Awakened (29 page)

He leaned against the wall, his head supported between two of the bars. I noticed
that he’d detected my arrival, though he didn’t turn to watch me enter the room. This
time with Kale, after he’d fed, was tricky.

His hunger wasn’t quelled in the least, but Deacon said that this was the way Kale
had beaten
la Luxure
before, so I put up with it if it meant getting him out of there. It did seem odd
that Kale would be in such a bad mood after having blood.

“I’m leaving.”

“Hmm…” Kale grunted. He didn’t move to look at me, only swayed from side to side.

“Are you going to say goodbye?” I asked, a bit annoyed.

Kale turned toward me and smiled. Crimson liquid crept slowly down his face.

“You wanna wipe that blood away?” I pointed to his chin.

“I thought you were leaving.” Kale wiped it off.

“I am. I just wanted to say goodbye.” I entered the room and placed my hands on the
bars by Kale’s head and leaned in. We were going to try to make this work. Giving
up wasn’t an option for me. “Please don’t give up on us, Kale. Please.”

Kale looked up at me. I could see in his eyes that he was doing just that. I reached
through the bars and stroked his hair, enjoying how my touch made him close his eyes
and moan.

Kale expelled a deep breath and turned away from me. “Ella, I don’t know what’s going
on with me.” He looked up and searched my eyes for understanding. “I don’t think I
will beat it this time. It’s different; it speaks to me.”

“Like with a voice?”

“How much of this has Jace explained to you?” Kale asked, sounding a bit nervous,
or maybe he was just tired. I didn’t know really know.

“He said that you’d fallen to
la Luxure
and that soon you would become a true vampire, but Deacon said that you were solely
struggling with
la Luxure
and that it can be cured.”

Kale nodded and sat down. The room was cold so I placed my arms around myself for
warm and moved away from the cold bars.

“They are both right.”

“Okay, so there is hope.” I felt a bit better about our situation. Kale chuckled but
agreed. I would have to do more to convince him, and my plan to go to the Council
would help.

Besides, if given a choice to live forever, I’d prefer to not have to drink blood
continuously to survive. If I didn't have to, I wasn’t giving up cheeseburgers, pizza,
and fries. And I didn't care how good Kale said blood tasted to a Chorý—there'd then
be
la Luxure
that I’d have to worry about. Our future would be much better if we only had to worry
about his cravings and not mine.

Hopefully, when I came back tomorrow, Deacon would have decided to help get me to
the Council.

Ella

The enraged Chorý charged Alex. He slammed his fists into Alex’s chest, then sideswiped
Alex’s legs, sending both me and Alex to the ground.

I flailed as Alex fell on top of me and we fell into a heap onto the ground. I wasn’t
prepared to have Alex and his six foot four, one hundred eighty-five pounds on top
of me, along with the heavy rogue Chorý. Their weight stole my breath.

I thrashed beneath them, smelling the Chorý’s horrific breath as he moved to Alex’s
ear and taunted him.

Alex unsuccessfully fought to get the Chorý off him. The Chorý lifted himself up and
punched Alex in his side. Part of the blow landed on me, causing me to scream in pain
and gasp for air.

Alex tried to adjust his weight, but it was no use. I was trapped beneath him, barely
able to breathe or move.

I screamed as the Chorý sank his fangs into Alex’s neck.

“Wake up!” Jace sounded a bit panicked. He shook me lightly.

I moaned and turned over to look into his ice blue eyes. “What?”

“You were having a nightmare,” he explained. He brushed my hair out of my face. “You
okay? It seemed pretty bad.”

“A nightmare?” I hadn’t had one since I was a kid, and even then, they didn’t feel
so real.

“Or was it a memory?” Jace asked.

I hadn’t had a memory in so long that if it weren’t for Kale’s situation, I would
have forgotten that I was an Arc. “I think it was just a nightmare.”

I sat up, and Jace sat back. “I haven’t had a memory in a while.”

“Yes, I’ve noticed.” He stood up and leaned against the dresser.

I ran my fingers through my hair and expelled a breath. Could that have been a memory?
I’d learned how to have them without the dizziness and pain, and I feared that would
make it harder to tell the difference between dreams and reality.

