Chapter 6 Arabella #2
“He doesn’t trust me,” Eros murmured, nodding for us to walk ahead since the others had gotten a fair distance ahead of us. “It’s the nature of my power. He believes he isn’t enough since I feed off the love from others, and that’s led to resentment. One I don’t know how to fix.”
I didn’t know how to fix that either, truth be told, because I could relate to Drive’s insecurity since sometimes I got upset that Saint fed off of others’ deaths. I suppose it did make it better knowing that Love didn’t participate in anything, so there was no cheating, just observing…
“Do you have to watch everything that goes on at your hotel? Can’t you feed off of it from afar?”
Eros seemed to consider my words before nodding. “I can…I don’t know if that would help, though.”
“Have you asked him what would help?”
Eros chuckled softly. “I don’t think I have, Arabella. I should probably do that.” I nodded, betting that it would make a difference.
“I don’t know your relationship,” I admitted, “but the man goes across the country to deliver messages for you, and more importantly, he’s here. With you, for you. I think that means something, Eros.”
Eros swallowed and nodded before offering me a tight smile. “I should probably go talk to him before everything goes to shit.” Then he was gone in a blink, leaving me with Razar for us to catch up with the others.
“That was interesting,” I said to Razar, who let out a hum of agreement.
“I will never not be surprised by the effect you have on nightmares,” he said, his voice low enough that only I could hear it. “I should have recognized it as your own unique magic from the beginning.”
“I just can’t believe I’d never heard of a sis meta before,” I admitted, though I knew exactly why I hadn’t—War. He had hunted them down. Out of all the things he had done—the ones I knew about, at least—that one hit particularly hard.
But sis metas were still being born, and as we took the elevator down to the shelters where class D nightmares and their families were being kept, my thoughts went to Nia, the young sis meta, and the other children we had rescued from the human institution in California.
I knew they were safe with Isla—hell, I knew most of the people down in the shelter would be, because her mates weren’t leaving her side—but I wouldn’t lie, I felt a stab of guilt.
I had promised them a safe haven, and while this was better than where they had been, I felt like I had brought them into a war zone.
As we entered the four-story domed cement hallway far beneath the institute, voices echoed from the room that held everyone that wasn’t fighting.
The reinforced steel doors were still open, but outside of them were four massive sentinels, no doubt waiting for the order to close the doors.
I was glad I would get to explain what was going on first to the nightmares inside.
The sound of children laughing, unaware of the danger outside, and babies crying filled the makeshift nursery they’d created down here. Nightmares turned their attention to me as I moved past my mates towards the front, my own gaze seeking out Isla, who offered me a knowing smile.
“Everyone quiet!” she called out, though her voice wasn’t as commanding as she probably wanted. I looked to Saint, and he sent out a blast of power that caused everyone to quiet and turn their attention to us in recognition of his dominance.
“Hello, everyone.” I’d spoken loudly, but the volume of my voice surprised even me.
Then I noticed the magic surrounding me in a soft embrace.
One of my mates was using their magic to amplify my voice, I just couldn’t tell who.
Ashur? I had a feeling it was Ashur since I didn’t immediately recognize the magic signature.
And I was now officially labeling him as my mate.
“We are launching our last attack on War, one that will free our institute from his threat and allow us to resume our peaceful existence,” I announced.
“To ensure your loved ones can focus as they defend our home, we will be closing the doors and leaving the sentinels to stand guard. The threat has not increased, so there is no need for panic—we just want our teams to be able to give one-hundred percent of their attention to the battle so we can return to normal as quickly as possible.”
The crowd nodded as I spoke, trying to appear calm.
“Isla, her mates, and a number of the other class As in here will keep you informed of what is going on outside, but I just wanted to personally explain what’s happening.”
After some murmured conversation and sounds of agreement, I stepped back and looked up at the sentinels, their eyes glowing purple. The one that normally spoke to me met my gaze, and I swear for just a moment I thought he smiled.
“Pink-haired human, you can be assured that these smaller nightmares will be safe.” The sentinel’s voice boomed, shocking the kids.
“I know, I trust you,” I said evenly and then stepped back, hoping to infuse the confidence that I truly felt into my voice. “See all of you soon! Close the doors.”
My mates stood around me, Amun’s hand coming around my waist as the sentinels used their power to shut the doors, the heavy steel vibrating with purple magic.
Isla offered me a reassuring smile, and when the doors closed with a final thunk that reverberated down the massive hallway, determination soared through me.
I would keep my word to all of them. This would be over soon, no matter what I had to do.