I sat on an old 80's sofa in a small, abandoned cabin in the middle of nowhere unable to think. Anxiety eating my insides alive and all I could do was bring my knees to my chest to stop the pain in my heart. I reprimanded myself internally. How could I be so weak? I couldn't do anything. Watching Alec on the ground bleeding out, it was like a million knives were stabbing into my heart.

I heard a door open and then footsteps followed. I looked up just as the man who saved us walked in. He looked to be around late twenties to early thirties. An ivy league brown haircut with a sharp jawline. He wore a black leather jacket and black denim jeans.

"How is he?" I asked him.

"He's fine. Knocked out, but he'll live."

I sighed in relief before standing up to hug him. I don't care if he's a stranger. He saved both Alec and I. He was a friend for now.

"Thank you for helping us," I said.

"I wouldn't have to step in if Alec was able to save you."

"He fought off four of them!" I argued.

He scoffed and I frowned. Then I realized something. He knew Alec.

"How do you know his name?"

"We trained together. He was the leader of my squad. You two were lucky I happened to be near and received news from the elders."

"Elders?" I questioned.

"Yeah, Elders." He eyed me for a minute before he doubled back.

"You're not Lucy?"

"No. My name is Grace." He whistles out loud before shoving a hand through his hair.

"I guess the plan is all messed up now, huh? I can't wait till he wakes up." He puts a hand towards me. "My name is Quentin."

I shook his hand. "Nice to meet you."

"You should probably shower and hit the sack. You can utilize the bedroom to your left. Alec is sleeping in the room next to yours. Don't worry, it is very safe here."

I remembered Quentin going through Alec's pocket and throwing out his cellphone and tossing his wallet. He said we wouldn't be needing it since these were all things that can track us. Alec overlooked it, but with all that was happening, I'm sure he didn't have time to think. He had one thing on his mind and it was to get us safe and hopefully reconnecting with Lucy and Kian.

I walked to the bedroom and saw that the backpack was put on the bed. Walking over, I unzipped the backpack to pull out an outfit to change into. While going through the backpack though, I fell upon a book and inside the book was a letter.

I put the letter on the bed and opened the book to read the first page. Upon reading, I realized the book contained information about my origination. It first explained about Renovia, a kingdom invisible to the world through spells. It explained the government and orders of Renovia.

I flipped through the pages, reveling in the organization and power of it all. It felt so surreal. It details all the kings and queens and then I happened upon the last ones and my fingers brushed up against the images of them. Queen Parisa. I look so much like her.

Was this my biological mother?

I heard ruckus. Shouting and then my name.

I dropped the book onto the bed and walked to open my bedroom door. Just as I opened, Alec's door swung open. He stumbled out. I ran to him and he collapsed onto me. His gray eyes settled on me.

"Grace..."

"Alec, you should be in bed."

His eyes wandered the place. "Where are we?"

"In a cabin-"

"We need to leave."

"No, we are safe. You need to rest and heal."

"She's right," Quentin announces his presence.

Alec's gaze darted to Quentin and I felt him relax a little. Quentin walked over and took Alec from me. I followed them inside. Alec sat on the edge of the bed naked and wrapped in dressing. He looked pale and weak. Bruises all over his body and guilt hits me harder than ever.

"I'm fine." He seemed to sense my distress and wanted to reassure me.

"He is." Quentin backed Alec up.

"He lost so much blood."

"He will gain it all back in a matter of time if he doesn't put a strain on his body." Quentin crossed his arms over his chest. "Alec, what the fuck? Did you forget all the rules you ran during our training? Why didn't you lose the cell and cards?"

Alec sighed. "I wanted to make sure Kian and Lucy were safe."

"You practically told them you were Hansel and Gretal and led them right to you."

"I don't need you preaching to me!" Alec growled angrily.

"He has his reason." I cut in.

Quentin scoffed and shake his head. "He's a stubborn motherfucker."

"Shut up," Alec grumbled.

"Ok, enough. Lay back down." I walked over and helped Alec back into bed. Afterwards, I turned to Quentin. "And you, stop agitating him. You can scold him after he heals."

I turned to put my hands on Quentin's shoulders and pushed him towards the door. I was about to follow after him, but Alec grunts stopped both of us. We turned to look at him.

"Where are you going?" he asked me.

"I'm going to the bedroom next door. Was just about to find some clothes to shower and sleep."

"You'll be sleeping with me."

That statement shocked both of us. Quentin chuckled but hid it by covering his mouth and coughing. I felt heat crawl onto my cheeks and I turned to Quentin.

