Ruined (The Seraphim Series Book 1) Page 18

  “No, just us.” Sebastian coughed, pulling Lilliah’s arms around his shoulders.

  “My neck,” Lilliah whispered breathlessly, her head still spinning.

  “Jesus, are you okay?” the fireman asked, moving to get a better look.

  “Yeah. She just fell,” Sebastian assured him smoothly, already pulling Lilliah towards the exit.

  “Right. We need to move quickly. The fire is spreading fast. Try and stay low to the ground,” the fireman ordered, leading the way towards the door.

  Chapter 16

  Red and blue lights met them as they walked outside. Three fire engines and dozens of firemen all worked fast to try and put out the growing fire.

  They were passed to a medic as soon as the ambulance had arrived. Lilliah watched wordlessly as the firemen all worked to save Azrael’s house. The night really couldn’t have gone more wrongly, she realised, defeated. Apart from death. Death would have been bad, but he had been gone for barely two hours, and yet they had somehow managed to destroy his house.

  “Dena's probably long gone,” Sebastian said as he tried to sit closer to her. They were all sitting in the back of an ambulance, wrapped in itchy towels that the paramedics had given them.

  “I know,” Lilliah replied sombrely, her head having finally stopped hurting. “But for how long? She wants to kill me. Really badly,” she stressed.

  “Who doesn’t?” Sebastian laughed, lightly bumping his arm with hers.

  “This isn’t funny, Seb! How long can this go on for? Will I ever be safe again? Will you, Mum, or Rebecca ever be safe again?” Her voice broke before she could finish. She fell into her brother’s waiting arms, sobbing uncontrollably. She cried it all out until she had no more tears left, only looking up when Rebecca tried to sneak off, wanting to give brother and sister a moment to themselves.

  “No,” Lilliah choked out, her voice sounding croaky. “You’re in this as much as us, Rebecca. Stay.”

  They all sat, not talking. The only sounds were Lilliah's sniffles and all the madness that was still going on outside. None of them dared to look at the house. How would they even explain any of this to Azrael?

  “Do you think they found Mum?” Lilliah asked, suddenly remembering the reason Azrael and Benedict had left in the first place. She wanted her mother now more than ever. She wanted a hug that only her mum could give. Benedict assuring her that her mum was still alive wasn’t enough anymore.

  “I really hope so, Lil,” Sebastian said, tightening his arm around her shoulders. “I really, really hope so.” He didn’t have to say the words for Lilliah to get it. He missed their mum just as much as she did. He needed her just as much as she did.

  “What’s that?” Sebastian pulled back and looked down at Lilliah’s pocket.

  “My phone.” She frowned, digging out the buzzing phone from her pocket. “I forgot it was even in there.” She wiped the tears from her face. It was a text from Jeremy. It wasn’t important, just a text asking what she was doing next weekend. It was strange reading something so normal after everything that had just happened.

  ”Sir, please, you need to stay back!” they heard a policeman shout from somewhere outside, breaking their silence.

  “This is my house!” Azrael’s voice boomed back. “So step aside!”

  She didn’t have to see him to know he meant business. Lilliah shot up, putting her phone back into her pocket. She wasn’t sure what kind of mood he was in or what he'd do to the poor, unsuspecting policeman.

  “Azrael!” she shouted, letting the towel drop to the floor as she ducked out of the ambulance.

  “Lilliah?” he asked, swinging around to face her. Her whole body relaxed when she saw his relieved expression. Before she knew it, she was tightly encased in his arms and held securely to his chest. She smiled for the first time that night, breathing in deep. She was safe.

  “Jesus, Lilliah,” he breathed into her hair. “I can’t leave you for a minute,” he joked, still not releasing her. She didn’t laugh; instead, she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, breathing in his scent.

  “You’re okay, right?” he asked, suddenly holding her at arm’s length to inspect her. She nervously ran a hand through her wild hair. Dried blood covered her neck and the top of her shirt. Her back was still bleeding from Dena's attack. Azrael’s eyes zeroed in on her neck.

  “She bit you?” he asked, his teeth gritting and his eyes narrowing.

