Awakened (24 page)

I knew that like I knew a vampire was taking every drop of life from me, but I also
knew that the person in the world I most wanted to live was standing in front of me,
tears streaming down her face. I wanted her to live. I needed her to live, even if
it was without me.

I tried to mouth the words for her to go, but my body had given up. As the creature
and I slid to the ground, I stared at Ella one last time, her heart-shaped face, round
eyes, and smooth skin.

I willed her with my eyes to run, sending every mental message I could to make her
save herself. She finally turned to run, and I closed my eyes. I hoped—I prayed—that
she would make it to the boat, and praying was something I had never done before.

I never imagined death would be so peaceful, so silent. I could no longer hear a thing,
and there was no pain, no cold, just nothing.

My vision flickered for the last time, letting me see those sparkling gem eyes, those
rosy cheeks, and that radiant smile.

The first smile Ella had ever offered me all those years ago was the last thing I
saw before I died.

Kale

Laurent sat in his chair at his desk as if it were a throne, and we didn’t have him
surrounded. “Nice to see you again, Kale,” he purred to me, lifting his head and scanning
the room.

His Chorý had been easy enough to pick off. Laurent didn’t seem worried, and that
worried me. “I can’t say the same.”

Tamsin entered the room. She nodded, soothing the fear that rose in my chest. Ella
was safe, and now it was time to deal with the main threat.

“Well, I do miss you, and all those tears you shed for Hélène made me realize that
I had done such a good job ruining your life. You were very special to me, didn’t
you know?”

I pulled the blade from my back and smiled. There was nothing special about the mental
and physical abuse he dealt his favored Chorý.

“Darke was my second choice, and you were my first.” Laurent stood.

Jace moved toward the door. Deacon, Tamsin, and I moved closer.

“Relax. Isn’t it customary that the executioner offer the death row inmate a few parting
words? I have thought long and hard on mine, and it would be a shame to be denied
that.”

“What is up with all the self-sacrifice tonight?” Tamsin questioned.

“I can only speak for myself, but I am sure that my goals are complete.” Laurent chuckled.

“Meaning?” Tamsin moved closer.

Laurent drew nearer to us, as well, and then knelt on one knee. Tamsin looked between
the two of us, and I was just as confused as she was.

“Are you saying that you planned this,” I gestured around to the carnage that had
been created. Laurent said nothing.

“Now would be a good time for those parting words,” Jace suggested.

“There is a saying that I heard long ago about beasts and men and how they live within
us.” Laurent chuckled. “Now that my moment is here, the words fail me.”

I moved closer, placing the blade to his throat. “Well, you have seconds to remember.
Deacon!”

“Ten, Nine, Eight—” Deacon started the countdown.

Laurent’s eyes flicked. “It is understood that inside even the most innocent of beings—”

“Seven, six—” Deek continued, as did Laurent.

“—slumbers a beast.”

“Five, four—”

“This beast, with proper coaxing, can be released.”

“Three, two—”

“But can it be controlled?”

“One.” Deek ended the countdown, and I responded with a swift yet powerful swipe of
the blade, ending Laurent’s tyranny once and for all. Everyone was quiet, and no one
moved.

“That seemed too easy,” Jace said.

I looked away and spoke to no one as I leaned down to Laurent’s body. The beast in
me recoiled as I held Laurent’s wrist to my mouth. I drank and drank until my belly
felt as if it would burst. I then headed out the door in search of Ella.

Ella

My voice was raw and burned
.
It felt as though I’d been running for hours. A man dressed in cold weather fishing
gear emerged from the boat and glanced behind me. I looked back, as well, but saw
nothing.

I turned back to face him. “Hey! You have to help me go back!” I knew that I looked
like a wild woman, running toward him, with snow and dirt in my hair. My lip was bleeding,
and my clothes were soiled and ripped.

I was freezing, and my teeth chattered painfully. If this guy knew that Chorý had
attacked Alex, he would have to go back and help him. I landed in front of him on
my hands and knees with a thud. My hands burned from the impact and cold, and I felt
as though I was going to be sick at his feet. I took a few deep breaths, trying to
gather myself and my thoughts.

