“That’s good,” Victoria said, not pressing Alex for further information. “Having multiple plans, I mean.”
	Her attention snapped to Illyad as he stood. She took a deep breath and held it at his abrupt question. Abrupt, but not unwarranted.
	[i]Did[/i] she trust them? She glanced between the two, shifting her weight uneasily, then her gaze settled on Alex. She had known Illyad for little more than an hour or so, but Alex... she had known [i]him[/i] for years. He was her best--albeit only--friend. In all that time, he had never done anything to deserve distrust. Could she [i]really[/i] blame him for not telling her he was a vampire, knowing how she reacted to just [i]seeing[/i] his kind?
	She ignored the unnerving twinge of knowing what he was. But, if she was completely honest with herself, “what he was” was still the same Alex she knew, just with more to him than she had ever realized. The emotion and sincerity she had seen in his eyes was enough to tell her that on their own.
	Which brought her back to the question at hand: did she at least trust Alex?
	“Yes,” she said after a long few seconds, answering the question more for herself than Illyad, her eyes still on Alex and her voice soft but earnest.