My heart hit overdrive, beating roughly against my ribs and making breathing hard.

Can't be happening. Please, no.

I open and shut my mouth over and over but I can't force the words out. I'm not sure if I want to. Once the question is out, I can't unknow the truth.

A new monster?

Of course I knew there was a possibility he would still go for it, but I'd hoped that by ruining his first attempt and pointing out to the casters that the plan would have backfired that it would be done now. No such luck.

Dalton helps his father to his feet, steadying him into his mother's grasp before bending back down to help me up and tucking me beneath his arm and against his side. I can feel his deep intake of breath and I look up and see the fear in my heart on his face.

Please. Not Pedro.

Dalton lifts his eyes to meet his father's and sighs. "Who is it?" His voice is strained, barely scraping up and out of his throat. Someone two feet away wouldn't have been able to hear him.

Nathaniel reaches out a shaking hand and places it on Dalton's shoulder and then looks over at me. I take another deep breath, forcing air into my lungs.

"It's not Pedro." He sighs and my heart sings. A smile stretches across my cheeks and Dalton's grip on me lossens. I let the tense set of my shoulders relax and the wheels in my head start turning again.

How do we go about this? There has to be a way to end the monster. But how?

"Rose," Nathaniel's voice demands my attention and I find sorrow in his eyes.

Just as quickly as my relief came, it vanishes.

"Who is it?" I ask, wracking my brain.

"A man you know." He whispers. "He's very close to you, with blonde hair..."

Mom shakes her head furiously and Dad pulls her into his chest. My mind is slow, like I'm thinking I'm a fog. Why is mom so upset? Why is everyone looking at me like that?

Then it hits me.

"No!" I shout. "No, Logan has nothing to do with this! They don't even know where they are! He's with Octavia!"

"How?" Mom shouts, her eyes blazing. "How do they even know who he is?"

A group of rowdy drunks come around the corner, smiling and laughing together, not giving a care about us or our lives that are being ripped apart.

At least I don't think they care, until the man in the front stops short, eyes wide like saucers as he stares at me.

"My queen." He drops clumsily to one knee and his friends follow suit, muttering out their praises. Unsure of what to do, I duck my chin to them, trying to hide the tears in my eyes threatening to flood over.

"Let's speak in private." Tiwen whispers, taking my elbow and leading me into the closest room. The walls are covered in shiny blue and silver tiles like the walkways and the room seems to glitter in the light of the crystal chandeliers that line the length of the room. It's only a little bit smaller than my room back at Castrum, but the bed is twice the size. I would be struck by the beauty of it all if it weren't for the painful aching in my chest.

Dalton, Lance, Mom, and dad follow me in and the close the door. As soon as the door clicks I dig out my cell phone.

I hit speed dial number #2, the man who I love as a father. The man who raised me when my real dad couldn't.

"Hey, you've reached Logan. Leave me a message and I'll get back with you." His voicemail message fills my ears but breaks my heart.

I wait for the beep and then leave a desperate message. "Logan, please call me as soon as you get this."

I hang up, but instantly call right back. It rings and rings,  but right before the voicemail can pick back up again, I hear the line crackle.

"Hello?" I nearly jump out of my skin. "Logan? Are you there?" My mom and dad move in closer to me, the hope in my mom's eyes echoing my own.

"What a surprise." A soft high pitched woman's voice pierces through the phone. "My little seer, or I guess, my little seeing queen."

"Elenora." I gasp, my knees trying to buckle beneath me but my dad pulls me over to sit on the edge of the bed and he and Dalton flank my sides.

I can hear her laugh quietly. "I'm glad you remember me, because I certainly remember you. You left quite the impression." She sighs. "I must say, I was quite surprised when I found out the truth about you. Your parents must be so proud of you."

I grit my teeth and clench my spare hand into a fist. "Where is Logan?" I demand. "How did you know about him?"

She laughs again and I see red. "Well, first of all, your dramatic exit with us told me you were more important than just some niece of the king. Turns out, I was right. You're much much more."

"How did you find out?" I yell again.

"You're not the only seer in the world little girl!" She snaps at me. "I've got plenty of power in my ranks and I had hoped to make you one of them, but you chose to cross me. Now it'll be you who pays the price. I have a friend who can see and astral just like you, granted he isn't as strong, but he got the job done. We know all about you now."

