Chapter 55
Chapter Fifty-Five
Nothing.
Ready to jump out of my skin from worry, here I am, stiff as a board in Sebastian’s arms, but no switch is being flipped in my head. After long moments, ignoring his penetrating stare with great effort, I release my breath.
“You were wrong.” If I sound too happy to tell him he is wrong, it’s because I am.
He lost the know-it-all title, and I have every intention of reminding him of that. Since I’m immortal now, I think I’ll get over it in a century or two. Or, maybe not. Smiling at him sweetly, I bat my eyelashes, his scowl not deterring me one little bit.
“Maybe it takes time.” Marcus chirps hopefully, and I pale at the comment.
“Cazzo!” Andrei snaps at him.
“You can call me a dick all you want.” Marcus snarls. “She was breathing dust and eating rubble for hours. All I’m saying is, it might take time.”
“An excellent point, amico.” Sebastian, the asshole, smiles at that. Walking further into what’s left of the hotel with a bounce in his step, he irks the shit out of me.
I stay quiet while watching the hallways, as if expecting a mage to jump at us from the walls.
The further he takes me inside, the antsier I feel.
We pass doors to meeting rooms in silence, all of us lost in thought.
All of us except Sebastian, that is. I honestly believe I can hear the gears turning in that head of his. It’s frustrating as hell.
The thought jars me out of riling myself up. Marcus might have a point since I do feel angrier by the second, and each step he takes amps it up even more. With a herculean effort, I push all feelings of anger and frustration out of my head. I will prove him wrong.
“If you were a crazy ass mage planning to kill a ton of people, where would you hide?” Deciding to keep my mind busy with anything else but how I feel, I look expectantly at Sebastian’s profile.
“I wouldn’t hide.” His lips twitch. “I’m also not a mage.”
“You don’t say.” Sarcasm drips from my words. “Andrei, where would you hide?” Ignoring Marcus because he was kissing ass to his Sire, I twist in Sebastian’s arms to look at the other man.
Shrugging a shoulder, he smiles a boyish smile at me. “Close enough so that I can pick them off one by one. But I’m trained in stealthy killings.” He shrugs again, “It’s what I do.”
“What? Like an assassin?” A shiver runs up and down my spine.
He is so easy going, it’s hard to wrap my mind around the idea that he can slit my throat with a smile on his face. I can totally see it happening, too. If anyone would be good at that, it’d be Andrei. You’d never expect it or see it coming.
“An assassin,” Sebastian emphasizes the word. “There is no ‘like’ in that statement.”
“And you?” I finally turn to Marcus. “What are you when you’re not kissing Sebastian’s ass?”
“I train the Guardians.” He looks hurt at my jab but fuck him. He made me anxious as hell with his helpful ideas.
I sink into silence, thinking how silly I am to never have asked these questions.
It never dawned on me that they’d have jobs or positions that they do daily.
In my head, I stupidly thought they were monsters that wait crouched in the shadows to pounce on unsuspecting humans and drink their blood.
Even after I became one of them, I never gave it a second thought.
Does that mean I’ll have a position too?
What on Earth will I be doing? Scaring the Guardians around the hotel? Here comes April, the scarecrow.
We reach closed double doors while I’m lost imagining myself running behind screaming Guardians while waving my hands in the air.
Sebastian might not be far from the truth when he thinks I’m crazy.
No sane person does what I do. But I don’t know any mentally healthy people, so how would I know?
To my relief, before I go down that rabbit hole, Marcus pushes the doors open.
All eyes are on us when we enter the vast reception hall that I haven’t explored before now.
The tables are all pushed to the sides, leaving everything clear for vampires and humans to sprawl around on the marble tiles.
To my horror, most of them are in a different state of dress, some of them even writhing and grinding, not bothered by the presence of others.
Vampires are feeding and fucking, and no one bats an eye.
No one but me. I’m batting my eyes a lot, I’ll say that much.
“What the hell.” My breathless words get stuck when I hear an excited whine, and a blur of fur hurls itself at Sebastian’s legs. “Mutt!” With a shout, I jump out of his arms and fall on top of my dog.
Mutt keeps whining and panting, his tail doing double time on the helicopter thing while his raspy tongue bathes my face, cleaning out all the grime and dirt smudged on it.
I laugh loudly, forgetting all about the rest of the occupants in the room clinging to him like a lifeline.
Tears stream down my cheeks, but mutt is not bothered.
He just keeps panting and wiggling as if he missed me as much as I missed him.
“I missed you so much, you furry little shit!” Hitting the tiles with my butt when he bumps his chest on me, I roll around with him. “You are alive!” Finally, the fear for him drains out of me, leaving me limp on the floor.
Useless or not, fear was eating me alive that I’d never see him again. I didn’t even dare hope in case the bitch decided to kick me in the guts. So, I pushed it in the darkest corners of my mind until it broke like a dam when I saw him.
“I found him sniffing around the ruins,” a familiar voice speaks nearby, and I stiffen, tightening my arms around mutt.
“Thank you, Sara.” Sebastian inclines his head politely while I glare at him.
He looks at me pointedly.
Pressing my lips tighter, I keep my glower, not even turning to the traitor.
Bringing mutt back is not enough for me to look at her.
He would’ve come back on his own, I tell myself sternly when guilt pings in my chest. After staring at me for so long I almost think he fell asleep with opened eyes, Sebastian blinks, disappointment evident on his face, and he flicks his hand, dismissing the traitor.
I can hear the soft footfalls moving away. I don’t care.
“Sire, there is movement outside the walls.” A Guardian I’ve never seen before comes to stand next to Sebastian.
With a meaningful look aimed at Marcus and Andrei, he throws one more glance at me where I’m still lying on the floor with the dog pressed to my chest, turns around, and walks away.
I still can’t find it in me to care. My nose twitches when loose hairs from mutt tickles me and a loud sneeze echoes around me.
It’s followed by another, and another, until I end up a hot, snotty, sneezing mess.
“April, are you okay?” Andrei is crouched next to me, concern pinching his face.
Nodding frantically, I can’t even answer him from my sneezing fit.
He rubs his large hand on my back, not moving away while mutt folds his front paws down and leans his head on them, watching me with his big brown eyes like he knows something I don’t.
When I finally catch a break, a tissue is shoved under my nose, and I snatch it gratefully.
Keeping my eyes on the marble tiles, I blow in it, embarrassment burning my cheeks when the sound bounces in the silent hall.
Mutt whines pitifully at me, and I smile. My nose clears, and not looking like a snotty mess, I lift my head up and take a deep breath. Two floppy ears snap up, pointing at the ceiling a second before everything around me is covered in a red haze.
I guess Marcus the ass kisser had a good point after all.