Chapter 72
Chapter Seventy-Two
SEBASTIAN
Pulling on my shirtsleeves, looking around the wide, overcrowded parking lot of the Council Towers, I push the anxiety down that’s coming through the bond from Andrei.
Ever since April left, he’s been on edge, twitchy, and easily irritated.
Apart from removing his head from his shoulders, I tried everything to get him to tell me what made him that way.
He has been as tightlipped as a corpse, just staring at me with dull eyes.
Marcus, on the other hand, is still as a statue next to me, not even his chest is moving when he breathes.
His intent focus, just like mine, has been turned inwards to the bond we have with April.
We both have been trying to plow through the block, but she has it as impenetrable as a steel fortress.
“Look at them,” Andrei murmurs for our ears only, his voice full of disgust. “This same scum will come crawling at her feet right after they cheer for her death.”
“I’m not sure any of them know what’s really going on.” Marcus scans the crowds, who are flocking at the entrance while dressed to the nines in their finery.
Shoving a finger under the mask covering my entire face, I scratch my jaw.
The cursed thing is irritating, reminding me of days long past in Venice.
Having a masked ball where they plan to kill her yet again is a mockery of her roots.
Anger bubbles up, but I push it away. I set my mind to follow her lead.
Isn’t this what I wanted? Why I searched the Earth to find her?
I will be what she needs! Sternly reminding myself, I flatten the lapels of my suit.
At least it’s black this time. Khan’s mockery, dressing me in a white costume like a virginal sacrifice last time I was between those walls, makes my skin itch to get close to the bastard.
While I have internal ramblings, the crowds have thinned, leaving only a few mulling around the parked cars.
And the three of us, standing in the shadows, watching.
“Let us enter their nest.” Taking the first step, I feel Marcus and Andrei move behind me. “Don’t hesitate, vampire or human. Remove all that pose a threat to her. No one touches a hair on her head. Am I clear?”
“It didn’t need to be said.” Andrei sounds insulted, but I don’t give a shit how he feels right now.
“Clear,” Marcus says after a long silence.
With a sigh, I climb the stairs unhurriedly, my hands in my pockets, the jacket pushed aside by my forearms. Nice and easy, don’t let them see through your plans.
Just blend in with the crowd. Passing through the wide-open front doors, I have to keep repeating that in my head.
It’s nothing like last time we were here.
Runners are covering the tiled, empty hallway, our shoes sinking in the plush fibers with a muffled sound.
No lighting is set up, no candelabras line the walls.
Our enhanced eyesight leads us through the darkness that stretches in front of us like a gaping hole leading to the pits of hell.
In the distance, the light of the throne room beckons like the light at the end of a tunnel, its significance not lost on me.
The message the Council is trying to send is: When everything is dark, we are here to bring the light.
The self-proclaimed saviors are mocking us to our face.
My hands clench into fists in my pockets, my outer calm not giving away the storm brewing in my chest. They think they’ll celebrate the death of the one I have claimed as mine. The one that, to my astonishment, claimed me back. Their blood will paint the walls of this building tonight.
My lips curl under the stoic mask I hold on my face.
Classical music drifts to my ears before we reach the entrance of the throne room.
Squinting my eyes from the drastic change, the light from the dangling chandelier and hundreds of lit up candles is too harsh on my sight.
Another powerplay, to make all of us disoriented while the eight of them watch like hawks from their thrones.
Pushing away from the discomfort, I pretend that I’m struggling to adjust, all their eyes moving away from the three of us in disinterest.
“Spread out.” With a quiet command, I move away from Andrei and Marcus.
Circling the edges of the vast open space, I scan the area as inconspicuously as possible.
Eyes following my movement are like a wooden stake between my shoulder blades.
Forcing myself not to turn and find the threat, I grab the first human within arm’s reach.
Dragging her closer, I push the mask aside and press my nose to her neck, hiding in her hair.
Repulsion makes me shiver as I sniff the cloying scent of decay coming from her skin.
For the love of anything sacred, what are they doing between these walls?
“Humph…I could’ve sworn…” Kali’s softly spoken words make me squeeze the human’s wrist harder than necessary, her pained whimper adding to the illusion of my fangs being embedded in her neck.
I feel her moving away from me, my muscles relaxing from the stiffness I’m hoping she didn’t notice.
Still holding the woman pressed to me, I turn us slightly around, searching for Andrei and Marcus through the crowds.
The human claws at my shoulder with her free hand, pushing me to growl menacingly so she gets her hands off me.
I see Andrei nod from next to the thrones, his partial mask enough to hide his identity.
Marcus is nowhere to be found, but a hush falls over the room and I’m out of time to search for him.
Pulling my mask back over my face, I shove the human away, sending her sprawling on the floor.
“You must be wondering why we are celebrating tonight.” Khan’s voice bounces off the walls around us, coming from everywhere at once.
The throne only amplifies it. “With the unexpected attack by the rebels…” He smirks, making my claws pierce the skin of my palms. “You thought the Council was weak. We have grown complacent over the years.” Lifting himself up, he spreads his arms wide.
“We still hold the power. It will never be given to anyone else and those that want it will be turned to dust. It is easy to play a victim, so you catch the disease trying to plague our kind. And we did.” Grinning wildly, his eyes glint with madness when he surveys the room.
“We have the disease, and we will cure you of it once and for all.” Waving a hand at Irina, his fangs drop from under his lip. “Bring her in!”
The rest of the Council sits impassively on their thrones.
All but Eshe. She is clutching the sides of her throne with clawed hands, her dark eyes sparkling with rage, nostrils flaring and lips pressed so tight together a trickle of blood slides from them down to her chin.
Her breasts are heaving, the long-beaded chains on her chest dancing with the movement.
They roll in a large wooden cross, just another mockery of the human faith that this building belonged to because of the woman stretched out on it as if crucified.
Khan is almost vibrating where he stands, his face twisting in an ugly mask of lust and hatred at the same time.
Bile rises in my throat at the sight. My fingers are twitching with the urge to rip his head off his shoulders.
“And here she is.” Irina pushes the cross to the center of the room, her thick accent making her words choppy and harsh on the ears. “Your matron.” Throwing her head back, she laughs, her platinum blonde hair swaying behind her. “A pathetic, little human.” Irina sneers in the woman’s face.
To my surprise, the woman only smiles. Not a trace of fear can be felt or seen on her, and the genuine smile stuns even the crazy bitch that was getting in her face. Tension is so thick in the air you will need to claw through it if you want to move.
“You fucking little bitch!” Irina screeches, lifting a clawed hand in the air and swiping at the woman’s neck.
“Irina!” Khan roars, while my body coils up to attack, but none of us should’ve bothered.
Wind rustles my suit jacket a second before a vision in a blue and silver dress appears between Irina and the woman.
Her hair is styled in a crown on top of her head, long curls falling down the back over her bare shoulders.
Power like I’ve never felt before pulses through the air, leaving me breathless.
Irina’s eyes bulge out, her hand still up in the air, and everything is frozen in place for a second.
Then April jerks her hand back, a sickening, sucking sound permeating the air.
She lifts her clawed hand up with Irina’s still-beating heart between her fingers.
Thick red blood runs down her forearm when her fingers tighten, squeezing the organ until it bursts.
“Surprise, bitch!” the woman tied to the cross says a moment before Irina disintegrates to dust, laughing in the faces of the stunned, mute Council.
April giggles.
“I believe you were looking for me, Khan,” she says softly, licking the blood from her hand.
“Now!” Marcus roars from somewhere in the crowd.