Page 51 of Resurrection
I can feel Sebastian’s eyes on me from wherever he is lurking, like a gun jammed between my shoulder blades. He sent me with my buddy Marcus, since according to him I tolerate the giant man better than any of them, to see if anyone I come across triggers a reaction in me. Since I’m coherent and not a crazy monster in the middle of the night, I’m curious too as to why that is. Was I supposed to almost die to be myself? Or did that infected blood knock the monster in me out for the time being?
I don’t feel weird, nor do I think I’m murderous like I’ve apparently been every night. That’s a good thing, right? As long as I know what’s happening and I have control over my actions,I’ll take it and roll with it.This is what you wanted, isn’t it?the voice in my head reminds me.
“Nothing yet?” Marcus asks softly, for my ears only, not even moving his lips.
“Nope!” Ending the word with a pop, I scan our surroundings.
The hotel is huge, like a city all on its own. Bars, restaurants, large venue halls, meeting rooms. You name it, it’s there. My legs would’ve been killing me if I were human. Lost in the painted walls with scenes from a city on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, I wonder if things will ever change so that I can see it in person. The thought makes my feet falter, and I stop walking, staring at the painted wall.
“What’s wrong?” Marcus stops next to me, his head swiveling as he looks for threats.
“This painting.” Reaching with my hand, my fingers trail over the shore and the white homes surrounding it. “I feel like I’ve been here. It calls to me like nothing I’ve ever felt before.”
“That’s Italy. It is normal for you to feel drawn to it. It’s your home.”
“I was born here in America.” Frowning at him, I can taste the lie on my tongue.
Biting the words I want to say, ignoring the uneasiness my statement stirs up in me, I turn sharply away and exit the restaurant. Marcus sighs but says nothing, following obediently at my back. Anger slams into me out of nowhere, so overwhelming that I gasp and clutch at my chest.What the hell is happening to me? Will I lose my mind again and end up not remembering anything?Panic shakes me to my core. I didn’t allow myself to admit how much it bothered me that I knew nothing of my actions until now.
“April?” Marcus is at my side before the word is out of his mouth, gripping my elbow to keep me standing when I would’ve bent over.
“I think I’m going to go insane again.” Turning my panicked gaze on him, I plead with my eyes. “Take me to my room. I don’t want to kill anyone else, please!”
Just as I’m done talking, a man rounds the corner at the end of the hallway where we are standing. Dressed in the uniform of the Guardians, he looks shorter than Marcus, with blonde hair and a thin body like a swimmer. He walks purposely until he spots us staring at him. A look of trepidation crosses his features before he smooths it out, slowing his walk.
My entire focus and anger center on him. Watching him, ready to pounce, I notice how he clenches his fists, his shoulders and arms bunching up in preparation of a fight. None of the others we passed made me react this way.Or you were already angry, and this guy just happens to show up now,my mind supplies, but I ignore it. With Sebastian’s words swirling through my head, I just know there is something wrong with this one.
He takes a few more steps in our direction before entirely stopping. We stand, all three of us facing each other in some awkward standoff for a few long moments. Unable to control my facial expression any longer, my upper lip lifts over my growing fangs. The blonde Guardian’s eyes widen, and without waiting, he turns and bolts away from us.
“Oh, no you don’t!”
Lunging after him, I feel Marcus follow shoulder to shoulder with me. The colors of the rugs and painted walls blur as we run like the wind after the man. Twisting through the hallways, we almost lose him a couple of times, but a glimpse of his leg or arm leads us right on his heels. Just when I think he will get away, a familiar hallway stretches in front of me, the fountain with thewater pouring out of the lion’s mouth bringing memories with it. I grin at Marcus, and he chuckles at my joy. This hallway is a dead end. The only way the blonde man can go is toward the closed-off indoor pool.
I stop running, smiling even wider when I catch a glimpse of him entering the indoor pool room. There is no escape for him there. Giddiness makes me almost vibrate in anticipation. What is it about him that turns me into a raging mess? Was it him that caused this? There is only one way to find out. As we near the door where the blonde man disappeared, I can feel Sebastian’s presence at my back. My whole body is attuned to him like I am the moth and he is the flame. His body heat radiates at my back when his hand brushes mine. I clench my fist, unwilling to be distracted. This guy that decided to run has answers, and I have a lot of questions for him.
