The morning passed in a bit of a blur. During breakfast most conversation was lost on me as I eyed Richard, not feeling comfortable at how easily my guard was going down. He seemed kind and genuine, and when he'd meet my gaze I could see a hint of sadness and guilt, though I didn't know why. All of it was unnerving. I knew he was the man from my dreams, the one in the trench coat walking up to me, the very same one I kept seeing. The moment I saw his face he clicked into place, it was like trying to remember a song from long ago and finally placing the title. I was at odds with what to believe. Was he the evil haunting my nightmares, or was he something else?

Felix had come up from the basement after everyone was in the kitchen, eyeing me briefly before arranging and organizing our day. I didn't know why he disliked me, at this moment I was too wired to care. Today we would be given directions to the Gypsies, or more precisely, directions to my answers.

We took no vehicle, which I found strange, they didn't tell me where we were going, only that it was secret. It felt oddly like a field trip, and it made me think of the last field trip I went on.

I was 12, and heavily affected by my nightmares. I was a reserved girl, constantly feeling out of place and lonely. The field trip was nothing special, nor was it really note worthy, aside from it being my first visit to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. I remember shying away from the rest of the class, lagging behind just barely in sight. I felt more connection with the things of the past then the people and things of the present. Thinking back, I guess I always clung to memory, more than likely because I was missing mine.

We all walked in a jumble, lost in our conversations when we halted in front of antique store.

"Ladies first." Lex smiled as he pulled the door open for me.

"Thanks. What are we doing here?" I was beyond confused, I had the impression we were headed to some meeting grounds for the supernatural not looking into Grandma's old furniture.

"You'll see." Liam whispered behind us as Lex gently urged me inside, I could feel the nervous smiles behind me. A red flag I ignored.

There was nothing unique about the store, no strange items of interesting origin, no elves or other creatures. Just antiques, and the smell of moth balls and dust so heavy it made me want to sneeze.

Without pause, Richard led the way to the back of the store, nodding at the owner as we passed. We stopped in front of two separate doors. One said exit in bright red letters, and the other said the same only in green.

They all took deep breathes, steadying themselves. That alone made me nervous. Another red flag, a red flag that made me seriously question exactly what we were about to do.

"Are you ready?" Lex asked as he grabbed my hand and squeezed it.

"Umm... based on all of you, I'm thinking maybe not..." I half joked.

He bit back a chuckle and smiled at me. "Just hold onto me, this is gonna hurt."

"Ok." Then what he said really hit me."Wait, what?"

With a sharp yank I was being drug through one of the doors, I didn't see which one.

As we broke the barrier on the door my body went numb, almost making me lose my grip. I half expected to float await at the feeling of nothingness. The world around me was a blur, like you were driving down the road at immense speed and everything passed too quickly to take in.

Then it really hit me, hard. As everything started to slow my insides began to burn and tear, I could feel the heat building till I thought my blood was boiling, my bones felt like paper being thrown into a shredder, and my breath turned ragged. My throat felt raw from screams that never left me and my eyes watered at the pressure. It felt like an eternity of torment, breaking me and then putting me back together, then repeating the process. Then as quickly as it came, it stopped.

I sucked in a harsh breath and collapsed into a heap, shivering from the pain that had eased into a dull ache.

"It's ok, you're alright, shh." Someone was chanting in a soft, rhythmic tone. As my senses began to sharpen again I knew it was Lex, sometime in the aftermath he had pulled me into him and was gently rocking me back and forth, soothing me with his words. My whole body trembled, seizing at odd intervals. There was a soft hiccup and a choked back sob, it took a moment to realize it came from me.

Slowly it all started to ease when I felt a familiar warm sensation touching my shoulder that spread through my whole body. I didn't need to look to know that Ari was doing the same thing he did when I was shot. I gathered my courage and lifted my eyes to the one holding me, fully expecting to see exasperation or annoyance, but all I saw was a sweet adoration. It made my cheeks blush so sharply I had to look away as swiftly as I could. I could feel more than hear him chuckling against me.

"Feeling better?" Richard asked from beside us, concern heavily weighing down his voice.

With a shaky hand I wiped my tear stricken face and got onto wobbly feet.

"Here, lean on me for a while. Your strength will start coming back soon." Lex pulled my arm around his, tucking it into the crook of his elbow.

"What was that?" I asked weakly, still trying to find my voice.

"That was us crossing the border of the human world and ours." Aiden said in a wistful tone, like he enjoyed it, or maybe he missed it.

"Why did it feel..."

"Like you were thrown into a furnace and paper shredder at the same time?" Logan finished what I couldn't, I just nodded.

"Care to take this one Fe?" Aiden smiled in his direction. Felix was standing, arms crossed and staring at the ground. After a brief moment of silence, he rubbed his eyes and sighed. He looked tired... and lonely.

"The barrier between our worlds was designed to keep humans away, and only let those of us who belong here through." He paused, letting me take it on before continuing. "The first time you go through, the barrier tests your blood, checking to see if your genes are pure enough to pass through. You should be thankful, you took that ten times better than I've ever seen anyone else take it. The few people who do make it through tend to be down on the ground for a good hour."

I was the lucky one?!

"Ok, why does it need to test people?"

"Throughout the years, our kind has been breeding with humans, diluting our bloodlines. So even though there are those of us with all the trademark things that come with being Gifted, that doesn't actually fully mean they're one of us."

That made an odd type of sense, like this was a special club not everyone could join, no matter how they seemed to fit. This was a special place, a place that needed to be kept safe. Still, I was beyond livid. I yanked my arm away from Lex like it was poison and the shock on his face was straight out of a cartoon.

"You let me go through, not knowing if i'd even make it, and didn't think to warn me in the slightest?!" I yelled to no one in general, I blamed them all for my pain.

"We talked about warning you, we did, we just knew that if we had told you what it would feel like you wouldn't come." Lex said sorrowfully, his face that of a puppy being scolded. If I weren't so angry, I would've found it cute.

"Heck yeah I would've! I can't believe you. Any of you!" At the end of my shout I noticed an odd looking group of kids had congregated at the end of the alley, watching us.

Richard followed my gaze and proceeded to scream at them in a weird, guttural sounding language I didn't recognize. They scattered like mice being chased with a broom.

Lex reached for me and I yanked my arm away as quickly as I physically could.

"Liv-"

"No! You don't get to try and act all kind and noble. That was a really crappy thing to pull!" No one should have to feel something like that without knowing it was coming. "Let's get this over with, cause right now I seriously don't want to speak to any of you!"

Lex looked hurt, and through my righteous indignation, I felt guilty for causing it. But he still deserved it!

"Fair enough." Aiden said softly.

"Alright, let's get going then." Felix said as he moved out of the alley.