"That's not what he means. We are just-"

"No need to explain," Quentin interrupts me.

I sighed and looked back at Alec.

"I'll heal faster if you were sleeping in the same room as me." That statement made me scoff. I decided to listen to him as he was a patient right now.

"Let me get the stuff first. You go ahead and rest. Sleep, Alec. I'll join you soon."

He nodded his head, it seemed like he wasn't to argue with me. The second his head fell back on the bed, he fell back asleep again. I turned to Quentin when we stepped out of the bedroom.

"How bad was his injury and how did you know how to heal him?"

"I was a cardiothoracic surgeon in the human world. So, I know a thing or two about thoracic injuries. I had to work with what I had since we don't necessarily have the surgical tools like in a procedure room, but he'll survive."

I nodded my head. I realized how fortunate we were to have Quentin come save us. He saved us both.

"Thank you for being there for us."

"It's what I am supposed to do."

He turned and walked out of the hallway. I walked back into the bedroom and took out the things I needed before putting the book and letter back inside the same way again.

After taking a shower, I walked into Alec's room to find him still sound asleep. I dropped the backpack on the small sofa in the corner of the room and unzipped the bag before taking the book back out.

Crawling into bed and sitting upright, I opened the book to read. I wanted to learn more about Renovia and my kind. It will help me understand how I could help them. They were fighting hard to keep me alive and not kidnapped and all I could do was scream for help. There's got to be more in this book that could help me.

For several hours, I read through the book. Page by page. It helped me learn so much about Renovia and who exactly my parents as well as Kian and Alec were.

Halfway through the book, I landed on a page that talked about harvesting powers. It stated that when a Speller reaches the age of 20, they should have gained their powers. This statement was supported by years of documentation from Elders and Royal members.

I quickly scanned the page to see if there was anything about Royal members not gaining their powers by age 20.

Luckily, there was a section about research from a Speller years back. He was uncovering the evidence or discovering new methods that could be used to harvest powers. It explained that many powers have to do with the Spellers mental and emotional state of mind. An incident involving a Royal member who didn't gain their powers until they were 25, but that was due to them not understanding how to harvest their powers.

It explained the method used. Something about connecting the mind to the emotion and putting it into a picture. Before I could continue further, Alec began moving. He looks to be having a nightmare.

I marked the page and then dropped the book to my side. Touching Alec's shoulder I whispered his name.

"It's okay. You're safe." He's burning up.

I touched his forehead and it was beaded with sweat. His lips were pale. He moaned in pain before unconsciously moving closer to me. His body covered half of mine as he wrapped his arms around me.

"I'm cold," he murmured, but it sounded groggily as if he was talking in his sleep.

"Alec, you have a fever. I have to find Quentin."

He didn't answer, but instead tightened his arms around me. A second later, he pushed himself up and his lips touched mine. I froze out of shock until he began sucking on my lips. I pushed him away and he fell back with a grunt. He was delirious in this state. I didn't know what to do, but then a voice sounded off in my head.

Mind to emotion. Build the picture.

I didn't know what to do, but figured I'll attempt. I closed my eyes and thought about the picture in my mind. When I opened my eyes, nothing changed.

Maybe I did it wrong. Alec whimpered in pain. I touched his forehead and I think he got hotter. Worry and fear settle well inside the pits of my stomach.

This time I harness my desire to heal Alec. My emotions and love for this man in my lap. I thought about the wound on his back. The way he looked at me when he fell onto the dirt ground earlier today. The way he pushes me behind his back and does everything he can to keep me safe. I want to do the same to him. I want to keep him safe. I want to be able to protect him as much as he protects me. The desire was so strong that it grew intensely inside of me. A burning and electrifying sensation hits every nerve in my body. I felt like every neuron in my brain sizzled with electricity.

Suddenly, I felt heat burn in the middle of my palms. I opened my eyes to see a warm, white light sizzle out and slithers over to Alec. It wrapped around his shoulders to his back and then to his wound.

He grunts in pain and more sweat drips down his forehead and covers his body. I felt every brain cell burning and my vision started to blur. But the feeling was intense and it was like I could feel every wound and cut on Alec's body. Almost as if I could visualize how bad his wound is.

He screams and muffles his mouth into my stomach. For some reason, it doesn't shake me. I just knew he would be okay and that he was healing.

Then the feeling started to slow down. It wasn't as intense as it was before, but my vision blurs and I felt how heavy my eyelids were. I blinked once, twice, and collapsed onto the bed with an unconscious Alec on my lap.