Chapter 211: She’s Gone
Sebastian~
After the crowning, the laughter, and getting Zane to actually laugh out loud (which, let me tell you, is like watching a glacier crack), I left the palace on a different mission.
I’d drunk more blood wine than I should have—don’t judge me, it was vintage and perfect—and I had danced around advisors, flirted with noblewomen just to irritate Zane, and crowned the night with a smirk only the devil would envy. But even with the thrill of royal chaos, and the high of being with my best friend, I missed her.
Cassandra.
The moment I slid into my car, the illusion cracked. The black leather seat didn’t hug me the way her arms did. The soft hum of the engine didn’t soothe me like the rhythm of her heartbeat. I gripped the steering wheel and sighed, my fangs retracting as I allowed myself a rare, raw moment of honesty.
"I miss you," I whispered.
I hadn’t been away from her this long since the moment she finally stopped running from me. Since she let go of the fear, dropped the blade she always kept between us, and just... fell into me. Cassandra, my impossible, blood-soaked, haunted, firestorm of a mate. The one I’d burn the world for.
I missed her laugh. I missed the way she’d try to pretend she didn’t like my stupid jokes. I missed how her body curled perfectly into mine at night. Hell, I even missed how she kicked me when I mocked her snoring.
We were only apart for a few hours, but it felt like forever. Seriously, when did I turn into the kind of guy who gets all sentimental? Guess even cool Sebastian has a soft side.
The city lights blurred as I drove home, a cold pit forming in my stomach the closer I got. Something... was off. I didn’t know how, but I felt it. Call it vampire instinct. Call it mate-sense. Call it obsessive paranoia—I don’t care. My chest felt tight, like someone had carved out my ribs and left a hollow warning behind.
I pulled into the driveway. Everything looked normal.