Page 53 of Born Chaos

No.

No, no, no.

One by one, we’re all going down. And we’re still no closer to having this figured out than when the very first vampire came into the hospital.

Elena curses, and I hear her palm smack against the table.

“The barrier is down, and now, with this, we cannot track any of the vampires,” Roman notes gravely.

They can come and go as they please. Anyone can come into the city, and we won’t know. Chicago is now its most vulnerable.

“If I could change it, I would,” Sigrid says darkly.

“Damnit, Sebastian!” Elena barks. “You’re a doctor. Why haven’t you fixed this?”

“Excuse me?” he sneers. “Why haven’tyoufixed this, princess?”

“I’m not the one with a lab and a bunch of top-of-the-line equipment,” she spits right back. “If you can’t figure this out, what the hell are you good for anymore? You’ve turned into a maniac. I think we all agree that you’re a controlling dickhead. And the one thing you’re really supposed to be in charge of, you’re failing like a pothead in chemistry class.”

“You’ll shut your mouth about things you do not understand.” Ice drips from Sebastian’s tone, and I realize then that I’mafraidof Sebastian. Because I want to tell Elena to shut up. To not push him. Because I don’t know what he’s capable of anymore. What if he lashes out at her?

Something has to change.

And I think that maybe Roman is right.

“You are on thin ice,” Sigrid says coldly. “If you were anyone besides a council member, you would be removed from this city. Remember, you are a citizen, just like anyone else in this city. Rules must be followed.”

“And where would this city be without me?” Sebastian points out. “We’re going to rely on human doctors for everything that goes wrong? The blood supply would evaporate, which means more people will die or there will be more Bitten. This city needs me, and you know it.”

“Careful, Dr. Vincent,” Roman says coldly. “You see yourself as more valuable than you are. You are not the only one capable of doing what you do.”

It strikes me then. What Sebastian said is true.

But so are the words Roman just spoke.

I’m a vampire. I’m a doctor. And I know pretty damn well how that hospital runs.

But it isn’t mine.

“Is that all?” Sebastian barks. “You just needed to deliver this disappointing news?”

“That is all,” Sigrid says, her tone dark and stiff.

“We need answers, Sebastian,” Elena says as I hear Sebastian stand. “And we need them now.”

“Feel free to begin your own investigation, princess,” Sebastian says coldly, and I hear his footsteps as he walks through the lobby and leaves.

“What the hell?” Elena says in exasperation. “Sebastian was never the most pleasant, but he’s just a non-stop asshole these days.”

“I would say that love can make people do crazy things, but I can no longer say that’s what is happening here,” Sigrid observes.

“I am not asking permission, this is simply a warning,” Roman says. I step to the railing, looking down, though the lobby remains empty. “If this goes any further, if it gets any worse, I’ll be forced to treat Sebastian like any other resident of this city. He’s putting others at risk.”

“Permission granted,” Elena says with a scoff and without hesitation.

“I wish it were not this way,” Sigrid speaks. “But I am afraid I have to agree. This cannot be allowed to go any further.”

Roman makes a noise of acknowledgment, and my insides sink.

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