Exiled

Chapter 24

Seeing him again, especially this soon, was overwhelming. We had just been through a long, drawn-out fight that ended without bloodshed, and even though we had ruled him out as our biggest problem for now, I wasn't really ready to stand around and pretend none of that ever happened.

"Ezekiel, what do you two want?" I said, my annoyance clear as I held the door half open, blocking his entrance. He wore a slight smirk, infuriatingly charming. Juru leaned against the wall, rolling his eyes, unbothered as usual.

"I just want to talk," Ezekiel said, his tone surprisingly earnest. "I don't want to fight, nor do I still have the desire to kill you... I just want to explain" As mad as I was and as deeply betrayed as I still felt, i found myself still drawn to the intensity of his eerie gray eyes, I couldn't find it in me to make him leave. A part of me desperate to hear his side, to find a reason to forgive him.

"Fine, come in" I opened the door wider, gesturing for them to step inside, rolling my eyes as I did so, not even hiding my annoyance.

"What is he doing here?" Enya snarled, tossing her long blonde hair over her shoulder. She stood rigid, ready for a fight, and I couldn't blame her; we had just faced them and their vampires.

"He claims he wants to talk... so we'll talk" I replied, sinking into the chair as she reluctantly sat back down.

"Of course we are" Raven added, dripping sarcasm. I shot her a stern look, knowing exactly what she was implying. She thought I was blinded by my infatuation with him, and she was partially right.

"Father..." Avian mumbled, rolling his eyes. Ezekiel glanced at him, guilt passing through his expression.

"Son I—" Ezekiel began, but I cut him off, I didn't want to deal with their family drama right now.

"SO TALK!" I shouted

Ezekiel chuckled. "Sheesh, your temper might rival a vampires." He was smiling, as if he found my fury endearing. "Anyways, remember when I told that Kane knew about all of this as well?"

"Yes... and?" I replied

"Well, I may have left out some details"

"Of course you did... why am I not surprised"

"He was the one who approached me about killing you all." Ezekiel confessed. "He approached me, told me that you were a direct descendant of Celine, who obviously created the spell that weakened us, and he had it on good authority that you would perform it yourself to keep us away."

"That sneaky bastard!" I snapped.

"He told us everything about you, and your friends. He even gave us the okay to kill you, and I did it in the only way I know how—with a big, elaborate scheme of course"

Anger set in all around us, but no one seemed surprised by the revelation. Irritation washed over me, realizing how easily all of this could've been avoided.

"We didn't even know about the damn spell until he brought it up!" Raven snapped, her frustration palpable. "Why would he want to help vampires in the first place? It doesn't make sense!"

"Because he's doing the dirty work of someone else." Ezekiel replied, his expression shifting to genuine fear. "Someone who's been asleep for hundreds of years, and if he wakes up, he'll use his power and influence to control the supernatural community—either forcing us to serve him or die. And I don't know about you guys, but I'm not ready to die."

Silence filled the room, and everyone seemed to be trying to process all of this.

"So Kane just wants to randomly trying to wake this guy up?" Avian asked, finally breaking the silence. "And why didn't you tell me any of this" He looked genuinely offended.