Page 15 of Even Vampires Bleed
Yew. Well, it’ll have to do. I don’t have time for a shower.
9
Cassiopé
Luc is at my door when I open it. If I look disheveled, he looks downright frantic.
“They’re on their way back from attacking Versailles. Something went wrong. Come with me.”
There is no hello or anything, but he stops after his little speech.
“You might want to take a shower, though. You reek of sex,” he says as his nose makes a small little move that I would find cute if it wasn’t screaming wordlessly how awful I smell.
I close the door in his face and rush to the shower.
I take the quickest shower of my life, and then I’m on my way.
I stop at the door to talk to Léandre. “You probably should take a shower. The team is about to come back.”
“Why would I bother? Today is the day I die, anyway,” he tells me flippantly.
He sounds like he doesn’t care, but I can see right through the bullshit. I know it’s just a facade.
“Do as you want,” I tell him before closing the door after me.
A minute later, I’m down the stairs and have already called the healer and heading for theparvisof Notre Dame.
If something went wrong, there are bound to be wounded people. Maybe it all will be solvable with a bit of shifting, but I don’t want to take chances.
“The healer is on his way,” I say as I cross the threshold of Notre Dame and walk toward the enormous dragon descending before us. And when I see all the blood and the state of Gaspard, I know it was the right call.
“When Luc came back in panic, I called, because I thought maybe someone would need him, and that I was like ‘better safe than sorry’ because time could be of the essence. I’m glad I did, because oh my hell, there’s so much blood,” I stammer.
Elhyor finally shifts, so I don’t have to address him in his dragon form.
“You did good,” he tells me. His voice sounds raw, as if there is something he isn’t telling me.
I look around and search for my dad amongst the men dropping from the sky, completely naked.
“Where is my dad?” I ask Elhyor, and I feel panic start to slip inside my voice—and inside me, if I’m being totally honest.
The blissful contentment I felt this morning in Léandre’s arms has all but disappeared in smoke.
There is a subtle shake of Elhyor’s head and dread takes over my body. I know what that little move of his head means, even if I don’t want to recognize it.
“Where is his body, then?” I ask. I know I sound mad, or maybe petty. Dad is his best friend, so there is no reason Elhyor would abandon him.
“We don’t know what happened to him and his team,” Elhyor starts saying as he wraps an arm around my shoulder.
I drop my head to his chest as my emotions take over and tears start streaming down my cheeks, completely out of my control.
“He might still be alive, but we don’t know what Michaël has planned for any of them,” he adds while I keep my head buried against his chest.
”Where is Léandre?” Angie asks.
I thought he would be here by now, but he obviously decided to stay in bed instead of joining us. I immediately start being mad at him about that, because it’s very selfish of him, especially since a full team—including my own dad—didn’t come back from the mission that was supposed to be sent to save his butt.
“He wasn’t feeling well,” I still answer without thinking.
