Chapter 152

Hannah

“No…” I said, pulling my hands away from her. “I won’t accept that.”

“Liam’s body is still safe in the hospital. He’s being cared for by the best doctors. He still has a chance to return to it,” Sebastian explained.

She still looked uncertain though.

“Time here is different,” she said. “You can be here a few days in the underworld, but years will go by on your land. There are no rules when it comes to stuff like that. It’s whatever Xander wants. You don’t know what you’re returning to.”

Sebastian was quiet because he knew firsthand that she was right. I still couldn’t accept that though; I wasn’t going to give up on my brother.

“But that doesn’t mean you can’t save him,” she finally said, meeting my eyes. She gave me a small smile. “Trust me, he will know if his body is no good. He’ll be able to feel it decaying. So, until he tells you himself that he can’t return to his body, then there’s always hope.”

I felt relieved hearing her words, but that meant we needed to move quickly to save him.

“We need to get back into the palace. Do you have anything that can help us do that?” Sebastian asked; she thought about it for a moment before nodding.

“I can give you a potion that’ll hide your scents,” she offered. “It’ll help you sneak in. But I’m not sure how you’ll get in. Maybe the same way you managed to get out?”

“Yeah, I know of a passageway,” Sebastian explained. “But first, we need to figure out where he would keep the scepter. That way we can get in and out.”

“His chamber is on the top floor. I’d start there,” Liz said. “He’s often gone from the palace early in the morning. You can probably get in and out before he returns.”

“I’ll need to find my brother too,” I said, looking over at Sebastian. “I’m not sure where he would be though.”

“We’ll find him,” Sebastian assured me. “I’m fairly familiar with the palace directions so I can find the rooms. He’s probably locked in one of them like you were. But finding the right room will be difficult.”

I wondered if my brother’s room resembled mine. We did share the room in the rogue territory. Then a thought occurred to me.

“He had access to my room,” I recalled. “He was able to enter it. Do you think that was his room too?”

“It could have been,” Sebastian answered.

“It was made to look like our old bedroom when I lived with my mother. We shared it. The room had both of our beds inside of it.”

“Then it’s plausible that he would share that room here too,” Sebastian said in agreement. “Do you remember which door was yours?”

“I think so,” I told him. “I tried to keep track of everything as I saw it. I could find it again if was there.”

“Once I get the scepter, it’ll be easy to get in and out,” Sebastian told me.

I felt relieved hearing that; the hard part was going to be getting the scepter. Once we had it in our possession, it’ll be easy sailing from there. But we couldn’t do anything until he was gone in the morning.

“Are you sure he’s not going to be there tomorrow?” I asked, looking over at Liz.

“He goes live every morning from the center of Vamp City,” she explained. “He likes to be seen by all that are in the underworld. It’s part of his dictatorship. He wouldn’t miss that for anything. Trust me, he won’t be there.”

That was good to hear. After a moment longer, Liz stood up.

“I need to get back to work. You can stay here for tonight and rest. Help yourself to whatever food I have in the fridge,” she said. She began toward the wall that held the invisible door. She touched the wall and it transformed into the door we came through. Before she left, she paused and looked over at us. She gave Sebastian a faint smile. “It’s really good to see you again, Sebby.”

“You too, Liz,” Sebastian said in return before she disappeared through the door.

I looked at him with humor in my eyes.

“Sebby, huh?” I asked playfully.

He rolled his eyes, but it ended with a smile as he wrapped an arm around me, pulling me close to him on the couch.

“Don’t ask,” he said with a light laugh.

I nuzzled my face against his chest; it felt so good to be with him again. Now that I knew he was my fated mate, I felt our connection growing even stronger. It was like my entire body was craving him; I never wanted to be apart from him again. He was my family, and I couldn’t fathom the thought of ever choosing to stay here over being with Sebastian. Then, I started thinking about Wrenley. A ping of sadness struck my heart; I hoped she was okay. I hoped that Raya was able to get her to safety in time and that Gemma was able to keep the darkness away.

“What are you thinking about?” Sebastian asked as he kissed the top of my head gently; he lingered for a moment as he took in my scent.

“Wren,” I answered honestly. “I just miss her, and I hope she’s okay.”

It was impossible for us to mindlink Raya while we were in the underworld. I’ve tried.

“We will return home and see her again soon,” he told me gently. “I promise.”

I knew he was right; we had to get back to her. I looked up at Sebastian. He still wore the mask on his face even though I knew he didn’t need it. I’ve seen his face before; he didn’t have any scars or reason to have a mask.

“You said your wolf was given false memories when you escaped,” I said to him, keeping my eyes on him. “Does that include your scars? Could the vampires have made you believe you had these terrible, disfiguring scars?”

“I saw them with my own eyes…” he said, lowering his tone. “When I look in the mirror.”

“That time I saw your face when you chased me through the gardens, you didn’t have scars that I could see. I saw a handsome face; you were breathtaking and…”

“Stop,” he said firmly. “I won’t entertain the thought that I was deceived.”

“You said yourself that Xander is an extremely powerful being. How do you know he didn’t make you think you were disfigured? It could have been a part of his control.”

“I remember the pain…”

“It could have been fake, Sebastian. I’m telling you what I saw. I wish you could see it too.”

He looked over at the mirror across the room; I knew he was contemplating taking a look for himself. I didn’t want to push him; I placed my head against his shoulder and wrapped my arms around him gently.

“Whatever you decide, I’m with you all the way. You’re my mate and I’ll love you no matter what.”

He seemed to have relaxed at my words. After a moment of pause, he stood from the couch. He kept his hold on my hand and I could sense his hesitation as we made our way over to the mirror. He stared at his masked face for a long time; a mask he never dared to remove, not even when he bathes. I wondered what the last time he purposely removed his mask was. Surely, he had to wash his face occasionally.

I waited patiently, watching him assess the mask. He met my eyes through the mirror, and I could see the worry in his eyes. I gave him a kind smile in return to let him know that it was okay. He lifted his hands to the edges of the mask; I sucked in a sharp breath as he lifted it from his face.

Removing the mask, he stared at his reflection with disbelief. I exhaled the breath I was holding. His face was flawless and perfect. There were no scars in place. I wasn’t surprised because I already saw it, but he looked utterly shocked.

He turned to me, and I could see the questions in his eyes. He spent over a decade thinking he was the most hideous man; the power of the vampire king was truly amazing. But now that Sebastian had his entire wolf back, he now realized it wasn’t real.

“You see…? You are the most handsome,” I whispered to his disbelieving face.

Soon, a small smile crept on his lips. He leaned down and kissed me.