“I need to call Kale.” I got up and retrieved phone from my bag, then sat on the foot
of the bed, ready to dial. “I need some privacy, please.”

I gave Jace a stern look until he stood up and walked to the door.

“I’m not sure that a phone call is going to help, Ella. You may need to start trying
to figure things out without Kale—you know, on your own.”

“But I’m not alone.” I got up and joined him at the door. Jace went into the hallway
and turned to face me. “I’ve got you, remember.”

I shut the door just as Jace raised his brow, and I dialed Kale’s number. A few rings
later, I was greeted by Kale’s warm voice. “You should be sleeping, Ella.”

Kale’s low voice sent warm tingles up my spine. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“Why not?”

“Doesn’t matter.” I fumbled with the phone, suddenly nervous about calling.

“What is it?”

My silence must have made him realize that something was wrong, but I didn’t want
to worry him. I just wanted to hear his voice. “Nothing is wrong.”

“Hmm… You are a horrible liar.” Kale chuckled.

“I miss you,” I whispered, scared that Kale would give me the whole ‘You have to move
on’ speech. I closed my eyes. My heart pumped with excitement, and I had to control
my breathing.

“I miss you too.”

“I was thinking about you, and I wanted to hear your voice.” I got back in bed and
snuggled under the covers. I missed the few days that Kale and I had together before
his
la Luxure
made him go all crazy. “Were you thinking about me?”

“Yeah,” Kale answered breathily.

“Will you stay on the phone with me until I fall asleep?” I squeezed my eyes more
tightly shut, refusing to let the tears fall. I was stronger than that, and I had
a plan. I knew it would work—of course, I also realized that I would have to ask Jace
to help get me to the Council, because he knew where it was. I still had faith in
my plan. If Kale could sacrifice all that he had for the past one hundred years, than
I would do my part in keeping us together.

“Ella, I’d give anything to be there beside you.”

“I understand that for now, this will have to work.” I fought a yawn.

“For now?”

“We will be together Kale. You might not believe it, but it will happen. We have been
through far too much to give up now.” My hopes were up—heck they had blasted through
the ceiling—but I wasn’t going to tell Kale why. He wouldn’t approve of me asking
the Council for anything, but I wanted immortality. I’d rather live forever without
having to drink blood, and the Council was the only way that was going to happen.

“Go to sleep, Ella. I’ll stay on the phone with you.” Kale’s voice still held doubt,
but I had enough faith for the both of us.

The next day, I woke up early. Surprising myself with a chipper attitude, I went to
the little kitchenette in the suite and started making breakfast.

I didn’t think that I could talk Jace into taking us to the Council just by cooking
him breakfast, but I didn’t think it would hurt, either. Jace entered the room, talking
on his cell and wearing his camo set. Did he ever wear anything else? The camo-colored
jumpsuit included a black vest and black boots. The belt held two knives that I could
see, and the silver-tipped stake that I knew he carried somewhere that I couldn’t
see.

Jace nodded to me as I scrambled the eggs and continued his conversation as I quietly
eavesdropped. “I can’t, but I will.”

I pulled our plates out of the cabinet and placed them on the bar.

“I know he can trace us, but who would he send for us, you and Tamsin?” Jace sounded
incensed with the caller. “Fine. Let me think for a day, and I will call you back.
He hung up the cell, turned it over, and took the battery out of it.

“Why’d you do that?”

“It can be traced.” He looked at me and then headed into my room. He returned with
my phone and did the same thing. “Just to be safe; Aleixandre is getting a bit restless
knowing that you have once again refused Council guidance.”

I started to shrug but thought better of it. “What does he want?” I scooped some eggs
on a plate for Jace and placing it in front of him. I retrieved a cup from the cabinet
and went to the mini fridge for some juice.

“Water is fine, please.” Jace eyed at the eggs in front of him, then me. I hadn’t
made him food before. I ignored his curious glance and handed him a bottle of water
instead. “Thank you.”

“No problem. So what does Aleixandre want with me, now that Laurent is dead?” I scooped
some eggs onto a plate for me, grabbed two forks, and sat down beside Jace. I passed
him a fork.

“I’m not even sure, Ella, but my gut tells me not to trust it.”

