Children of Blood ✔️

Chapter Thirteen

I stood up and faced the bars, "I thought I wasn't on the execution list until the new leader was chosen for the clan."

"I'm sorry to tell you Jean, but as the leader of the Immunis I can sacrifice anyone necessary for the survival of the rest." John smiled through the rusted poles and shrugged. "I said you killed that man and I want you to be executed. There's no challenge Luke can make to pause my request to execute my own follower."

My eyes snap open almost as fast as I sit up. It's dark and I stifle the painful whimper along with the memories. John had wandered into my dreams again... it's been an while since that happened.

My gaze raises to meet Alaric's soft expression masked in the darkness. He sits on my bed and has his hands on my arms as Izzy peeks over his shoulder, pity and lament glazed over her eyes.

Trying to gather myself I push away from the both of them for room and clear my throat. "Watching me sleep? That's creepy."

Izzy shoves past Alaric and engulfs me in a warm, amiable hug. "John betrayed us all. I'm sorry you still see his ghost."

"He has to be dead to be a ghost." I try to laugh the overwhelming comfort of Izzy's arms as it thaws my frozen heart. Tears burn my eyes and I hesitate before resting my forehead on Izzy's shoulder, hiding from Alaric. My drowsiness and venerability chips at my brick wall. Still, it's impossible to tell if it hurts or releases the buried pain.

I only hold her long enough for my welling tears to suck back into their ducts. Breaking away I take a deep breathe in, "so, I slept talked again?"

"Yeah, which escalated into screaming." Izzy rubs my arms and helps me up. "I told James and Adam to take a walk ten minutes ago. I've been trying to wake you up since then. Thank god Alaric came to pick you up for the mission today, or I don't think you would've woken."

There's an awkward silence as Alaric stands up and leans on the doorframe. I wait for him to say something witty and unnecessary, but instead he remains distant. "We should get going Jean, are you sure you're ready to do this mission?"

"I need a distraction," I nod at him, "I'll be out in a second."

Alaric walks away silently out of the house and shuts the door behind him.

"You should've seen how worried he was," Izzy stares at the door and passes me some clean clothes. "I think he knows what you're going through. He held you with such care and protection. I was a little jealous."

I quickly turn and change, "he's wasting his time caring about me."

"Sure, say what you need to in order to feel better. I just hope you know you don't have to have feelings for the guy to care about him."

Shaking my head I walk out of the room before opening the door. Izzy follows me as I run into Adam. He walks past me like I don't exist while James stares at me intensely, "your REM sleep is extreme. I didn't realize you had that much hate in you."

"I'm full of surprises," I sigh as I squeeze through the doorway.

"No," James scrunches his brows, "your full of blood, organs and nerves."

I pause before turning around, perhaps I changed or maybe I'm having a single moment of softness. But either way I wrapped my arms around James for a few seconds before letting him go. "See you soon."