Shatter (The Daevas #1)

16 • Meeting

As we reached the hospital, Georgie linked her arm through mine, while her brothers were ahead of us. The quick strides they had kept me trying hard to catch up, what with me being much shorter than them.

"Where's the room again?" Georgie asked.

Gabriel glanced at her over his shoulder, and turned left in the hall, muttering something like, "It's been the family's room for years now, and still, you don't remember," but I was not quite sure, then he went another left.

We entered the elevator, leading us to the biggest and most private rooms of the hospital. I wondered who we were going to see, other than Axel and Alistair. Or maybe one of the two brothers inside the room had an accident, which I hoped to God didn't happen.

Every wall of the top, elegant floor of the hospital was in rich mahogany woodwork, not painted at all, compared to the bland white walls in the downstairs area. The floors were made of dark marble, and there were fancy yellow lights. The siblings must have paid a fortune staying here. If I were confined in this place, just for a day, I thought the hospital would charge me half a million dollars already.

As we took another hall on the right, we finally reached the room. The front door was the same color as the walls, and if it were not for the shining gold doorknob, I thought I would never notice that it was an actual door. What was up with this hospital? Sure, it looked like a complete five-star hotel, but if it was like a total try-to-find-the-door-over-these-walls thing, I'd prefer the old-fashioned one anytime.

Until, of course, Romanopened the door without much care in the world, that is.

I was gaping like a fish, I knew. There was a crystal chandelier up above the cream-coloured oval ceiling. The carpet was made of plush crimson and the furniture were all carved magnificently from the finest wood. There was a big lounge, a marble fireplace (but the Van Allens had an even bigger one at home), and there was a floor-to-ceiling window placed in the center of the room, where a great view of the forest, and the gardens of the hospital, were in perfect sight.

Axel didn't see me because he was looking out the window, his tall, lean frame standing there, just watching the beautiful view before his very own eyes. Georgie let go of my arm, and she surged forward to the hospital -- née, queen-sized -- bed and kissed the patient's forehead. I couldn't get a good view of the person, but I heard her laugh.

So it was a woman, after all. Alistair smiled at his little sister, then he sat back down on a chair that was beside the bed. He saw me and gave a nod and a smile. I never thought he'd do that, but he seemed to be in a really good mood today.

"Nice to see you again,Venise," he said in his baritone voice.

"Thanks," I replied, my voice very small. I mean, I was totally awed, you know.

And with that, I heard someone call out my name in such a happy voice, that I had to turn to the direction of that owner of that voice -- which led me to Axel. He walked toward me in six long strides, munching up the whole carpeted floor, heading to my side, and giving me a tight hug. My eyes grew round, and I gave a little puff of breath at the shock he gave me. I slowly led my hands and arms to snake around his back, and I did a little shaky pat. He let go of me, giving me that alluring smile of his, and his turquoise eyes were twinkling brightly, as if he had seen something wonderful. Really.

"I missed you," he said simply.

I looked all around the room, and they were all staring at us. I gave a little shaky laugh, turning my head to look at him. "I...I missed you, too. In fact, I missed all of you guys." Which was true, anyway. Axel gave a thoughtful nod at that.