"What are you waiting for Captain? Do your job," DeMarco states.

For a minute, I actually think Jackson is going to do it. I think Jackson is going to run across the room and stake me, or rip my head off. I'm not exactly sure what kills a vampire to be honest. If the Grip covered it in Art of Killing, I was pretty sure that I dozed off during that section. I regret that part immediately.

Jackson doesn't though. He looks over at the Dean and shakes his head, "I know you like to think that you are the king DeMarco, but you aren't. I'll lock up the boy and let the king decide."

At that moment, he tells his guards what to do and I am taken away. I look back to see JB one last time, no not just JB but Prince JB. This whole time this boy was the ing prince and I had no idea. I am shocked when I look over at him.

When I leave the building, I'm taken directly to the jail and it becomes clear that this is no small deal. There are swarms of Paparazzi all around me. You would think I was OJ Simpson or something by the way the cameras were going off. My heart is swamping in my stomach. Is this how the I am going to die? Is this stupid reason why I was going to be killed?

It takes two hours of being locked up before Jackson finally comes and gets me. He doesn't look happy when he pulls me out of the cell. He gives me some cold blood to drink and starts to me out.

"Thank you for stopping the Dean."

"He has it out for you," Jackson lets me know; "His daughter was the talk of the town in Class O. Everyone assumed she would fall in love with JB and become the next princess. I think he fed that to the media honestly. When you came around everyone stopped talking about his daughter. Everyone started focusing on you."

"Wait Dean DeMarco has a daughter in Class O?" I ask.

He nods, "Sure does."

"Let me guess. Candy?"

"That's the . Moreover, with you taking attention away from Candy is making this even harder for me to protect you. You just seem to LOVE media attention. Do you know in the past week you got 20 hours of coverage on Fangtastic TV? You have a death wish or something?"

He had no idea how close to the truth his statement was. "No but I did try to kill myself when I was a human. That was an epic fail as you can see."

Jackson must think I'm joking until he looks in my eyes and sees that I'm not joking. His eyes are glaring up at me. When he sees that I'm serious, his face sinks into a little bit of a bothered frown. I can tell he's upset by me saying that.

He still sounds mad but not angry when he tells me, "It's hard to keep you alive. You know that? You know how many strings I had to pull not to get you killed immediately?"

"Why are you trying to keep me alive?"

Jackson shrugs, "I'm not the only one. The crowned prince is doing anything and everything to help you.

It's a media circus out there though. Even more so than it already has been. Everyone wants to know what's going on in Class O."

I feel bad almost immediately again for attacking JB. It's not because he's a prince. I mean that but it's just because I allowed myself to get so angry that I hit him. I wasn't threatened. I wasn't in pain. There was no reason for me to head JB the way I did. It was completely out of my fear of just how comfortable JB was making me feel. It scared me to feel that comfortable with someone again after Roman.

"I didn't know he was the king's son," I admit.

"He's not the king's son really. Vampires leave Eden, find a human have a child with them and when the child becomes of age, they take the child away from the human parent and bring them to Eden. The King refused to leave Eden but he needed an heir so he adopted the son of a Countess who was killed by Rogue Vampires while she was in the human world raising JB. Regardless JB is a prince. Attacking a member of the royal family is treason."

I look over at Jackson, "Is he going to kill me?"

Jackson stops walking at that moment.

"I'm going to stand out of the door. If the King orders you dead...I'm going to come and get you. I'm not going to let you die over something you didn't know."

"Isn't that treason too?" I ask.

Jackson nods.

"Yeah it is."

I'm so confused by Jackson.

"Why would you risk your own life to save mine?" I ask him.

Jackson shrugs, "Listen. You're special. I know you are. I'm just waiting for everyone else to realize it too."

My heart flutters a little bit knowing that he believes in me like that. I smile at Jackson but he doesn't smile back. I know that he's trying to be focused at that moment as we get to the palace.