Let the fun begin.
Chapter Forty-Nine
SEBASTIAN
Protectiveness rises inside me when the back of my hand grazes April’s. She’s had so much of my blood in the last few hours I can feel her emotions like they are my own. Rage so strong I’ve never felt the likes of it in all my centuries. Is this what she’s been dealing with since her transformation? How is she even sane enough to talk? Receiving the impressions of it through our strengthened bond is enough to make my tight control teeter on the line.
I can see from the corner of my eye that Marcus is not fairing any better. His fangs are on display, shoulders hunched, and he keeps snarling with each step like a rogue that is possessed by bloodlust. That has not happened in the last two decades. Glancing at April, I watch for any signs that she is bothered by it. She walks purposely, not taking her focus off the door where the Guardian entered. Andrei joins us at guarding our back, and my tension drains a little. That’s until I hear his soft growls, too.
Pressing a thumb and forefinger at the bridge of my nose, I pray for patience and strength. If they go feral in here, we will be no closer to finding answers than we are now. A distraction is needed, but what? Others must’ve noticed the tension in theair. I can feel their presence all around us. They wouldn’t dare to show themselves with me here, but I can feel them close, their aura saturating the air with adrenaline and eagerness for hunting prey.
It’s April, I realize. Her blood is calling to them to heed her need for blood. For revenge. Now, why on Earth would I be thinking of revenge? It just adds to my assumptions that this whole thing is connected. I must slow things down so we can get the upper hand and understand why April is suffering so much. Ignoring the onslaught of rage and hunger, I grab her hand, jerking her to a stop. Rounding on me, she snarls, that golden glow sparkling in her eyes. Not giving her time to unleash her anger on me, I yank her to my chest and kiss her stupid.
She clings to my shoulders, claws digging in my skin, waking up the beast in me that has wanted to ravish her from the moment I saw her. “Minchia!” I cuss under my breath when I pull away from her lips and devour her mouth hungrily a moment later. Pushing away the lust that has me as hard as a rock, I inspect her emotions. Gradually, the rage and bloodlust ebb and a different type of hunger roars through our bond. I can feel Marcus and Andrei panting around us, so I reluctantly drag myself away from her. She chases my lips and snaps her teeth angrily in my face when I hold her at a distance.
“We need to be rational so we get our answers, my redemption.” Pressing my forehead to hers, I sigh, breathing her arousal in. It wreaks havoc inside me. “Allow me to question him first. You can have your fun later.”
“You will have me look at my killer and not rip his throat out?” Her voice is changed, huskier and accented when she is not herself. That’s one way we know who we are dealing with this last week. “You will have me listen to their petty lies like a fool?” Shoving me away, her eyes burn like two suns. “I will bathe in their blood and they’ll remember me even when theirsouls writhe in the pits of hell for eternity.” Farò il bagno nel loro sangue e loro si ricorderanno di me anche quando le loro anime respireranno nelle fosse dell’inferno per l’eternità” in perfect Italian she says,“I will bathe in their blood, and they’ll remember me even when their souls writhe in the pits of hell for eternity.”Shivers pass through my soul at her words. Cocking her head, a wicked smile plays on her lips. “Ti andrebbe di unirti a loro, tesoro?”“Would you care to join them, lover?”
“Non è un consiglio, cuore del mio cuore. Forse la tua rabbia ti fa veder un nemico in tutti. Non permetterò a nessuno di ferirti nuovamente,” I answer her in kind automatically, and my words say,“He is not one of the Council, heart of my heart. Perhaps your anger makes you see an enemy in everyone. I will not let anyone hurt you again.”Her smile grows at my change of language.
My mind is reeling with her, calling the Guardian her killer. Has she really gone insane? When she called me lover, the way she had called her mate before she was killed, if the scrolls about her are to be believed, made me call her heart of my heart in return. How do I go back from that? And to my utter disbelief, I realize the words I spoke are the truth. She is my heart.
