After a short trip back to the city of Sinaia by carriage, they made their way to one of the finer inns available.

When the carriage stopped in front of the white stone building with flickering brass lamps that adorned the doorway, Ember opened the carriage door to step out.

Adrian was right there by her side to help her down the steps.

Ember gave him a friendly smile as she balanced her weight on her shaking legs. She caught William's eye as he stalked past them, his expression one of annoyance. His scoff was audible in the quiet of the streets.

Adrian squeezed Ember's hand in reassurance. She looked up at him and the softness of his gaze as he watched her made her insides feel warm.

"Let's get you inside and get you something to eat," Adrian said quietly.

Ember nodded, the thought of a warm meal beyond comforting.

The early gray of morning cast itself across the cobblestone streets and shuttered buildings as the group made their way into the shelter of the inn.

The warmth of the fire embraced Ember's skin as she stepped into the lobby, the hardwood planks creaking under her feet. There was a collection of taxidermized game on the walls and in the corners. An enormous bear was posed by the fireplace with its claws up like it was ready to attack something.

Adrian guided Ember to the fire where he told her to stay while the group checked in. She was happy for the warmth of the hearth as she wrapped her arms tightly around herself. With a sigh, she watched the flickering of the flames as they danced and sparked.

In the deepest parts of the coals, Ember could see the waves of heat broiling across the wood and watched entranced for a moment. The orange and black swirled and moved across the coals like water, popping with yellow sparks ever so often.

For a moment, Ember forgot where she was as she remembered herself back in Donovan's manor in her room. Remembering how she'd imagined being trapped in Donovan's embrace, his tongue moving down the expanse of her throat. Imagining his hand traveling down the expanse of her silky chemise. The scent of cardamon and musk danced off his skin as he lifted her chin to bring her mouth to his.

"Ember," he muttered quietly against her lips before he kissed her deeply.

"Ember!" Adrian's stern voice startled her from her reverie.

With a jump, Ember gasped and clutched her hand to her chest. She turned to see Adrian watching her with concern from beside her.

"Sorry," Ember said ruefully, trying to regain her composure. "I must be more tired than I thought."

Adrian nodded and offered her his arm. "I've got you a room and they will send up some food as soon as you've settled in."

"Thank you, Adrian," Ember said softly, taking his arm and allowing him to escort her up the stairs to the room.

Once they arrived at the door, Adrian unlocked it with the key and shut it behind them before helping Ember to the bed. After that, he went to work on building a fire in the cold, gray hearth. Soon the room was glowing with a soft warm light.

While Ember started to unlace her boots before kicking them off, Adrian went about pouring her a bowl of water from the copper basin at the bedside table before dipping a clean towel into the water. He handed it to her without a word and Ember took it with a small, "Thanks."

As Ember wiped the sweat and blood from her neck, she watched as Adrian walked to the window. His shoulders were stiff as if he were ready to jump into action at any moment.

A small knock on the door drew Adrian away from the window and to the door. He returned to her side after taking the soup from the servant and closing the door once again behind him.

Bringing Ember the food, he pushed the bowl of russet water away to make room for the platter. There was a brothy soup, a roll of bread, and to Ember's surprise a bustle of grapes.

Ember went to reach for the steaming soup with shaking hands, but Adrian interfered and picked up the bowl before she could.

"Adrian, I can feed myself," she admonished.

"Hush," he said as he moved to sit next to her on the bed.

Ember let out a scoffing laugh as she moved aside to make room for him. Adrian held the bowl of soup up to her lips and tilted it gently, Ember put her hands over Adrian's so she could help guide his movements.

She took a few short sips of the broth and sighed contently as warmth started to trickle through her body. Ember hadn't realized how cold the loss of blood had made her. Adrian watched her wordlessly and she saw the look of adoration in his eyes. Ember returned his gaze from over the bowl, admiring the firelight that made his golden hair look as if it were glowing.

After a few more generous sips, Adrian took the bowl away and set it down. Before he could reach for the grapes, Ember stopped him with her hand on his.

"I think I can manage some grapes, Adrian," Ember said with a grin.

Picking up the grapes, she started popping them one by one into her mouth.

"How are you feeling, Ember?" Adrian asked, his voice solemn.

"I'm ok," Ember said reassuringly. "I feel a lot better now that I've got warm food in my belly."

Adrian nodded, but his expression was grim.

While it was normal for comfortable silences to span between them, Ember was confused by the look of dread on Adrian's face.

"What is it?" she asked quietly, putting the stems of the grapes down before placing both of her hands on his.

"You cannot continue on with us," he said abruptly, looking her in the eyes. "You're out of the group."

Ember was shocked by his words. Shocked and hurt, so much that she pulled her hands off of his as if she were burned.

"You're joking, right?" Ember asked, her voice quavering in anger.

"I can't let you get hurt," Adrian said sternly. "I was a fool to let you stay in that demon's home. I won't make the same mistake twice."

"You can't make the decision for me, Adrian," Ember snapped. "I chose the mission. I wanted to do it, ok?"

"Don't you understand how close you were to death?" Adrian bit out, a mixture of anger and sadness in his voice.

"I knew the risks when I made the choice," Ember said hotly. "You know what their kind has taken from me! The only thing that helps me sleep at night is my mission to strike every last one of them from this earth."

Before Ember knew what was happening, Adrian had grabbed her shoulders gently and pulled her to his chest.

"Don't you know that the only thing that helps me sleep at night is knowing that you are safe in my arms?" Adrian whispered down at her, his eyes full of care and longing.

Ember's eyes widened in shock, her lips parted as she took in a soft breath. With the gentle touch of a lover, Adrian cupped her cheek with his warm hand. A tickle of anticipation flooded through Ember's belly as he dipped his head and brought his full lips to touch her own.

At first it was tentative and soft, but when Ember didn't pull away, he renewed the kiss with more urgency.

There was no doubt that Ember wanted this. She'd dreamed of kissing Adrian many times over the course of their friendship. Too many times did her stares linger on his face in adoration. Too many times had she caught him returning those looks with hunger in his eyes.

Ember's palms slid up his arms and wrapped around his shoulders as he held her tightly, his tongue slipping into her mouth eliciting a gasp of pleasure from Ember as she did the same in kind.

When Ember ran her fingers through his golden hair he let out a sigh of pleasure.

There was such a vast difference between Adrian and Donovan.

It was like the sun and the moon.

Adrian with his warm skin, striking gaze, and dominating presence.

Donovan with his cool touch, the deep endless pools of his eyes, and his mysterious aura.

This made Ember pause for a millisecond, as she thought about Donovan.

Why? Why would she think of him while trapped in Adrian's embrace?