“Look, I know it’s Ethan. I know he was the one that turned you Rogue and helped Nathanial. But maybe there’s something else there. Maybe he can help somehow. I don’t know. He could have killed me that night, but he didn’t,” she continued with a shrug.
“If he lays a hand on you again, I will kill him.”
She smiled.
“Not if I do it first.”
After Thomas left, Zarah took a shower. Her thoughts were muddled. Draven. Seth. The world in general. It was all hell.
She needed to visit the captive Hunters. Dawn was approaching, but time didn’t matter to her anymore. Sleep was becoming a privilege. Her body had become constantly exhausted and starved. Since she’d last fed on Boss, she’d decided that she wouldn’t do it again.
On her way down the hall, Draven walked up beside her. She almost sighed out loud, knowing the coming dreaded talk with him. It was being postponed as long as possible.
“Where are you headed?” he asked casually, breaking into her thoughts.
“To visit the Hunters. We need to figure out what to do with them.”
“Have you had anything to drink since the other night?”
She stopped. He halted his steps with her and their eyes met.
“I’m not doing that again,” she whispered, her eyes darting around with paranoia.
“You need to do something. And don’t feel guilty about anything either. You’re a vampire. It’s in our nature. It’s not like you’re lost to the bloodlust, so it’ll be fine.”
“Have you been feeding from them?” she asked with narrowed, suspicious eyes. Her weight shifted to one foot and a hand went to her hip. He shook his head.
“No, but one or two others have. I’m not naming names. Don’t worry, there’s not any harm coming to them otherwise. They’re being taken well care of.”
She thought for a few minutes before nodding slowly. Her worry for the Hunters mostly stayed with Boss. As if sensing it, Draven placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Boss is fine. What’s so fascinating about him though?”
“I don’t know. I just feel a strange connection.” Her voice was hoarse and tired. She shrugged and looked toward the direction of the room where the humans were kept.
“I’ll see you later,” she added before stepping away from him.
*****
The room was mostly dark when she entered with the exception of the two small lamps. A soft yellow light emitted from the bulbs, casting an eerie glow. When she unlocked and pulled the heavy door open, entering, the humans stood from their beds in alarm. Well, the other humans. Boss remain seated on his. Calm and collected. He even smiled at her. She returned with a small smile at him.
The other three males were on edge. Zarah was glad to be at a distance away from them, and even more thankful for their chained feet. She met the eyes of the man she’d fought with briefly. He was young, no older than twenty, but hate already filled his cold gray eyes.
“Heard you went on a little trip through town tonight. Run into any of our friends?” The young Hunter mocked with raised eyebrows.
“Matter of fact, we did. They’re dead.” She flashed a smile, revealing her fangs, and leaned back against the door with her arms crossed over her chest. She’d walked in barefoot again, only in a pair of lime green silk pajama pants and a black tank top. Her hair was still wet from the shower.
“You little bitch—” He started toward her furiously, only to be stopped by the end of the chain. His fists clenched at his sides.
She rolled her eyes.
“Relax. No one in my team did it. You need to learn we’re not all evil monsters.” And that was the truth. No one in the team had killed the Hunters. Ethan had, and he certainly wasn’t part of the Guardians.
“If you’re not, then why are we being held here?” Another asked. He didn’t sound angry, just curious.
“We’re sick of the violence,” she hissed. “Would you rather us kill you instead?”
“It depends on what you plan on doing to us. We don’t want to be used as blood donors.”
She flinched and shook her head.
“Mostly, we want to know if one of you can help us contact your president. We want to work out negotiations hopefully to end all of this. A peace. Explanations. Understandings.”
Boss and two of the Hunters nodded, not seeming to have any problems with the arrangement. The young man at the back continued to glare daggers at her.
“Have a problem?” she directed at him.
“You’re still a monster. I don’t care how pretty you appear to be on the outside. You’re a walking nightmare that should be destroyed.”
Zarah stared at him unblinking for a long awkward silence before stepping forward. She moved to the middle of the room, risking herself around the men, knowing she was unarmed. She had her own defense.
When she was face to face with him, she smirked. He sat down on his cot with his eyes on hers in a strange trance. She felt the growing heat in the center of her chest. The white-violet heat building through her fingertips. She leaned forward until her face was only inches from his and flashed her fangs.
“I can be your nightmare.”
With that, purple flames erupted from her fingertips as she wiggled them at him with a smile. The others gasped in surprise.
“Zarah!”
She spun around, the flames extinguishing immediately, to see Seth in the doorway staring incredulously at her. Fury was written in his features with trembling fists at his sides.
Twenty Three
Zarah ran out of the room. Her ears were ringing, and vision blurred. She’d barely pushed by Seth. He grabbed her arm, stopping her, as she tried to rush down the hall.
“What the hell was that back there?”
She tried pulling away from his grip but he held firm. Her head and hands shook until she finally slumped her shoulders in defeat.
“I don’t know. I was so angry. He struck my last nerve. And I’m just really tired and thirsty. I don’t know…” she kept stuttering, looking everywhere but at him.
