A Shade of Vampire 82 A Circle of Nine - Bella Forrest Page 0,9
chest. Kalon was being truthful. I could feel it in my bones. And the fact of the matter was… without knowing exactly what the Darklings were after, Kalon had simply mistaken them for a secret society of sorts. Shadowy figures that did shady things, like killing certain people. Valaine being their target had changed everything in his mindset.
“I thought you’d be safe at my house after we got Ansel. I sent her a message using mazir. A few hours later, she responded, telling me I had nothing to worry about. During dinner, I’d taken her relief regarding Zoltan’s capture to be genuine.”
“It wasn’t, though, huh?” I replied, bitterly amused.
“Zoltan was a loose end for her. She could no longer blame him for Valaine, since he was in custody and could dispute everything. He could even unmask her as the Whip.”
I frowned. “You’re talking about him in the past tense. He was captured alive.”
It was Kalon’s turn to sigh. “Zoltan is a devoted Darkling, as evidenced by the sheer size of the campaign he mounted against Valaine. As soon as he gets the chance, he’ll end his own life. He’s withstood tremendous amounts of torture so far, but I really doubt he’ll live past the end of this week.”
That wasn’t a pleasant thought, but I hoped Tristan and the others would keep Zoltan in isolation and not give him any opportunity to leave this world before he cracked and spilled all the dirt on his Darklings.
“I kind of understand why you did everything you did,” I said after a long moment of heavy silence. “You could’ve told me, though. You could’ve told me everything.”
Kalon leaned forward, his lips stretching into a smile as he closed the distance between us. Only then did I realize how low my bed was. How easy it would’ve been for him to kiss me and make me forget myself all over again. His scent was already tickling my senses.
“Did you find me trustworthy from day one? Or day four? Or seven?” he asked.
“Given your record? You’re barely close to trustworthy now,” I shot back with a giggle. “But I see your point. You simply couldn’t bring yourself to trust me… I get it.”
He covered my hands with his, the warmth of his body seeping through to my very core. “Esme, I trust you with my life now. I know you well; I understand you. The Kalon you first met and the Kalon sitting in front of you as I speak are two very different people.” His gaze darkened as he inched closer. “I will not rest until I take them all down.”
“The Darklings?” I managed, my breath short.
He nodded. “Whether they’re family or friends or foes—it doesn’t matter. I’ve had enough. Whatever they’re trying to achieve… it’s violent and evil and requires too much deception for it to be the right thing to do. I have made my peace with the fact that there’s no one in my family I can trust. Personally, I hope I’ll figure out a way to make my brothers come to their senses, but if I fail, so be it. The lives of the many outweigh the lives of the few.”
“Yeah, they probably won’t stop with Valaine, anyway,” I muttered. “They’ll probably find someone else to blame for the Black Fever. Then another person… and another… all of them innocent.”
“Exactly. And they’ve been doing this for millions of years,” Kalon replied. “I doubt their ways will ever change. They must be taken down. All of them. From the very top all the way down to the last henchman.”
“At the risk of repeating myself, are you sure you don’t know anything about their leader?” I asked.
“I only remember his title. I heard it once or twice in passing,” Kalon said, his shoulders drooping. He seemed sad, as though he considered his answer disappointing. I’d never seen this side of him before—so genuine and receptive. Raw, yet at the same time wonderfully intense. The air sizzled around him. “They call him the Master of Darkness. That’s all I can tell you, upon further digging into my memories. Oh, and any of the Darklings I might’ve been able to recognize from the many I’ve seen at our house over the years… they’re already gone. In hiding. The moment Zoltan became the fall guy, they fled.”
“They’re very well organized. I’ll give credit where it’s due.” I bit the inside of my cheek. Kalon squeezed my hands gently, pulling me toward him.