Arron’s eyes grew wide. “What are you talking about?”

“Back at The Shade,” Vivienne spoke up, “when he arrived to find the Elders making us fight one another to the death in an arena, Derek was able to kill the Elders who’d possessed some of the vampires there, using them as vessels. At first, he also killed the vessel the Elder inhabited, but with Corrine’s magic protecting the vessels, Derek was able to end the lives of the Elders with his fire.”

“Corrine? The now powerless witch?”

We all nodded.

“The Ageless took away her power for helping us.”

“Typical,” Arron mumbled beneath his breath. He then turned toward Aiden. “Is this true?”

Aiden nodded. “I wasn’t there when it happened. I was unconscious after one of their beasts attacked me, bit me right in the neck.” He showed Arron the wound.

Arron seemed disconcerted by the sight. “Beasts? Their vampire mutts? What happened to them?”

“I hadn’t noticed.” Vivienne shook her head. “Everything was happening too quickly. I’m assuming they’re still at the Catacombs.”

“Hm. Anyway that doesn’t matter. What matters is that you are right. For once, we want the same thing. We want to stop the Elders. It’s bad enough that their kind have entered this realm, but they’re turning so many humans into vampires for a reason.”

“What’s that?”

“They’re building an army against us.”

I drummed my fingers on the dining table. “Sounds to me like you need us more than we need you.”

“Don’t be a fool, young king. We both know how desperate you are to have your wife back in your arms.”

I waited for him to talk about Sofia being with child. Doesn’t he know? I wondered what they would think once they knew. Would they want my child too? I chose to keep it a secret, and considering that neither Aiden nor Vivienne spoke about it, I imagined they also thought it best that the Guardians not know.

“Fine. We all have something at stake. So? Can we now agree to work together?”

“Not until we’ve discussed several conditions. Do you have any?”

“We are not pledging any loyalty to the hunters. We are loyal to our loved ones. We are loyal to our own conscience, to what we believe is right.”

“This means what exactly?”

“It means we can leave this place when we please,” Aiden verified. “Once the task is done, our commitment to one another is over.”

“I’m afraid that won’t work out. You see, we can fight against the Elders without you. The only thing you have to offer that we don’t have is the location of The Blood Keep. I’m not even sure you know that.”

“You don’t have Derek,” Vivienne added. “Remember what he can do?”

“I must admit that I’ve never seen an Elder die while in this world’s atmosphere. There’s something about your world that makes them immortal, so I can’t deny my curiosity about this power you are boasting of, but I don’t see why it would be of utmost importance to us. We can just blow up The Blood Keep. All we have to do is kill the Elders’ possible vessels.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Aiden hissed. “They would just turn more people into vampires!”

“You’ve been a hunter all your life, Aiden. We both know how cutthroat this operation can get. That was never hidden from you. We’re willing to sacrifice necessary human lives in order to further our cause.”

“I thought the cause was to further the good of the human race.” Aiden spoke up.

Arron chuckled. “We had to make you think that, but I think you’ve seen enough of our worlds and our kind to know that isn’t true. It is the Guardians’ cause that the hunters are furthering.”

“What are Guardians?” Vivienne asked the question that was most likely running through all our minds.

“You’ll know soon enough, princess. For now, we need to discuss terms. I think we’ve both established who needs who. So again, let’s discuss conditions.”

“The Shade and everything that belongs to us is safe. We will have an autonomous rule, away from the control of your kind,” I asserted. “My family especially—that includes Vivienne, Aiden and all the people of The Shade I brought with me here, their loved ones included. None of us are to be harmed.”

“Fair enough.”

“I want Anna, Ian and Kyle back. They are my subjects. The hunters have no right to take them.”

“That’s more complicated than it looks, but fine. I can give you that.”

“What do you mean it’s more complicated?”

“They’re not here at headquarters. They’re in our realm—the realm of the Guardians—The Aviary.”

“What! Why? What have you done to them?”

“Don’t worry, king. They were treated as welcome guests. They will return to you perfectly unharmed—just like they were when we took them from you. Is there anything else you want?”

I wasn’t thrilled about stopping the discussion about Anna, Ian and Kyle, but it was clear that Arron was no longer going to speak about any of it, so I said the one thing that came to mind when it came to our list of conditions: “I refuse to be under your control. I refuse to be a hunter.”

“You’ve served us more than you know, Derek. I wouldn’t imagine pushing our vendetta on you. Besides, you’re too volatile a power to play with. Is that all?”

I gulped, realizing that we hadn’t exactly come here prepared. Going to the hunters’ headquarters had been an act of desperation to break away from the chaos at The Shade.

“I think that’s all.” Vivienne nodded after looking to both Aiden and me for confirmation. My father-in-law was pale as a sheet.

What is going on with him? “Aiden?” I asked. “You all right? You have anything to add?”

“All my properties and wealth, accumulated over the years and also inherited from my father, are to be given to my daughter and her husband, Derek. None of it will go to the cause of the hunters.”

Arron raised a brow at this. “You’re talking as if you’re about to die, Aiden. I can’t say I’m pleased with this seemingly last will and testament of yours, considering how your family’s wealth is largely due to the backing of the hunters, but sure. We don’t need your money or your properties, but why are you talking as if you are a dying man?”

“I know you, Arron. I just want to make sure that whatever you ask of us, of me in particular, my daughter and her family will be secure.”

For the first time, Arron took on an expression that was anything other than stoic. It was pure delight. “We weren’t wrong in choosing you to be one of our prime hunters, Aiden. You always were one of the best.”

“What is he talking about?” I couldn’t bear the anxiety any longer.

