CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE #2
As Pari opened the door, I saw Sebastian sitting on the windowsill just outside, slumped over, his elbows resting on his knees with his head hung low. He shot up, coming to my side.
“Have you been out here the whole time?” I asked. It had been an hour at least.
“For the most part, after meeting with your father.”
I nodded. A warmth unfurling within me.
Pari passed me off to him. I bit down as he picked me up, my injuries protesting with every movement. He carried me down the hall in his arms.
* * *
Turned out that I had sprained a rib, probably when Edward slammed me against the wall.
Bruises bloomed about my back like an abstract painting.
The medication helped to dull the pain, but it made me woozy.
I was given strict orders to stay in bed, but after the sun was long asleep and the manor dimmed to a faint candlelight, I snuck out to Olivia’s room.
She was staring blankly at the ceiling flat on her back when I entered, and I silently slipped beneath the covers. I tried to stay awake as long as I could, though the medication won.
A wave of relief washed through me as I woke to see her sleeping heavily curled up next to me. The room was bathed in blue dark, dawn still deep in its slumber. But something had pulled me from my sleep.
I winced at the pain from the jolt that ran through me when I met his eyes.
He stood in the shadowed corner like a ghoul.
The audacity he had to show himself in my sister’s room, even though I knew he could conceal himself from her with illusions, but that did not quell the rage that simmered within me, threatening to boil over.
Him. The one responsible for swiping the earth from beneath Olivia’s feet, leaving her to tumble through an empty abyss.
I slowly slid out of bed, eyeing her the whole time. She didn’t stir, and I was grateful, hoping sleep would hold her safe for as long as possible. As I stood on unsteady legs, my head swam, and it took a moment for the haze to clear. The medication hadn’t worn off yet.
I walked out of the room without a single glance to him, failing miserably at appearing resolute. My steps were uneven, and I couldn’t help but hold my hands out before me in case I ran into something.
I tried to remain as calm as possible as I walked with the devil behind me. Once I was in my room, I whirled around to face him but had to catch myself on my bedpost as the room began to spin.
Alaric shut the door behind him and stalked towards me.
Once he was about two feet in front of me, I couldn’t take it anymore.
I lunged. My balled-up fists pummeled into his chest one after the other.
I ignored the pain that burst through my chest, shoving it aside.
I didn’t realize I was beginning to tip over, and the man actually held me upright, supporting me so that I could keep pounding my fists into his chest, which was so hard I was likely only hurting myself.
“How could you?” I sobbed.
“He was the one that exposed himself,” he said it so nonchalantly I reeled back.
“You turned him. You did this.”
He shrugged. Shrugged.
I felt the sharp sting ricochet throughout my hand before I registered it slapping his face. His head snapped to the side, and he stayed that way for what seemed like an eternity, his body still as a statue. An evil, cursed statue that was about to awaken with a vengeance.
Horror snaked through me as he turned his head back to me far too slowly. I was still in his arms, much too close to the detonation zone. Dread washed over me like ice water at his empty face, his hollowed eyes that darkened further each passing second.
“Is that any way to treat your future husband?” His voice was so low and calm it sent a shiver through me.
“You’re delusional,” I whispered.
Clearly, I had a death wish because I raised my fists again, putting all of my weight behind them.
Before they could make contact, he snatched my wrists and shoved me down onto the bed.
I cried out at the pain but bit my lip to keep quiet.
I barely escaped my third exorcism, there was no surviving a fourth.
My eyes widened as he climbed atop me, straddling my hips and pinning my wrists above my head. He was so cold. I gasped out trying to breath through my angered injuries.
“Are you in pain, sweet dove?” he crooned. “Well, you should have thought of that before you attacked me like some rabid feline.” He lowered his head, his face just inches from mine. “Stop squirming. You’re only hurting yourself, love.”
I scoffed. “Love? What do you know about love?” I immediately regretted the words as they left me.
I shouldn’t have. He was the demon everyone believed the vampires to be.
