You betrayed me,” I say. “You poisoned me—let them throw me in with a vampire and a Higher.”

“I didn’t know about the Higher,” he says. “And the vampire, well, I had to know.” He tugs at my hand. “But I’ll explain later. We have to go, now. Before they realize what you’ve done.”

“I said I didn’t do it.” I jerk my hand away from his and cross my arms. “I don’t trust you. And I’m not going with you.”

“Kayla, please,” he begs, not angry, but terrified. “Now’s not the time. We can talk about what I did later, and you can give me the biggest lecture on how stupid I am. But after we get the hell out of here.”

I point the knife at his chest, a threat. “Why shouldn’t I just kill you right now and run off by myself. It seems like the safer option.”

“Because you’re not a killer,” he says with certainty. “And because… because, God damn it, Juniper, you’re so stubborn sometimes.” He kicks a piece of glass and it ricochets through the air. Then he takes me by the shoulders and crushes his lips into mine.  It’s like I’ve swallowed him whole, suffocating with everything that is him. It’s more than sensing his fears; it’s like seeing into his soul.

When he pulls away, he’s gasping, eyes glazed over, blinking wildly.

“What the hell was that?” I breathe heavily.

“A kiss.” He licks his lips “And assurance that you can trust me.”

“How did you know that would—”

“Later,” he says and reaches for my hand. I let him take it, trusting him, and let him lead me away.

“Do you know a way out?” I whisper as we hop over a row of tipped chairs and storm for the back wall of the room where there’s a door.

He kicks the door open, splitting the wood, splinters flying. “We run and kill anyone that gets in our way.”

I like his plan, until I really think about it. “Where would we even go?” I pause. “It’s better for me to go on my own.”

He looks me straight in the eye. “No it’s not.” He voice cracks. “I didn’t know they were going to do that, throwing you in with a Higher just because the vampires fear you. We all have our little things. He should have been more accepting of yours.”