“I have two conditions. One is that all three vampires now within our custody be turned into humans the moment we rescue their loved ones. I wouldn’t want them to turn human before facing off with the Elders, because the Elders are already a threat to them as vampires—how much more as humans? Do we agree on this?”

“Claudia’s not going to like this,” Vivienne muttered under her breath. We exchanged glances but all I could really do was shrug. She nodded at me.

“Fine.” I nodded. Sacrifices have to be made. Besides, this is what I’ve always wanted for my subjects at The Shade. Freedom from this curse. They may not like it, but it is what it is. “What else do you want?”

“I want Aiden to agree to be turned into a Guardian. Not just a vessel for our kind, like the body that I have now taken hold of, but actually one of us. A true Guardian. That would mean that he would agree to be transported to our realm.”

Aiden trembled, and though I didn’t know the extent of what Arron was asking of him, I could tell that the sacrifice Aiden was about to make was beyond what I could imagine.

“Only after my daughter has been saved.” Aiden spoke before I could object. “Only after I’m able to hold her in my arms and say goodbye.”

“Goodbye?” I burst out. “What? Aiden, you don’t have to do this.” What exactly does it take to become a Guardian?

Vivienne grabbed his arm and squeezed. “We’re family.”

The words made Arron grimace, almost as if it was the most disgusting thing he could think of to be called our family.

“I have to do this.” Aiden nodded. “It’s because we’re family that I need to agree to this. I know Arron and he won’t stop until he gets what he wants. Isn’t that right, Arron? You’ll never stop trying to destroy my family until you have me at your side.”

Arron remained expressionless, except for a slight twitch of his lip.

I wondered what kind of history the two had with each other.

“This is me putting my family first,” Aiden assured both of us.

“It’s a deal then?” Arron asked.

I looked at Vivienne, whose eyes were fixed on Aiden with concern.

It was Aiden who sealed the whole deal. “Fine.” He nodded. “It’s done.”

“You agree to this, king of The Shade?” Arron raised a brow at me.

I felt trapped even though my instincts were speaking against this. “Aiden… Are you sure? Sofia would…”

“If there was any other way, Derek, I wouldn’t agree to this, but you and I both know we need them.”

Trapped in a corner, all I could do was nod. “But not until you show us what you can do.”

A smile formed on Arron’s face. “Very well then.” He stood to his feet and stepped a distance away from us. “First things first…” He drew a deep breath and when he exhaled, massive, magnificent wings sprouted out of his back—wings that resembled that of a hawk.

If I hadn’t known any better, I would’ve thought him an angel, but he was the furthest thing from such honorable creatures. Whenever I looked at Arron, all I saw was a devil in disguise.

Chapter 40: Sofia

Tonight was the night. I woke up in my bed, shaking, breaking out into a cold sweat. The night had been restless. My sleep was plagued with nightmare upon nightmare. My heart was pounding and my breaths came in pants.

I turned to my side and saw Shadow nearby, intimidating as he always was. “Is this really the right thing to do, Shadow?”

He sat to attention almost as if he understood what I asked him—like he tensed at the suggestion of what we were about to do. Our plan was insanity, and that was why I thought it would work.

They’d never see us pulling something so simplistic. The element of surprise is on our side.

I kept telling myself that by the end of the day, we would be out of that place and headed toward hunters’ headquarters where we could seek sanctuary, where I could give birth.

Still, there was a nagging feeling of foreboding inside. I felt a kick inside my belly and I held my breath. Please, please, don’t come now. Give Mommy more time. I was heavy with child and was due to give birth soon. That was why it was necessary to escape then, because if Eli and I waited any longer, I would have to give birth at The Blood Keep and that thought alone was the most terrifying thing I could think of happening.

I was certain that should I give birth at the Elder’s castle, I would never see my children again. I shuddered at the recollection of the Elder’s visit to my chambers and swore to myself that my children would live as far away as possible from evil like that.

This plan has to work. It just has to, I told myself for about the millionth time. I struggled to get out of the bed and up to my feet. I groaned. Who am I kidding? I can barely walk. Carrying twins was more difficult than I’d ever imagined it would be. I should be on bed rest or something, not planning an escape from a madman’s lair. I glanced at the dark creature that lay on the bed nearby. All our plans—all our hopes—hung squarely on one beast’s shoulders. A beast that still terrified me with just one of his yellow-eyed glares.

A knock on the door almost made me jump out of my skin.

Like clockwork.

I didn’t need to acknowledge the knock. The door swung open and Olga stepped in a few seconds later. The beautiful redhead smiled at me. I immediately noticed the bruise on her face.

“What happened?” I asked her. “Did I do something to displease Kiev? Why did he hit you?”

“It wasn’t your fault, miss,” Olga responded. “Mistress Clara paid him a visit last night.”

My stomach turned in knots. Clara was creepier than Kiev ever was—and Kiev already brought me more creeps than I could keep track of. “I’m so sorry.”

“I’m used to it. It will heal. I’m sure Master Kiev will allow me a drink of his blood. Now, shall we prepare your bath, miss? Sir Eli will be waiting at the gardens for your daily walk.”

“Please.” I nodded.

Olga assisted me toward the bathroom and helped me into the tub. She allowed me some privacy before returning to assist me in dressing. It was while I was dressing that Kiev entered the room. He sat on one of the couches, oblivious to my state of undress. In fact, the cad seemed to delight in watching me struggle to get dressed, needing Olga to support me.

Just think of it as him being relaxed, thinking that I couldn’t possibly escape given my current state. It was the only piece of comfort I could give myself given the awkward predicament I was in.

“You can barely move without help, Sofia,” he noted. “Perhaps a stroll around the gardens with your friend isn’t good for you. Maybe you should just be resting.”