Chapter 29

Chapter

Twenty-Nine

FLYNN

T he morning light peeks through the curtains, creating a golden glow around the small body nestled against mine. Talulla's grip around me tightens as she moves her head slightly. Her skin feels like the finest silk.

I turn to look at the alarm. It's seven in the morning, and she's going to wake up in the next ten minutes to get ready for school.

She looks so innocent and angelic like this—asleep, nothing else bothering her. Her frame is fully relaxed against mine. I haven't had this constant need to protect someone in a very long time—maybe ever—but if this is how it feels, I want to do it for as long as I live.

"Are you done staring?" my hunter says, not raising her eyes to look at me. Talulla keeps her face against my chest, her eyes closing once again.

"Never," I reply, brushing my lips to her forehead.

"You'll get bored quickly."

"Of you? I don't think anything that outrageous is humanly possible."

She groans, covering herself in the sheets. "I don't want to get up."

"The faster you get up, the faster you're gonna get to school, and the faster you'll be back in my arms."

"Are you using a child method to get me out of bed?"

"Is it working?"

I see her crinkle her nose. "A little."

"I'll take you out to dinner to celebrate and then continue said celebration between your legs."

"It's not really a dinner celebration kind of thing."

"I'm making it a reason to celebrate your achievements."

"I haven't even started my dissertation. It's a little premature, don't you think?"

"It's a push toward a bigger goal, which will require a very big celebration."

She chuckles. "What are you going to do all this time without me?"

I shrug my shoulders as she slightly raises her head to look at me. "Wait for you to come back."

"Oh, please."

I laugh and then add, "I have to run a couple of errands, and then I'm meeting Dean Jefferson to finalize some paperwork."

"Still about Da Vinci's things?"

"Something like that." I do have to sign some last-minute papers for the pieces I'm donating, but I've also asked for a meeting with Jefferson for another reason, one that Talulla would prohibit me from doing if she knew what I had in mind.

I feel her stretch beside me. "Okay, time to get this over with."

"You're going to impress them all, sweetheart."

"I really hope so. I'm pretty proud of my idea. I just need a few of them to like it enough so that I can work on it."

"And they will." I grab her hand and pull her to me once again.

Her mouth slightly opens as her eyes get lost in mine. "Thank you," she whispers as I crush my mouth to hers. I can't get enough of her plump lips, her sweet taste, and her essence.

"Time to start the day."

We both get out of bed, and as she gets ready, I make my way to the kitchen to prepare some coffee. Weirdly enough, even if it doesn't do anything to me, coffee is one of those things I like to indulge in, even as a dead creature.

I pour two cups just as Talulla joins me. "Here," I say, handing her the beverage.

"Just what I needed," she says, drinking it fast. "I gotta go now though."

"Wait." I run to the coat hanger, pulling a key out of my pocket. "This is for you."

Her eyes widen as I drop the key into her palm. "Is this what I think it is?"

Tilting my head to the side, I say, "It's whatever you want it to be."

"Flynn."

"Don't take it so seriously. I know you have your dorm and want your space, but if you ever want to come here, even if I'm out, I just wanted you to know that you can."

"So you're not asking me to move in after a month?"

The corners of my mouth lift up. "As much as I'd want that, and believe me, I do, you're never going to agree to it unless you're sure about it, so no, I'm not asking you to move in, but you still get that key."

She narrows her eyes at me just as a grin appears on her face. "That's a compromise I'm willing to accept."

"Good."

Talulla's eyebrow rises. "Wonderful."

"Marvelous."

"You're not gonna let me have the last word, are you?"

"You can have whatever you want, little hunter. It's yours."

She rolls her eyes. "You're so extra." And then she adds my key to her keychain with her lips raised in a smile.

I want her to feel at home with me. I want her to be able to come to this space that I call mine and make it her own. Just like she did with my soul.

After Talulla left, I ended up at the blood bank for a much-needed refill, and now that I am satiated and full, I can go see Jefferson without wanting to eat him the whole time.

I amble through the main building. It's a busy day. Students walk past me without paying attention as I stroll toward the administration office for my meeting.

"Mr. Lancaster," the receptionist says. "Dean Jefferson is waiting for you."

"Perfect, I'll go in then."

I make my way to the back and knock on the large wooden door.

"Come in."

I take a seat in the ugly-ass pea-colored chair and pretend I still don't think it's offensive to the sight.

"Dean Jefferson, it's a pleasure to see you again." God, he smells awful. He wears this crazy earthy cologne. It smells like artificial pine trees. It's honestly one of the worst scents I've ever had the displeasure of smelling. And I have smelled a lot of shit throughout the years. Like, literal shit.

"The pleasure is mine, Mr. Lancaster, especially after seeing the large donation you made to the history department after their fundraiser."