  “Yeah. A couple of times,” she said, purposely not mentioning the fact that her neck didn’t hurt half as much as her injured back.

  “Lilliah,” he breathed once again, pulling her into his arms. She tried her hardest not to wince when his arms hit her back. She knew she had failed when she felt him freeze.

  “Is your back hurt?” he asked, turning her in his arms to look at her back. “You’re bleeding.”

  Lilliah wasn’t sure how to respond. She hadn’t seen her back yet. She knew it hurt, but that was it. She had hidden it pretty well from the paramedics. She didn’t want anyone scrutinising her wounds or asking questions. Here, paramedics surrounded her, but no one could help. The phrase “surrounded by water without a drop to drink” sprang to mind.

  “I'm in a lot of pain,” she answered simply. “Dena's disappeared. She ran when the fireman turned up,” she tried to explain, not really knowing where to start.

  “I have no doubt.” She looked up to see his serious expression. “Not when everyone’s here,” he said as a fireman walked up to them.

  “The fire has been put out, but we'll have to cordon off most of the house, sir,” he explained as Lilliah got her first look at the house. At least half the mansion had been consumed in the fire. Windows were broken and it looked a mess.

  “Of course. Thank you for your help.” Azrael held out his hand to shake the fireman’s.

  “And can you please say thank you to the man who saved us?” Lilliah cut in.

  “Of course, ma’am.” He smiled down at her sympathetically. “Did the ambulance crew check you and your friends over?”

  “Yeah. We're all fine,” she quickly assured him.

  “Good,” the man replied, checking her over. He wasn’t totally convinced.

  “My assistant over there will sort out the details,” Azrael pointed to Benedict, who was standing nearby, assessing the now destroyed mansion. “I think I need to get her to a hotel.” Azrael smiled politely, dismissing the fireman as quickly as possible and then guiding Lilliah to his car, where Rebecca and Sebastian were waiting.

  “Where are we going?” she asked as he sped out of the driveway.

  “To a nearby hotel. Benedict will get all the things we need from the house once everyone has left.” The quietness in the car stretched out. The only sound was Azrael as he angrily changed the gears.

  “I'm really sorry about the house,” Lilliah said, nervously twisting her hands together. Had the realisation just hit about his house?

  “I'm not talking about this in the car, Lilliah,” he stated with a finality that made it clear the conversation was over. His eyes flicked to the rear-view mirror to see a nervous Sebastian and Rebecca, both silently sitting in the back.

  Oh, God, Lilliah thought, silently staring out of the window. He's furious!

  Well, he did have every right to be, she realised. They had burnt down half his house, even if technically they hadn’t meant to do it. “What did you find out about my mum?” she asked, not expecting good news. If they had found her, she'd be with them.

  “The guy Dena was talking about wasn’t very helpful.”

  Even hearing her name sent chills down Lilliah’s spine. The memory of her sinking her teeth into Lilliah’s neck sprang to mind, the pain running down her neck as if it were still happening.

  “But there was a lead,” he added, still looking at the road.

  “A lead?” Lilliah pressed. “What kind of lead?” She watched his eyes flick to the rear-view mirror again. She looked back to see an anxious-looking Sebastian.<
br />
  “A werewolf at the club knew about you,” Azrael said, glancing at Lilliah, his face still grim. “We’re meeting him tomorrow.”

  “So you think he knows where Mum is?” Sebastian asked, leaning forward, looking on edge.

  “We don't know yet. But he's the only one who’s talking. So it's a start.”

  Lilliah settled back in her seat, taking a deep breath. She'd go through the entire night again to hear that news.

  They had been driving for about twenty minutes when they pulled up outside a small hotel. It looked peaceful and warm, Lilliah decided as she silently followed Azrael in. It wasn’t ultra-modern with its patterned carpets and light-pink walls, but she liked it.

  How the hell does Azrael even know about this place? she wondered.

  Sebastian slumped down into an empty chair, stretching out his long legs. “I'm so tired. Did you call ahead and book us in?” he asked, looking up in Azrael’s direction.

