Page 69 of Guardian

“They would have all been alive if it wasn’t for you.”

Bodies concealed the royal, blue floor. The color quickly deepened to a deep purple as blood seeped from shredded faces into the carpet, their bodies hanging together by a thread.

My eyes sprung open, bile scraping my throat as it poured out of me with heavy force. It floated on my bathroom toilet like my fucked-up memories and dreams.

They all flushed away.

Butherpresence remained as an aftertaste. Fucking bitter and revolting.

* * *

I rested for five days in my room. Not because I wanted to but because Alek forced me to.

I wished he was still here with me. With the Christmas Ball, he was roped away by the time I woke up after that shit show, and I hadn’t seen him since. I. . . missed him.

At least being off duty gave me a real reason to stay inside and not be seen by Lorenzo. Technically, I had been ignoring him since our little fight. But now, it wasn’t on purpose. There was a reason— one that he still didn’t know.

I couldn’t explain it to him. I didn’t even know what exactly happened.

A small knock came from my door, and Tristan entered after a minute. I’d told Alek about the writing on the wall, and Tristan had been looking over it ever since, pausing on the intruder’s investigation.

“The only thing I retrieved was this,” he said, his palm showing a plastic bag with red-stained towels. “The wall was wiped clean by the time I discovered the location. All I could collect were the minor drops of pig’s blood on the floor.”

He handed me the bag, and I opened it, taking a whiff of the acrid, metallic scent. “And nothing about who did that?”

Withher,something so vivid could happen in front of me and turn out to be all in my mind. But the blood proved it was reality— that the thin line that separated my sanity fromherinsanity still existed.

“Unfortunately, no.” A small smile hinted. “Are you feeling better?”

Was I? “Yeah.” The lie was dry on my tongue. “Thank you, Tristan. I’m okay to return tomorrow.”

“Of course,” he said and bowed. “You have a visitor.”

Before I could ask, Tristan motioned away and gave sight to Lorenzo as he walked inside. Thankfully, anger hadn’t furrowed his eyebrows. Instead, his shoulders lowered as he grew close, and once behind closed doors, he released a heavy sigh.

“Lorenzo, I—”

The words barely left my mouth as he pulled me into a bear hug. His hold was tight, and his skin was boiling.

“I’m glad the savior in you saved that Sephtis kid.” His voice grew unsteady as he shook. “But the guardian in you should have known better, Nina. You fucking scared me.”

I quickly picked up what he meant and made a mental note to thank Alek and Tristan. They saved my ass from explaining to Lorenzo what I didn’t know.

“I reacted before thinking it through,” the lie eased into the air when he let go.

“I can see that.” He looked over me with soft eyes. “Honestly, this isn’t a good look on you. Being bedridden.”

I huffed and rolled my eyes. “As if you’d look any better.”

“It would never happen. Ithinkbefore I react. Sometimes, I’ll admit, I’m guilty of not doing so, like accepting your rounds on top of my own. No wonder you don’t like running. You do enough covering these grounds.” His laugh thundered. “But Nina, you know to be careful around these men.”

My smile left. “What?”

The tip of his ears twitched as he lowered his voice until it ran deeper. “These Regal Vampires are known for their schemes. You can’t get wrapped into them.”

“What does that mean?”

Although Lorenzo didn’t lie, he knew how to avoid the truth when he wanted to. It was in the way he avoided eye contact when it happened. But this time, it was different.

---