My mind buzzes with all of the times I've talked openly about plans or mentioned my family. So many secrets they could have learned with a spy none of us can see. I don't even know how to protect our plans going forward.

"Whatever you're planning, it won't end well for you." I tell her in a rush. "The doctor is lying to you. He wants the world to end. He'll use you to get what he wants."

"I know better than to listen to you." She informs me coolly. "You spew nothing but lies and soon all of the monsters you're protecting will be no more. All thanks to you and your very handsome second daddy." She giggles happily to herself, enjoying the twist of pain in my chest that she knows she's inflicting. "We have your Papa too, don't we? How sad for you, watching everyone you love be turned against you."

Tears burn my eyes but I won't let them free, not yet. I won't give her the satisfaction. It's what she wants.

"Listen, Elenora, I understand you think you're doing the right thing, but you aren't. Vampires won't be the only ones hurt here, it's going to affect everyone. He plans to use this monster to kill-."

"I know there will be loss of life,  but it is a necessary evil. We need to purge the old to make way for the new."

"But you don't understand! There will be no new! Everyone will die this way! Everyone!" I stand up from the bed, clutching the phone and wishing I could make her see. "I understand why you think this is the only way but it's not. It's not, you can stop this! Before it's too late! You've seen the way the doctor will turn on his allies, you'll be no different. He needs you, that's all. Please, turn on him first, kill him! End this all! Make the right choice here, Elenora!"

She sighs softly. "Oh little seeing queen, desperate minds speak desperate lies...it's beneath you isn't it? Though you crossed me I had believed you were different. I suppose I was wrong. Desperation speaks to weakness. I don't need weak with me." Her words sting because of the truth in them. I am desperate. At this point I'm grasping at straws that are becoming fewer and fewer. My paths are all being cut off and my family is the one suffering for me. I can't think of it, Logan as a monster. He's never hurt a person before, his heart's too big, he won't survive this.

"Please, Elenora, listen to me. I'm not trying to trick you, I'm trying to make you see! This will end the whole world. It's not only about me, it's about you and your family as well! Please, just kill him! End this!"

"Do you not think I've tried that already?" Her angry scream takes me off guard and I knit my brows in confusion. "You think I enjoy taking orders? I've tried to kill him, we all have. He can't be killed."

"Elenora, everyone can be killed."

She laughs sarcastically. "This my little seer, is my point. You know nothing. Even teasing you now holds little amusement for me." She pauses for a moment and I have to check the screen to be sure she didn't hang up on me. "Get used to the idea. A new world is coming, and it will be paid for on the back of your family. Fool me once, shame on you, there will be no fooling me twice."

Before I can plead anymore, she's gone.

"Can we track the phone call?" I ask desperately.

Tiwen frowns, but hold out ho hand. "I'll try my best." He nods, rushing out.

I look around the room, my mind and body on autopilot. Everything is drawing up blanks for me.

"What if they are watching us right now?" I whisper, eyes raking across the room.

"They aren't." Nathaniel shakes his head. "I'd be able to sense their presence." He lifts his head from Victoria's shoulder, still looking shaken. "Likely whatever seer they have in their ranks knows to only come around when I'm not near by, otherwise I could alert you."

Dad stands up fast, pacing in front of the bed while mom stands like a statue on the other side of the room.

"You stay near by at all times from now on." Dad says a little too demanding. "Please." He tacks on the end.

Nathaniel nods, but something he said piques my interest. "How would they know if you're around or not? When I astral I never know really where I'm going or who will be there."

Victoria smiles softly at me. "That's because your power is still so young. You need training to heighten your senses and become more controlled. We can help you as much as possible."

"I need to do that soon and as fast." My body shakes. "I need to see Logan, and Pedro. Dad have you gotten in touch with Octavia?"

He shakes his head. "She's not answering her phone and-"

Tiwen bursts back into the room, a phone to his ear. "She's here." He announces.

Dad puts his hand to his chest and sighs, dipping his head. "Thank goodness." I'd like to celebrate myself but one person versus everyone else doesn't feel like much of a victory.

"She's on her way down, but I have more troubling news." He looks down at his feet.

What could possibly be worse than all this?

"What is it?" I grit out.

Tiwen sighs, covering the mouth piece on his phone. "Do you know a girl named Eyan?"

"Yes." I say warily.

"You're not going to like the lies she's spreading."