Chapter 70: Chapter 70
KILLIAN
Fabien’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I turned to face him in the driver’s seat.
“Yeah?” I asked, raising my brows, before glancing through the windshield to see we’d gotten to Rogue. “Oh.” I then pulled my phone out of my pocket to see the time was seven thirty before returning my attention to the building.
The nightclub—which, by the way, belonged to Ravaryn—was in the middle of a commercial district, and I’d chosen it as the meeting spot because it was a neutral ground for all supernaturals. Yes, werewolves, witches, and sometimes humans were allowed in. I wanted to convey to the witch that I had no ill intent. I hoped that feeling was mutual.
Opening the door, I moved to get out of the car, but Fabien placed a hand on my shoulder, stopping me. When I glanced at him again, he had a slightly serious expression on his face. “What?”
He and Aurel had tried to start a conversation with me several times during the ride—I assumed to give me some sort of pick-me-up because my mother hadn’t shown up—but I’d been too bitter and busy wondering if my mother would be gone for another year to engage.
In due time echoed in my head and I gritted my teeth. Just as I was about to tell him to save it till morning, he spoke.
“I said—” The corners of his mouth tightened. “—the King summoned Lenore while you were asleep.”
My brows snapped together. “Excuse me?” I bit out and he exhaled harshly before proceeding to tell me what happened in the morning.
What the fuck?! My hands tightened into fists while magic hummed violently in my veins, itching to be set free.
I’d seen and had Lenore in my arms about two hours ago, so she’d clearly come back unharmed, but that didn’t stop anger from cascading through me so entirely I could almost taste it. Apparently she’d been summoned because her useless father had come to the city, but all I could focus on was the fact that she’d been with my father. What if her father hadn’t been there? What would have happened then?!
And Fabien had left her. Calley hadn’t been in the palace then, but Fabien was and he’d left her. If I’d woken up and she hadn’t been there…
My chest tightened to the point of pain and I sucked in a breath, lowering my head for a moment.
“I’m sorry,” Fabien said, but I didn’t respond.
I couldn’t hold the fact that he’d obeyed an order against him—he was dismissed after all; the last time he’d refused to leave after being dismissed didn’t end so well for him, and I’d told him not to cross my father again—but my anger didn’t care for details. It also wasn’t truly directed at him.
This can’t happen again. It absolutely can’t happen again.
I got out of the car, heading for the club’s entrance, and a couple of moments later, I heard Fabien and Aurel get down from the car. There was a long queue in front of the building, and two men—a vampire and a werewolf—stood guard at the door, not letting anyone through. When their gaze fell on me as I approached, they both gaped at me, and after a brief moment of hesitation, they quickly opened the door without me having to slow my stride.
They most likely thought I was here for a fight and would no doubt call Ravaryn once they closed the door.
Loud music immediately grated against my ears and when I reached the end of the short hallway that opened into the heart of the club, the strobing lights were just as irritating. I bit back a groan and came to a stop, sweeping my gaze over the club. The time I’d set for the meeting was eight, but the witch might have decided to arrive early. I didn’t know what she looked like—Celeste said she would find me when she got here—but I knew what a trap looked like, and I was trying to see if anything looked off.
Unfortunately almost everything did. There were three different species in here after all.
Fabien and Aurel got to me the next moment, and Aurel nudged my arm. “Come on,” he said when I glanced over, heading down the stairs and I followed. After moving around the dance floor, he led us up a set of stairs to an area which had booths and overlooked part of the dance floor and club’s entrance.
The first booth we came across only had two vampires who were having a conversation in it, and Aurel knocked on the table to get their attention. When they lifted their gaze, they scowled at him, but after one look at me, their expressions dropped and they quickly abandoned the booth.
They muttered apologies as they walked past me, but I was still preoccupied with Lenore being in danger while I was dreamwalking, so I didn’t spare them a glance. I wanted to go back to her.
“Do you guys want something to drink?” Aurel asked as I slid into the booth.
Fabien slid in next to me, and I scowled at him, but he didn’t move. “We’re not here to drink,” he said at the same time I said, “Kamikaze.”
“...Are you talking about the drink or…” Aurel trailed off, and when I shifted my attention to him, still scowling, he snapped his fingers. “The drink. Got it.”
“Blue arrow, I guess,” Fabien muttered, and Aurel nodded.
After he walked off, I focused my attention on the club’s entrance. I could see Fabien staring through the corner of my eyes, but I honestly didn’t have anything to say to him. He wasn’t at fault here, yes, but that didn’t override the fact that he’d left Lenore with my father. Would he also have left her if her father hadn’t been there? If my father had… If my father had killed her, what would he have said to me?