  “Hello?” Azrael called out in the empty reception area, ignoring Sebastian completely.

  Oh, so it’s not just me you’re ignoring, Lilliah realised, slightly relieved.

  “Azrael?” an older woman called, rounding the corner, her long black hair hanging loosely around her ageing face. “What on earth are you doing here?”

  “Hello, Edna.” Lilliah watched as Azrael walked forward, holding his arms out. “You look good.”

  “Oh, please. I look old,” she replied, looking up at him. “But you look the same. You want a room, I expect? I heard about your mansion. Terrible news. It was such a lovely house as well.”

  “Gossip flies in these parts.” Azrael smirked, taking Edna’s arms and weaving them through his.

  “The great Azrael's house was burnt down.” She shrugged unapologetically. “People get curious and people talk.”

  “Yes, well, they didn’t attack me.”

  Edna looked up, seeing Lilliah for the first time. “Oh, you found her.” She smiled, not surprised at all. “Oh, dear. You look like you've had a night of it. I'll get you to your room in a jiffy.”

  Lilliah smiled gratefully, trying not to frown at Azrael. He was smiling down at Edna, all traces of his anger completely vanished. Oh, please, do not be another old girlfriend, she silently prayed. She really couldn’t handle that kind of weird right now.

  “How many rooms? Three?” she guessed, walking behind the front desk.

  “No. Two should be fine. We don't want to put you out more than we already are,” Azrael smoothly assured her, casually leaning on the desk.

  “Don't be silly. I have three rooms ready now,” Edna dismissed, holding up three room keys. “The girls will be sharing?”

  “No,” he cut in simply. “Rebecca and Sebastian, you don't mind sharing, do you?” Lilliah's head shot up, realising she hadn’t been given a choice. She was sharing with Azrael.

  “Oh, erm,” Rebecca nervously started, staring at Lilliah intensely. “I could share with Lil.”

  “You can either share a room with Sebastian or have a room to yourself,” Azrael stated, close to losing his temper.

  “We'll share,” Rebecca decided instantly, getting nervous under Azrael’s heated gaze. “I just really don't want to be alone tonight.” She shrugged as Sebastian looked up at her, clearly confused.

  “So, we'll have just the two rooms please, Edna,” Azrael decided in a much lighter tone.

  “Whatever you want, Azrael,” Edna murmured, handing over the keys to him but keeping her eyes on Lilliah. “As long as you don't mind sharing.”

  “Not at all,” he replied, taking the keys.

  “Won't Benedict be joining you?” Edna pressed, lightly frowning.

  “No. He's a little preoccupied with the house.”

  “But even he will have to sleep at some point,” she reminded him like a scolding mother. “Please call him and let him know I will have a room ready and waiting.”

  “You do too much for us.”

  “I don't do nearly enough. Mainly because you’re never in the country anymore.” She smiled, her eyebrows raised. “And I suppose even less now that the house has burnt down.”

  “It’ll be rebuilt in no time, I swear,” he promised, leaning down to kiss her cheek.

  “I'll hold you to that. Would you like some tea brought up? It’s late, but it might help you relax.”

  “Tea would be amazing. Thank you so much,” Lilliah quickly agreed, having to stop herself from moaning at the thought.

  “I'll bring up a pot,” Edna assured warmly. “Now go and have a bath!”

  They all silently followed Azrael up the stairs. It was clear he knew his way around the place.

  “Rebecca, Sebastian, this is your room,” he said, stopping at the first door.

  “Where will you be?” Rebecca asked, turning to Lilliah, who shrugged.

  “Down the hall,” Azrael told her simply, already turning to walk away.

  “Are you okay?” Rebecca mouthed once she was sure Azrael was facing the other way. Lilliah nodded, giving her friend a quick hug.

  Azrael was already in their room by the time she reached him.

  “The bathroom is through there. You might want to clean up before bed.”

  Lilliah stood nervously, folding her arms over her chest. The room was a light-cream and pink colour. She would have loved the flowery bed sheet were it not for the sick feeling in her stomach.

  “I don't have any clothes,” she said slowly, watching him shrug out of his black coat. He threw it on the double bed.

