by Anna Santos
Chapter TWENTY-TWO
CEDRIC
The questioning of the prisoners took longer than I’d expected. Even if the night had been long, at least, I’d made progress. Josephine had proven herself useful by controlling the vampires who’d been left behind and had wanted to take revenge on the wolves and possessed humans that were keeping and distributing the drug.
It had been a huge victory. All that was left to do was to find the creator of the drug and finish him off. I was hoping that Philippe could give me useful information about that. I wasn’t going to let him fool me again. By then, Aria should have come around. I knew that her angel would make her remember all the reasons why we were in love and why she shouldn’t have trusted Philippe. But I was too busy to worry about that while dealing with the prisoners.
Close to dawn, I arrived at the hospital with Josephine on my tail. She wanted to know how Aria was doing and to check on Philippe. She also needed to debrief him on what we’d found out.
I saw Camille at the end of the corridor. “Where’s Aria?”
If that bastard had taken Aria to his house, I was going to catch him and stake his ass.
“Cedric,” she whispered, getting up and running to me, tears in her eyes.
My breath got stuck in my lungs. “What happened?”
“She had a stroke after her parents left for the airport. She started having convulsions and lost consciousness. It was fortunate that William was here. He took care of her and now she’s in recovery.”
“What? How can that be? She was okay when she came here. A bit tired but okay. She has her angel with her. She…”
“He said that they’d drugged her. She had drugs in her system. He also said that she could have died. I’m so worried!” Camille said, her voice laced with sadness.
I was too nervous to hug and comfort her, though. My mind went blank and my head started to spin. Aria could have died. “Where is she?”
“In the last hospital room down this corridor. Philippe is there with her, but she’s in some sort of a coma. I don’t know how to explain it, but William had to leave. It’ll be day soon enough, and he’ll turn into rock.”
“Okay, okay. Calm down.” I put my hands on her shoulders. “I’m here now. Everything will be fine. We need to call some healing angels to fix her.”
“We tried that, Cedric. Nothing worked.” She sobbed, tears rushing to her eyes again.
“Then we…” I stopped talking, unsure of what to say. I had run out of ideas. I didn’t know what to do. I felt Josephine’s hand on my shoulder. I stared at her, noticing her empathy for our pain.
“Maybe vampire’s blood can help,” she whispered.
“Philippe has already tried that,” Camille informed us, clearing her eyes with her fingers. “He also contacted the witches, some girl called Mara. She came here. She analyzed Aria and said something disturbing. But I can’t believe it. She said that her soul was…wounded. That she was rejecting her angel.”
“That’s not possible,” I said to her.
“Her being sick isn’t possible, either,” Camille retorted.
“Why would she reject her angel?” Josephine asked the key question.
“I have no idea,” I said. “I have to see her.”
I headed down the hallway looking for her bedroom and found Philippe sitting on a chair next to Aria’s bed. He looked apprehensive and drained. Aria was surrounded by machines that were helping her breathe and were monitoring her heartbeat. She looked pale and sick. I moved closer, and Philippe stared at me, silent. I touched her hand. It was cold.
“What else can I do?” I asked him, not sure why I did. He’d been there next to her. Maybe he knew what I could do to help her. Perhaps, I was just lost and feeling guilty for letting her be kidnapped.
“Be here for her. She needs someone to be next to her. She’s been having nightmares.”
“I can’t. I have meetings to attend today. We need to find the people who did this to her. They must have put something in the drugs they gave her to destroy her angel. It’s the only plausible explanation for all this.”
“William thought about that, too. He ran some blood tests and, once he wakes up again, he’ll come here to share his findings. Meanwhile, he said that she should be monitored in case she has another convulsion and her heart stops.”
“What?” I asked, losing my voice and looking at her pale face. “Her heart stopped?”
“For thirty seconds.”
“That’s not possible!”
“Apparently, it is. The witch thinks that it’s a spiritual thing that’s interfering with her body. Her mind is fighting her angel.”
“That’s bullshit. Aria is perfectly fine with her angel. Besides, her angel wouldn’t let her body get sick unless something is stopping her from having control.”
“Exactly,” Philippe said.
I glared at him. “It’s the drug. We need to find who did this and see if they have an antidote.”
“You need to calm down,” Philippe said.
“Don’t tell me what to do!” I yelled at him, catching Josephine’s gaze out of the corner of my eye.
She was in the entrance of the room, staring at us. Her face was gloomy as her eyes looked from me to Aria.
“What do you think I should do?” I asked her.
“I’m sorry.” She came in. “But you’re not going to drag me into this conversation.”
“You agreed with me. We need to find out who did this. We need to get…”
Josephine tried to complete my sentence. “Revenge?”
“Justice,” I said.
“Cedric, I agree with Philippe. You need to rest. It’s been a long night.”
“I’ll sleep after I find the people who did this to Aria. You of all people should agree with me,” I said to Philippe.
“We’ll get them. I promise we will, but Aria comes first. She needs someone to be with her. You need to be here for her when she wakes up.”
