“E? You ok? Open up or I’m breaking the door down.”
Niko has been knocking on my door for the past five minutes. No doubt, he’s heard about what went down between Crysis and me. Shit, I wouldn’t be surprised if even Irin’s staff was buzzing about the ordeal.
Fuck. Me.
High school sucked enough. I hated being the topic of gossip then, and I hate it even more now.
“Come on, open up. I have food. And booze.”
“I’m not hungry,” I call out, my voice hoarse from crying.
I hate that I let myself break like that. I hate that I fucking cared enough about him to allow him to hurt me. I’ve been called every name in the book and didn’t give a damn about it, just like I didn’t give a damn about the person spewing the insults. But Crysis…I thought he was my friend. And when you grow up not having many of those, losing just one feels like a knife to the heart.
“Well, I’m hungry,” Niko says. “Let me in so you can watch me eat and tell me how good I look doing it.”
I chuckle, even though I don’t want to, but don’t respond.
“Seriously, I will break this door down.”
I roll my eyes and drag myself from the bed and across the room. “No, you will not,” I say by way of greeting, swinging the door open. “Irin would be pissed. She probably paid a fortune for it.”
“Eh,” Niko shrugs. “I can afford it.”
As promised, he has food and booze, and somehow, he looks gloriously handsome in a navy blue button up and slacks, all perfectly tailored to his lean yet muscular body. Meanwhile, I’m still gross in my workout clothes.
Niko enters the room and sets down the tray of food and drinks. No wine today. He’s gone straight for the scotch. The good stuff too.
“What’s all this?” I question. It’s barely early afternoon.
“This is letting you get me drunk so you can take advantage of me.” He uncovers the domed plates, revealing cheeseburgers, fries, and macaroni and cheese. Trans fats and comfort food. I could kiss him right now.
Still, I retort, “I can’t eat that, and I damn sure can’t drink that. I have weapons training with Cain.”
“Not anymore, you don’t.” He plucks up a fry and stuffs it into his mouth. “Some super-secret Se7en thing. Besides, you need a day off.”
“A day off? I’m not even on the job yet.”
“Well, I need a day off,” he shrugs.
As much as I want to pretend that Crysis’s words didn’t get to me and that I can dust our fight off my shoulders, I have to admit that hiding out with junk food and Niko’s easy personality is more than tempting. Plus, I am starving.
I snag a couple fries of my own in resignation. “What super-secret Se7en stuff?”
“I don’t know. But they all disappeared to their section of the house. Not even the staff is allowed entry to that hallway. Must be serious.”
Strange. And kinda disheartening. The Se7en saw what went down and heard every word, meaning that Legion heard every word. I had expected him to check on me, not that I’m not grateful for Niko. But in a way, I’m glad Legion didn’t come. I was embarrassed in that gym. I was humiliated and demeaned. I don’t want to show that weakness to anyone, especially him.
As if knowing where my thoughts are headed, Niko cracks open the bottle of scotch and pours us each a few fingers worth. I take my offered glass and sip. The searing burn is soothing to the lump still caught in my throat.
“Wanna talk about it?” he asks, taking a swig of his own drink.
“Nope.”
One stiff nod. “Ok.”
We take our plates to the bed where we sit and eat and avoid talking about anything of substance. Niko woos me with stories of his home, Skiathos, and what it was like to grow up as the little prince of the Dark in his older brother’s shadow.
“Compared to Dorian, I was a spoiled, entitled little shit.”
“Noooo,” I jibe. “Not you!”
“You laugh, but if you knew half the shit I’d done, you may never speak to me again.”
I shrug. “We’ve all got skeletons. I’m no angel.” I shake my head and chuckle. “Well, only half angel.”
“You honestly don’t give yourself enough credit, E. Yeah, you’re a bit rough around the edges, but it’s not your fault.” He lays a hand on mine, his skin cool to the touch. “And it doesn’t make you desperate or stupid to want to love and be loved. It makes you human. Something I only got a taste of. And let me tell you, I’d trade anything—anything—to have that once again, even for just a moment.”
