Chapter 99 Levi's POV

Chapter 99 Levi's POV

The fighting above the dungeon ended faster than it started.
Once Aldric and Rahul got involved, orders spread quickly through both sides. Weapons were lowered,the surviving vampires retreated and bodies were collected. Nobody looked particularly happy about it.
Especially not me.
An hour later we were standing inside an apartment building on the opposite side of the city. Apparently none of Lucifiel’s usual properties were considered safe anymore—not after what Gareth did and the safe-house attack.
The apartment itself was surprisingly normal. White walls. Large windows. A living room. A kitchen. Nothing about it screamed ancient vampire king. Which was probably the point.
I dropped onto the couch. Exhaustion finally caught up with me. The last twenty-four hours had been ridiculous. It was almost morning.
Lucifiel sat way too close beside me and I immediately shifted away. I pretended not to notice the way his expression changed slightly. Unfortunately for me, pretending had never worked particularly well around him.
“Levi.”
"Please don't start.”
His expression somehow became even more annoyed. “I was going to ask if your arm was fully healed.”
"It's completely gone." I said standing up immediately.
“I need water.”
Lucifiel stood too.
I started toward the kitchen and he did too. Then I stopped walking. “So we’re doing this now?”
His expression remained completely serious. “Doing what?”
“Following me everywhere.”
“You tend to disappear a lot when you leave my sight."
“But this is different, I was just going to take water.”
“You acted like the previous times were different too.”
I stared at him and he didn't move, instead he stared back. The big bad vampire was really starting to piss me off for real. Even if I wanted to leave, how would I do that when he probably strengthened his security times ten of what it was before.
Derek walked into the room at exactly the wrong moment. Or perhaps the right one.
“Why do I feel like I’m interrupting a custody dispute?”
Neither of us answered.
“Right,” Derek muttered. “That’s usually a bad sign.”
I turned away to leave but when I did, Lucifiel reached for my wrist. My entire body stiffened. The silence that followed felt heavy. His hand remained around my wrist. I wasn't scared of him, no. In fact seeing him go crazy or do crazy things because of me was starting to be a turn on. But right now he needed to see that what he did was wrong.
For a second neither of us moved. Then I tried pulling away. His grip tightened around my wrist.
“Lucifiel.”
The warning in my voice was obvious. But Lucifiel was too stubborn to listen to anyone but himself. Before either of us could say anything, Derek stepped forward.
“Okay.” His voice was calm. “Let go of him.”
Lucifiel looked at him in a 'fuck off' kinda way, which wasn't saying anything good. “He is fine.”
Derek folded his arms. “He said let go.”
Lucifiel’s eyes narrowed. “And if I don’t?”
The words weren’t a threat. But they weren’t friendly either. I opened my mouth. Then everything happened at once.
Derek took another step forward. Lucifiel shifted slightly. His free hand moved enough to get a hold of his throat. Before his hand could fully touch Derek, in a matter of seconds Rahul was between them and his hand closed around Lucifiel’s wrist.
Rahul’s expression was completely unreadable. Which was more alarming than anger.
“Dont.”
Just one word.
Lucifiel looked down at Rahul’s hand, then at Rahul. For half a second I thought someone was about to go through a wall or the window. Then Rahul spoke again. His voice is still terrifyingly calm.
“Not him.”
The silence deepened.
Derek looked stunned but not as surprised as I and Lucifiel. Because Rahul almost never reacted to anything or anyone.
Then I noticed that Rahul wasn’t standing in front of me. He wasn’t protecting me, he was protecting Derek. The realization hit all of us at roughly the same time.
Then Rahul immediately released Lucifiel’s wrist, like he’d just remembered other people existed. The room became painfully awkward.
Derek looked away first. Rahul suddenly found the wall fascinating. I nearly laughed.
Lucifiel stared at both of them. Then, to my horror, I saw understanding appear on his face.
“Oh.”
Rahul looked like he wanted to disappear and Derek had the same reaction. I definitely wanted popcorn.
For the first time all day, Lucifiel’s mouth twitched—the smallest hint of amusement. Then his attention returned to me. The amusement vanished immediately. His expression softened, enough to make my stomach do something stupid.
Slowly, he released my wrist. This time willingly.
“You can keep being angry,” he said, voice quiet.“But you’re staying where I can see you.”
I rolled my eyes.
And somewhere deep inside me—despite everything that had happened, despite the lies, despite the prophecy, despite how angry I still was...
A small part of me felt safer than it had in days.
Which was extremely annoying.
But ending the night or rather starting a new day knowing there is someone who wants to protect my brother as much as he wants to protect me. It was a total win for how the last twenty four hours went.