“And if she doesn’t wake up?” I asked. “Thank you for your advice, but I’d rather find them and deal with this in my own way,” I said, leaving the room. “Come. We have a meeting to attend,” I said to Josephine, who was staring at me from the middle of the room. “Are you coming or not?”
“It’s daylight,” she informed me.
“I know. Are you coming or not?”
“But…”
“We aren’t going to fly. We’re teleporting. Also, I can protect you from the sun. So stop delaying me.” I offered my hand for her to hold.
She hesitated for a moment. Then she walked towards me and grabbed my hand. Her hand felt hot in mine. I looked at it and held it tighter, noticing how she became flustered.
“We need to find out who the creator of Clarity is. We have a graveyard to attack.”
“What?” Philippe asked, listening to our conversation. I noticed the look of surprise on his face, as if I’d found out something he hadn’t been expecting me to. It intrigued me.
“If you want to find out more about this, you should attend the meeting, don’t you think?” I teleported out of there with his sire.
I was infuriated by Philippe’s lack of assistance. I needed him to convince the other vampires and help me with the attack. He could pretend to care about Aria later, when things were over, and she was cured.
I teleported to my house, letting Josephine go once we got there.
“Why are we here?” She looked around. “Where are we?”
“At my place. I need a shower and clean clothes. You can freshen up in Aria’s room and pick some new clothes to wear. There are plenty of dresses that she never wore in the closet. You are taller, but you look the same size.” I observed how she looked troubled by my words. She was quite delectable when she was confused by my actions. “Aren’t you tired?”
“Yes, I am. But…Aria is in the hospital, sick, and I should be there with Philippe. He must be beside himself. I thought we were going back to the dungeons.”
“My men can handle the interrogations. They already gave us a location where we can find their master.”
“Then I should be with Philippe.”
“You can’t be worried about Philippe all the time. You’re not his mom.”
“Actually, I sort of am his mom. I’m his creator. I love him like a son.”
“You look too young to be his mom,” I said, hoping to elicit a smile.
“Aren’t you worried about Aria?” she asked.
Philippe was already there with her, and I would prove more helpful in the field, looking for the person who’d drugged her. I needed to find her a cure. I needed to find the people who’d kidnapped her and tried to steal her angel. I’d go insane sitting in one place doing nothing.
“I’m extremely worried about her. But I can’t sit around and wait for a miracle to happen. I have to do everything in my power to fix this.”
“Cedric.” She stepped closer and placed her hand on my cheek.
Her gesture made me gulp as I gazed at her. She had gorgeous eyes and a stunning face. She was pleasant too and quite smart for a vampire. Her concern for me was disconcerting. She was extremely empathetic with everybody. I’d thought vampires were cold and heartless.
“I don’t need you to lecture me.” I clenched my teeth. I couldn’t handle anyone else telling me that I was wrong. Philippe had done that already. I couldn’t stay there and witness Aria dying. I needed to do something.
Her voice was soft and sweet. “I’m not going to lecture you. I think…you should calm yourself down and realize that you should be in the hospital next to Aria. She needs you there beside her.”
I stepped back and briefly closed my eyes. “She doesn’t need me there. She has Philippe. Didn’t you listen to what he said? Her soul is wounded, and she’s rejecting her angel. She’s rejecting me.”
“I don’t think he meant that.”
“She was behaving differently when she saw me tonight. She didn’t want me near her.”
“All I saw was a scared girl who’d been kidnapped and didn’t want to be left alone. She was also worried about her parents. You can’t blame her for that.”
“She…acted cold towards me.”
She closed her hand around my arm. “Her angel was trapped. You should be with her.”
“William will help Aria.” My body relaxed at her touch. The constriction on my chest lessened as my voice softened. “You need to believe that. We need to find the people who are behind this, and I need to find an antidote to whatever drug is powerful enough to kill the angel inside of her.”
Josephine sighed as her eyes focused on my chest. “You are so stubborn.”
I watched how her teeth nibbled her lower lip. “I’m trying to be rational about what’s happening.”
Facing me, Jo put her hands on my shoulders. I had no other option than to lower my face to focus on her words. “Cedric, you need to stop wanting to save the world on your own. You also need to learn how to relax and how to grieve. It’s important to deal with pain.”
“I know how to deal with pain.”
“No, you don’t, darling. You shut down your feelings and make yourself busy to find a way to forget it. But we need pain to make us stronger. It’s what makes us human.”
“We aren’t human.”
“I was born human. You’re half-human. Your mom was human. We are all God’s creations, aren’t we? With a soul, with a heart. Feelings are what make us better than the rest of Earth’s creatures.”
“Josephine, don’t try to act like my shrink. Get some rest, and I’ll call you when the others are ready to meet with us.” I grabbed her wrists and pushed her away. Her closeness wasn’t displeasing, but it wasn’t welcome, either. I needed to be alone. I didn’t need anyone to tell me how I should feel.
“I guess you…don’t feel comfortable sharing your feelings with me. We are practically strangers. You have no reason to open up your heart to me.”
My voice was stern when I said, “I don’t feel an urge to share anything now. I want to have a shower, get something to eat, and rest before the meeting. We have a busy night ahead of us.”
