Chapter Twenty-Three: Zara Ali
Present day
Outskirts of Albemarle, NC
As Zara walked into the safe house, she immediately regretted instructing Gabe not to tell Stef about Flick until she got there. It would have been one thing to walk into a house of chaos, it was quite another to walk into a house with an eerie normalcy knowing that she was about to upend it. The first thing she did was try to find Gabe. He was the first and only person she needed to speak to right now, and if she was forced to make small talk with anyone else before she found him, she was going to be severely pissed off.
"Zara! You're here!" Phoenix yelled excitedly from the seating area, where Adam was also sitting.
That was the worst start possible. She did not need Phoenix on her case, following her around like a lovesick puppy after months of being away from him. "I need to speak to Gabe," she stated, checking for him in the kitchen, discovering it empty and then walking out again.
"He went out to feed," Phoenix told her.
Zara stopped in her tracks on her way to the library, turning on her heel and raising an eyebrow at Phoenix. "He went out to feed?" she questioned intensely, not breaking eye contact.
Knowing that he'd said the wrong thing, but unsure why, Phoenix sunk into the couch until his upper body was lying sideways, half hidden behind the high armrest. "Oh no, that's her Medusa stare," he warned Adam.
Zara stormed over until she was towering above him. "What do you mean, he went out?! When?"
"About two hours ago," Phoenix squeaked nervously.
"Two hours?!" she screeched. "What's he trying to hunt? A fucking unicorn?!"
"Calm down, he'll be back soon," Adam cut in nonchalantly from the sofa facing her.
Zara raised her widening eyes to him, her lip twitching in annoyance. As soon as she locked in on him, she cocked her head slightly and then remained deadly still.
"Mayday, mayday!" Phoenix yelled, rolling off the couch and crawling on all fours around the back of it until he was out of sight.
"Oh," she snarled venomously, still focused on Adam. "You."
Adam tried to conceal his grin as he stood up and swaggered over to her. She was more beautiful than he remembered now that his compulsion had been removed. "I'm surprised you remember the men you try to manipulate."
"I'm surprised you remember the women you try to flirt with," she retorted sharply, turning her back to him and striding angrily into the library.
Phoenix got to his knees on the floor, raising his head, checking that she had, indeed, left. He looked at Adam. "You flirted with her?"
Adam raised an eyebrow at him and sat back down on the couch. "Wouldn't you?"
"I tried," Phoenix said, flinching at the memory. "She almost ate me alive."
"Well, if she tries that with me, she's going to learn pretty fast that I'm the one who does the eating," Adam said, smirking at him.
Zara wasn't going to pretend that a small thrill didn't pass through her while she continued to eavesdrop on Adam's and Phoenix's conversation as she stopped in the library. She didn't know if it was the sexual innuendo or the challenge that he'd just given her, but either way, she was sure she was going to have fun with him. Now was just not the time.
The library-slash-bar was relatively small in comparison to the one in Gabe's home in Atlanta. There were two adjoining antique oak bookcases, a fireplace, and another two bookcases along one wall. The opposite wall looked very similar, except the shelves were glass, the back panels were mirrored, the display of alcohol was almost regal, and there was a counter running in front of it with five cushioned stools that tucked neatly underneath. The room then led on to a short sunroom at the rear, which was separated by a singular oak column. In the centre of the entire room were two Chesterfield chairs facing the library entrance, followed by a right-hand chaise lounge that faced in the opposite direction and pointed toe-end towards the bar.
Unavoidably, on the two Chesterfield chairs sat Stef and Raid, both seemingly reading while taking turns to reach over and flick each other on various parts of the other's body.
It was Stef who noticed Zara first, bookmarking her page with her finger and standing up to greet her, but not before getting in a final flick against Raid's earlobe.
"I couldn't get the blood bags," Zara said. It was all she could say for now. "The witches are either deliberately trying to keep you weak, or they're hoping you'll succumb to feeding directly on humans in order to justify you as a threat."
"Not going to happen," Stef stated. "Besides, we only have to remain here for a few more hours until I can put a protection spell on Raid and Adam."
"You're going to need blood for that," Zara reminded her.
"I still have time to figure that part out," Stef replied.
"Then what does that mean for you?" Zara asked. "Dimitri will still try to kill you."
"That's when I will have to go on the run instead of Raid and Adam."
Raid shot up from his seat. "Wait, Stef, you're leaving?"
"Zakariah won't be happy with that," Zara continued.
"Zakariah and the rest of the damn Council are free to step in at any point to try and fix this rivalry with the witches," Stef pointed out to her in annoyance.
"Stef!" Raid snapped, finally gaining her attention. "You're fucking leaving?"
Stef scoffed, raising her eyebrows at him. "Do you have a better solution?"
Raid's face tensed in fury. "Fuck!" he shouted, throwing his book across the room.
Stef blinked heavily at the sudden outburst, running an extended finger down her temple. "I think you just lost your page," she mentioned casually.
"Fuck, Stef!" Raid yelled, running his hands through his hair, pulling it at the roots. "What the fuck was all this for?!" He released his grip, swinging his arms wide in fury. "You fucking compelled me to leave, so I started a whole new life – a good life, Stef – do you want to know how good it was?"
"Go right ahead," she urged but with disinterest on her face.
"I starred in a TV show. I had fame. I had money. I had... fucking women, Stef! Do you realize how many women I had the chance to fuck?"
"No, but it sounds so romantic," she drawled sarcastically.
He jutted his finger at her. "You took away my life and I started a new one. Then you gave me back my life, so I had to lose everything I knew all over again, but in return I got..." His voice halted at a choke. He walked up to Stef, taking her by the hand. "I got back the one person I cared about more than any of that."
Stef blinked back tears, surprised by his words. She was determined she would not cry. That became even harder as Raid dropped her hand.
"Now you're leaving," he stated coldly, taking a step back. He looked her over completely, feeling an ache within him that wouldn't die. No, he wouldn't lose her again. He couldn't. There was still a way. His face relaxed into one of sudden realization, and then acceptance. "So I'm going with you," he decided, walking out of the library, determined to have the last word.
Stef followed him, having none of it. "No, you're not, Raid. They're witches, they can track us, and they can especially track you if all they need to do is find your fucking souvenir underwear in the house of one the many fans I'm sure you slept with."
Raid spun around in the center of the living room to face her, while Phoenix and Adam observed their argument through gritted teeth. "I don't care," he declared, arms wide, welcoming the threat.
Stef had an even bigger threat. "I'll compel you again."
Raid's arms dropped. The resulting silence stung the air around them. Those were the worst words that could have come out of her mouth. It was the worst threat imaginable. His lips formed into a snarl. "Fuck you, Stef," he spat in disappointment as he walked out into the hall and up the stairs.
Taking a huge breath, Stef let her anger out in a scream by throwing the book she was still holding across the living area.
After a long and heavy moment of awkward silence, Phoenix decided to make the moment even more awkward. "I think you just lost your page," he informed her.
Anger boiling and no longer in the mood for jokes, Stef launched herself across the room towards Phoenix at vampire speed.
Only to be stopped by strong arms wrapping around her.
She looked up to see Gabe gripping her tightly.
"You look like you're ready for a fight," he observed.
"I am," she growled.
"Good," he said, releasing her, "because that's exactly what we're about to get."
