Page 90 of Resurrection
“You are a mage.” Not a question but a statement, and the proud grin on his face makes me sick.
I didn’t think I could feel more idiotic than I already felt, but I was wrong. Staring at Eddie now, I want to slam my head off the table repeatedly for being so dumb, and out of all the people I crossed paths with, I picked the two slugs who were plotting my demise. I cared for both of them like they were my family.
Both of them stabbed me in the back.
Now I understand why my parents used to say, “Keep your friends close but your enemies closer.” The wound inflicted by those you barely know will bleed, but it will eventually crust over and be forgotten. But the gashes opened by those you least expect to stab you when your back is turned will trickle slowly for eternity, draining your life drop by drop. And they never heal. They’ll stay as an open wound, sending crippling pain through you when you least expect it. The same numbing sensation I feel now while looking at his face.
“It would’ve been safer for you to kill me when I was still human.” Snapping out of the morose thoughts, I lift the vodka, taking a sip from it and letting it burn as it slithers down my throat. “Why wait when you had many opportunities to take my life. At the time, I might’ve even welcomed it.”
“I see your lovely Italians are still keeping secrets from you,” Eddie points out conversationally, and I expect Marcus to jump on him, but my friend stays silent still like a statue, watching the mage with an indescribable glint in his dark eyes.
“Since you are in a chatty mood, let’s hear it.”
“You look well, April.” If I didn’t know what kind of scum he was, I would’ve believed the sincerity in his voice. “Immortality suits you.”
“Flattery will get you nowhere.” My drawl only stretches his smile wider.
The stony exterior I projected cracked, a hairline fracture spreading so fast I can feel it trembling within me. All the grief and anger I was suppressing shoves against the walls I raised to contain it, and my power surges through me, ready to level everything to the ground. Instead of cowering or running away as fast as his feet will carry him, Eddie squints at my face.
“Now, now, April. You don’t want to do that here. Do you?” His voice sounds like it is coming from far away, and I blink at him to bring him into focus. “Here you are … how should I say it? Outnumbered.” Snickering like a lunatic, one of his arms waves around pointing at the restaurant. “Your friend here is smart, so he keeps his collar on him. Here there are only four of you, but many of us. I’d suggest you stay calm unless you wish to die.”
Taken aback by his words, I spread my awareness around the wide space for the first time. When we walked in, I felt the prickle of power within the place, stupidly assuming there were others of our kind here. Now, when I do pay full attention, I see that it’s power alright, but power from magic. The place iscrawling with mages, and I brought us in the middle of them like a dumbass.
“Ah, now you see I’m telling the truth.” Eddie snickers again.
“What the fuck do you want, Eddie.” Dropping all pretenses, I hiss at him through my teeth.
“I don’t want to harm you, April.”
But he puts emphasis onI, which tells me the rest of them do want to harm me very much. If I survive this, I’ll never hear the end of it from Sebastian. He will lock me up and throw away the key. Maybe I should start a fight and just die here. It’ll be less painful than seeing the disappointment on Sebastian’s face.
How could I be so dumb? Again.
“You didn’t answer my question, either.” Clenching my fists on my lap, I let the sting of my nails shredding the skin of my palms ground me in the here and now.
“The Council was smart. Khan specifically.” Eddie shakes his head. “He didn’t want to share his power, only spread just enough of it to the other members to keep them complacent, making our job to send you back into hiding harder. You see, we had to kill each one of them, then find their lackies one by one. With you though …” He looks as happy as a pig in mud, and my stomach somersaults.
“With me what?” I snap impatiently while he drags it out just to piss me off.
From the corner of my eye, I see the hostess inch closer to the table, owlishly staring at us. I would’ve thought she was nervous and worried we would make a scene, but on a second glance, I realize there is excitement glinting in her brown eyes. The bitch is gloating, thinking this is our end.
My teeth grind audibly.
“You made sure the new blood rises by feeding them all your blood. Making them stronger, able to walk the daylight, setting them free. What you failed to realize is, you signed their deathwarrants. With you, all we have to do is kill you.” The blood turns to ice in my veins. “The moment you die, all of them will follow right on your heels.”
Fear like I’ve never known grabs me by the throat, suffocating me.
Eddie grins at me, the knowledge of my death evident in his confident stare.
That’s when Marcus attacks.
Chapter Eighty-Two
APRIL
Remember my proclamation that fear is useless, in my other life when all I cared about was staying alive and hidden? Yeah, I still stand on that fact as I watch Marcus, one second sitting mute at the table like a statue, and the next pouncing on Eddie so fast he’s just a blur in front of my eyes. For a split second, everything is frozen—me included—and the sound of the chair hitting the marble floor is like the boom from an explosion echoing inside the restaurant. Eddie must’ve expected it, because as fast as Marcus is on him, jaws open wide and fangs gleaming aimed at the smaller male’s throat, that fast he is flung back, his body slamming into the table and taking the three hundred and fifty dollars of fish eggs with him on the floor. The sound of the wood splintering is accompanied by a loud clap of thunder from outside, the lightning casting ominous shadows across the space.
Another clap of thunder rattles everything, and that’s when it happens.
