Chapter 38
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Twirling my fingers, playing with the rays of sunshine between them, I press my cheek to my curled-up knees.
The honking of cars and the hum of voices that I usually associate with this city is missing.
Since the night I saved Sebastian from the Council, we have barricaded ourselves in the hotel.
Crushed cars are piled up, one on top of another, creating a wall of metal around us.
Guardians dressed all in black patrol the perimeter, always vigilant in case someone sneaks in.
Humans replace the vampires during the daylight hours, armed to their teeth with guns, swords, and wooden stakes.
Seeing them now prowling the streets doesn’t help my brewing torment.
The sun usually helps. However, not even its warmth can calm down the thunderstorm of emotions inside me today.
With each passing moment, I can feel the day coming closer to an end.
It’s not confronting Sebastian that bothers me.
It’s the anticipation I think that is bringing me to dread the coming night.
I have no control over the monster I turn into, and that’s a big problem.
She has set her sights on Sebastian, like a cat ready to pounce on a mouse.
Only we are not talking about a mouse here, are we?
It’s a hungry predator gearing up to meet me head to head.
No amount of hyping myself up or pep talk can calm my nerves.
Just like with everything else in my life, I brought this one on my head out of sheer stubbornness.
With a sigh, I unfold my body from the windowsill where I’ve been sitting for over an hour.
The height doesn’t bother me anymore. Go figure.
Maybe the fact that I can’t die now if I go splat on the asphalt from eleven stories high has something to do with it.
“Suck it up, April.” Closing the window, I search for my shoes.
The colors are more vibrant now, my eyesight clearly seeing the microscopic flecks of dust dancing in the air like tiny little fairies.
Even the small dents and dips on the polished wooden furniture pieces are visible when I glance around the room.
It was making me dizzy the first couple of days until I got used to it.
Like a crazy person, my eyes were darting around, trying to catch every movement around me until a splitting headache forced me to close them, tears streaking my cheeks.
But that was then, and this is now. Whatever this is supposed to be.
“Life of a monster,” I mumble while crawling on my hands and knees to look under the king-size, four-poster bed.
Laughing humorlessly, I snatch the flats from under the bed and stuff my feet in them none too gently.
Irritation is making me irrational, so I need to get out of this place to clear my head.
Everywhere I turn in this damn apartment, I’m reminded of him.
I can even smell him in the air, no matter where I try to hide.
Lifting my chin up, I stride through the hallway and head straight for the front door.
Passing through the living room makes my heart jump and beat frenetically like a frightened bird.
It shouldn’t have bothered me because the room is silent and empty as a tomb.
The chandelier reflects the light of the candles that have been lit and placed strategically on every flat surface.
An orange glow bathes the expensive furnishings, giving everything a dream-like appearance.
My feet move reluctantly towards the middle of the room.
The sofas, coffee table, and side tables have been pushed to the walls, leaving the center clear of everything.
Red, thick pillar candles stand in four corners, reaching my knees, their flames dancing and crackling like they are straining to touch the high ceiling.
The silver champagne cooler sits inconspicuously on the floor with two flute glasses next to it.
My belly tightens at the implications of what this set up means.
I almost jump out of my skin when movement catches my attention.
Leaning on the doorframe to the guest room he is using, Sebastian rakes his gaze over me.
I can feel it like phantom fingers gliding over my skin, even through the clothes that cover me.
When I get control over my reaction to him, I notice the slight rosy glow on his handsome face telling me he has fed recently.
Jealousy rears its ugly head inside me, causing my body to quake in rage.
Whirling around, I bolt out of the penthouse like the devil himself is right on my heels.
Passing the elevator doors, I yank the entrance to the stairs open and race down so fast I’m practically flying out of the ground floor into the lobby in a blink of an eye.
Colliding with a body, both of us topple over, hitting a few tables and chairs on our way down.
I’m vibrating in anger, more at myself than Sebastian, while I stare at the high-vaulted ceiling after I end up sprawled on my back.
The painted pictures above me that I usually find beautiful piss me off right now.
“April?” Andrei’s musical voice is like nails in my brain at the moment. “Are you okay, bella? What’s the matter?” His concerned face pops up in my line of sight, hiding the pretty colors.
“Get away from me.” Lashing out, I push him away, sending him flying into the wall next to the stairs. “Don’t you ever touch me again.”
Plaster and wallpaper rains down on him when he lifts up on all fours, shaking his head to clear it.
Very slowly, those blue eyes lift to mine, sending fear pinging in my chest. Usually calm, and always ready to smile, Andrei doesn’t look like himself when his muscles bunch around his broad shoulders, coiled up to pounce in a split second if needed.
Snarling, his fangs lengthen before my eyes, and to my horror, mine match it.
“Who are you running away from?” Cocking his head in an animalistic way, he is unnaturally still. His long fingers are splayed wide, holding his weight when he leans slightly forward, sweeping the lobby with his gaze. “Who got in the building?”
“No one.” Embarrassment burns my cheeks when I realize he is worried more about my safety than my crappy attitude towards him. Pushing off the floor, I sit cross-legged on the tiles. “I needed to clear my head. That apartment is driving me insane.”
“Sebastian.” Dropping down on his butt, Andrei tousles his hair, sending dust and plaster over his shoulders, and his black t-shirt stretching over his chest. “I should’ve known you’ll only run like that from him.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Affronted, I glare at him.
The jerk grins.
“Nothing, bella.” When my eyes narrow at him, he chuckles. “No one but him can ruffle your feathers like this. I should’ve known.”
After searching his face for long moments, I puff out a breath. “He wants to teach me control tonight.” Looking everywhere but at him, I still watch him from the corner of my eye.
Whistling low, Andrei shakes his head. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. I’ll go talk to him about it. You need a bit more time.”
“Time for what? To be a better monster?” When he glowers at me, I lift my chin up, sneering. “I’ll never be like the rest of you. Not now, not in a thousand years.”
The silence stretches between us, and I do my best to ignore his acute stare.
What feels like an eternity passes before his lips start pulling up at the corners knowingly.
I want to grab the splinters from the broken chairs that are scattered around me and stab him in the eye with one of them.
Like reading my mind, he throws his head back and laughs, a deep belly laugh that makes me want to scream and punch something.
“No, bella. You’ll never be like the rest of us.”
Lifting himself up, he dusts his shoulders and pants off before walking to the elevator doors.
I stare at his back until the doors open and he steps inside, facing me.
Our eyes lock, and the intent focus I see on his face makes me want to run again and hide.
Before I can do precisely that, he speaks.
“You were never meant to be like the rest of us, April. As a matter of fact, we were all hoping you wouldn’t be.” He winks at me with a cocky smile before the doors slide closed, hiding him from my ire.
With a scream, I pound my fists on the tiled floor in outrage.