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ran underground, leading all the way back to the sea.
Once inside the building, we made our way to the elevators and I hit the B3 button. I prayed all the way down that the alarms were some kind of mistake, or that they were doing some enhanced testing of their capability and that is what turned my pearl black.
The elevator doors slid open revealing the Operations Center of Transport. It spread out before us in a maze of fully-automated, technologically-advanced, highly-classified machinery. It hovered just above the mouth of the tunnel, which still held one transport unit—the one we’d arrived in two months prior.
From Transport, we could communicate with Atlas, as well as harness the power of Atlas to maintain the magic shield that protected Slumber from the human world. I suppose it also protected the human world from Slumber, since the shield disabled the magic of the Lore descendants, ensuring that everyone within its borders maintained a human form.
Inside the enchanted borders of Slumber, the descendants of the Lore would look like normal teenage boys and girls, remaining unaffected by the curses of their gruesome, bothersome ancestors as long as the shield was operational. It also inhibited the use of their familial powers, like keeping werewolves from turning, shifters from shifting, witches from bewitching, killers from killing— basically it kept everything nice and normal. Yes, Transport was definitely the single most important location in all of Slumber.
Only today, something was terribly wrong.

CHAPTER FOUR

Alarms were going off everywhere and people were scrambling about. All in all, it was easy to see that chaos had ensued.
Searching the faces, I looked for Commander Jessup. When I found him, however, his companion stole my attention as well as my breath. Jessup was deeply embroiled in conversation with Jackson.
I tried to ignore the way his wet hair shone in the bright overhead lights and the way his bronzy skin gleamed against the black of his shirt, but it didn’t work. When my racing pulse coupled with my lack of oxygen began to make me dizzy, I had to avert my eyes just so I could breathe.
“ Who are you looking for?” Aidan asked, mistaking my reluctance to look at Jackson as a sign that I was searching for someone other than Jessup.
I didn’t answer him.
I was immediately angry, mostly at Jackson (though it made no sense), and my irrational reaction only served to further aggravate me. Fortunately, the potent cocktail of my swirling anger and remembered humiliation had me back to rights in no time.
With lips pinched tight, I turned back toward Commander Jessup and Jackson.
“ Him,” I finally answered, starting forward.
With head held high, I approached the two large men. I kept reminding myself that I was the Warden Major’s daughter, a Princess in her own right. I had every reason to be here and they had every obligation to answer my questions.
I came to a stop in front of the two men and they both turned to acknowledge me.
“ Princess,” Commander Jessup said, dipping his head formally.
I nodded in response. “Commander.”
I looked to Jackson, not bothering to hide my smug smile. I could feel the fire flashing in my eyes, daring him to be anything less than cordial.
“ Princess,” he said, tucking his chin slowly, his sparkling blue eyes never leaving mine.
I nodded haughtily, but said nothing.
“ Commander, might I have a word?”
“ Of course,” he said, turning fully toward me.
“ In private,” I added, not even deigning to look at Jackson again.
The Commander glanced at Jackson.
“ Hamilton, give us a minute.”
From the corner of my eye, I could see Jackson spear me with a satisfied look of his own before he turned to the Commander.
“ Sir, for reasons we’ve already discussed,” Jackson began, clearing his throat and sending a knowing grin in Jessup’s direction. “I’ve had to assume the role of personal Sentinel to the Princess. It might be best if I am privy to