Page 84 of Resurrection
A line forms between his brows as he looks down at the blueprints, leaning forward on the table and matching my stance. We cleared this room of everything else but the long desk and chairs around it, turning the space into a center of operation. Two guards stand on the other side of the closed door, trusted males that won’t let anyone near enough to overhear our conversation. I’m tuned in to their heartbeat like it’s my own. To say that the attack left me paranoid will be the understatement of the ages.
“It’s one of ours. She overheard two humans discussing a rebellion against us.” His eyes flick up to my face. “At first, she thought they were talking about what we did to bring the Councildown, but the longer she listened, the more clear it became that they were talking about the mages.”
“And we are sure they didn’t do it on purpose because they knew she was listening?” April asked the question that was on the tip of my tongue. “They could be setting up a trap.”
My heart punches hard against my ribs when she grins at us. April doesn’t need to share her thoughts with me for me to know what she’s thinking. She is so bloodthirsty that she’s actually hoping this is a trap. After living for centuries without a heartbeat and finally having it again, the female will kill me with a heart attack.
“I mean …” Marcus rubs the back of his neck, the frown only deepening on his face. “Unless the information is coming directly from the four of us here, I don’t trust it one-hundred percent. At this point, I’m hoping it’s the break we needed, but I’m preparing for the worst.”
“I like that.” April nods her approval, and the bastard smiles at her.
“No matter what they have planned, as long as we anticipate a magical attack, we should be able to counter it,” Eshe adds, jumping on the revenge wagon way too fast for my liking.
“Do I need to remind all of you what happened when they were prepared for an attack?” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I regret them. April flinches like I just staked her, but it’s too late to backpedal, so I push forward. “I want to level them to the ground with as few losses as possible.” That last part sucks out all the air in the room.
Very slowly, April turns her head to look at me. “You think I’m willing to have my people be collateral damage just so I can have my revenge?” She speaks softly, but each word is like a dagger sliding between my ribs.
“That’s what I’m worried about Tesoro.” Swallowing my unease, I meet her gaze. “You will never risk any of us, but youwill sacrifice yourself for it.” Her eyes flick over mine, and I take her hand, squeezing her fingers for reassurance. “We all want them dead. I just want to make sure we are all standing when this is over. You losing your life will not bring Andrei back.”
Eshe and Marcus are staring at the ceiling as if checking for spiderwebs, no doubt wishing to be anywhere but here at the moment. Power surges around us, prickling my skin, and I have to lock my knees to stay standing. It demands of me to bow to my matron, the one I owe my life to. If I obey her power, she will never see me as an equal. April picked me because she knew I was worthy of her strength, despite the fact that she loves me. The humanity she clings to places her heart before reason. But the predator in her will rip the head off my shoulders if I bend my neck.
So I hold her gaze, even when sweat beads around my hairline, while the others in the room tremble as they fight to stay on their feet, Eshe included. I hear the thump of the guards on the other side of the door when their knees hit the ground. April searches my eyes for a very long moment before she gives me a sharp nod.
“I know it won’t bring him back. I have no desire to die, Sebastian.” The power she was blasting us with disappears, and the three of us sag, leaning heavily on the table. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you all uncomfortable. I still can’t control how it’ll react when I get overly emotional.”
Her fingers twitch, and I realize I’m still holding her hand. Tugging on her arm, I pull her to my chest and wrap my arms around her shoulders, pressing my nose into her hair. Just breathing her scent in loosens the vise squeezing my chest.
“It’ll be fine, Tesoro.” She allows me to carry her weight when she hugs me back, her cheek leaning on my chest to hear my heartbeat. She does that occasionally, and every time she burrows deeper into my soul. It shouldn’t be impossible to loveher more than I already do, yet she proves me wrong each day. “They will pay for what they’ve done.”
“Yes.” Tilting her head up, she smiles at me. It’s a sad curl of her lips, and it hurts to see it on her face. “Yes, they will.” Pushing away from me, she clears her throat. “Marcus, we need a small group of five that will follow you coming from this side of the tunnels.” Her finger stabs the blueprints at the east point entrance and my gut clenches. “Eshe and Sebastian will come with me, and we will meet you from the west side. We are checking this location tonight.”
So much for planning.
Chapter Seventy-Eight
APRIL
I can tell that Sebastian is not very happy with how out of hand things are—something he can’t control—but if he expects me to hide in this damn building while they deal with the mages, he is sorely mistaken. A while back, I learned that to deal with him I have to be smart. Act like a clueless girl, smile like a dumbass, and nod in a noncommittal way. It puts him at ease, and I can do whatever I want as long as he doesn’t catch a whiff of what I’m planning. My comments—well, more like orders—for searching out the tunnels tonight left him glowering at the table covered with the blueprints when I exited the room. Marcus, on the other hand, was nipping at my heels, following behind me as if I were trying to escape. I was, but that’s beside the point.
“Are you sure we can’t postpone this until tomorrow night, little one?” he mumbles low under his nose as we walk by the two guards stationed at the door, using the nickname he gave me what feels like ages ago. “I will personally go there with a group of Guardians to make sure there are no traps. If it proves that we have indeed found their hiding hole, we can attack then.”
Ignoring the comment, I inconspicuously nod at the two towering men standing on either side of the door, and theyfall in step with us behind an agitated Marcus, who’s still muttering nonsense under his breath. As angry as the consistent complaining makes me, I can’t hold it against the one person who has had my back since all this started. Through thick and thin, Marcus is one constant who has been fighting for my sanity with me, despite going against Sebastian’s wishes at times. Taking hold of him, I link my arm around his elbow while giving his forearm a reassuring squeeze.
“Duly noted, Marcus.” He glowers at me, so I smile thinly at the grimace still on his face. “But let me ask you something. When have I ever done something when any of you ordered me to do it?” His glower deepens as my smile turns into a grin. “Exactly. So, I can’t for the life of me understand why you keep trying when you know it’s pointless.”
“Pointless or not, if there is a chance to protect you in any way, I have to try. I’ll keep trying even if it kills me.” With a huff, he shakes his head, thick strands of his dark hair falling over his forehead that he yanks back up when he runs his fingers through them.
Gone is the immaculate man who looks as intimidating as he is intriguing. After we lost Andrei, whiskers cover his square jaw, and his hair is long enough to brush the top of his ears. Weariness makes his eyes look sunken into his handsome face, and my stomach tightens while I watch him from the corner of my eye. In that moment, I decide killing Sara for what she had a hand in will be too merciful.
“You are not allowed to die. You hear me?” My voice booms in the silent hall, and it’s a lot louder than I intended. I flinch. “I’ve lost enough.” With a sigh, I lean my head on his upper arm and look at the high, vaulted ceilings to stop the stinging tears fighting to spill down my cheeks. I can feel his intent gaze burning a hole into the side of my face when he looks down at me, but I pretend I don’t notice. “I can’t take anymore loss,Marcus. I thought immortality had perks, at least in that area, but I was recently proven wrong.”
“I can’t promise that, April, as much as I wish to do so for you. I’ve lived long centuries, but we are in the middle of very uncertain times.” His deep voice vibrates in his chest when he lowers his tone, as if he is telling me a secret. “What I can assure you of is I will do my damn best to stay by your side for as long as I am able.”
“That’s all I ask, my friend.” With another squeeze of his forearm, I straighten. “And as it turns out, I owe you my life, so I will do the same.” Attempting to lighten the mood, I offer him a cheerful snort. “You might develop a hero complex if I let you keep saving my ass all the time.”
He chuckles, but the sound is tense.
“You need to feed.” Changing the subject, he switches back to mothering me.