“Thanks,” I reply with a solemn half smile, determined not to cry again. I take a cleansing breath. “Now pour me another glass. It’s our day off.”
Two burgers, a pile of fries, a heaping mound of mac and cheese, and a bottle of scotch later, we’re laying on our backs, side by side, staring at the ceiling.
I made Niko tell me everything about him, from how his one and only true love was sent to change his heart so he could one day save Gabriella, to the twisted shit he did to impress Lucifer and get in his good graces.
“He told you…about Legion,” I utter. “Didn’t he? He knew what would happen if he was unleashed on the world a second time.”
“He didn’t have to.”
“You think he has it in check? I mean, he doesn’t seem like a murderous beast that wants to wipe out mankind. To me, nothing has changed. But then sometimes…I don’t know. It’s like he’s not there. Like he’s dead inside. I know he’s different, but I just don’t know how different.”
“Does he love you?”
I turn to face him, my brow furrowed in surprise. “What?”
“Do you think Legion loves you?”
I turn back to look up at the ceiling, if only to hide my reddening face. “I don’t know. I don’t even know if he’s capable of it. But when I’m with him, and he holds me so tight to him as if he’s afraid I’ll slip away, and I’m filled with an overwhelming sense of peace and safety, I think to myself, “this must be what love feels like.””
“Awww, that’s beautiful as shit, E,” Niko muses, a smile in his voice. I reach over and pinch his side and nearly break a nail against the hard muscle. He laughs when I jerk my hand back. “But in all seriousness…if he loves you, he’ll always come back to you. Even when it feels like you’ve lost him. He’ll find his way back to you.”
I scoot closer and lay my head on his shoulder. “Old guys are so wise.”
“Old? I’m an infant compared to the dinosaur you’re fucking.”
I can’t argue with that, so I just laugh. I laugh until tears spring from my eyes. And this time, I don’t mind them.
I know I drift off to sleep, but I don’t remember it. All I know is that when I wake up, my head is pounding and the room is dark. Shit. I better not have slept the day away. I promised Sister I’d come back to see her. I hate not following through, plus I wanted to get more information about the skin graft.
After dragging my ass out of bed, rinsing my mouth out, and taking a much needed shower, I go in search of my first priority: water. I hate to say it, but maybe that asshole, Crysis, was right. I need to hydrate.
After gulping down a gallon from the kitchen, I roam into what I’ve deemed the ballroom to find Lilith and Andras sitting at the bar, a half a dozen magazines, a laptop, and a couple iPads in front of them. Andras is scribbling something on a pad of paper while Lilith holds up two fabric swatches.
“Hey,” Andras calls out without looking up from his notebook. “Come here; we need your opinion on this.”
I look around. There’s no one else here.
Lilith and Andras both turn and face me at the same time. It’s like they share a brain.
“Yes. Please tell us which one would work better for the party,” Lilith chimes. “We can’t decide.”
I walk over tentatively. Before today, I wasn’t sure if I even existed in their eyes.
“Um, sure,” I say. Lilith holds up the shimmering swatches. “They both look like gold to me.”
“What?” she scoffs. “Clearly this is Honeycomb, and this is Anjou Pear.” She holds them up to my face so I can get a better look.
“Oh. Well…this one?” I say pointing to the more metallic of the two shades.
“That’s what I said!” she exclaims.
“This isn’t Vegas,” Andras grumbles. “Gold doesn’t have to be gaudy.”
“It won’t be,” Lilith retorts. “I’m going for old Hollywood glam with a touch of goth.”
I scan the books and samples sprawled out on the bar top. “This is all for the party?”
“Yes!” Lilith nods enthusiastically. She sets down the fabric and begins an online search for stemware.
“You do realize that this is a party to—I don’t know—trap a horde of killer archangels?”
“We’re aware.” Lilith looks up from the laptop and paints on a tight smile that doesn’t meet her clear, blue eyes. “This might be our last chance to do something like this. I know it’s silly, and our time should be invested in about a billion other things, but if our time on this planet is limited, I think we should make the most of every single second.”