"I know my money is in good hands."

"You said you wanted to talk to me about a student?"

"Yes," I start, signing off some paperwork presented to me. "Talulla Popescu."

"Ah, yes. Miss Popescu is quite remarkable. She and Miss Drusus have a bright future ahead of them."

"They absolutely do, and this is why I wanted to make sure that happens."

Dean Jefferson tilts his head slightly. His toupee almost remains immobile as he does. Did he cover it in gel? It looks like Lego hair. "I don't think I'm following."

"I would like to help her out with her tuition, maybe make it a scholarship."

"Her fall tuition has been paid. She doesn't need more money."

"I would like to replace that payment and then also pay for her final semester."

"That is almost fifty grand."

"Would that cover her rooming expenses? I'd like to add that to the list as well."

"Mr. Lancaster, that is an enormous sum of money."

"It's money well spent."

"Are you sure about this? The total cost after her scholarships is still over sixty grand."

"As long as she gets her twenty-five grand back, I am willing to pay that amount right now."

"May I ask why?"

None of your fucking business , but I guess it is an odd request, so I can give him something. "I got to know Miss Popescu, and I can tell how passionate and hard-working she is."

"You've already donated $100,000.00 to her department."

"I did, and now I want to make sure she can have her last year fully taken care of."

He shrugs. "I mean, it is your money. I don't see why this can't be arranged."

Wonderful. I didn't even need to use my compulsion on him. "Thank you, Mr. Jefferson. I know I'm doing the right thing."

"Talulla will be very happy."

I take out my checkbook and sign one. I don't even bother putting a number on it. "Here. Whatever it is, just fill it in, and please, have her money deposited back into her account by tomorrow morning."

"Will do."

I feel my phone buzz as I get up and shake his hand. "It was nice seeing you again."

"Goodbye, Mr. Lancaster."

I exit the room and basically flee from Jefferson's premises, his smell almost giving me a headache.

I sit down on a bench, the one where Talulla was sitting the first day I saw her, and finally take out my phone.

"Flynn, what are you doing here? Talulla is busy all day."

I look up and see Cassandra holding something like ten massive books in her hands. "Do you need a hand?"

She shakes her head. "I'm good." Then, shifting her weight from one hip to the other, she reconsiders. "Okay, fine, grab a couple of these. I need to drop them off at Sinopoli's office."

"Okay, let's go."

Walking back inside, Cassandra keeps a safe distance, not wanting to accidentally touch me and see something she doesn't want to see. "Are you spying on her? Because she would never do anything to upset—"

"I had a meeting with the dean. I was ready to go home and think about what to cook for dinner before you showed up."

"So you're not stalking her."

I chuckle at her persistence. "No. I know she has an important meeting today, and I'm not here to possibly ruin it."

"Oh, okay then."

I raise one eyebrow at her as I drop the books on the counter. "Disappointed?"

"What? No, I just… It's hard to read you sometimes."

"You as well."

My phone buzzes again. This time, I pick it up, and the message I see just ruins my entire mood for the day.

EVANORA:

Flynn, you need to come here right away.

EVANORA:

Please, Flynn, there's not much time. The house is on fire.

I look up at Cassandra, my eyes widening in shock.

"What is it?"

"We need to go to Evanora's right now." I show her the texts.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck." She grabs my hand, not worrying about the contact anymore, and pushes through the people, looking for a safe place to escape. "This will have to do," she says, pulling us inside the men's bathroom.

I send a quick text to Talulla, letting her know where I am and telling her to take my car and come to Evanora's if I'm not back before she is.

And then we apparate out of the campus bathroom right in front of a house in flames. I run to the door and swing it open, smoke obfuscating my vision for a moment.

"Flynn, you can't come inside," Evanora says in a brittle voice. "You need to find her."

"What?" I ask, and then notice what she's doing. She's sitting at the table, shuffling cards. "Come on, Evanora. Let's go. I got your texts."

My friend shakes her head. "I can't leave the house, and Cassandra won't be able to get me out either. No one can. Monica failed as well."

"I don't think I'm following."

"If you get inside, you're not getting out, Flynn. I didn't send you those texts."

"It's a trap," I whisper to myself.

"The cards," she says, raising two tarot cards to show me. "They haven't changed."

My eyes widen as I realize what she wants to show me. The Ten of Pentacles and Death. Talulla is still in danger.

"Who did this?"

"Just know she tried to find a solution this time. She really did, but humans… They can be even more ruthless than supernatural creatures."

"What does that mean, Evanora?"

And then I hear branches cracking. I inhale and smell them—two men trying to run away.

And I am not in the mood to let them go.

"You deserve this epic love. You deserve it all. You're worthy of her."

My eyes widen. "Evanora."

