyes darting between James and me. "You guys are really siblings?" He asked in disbelief and James chuckled behind me. "Well no, not in the technical sense, we've all got different parents but we grew up together. It James' birthday today, Lexi's is tomorrow and mine's on Sunday." I explained, but Daniel still looked at me in disbelief. After a while his stony exterior softened, "Celebration is in order then!" He exclaimed, which earned me a smile from both James and Lexi.