The Radiants Chronicons : Vol. I & II Of The Radiants Duology Series

Radiant (Vol I) - Chapter twenty four

Chapter 24

The familiar voice I was accustomed to, droned through the hallways. I jumped out of bed that instant.

Laurena spoke, in a soothing voice, confirming what I already knew. "Levi's here."

"I'll go check it out." She said nothing back and only gave a slight nod. After getting out of my room, I weaved my way through the hallways and noticed him talking to a few radiants, who were already leaving.

My heart thumped against my chest, as I drew closer to him. He  paused in his tracks, when he saw me, but chose to say nothing. He offered a smile in my direction.

It was then I noticed something different about him, and I frowned slightly. "You changed your hair."

I was so used to his usual curly mop of chestnut brown hair and he had changed it into a much lighter tawny shade. It was swept back and styled nicely, drawing attention to the light ombre of his eyes.

His amber orange eyes sparkled  up like the glowing sun, dipped behind the horizon. It was hard not to stare. "Thanks for noticing."

"It's hard not to. This new hair. It suits you."

"Thanks again." He smirked.

"I do miss the old one. This new one makes you different, but that one seemed so natural on you. It made Levi feel like Levi." I didn't even know why I blurted those words out. The new style gave him a bad boy sexy look, but there was something so alluring and warm about his former curly hair. I missed that.

His lips curled up. "I have no idea what you mean."

The sound of Zuri's condescending voice approaching closer, stopped me from replying. "Thank goodness you hauled your ass back here. I was wondering when you would come back. Aliyah's been a pain in my ass and I don't know how you let her even lead this—" Her words trailed off when she detected something off. Her eyes glued to his hair and she let out a low whistle. "I thought you were in a meeting, where did you find the time to meet a hairstylist?"

Levi handed her a grin. "Good to see you too, little sis. How long has it been? Six months at least."

"Five months. It would have been sooner, if you attempted to even come for my fifteenth birthday."

"I can't just dump everything I have, just to see you. It was a very busy day. I apologized. I sent you a gift. What else do you want?"

"Loyalty."

"Not that again. You sound like dad."

"Too bad then. What's the one thing dad holds on to? Trust and Loyalty. It's what we Cadens believe in. I don't care that you didn't come, I'm just pissed you dared to make a promise you couldn't keep."

"How many times should I apologize for that?"

"Until you sincerely mean it. Everyone takes me for granted. No one takes me seriously. People see me as the troubled Caden. The stuck up one. The arrogant bitch. Even now, you're not taking my annoyance seriously. You act like I do it on purpose."

"We may not have been siblings for long, but I know you well enough to know that's not why you're upset. Let me guess, Dad?"

Zuri sneered. Levi was right. She was pissed at Vikram Caden. "How dare he take me away from my district and put me here, so you can keep an eye of me. How humiliating is that."

"I heard you stirred up quite some trouble."

"I may not be perfect like you, but I deserve a little bit of respect."

Levi ran his hands through his newly done hair. "I'm not having this conversation with you."

"Why? Because I'm right?"

"No. Only because you're angry and you're willing to put the blame on someone else, instead of where it should be."

"Bullshit."

Levi's voice raised slightly. Rage seeped around him. "You think I want this? Babysitting you? I have close to eighty radiants that actually deserve my attention. I'm not going to waste my time doing that with you."

Zuri glared at him, then turned her head to my direction. "What the hell are YOU still doing here? Don't you have the decency to excuse yourself from a private conversation?"

I blinked at her, not knowing what to say. I hadn't even realize that I was in their midst, through it all. My mind had journeyed far off and their words only trailed off in my ears.

Levi's face turned thunderous. His voice had become oddly intimidating.  "Don't ever talk to her like that again. This conversation is over. I'm done with it." then he walked away, without hearing what she had to say.

Zuri frowned. "Damn it."

"What is wrong with you?" I was getting sick of how rudely she behaved and I didn't deserve to get insulted like that.

She blinked at me. "What did you just say?"

"You want to be treated with respect, then earn it. Stop acting like a five year old by throwing pointless tantrums."

"I didn't ask for your opinion. Stay out of other people's matters and mind your damn business."

I scoffed. "And you wonder why no one respects you. Excuse me". I walked away from where she was and left her all alone with her thoughts.

....
Levi's back and he's changed something about him. (Wink!). Zuri's still her usual self and I wonder how long it takes before Tamar snaps at her again.
Xoxo
Jasmine