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.” He crossed his arms over his chest.“So you’d rather spend forever alone than care about someone?” My voice raised an octave.“I’d rather spend eternity alone than know she was tortured to death,” he snapped.Shock ran through me.Unnerving chills chased down my spine.Imara gazed right at me, as if willing me to figure it out, to piece together the invisible puzzle.I tilted my head, watching the vampeen.Could he? Would he? Did he? Imara nodded her head.I squared off with Cesar.“Oh, my God.You killed her, didn’t you?” The words were thick on my tongue, the realization transparent.“She was my only weakness,” he conceded.“So that made it right?” Serum drowned my mouth; my gums ached.“Babe.” Kellan laid a gentle hand on me but pulled back when I began to illuminate.“No.But I’d rather her death be quick and painless in my own hands than at the torturous mercy of my enemies.”“A mercy kill? That’s what you’re going to claim?” I ground my teeth as bloody tears stung my eyes.“You’re a selfish bastard! I hope every vampire on this earth descends upon you!”Electricity crackled over me.I thought back to the picture of Gran in my kitchen.She was laughing joyfully as she swung me around in the yard outside.Her eyes sparkled with joy.She looked at me like I was a wonder in her world; she gripped me as if I was an irreplaceable treasure, never slipping once.Her words still echoed within me now.“Ally, you have to dream big to achieve big, and I know you’re going to do big things.”“Why didn’t you protect her?” I demanded.“Because they always find a way, just like you did.” He lost all resolve.“Was it worth it?” I nearly spat the words.He pressed his lips into a thin line, his eyes looking beyond me into the distance.“So you gave up the love of your life, true memories with your children, peace of mind, and stability for a war that was never yours to fight?” I was beating him further into the ground, unable to get a grip on my rage.“For family honor,” he corrected.“Excuse me.You gave up your new family for a father who neglected you.”He balled his hands into fists before relaxing them again.“I know I’m right.He was so focused on proving his worth in the eyes of vampires that you only existed as a soldier, not a son.Cristiana had the right idea in running, but you wanted exactly what he did, only not from vampires — from him.”You could hear a pin drop in the room.Vampeen hearts thudded loud as drums in the silent space.“I have news for you, Paps, he’s dead.You’re never going to win his favor, but you are going to lose everyone else’s over an ignorant ambition.”He stared at me, his thoughts unreadable.“There are precisely nine vamps in the world who are telepathic and twelve with X-ray vision.They are rare in ratio to our majority status, but there are none like you, Alexa.I’m proud of you.You’re doing what this old vampeen should have done long ago: changing things.But it’s too late for me.So I’ll cut you a deal.You never let another vampire set foot on any of my properties, and I’ll stop making a sport of them.”A bit of hope died inside me.I knew I wouldn’t be able to change people; I could only hope to inspire them to change.I was disappointed that after all this I had hit a wall.All the blue within me faded away.I was shutting down, numb.“Will you sign a contract to that effect?” My voice was monotone.“If it’ll get these roaches off my property stat, then yes.” He glared at every vampire with disgust.I stepped towards him.“Just so you know, when you sign this, you’re signing away your great-grandchildren and me.I don’t want my children growing up with hatred.If you’d close your eyes, you’d realize we’re all the same.Different lifestyles, different religions, different colors, but we all share the same foundations, the same simple gene.We’re merely people, and I’ll never understand why so many choose to live and judge by labels.” I intertwined my fingers with Kellan’s.“Kalel, will you — ”“I’ve got it.” He nodded his head once, assuring me he’d legalize everything.“Steven, you and Al stay behind with me.The rest of you head off the property.”Imara touched my shoulder.“You did as fate needed you to.” She brushed past us, leaving me no chance to respond.Gabi waved goodbye; Jack nodded his head in our direction.“Beautiful, love.Fiddlin’ eagle, mate.” Craig clapped Kellan’s shoulder on his way out.No doubt he would rush home to Mel.I couldn’t focus on them, though.I was stuck on the merry-go-round of what’d just happened, what’d been revealed.Kellan led me away from the house, away from the frustratingly unchangeable.“You can’t change people.”“I know, but out of everyone I’ve come across, I wanted to change him the most.He’s a reflection of me in some way.”“No, you’re a reflection of what he could have been.” Kellan cupped my face.“Do you know how many vampires you’ve saved?”“I just wish — ”“Stop wishing, Lexi.We’re meant to bring peace, not a radical shift in beliefs.He’s always going to look at us like we’re the enemy, but at least he’s no longer going to kill us for something we can’t change.We’re here to teach acceptance, and sometimes that doesn’t accompany support.”I sighed.“I know you’re right.It’s just hard to accept.”“Well, if it’s any consolation, I not only accept and support you, I love you.” He kissed the tip of my nose.I grinned up at him.“Ditto.”Chapter 33I was emotionally drained by the time we parked at the condo.I didn’t understand how one man I barely knew could affect me to such a degree.He had stripped me bare, rubbed my insides raw.I tried to rationalize it; I tried to understand his point of view, but for the life of me, I couldn’t find any angle in which killing Kellan would make things better.I couldn’t picture killing him as the ultimate show of love.I shuddered.I struggled to suppress the gory images wracking my mind.I couldn’t get past the visual of Gran cooking something in the kitchen, as she usually was when I spoke with her.She’d be standing over the stove, stirring something in a pot, completely unsuspecting of Cesar’s move.I closed my eyes, willing the scene to disappear.I was surprised when Drexel hugged me.I pressed my face into the heavily muscled vamp.Tears grew rapidly; it was like mourning her death all over again.Emotions stuffed my lungs, making breathing a little harder
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