Page 23 of Resurrection
“As I said, I’ll remind you again that I asked permission to be here. It was granted.” Placing my hands in my pockets, I lift an eyebrow at Khan. “If that is not revoked, and I’m being summoned like a petulant child, I would say the disrespect is pointed my way, not yours.”
“We have a reason to summon you. Does your arrogance know no bounds?” Irina spits at me angrily, barely staying seated on her throne. The crystal chimes softly again. Interesting indeed. Niklas glances at her, and one side of his mouth lifts in a triumphant smirk, but he schools his features fast.
“Let us not waste precious time, then. I’m here to answer your questions, or accusations, if there are any.” A storm is churning in my gut, but I hold tight control on it with everything in me.
“You have one of the runners,” Elizabeth says bluntly, reclining on her throne, the yellow gown shifting when shecrosses her legs. Her dress is silky and elegant, unlike Irina’s see-through one.
“Ah, that I do!” Grinning at them, I can’t help but chuckle when confused and stunned eyes meet my gaze. “I have great plans for that one.” Nodding at them as if what I just said is an inside joke amongst us; I shrug a shoulder.
“Excuse me?” Kali stutters, outrage twisting her face.
“Hey! I am not to blame because you still have those pests running around!” Glaring at her, I fist my hands, displaying all the anger I was hiding from them. “I got my hands on one. It is my right to punish as I see fit for the disrespect they show to us.”
“Oh…” Eshe breathes, her midnight skin gleaming in the candlelight. I’m taken aback by the disappointment I see in her eyes.What is going on here?
They all watch me intently for a while. I glare, my fangs peeking from my pulled back lips. All of them but Eshe and Khan look convinced. I do have a reputation after all. With a calculating look, Khan clears his throat. Eshe looks sick, making my mind whirl with implications.
“Very well.” Lifting himself off his throne, Khan comes in front of me. “I will go with you to witness this punishment.” He dares me to deny him with his glittering eyes.
“Sure.”
Shrugging, I turn around, walking out without waiting to be dismissed. The murmurs start to double in volume behind me. I don’t stop, nor do I look to see if Khan is following. I can feel his power like a slimy slug gliding and prodding at mine. His car is waiting next to ours, as I expected. There was no way I was getting out of this without them checking the girl first. We split ways, and I settle in the back seat a moment before Marcus gets behind the wheel.
“That went to shit fast,” he growls.
“Just drive.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
APRIL
After Sebastian and Marcus leave, the air in the apartment feels lighter somehow. When Sebastian is around, everything around him buzzes with energy, reacting to him like metal shavings respond to a magnet. With just Andrei present, I can finally breathe. The blonde vampire is slouched in one of the chairs, subtly watching me from the corner of his eye. I know this only because he turns his full focus on me every time I shift in my seat.
“You know that I am right.” Testing his patience, I can’t keep quiet for long. When he just considers me mutely, a sigh is wrenched from my chest. “The Council is not letting this go, Andrei. I know because I made it my life mission to not fall into their hands. No runner has stayed alive longer than a few hours when they are aware of their existence. I don’t want to die.” A lump forms in my throat while blinking away the tears that are threatening to roll down my cheeks.
He keeps searching my face for something that only makes sense to him. Jaw clenched tightly, his penetrating blue gaze makes me uncomfortable. When long moments are past, and he just keeps staring, I wonder if he even sees me. WhenSebastian was telling me his story, the reverence in his voice was something I’ve never heard before. It reminded me of how I felt when I used to talk about my mother. She was my hero, someone that I looked up to and loved more than anything, even after she left with just one fleeting glance over her shoulder. These men, monsters, vampires, whatever you want to call them, have gone to great lengths based on a story. It matters nothing to them if it’s me or the mutt that follows me around, as long as they believe it’s their queen.
Sebastian mentioned something about my blood calling to him. Apparently, that’s how they found me. With that comes the memory of his own flowing through my throat. My stomach does an involuntary lurch, my body trembling in contrast. Disgusted at myself, I rub my hands over my arms in sharp, jerky strokes. Goosebumps prickle my skin when the rich, sweet flavor blooms again on my taste buds, unbidden.
“You still don’t believe what Sebastian told you to be true.” Andrei’s voice makes my heart skip a beat. I was stewing in guilt and disgust at my reaction to the master vampire.
And that’s what he was. A master.
“I’m no one to tell any of you what to believe, Andrei. My own beliefs are based on facts, what I have seen with my own eyes. Not on some fantastical story about people being cursed or reborn.” Shaking my head, I curl into a ball, stretching the fabric of the t-shirt to its limits with my knees. “All I know is that if I don’t get out of here, I’m going to die. Regardless of all your promises that no one will hurt me. Your protection, from what I understand of that story, comes with a price.” The damn tears well up again and I swipe at my eyes angrily. “That price is my life, no matter how you look at it.”
“He spoke the truth.” Andrei’s eyes soften. “With you so close to me now, I can feel the pull of your blood through my bondwith Sebastian. It is you we’ve been searching for all this time, April. I swear it on my immortal life.”
“Yeah, you were searching for me just like the Council. The motivation behind it doesn’t change the fact that you will kill me at the end.” Failing to keep the bitterness out of my voice, I look through the broken window opposite my sofa.
“You don’t understand.” I see him shaking his head in my peripheral sight. “The pull we feel…I’m not sure how to explain it. It’s like an urge. And it’s not to harm you or kill you as you say it. It’s to protect you, keep you safe.”
My entire body freezes at those softly spoken words. The vampire accidentally gave me the leverage I need. If what he says is true, I can exploit that weakness to get the hell out of here. I just need time to think. Mind whirling with options, coming up with ideas and dismissing them just as fast, I don’t look his way. Staying as calm as I can force myself, I do my best to make sure he doesn’t notice the sudden change in me. His phone starts ringing, and I spring from the sofa, head whipping around looking for the threat.
“It’s just my phone.” Lifting it up to show me, Andrei presses a button, placing it to his ear slowly as if not to spook me more. “Sire.”
He listens intently, squinting at something that Sebastian says on the other side. I can hear the master vampire booming over the speaker. Unfortunately, my reaction to the sound of the phone ringing sent me further away from him than I should’ve been. I can’t understand a word that he says.
“You wanted to show your respect to the Council, Sire.” Andrei is staring at the plush rug at our feet. When the reply comes from the other side of the line, his posture changes. Squaring his shoulders, Andrei glances at me quickly. If I weren’t so intent on trying to catch a word from Sebastian, Iwould’ve missed it. My nerves prickle when the line goes dead, and Andrei lifts himself off the chair.