As I closed my eyes, I saw Alex’s face, contorted with pain as the Chorý ravished
his neck. I squeezed them tighter and held in the tears. It wasn’t over yet. Alex
wasn’t dead. We could save him; we had to save him—

“Come on, miss. Get in, so we can set off.”

Shocked that he’d ignore my plea to help Alex, I stared as he walked away from me
and headed for the boat.

“No, we have to go back!” My voice was raw, and I started coughing so hard that I
could taste blood. “We have to—”

“Now, you look here, girl.” The old man neared me. “Those men paid me an awful lotta
money to take you to Chote, and I’m gonna to do just that. Now, you get in this boat,
and get in it now!” He grabbed me before I could move away. “They didn’t say you were
gonna fight me on this!” he mumbled.

The old man pulled me back toward the boat. I fought as hard as I could, but in vain—I’d
just run through the snow, been crushed by two large men, and run some more, and now
I didn’t have the strength to fight back.

“Hey! Take your hands off her. I’ve got it from here.” Jace’s voice was music to my
ears.

As soon as the stranger let me go, I gathered the rest of my strength and ran to Jace.
“Alex! He—”

“I know. We found him.” Jace’s voice was softer than normal. His breath was warm against
my face. The fact that Jace and Kale had found him caused my heart to skip a beat.

“So he’s all right?” I tried to pull away, but Jace pulled me close and stroked my
hair.

“No, Ella. He isn’t all right,” he whispered in my ear. His hands moved down my back,
and he held me more tightly. It felt weird. Jace never was touchy-feely, but his touch
calmed me. I moved closer to the warmth he offered. Everything was going to be okay.
Alex would be fine, and I was going home.

“Ella, did you hear me?” Jace gently pushed me away to look at my face.

“What?” I looked around, waiting for Alex and Kale to emerge from the woods.

“I said I didn’t get there in time, and—and Kale is with his body now, but we still
have to leave. We didn’t—”

I jerked back and watched him. “What do you mean, ‘his body,’ Jace?” I moved to pass
him and head back to where I had left Alex, but he grabbed me and pulled me back.

“Hey, Ella. You can’t go back. We haven’t finished off all of the Chorý, and they
will still be looking for you.”

And I found myself in the situation that I thought Jace had freed me from. I was being
pulled away from my best friend as he bled to death in the woods.

“Let me go!” I screamed, fighting and trying desperately to get away from Jace. The
time I’d spent in his arms had allowed me to rest and catch my breath.

The false sense of security had shattered, reminding me why I was here and why I hated
all things Council.

“Ella, trust me. If there were anything I could have done to save him, I would have—”

“Shut up, murderer!” I screamed. “You murdered my parents!” Shocked, Jace let go of
my shirt and hands, which sent me barreling into the ground in front of a pair of
black boots. I looked up, hoping to see Alex, but it was Kale.

“Where is he, Kale? Where is he?” I climbed to my feet and buried my head into his
chest. I knew the answer, but I didn’t want to accept it. I couldn’t.

Kale helped me stand and then faced Jace. His face and neck were covered in blood,
and his clothes were torn and soiled.

“Is that your blood?” I asked in a daze, reaching out to touch his face.

Kale caught my hand and shook his head. “What did she just say to you?” he asked Jace,
pulling me closer to him.

“She’s in shock; let’s just get to the boat. Where are the rest of the crew?”

“Don’t deflect.” Kale patted my shoulder and pointed toward the boat. “You’re right.
We all need to get on the boat, and then you will tell me what she said.” Kale’s voice
had an edge to it that sent chills down my spine.

“What about Alex, Kale? We can’t leave him here.” We walked onto the dock and onto
the boat. Kale sat me down just as it took off. The motor was loud, and it drowned
out the conversation.

Kale knelt in front of me and took my hands into his. When he looked into my eyes,
I nearly lost the battle with the tears that were ready to spill. I squeezed his hands
and closed my eyes. Alex had said that he and the others had come knowing that they
might not make it back, that he was okay with that, but I wasn’t.

“This isn’t right,” I whispered.

