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“I can see her!” she exclaims loudly, squeezing her eyes tightly shut now. She is smiling. Her lips reveal a row of pearly white teeth.
“You can?” I ask. “What does she look like?”
“She has the most melodious voice in the world,” she tells me. “Her lips are small, full, almost… pouty, as if she’s upset about something.”
“Probably that she can’t be here with you,” I say. “But… you have me.”
Suddenly, her eyes pop wide open, as if someone slapped her out of this reverie.
I don’t know where this last sentence came from. It surely wasn’t planned. I didn’t mean to say it. I didn’t even think it. And yet, it is out of my mind. It crossed the threshold of my lips, and now it is occupying this space between us, revealing something neither of us is willing to deal with right now.
“I mean, I’m here to keep you safe,” I tell her, clearing my throat. “Those shifters won’t harm you as long as I’m around.”
I have no idea if that clarified anything, but I’m glad I said something, anything really. Silence would be too revealing, much more revealing than any words could be.
She smiles. She seems to understand. At least, I hope she does.
“I really appreciate this,” she says, sounding a little awkward, but I see she also wants to clarify things. “All this,” she adds, gesturing around her with her arms widespread, as if she’s thanking me for gifting her the entire woods around us. “You didn’t have to help me.”
I scratch the back of my head, sighing. “I feel guilty. Somewhat.”
“Aha,” she chuckles. “You finally admit it.”
“I guess,” I smirk. “But I did save you as well.”
“You saved me and put me in more trouble than I was, at the same time,” she laughs.
She has the most harmonious laughter. I can’t help but listen to it intently, getting lost in it.
“Yeah, sounds about right,” I agree, seeing no other way out. But it’s all good. She’s not saying it because she’s upset. We’ve reached a certain understanding. “We should probably head back,” I tell her, and she quickly nods.
We continue walking, but this time, that tension in the air between us is gone. It dissipated. I don’t know where it disappeared off to, but I hope it won’t be back. We’re still silent, but it’s a good kind of silent.
We reach the hide out, and I notice that everyone is looking at her weirdly. I tell Kano to gather everyone around, so I can explain why Bianca is here. I doubt any of them know her from the shifter town, but I need everyone to be on the same page here. I am responsible for her, but if I am not around, I expect them to jump in, if necessary.
Kano nods and starts gathering everyone. Bianca seems a little nervous. I near her and squeeze her hand. It feels clammy.
“Don’t worry,” I assure her. “It’ll be fine.”
“I’m OK,” she nods, although she sounds apprehensive.
I know I would be as well. Once again, she is in a new place, surrounded by people she doesn’t know. After all, we are enemies. She’s always been taught that. How does one change such a conviction almost overnight?
Chapter Eleven
Bianca
I don’t sleep well in new places, especially not in places where I don’t know if I can trust those around me.
I know I can trust Edmund. He’s a vampire, and vampires are the shifters’ sworn enemies. Only, I’m not a shifter. I’m something else. Something I don’t even know. A human, I guess. Just a regular old human. That makes me nobody in their world. Yet, Edmund has chosen to protect me.
I don’t delude myself into thinking that it has anything to do with me personally. He would have probably done it if it was anyone else. He just needs me to help him find the well. As for the fact that we spent two nights together…
I sigh to myself as I turn in the sleeping bag, in the tent. They let me sleep in one tent all by myself, which I appreciate. Still, sleeping in the woods isn’t what I imagined it to be. It’s not as scary as I thought it would be, with vampires all around. The fact that Edmund was here all night long made me sleep like a baby.
Again, I know I shouldn’t think about him so much. I shouldn’t allow myself to fall for him, but the thing is, I think I’ve already fallen for him, and there is no going back from here.
