The woman and the others from the rebellion that were situated outside my bedroom door earlier were there and arguing with Amos. She was still calling for my arrest and he was defending me.
“Don’t you ever stop?” I asked her, exasperated but ready for a fight.
Her fiery eyes turned to me and became even more enraged. “You don’t deserve…”
“Shut up, Nila,” Amos told her.
Her mouth gaped open and closed like a fish, but she remained silent.
I thought for a second what exactly I wanted to say and found the right words. I reached behind me and my mates held my hands, lending me their strength and support.
“I am not sorry for what I did,” I said, my voice firm, strong. “They deserved what they got. I know it was against orders, but you forget who I am, what I am. You made me this...you sanctioned my turning vampire… and now I’m the only triple hybrid in existence. According to your prophecy, I’m meant to destroy the Council, right? I didn’t believe it before, but now I do. The fact I’m alive is proof enough. They pissed me off when they murdered my father and took my mother, and my anger has grown with every passing day as I learn about all of the atrocities that they commit in the name of power and control. They have to be stopped and if you aren’t going to stand with me, then get the fuck out of my way. We won’t accomplish anything with your information gathering missions and your smear campaigns. They are destroying our people, dividing us, imprisoning us, and tearing us down. Do you honestly think that your plan will work?”
“Well then, what do you suggest?” Ingrid asked. She wasn’t challenging me, she was curious.
I took a deep breath in and out. “I suggest we attack them where it’ll hurt the most. Their control. If they don’t have control over the supernatural society, then they are powerless. We attack their power base, destroying one piece at a time until there’s nothing left of the Supernatural Council.” I glanced back at Matias. He winked at me and shifted his feet.
Everyone was silent for several seconds as they considered my idea.
“They’re afraid.” We all turned toward the doorway to see Devlin standing there. I held my breath as he continued telling us what he needed to say. “They’re afraid and they should be. Emelia is right. We need to hurt them like they’re hurting us. There’s no way we will ever be able to change things with just videos and words. They’re scared because we’re one step closer to fulfilling the prophecy, to changing our world for the better by destroying them. And in their fear, they are stepping up their cruelty so we’re afraid too. They don’t want us to rise up against them. They want to keep us weak and compliant.” His gaze which was far off and unfocused shifted to me. “I’m with you. I’ll be with you until my very last breath.”
Devlin nodded once then turned and walked away. I tried to follow him, but Xander held me in place, shaking his head, telling me I should leave him be. My uncle needed to be alone to grieve and I needed to let him do it.
I looked around the room at the different people, the leaders of the rebellion. Everyone was silent, but thoughtful. Even that bitch, Nila seemed as though the fight against me had faded away and her focus was on shifting their method of attack. They all agreed with me, with my uncle but the real question was where to start.
Chapter Seven
I didn’t see Devlin for the rest of the day. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to look for him, but because I knew that he didn’t want to be found. He seemed to have disappeared and that worried me. His boyfriend died, having been mutilated and broken down until there was very little left of his poor body to heal. I wasn’t sure how my uncle would come back from seeing that happen to the man he loved. I wasn’t sure how I would come back from it either.
But even though I felt sad and despondent, I knew Dev would be worse. I had someone there to comfort me when things got bad, but he didn’t. Not anymore. I was sure Irna would have wanted to fill that need, but it wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted Ainsley. It was all so unfair.
Early the next morning, Matias and I snuck out of my bedroom when I woke up so Xan could keep sleeping and went in search of sustenance. The hunger from my vampire side was no joke. I felt like I needed blood and food all the time. I was able to control it better since bonding with Matias, but it was still there. I tried not to let it get to be too much, so I fed regularly.
My vampire mate and I walked into the kitchen and filled a couple of glasses with blood, taking them outside to enjoy the early morning peace and quiet. Most days, we would do something productive to pass the time like work on my skills, or you know, something… fun, but that morning, having known Ainsley was really and truly gone, I just needed quiet. I wasn’t pushing anyone away, even though my first instinct was to do just that, and Matias seemed to appreciate that I stayed as present as I could. He just sat quietly holding my hand as I stared out into the darkened sky.
We sat there long enough for Matias to refill our glasses two more times before the rest of the house seemed to wake up, including my handsome dragon. He came straight outside to the patio where we sat and hugged his arms around my neck. I
