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“Come on,” Drake said to me and Hiro, who surfaced just after the lunchtime confrontation. He led us to the elevator without further explanation. Hiro and I shared a glance but didn’t argue, stepping inside. “We’re going to take back the third floor.”
“What, really?” I questioned, turning to face him. He was way too tense for it to be as simple as that.
“You need medication and Layne is starting to slip into one of her episodes. The staff is still functioning so it would be a smarter move for you to be back where you belong. I can’t promise we won’t be right back to group therapy and shit like that, but it’ll give us a chance to see what’s going on.” I felt guilty for not realizing Layne was getting bad again. She’d been off, but we all had. Between the demons, the battles, half my men coming in and out, and the hallucinations, I was a mess. Drake was far more observant than I’d given him credit for.
“This is because of the sacrifices, isn’t it?” I questioned. After we stopped the last one, he’d found another, also with black hair, green eyes, and a strong jaw. That’s where their similarities fell short, but it was still obvious what Vane was doing. The fact he’d left it for Drake to find on his rounds was telling.
“In part,” he agreed. I appreciated that he wasn’t straight up avoiding this conversation anymore. “But I’m also tired of not being able to be with you guys or fuck when we want.”
Hiro made a noise that had Drake smirking. The two of them were ridiculous but I hoped things progressed soon. Hiro was different now, more sure of himself. It was hard because as Hiro gained confidence, Roman was steadily losing it. He would barely look any of us in the eyes at this point.
“I’m also hoping it will draw Vane out,” he admitted. “The asshole will die on the spot, but at least we’d have access to him.”
“You keep saying we,” I pointed out. He grimaced at me and I laughed.
“Monty?”
“Ivar,” he corrected. “It’s not a friendship, so don’t get your hopes up. But we have a common goal.”
“You’ve embraced your demon side more,” I said. “It’s nice. You shouldn’t hide from what you are.”
He turned then, not saying anything, but I saw a small smile on his lips before he could escape me.
The elevator opened and my heart broke at the common room and hallway in front of us. Both were littered with debris and broken furniture.
“It looks like someone was tearing down the world to find us,” Hiro said, as stunned as I was.
“They were,” Drake said solemnly. “I couldn’t even describe the amount of demons we’ve sent back to Helheim at this point.”
“But it’s safe now?” I asked. Fear wasn’t one of my favorite emotions, and I’d felt it far too much lately. I hated the vulnerability of being fragile yet coveted by the monsters in my life. They wanted me locked safely away, told me I was too important. But I couldn’t figure out why. Hel had said I was chosen to help keep the portal closed, but apparently wanted me to fix this with no information.
Ignoring the chaos, I power walked down the hall and pushed open my door, shocked to see it still the same as I left it.
“You were warded already, remember?” Drake said. “Our room is fine, theirs not so much.”
Hiro’s choked gasp had us both heading for his room. He was on his knees, hands holding torn pages from his journals. They spilled out from under his bed and scattered the floor, page after page torn from its binding.
“Years of our words, just gone,” he said. The pain in his voice had me dropping down next to him and pulling him in for a hug. Those journals were a connection point to the most important person for most of his life. Now they were ripped away and damaged irreparably. I couldn’t fault him for grieving the loss.
“I’m sorry,” Drake whispered, a hand resting on Hiro’s head for a moment before he let go. “They’re locked out of the floor now. We’ll salvage what we can.”
“What are you doing here?” Nurse Drew’s voice was full of venom, and it startled us from our moment.
“We live here,” Drake said with no hint of emotion in his voice.
“Not anymore,” she said. “You need to go. Now. This floor has been marked as abandoned.”
“Well unmark it,” Hiro bit out. “This is our place, our home. Fuck your rules.”
“Don’t speak to me that way!” she yelled, loud enough Drake moved between us and her. “It’s off limits!”
“Why are you still here, then?” I asked, narrowing my eyes on her. The woman was hiding something, and it had nothing to do with us. “What are you not telling us? Seems like you’re keeping secrets.” Her eyes flashed with anger at my taunt.
“If I was, it wouldn’t be your business,” she said as she tightened her sweater around her, practically sticking her nose in the air. I laughed openly at her haughty attitude.
“Who marked this floor off-limits?” I asked.
“Vane still holds authority here, young lady,” she said. And the venom was right back in place.