Her solemn expression, the sadness in her voice…she doesn’t believe they’ll survive this. Words escape me, so I simply nod. I hadn’t even considered how scared they must be, which is saying something considering I can’t imagine them being afraid of anything. And while Lilith and I have had our differences, I can’t deny that she was once my friend. Even if it was all a ruse on her end. I cared for her. And if I’m being honest with myself, I don’t want to see her dead.
“Besides,” she perks, turning back to the laptop, “wait until you see your dress! You’re going to look so stunning, no man or beast within a fifty mile radius will be able to keep their eyes off you.”
“She’s right, you know,” Andras adds. “The dress is amazing. And with your newly unveiled Nephilim blood—” He scents the air as if he can smell the essence racing in my veins, “you’ll be downright irresistible.”
I shiver. I can’t imagine a bunch supernatural creatures sniffing around like I’m their dinner. I hadn’t even thought about that, and now that I have, I’m kinda freaking out about it. Maybe that’s why the Se7en have been so distant with me. At least I hope that’s the only reason.
“It looks good,” I remark, not sure how to respond. “You guys are doing a great job.”
They each mumble their thanks, too absorbed with party planning to look up, so I slink away and head for the medical wing. Of course, Sister is fast asleep with Cain knocked out in his recliner beside her. I guess whatever super-secret Se7en business that had pulled him away earlier is over now. Normally, I would question them, demanding I be kept in the loop, but I just don’t know if it’s my place now. They felt an obligation to me, as I was cursed with the Calling with an angel taking up residence in my body. But I’m not anymore. So where does that leave me? Technically, I’m not their problem anymore.
Feeling like a total slacker after an afternoon of day drinking and burger bingeing with Niko, I decide that I should probably hit the gym. It’s dark and empty, so I have the whole place to myself. I start to flip on a light so I’m not stumbling around blind, but then I wonder…what if I’ve got some freaky night vision? I’m not even sure if that’s possible, but it doesn’t hurt to try.
Deep breath. Eyes closed. When I reopen them, I try to focus on penetrating the dark, zeroing in on the blurry shadows before me.
Nothing.
I try again, channeling light and clarity. I stare into obscurity for what seems like hours, my eyes straining and burning. Something shifts, as if the darkness flutters, but it happens so quickly that I can’t be sure of what I saw.
Resigning to defeat, I rub my aching eyes and flick on the lights. I have no idea what I’m doing. But there’s no way I’m relying on Crysis for help, not after what went down earlier. So from here on out, I’m on my own with Nephilim training.
Taking advantage of the privacy, I ditch the earbuds and crank up my workout playlist before hopping on the treadmill. And somehow, a quick cardio warm-up turns into 3.5 miles of full-on sprinting on the highest incline. My mind was so consumed with my spat with Crysis, uncertainty with Legion, and the upcoming party that I didn’t even realize it until glanced down. I’ve never been an athlete, and I damn sure didn’t run from anything or anyone. And to be honest, it feels kinda good to know that my body is capable of more than I could have ever dreamed. For so long, I relied on my secret ability to bend the wills of humans as a defense mechanism. But now…now I can be a force to be reckoned with both mentally and physically.
I hit the weights and am damn grateful that no one is here. I have no clue what I’m doing, and I’m sure I look like an idiot. Still, even with my muscles screaming for mercy, it seems like nothing is too heavy.
So…
Insane endurance, check.
Super strength, check.
Crazy mind tapping ability, check.
Now I’m a little excited about weapons training with Cain, if only to see what else I can do.
I’ve moved on to the speed bag, music blasting, my body working seamlessly to a smooth rhythm, when I feel it.
The hair on the backs of my arms stands up straight. There’s a tingling sensation at my nape. The air all around me feels charged with an electrical current.
I’m not alone in here.
I frantically scan the room, but it appears to still be empty. That means absolutely nothing though, not when cloaking spells and wards are a legit part of my world. Still, I can’t fight what I can’t see, so I gather my stuff and hurry the hell out of there.
Just before I hit the hallway, I get a whiff of something familiar that makes me freeze in my tracks. Something I had forced myself to forget.
Belladonna blooms.
Sex.
Blood.
I race to my room as quickly as I can and lock the door behind me.