But now that I knew more about him, I felt for him in a way I didn’t think possible.
And it scared me. I couldn't control it, no matter how guilty it made me feel.
A guilt with far-reaching roots that extended beyond my comprehension.
He tilted his head to the side as he examined me.
I feared he could see right through me. He leaned in closer.
I inhaled his scent. Forbidden woods dampened from an autumn rain and sweet spices.
“I only hope you never discover what I know about love, though there are things even I cannot prevent from happening.”
I couldn’t decipher his words any more than I could decipher my feelings.
“What do you want?” I whispered.
“A date.”
“A date?”
“What I really want is your compliance. My patience is running thin at your insolence.” A mischievous light brightened his eyes.
“You know, sweet dove, there are measures I could take to make you more agreeable, and your fragile human life is less than ideal.” His cold fingers stroked down my neck, leaving trails of ice in their wake.
“This way you’ll be with me for as long as we both shall live. ”
A breath escaped my lungs as I realized what he was suggesting. The blood drained from my face. I think my lip actually quivered. His thumb ran across it. A pang of fear shot through me as his lips nearly brushed mine, but he only grazed his nose along my cheekbone.
“There is no need to be afraid, darling,” he murmured.
Sparks danced across my skin, fading into warmth that went deep. My body melted into the soft bedding. That strange sense of calm roamed through me. No.
“No, don’t take away my fear,” I breathed.
He chuckled darkly. “So, he told you about that, did he? Always the noble one.” His last words turned bitter. A stronger surge washed through me.
“Please, don’t,” I whispered, my voice growing weak.
“It makes you more”—sharpened points grazed across my neck—“pliable, but if you insist.”
I gasped as a jolt of fear tore into me like ragged claws.
“Not so fun when it comes back, is it?” he said flatly.
His eyes zeroed in on something behind me. I followed his empty gaze to the obsidian dagger on my nightstand. I didn’t even bring it with me to Olivia’s room. I had everything I needed to protect myself except for the will.
“Obsidian.” He eyed it for a moment longer before looking back down to me. “You wouldn’t kill me. You have yet to acknowledge your feelings for me.” He smirked.
“The only feelings I have for you are disdain, loathing, and annoyance.”
“Is that all?”
“No. I also detest you, and I find you abhorrent.”
“Those all mean the same thing.”
“Good. Then my feelings should be perfectly clear to you.”
“Your feelings are about as clear as a swamp, Miss Charlotte, and you are a devious little liar.”
I was too late to hide the fear that washed over my face at his accusation, at his upheaval of what I desperately tried to conceal. He saw it. “I am not lying.”
He sighed at my denial. His lips brushed along my throat. “We just don’t have enough time,” he murmured, the words hardly reached my ears. His cool breath draped over my skin as he began to bite down.
No.
My fight was effectively renewed. I kicked my legs wildly, thrashing beneath him.
He still had my wrists pinned above my head.
At this point, I’d have bruises from struggling against his immovable hold.
I hoped my chaotic movements would earn me some sort of room to free myself, instead they only slowed and became sluggish, and it was not because I grew tired.
“I told you to keep still.” He had the gall to be annoyed.
“Please, I’m not ready.” Warm tears trailed down my temples, seeping into the bed.
He leaned back from me, watching my tears fall with revulsion. He glanced around the room before rolling his eyes and shaking his head. “Fine. Don’t say I never did anything for you.”
My eyelids grew heavy. My muscles turned to jelly. If he calmed me any further, I’d fall asleep, and if I could feel my fear, I’d be terrified at that thought.
“I’ll send you the details for our date.”
“I need time,” I murmured. My head lolled to the side.
“Time?”
“I can’t just go off to meet with a demon.” My words slurred.
He smiled as if it was a compliment. “You have three days.”
“Seven.”
“Four.”
“Eight.”
“Five.”
“Seven.”
“Alright, seven.”
I needed time to come up with a plan.