The palace is a huge skyscraper building next to the Cathedral school. The roof of the palace is painted in the same style and manner as the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. This entire place actually reminds me a lot of Vatican City. There are priest looking people that act as servants. They are cleaning up the throne room as Jackson guides me past. Their eyes are looking at me. They are looking in the way the students at the school were looking at me. These people are pretending to be professionals but I can feel their eyes following me. I feel so insecure. I remember all the paparazzi that swarmed Jackson and his guards just getting me to the palace. These vampires were taking this really serious. It scared me honestly.

Jackson takes me past the throne room. I can feel his hand tightening on my shoulder. He's trying to tell me that everything is going to be all right. I want to believe that everything is going to be fine and somehow I am getting some type of comfort knowing that Jackson is going to be close.

Jackson takes me to a room and stands outside of the door. He looks me in the eye for a second. There are guards all through this hallway but that doesn't stop Jackson from kissing me on the forehead.

Talk about favoritism.

"Be strong," he tells me in a solid voice, "I'm right outside. Remember what I told you..."

He'd be there to save me if I needed saving. He wouldn't let me die.

The thought that Jackson was on my side helped a lot. Jackson wasn't some kid even though he looked probably exactly the same age as me. Jackson was an experienced vampire. If we had to run there would probably be no one else in Eden I'd rather run with than the Captain of the King's Guard.

He opens the room at that moment and allows me to walk in. As I walk in to the king's chambers, I realize that I don't know what the formal thing to do is when you meet a king. Should I bow or was there some sort of vampire act of respect for me to show.

Luckily, I'm not alone with the king. I notice JB. He motions a head nod at that moment as though tipping me off on what I should do.

I nod at the king.

The king doesn't seem like a scary person. He isn't anything like the Dean. Regardless of the fact that he isn't JB's father they actually kind of look alike. They both have this mahogany orange reddish skin that looks like chestnut. The king's hair is wild however where JB's is tame. JB eyes are much more slanted than the king's as well and JB's silver eye color isn't shared by the king. Those are the true giveaways that they aren't really related by blood.

"Sit," King Ecbert, tells me.

I'm nervous but I take a seat next to JB.

"King Ecbert----" JB starts off.

I find it strange that JB doesn't call him father even though King Ecbert adopted him. I'm assuming he must not see the king as his father. He doesn't get much out before King Ecbert hushes JB.

"Shh..." the king hushes him before turning to me, "Jr is it?"

"Yes sir."

"Jr I find myself in a dilemma. I'm sure you noticed the cameras out there. Everyone in Eden is watching me right now. They are all wondering what I am going to do with the strange AB that attacked my heir."

"Sir I want to formally apologize to JB," I say

The king nods and smiles, "I know you're sorry. That's not the point. See, it was strange for me to put you in class O. As you know, Class O members are trained to be the King's guard. This would make you a very important Vampire when you graduate. My decision was very controversial. It seems like everything I do is controversial. Nothing makes them happy. They have no love for the fact that that I never chose a lover or that I didn't leave Eden to have a natural born heir."

He looks over at JB as he says that. I wonder if the people of Eden have some resentment towards JB being the prince since he wasn't naturally King Ecbert's son.

King Ecbert continues after a short pause, "Now this dilemma. You attack my son. My son would like to forgive you. Honestly so would I."

"Thank you sir."

"I said that I would like to forgive you. Not that I would," he interrupts me, "You see, when you are a king you rule for the nation, not yourself. People are waiting to see if I'm a strong king. They are waiting to see if I am going to sentence you to death. And I'm afraid I don't have a choice."

"King Ecbert please," JB explains.

King Ecbert stands up at that moment and paces around the room, "The Jihad is now. Lilith's rogues are getting stronger by the moment in the human world. The King's Guard is the most vulnerable than it's ever been with such a small class O. An attack is impending."

"They don't know where Eden is sir," JB tells Ecbert.

"For now they don't. But who's to say someone in Eden won't get scared because of how weak the king is. Who's to say a traitor won't give our location away. The entrance to Eden is our biggest secret. If the Rogues find out where we are...they'll stop at nothing to kill every last vampire. That is their nature you see. The nature of the Rogues is to kill. So I have to be strong. I have to show people that I'm not afraid to kill as well. I hope you can understand."

He's polite as . You would