"i don't like it," jericho mumbled. "i don't like the idea of you going to the palace. why don't you go with titus, and i'll take xander and meet back up with you later?"

"absolutely not, i'm not leaving you. that is out of the question," i countered adamantly, refusing to lose him again. the other guys were important, but if i lost jericho, or if something happened to him.... i would lose myself.

"ok, then you and i will head to morocco and leave the rest of the guys to london," jericho offered, clearly wanting to keep me as far from the royal family as possible.

"that will mean nothing to your people, eden," sebastian rejoined the conversation, his voice full of a force and fight that had been missing since the loss of his magic. "if some nameless immortal kills him, so what? but, if you kill him, his former fiancee, the granddaughter of the last oracle, and the leader of the rebellion were to kill him, that sends a message. that could be the activator you need to gain the people's respect."

"whatever, sebastian," i sighed, trying my best to maintain a healthy level of suspicion with him, even though his advice was sounding rather dependable. "the point is, of course i want to be the one to kill him, but also, i'm sorry to say this, but i just don't trust anyone else, ok? we're going to london and that's the end of the story. i'm the," i looked at sebastian, reluctantly quoting him, "i'm the leader of the rebellion and all...."

"fine, all right, you're right of course," jericho agreed, slowly as if talking himself into it.

both boys continued to stand still at the end of my bed, the silence growing awkward and the need to be on the move becoming greater. jericho tilted his head towards the door as if to ask me what i was waiting on.

"ok, i need to get dressed," i finally admitted, "i am not wearing anything under here so you're both going to need to leave. like, now." i held tightly to the comforter with one hand while pointing towards the door with the other.

"so you're not wearing anything right now?" sebastian asked, and jericho's cheeks flamed red.

when i shook my head negatively, jericho suddenly couldn't look at me in the eye, finding the paisley print on the comforter very interesting.

"well, if i would have known that, i wouldn't have stayed so far away all night," sebastian mumbled, an impish grin lighting up his face.

"jericho!" i shrieked.

"all right, it's time to go," jericho said firmly, grabbing sebastian by the arm and tugging him out of the room.

i slammed the door behind them with magic, locking it forcefully and then flopped my head back against my pillows. we were on the run again, only this time i was more afraid of our destination than being caught.

i was officially on my way to kill kiran. the only thing that terrified me more than taking an actual life, was coming face to face with the man i once imagined spending forever with. death bed or not, i would still have to meet him.... be near him.... face him before i could finish what some unknown disease had started. and i wasn't entirely sure if i was prepared for that.

chapter fifteen

i walked downstairs, in my traveling outfit: jeans and a long-sleeved, white, fitted t-shirt. the boys stood anxiously at the door, waiting for me.

"ready?" jericho asked calmly, but his eyes darted around the room nervously.

"she'd better be," xavier mumbled, "we never waited for avalon."

"xavier, i swear, i'm going to kill you before this is over," i threatened softly, almost seriously.

"all right, do you guys know what you're doing and where you're going?" jericho addressed xavier and titus who nodded.

xavier turned to xander looking at him anxiously, silent thoughts communicated easily between the two brothers. xavier bounced apprehensively on his heels and xander let out almost a wince, like a hurt puppy before pulling his brother into a tight bear hug.

moved by their interaction and the sharp pains of longing for my own brother reminded me that it was not fair to separate the two of them. if something happened while they were apart, they would never forgive themselves. i knew that to be the hardest truth.

"i change my mind," i blurted out, startling everyone. "titus, you come with us, xavier and xander, you guys stay together."

"eden, it's fine." xander stood up straight, releasing his hold on his brother. "we'll be fine."

"i know you will," i promised, but without losing my resolve, "but if you aren't.... if things go differently than we want them to, you should have each other. trust me, whatever you face, you would rather do it together," i finished sadly.

xavier and xander nodded appreciatively and the climate was suddenly very somber.

"besides, i can't really stand either one of you," i mumbled, lightening the mood.

"let's go then," jericho reached out a hand, shaking each of the brother's firmly.

titus, even with his shorter stature and burliness, didn't let others watching deter him from pulling them both in for a quick, but manly hug. xander and xavier towered over him, but seemed scrawny next to his lumberjack-like frame.

i realized then, that i was still separating brothers. in the year that the four of these guys had been together and the weeks that recently separated them and made them unsure of the future, circumstances bonded them just as closely as blood ever could. only this time i didn't feel sympathy; it didn't break my heart to send them different ways. this time i felt encouraged; they were just as determined to get avalon back as i was.

when the goodbyes were said, and the door opened, we walked out boldly into the crisp, spring, paris morning and went opposite ways. xander and xavier headed back to st. louis and the small plane that belonged to gabriel.

jericho hailed two taxis for the rest of us. gabriel and titus climbed into the first one and sebastian, jericho and i, the second. sebastian sat in the middle of jericho and i, idly playing with the hem of his navy blue dress shirt, while jericho in perfect french instructed the driver where to go. we would be taking the chunnel from paris to london. thankful that claustrophobia wasn't on my long list of fears, i imagined how an almost three hour tunnel ride in very close quarters could become unbearable quickly.

