Chapter 48
Chapter Forty-Eight
“I really think this is stupid,” I tell Marcus from the corner of my mouth.
He snorts but stays quiet. We’ve been parading around the hotel, nodding at everyone we came across like some generals checking up on their army.
Which is not far from the truth in our case, but that’s beside the point.
Everyone we meet watches me warily, rushing away as soon as my back is turned.
After everything I was told, I don’t find it amusing anymore. I would be running too if I were them.
I can feel Sebastian’s eyes on me from wherever he is lurking, like a gun jammed between my shoulder blades.
He sent me with my buddy Marcus, since according to him I tolerate the giant man better than any of them, to see if anyone I come across triggers a reaction in me.
Since I’m coherent and not a crazy monster in the middle of the night, I’m curious too as to why that is.
Was I supposed to almost die to be myself?
Or did that infected blood knock the monster in me out for the time being?
I don’t feel weird, nor do I think I’m murderous like I’ve apparently been every night. That’s a good thing, right? As long as I know what’s happening and I have control over my actions, I’ll take it and roll with it. This is what you wanted, isn’t it? the voice in my head reminds me.
“Nothing yet?” Marcus asks softly, for my ears only, not even moving his lips.
“Nope!” Ending the word with a pop, I scan our surroundings.
The hotel is huge, like a city all on its own.
Bars, restaurants, large venue halls, meeting rooms. You name it, it’s there.
My legs would’ve been killing me if I were human.
Lost in the painted walls with scenes from a city on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, I wonder if things will ever change so that I can see it in person.
The thought makes my feet falter, and I stop walking, staring at the painted wall.
“What’s wrong?” Marcus stops next to me, his head swiveling as he looks for threats.
“This painting.” Reaching with my hand, my fingers trail over the shore and the white homes surrounding it. “I feel like I’ve been here. It calls to me like nothing I’ve ever felt before.”
“That’s Italy. It is normal for you to feel drawn to it. It’s your home.”
“I was born here in America.” Frowning at him, I can taste the lie on my tongue.
Biting the words I want to say, ignoring the uneasiness my statement stirs up in me, I turn sharply away and exit the restaurant.
Marcus sighs but says nothing, following obediently at my back.
Anger slams into me out of nowhere, so overwhelming that I gasp and clutch at my chest. What the hell is happening to me?
Will I lose my mind again and end up not remembering anything?
Panic shakes me to my core. I didn’t allow myself to admit how much it bothered me that I knew nothing of my actions until now.
“April?” Marcus is at my side before the word is out of his mouth, gripping my elbow to keep me standing when I would’ve bent over.
“I think I’m going to go insane again.” Turning my panicked gaze on him, I plead with my eyes. “Take me to my room. I don’t want to kill anyone else, please!”
Just as I’m done talking, a man rounds the corner at the end of the hallway where we are standing.
Dressed in the uniform of the Guardians, he looks shorter than Marcus, with blonde hair and a thin body like a swimmer.
He walks purposely until he spots us staring at him.
A look of trepidation crosses his features before he smooths it out, slowing his walk.
My entire focus and anger center on him.
Watching him, ready to pounce, I notice how he clenches his fists, his shoulders and arms bunching up in preparation of a fight.
None of the others we passed made me react this way.
Or you were already angry, and this guy just happens to show up now, my mind supplies, but I ignore it.
With Sebastian’s words swirling through my head, I just know there is something wrong with this one.
He takes a few more steps in our direction before entirely stopping.
We stand, all three of us facing each other in some awkward standoff for a few long moments.
Unable to control my facial expression any longer, my upper lip lifts over my growing fangs.
The blonde Guardian’s eyes widen, and without waiting, he turns and bolts away from us.
“Oh, no you don’t!”
Lunging after him, I feel Marcus follow shoulder to shoulder with me.
The colors of the rugs and painted walls blur as we run like the wind after the man.
Twisting through the hallways, we almost lose him a couple of times, but a glimpse of his leg or arm leads us right on his heels.
Just when I think he will get away, a familiar hallway stretches in front of me, the fountain with the water pouring out of the lion’s mouth bringing memories with it.
I grin at Marcus, and he chuckles at my joy.
This hallway is a dead end. The only way the blonde man can go is toward the closed-off indoor pool.
I stop running, smiling even wider when I catch a glimpse of him entering the indoor pool room.
There is no escape for him there. Giddiness makes me almost vibrate in anticipation.
What is it about him that turns me into a raging mess?
Was it him that caused this? There is only one way to find out.
As we near the door where the blonde man disappeared, I can feel Sebastian’s presence at my back.
My whole body is attuned to him like I am the moth and he is the flame.
His body heat radiates at my back when his hand brushes mine.
I clench my fist, unwilling to be distracted.
This guy that decided to run has answers, and I have a lot of questions for him.
Let the fun begin.