Page 74 of Hell Storm

For now.

“Is there anything else you can tell me? Even if it seems abstract,” he added.

There was a flare of tension that rose within me as I tried to make sense of something I saw, something I found myself questioning now that Aaric and I weren’t face-to-face.

Had I really seen him the way I was remembering?

Levi’s gaze softened and I decided to just say it. Even if it didn’t make sense. I saw what I saw.

“His eyes,” I began. “They were … silver. Like yours. Like the others’.”

Levi’s brow twitched and then gathered in the center. I guessed it meant he was just as confused as I had been when I first made the discovery.

“I know that sounds crazy,” I sighed.

“No, it soundsimpossible,” Levi rebutted with certainty. “Are you positive?”

Feeling doubt creep in, I peered up at him. “Yeah, I … Ithink,” I stammered, noticing the tremble in my hands. “I mean, it was dark, and things got intense, but I really don’t think I’m wrong about this.”

It irked me to the core that I was no longer confident in what I’d seen. I knew how things worked. The four emperors each had one son, and these fathers and their sons were the only Ianites I’d ever known to bore that silver-eyed trait.

But I felt it in my bones—Aaric was no ordinary roamer.

“There has to be an explanation,” Levi sighed distractedly, letting his hand fall away from my cheek as he became consumed by this thought. “It has to be some sort of parlor trick, contact lenses.”

I couldn’t think of a single reason why that would make sense. In fact, I fully believed Aaric intended to stay in the shadows until I left him no choice but to confront me. So, there was no point in altering his appearance if I was never meant to see him.

“No, Levi. That wasn’t it,” I replied, feeling my confidence return. “You have to believe me. I saw them before I was bitten, before the shot. If anything, with the rush of adrenaline, I was even more observant than usual. There’s no way I’m wrong about this.”

There was a window of silence that left me to wonder whether he might finally be starting to believe me.

“What are you doing?” I asked when he brought me to him quickly, catching me completely off guard.

Frantic, he tilted my head to the side, scanning the wound Aaric had left there.

“It’s fine. It doesn’t even hurt,” I sighed, feeling it was a waste of time to worry about a bite. We had more pressing issues. Apparently, I was getting used to being snacked on by thirsty vamps.

Go figure.

My lips parted to speak, but the distraught expression now set on Levi’s face halted me.

“Corina did … is it possible he …” Hearing him stammer only confused me more.

“What?” I asked, fighting the sudden urge to panic. “What is it?”

He leaned away, and it was only then that I noticed his mood changed. Where there was once concern, only fury could now be found.

“What’s wrong?”

More silence. I was just about to stand and demand that I be given answers, but never got that chance.

“You’re …healed.” He was absolutely perplexed, as if suddenly seeing the light. “Even the mark from whenIfed on you. They’re both gone.”

I placed a hand to the side of my neck. There was blood, but … no wound.

“That can only mean there’s venom in your system.”

With how hard it was to grasp Levi’s statement, it felt like I’d have a meltdown. My face shifted from one expression to the next as an array of emotions washed through me.

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