“I know. But…you should reconsider.”
“What?”
“The attack on the graveyard. We don’t know if he’s there. We just have a few confessions. They could be lying. You might start a war with the specters and the witches for no apparent reason. And what if that was the plan all along and this is all a trick?”
I let her words sink in as I watched her tuck her hair behind her ear. “I understand your fears. I do, Josephine. But I can’t stay still and not make any kind of move against the people who took my mate. I’d appear weak. This will be a warning to anyone else who wants to cross me and hurt what’s mine.”
“You should reconsider. We found the drug. We arrested the dealers and you killed the specters. You have your mate back.”
My heart hurt as pain took over my features. “She isn’t back. She’s in a coma. She’s sick. She…had her angel trapped inside. She was acting differently. She was…”
She completed my sentence for me. “Showing feelings for Philippe.”
I looked the other way, angry by the mere mention of his name.
“Had she told you before that she had feelings for him?”
“She might…have mentioned it.”
“And still, you’re putting your life at risk by being stubborn and not rejecting her?”
I glared at the vampire and balled my hands into fists. “She’s my only shot at love. I need her and her powers. She loves me, too. I can work this out once she wakes up. We’ll have a serious conversation. But for now, I need my angel’s powers to find out who’s behind all this.”
“Cedric, you are playing with fire.” Josephine’s gloomy eyes soothed my rage, but I wasn’t falling for her concern.
“I know perfectly well that you’re rooting for Philippe to win Aria’s heart. After all, he’s like a son to you. You want what’s best for him. But Aria’s life will be better if she stays with me. I can save her soul.”
“I’m not rooting for Philippe. I think Aria has to decide for herself. And I think you should stop lying to her and tell her that she has a choice.”
“Who told you that I’m lying to her?”
She folded her arms. “Aren’t you?”
“She needs to love me, not some coldhearted vampire who wanted her dead!”
“You need to love her. Do you love her or the idea of having a mate?”
She was so insistent that it was becoming annoying.
“I love her. She’s …brave and has a beautiful soul. She might be young and have a lot to learn about responsibility. She might be unprepared for this life, but I know she’s perfect to be my queen. I can teach her to be better.”
“You’re lost, aren’t you?” She moved closer and placed her hand on my shoulder. I felt a tingling sensation spread down my arm. Her red lips were hypnotizing. “You aren’t thinking straight. I don’t think you know what you want.”
“I don’t give a damn what you think, stupid vampire,” I growled, aggravated by what she thought she knew about me. She had no idea. I lost it and pushed her back, making her almost fall to the floor.
Jo recoiled when I reached out to grab her before she fell. Her hand flew to her chest and her lips parted to breathe. “Don’t ever do that to me again. I don’t deal well with violent behavior,” she said, hugging her arms around her waist.
I was mortified. “I’m sorry. I didn’t intend to hurt you.”
“But you did,” she stated in a trembling voice. “I don’t care if you are the Prince of Angels. If you speak to me like that again, I’ll never want to talk to you again.”
“I apologize,” I voiced, staring at the floor and wanting her to accept my excuses. “I’m tired and…worried about Aria. You’re right. I don’t know how to express my feelings to others. I was...hurt when Aria didn’t want me next to her. When she chose Philippe over me.”
“She’ll come around. I’m sure she will,” she said in a honeyed voice.
I raised my eyes to watch her pretty face. “Why do they always choose to go back to their original soulmates when they want them back?” It was an enigma to me. Jo had failed the trial, so she might have the answer to my question.
“I can’t fully explain it. But there’s something in us that misses them. Something that calls us to them. It’s a pull. Finding a soulmate is a powerful experience. The love is…overwhelming and makes us want to forgive and believe anything they say. Women are more vulnerable, I guess. I believed my former soulmate when he said that he wanted me back because he knew he had made a mistake, but all he wanted was to make me an angel to help him get to your kingdom and steal the sacred orb. He was evil and was corrupted by greed. He had an insane plan to open the gates of Hell. However, Philippe isn’t evil. Philippe loves Aria and wants what’s best for her. She must feel that deep inside her soul. She must feel his grief at being apart. Doesn’t she dream about him? Does she call his name when she’s asleep?”
“She had dreams, yes. I don’t know what she dreamed about.”
“Aria seems to be a lovely girl. I’m aware that she has a powerful angel in her. I understand why you don’t want to let her go. But, Cedric, they’re adorable together,” she claimed.
I sighed annoyance.
“It’s unfair for you because you have every right to be loved, but she will fail the trial if she has doubts about her feelings for you.”
“I’m aware of that, but I still have time,” I grumbled.
“Don’t die over your pride. You deserve so much more from life than being turned to rock,” she said, stepping forward and grabbing my hands in hers. “Do you understand?”
“I’m not so sure about that, Josephine.”
“Cedric…” Her voice trembled, and I felt the need to push her back again.
I didn’t like when people felt sorry for me. I didn’t want her pity.
She held my hands tighter. “Stop pushing people away. I’m not feeling sorry for you. I’m trying to make you see how things are.”