"jericho, promise me i will get to come back here as a tourist," i remarked breathily, staring out the window as paris passed by me in a flash.

"i promise," he answered, very amused.

"under different circumstances, i would have been glad to give you the tour," sebastian mumbled coldly.

"under different circumstances i could have given her the tour," jericho grunted.

"under different circumstances she would have left you behind in omaha like the peasant you are," sebastian countered.

i sat up straighter, wishing i were the one sitting in the middle.

"really, a peasant?" jericho whipped his head around to face sebastian, with a look of pure fury in his eyes.

"all right, that's enough of that," i said casually, sliding across sebastian in the cramped cab and wiggling between the two of them forcing sebastian to scoot over and take my place.

"yes, a peasant," sebastian repeated, under his breath.

i let out an exasperated sigh, hoping the rest of the trip wouldn't be like this.

"how did you know the titans were looking for me all night?" sebastian asked quietly. he was addressing jericho, but refused to turn his head, because either he was too tired or because he couldn't stand jericho as much as jericho couldn't stand him. i wasn't quite sure.

"you mean, besides what common sense told me?" jericho grumbled sardonically. "not, every titan is loyal to your crown."

"so, it's true then," sebastian sighed, "eden and avalon are the real subjects of the oath."

"there hasn't been enough time to truly test that theory," jericho maintained his cold tone, and i was surprised he hadn't just jumped on a positive answer; i hoped that he would have come to that concrete conclusion by now. i certainly wanted to believe i was the real heir to the throne and that was the reason titans were dying when they crossed me.

"sure, there hasn't, meanwhile any titan that has gone up against eden and avalon are dead, whilst your traitors walk around perfectly unharmed," sebastian turned his head towards jericho, his sunken eyes turning to steel.

"for now, only time will tell. besides, not every titan that's stood up to eden and avalon has died. kiran's bodyguard still lives," jericho explained quietly.

"i suppose," sebastian admitted, and then in the same calm voice, "i know that man up there, he is part of my father's guard." sebastian pointed to a cafe not far from where the cab sat in the middle of crowded traffic. a man stood next to a small table, watching us with barely veiled hatred. "they've found you."

"damn it," jericho cursed underneath his breath. "sebastian, will they make a scene?"

"truthfully, i don't know," sebastian replied. he sounded sincere, but i doubted every emotion and feeling i read from him.

jericho instructed the driver in french and the taxi attempted to defensively-drive its way through the stopped traffic surrounding us. we were on the champs elysees, probably the busiest thoroughfare in paris. the man, that sebastian pointed out stood in front of a sidewalk cafe with wrought-iron chairs and tables, watched us carefully. his eyes did not leave mine, not even when he lifted his wrist to his mouth and spoke quickly into the cuff of his navy blue pea coat.

jericho was on the cell phone with gabriel, instructing them to continue on to the chunnel station. it wasn't just that he was confident we would come out of the fight unharmed, he also couldn't risk losing titus or gabriel. if we failed, at least they could go on.

i stared back at the stoic titan. i wasn't afraid of him, or of the backup he called. i wasn't even afraid of the audience we would have, should there be an altercation. if he wanted to fight, i was more than willing. what i was most afraid of was losing sebastian, and the vital intelligence i needed to break into the london palace.

"sebastian, i am going to destroy your father's guard, is that clear?" i asked without taking my eyes from the titan now only a few yards away.

"yes," sebastian answered coldly.

"are you going to stay with us, or am i going to have to hunt you down again?"

"i'll stay with you," he mumbled, unconvincingly.

"seriously, i don't care what you do. i just want to be prepared, either way." i sat forward in the cramped cab, readying myself for the fight.

"eden, i gave you my word. i will not leave you until you have fulfilled yours," he said quietly, somberly.

"all right, let's go then. jericho, let's just get this over with," i demanded, tapping the cab driver on the shoulder and throwing a chunk of euros at him.

"here? now? wouldn't you rather wait?" jericho asked with one hand on the door handle, the other on my knee. excited and anxious for battle, his magical current pulsed rapidly in his palm, and i caught his energy, my electricity flaring with blood lust.