I took a leap toward it, with a little too much speed, and hit my head on the roof before falling back down on my butt in a pathetic heap. “Some vampire you are, Ara,” I said to myself. “Let’s hope you can land better when you jump off the third storey.”
I clambered to my feet, dusting myself off, and looked up at the top shelf again.
“I will get you,” I said to the troublesome suitcase; it scowled back down at me. “And when I do, I'm going to stuff you so full you won't be able to zip yourself up for a week without lubri—”
“Need some help?” Mike asked, leaning on the doorframe; his brow arched, arms folded.
Petey sat by his feet, his tongue hanging out over his smug dog-grin.
“Dibber-dobber,” I snickered at the over-protective fluff-ball—the dog, not Mike.
“What are you doing, Ara?” Mike asked. “Aside from holding one-sided conversations with inanimate objects.”
“I'm going to see David.”
“Out of the question.”
“Mike?” I slouched forward, skulking out of my wardrobe behind him. “Why?”
“What's the point of us trying to protect our last hope if she's going to run off all by herself? What if Drake had a mole out there, just waiting for you to do something stupid?”
“Well, I don't care. I'm still going to see David.”
“Right. Come on.” He grabbed my arm.
“Where are you taking me?”
“To see Morgaine.”
“Why?”
“So she can talk some sense into you, since you seem to listen to her.”
* * *
“I say let her go.” Morgaine shrugged.
“What?” Mike and I both said at the same time—undertones of a different sentiment, though.
“Yeah. Mike, you heard what Arthur said yesterday. Drake’s not after her right now. He’s got other things going on.”
“You talked to Arthur about Drake?” I said.
“Yeah,” Morgaine said, as if this was old news.
“So, what, he thinks we’re not in any danger?”
“Not right now—apparently he’s not even in this country.”
“See?” I folded my arms, grinning haughtily at Mike.
“No!” Mike pushed my arms down from their fold. “It’s not safe.”
“Well, I don't care what you say.” I folded them again. “You know I’ll go if I want to, and you can't stop me.”
“Damn it, Ara.” He slammed his fist on the table, knocking Morgaine’s card tower over.
“Oh. Mike?” she whined.
“Sorry, Morg.” He looked back at me. “Ara, please, please just listen to me for once in your life, girl. Just once. I'm head of security for a reason. I don't believe it’s safe out there.”
“Then come with me. It’s just for a few days, Mike. I just need to see him—tell him I love him.”
Morgaine looked up at me then, her brow pulling at the centre.
I glared at her, confusion moving the muscles in my face. “What, Morg? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Oh, um—” She slid her fingers across the table, collecting her cards in a bunch. “No reason.”
I sunk back on my heels a little. The stress radiating off Mike’s body made even me feel tense. And I felt a little sorry for him, standing there, pinching the bridge of his nose, lacking comprehension for my convictions. If I could just put him inside my head, he’d see why this was so important. But I couldn't. And I couldn’t make him want to understand either.
I sighed, looking past him to the night sky, darkening the front of the manor. This was the first time I’d been in the Common Room, and I barely even noticed the cushy couches and the big open fireplace under the cloud of all my inner turmoil. The décor didn't match the Victorian style of the rest of the manor; this looked more like the lounge room at Vicki's house, but with a dining table in the middle of the room. “Mike, I'm sorry you disagree with me.”
“I just don't see the point, Ara.” He shook his head, dropping both hands onto the table. “If I can’t make you listen to me, what’s the point?”
“I do listen to you, Mike.” I touched his shoulder; he shrugged me off. “But I have to go see him. I can't rule a nation if my heart is broken.”
He ran his hands through his hair, standing tall again.
“Mike, please? I'm going. Please just support me.”
“No. If you go, Ara, I—” He stopped, scrunching his fists in the air, then took a deep breath and disappeared.
“Well,” Morgaine chimed, setting her pile of cards aside. “That went well.”
“It’s too bad.” I spun on my heel and headed back to the corridor. “He can’t control me all the time. I'm not a little girl anymore.”
“No, and you're not being truthful, either.”
I looked away from her as she came up beside me. “What do you mean by that?”
“Come on, Amara. Admit it. You want to see David again because you’re confused about how you feel.”
“How I feel?”
She blinked a few times, frowning as if concentrating. “I think you’re not sure if you love him anymore. What happened?”
I stopped walking, dropping my arms by my sides. “I never said that.”
Morgaine smiled. “You don’t have to.”
“I just—” I see his face. When I think of him, I see his face—the boy in my dreams; he’s so angry, so bitter, and full of so much hate. I just—I can't…I can't find anything in my heart for him when I see him like that. And I… “I know I love him. I know I do.” I touched my chest. “But…”
“Well, I’ve got bad news for you, Princess. You can't go see him.”
“But you just said—”
“I was stirring Mike.” She smirked. “He rises to the occasion every time.”
I shook my head, smiling. “My God, you are a torturer, aren’t you?”
She chuckled. “It’s just a bit of fun.”
“So, why can't I go see him?”
“Because he's not there.”
“Well, where is he?”
She pressed her lips together and leaned closer. “Right now, I don't know. But earlier today, he was here.”
“Here? At the manor?”
“Yep.”
“Oh, my God.” I folded over slightly and looked around, as if I might spot him. “Is he crazy? Why would he do that?”