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Chapter Twenty-Two
Skylar
I felt guilty that we borrowed a car without asking, but an Uber was far too risky this time. And by borrowing, I mean stealing.
At least I locked the doors before we left it in the parking lot of a supermarket near Heidi’s apartment. I was hoping someone would notice the car quickly and return it to the owner.
“We are trying to save the whole world,” Elias reminded me.
It sounded dramatic, but it was accurate. If we didn’t get that stone back, nobody was safe. “Yeah, but nobody else knows that.”
“You take out vampires and mages for a living but you feel guilty about stealing a mortal’s car?” He laughed. “You are an anomaly.”
“I’m normal,” I said. “Most people would feel bad about this. Besides, the supernaturals I hunted were on the list for a reason.”
“Like you were?” he asked.
Fuck. He’s got me there. I wasn’t going to be able to go back to that job now, even if I was able to. I’d justified what I did by reminding myself that those I hunted deserved it. Now, I wasn’t so sure. There was so much more corruption in the supernatural world than I realized.
My chest tightened. I was part of that world. Fully part of it now. I couldn’t even pretend I wasn’t. I always thought I’d had one foot in the human realm. It was a way of grounding myself, of keeping my distance. The last week had changed everything in my life.
“Let’s just move on and get this over with.” I started walking toward Heidi’s building. We had a few blocks to go, but that was better than risking parking right out front of it. Especially if Heidi’s neighbors noticed the large party I’d sent there.
“None of this is your fault, you know that, right?” Elias said.
“Sure, not my fault.” I didn’t fully believe it even though logically, I wasn’t the one who started all this. Guilt swirled inside me around Lola’s death. I still hadn’t had time to process or mourn her yet and that was eating away at me.
Lately, I’d started to wonder what might have happened if I’d been there. Could I have saved her? Would I be dead too? Would she have given up the stone if she thought I was at risk?
There were so many unanswered questions. In the end, the bad guys got the stone. It was weighing heavily on me. The one thing I had going for me in terms of dealing with this was that I was keeping the stone safe. Now, I didn’t even have that to try to talk myself down.
Lights shone from the windows of Heidi’s apartment. At least the others had made it here safely. For now, that was what I’d have to focus on.
We approached the door quietly, trying not to draw any attention to ourselves.
“I’ll go,” Elias said, moving in front of me.
I slowed down a bit, letting him have his moment as my protector. It wasn’t needed, but it was a nice feeling to know he had my back. In fact, I was pretty sure all the people in that apartment had my back. Except for maybe Sam. She was likely going to hate me forever for what I was to Xander.
Nerves twisted in my gut. I hoped he was okay. I hoped he was safe. I also hoped he’d think to come here if he saw the ruins of what used to be Shelly’s townhouse. At least it was almost time to go find him. That had to be our first priority. We had to find a way to get into the palace.
No more side quests, no more distractions. It was time for action. We had to make our last stand if needed.
Elias opened the door and paused, light spilling out around him, his frame blocking my view. He hesitated for a moment then he opened the door wider and he stepped inside.
I followed him and closed the door immediately, locking it behind me. Not that the lock would stop any of the creatures after us.
David crashed into me, pulling me into a rib-crushing hug.
“I’m okay, I swear,” I said.
“Told you she’d be fine,” Hadrian said.
He released me and eyed me up and down. His brow furrowed. “You look alright. I’m guessing the others don’t look so well?”
“The hunters that didn’t flee are no longer a threat,” Elias said.
“Does that mean you exploded them?” David asked.
