Chapter 26
Chapter 26
Alaric.
Selene didn’t move for a long time after my words fell, and neither did I after hers hung in the air. The air was taut with tension so tight a part of me feared it was going to whip me in the back anytime soon. I came here so I could get answers to what the hell was wrong with Rhea, and why she was having those dreams.
She didn't mention it this morning, but I knew she had more after I left her to my room. I saw them, felt them as well, but even in a million years, I never expected this from Selene. I didn't think it would be this critical.
I blinked back to the present, and nothing, absolutely nothing had changed. Selene was still in front of me, that wicked smile of hers gone, and for once she looked… unsettled.
“Selene.” I called out. “What's that supposed to mean?”
“Echo dreams,” she muttered, almost to herself. “I should’ve guessed.”
“You’re going to have to be less cryptic.”I leaned back in the chair opposite her desk, keeping my expression flat even as the weight of her tone pulled at something in my chest.
“Echo dreams aren’t just dreams, Alaric. They’re premonitions, fragments of what’s coming, bound to blood, fate, and everything in between.” Her gaze sharpened on me. “They could also mirror some events in the past, if they have anything to do with the future, that is. If your hunter is slipping into them already, it means the bond is dragging you both closer. Faster than it should.”
“You make it sound like destiny.”The words dug in, but I refused to let them show. I slouched deeper, fingers drumming once against the armrest. “ You know I don’t believe in that bullshit.”
“No? Then why are you here?” Selene tilted her head, lips curving, but it wasn’t amusement, it was pity. She didn't even let me think before she added. “Why not pretend none of this is happening, as you always do? Face it, darling, part of you is terrified.”
“Terrified? Hardly.” Her words scraped against my ear, but I scoffed, though it sounded hollow even to me. “She’s nothing but a problem. One I intend to handle.”
But my fists clenched when I said it,like a part of me almost didn't mean it. My pulse ticked against my jaw, and Selene saw.
Of course she did.
“Hunters who bond with vampires don’t stay human for long. The bond twists them.” She leaned forward, elbows on the obsidian desk. “ I’ve seen it, some wither away, some change into something neither vampire nor mortal.”
“What about me?” The question slid past my lips. I told myself the reason I was asking was to figure out if the bond had any lasting effect on me, but deep down I knew that wasn't entirely true. “What effects will it have on me?”
“You're the vampire king, Alaric.” She stated like it wasn't already obvious. “You'll survive. If might not seem like it, but eventually. The trick is to not let anything serious happen at the beginning stage.”
My chest tightened, sharp and unwelcome. For a moment Rhea’s face flickered in my mind, pale under moonlight, her eyes burning with that stubborn fury she wielded like a blade. The thought of her hollowed out, and unrecognizable, cut deeper than I expected. Too deep. And the thought of her dying? I couldn't even imagine it.
I shoved it down, hard.
“Then I’ll cut the bond before it gets that far.”
“Oh, Alaric.” Selene laughed once, low and cruel. “For someone who doesn’t care, you came running to me awfully fast.”
I shot her a glare, but the reply died before it left my mouth. A noise rolled through the ceiling above, dull, heavy, like something slammed against the floor. My head snapped up, instincts flaring, the sound vibrating down my spine in a way that only one person ever managed.
Rhea.
“Damn it,” I muttered under my breath, already half rising from the chair. “What is she fucking up to now?”
“Go on then.” Selene’s smirk returned, lazy and feline as she leaned back into the shadows of her seat. “Catch your firefly before she burns the whole place down.”
“Don't call her that. We’ll be in touch.” I let out but I was already on my way out and back the way I came. One of the men from before must have heard me rise or something, because he inched closer the moment I stepped out of Selene's office. With a voice that sounded more irritated than mad, I yelled. “Come get your lackeys before I do something I regret.”
Her laughter echoed as I took the elevator. As it started it ascent , I couldn't help but feel Selene's words around me. They echoed in my head and coiled like smoke. I hated to admit it, but it was nothing short of a reminder that I should’ve known better than to think I had control of this.
Shit. Shit. Shit.