At some point, Ian must’ve already had enough of the endless banter with Felix, because he ignored the man and set his attention on me. “You know I’m with you in this, Derek, but not all the humans are willing to fight in this battle. Most of the humans are willing to just sit this whole thing out and wait for the battle to finish. Others are hoping to escape during the heat of the battle.”
I knew that what he was saying was a sure possibility. I couldn’t blame the humans for saving themselves or even grabbing a chance for freedom. The other covens had their sights set on The Shade, but it seemed it was going to implode before they even stepped ashore.
I was hoping that this meeting could somehow help us arrive at some sort of compromise before Sofia, Aiden and the hunters they brought with them were to arrive. Of course, it seemed the negotiations weren’t going to take us anywhere that would lead to an actual resolution.
“Who cares about the humans we already have here? They’re easy to replace.” Felix brushed Ian’s announcement off.
“You mean the same way you brushed Anna off?” Ian hissed.
Felix responded with a wide grin. “Ahhh…Anna…word is you have an eye for my little pet. How is she, that lovely one?”
Ian was obviously using his own self-control not to attack. I, on the other hand, found a way to voice out my own thoughts about Anna. “You were in love with Anna once, were you not?”
Felix raised a brow at me. “Perhaps. What’s that to you?”
“She was human.”
“She was a freak.”
“A freak?” I sat up straight, suddenly finding myself engrossed in conversing with one of the men I detested most. “How so?”
Felix’ lips twitched as he sealed his mouth shut, refusing to answer my question.
“Rumors were you wanted to turn her into one of us so that you could be with her forever. You used to worship the ground she walked on, then suddenly, you just didn’t want her anymore?”
Felix gulped. His jaw tightened.
“What did you do to her?” Ian hissed, blaming Felix for her mental condition.
The tone of accusation made Felix’s temper flare. “I did nothing to her. She was supposed to be mine. We were supposed to be together, but no matter what I did, she wouldn’t turn into one of us. She remained human until I lost her. Until she just went insane… Happy now? Is that what you wanted to hear?”
I tried to hide the smile. My suspicions are correct. Anna is immune. “I know why she didn’t turn. It’s the same reason Sofia didn’t. They’re both immune.”
Felix narrowed his eyes at me. “What does that even mean?”
I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter. It’s not why we’re here. Bottom line, Felix, is whether or not you will work with us.”
Stubborn as a mule, the man shook his head. “You’re going to run this kingdom to the ground, Derek. With rumors going on that you’re about to allow hunters into The Shade…”
“That’s none of your business,” was all I told him. The thought of the cure once again made my heart leap. Sofia is coming with a cure. It seemed too good to be true, but it was the one thing that I was hinging all my hopes on at that moment.
I knew as I sat there that we weren’t going to accomplish anything that day. Felix was too obstinate and Ian was just a boy who didn’t hold any sway when it came to the majority of the masses occupying The Catacombs.
The reality that we were about to go to war while still fighting amongst ourselves was sinking in and I was beginning to accept that it was a reality I couldn’t escape from. Unless Sofia’s cure actually works… I knew that a cure would change life as I knew it. It would change everything.
“Are you even listening to what we’re saying?” Felix slammed a fist over the table between us.
I glared at him. “I ask you one final time, Felix. Will you work with us or not?”
“No. Never.”
“Then why on earth would I listen to you?” I stood to my feet and spoke into the communication device Eli gave me before the meeting. “Have them all arrested. I don’t want them causing any trouble.”
At that, Felix’s face broke into a huge grin. “I knew I couldn’t trust you, so before we came here, I made sure I had a safeguard. If I don’t come out of the port alive or a free man, Derek, I have a man waiting by the chilling chambers ready to set the chambers—and all the blood supply this island has—on fire. With all your people starving for blood, let’s see you try to keep these human pests safe.”
The chilling chambers were compartments where we kept our supply of blood. We relied on them to keep the entire vampire population fed.
Ian’s eyes grew wide with shock. “You sick bastard…”
“What’s to say you won’t destroy the chambers even if I let you go?”
“Well, you’d just have to trust me, Novak.”
Anger was taking over me and I could sense the darkness coming. I knew the chaos that would happen if Felix actually made good on his threat to destroy the chambers. Any form of progress I had made in quelling the possibility of a human revolt would be gone. Any loyalties the vampires had toward me would certainly be placed in shaky ground.
Suddenly, I was seeing red, and in my eyes, Felix was the enemy—one I had to absolutely destroy for his impertinence. Perhaps it was my exhaustion and frustration catching up with me, but at that moment, I just snapped. I couldn’t fight the rage anymore and I lashed out at Felix. Before I could stop myself from doing it, I had his neck wrapped in my fingers and I blacked out. In my last moment of sanity, I tried to remember Sofia’s face, Sofia’s touch, but when I did, all I felt was a deep hunger, an immense craving for her blood and that only served to inch me further toward darkness. Power filled me as I ripped Felix’s heart out and the moment I did, there was a loud explosion and I knew then that I’d just signed up for more destruction than I knew how to handle.