Page 52 of Born Chaos

She’s totally drenched.

“There’s some hot chocolate in the cupboard,” Roman says, and he seems glad to have the weight of our conversation broken. “You get changed, I’ll make it. Want some?” he asks as he stands, looking down at me.

“Yeah, thanks,” I reply, and despite the weight of what we’ve talked about, I feel oddly… peaceful.

Maybe we all just need to get the weight off our chests sometimes.

CHAPTERFIFTEEN

“Council meeting, now.”

Elena’s voice barks through the Bluetooth speakers of Roman’s SUV. We’re on our way back from the same Target we went shopping at before. I ran out of clean clothes three days ago, and the lack of variety is getting old.

“What’s going on—” Roman asks, but Elena cuts him off, ending the call. He glances over at me. “I can either drop you off at the L, or you can lay low outside the meeting.”

My heart thumps hard in my chest. Sebastian is a Council member and as such, is expected to be at the meeting. But just yesterday, Roman’s spy crew brought back reports of Sebastian interrogating the entire hospital staff, asking if they’d heard from me or seen me.

“I’ll lie low,” I say, even though I’m nervous. “With everything that’s been happening, I’m kind of wildly curious what’s going on.”

Roman simply nods and turns toward downtown. We drive past block after block, diving deeper into skyscraper land. And finally, I see The Nocturne building just one intersection away.

“There’s a fire escape that rises up the back of the building,” Roman says as he stops, a full block away. “It leads to the upper floor. There’s a key hidden above the window right next to the door. Stay quiet, but you should be able to hear enough from up there.”

“Got it,” I say with a nod, and climb from the SUV. Roman waits until I duck into the alleyway between buildings before he pulls up in front of the Nocturne and walks in. I jog to the fire escape and, as quiet as I can manage, I climb all the stairs. When I reach the door, I stand on my tiptoes, feeling along the trim of the window. And just where he said it would be, I find the key.

The door doesn’t squeak as I push it open. I step inside a dusty hall and set down it.

This building is huge. I mean, not compared to the skyscrapers around it, but considering this building sits empty most of the time, it feels a bit like a waste. We really should consider renovating some of these dusty offices into living quarters.

Finally, I reach a railing, and if I were to look down, I’d see all the way down into the entryway. I stay out of view, though. My vampiric hearing is more than enough.

“Is he coming?” Roman asks without hesitating as he steps into the ballroom.

“He should be here any second,” Elena reports. There’s venom in her voice.

“Is this about him?” Roman inquires.

“No,” Sigrid says flatly. And all the nerves in my body flash cold.

Just then, the front door is yanked open, and I feel him without seeing him. Sebastian sweeps through the entry before his footsteps echo off the wooden floor.

“Where is she, Roman?” Sebastian growls.

“If you don’t know, it’s because she doesn’t want you to know,” Roman says coldly.

I hear a scuffle, almost like Sebastian grips Roman by the front of his shirt, yanking him to him. “I know you have her. I can smell her on you.”

“If you want to keep your hands, you’ll get them off me now.” Roman’s words come out animalistic, low, dangerous.

“Tell me where she is, you bastard,” Sebastian growls.

“Sit down now, or I swear to the dark I will rip your conniving little heart from your chest right now,” Elena snarls. And I’ve never heard so much venom and vice from my best friend.

There’s a quick noise as if Sebastian shoves Roman away, and then I hear the sound of chair legs scraping over hardwood.

“Why are we here?” Sebastian snarls.

“I knew something was wrong when I woke this morning,” Sigrid speaks. “I did not feel myself. And over the past few hours, it has gotten worse and worse. It is as the others have said. I have joined the ranks of my son. I cannot access my gift.”

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