He touched her face and pulled it around tenderly to meet his eyes. They’d lost their anger. The gold irises lightened with concern.
“You’re so unusual, it’s dangerous. This army you’re building is all fine and dandy. My brothers and I are okay with that. You need backup and we understand. But with the state of the world, if you get caught by one of the humans or by one of the Fallen Masters, it could be a much bigger problem. And now at least four humans know how different you really are from other vampires. This can’t be good.”
“Well…perhaps you should have ended my life that night after all. It would have saved a whole world of trouble.” She tried to pull away again, but he still held tight.
“What did your father tell in that dream exactly?” His voice came out in a dark whisper and he leaned down close to her face. “Because I was never there to kill you.”
She stopped and looked at him through wide eyes.
“He just said that Draven was there that night to save me from you. What did he mean by that other than the possibility of you attempting to destroy me while the Warriors outside shredded my mother apart?”
Seth stepped back and dropped her arm. It was enough to give her the space she needed to leave him. He remained silent. It was plenty to tell her that he was hiding something. Maybe he’d been there to kill her, maybe not. Either way, he wasn’t denying it and he wasn’t confessing. Another spark of anger flared in her chest.
“Stay away from me,” she growled and started to turn on her bare heels. His eyes trained on something behind her with amusement, and when she turned, she saw Draven standing there with a confused frown. She froze in horror.
“What’s going on here?” he asked. She sensed his growing puzzlement to the situation. Seth stood protectively close behind her, and her emotions raged wildly through anger and hurt that she knew he could sense from their bond. Words tried to form, but she couldn’t
bring herself to speak. She looked between the two guys nervously. Her eyes stopped on Seth’s slow-forming mischievous smirk. He wouldn’t dare, she thought furiously.
“We were discussing the hot kiss that happened the other night in my room. I told her I don’t like to share, but it’s obvious she likes to go jumping around indecisively.” His hand waved nonchalantly toward Draven. Zarah’s jaw dropped in shock. He’d went too far.
“Is that true? Did you two kiss?” Draven asked when she spun back around to face him.
“I…yes…but I can explain,” she started, stuttering. She tried to step forward, reaching out. He pulled away from her. His face showed clear disgust; his lip curled up in rage.
“No need. I should’ve known there were other reasons to you being in his room. I’ve sensed strange feelings coming from you the last week.”
“I’ll see you later, Sunshine,” Seth cut in with a smug smile before he turned and walked away. She barely glanced over her shoulder. How had it taken this turn of events? When she turned back to Draven, he was walking away too, and she rushed to catch up.
“Draven, wait. Please, let me just talk to you.”
He continued to ignore her. She watched his muscular frame move gracefully through the hall in front of her. He wore a plain black tee and a pair of a gray sweat pants. It’d been obvious he had been about to go to bed for the day before finding her in the hall. The shutters were closing. She caught a glimpse of the lightening sky as they slowly wound their way around the windows.
“Please,” she pleaded. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d sounded so young and vulnerable, but the thought of losing him hurt. It cut into her like silver, and she could feel the pain splicing into her cold veins. He must have heard it in her voice, or maybe he felt it too, because he stopped at his door. His back remained facing her as he waited for her to continue speaking.
She swallowed the lump in her throat and stepped closer.
“I didn’t. I didn’t kiss him. He kissed me. And that’s why I left so mad. But that’s not why I was there. I’ve been keeping secrets from you, and I’m sorry, but I want you to know—”
Her words were cut off by a blast downstairs.
Twenty Four
Hunters raided the building. They’d waited until the morning daylight hours to ambush them, which Zarah had to admit was a good idea. It was what she would have done. To attack at an enemy’s weakest moment.
She never finished her talk with Draven. Instead, it was cut short with the blast of the downstairs door blowing away from its hinges, followed by shouts and gunshots. The Guardians came rushing from their rooms armed and prepared for the coming fight—Zarah and Draven stared into each other’s eyes for long, silent seconds as if time stood still. They read into each other. She feared this was going to be her last time seeing him for a long time, and she wanted to memorize every detail of his face.
He had a dimple on one of his cheeks. Every time he smiled, it deepened. The gold flecks in his eyes were different sizes and shapes, but the blue irises surrounding them were what she loved most. They changed color with his emotions—dark navy when he was angry or frustrated, bright cerulean when he was passionate or joyful.
She imagined he was taking the time to do the same thing with her. He slowly moved forward and brushed a hand across her face. The chaos began to rush onto their floor as the Hunters ran up. The Fallen walked into the hallway with their swords ready to join the battle. Everything began to blur around Zarah.
“We only want the girl, the leader here,” one of the humans called out above the noise. Silence seemed to pass and eyes landed on her. She ignored them and stood on her toes to place a gentle kiss on Draven’s lips. He looked at her in confusion.
“There’s a memory stick in my bedroom by the computer. Get it. Watch it. Try to remember,” she whispered in a rush. He tried to pull her back when she started to step away with a sad smile.
“No, you can’t go with them,” he growled.
“It’ll be fine. If I go willingly, they’ll leave you all alone. I can see it in their minds.”
