CHAPTER 33 AILEEN
CHAPTER 33
AILEEN
I awoke with a start.
Drowsily, I pushed myself to sit up and looked around. I was lying in a king-size canopy bed in the middle of a room that could’ve belonged to a castle, it was so ornate and luxurious. Large windows to my left showed a familiar large courtyard bathed in faint sunlight, informing me it was sunset.
I was still in the Jinn’s villa ... but where was Ragnor?
I looked at the door, as if Ragnor would miraculously enter and explain everything. Unfortunately, it remained closed.
Once I was off the bed, I walked toward the door and pulled the knob. It was locked. Because of course it would be.
Grimacing from the pain in my rib cage, I went to the windows and looked for a way to open one of them. I was on the second floor, not too far from the ground. I could definitely make the jump.
But after minutes of checking, I found no way to force the windows open.
Great.
As I seriously considered attempting to kick the window out, the door opened behind me. I whipped around, steeling myself for a fight. A familiar man with inky black hair and a pair of silver eyes walked in.
Wode. The Jinni who’d kidnapped me in Vegas and the one who’d bargained with Atalon for me.
He came to a stop in front of me, and as he did, a chill crept up my spine. This man was obviously not on my side. How could he be, after what he’d done? Before he could talk, I decided to cut right to the chase before the exhaustion was too much. “What do you want?”
His lips twitched. “It’s good to see you too,” he replied, smiling. “Don’t worry. I only want to talk.”
A large boom shook the walls and the hinges. I widened my eyes. “What ...”
Wode came to rest on the wall next to me. “That would be your boyfriend,” he said, shrugging nonchalantly. “He’s not very pleased that you’ve been taken.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Just tell me what you want from me.”
He chuckled. “Well, Aileen, one thing you can rest assured about: my intent is not to harm you in any sort of way.”
“That’s not enough of an answer,” I said, folding my arms. “You struck a deal with Atalon to ‘rent’ me. And now you also intentionally antagonized another vampire Lord, a pretty stupid gesture since you know what Ragnor’s capable of. That all means you want something from me.”
He moved to sit down on a couch at the other end of the room. “Come sit with me,” he said, tapping the empty space next to him.
I glared. “I’d rather stand.”
Sighing, he gave me a kind smile I was certain was genuine. Even still, the gesture did little to ease my concern. “It’s hard for you to stand, isn’t it?” he said softly, nodding at the hand I had been holding against my bruised ribs.
“Don’t worry about me. I heal quickly,” I said, angry. “Can you stop talking in circles and get to the fucking point?”
Wode’s smile disappeared and was replaced by a pensive expression. “How much do you know about us?”
“Enough to know you’re my enemy. Or don’t you remember kidnapping me in Las Vegas?” I responded through gritted teeth. What was the point of this question?
His chuckle was somewhat sad, and again, his emotion seemed sincere enough to confuse me. “No, Aileen. Vampires are our enemies,” he said with an almost awestruck expression on his face.
I stilled. “I’m a vampire, though, and now that we are all clear about who the other is and where we both stand, can we please get on with whatever the hell it is you want to say?” I said, more confused than before.
He shook his head. “You don’t know anything, it seems.” He sighed before rising to his feet. “We don’t have much time to talk, but let me just say one thing.” He gave me a warm look. “We’ve been waiting for you, the last Child of Kahil.”
As if on cue, the windows exploded.
Wode’s body cradled mine as he lay on the ground with me squashed beneath him. Belatedly, it occurred to me he was protecting me from whatever had caused the glass to shatter.
From under Wode’s body, I heard animalistic roars.
“Fuck,” Wode barked, tightening his arms around me as the entire building shook as if hit by an enormous wrecking ball. “Hold on to me, Aileen!”
Shit. He really was trying to protect me. And last Child of Kahil? How the hell did he know about that?
The ceiling crumbled, and a large piece fell on top of him. I felt the pressure, but his body took the hit as his horns came more clearly into view the lower he curled around me. His eyes turned wild with what seemed to be rage. With a growl that was definitely not human, he pushed the large debris off his back, temporarily letting me go.
Heart beating loud in my ears, I didn’t think twice about rolling away, choking on dust and dirt as I climbed to my feet. I would’ve started running had Wode not realized what I was doing and, with supernatural speed, grabbed me by my wrist, a questioning look in his eye. It was as if he had expected me to stay with him after his last statement.
“You’re not going anywhere.” He spoke in a low rumbling voice that made the hairs on the nape of my neck stand.
I didn’t bother replying. Instead, I sharpened my mind and commanded time to stop.
It obliged; small debris, dust, and other particles froze midair. Wode didn’t move or blink, locked in a state of rage. All sound ceased to exist. It was as though I’d stepped into a still picture. A paused movie.
Feeling the looming headache, I grabbed Wode’s fingers and pried them from my wrist. Free of his hold, I turned around and ran quickly through the ruined hallways, to the exit.
I managed to stop time for about seven seconds, until the headache forced me to let time resume its course. And once it did, I was already descending the stairs to the lower floor.
Loud noises echoed around me, including shouts, screams, and bangs of unknown sources. But as I made my way, I didn’t encounter anyone; in fact, it looked almost as if the hallways were completely empty. As I continued descending, I realized the fighting seemed to be happening at the ground level, getting closer as I approached.
I didn’t stop to think, though, knowing that Wode was probably coming after me. So instead, I kept on running down, not even looking to see if he was behind me. My only goal was finding an exit so I could escape. I didn’t know who was attacking this Jinni fort, and I didn’t care; all I wanted was to find Isora and Zoey and get us out of here.
When I finally reached the ground floor and found the exit, I saw that the front doors were utterly broken, lying on their sides. However, a large unnatural boulder blocked the opening in the door’s stead, effectively cutting off my escape route.
Footsteps thumped down the stairs from above. Wode. Running as fast as I could, wincing as my ribs squeezed with pain, I crossed the hall and was about to reach the other side when I caught sight of a Jinni fighting a familiar woman expertly wielding a dagger.
Cassidy, my former friend, the woman I’d thought would never lift a finger to kill even a cockroach, slashed bravely at a Jinni with her fangs out, eyes glowing green, tracksuit torn, and hair messy, and with not a drop of makeup on.
What was even more impossible was the fact that she managed to bring the male Jinni to his knees, roaring in pain as she sliced at his throat over and over again until his thick neck was cut and his head rolled off, sprouting golden blood that splashed all over Cassidy’s face.
All I could do at that moment was stare at her, stunned at what I’d just seen.
She fought to catch her breath, when she suddenly jerked her head in my direction. Her eyes widened. “Aileen?”
I couldn’t respond. I was still busy gaping at her.
She jumped off the Jinni’s body and strode toward me. “Whatever you’re doing, get out of here—”
BOOM!
The wall to our left exploded as a Jinni came flying through it, breaking it apart in the process. Both Cassidy and I were shoved back by the force.
My breathing turned shallow as I felt my ribs scream in pain. Gritting my teeth, I pulled up to my hands and knees and turned to look at Cassidy, which made my heart stop.
She lay next to me, blood dripping from a contusion on her head, eyes closed.
Fuck.
I grabbed her arm and put it around my neck, squinting through the smoke and debris to find a path that would lead us out of this damned place.