As I ran, I glanced down periodically at the beauty in my arms. Ash hadn’t spoken a word since we made the mad dash from her childhood home. Part of me feared she was in some catatonic state. She seemed to be staring off into the distance, silently seeing past me. It worried me more than I cared to admit. I’d seen the look before, on vampires, just before they walked into the sunshine. Everyone knew we were creatures of the shadows. Sunlight meant death for us.

The night was quickly turning into day. So, I ran as fast as I could toward the cave I’d seen only in Ash’s memories. She wasn’t helping and I was afraid to break the silence by questioning her. There were landmarks I’d picked up on from her memories, like the red ribbon she’d tied to a branch when she was younger. This was difficult to see, but I could hear something whipping in the breeze and I sincerely hoped it was the ribbon. To my delight and utter shock, as we neared the top of the mountain, there was a slight clearing. The path, which might have been well worn when she was younger and had more freedoms, had long since grown over. Slowly, I trudged through the field, taking comfort in the fact that there was no road to access this location.

I made my way around the rock pile that mostly hid the entrance to the cave, as long as this was the right one. In the distance, I could see the sun beginning to peek up over the horizon, signaling my limited time. Taking a deep breath, I murmured one word. “Please.” If I believed in prayer, this was as close as I’d come.

Thankfully, when I circled the stones, I discovered the entrance to the place she’d shown me in her mind. “We’re here,” I murmured as I leaned low to kiss her temple. She didn’t respond with words, but instead, rolled herself out of my arms.

In silence, she dragged some branches out of the way and I realized she’d done this long ago, judging by the dryness of the wood. Walking back to me, she grabbed the more manageable tote and her bag, then proceeded into the cave. Already, I’d pulled out the flashlight to shine it ahead for us.

“Not yet!” Ash glared at me.

“Sorry,” I mumbled.

“I don’t want anyone in the distance to see even a hint of light. I don’t want anyone to know where I am, where we are. I don’t want to be found. Ever.” Her shoulders heaved and I could tell she was struggling.

“Let’s get inside. It’s nearly dawn.” I hoped the gentle reminder would inspire some action. Sure enough, she nodded and gestured for me to follow her.

One inside the mouth of the cave and safely out of view, I turned the flashlight on once more. “How did you find this place?” I examined the walls. Mostly it seemed like boring old stone, but every once in a while, there would be some gemstones caught in my light.

“Old mine. I liked exploring as a kid. My father liked a quiet house. My mother liked to keep my father happy. So, I spent a lot of time outside, alone, away.” Ash shrugged, but I could feel the sadness within her.

“And that’s why you never told him about this place.” I nodded. It all made sense to me. “You loved this place.”

“Yeah, I rode out a storm in here once. Just an afternoon thunderstorm. My father was sleeping and my mother worried I’d wake him too soon.” She took several steps deeper into the cavern. Then she turned to me and smiled. “Just like I left it.”

I moved to stand beside her. “Wow. You were serious.”

She bit her lower lip before responding. “I was going to run away. I wanted to live here. It was peaceful.” Ash squatted to examine the pile of leaves and pine needles she’d used to make a pallet when she was a kid. “These will have to be replaced.” She smiled. Then she examined a crate and giggled. “This is all useless.”

There were cans of soup and ravioli. There were boxes of crackers and jars of peanut butter. There were bottles and bottles of water. “That’s probably still drinkable.”

Ash nodded. “Let’s go cover the entrance again. Then we’ll set up here for the day.” She yawned. “I’m exhausted. Tomorrow night, we can work on fixing up the place.” She smiled and laid a hand on my arm. “You can feed on me before we go to sleep. We’re going to be alright.”

I was too stunned to speak. Finally, she was in a better mood. I really wanted to talk to her now, tonight, while everything was fresh in my mind. We needed a game plan. Before I could speak, she disappeared, making her way back to the mouth of the cave as she mentioned. I could hear the sound of tree limbs cracking and dry leaves crunching as she worked to camouflage our location. When she returned minutes later, she was actually humming to herself as she pulled out our comforter and blanket. She moved them around and adjusted them so the comforter was on the bottom offering padding and the blanket was on the top acting as the true cover.

Every once in a while, I could see her breath. “It’s too cold in here for you. I can’t keep you warm. No body heat.” I frowned and worried over her. The last thing we needed was for her to get sick.

“I’m tough. I’ll be fine.” She laughed until she saw my face hadn’t softened. “Seriously, Jax. Chillax. I’m tough.”

My brow shot up. “Really? Because you didn’t seem so tough when you found your mother on the sofa.”

She flexed her fingers before forming fists at her side. This was better. I knew how to handle angry, tense Ash. I had no idea what to do with sad, broken Ash.

“Oh, I’m sure you’d handle it better, huh? If your mother was supposed to be dead, but instead she was something far worse.” She glared at me a moment and I waited for her to realize what she’d said. It didn’t take long. Ash clapped a hand over her mouth. Her cheeks turned crimson. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “It’s not the same. This is the only version of you I’ve ever known.” She swallowed hard. “My mother was alive. Then she was dead. And now, I’m supposed to accept that she’s undead.”

I held open my arms and instead of waiting for her to walk into them, I met her halfway. When she finally pressed against my chest, I laid my cheek against her hair. “I know, babe. I get it. Really, I do.” I lifted my head and pushed hers back so I could stare into her beautiful soulful eyes. “My mother is queen. You do realize this means she made me who I am, right?”

Her eyes narrowed. “I never thought of it this way.” She blew out a breath. “That seems unusually cruel for a mother.”

“Well, she killed my father, which was when my brother and I were so easily persuaded to join her.” I released a hollow laugh. “And look at it this way…your father only daggered her. He could’ve killed her. Plus, he’s seeking immortality. He must really want to be with her.”

Her head tilted. “I suppose.”

“Let’s get some sleep. We can plan tonight, after sunset.” I caressed her cheek with the back of my hand.

“Yeah, you feed, then we sleep.” She sat happily on our makeshift bed and held out her wrist. “We’ll work on some improvements around here when we wake up.”

“Ash, you do know our plan isn’t to turn this cave into a home, right?” My brows furrowed. This was about as deep into denial as a person could get.

“What do you mean?” She frowned.

“Babe.” I squatted beside her. “We can’t stay here forever. This is no kind of life for you, even for me. We can’t hide forever.”

“Well, maybe not forever, but for a while, right?” She hooked her arms around her legs and began rocking back and forth.

“Not even for a little while.” I shook my head. “We publicly humiliated your father. When he sees your room, he’ll guess we know about your mother. He’ll come after us. You get that, don’t you?” I reached out and cupped her face.

She closed her eyes for a moment. “Tonight. Let me have until tonight. Then we’ll get serious. Promise.” Ash’s lids fluttered open again. “Got it? Don’t hate on me for wanting to pretend I can have a pseudo-normal life.”

“Hate on you?” I chuckled. “Nah.” I shook my head and leaned in. “I absolutely love you for it.” Then I pressed my lips against hers.