Though the motor was loud, Kale could hear me. “I’m sorry,” he mouthed. He leaned
closer placing his lips against my ear. “It isn’t your fault. It’s mine; I should
have never let Alex come with us.”

Alex wouldn’t have taken no for an answer. He would have bargained his way onto this
trip, and if that didn’t work, he would have threatened Kale.

“I don’t know how to make losing him up to you, Ella. I wish I could give you your
life back, but I can’t. I can only protect you from here on out.”

“Could you have changed him?”

“No, I couldn’t have, Ella.”

“Was it too late when you got there?”

Kale pulled back and lowered his head.

I put my hand under his chin and lifted it slightly so that I could look in his eyes.
“Kale did you let Alex die? Could you have saved him by changing him?” My voice was
low and demanded the truth. We’d been through this before, and I wouldn’t accept a
lie no matter how damaging the truth would be.

Kale

I’d lied to Ella before. I hadn’t told her that I’d followed her for two years before
we’d met, I hadn’t told her that I knew about her stay in Ocean Trace long before
she’d told me about it herself, and I’d kept the fact that I was Chorý from her longer
than I should have. All of those lies would now pale in comparison to the one that
I was about to tell her. I would never create another monster like myself, no matter
the cost.

Even if it meant that Ella would never speak to me again—that she took her love and
gave it to someone else—I would never in my eternal existence on this earth infect
a human. In the beginning, I had changed humans while feeding off them, but other
Chorý taught me that if I only used my eyeteeth to puncture the skin and then allowed
the blood to escape the vein, I could not spread the disease. I didn’t save Alex,
but I didn’t change him either.

“Kale?” Ella’s voice was soft and patient, but I knew she wouldn’t be able to handle
the truth of what happened to Alex, so once again I lied to her.

Not only did I lie, but I broke the promise I’d made her.

“Yes, Ella. Alex was dead when I got to him, so I couldn’t change him. I’m sorry.”

Ella’s eyes filled with tears, and she leaned into me and quietly mourned the loss
of her best friend. I moved her hair out of the way and placed a gentle kiss on her
warm neck. I hadn’t felt the hunger stir inside me since I had drained Laurent, but
her skin and the warm blood that flowed below smelled so sweet. Her shoulders trembled
as she cried for her childhood friend.

This girl deserved so much more than she was given, and the realization that I could
never give it to her angered me. I truly wished that I could have changed things for
her, that I could have made them better, but it was what she was that placed her here,
and that was something that I couldn’t change. But part of me rejoiced. Even if I
couldn’t defeat
la Luxure
on my own, Ella would still be safe from Laurent, and that was all that mattered.

She put her arms around me, and I pulled her into my lap and let her cry. I wanted
to soothe her, but I hadn’t forgotten what she’d yelled at Jace.

I asked, “Where is everyone?”

Jace looked at me after disconnecting his call to Servitto. “They want us to wait
at the Jeeps for them. They are finishing off the last few Chorý now.”

The choppy water rocked Ella in my arms. Her breathing slowed as she moved closer
to sleep, and I wrapped my arms tighter around her, hoping to keep the cold air off
of her.

Jace moved away from the door and sat down on the bench across from us.

“About what Ella said earlier…” He glanced at her clinging to me. “It’s not like she
said.”

Not wanting to upset Ella, I didn’t answer until after I was sure that she’d fallen
asleep. “And how is it? Are you saying that you didn’t kill her parents?”

“Yes, that’s what I’m saying, but that doesn’t mean that I am completely without blame.
I knew what was going to happen, and I did nothing. I followed the orders to find
her after the deed was already done.”

“What the hell are you saying?” I asked.

“We’re here. You guys go ahead, and I will go back with Jimmy and make sure that everyone
gets back.” Jace stood.

“You’ll pay for whatever you have done to her, Jace. I hope you understand that.”

Jace glanced back at us over his shoulder. “I know, Chorý. Even if it isn’t you that
deals the punishment, I know that we all must be held accountable for our sins. When
the time comes, will you be ready to explain to her that you have lied to her once
again?”

While Jace was on the phone with Servitto, he’d heard my conversation with Ella and
learned the truth about what had actually happened to Alex.