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"It's all right, Eden; get so," Jericho continued

"Let her finish," Sebastian shouted with surprising force

My gaze flew to his and the hatred renewed

"You are not a prince here, inside these walls you are our prisoner and you will act as such," Jericho shouted back and Sebastian fell silent His eyes drooped again and his de desired

"I'll take you upstairs," Jericho's voice was soothing again and he gripped my elbow inside of his hand

I let hiht, I knew that I needed to sleep and that whatever the end result would be with Sebastian tonight, whatever it was, I would regret in the

Suddenly I was exhausted I tried to reht's sleep, but I couldn't Even before I set out on this this journey, I wasn't able to sleep I leaned heavily against Jericho and let hiantic Upstairs were nuuests and plenty of bathroo inconvenienced Jericho led me to a bedroom with a full bed, and private bathroom My backpack and clothes fro next to a white, decorative, writing desk

The bed, covered with a plush, navy blue, paisley con, reminded me of home, of my bed back in Omaha, with at least an equal nuht of it

"Is this Ok?" Jericho asked, gesturing towards the bedrooushed and then turned into hi htly around ed against the floodgates ofday," Jericho whispered softly incouple of days," Idown there" I pulled back and looked into his eyes

I felt so that ainst a heart attack victi I could trust Jericho, not just with protecting me from others, but from myself as well He didn't just as best for the Resistance or my brother, he wanted as best for ently offered his help every step of the way The trust was there, I couldn't do anything to stop it

Moo, I believed I would never trust another person for as long as I lived Yet, I couldn't help but trust him; the decision wasHe forced my soul back into innocent belief, not by empty words or false promises but by consistent action that never failed He was safe

"Of course," he answered "You'd better get soure out what to do with" and hedownstairs

I looked back at the bed again, excited about the idea of getting in to it and then back at Jericho I didn't want to be alone tonight Asasleep, I was still afraid of being completely alone Jericho had yet to pull away, had yet to even look away, but I couldn't ask hiether, whatever feelings or relationship that either of us anticipated, needed to happen naturally And I wasn't ready for Jericho I wasn't ready for everything a relationship demanded Trust was a step, but Jericho deservedmy chest remained an eht be ht

Still my blood quickened at our closeness and soment I leaned forward on ered for several seconds longer than ould have been natural, but even if my e out for my heart to move

I tried to walk away from him I tried to leave his arms, his safe e an internal war and everything inside of o

My lips moved, without my permission from his cheek to his lips, and there they stayed forI kissed hi and with fervor that should have been buried His lipsand for a few seconds the world melted away; my problems, this journey disappeared and all that reics met with slow consideration,as if always in that position But when they finally touched each other, when our auras finally found the other, it was as if it should have always been this way It was as if this was how the world was ainst his with more force so that his eht shifted towards him still, I couldn't bear any separation between us, no matter how small, and the boards underneath my feet let out a loud squeak of protest The sound was deafening in the silence of the hallway and I i back into the shell of solitude I had cohed at Jericho, touching ertips to my lips I promised myself there was life after Kiran, but maybe, after that kiss, I could actually believe it was true

"Goodnight," Jericho replied, confused and disconcerted

I stepped away froh to brave the isolation of oodbye to Jericho who still stood outside the doorway as if lost about what to do next

I stripped on the way to the bathroom and left a trail of dress-up clothes behind ratuitous auest bathroom and once my teeth were brushed I dove under the still cold covers, envelopinginto the nuhts of home and Aunt Syl and how simple life used to be