My hope that Jace would take me to Aleixandre started to deflate, and I wracked my
brain for a way to get him to take Deacon and me there.

A plate of eggs and two bottles of water later, I hadn’t come up with a reason so
I just flat-out asked. “I’ll go to see him. Will you take me?”

Jace pushed his plate back and crossed his arms over his massive chest. “What do you
think Kale will think of this?”

His question surprised me. He cocked a brow and waited for me to answer. Since Jace
would be taking me, I would have to tell him the truth or at least part of it.

“I won’t be telling Kale anything.”

Jace’s expression revealed nothing. “Okay, but you aren’t staying. I know Aleixandre,
and even though his actions of late have been off-putting… With Laurent dead, what
else could he want from you?” Jace rubbed his brow and stood, concern evident in his
eyes. “Are you sure you’re ready to see the man that had your parents killed?”

“Yeah, I’m sure. I mean, I’m still recovering from that news, but I want to face him
and have him face me for what he did. I think—no, I know—I deserve at least that.”

Jace nodded. “I’ll make the arrangements.” He stood to leave.

“One condition,” I said before he could leave the room.

“Why am I not surprised you have a condition?” Jace rolled his eyes but stopped to
hear me out.

“Deacon has to come too.”

“Are you
insane
?” He bellowed, making me jump. “Ella we are going to the Council. You know, that
place full of immortals that like to kill Chorý.”

“Yeah, I know but I want him with me. If Kale finds out that I went, I want him to
know that I took Deacon with me. He trusts Deacon more than anyone else, and I think
that will soften the blow when he finds out that I went to his enemies for help. ”

“Why, so he can try and kill us both?” Jace scoffed. “I can’t bring a Chorý there,
Ella. It’s asking for trouble.” Jace was right, but no way was I going without Deacon.

“He can stay in the jet.”

“What?”

“They’re going to send that jet.” I picked up our plates and took them to the sink
and dropped them into the warm sudsy water. “He can stay on the jet. If Tamsin and
Servitto are coming to pick us up, they won’t have a problem with it.” Or so I assumed,
since they had fought side by side.

“Fine. We can do it that way. I’ll go make the call, and I am sure that they can make
it here in about eight or nine hours.” Jace left the room and I headed to mine.

I showered and dressed for my trip to see Kale and tell Deacon that I had gotten us
a ride to the Council. It was risky, getting Jace to agree to take me before I’d gotten
the green light from Deacon. If he’d decided that he wasn’t going, he could very well
tell Kale and that would really ruin things. I didn’t want Kale to worry about me.
I wanted him to focus on la Luxure and beating it.

I sat on the edge of the bed and ran over my plan in my mind. I needed to convince
Aleixandre to give me immortality, and I thought it would be easy. I was nervous for
a lot of reasons, the main one being that he could say no.

I wasn’t going to throw the “You killed my parents” card. I would beg, cry, and bargain,
but I would never use their deaths to get what I wanted.

***

Deacon let me in. “You look happy today.” Jace came in after me. “You look your normal
angry self.”

“Well, I have some good news.” I removed my coat and handed it to Deacon, who placed
it in the closet.

“Oh, yeah? What’s that?”

“We have a ride to the Council.”

Deacon whirled around and glared at me. “We
what
? I don’t recall saying that I was going anywhere, and I know that Kale isn’t letting
you go, so…”

I held my ground. We were going, and he was coming with us. Jace stood in the corner,
his hands behind his back. I looked to him for help, but he shook his head and looked
away. Tamsin had even told him that it was okay for Deacon to come and stay on the
jet, causing Jace to question Tamsin’s sanity.

“Deek—”

He rolled his eyes at my use of his nickname; I almost laughed.

“I really need you on this one, please.”

“If you are so determined to go—”

“Wait.” Jace came from the corner. “You two have discussed this before?” He looked
between the two of us.

If Jace knew that I’d wanted to go to the Council before I asked him, he might figure
out that I wanted to go to ask for immortality. He and I’d discussed the idea before
I was taken by Laurent, and he’d advised me against it. I didn’t move my gaze from
Deacon’s.

“It has been discussed that if she were to go, I would go with her for safety reasons,”
Deacon lied.