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“Hoping to kill you?”
He shrugged. “What else?”
“Was it the,” her voice hitched, “Padovas?”
“Yes.”
“Are they alive?”
“Yes.” His lips curled into a bitter smile. “Thinking of paying them a visit?”
A haughty tilt of her head. Her gaze unflinching. “I am surprised you did not eliminate them.”
Felix didn’t tell her some twisted part of him considered the Padovas his last connection to her.
“They aren’t worth it,” was all he said.
The elevator opened. A young human woman in a black cocktail dress greeted them with a bright smile. The woman exuded no fear, only excitement and cheerfulness, which was rare in a human faced with multiple vampires.
“Welcome. May I have your names?”
She looked down at the tablet in her hands and clicked something after Felix introduced themselves. After a moment, she smiled back up at them and gestured to the side where soft orchestral music floated from.
“The announcer is ready for you now. Enjoy your evening.”
“Thank you.”
As they strode up to the entrance, Felix walked next to Gabby and hooked her arm around his elbow. He grinned when she scowled up at him.
This is only for the Gala. We’re not together.
For now, we are.
Their split was well known among the general vampire population. When mates separated like they did, it weakened both and gave other vamps an opportunity to exploit the situation. He’d faced more challenges than he cared to count in the last century or so. Hell, half of his House plotted to murder him. The same had happened to Nikolas. If Gabby hadn’t gone aground for four centuries, she would’ve faced the same.
Felix had pretended to be weak and had even allowed a few vampires to come close to killing him, all to spread the rumor he was weaker than Nikolas, and therefore an easier target. It had taken the heat off Nikolas somewhat, which had been Felix’s plan.
As much as Alistair united the vampires, their kind was violent, ruthless, and ambitious. When vampires reached a certain age, power was all that mattered. There was only so much territory to go around. Houses and their leaders have risen and fallen throughout the times.
Felix refused to become one of those, and he wouldn’t allow Gabby to become one either.
With Gabby’s return, everyone would watch them like a wolf stalking its prey. They’d exploit any weakness they could detect. It was imperative Felix and Gabby presented a united front and kept their personal issues private.
At the ballroom’s entrance, Felix raised a brow. The event planners had outdone themselves. Two curving grand staircases covered in red carpet reached down to the floor below. The entire space was about a third of a football field and at least three stories tall. Two humongous chandeliers, covered in wooden paneling with gold foil, hung from the ceiling. Its light made the enormous space open, bright, and intimate at the same time.
A six-person chamber orchestra played on a small dais to the right, surrounded by sound equipment. Behind the orchestra, against the wall, flowers flowed out of two five-feet tall vases like a waterfall.
The wooden dais extended to a rectangular section in front of the orchestra to form a dance floor, which was currently empty. Next to it, glitzy people congregated around the bar. Two other bars spread around the room. Waiters and waitresses dressed in black and white uniforms deftly navigated through the crowd, offering drinks and appetizers.
Small standing tables dotted the space. In addition, there were larger round tables, covered in red and gold tablecloth, for people to sit and relax. At the center of each table was an eye-catching flower arrangement.
How ridiculous.Although he understood the need to impress the guests.
Power-hungry humans and mesmerizing vampires mingled with one another. Felix caught sight of Alistair at the table with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Nasir, glass of blood wine in hand, chatted with two other human dignitaries.
This was a show to act normal for the humans. It screamed, “Look at us! We’re harmless! We’re human too!”
If only the humans knew what his race had planned after their departure. If they knew, they would not be here chatting and drinking. They would stumble over each other to escape.
