“Yes… But for now, we have no culprit. Once we know who is responsible, we’ll discuss an appropriate course of action. I mentioned GASP in case they think of hurting the whole team. That being said, I don’t want anyone else dying here. My quest for the day-walking protein does not have to include you and the rest of the crew, my love. I’ve been thinking about this, too…”
“I know you have. It’s written all over your face.” I sighed as I made my way back to him, wrapping my arms around his neck. “But what would you want us to do?”
“Maybe it’s better if you take Esme and Tristan and Amal away from here. I’ve got enough material and knowledge to work on the protein by myself. At best, the Faulty twins can guide me from afar. We’ve got cameras and comms links.”
“What? And leave you alone here?” I gasped.
Derek nodded slowly. “The protein isn’t worth losing any more lives. But you understand how important it is to me… I want to bring this full circle. After all my struggles, after what happened with Ta’Zan… I need to do this, Sofia, not for myself, but for every other vampire.”
“We’ve lived most of our lives in the night,” I said. “We learned to appreciate what we have. I agree with you, Derek, that none of this is worth dying for. But that doesn’t mean I’m okay with skipping out and leaving you here on Visio to finish this alone.”
I knew how he felt. We’d both found ourselves in the pits of darkness, fighting against our own vampiric conditions. The Shade had been a home and a sanctuary for so long, that most members of our species had grown accustomed to the eternal night. I also knew that others were longing for the sunlight again, especially since Derek’s daywalking ability had come to light. I absolutely understood why Derek wanted to do this.
“I’m sorry. I’m on edge,” I added, peering into his blue eyes.
“We all are. Which is why I think you and the others should get back to The Shade. Whatever this was with Nethissis, I don’t want it happening to anyone else.”
“But we can’t let them outsmart us on this,” I said. “And we certainly can’t leave—not until we find out what happened to Nethissis, anyway. I get what you’re saying, my love, but I don’t see myself leaving you here to your own devices, and I have a feeling the others will feel the same way.”
Derek thought about it for a moment, glancing to the side. There was grief in his eyes. I’d seen it before. There was guilt. But there was also determination. “Let’s get through with this investigation into Nethissis’s death first. Once we know exactly what happened, we can all sit down and have a serious talk.”
I took a deep breath. “Okay. But Tristan and Esme should handle Nethissis’s murder. You know they’ll stop at nothing until they get the truth, and they’ll raise less suspicions from the Aeternae than us sneaking around. You and I will pretend to focus on the protein and the Black Fever… These people are keeping things from us, and I don’t like it.”
Derek nodded slowly. “We all have to be careful. These are not Exiled Maras. Nor Perfects. They’re a different species altogether, with a different culture, and probably plenty of dirty aces up their sleeves. Let’s see where this takes us.”
“Multitasking, huh?” I chuckled, though I couldn’t hide the bitterness in my voice.
He smiled, and I felt a little better, if only for just a moment.
“The Aeternae don’t know this,” he went on, “but I’ve already got GASP on standby and ready to go in case anything gets out of control here.” He paused, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. “We’ll figure this out. One day at a time.”
“Right…”
I kissed his cheek, my lips soft on his skin. I prayed to all the forces of the universe for us to return home together, with no more loss of life, and with the answer to the daywalking puzzle. It was bad enough that we had to bury Nethissis. I didn’t want us to lose anyone else.
Esme
We reached the Blood Arena just minutes before it was Trev’s turn to fight. My nerves were tight. If he didn’t survive this final, we’d lose a potential lead—a chance to get answers about the Darklings, the Rimian faction, and Nethissis’s death. Kalon had not left my side since this morning, and he’d constantly uplifted me along the way.
He wasn’t a man of many words, but everything he said had deeper meaning, making me think twice before I even considered putting him in the same pot as everyone else. If there was one thing Kalon had made perfectly clear to me, it was that he was fundamentally different from most Aeternae—even his mother.
Despite his apparent arrogance, Kalon was a fascinating and surprising creature to be around. Every day that went by somehow brought me closer to him. I had even contemplated lowering some of my defenses, wondering if it might coax Kalon into showing me other hidden sides of him. He seemed to enjoy the whole tit-for-tat dynamic where I was concerned, more than anything.
We found a couple of seats closer to the fighters’ boxes at the base of the arena. Thousands of people had come to the event, as it was quite rare for a non-Aeternae to make it this far into a tournament predominantly fought by Aeternae. Trev had already made his mark on society. I’d heard people mentioning him outside, as well, and in the streets. They were all wondering whether he had the chops to survive and win or not.
Of course, this also drove ridiculous amounts of gold into bets, as the odds against Trev were high—almost dismal. One of the bookies made his way toward us, collecting gold and silver coins and giving back uniquely numbered flyers in return to each of those who’d made a bet.
“Fifty to one on Trev Blayne!” he shouted. “Who else wants in?”
The bookies were dressed in mustard-yellow linen tunics with dark red belts, making them easy to spot anywhere in the arena. From what I could tell, most people were betting against Trev—even Rimians and Naloreans. The younger ones were brave enough to put their money on him, nonetheless.
Kalon took out a single gold coin as the bookie approached us. “What’s the pot, so far?”
“Fifty thousand gold pieces, milord,” the skinny, dark-haired Aeternae teenager replied. “Odds are still fifty to one. Would you like to bet?”
“Put this in for Trev Blayne,” Kalon said, dropping the coin in the basket. The bookie gave him a marker and bowed politely.
“May fortune smile upon you, Lord Visentis.”
The bookie moved along, collecting more bets on his way down to the fighters’ pits. I could see the main contenders from here—the illustrious Trev Blayne, who’d beaten many odds, and the mountain-sized Aeternae, whose shadow stretched all the way into the arena.
“Who’s that?” I asked Kalon.
“Fenyx Oak,” he replied. “Not a noble Aeternae, but part of the silver guard. I know he’s being groomed to join the gold guards, provided he survives today, that is.”
His half-smile was impossible to ignore, almost infecting me, as well. “You don’t think he’ll hack it?”
“He’s never fought Trev,” Kalon said. “Rimian or not, that boy can pack some death in his hits. As you’ve already noticed, I put my faith in him, along with a gold coin.”
“How big will the pot get?” I wondered aloud.
He nodded around the arena, showing me the dozen bookies still collecting coins from the public. “Most of these people are betting on Fenyx. If he wins, they’ll get a few pieces of gold and silver, at best. Those who put their coins, no matter how small, on the Rimian underdog… well, they stand to make a small fortune. With so many bookies taking bets, the pot will probably hit a hundred thousand gold coins before the fight starts.”
“I take it that’s a lot.”
“It’ll buy you a nice villa in the city center.” Kalon chuckled.
We were soon left without words as the arena began its preparations for the tournament finale. Stewards and pit staff cleared the sanded area, using long-handled pitchforks with short teeth to comb the dirt and make the surface as smooth as possible.
