Derrick

Twenty.

This chapter has 1375 words in it. WARNING: This chapter takes a VERY STEEP turn. When I say steep, I mean STEEP. Things are starting to get a little crazy :')

Please excuse my spelling errors, I was very excited about writing this chapter and my fingers almost fly across the keyboard when I'm excited.

Thank you SOOO much for reading!

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"Are you sure Roy is okay with this?" I asked for the fiftieth time as we walked around the palace's mind-blowingly gorgeous garden. It was abnormally warm outside, much to my surprise.

"Yes."

He didn't elaborate, and after a few quiet minutes of walking, Sebastian's hand caught mine. I looked up, shocked, as he pulled me behind a thick line of neatly trimmed hedges. They were taller than both of us, which was saying a lot, considering Sebastian's height.

"Sebastian?"

"You need to leave." He said, his voice low and serious. His silver eyes were hard, insistent.

"Why?" I asked.

"I can't tell you why. Not yet."

Anger shot through me. He was always telling me to do this and that, but did he ever give me a reason? Did he expect me to blindly follow all of his orders?

"No." I said, grateful that my voice didn't waver. Sebastian blinked, and a lock of midnight black hair fell and rested softly on his forehead. I ignored the urge to brush it away.

"No?" He seemed genuinely lost for a split second. Just as fast, though, his expression shifted into anger that matched mine. I lifted my chin.

"Yes, no." I said, glaring at him. Suddenly, he placed both of his hands on the hedge behind us, trapping me. Why was the hedge so damn solid? It was like a wall that was just painted to look like a hedge. He leaned forward.

"You're a bomb." He said. "You're human. Sort of. For now."

Confusion clouded my brain.

"For now?"

"The only way to stop the change is to get all the venom out."

All the venom out? But didn't Sebastian tell Roy that I'd be fine? Didn't Roy get out just enough to stop it from happening?

"What does that-"

"You're still changing." He cut me off. "Slowly. Roy got the majority of my venom out, but all it takes to complete the process is one little drop. Which, I assure you, is less than what you still have inside you."

I stared at him, horrified. I started to speak, but he held up a hand, stopping me.

"I don't know how long it will take. I didn't smell anything out of the ordinary when you woke up."

"But," I said, my smooth voice shaky. "I will change."

Sebastian nodded. I swallowed, trying to make sense of my jumbled thoughts. I felt fine. I felt more than fine. Surely, if the venom was turning me into something else entirely, I'd feel some kind of bad, right? Vampire venom changed your DNA; that wasn't something that couldn't be felt. Right?

"We can tell him," I said, hope flaring in my chest. "We tell him, and he hooks me back up and gets the rest of it out."

"Look at yourself, Elizabeth." Sebastian said. "Look at your eyes. Listen to your voice. Go run a mile, and realize that you aren't even winded."