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I didn’t like it. Splitting up was never a good idea, but there weren’t enough vehicles here for us all. But Shadows were fast, and it wouldn’t take a very long time for us to meet up again.

“Are we leaving?” a Shadow asked.

Nerves swept through me when I realized all eyes were on me. The vampires were lying on the floor in pools of blood. Viggo was leaning against the wall, smoking his cigarette, looking at me curiously. Almost as if he thought I wouldn’t go through with it.

“Yes, we’re leaving,” I said firmly. “We go to the house. There are vampires in there, but most are sleeping, so we can catch them by surprise. We need to go to the garage and the armory.”

“Half of you will come with me,” Rya announced.

“Don’t forget your training,” I added tightly. “The vampires in the house know how to fight. Don’t get cocky.”

One of the Shadows snickered. “If these two are anything to go by, we’ll be fine.”

“They’ll have weapons,” Viggo said gruffly.

Most ignored him, and I handed Rya the map. “We’ll all leave the property together and then go our separate ways.”

The Shadows parted, making a path for me as I headed toward the exit, with Rya walking at my side. After going through the small entry room, my hand landed on the door, and I paused for a moment. This was it. I had no idea what was going to happen next. But I did know that life as I knew it—as everyone in this world knew it—would never be the same.

I pushed open the door, and Rya let out a small gasp as she walked into the sunlight. A smile played on her lips, and murmurs of pleasure swept through the crowd as they followed me outside. For some of them, they hadn’t seen sunlight in years.

“You know, I was going to offer you one after finding out you were a Shadow.” Viggo fell into step with me, waving his cigarette in my direction before taking another drag of it. “Zan didn’t let you partake when you were human. But now? You don’t deserve it.”

I rolled my eyes as I upped my pace. “If you’re going to act like this, you can just stay here.”

“I’ll take one,” Rya said, holding her hand out.

Viggo looked past me to eye Rya warily. “You smoke?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never tried.” Her words were bitter. “Sinceyourfamily kept me locked up for years.”

He pressed his lips together before hesitantly passing his cigarette to her. She plucked it from his hand, staring at it for a moment before bringing it to her mouth and inhaling.

“Such a horrible fucking idea,” Viggo grumbled, shooting me a dark look. “They won’t ever accept me, or my brothers. Even if you do, they won’t. There’s too much bad blood.”

“Maybe you can start making things right by treating us as equals,” Rya said, ignoring him when he reached for hiscigarette. “Instead of acting like we’re nothing but soldiers who were born to obey.”

“Right,” Viggo muttered, reaching in front of me and snatching his cigarette from her hand. “How about we survive the next week before I make any promises.”

The house came into sight, and adrenaline flooded my veins. Viggo slowed his pace, grabbing my arm when I turned to enter the way we usually did.

“There will be vampires in the rotunda,” he said quietly. “They love the glass windows where they can be in the sun. We’ll go in through a different door.”

“You’re okay with this?” I questioned. “Betraying your father’s vampires? A lot of them are going to die.”

“I chose you, Kali,” he murmured under his breath. “For my brothers. Life is all about making difficult decisions. Better learn that now before you storm in there and declare war on Amaros Kane.”

“I made this decision months ago,” I informed him. “I was never going to bow to your father.”

He sighed. “Then let’s go.”

Chapter 19

Kali

It was utter chaos.

Ever since we stepped through the door, it had been a whirlwind of fighting, blood, and death. It hadn’t taken long for the vampires to hear us enter, and many had come to investigate. Viggo was walking stiffly at my side, ignoring the vampires trying to get his attention. We were heading to the garage with Shadows ahead and behind me, fighting off anyone who attempted to get close. I hadn’t lifted a finger. They were making sure the vampires couldn’t reach me.