“I don’t give a damn.”
“I love you.” A tear trickled down her cheek and she pulled herself away. It was the first time she’d voiced her feelings. She watched the flood of emotion wash over his features, but never gave him time to say anything back before she walked away.
A few of the Hunters had found the captives and released them. Boss stood off to the side, a grim frown creasing his face, as she crossed the floor toward the waiting humans.
“You know I can’t go out in daylight,” she quipped. “And you have to leave everyone else here in peace if I’m to go with you quietly.”
“Yes, those are our orders. We’re only here for you on behalf of the President. We have a transport vehicle in the garage that is safe for you to travel in during the daylight,” the Hunter in front answered. He kept his weapon trained on her; she continued walking forward with her arms raised. Her comrades stood along the walls defenseless and nervous, watching her. There were too many Hunters for them to fight. She knew this had to be done to save them all. She briefly met Seth’s eyes before turning away again. Her head held high in determination, despite the confusion. How had the President found out any information about her specifically? And why did he want her alive? Something was unusual about this situation and it didn’t sit right in her gut.
The young Hunter she’d threatened earlier stood near the group she approached. He was smirking, smug and thrilled at her capture. She narrowed her eyes at him and imagined the day that she’d get to bite into his neck. As if sensing her thirsty desire, his smirk disappeared and his eyes averted elsewhere. Zarah smiled.
When she was close enough to the groups’ leader, she tilted her head in curiosity. He wore a cloth mask that covered most of his face, but his bright green eyes were visible beneath the metal helmet. She smelled him.
“What is your name, Sir?”
“Does it matter?” He didn’t sound harsh; he sounded anxious.
She shrugged.
“Might be nice to know a name if I have to travel with you. That’s all I’m asking.”
“Zeke,” he answered after an awkward silence.
Zarah nodded with a soft smile.
“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go.”
She started forward. A few more humans surrounded her in a threatening circle. She didn’t hide her fear of their new, larger guns while she stood in the center unarmed.
Zeke raised a set of silver cuffs.
“Sorry, but it’s precautionary,” he said when he stepped forward and slapped them onto her wrists. She hissed in pain at the already setting silver poison. Somewhere in the background she heard Draven scrambling to get through the crowd.
“Stop!” she yelled backward though she couldn’t really see. Her eyes sought the front of the crowd as she started to get escorted out. They landed on Thomas and Alyssa, where she saw Alyssa struggling to keep a grip on her brother.
“Thomas, Thomas…” she stuttered quickly, forcing her captor to stop in front of the pair when she planted her bare feet firmly to keep from moving further.
“Let me hug my brother!” she growled at the Hunter. He at least allowed her the opportunity and stepped back. Thomas scooped her into a tight embrace. She couldn’t wrap her arms around him because of the cuffs, but she used the chance to say what she needed to as quick as possible.
“There’s a memory stick in my room. I’ve told Draven to find it and watch it. Tell him I’ve told you to see it too. Help him…and don’t worry about me. I’ve figured it out.”
“Okay, come on now, it’s time to go,” Zeke’s gruff voice came behind her. He pulled her away from her brother’s grasp and she smiled. Thomas looked at her in confusion. She only nodded and wiggled her fingers at an attempted wave. Zarah took a last look back over her shoulder. Seth stared at her, his eyes dark and dangerous.
“So how did the lovely Preside
nt hear about little bitty me anyway?” she asked when they all arrived in the garage. A few Hunters stayed behind in The Compound to keep guard over the others while these took her away to wherever they were going to go. Zarah already knew that the humans left weren’t going to survive much longer, and the ones traveling with her then knew that, too.
There were two sport utility vehicles with daylight blocking tint wrapped around all of the windows. A thin, protective cloak was still placed over her, along with a pair of dark shades over her eyes for precaution. Zeke and four others—including the young Hunter that she’d yet to get the name of, and Boss—climbed into the front one with her. The others occupied the one in back. The cuffs burned her wrists and she shifted her hands uncomfortably.
“He’s had some assistance recently. That’s all I can tell you. You’ll find out soon enough,” Zeke replied.
“I sure am thirsty. I would advise humans to keep a safe distance away.” She turned to him with a threatening smile, revealing her extended fangs. One of the Hunters on her other side pushed away from her as far as he could. She almost laughed out loud. Zeke seemed unfazed by her.
“I’m not stupid, either, Zeke. You’re not human.”
Everyone went still in the vehicle and stared at the two of them in silence. In a flash, his gun went off and he’d shot two of the humans, setting a ringing in her ears. She looked around frantically to see Boss unharmed. Only two unnamed Hunters had been killed, one that had sat in the front passenger seat, and the one on the other side of her. The young man that had been captive at The Compound had a look of fright, his knuckles white and gripping the seat in front of her. The driver had shifted briefly during the shock, but now acted nonchalant and oblivious.
Zeke turned to her. His mask was down and the helmet was off.
“I think it’s best you just don’t speak the rest of the trip.”
Through These Wicked Nights (Guardians of the Night Book 2) Page 10