Page 132 of Even Vampires Bleed
Léandre
Iend up being forced to wear a ring and to get my ear pierced, but I guess that could have been worse.
I could have gotten a pierced dick and to be honest, I don’t think I’m cut out for that kind of jewelry.
That shit is bound to hurt.
I’m glad there was another solution for me.
So now I have a small chip on the side of my left foot, right under my ankle—I didn’t even feel it when she slipped it under my skin—and an earring on the same side as the chip of doom.
The ring on my finger is just a simple band, but it feels weird because the only finger it fits on my hands is my ring finger. I keep turning it around my finger with the uncomfortable feeling that this feels wrong.
But at the same time, I’m ecstatic to finally be able to go back to the normal world.
It was good here while Cassiopé was with me, but I won’t hide the fact that it felt like hell when she left.
Now, I’m just torn between running right for her—not knowing where she is exactly—or giving her space.
Because I know she asked Miss F to get my chip problem sorted, but does that mean she will give me a chance now that my brain isn’t about to melt on itself?
Or is it like a parting gift?
I’m silent in the jet on our way back to Notre Dame, but my mind is buzzing, and I can’t help but wonder if Cassiopé will have just disappeared from Paris.
Except, when we arrive in Paris, nothing is like I left it.
Inside of Notre Dame, Elhyor is organizing all his warriors for an impending battle that I had no idea about.
Yes, sure, I knew the situation when we left wasn’t the best, and the fact I left my holo with my clothes in Versailles’ dungeon might not have helped, but I saw fires burning everywhere in Paris, birds patrolling the sky and people being forcefully shoved inside buildings.
This is so far from the situation a couple of weeks ago.
I try to read Angélique’s face to see if I’m the only one surprised, but I don’t think anyone could read anything on her face.
And I can’t count on Miss F to help me understand because she rushed out of the jet as soon as we landed, telling something along the lines of “I need to find my sisters,” and disappeared as fast as she could.
So now I’m just following Angélique like a lost puppy because I know she’s going to find her husband, and that means I might have a chance to understand what’s going on.
“Take the back. I’ll take care of the front,” Elhyor tells Angélique as we reach him.
Angélique doesn’t question him, she leaves me there and goes inside his office. I see her getting out just a few seconds later, and this time she has two daggers at her hips and two others at her ankles.
“What is happening?” I ask Elhyor when there’s a lull in him giving orders to the men around him.
“Someone killed Michaël, again, and severely wounded Gabrielle. She’s in a coma and all the birds think it means war now. They’re targeting humans first because they know aboutLibération. They also know that we’ve aligned with them, so I have a feeling we might have some visitors very soon. So far, no one has dared set a foot inside the cathedral. Yet. But we won’t get caught unprepared.”
He pauses to look at me and then adds, “You’re all good now? Any chance you’re fit to help?”
It didn’t even hit me that they could need some help. Or that Elhyor would think about me, for that matter.
I didn’t spar while in the forest, but I did use my muscles to cut wood. A lot of wood.
Thank you pent-up energy that I could release only once a day in the shower.
“I’m ready,” I answer him.
I wish I could go find Cassiopé, but she’s savvy and I trust that she found a safe place to stay.
