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Again, he is silent But alk toward the stairs, and thankfully, a set of restrooms are there "Make it fast, Riley," Vic says "And please don’t try to run"
The bathroom is eirly business Flushing the toilet with ross, I step to the sink and turn the water on
"Riley, coes his voice
"Give me a sec, okay?" I answer I suds my hands and rinse The paper towel dispenser is empty, so I dryat ," I say Silently, he takes me by the elbow and leads me onward
We make it to the elevator, and Victorian pulls estion to keep me restrained because I try to break free This time, I can’t He presses the button for the ether, I catch a scent A familiar scent I can hardly believe it Eli’s here
Suddenly a hand appears in the narrow divide between the doors, and with my next breath I a to the ground I land with a grunt on the concrete floor of the parking garage, ten, twelve feet away, on my side Eli’s brother, Séraphin--Phin for short--is there when I stand Confusion and surprise squeeze my insides He helps me up Rather, he yanks me up
"Are you okay?" he asks His hands are everywhere, checking me for injury As I knock him away, my eyes search for Eli The moment I see him, I leap for the elevator
"Riley, stop!" Phin yells, as he rab for me but misses
I don’t listen I can’t listen Because I know Eli
He’ll kill Victorian
Not only does Vic represent a heinous order of vampires from Romania, he is also in love with me, and Eli knows it Bad combination, despite the fact that he isn’t an evil bloodsucker and I definitely don’t return the passion Vic and I do share a connection of sorts, but it’s not love on my part Eli doesn’t care In his eyes, Victorian needs to die Especially since Vic’s DNA is now bound with h and through I don’t blame Eli But I have to defend Vic
Just as I hurl myself at the elevator, Eli and Victorian fall out of it In a runts, Eli’s French expletives, and Victorian’s Roround Eli s dropped, face contorted, eyes white with a pinpoint scarlet pupil It’s a frightening sight Victorian’s appearance also changes; even now, it’s unlike anything I’ve seen His skin is ashen, al Not just white His eyes are bloodred, his fangs long and jagged With one hand, Eli shoves ain With a violent curse, I jump up, but Eli and Victorian are already thirty feet away They’re tangled, snarling, throwing one another to the ground I run as Phin tries to grab me Just as I reach them, I stop With one hand around Victorian’s throat, Eli takes his other hand and tries to fling ain I slap his hand away
"Eli! Stop it!" I yell, and throwin thepit bulls "Now!"
"Move, Riley," Eli growls, his voice inhuman, nearly inaudible He onceto Victorian, but my eyes are fastened onto Eli’s "No, damn it! Stop and listen to me!"
"Phin!" Eli shouts "Get her the fuck out of here!"
With as aze "Please, Eli Don’t kill hi, and it doesn’t sit ith me As a matter of fact, it sort of sounds stupid But in this, I have no choice "Please"
Phin’s hand is on lare freezes onto mine "Why?" he asks, his voice deadly sry is a given I don’t blame him
Behind me, Victorian’s body shudders, but I keep my eyes trained on Eli’s "I don’t know," I answer honestly "It…just doesn’t feel right"
Eli’s sharp gaze flicks to Victorian It’s filled with hate "Doesn’t feel right, Riley? He abducted you" His grip tightens on Victorian’s throat "He almost killed you"
Yeah, I already know all that It doesn’t matter "He isn’t the monster his brother is," I say "Please Trust e The scarlet pupils widen, like a cat’s eyes adjusting to darkness He knows Victorian’s brother wants me dead Valerian is, in every sense of the word, ahow many he has either killed or turned He’s the most feared of predators A serial killer who cannot die At least, not easily And he’s got a personal grudge against ot away I beat him, and he hates that Maybe because his own brother cares for me But I know Victorian isn’t like Valerian And I don’t want hiius," I say calmly, and he looks at me "Move"
Pure white eyes stare atat Victorian, heon"