Page 89 of Awakened and Betrayed
“I’m not in on this, Vinna! I was trying to help!” he shouts, his voice pained and nasally as blood drips through his cupped hands.
“Don’t convince yourself that you’re the good guy! You took your shot at trying to play and manipulate me, too. Be glad you just have a broken nose; it could be worse.”
Elder Cleary follows my gaze back to the dead Elder Albrecht. He looks back to me and gives me his bestI’m not intimidatedlook. So I give him my bestI’m not fucking joking, I will stab youlook. We stand like that for a moment before Elder Cleary pulls his phone out of his pocket and calls for help. I guide Sabin out of the room ignoring Elder Cleary’s order tonot go too far. Sabin hasn’t said a word, and it’s freaking me out, so I stop just outside of the room, now coated in death. I cup his cheeks and stare up into his green eyes.
“Talk to me, are you okay?”
I don’t ask where he’s hurting, I just push healing magic into my hands and let it start working on his injuries.
He just stares at me, something unreadable in his eyes.
“I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have left you alone like that. I should have been more aware of what was happening around you. Please, say something, anything, even if you need to scream at me…”
“I love you, Vinna.”
I don’t know what I was expecting to fall out of Sabin’s perfect lips, butthatwas not it. I send another pulse of healing magic into him, certain there must be a serious head injury I missed somehow, but he pulls my hands away from his face.
“It’s not a concussion-addled confession,” he tells me, his mouth turning up in a smirk, but I don’t miss the flash of insecurity in his eyes.
“No, Sabin,” I tell him, and he looks at me confused. “Not when I’m covered in blood and reek of death.”
He cups my cheek. “I know those words should be spoken under starlit skies and punctuated with soft kisses, but they’re no less true when we’re covered in blood and reek of death. I love you.”
Before I can say anything else, Sabin leans down and kisses me. I may not want to hear him sayI love you,not like this, not when I’m not sure I can say it back. But he tells me anyway, his lips on mine, his soul demanding its place with my soul. I may not know what love likethisis supposed to be like, or if I’m ready to say those words, but I let what I do feel for him seep into my lips, and it surprises me when my kiss begins to feel just like his.
44
Sabin and I walk out of the front door of the palatial monstrosity Elder Albrecht called a house. We’ve been questioned and now released by the paladin sent to investigate and clean up what happened here tonight. I’m exhausted. The heaviness of my tired feet and limbs is made worse by the fact that the difficult times don’t die inside this house tonight. There is still so much more death and destruction waiting for me out in the world, and we’re about to take a direct flight right into the middle of it.
I spot the guys huddled just past a guard of paladin who’ve been instructed not to let anyone onto the grounds. I break into a run pulling Sabin along with me, and I shove through the line of guards and jump right into the middle of my pile of Chosen. Ryker catches me, and I’m peppered with kisses as he runs his hands over me confirming for himself that I’m alright. I already saw a healer inside, and I reassure him that the blood isn’t mine and I’m okay.
I don’t get any more explanation out before I’m stolen away and the kiss-slash-check-if-I’m-okay process begins again and gets repeated three more times. When the guys aren’t checking on me, they’re checking on Sabin.
“By the stars, that was awful. Knowing what was going on and not being able to do anything is by far the worst feeling in my life,” Knox confesses, pulling Sabin into one side of him and me into the other.
We all take a moment just to breathe and try to rid ourselves of the anxiety and worry that has hung heavy around all of us throughout this whole ordeal. We climb into the car and head for home, and I try to sort through everything that’s happened tonight.
“Did Aydin and Evrin make it to Torrez?” I ask, terrified they’ll sayno,and somehow equally terrified that they’ll sayyes.
Bastien turns to me, and I can’t read what’s written on his face. “He needed more healing, which Evrin took care of, and he’s resting back at the house.”
So many different feelings flash through me, and I’m not sure which one to cling to; relief, fear, intrigue, worry? I finally settle on guilt.
“I’m sorry you guys,” I announce into the quiet of the car.
“For what?” Bastien asks.
“For wanting to mark someone other than you guys. I didn’t know, until I thought it was too late that I even wanted to. But Torrez was right, it was there, and I just didn’t want to look at it too closely. I was drawn to him, but it was different, I don’t know how to explain it...I should have talked to you guys more. Tried to figure out what was going on, so we could all make a decision, and now I’ve gone andforcedanother thing onto you all.” I confess, feeling horrible that once again my lack of self-awareness has made a mess of things.
“We’ll just have to adjust, Vinna. We all trust your magic, and if it found him worthy, then we’ll find a way to as well.” Sabin tells me, and I’m shocked when each of the guys voice their agreement.
I feel like I should say more, explain more, but when I sift through the words in my head, nothing feels right. I don’t know what sentences I could string together, that would make me feel better about what happened. Or what I could say that would make it easier to believe that this transition will be as simple as Sabin’s words make it seem. So instead of looking for a solution that doesn’t seem to exist, I stay quiet and soak in the reassurance and acceptance that I always feel just being in their presence.
We park in front of the house once again, knowing that we’re here to clean up, pack our bags and then leave for the airport. Aydin, Evrin, and the sisters pour out of the front door, and all of us are wrapped up into hugs and relieved greetings.
“Well, Little Badass, at this rate we should probably stop letting you out of the house at all. Have you guys ever met a bigger trouble maker?” Aydin teases, after he sets me down from a bone-crushing hug and wipes a few tears from his cheek.
Evrin wraps an arm around my shoulders as we head inside the house and gear up to leave again. I look around, nervous that Torrez will be leaning against a wall smirking and demanding that our new situation is dealt with immediately, but he’s nowhere to be seen.
