Gabriel looked at me sternly, “This is not your fault. Selena did this. Not you. You can’t blame yourself.”
But I did. I blamed myself. Everything came back to me. Non
e of this would be happening if it wasn’t for me. So many people were dead because of me. All because of me. I was only one person but I had somehow managed to cause so much death and destruction. Everything came back to me like the pieces of a puzzle. If you took me out of the equation none of this would have happened. So many lives had been lost simply because I existed. If I had not come along Selena wouldn’t have done any of this. I had given her reason to exact revenge. I was the spark that ignited the flame and now there was no controlling where the fire burned.
Gabriel sighed, “I can see I’m not getting anywhere with you. We need to go back to the room and get our stuff, we’re leaving. Nowhere is safe anymore. There’s been a leak. Someone among us is working with Selena.”
“What?” I asked shocked.
“It’s the only explanation for her finding us twice in a row. Someone’s working with her. We have no idea who it could be.”
“How do you know she doesn’t have her own spies?” I asked grasping at straws.
“She could but spies wouldn’t be able to help her get so close. We had guards all around this perimeter. Someone has to be helping her from the inside. It’s the only logical explanation.”
I was shocked. Any of the people around me could be working with Selena. They could be leading her right to me. Gabriel and I started up the steps back to our room. He opened the door and in the dim light gasped at my wound.
“What?” I asked turning around.
“You must have hit your head really hard. It’s worse than I thought,” I could see he was holding his breath and probably had been for a while, “I’m going to have to stitch it.”
“You have got to be kidding me. I hate needles,” I said.
“Well, you better get over that fear real quick. Come over here and sit down. I have a first aid kit and I’ll get you fixed right up,” he said with a smirk.
I was amazed by how quickly my relationship with Gabriel had changed. Not long ago I had been terrified of him and now I considered him a friend. His past saddened me. I could see why he always acted like he had a chip on his shoulder. He had been through so much and I knew deep down that there was more to come. Gabriel’s fight with the Originals was far from over. They had destroyed his life and I knew revenge ran rampant through Gabriel’s veins. But now I knew that despite his icy exterior he really did have a heart. He cared about things, about people, my heart broke for him when I thought of the wedding rings he wore around his neck.
I sat down on the bed as directed and saw him pull out a first aid kit from his black duffel bag. He walked over and placed it on the end table. He pulled out a needle and some sutures. I sighed in defeat. I could feel the blood still pouring freely from my wound and I knew there was no getting out of this. I squished my eyes closed. I could feel Gabriel grab my hair and pull it gently back from the wound. He dabbed at it with rubbing alcohol and it burned. I gritted my teeth. I felt a slight tugging but that was it. I opened my eyes.
“You’re good at this,” I said, “I can’t feel a thing.”
He chuckled. “No, I’m not very good at this actually. But I enchanted the needle so that you wouldn’t feel it.”
“Well, thanks,” I said surprised, “Do you know where we’re going next?”
“Not a clue. They won’t tell me a thing. The only people who know where we’re going is the Pulmers and Aleksei.”
“I can’t wait for this to be over,” I sighed.
I heard him snip the last stitch with scissors before he replied, “I’m sorry that life has been so complicated for you, Kylie. You’re a sweet girl and you deserve to be happy and I hope that one day you and Jonathon can live in peace.”
“I do to,” I sighed, “but I think it will be a long time before that happens. I think the fates are conspiring against us.”
“Everything will work out in the end. It always does,” he said with a sigh.
“I’m glad that one of us believes that,” I murmured.
“You will. One day. It’s taken me a long time to believe it myself but it’s the only way I’ve been able to live all these miserable years. I have to believe that everything will be okay. That everything happens for a reason. If I didn’t believe that then I would lose any shred of humanity I have left. I know Jonathon feels the same.”
“I guess you’re right,” I sighed as he packed up the first aid kit and put it back in his bag.
“You better grab your stuff we should be leaving shortly. I just have to wait for the signal,” he said.
“What is the signal?” I asked.
“I have no idea. I was just told that I would know when it came.”
I threw the few things I had taken out of my bag back in and zipped it up. Gabriel and I sat quietly next to each other and waited for the signal to come. About fifteen minutes later the signal came. Gabriel bolted up.