*Xander* Lena, the White Queen? I chewed the inside of my lip as I held the door of the diner open for her. We stepped out onto the sidewalk, and I moved her to my side so she was walking near the buildings, and I was closer to the street. Not that a car was likely to bound over the sidewalk–I'd seen more cars in Crimson Creek than I'd ever seen in Morhan. It was that snake, Slate, that I was worried about. I was waiting for him to just appear out of a shadowed alley and try to finish what he'd started with Lena at any second. We only had three more blocks until we reached my apartment, however. For now, we were safe, and alone. Alone. Alone with my thoughts. Alone with the crushing certainty that I would never be able to be with Lena like I had intended to. I couldn't take her