  Double bed? Lilliah stared at it as if it were going to get up and walk out of the room. Why was there only one bed? Were they sharing? Would Azrael even want to share a bed with her? He was furious.

  “Edna will bring up clothes with your tea. Benedict will bring more for you tomorrow.”

  “That’s good.” She stood for a moment, awkwardly turning left and right on the spot. Azrael didn't seem to notice as he took his phone out of his pocket.

  “Benedict,” he said, turning to look in Lilliah's direction. “Wait a moment,” he said into the phone, placing his hand over the speaker. “Do you need anything else, Lilliah?”

  “No.” She shrugged slowly, realising that was her hint to leave the room. She tried to smile, but she wasn’t sure if it had really worked as she walked into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

  She ran the bath as deep as possible without spilling water over. All she needed was a deep, hot bubble bath and a cup of tea. Then she could go to sleep and try to forget the whole night had ever happened.

  “Ouch,” she said, lowering her body into the hot water. Her back stung as she got lower. She gritted her teeth until the stinging had passed. There was no way she’d give up her bath, pain or not. She ran the bubbles over her arms, letting them clean the dust and dirt.

  “I want to wash away the memory,” she said to no one in particular. Carefully, she ran her hand over her neck, letting the water wash away the dried blood.

  She heard the door open and stopped moving, trying to listen. She could hear Edna's and Azrael’s muffled voices but couldn’t tell what they were saying. Giving up, she submerged herself fully in the water, letting it encase and warm her at the same time. For the first time that night, she didn’t think about Dena, or about Azrael. Instead, she just relaxed, not really thinking of anything.

  She waited until she was all clean and her fingers were like prunes before she finally left the bathroom. Her hair had been washed and cleaned; the dust and dirt from the fire had been washed away. And her neck wound had been cleaned. Looking at her, no one would have guessed what a horrendous night she had just had. Wrapping the hotel’s white, fluffy dressing gown tightly around her waist, covering her naked body, Lilliah walked out into the bedroom, ready to face Azrael.

  He sat on the bed, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees, lost in deep thought.

  “Did Edna bring the clothes up?”

  At first, Azrael didn’t reply; he just stared at her f
rom across the room.

  After a minute of silence, Lilliah decided to speak again. “I'm sorry about your house. We were running and Seb picked up this can and a lighter, and it all just happened really quickly.” She stopped, trying to gather her thoughts. What she’d just said had not sounded right. “We were running from Dena and it was the only weapon we could find.”

  “I don't care about the goddamned house.”

  She watched Azrael slowly stand and walk towards her.

  “But, we burnt down your house.”

  “I can buy any house anywhere in this world. It’s just bricks. But I nearly lost you tonight,” he whispered into her hair. Lilliah sighed as he lifted his hands, running his fingers around her neck and up through her hair. Her breath hitched as Azrael leant in that much closer, his eyes on fire.

  “You were in danger. In my house. Because of someone I know.” He was furious, but Lilliah was delighted.

  “How is any of this your fault?” she asked, running her hands over his arms, needing more contact with him. She hadn’t realised how much she needed his touch, how much it soothed her.

  “You can’t shrug this off, Lilliah,” he said quietly, resting his forehead against hers. “You nearly died tonight. And once again, I wasn’t there to protect you.”

  “No, you were out trying to find my mum,” she reminded him softly. “You can’t be everywhere.” She spied a pot of tea out the corner of her eye and smiled. “Come on and have a cup of tea,” she suggested, reaching up to hold his hand, not ready to lose the skin-to-skin contact.

  “I didn’t know you liked tea,” he said, letting her pull him to the other side of the room.

  “Tea's my favourite drink,” she shared, motioning for him to sit on the end of the bed. “How many sugars?”

  “None, thank you.” Azrael didn’t smile; instead, he silently watched her pour the tea. “Are you okay?” he asked, still watching her closely.

  “I'm fine now. Just really tired.”

  “Then I should be the one serving you.” Gently, he pried her hands off the cup. “Edna brought a nightshirt up for you. It’s on the bed. Why don't you get changed?” he suggested.