A Gate of Night (A Shade of Vampire #6)(67)

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.”