"It was an honor being your friend, Flynn Lancaster."

"No… There has to be something."

"Goodbye." Those are the last words she says before the flames take over. She doesn't scream. She just sits, waiting for the inevitable to happen. And I am left here, outside, incapable of saving my friend.

Cassandra finally joins me, tears streaming down her face as she watches the scene, feeling just as useless as I do.

Then the sound of leaves crushing brings me back to the situation at hand. I turn to look at the witch. "Call Kaden. Call Asmodeus as well. Set. Everyone you can think of."

"What's happening, Flynn?"

"They took Talulla."

I turn to my right and look at the forest. The trees move in unison with the wind, creating a melancholic melody of sounds. Two men are trying to hide. I inhale, trying to figure out which direction they're walking in… or rather, running in.

"Gotcha," I say with a smirk on my face and an insatiable thirst growing in my throat, making it burn as much as the fire behind me.

"Flynn—" Cassandra has no time to finish her statement because I start running at vampire-speed as soon as I locate the bastards.

I get to the two men in an instant. "Trying to sneak out?" I say, making them jolt in surprise. "You can't outrun the Angel of Judgment."

They turn to look at me, their eyes widening, and then they try to run away from me.

Morons.

Do they really think they can outdo me? I literally just told them they can't escape. I'm not in the mood for little games.

"Where is she?" I yell as I let them think they have the upper hand.

"You're supposed to be dead," one of them replies, still trying to meander as far away from me as possible.

"Yeah, well, sorry to disappoint. I am pretty hard to exterminate." I reach for one, my hand grabbing the back of his head, ripping chunks of hair out. "How do you want to die?"

"Screw you."

"So the painful way," I reply, tightening my grip on the nape of his neck. "Ever seen a human heart before?"

"Wha—"

The man chokes on his words as my hand rips into his chest. The warm flesh and blood coat my hand and arm as I continue to push inside him.

The fucker starts to lose consciousness, but I am not done. I grab his chin with my other hand and force him to look me in the eye. "You're going to keep your eyes open, and you're going to die as you look at your own heart stopping in my hands."

Closing my hand around three ribs, I pull, ripping the bones from his skeleton. I need to create an opening so that I can get the heart out, nice and slow.

Crack.

The sound of the bone detaching from the spine is music to my ears. Blood pours out, and just as the man is ready to fall to the ground, I grab the still-beating muscle, carefully get it out, and bring it to his eye level.

The walking corpse's eyes widen as I bring the heart to my mouth and sink my fangs right into it, my rage getting the best of me and the thirst for revenge making me more dramatic than necessary. My gums hit the warm flesh, coating my mouth in crimson. It's almost impossible to resist the urge to drink his blood and drain him, but even the thought of it makes me want to vomit because he's not even worth the effort.

I bite down and tear the muscle, blood spraying all over my face and his.

Then his eyes finally close for good, and he plops to the ground.

I spit out any blood and residual pieces of the organ and then throw the rest of the heart with the body's remains.

"Jesus, dude," Asmodeus says from behind me. "Remind me to never piss you off."

"Nice of you to join us," I say before adding, "Clean this up. The other one is still running."

"Copy that."

I run, reaching the second pawn, and before I end his miserable, useless life, I ask, "Who did this?"

"The Caputos don't like to have favors owed."

"Elaborate."

"What's the point? You're going to kill me anyway."

"It's true, but I am calmer now. I could give you a faster death."

"They cover their tracks so nothing's left behind."

"Why Talulla?"

"She got too close."

My nostrils flare at his words. Grabbing his chin and forcing him to look at me, I ask, "Where is she now?"

"I don't know."

Useless piece of shit. I grab his head between my hands and quickly snap his neck.

Crack.

He's gone in seconds, not having time to think about anything more creative.

Cassandra and Asmodeus are already working on making the second body disappear when we hear sirens in the distance.

"The fire department is finally coming."

"Too bad it's too late," I say, my voice cold as I am reminded of my friend dying in her house, still trying to help me until her last breath.

There's no time to spend mourning when my Talulla is in danger.

"Do we have any idea where she could be?"

"She was supposed to be on campus all day. Her meeting was going to take hours," Cassandra states.

My phone vibrates in my pocket, and a sense of relief fills my lungs.

"Little hunter, please tell me you're okay," I say as soon as I press accept.

And then the unexpected happens. "I did not know we had pet names for each other."

"How did you get this number?"

"I dropped off the police reports at the Drususes's house. Now take care of the problem. It's Wagner, but you knew that already, didn't you?" The voice on the other side of the phone is from my mortal enemy, Emil Popescu.

"Why did you call me?"

I hear him chuckle on the other side of the line. "Because I want you to know I can find you wherever you go, Lancaster."