Page 54 of Born Chaos

If Roman determines it’s necessary to kill Sebastian, he has the support of the Council.

I don’t know where Mason is or why he isn’t here at this meeting. But I know he will side with Elena.

If it comes down to it, Sebastian might lose his life over this.

The sound of footsteps echoes over the wooden floors of the ballroom and then into the lobby. Roman glances up, looking casual, but he immediately catches my eye. In just a second, the message is communicated. If I’m going back to the church with him, he’s leaving now.

I give the shake of my head no, and nearly imperceptibly, he nods and walks outside.

I consider going down there right now, letting Elena and Sigrid know I was here the whole time. I consider asking Elena to go out with me, hunt someone down, and drown my sorrows in blood.

But they’re both too hot and worked up right now. I can’t stand to go down there right now and have them rag on Sebastian and convince me of what a bad person I agreed to marry.

So I walk back out that back door, onto the fire escape. I lock the door. And silently, I climb back down the stairs.

I should go find someone to drink from. Maybe I could risk going to Roman Nights and finding a willing donor. But there’s been enough violence and darkness for one day. I’ll just let the thirst burn the back of my throat. I’ll let it consume my belly. It’s easier to focus on this pain than the other.

I spend an hour wandering, and eventually, I end up at Navy Pier, staring out at the endless waters of Lake Michigan. I should head back. I wish I could say I was heading home. But I suddenly realize I’m homeless. For another week and a half, I don’t have any place of my own.

The wind picks up as the burner phone in my pocket rings. I pull it out to see it’s Roman.

“Where are you?” he asks before I can say anything.

“At Navy Pier, why?” Dread instantly fills me. What’s wrong now?

“You should come back to the church, now,” Roman says. And there’s something… nervous or unsure in his tone. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard that from him before.

“Roman, what’s going on?” I ask, even as I turn and swiftly start walking in that direction.

“Just… get here. It’s… it’s not about Sebastian.”

He hangs up. Okay, maybe he is still an asshole. What kind of tease is this? Get here ASAP, but I’m not going to tell you why…

As a human, it would take me well over an hour to walk from here to the church. As a vampire, it only takes me five minutes. I dodge anyone outside, keeping to alleyways and shadows, ducking behind rows of cars, and moving fast enough, no one would see me if they weren’t looking for me.

I’m not even breathing hard when I reach the front steps of the church. My heart is hammering in anticipation, though. I don’t love surprises. And I have no idea what the hell is going on.

I pull the door open and step inside.

“Roman, what—”

But my words cut off the second I step inside and find Roman isn’t alone.

Standing beside him is a man who looks just a few years older than me. He has dirty blond hair, a matching, short beard, blue eyes, and twin scars hooking from the corners of his mouth, curling up and back toward his ears.

I have never actually laid my own eyes on this man, but I instantly know who he is. “Holy shit,” I breathe, as emotions break my voice and tears well in my eyes.

“Juliet,” my father says in a broken whisper just like my own. His eyes well with tears and his lower lip trembles.

“You… you’re here,” I say. My brain feels like it’s spinning a million miles per hour. I can’t make sense of what’s happening. Did I pass out somewhere on my way? Am I dreaming? Hallucinating? Stuck in Malcolm’s view of the past? “You’re… you’re real?”

“Pretty sure I am,” he says with a tiny huff of a laugh. “But I can’t…” He shakes his head, and one tear breaks free from his eyes, rushing down his cheek. “It’s been twenty-eight years. I’ve been looking for twenty-eight years, and here…”

Sebastian and I once talked about it. I’d said that I didn’t know how I would react if I ever found my father. My life would have been completely different if I hadn’t grown up as an orphan. Not a single day of my life was easy because I didn’t have parents.

Happy, angry, confused, distrusting, joyful. I didn’t know.

“You looked for me?” the words come out in a broken hiccup.

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