"And Jackson and Sasha will be making a good amount of the antidote for any vamps infected," Arsen says. "We don't have a vaccine yet, but at least we can prevent people from turning feral."
The coven leaders’ frown at him, casting disbelieving glances in mine and Jackson's direction.
"Do you really expect us to accept any medicine given to us by a human hunter and Niko's own spawn?" one of them asks.
"They're trustworthy," Arsen tries to insist, but they look unconvinced. "Sasha's been helping us fight the virus from the beginning. And without Jackson we wouldn't have any of the hunter's support."
The look on the vampire's faces makes it clear they think they would be better off without either. Arsen breathes out through his nose in an impatient huff.
"Fine," he says. "I can't force help on you. If any of your own end up infected, you'll have to deal with it on your own."
They look slightly uneasy at that, but don't back down.
"Anyway, Draugur is already in lockdown," Arsen reports. "But we weren't prepared for a siege. We're going to need a steady supply of clean blood soon or we won't be able to hold the quarantine."
"We're secure as well," Orsino confirms. "Our vampires will be safe until this can be dealt with."
"We are also quarantined," Lady Ghenna of the Istria says, speaking for the first time and folding her hands on the table. "And we have a safe supply of blood that should hold us over indefinitely."
"How?" Minnie asked suspiciously. I have a horrible idea that I know exactly how and I try to gesture to Jackson to stop them but he's too slow on the uptake.
"Several of our court maintain private reserves of live humans," Ghenna replies casually. "Artisanal blood is a fad at the moment. Their health is rigorously monitored of course."
"You keep humans?" Minnie stands up, her hands flat on the table and rage in her eyes.
"Oh, don't get so worked up," the vampire says, condescension dripping from her tone. "They're very happy. All their needs are looked after. I myself have a small free-range herd living on a vineyard in northern California."
Minnie started to lunge across the table and Jackson and Rhett both had to grab her to stop her.
"You expect me to cooperate with someone who keeps human beings like farm animals?" she snarls at Jackson, who glances briefly at me. I can tell he's tempted to let go. Hell, I'm tempted to stake the bitch myself. Even if the whole idea weren't repulsive, bringing it up here clearly shows she's an asshole with no sense.
"The farm will be shut down," I say loudly, and Minnie stops struggling, while Lady Ghenna gives me a wide-eyed look at my presumption. "As will any others. The minute the virus is dealt with."
"And how exactly do you think you are going to enforce that?" she says with frosty irritation. "You are not my Queen. You are not even of my clan."
"You'll agree to shut them down," I say, staring her directly in the eye. "Because otherwise you won't be receiving any assistance from us protecting them. Where do you think Niko will go first when he starts spreading the infection? Are you completely certain he doesn't know the locations of those farms?"
I can tell by the look on her face that she doesn't.
"I will not help protect some vampire's blood farm!" Minnie snarls.
"Then you condemn those people to death," I snap at her. "If the farms can't be protected, then once Niko infects them they'll be culled. More likely, the vampires will order them harvested immediately and the blood stored to wait the virus out. Or, you can put your big girl panties on, get the fuck over it, and help me ensure they all get released safely when this is over."
Minnie glares daggers at me, but she sits down. All the humans at the table look faintly nauseous at what they're agreeing to, and I feel a bit queasy myself. But we don't have another choice.
"…I'll talk to some of my contacts about getting some donated blood sent to the Draugur and the Kresova," Zoe says after a lengthy, tense pause. "In case this takes longer than anticipated. We're already working on the CDC. We've identified some bacterial markers that can be used to distinguish the virus from a mundane flu. If we can get them to start testing for it they'll notice how widespread it is and start moving to slow it down. Which just leaves Niko."
"He wants to infect the entire human population," I say, leaning over the map. "But he's going to start with humans closest to the coven's compounds. We're his primary target."
"And who will he target first?" Zoe asks.
"Draugur," Arsen and I say at the same time.
"He's a petty bitch and this is at least half personal for him," Arsen elaborates. "There are Draugur compounds are here, here and here." Zoe offers him a marker and he circles them on the map. "You can see how close the initial infection was to this one. Practically in their back yard. He'll hit the largest population centers near these first, I can guarantee it."
"Alright, so we split up," Jackson says. "The hunters will keep searching the east coast, keep an eye on this compound while controlling ferals coming out of the infected zones. Your group can head west, so the second Zoe's surveillance team catches wind of Niko there will be guaranteed to be someone close enough to nab him no matter where he strikes first."
"What about the cure?" Rhett asks, looking down at all the red marks on the map with a frown. "Or the vaccine or whatever? Jackson said you was close."
"There's not enough time," I tell him, hating to admit it. "If Niko manages to spread it to everyone, any cure will come too late."
Chapter 14
We don't linger once the decisions are made, heading out to catch a plane. Jackson stays behind, promising to catch up with us once he's done organizing the hunters, including a few groups to patrol the Istria's blood farms. I have a feeling the Kresova have a few of those too (I wouldn't be surprised if the Draugur have a few, honestly) but I can't risk the alliance by forcing anyone to come forward about them right now. Fingers crossed I'd be able to keep my promise to Minnie and get them shut down when all this is over. It seems like a long shot. Even if I do stop Niko and make a vaccine for the virus and singlehandedly save the entire vampire race. If history has taught me anything, it's that once a group of people start treating another group of people like things, it's really damn hard to change their minds.
I keep worrying about it as we board the plane. Arsen has his own worries. He's on his phone all the way to the airport, and back on it the minute we hit cruising altitude. Talking to the Draugur mostly, organizing the quarantine and the rationing of their supplies, including the remaining doses of the treatment for the virus. It's got a pretty fantastic rate of effectiveness for how fast I threw the thing together, honestly. But no treatment is one hundred percent effective. We're still losing people. And will continue to do so until I can finish a vaccine that will keep people from becoming infected in the first place.
I watch Arsen pace the plane, arguing with one of his officers about sending men to join Jackson's search parties and the patrols for the blood farms.
"Yeah, I hate it too-" he growls. "But if we haven't eliminated the virus before our supplies run out we may have to rely on the Istria for blood. The only alternative is breaking the quarantine and risking us all to infection again. We've already lost enough people."
I love the authority in his voice, the calm and methodical way he lays out plans and gives orders. He's grown a lot from the man I first met, who relied on his strength to maintain control and only thought about advancing his own power.
"The vaccine will be finished once Niko is no longer a threat," Arsen tells the person on the other end. "Sasha can handle it. No. No, that's not a risk. Sasha can handle herself, too."
He smiles briefly in my direction and I smile back, my heart warming. More important than any other growth, that he's learned to respect my strength and my need for space is what has made this a relationship that I really think can last. He trusts me. I trust him to.
The plane lands too close to sunrise for comfort and we find a hotel.
I drop into bed to sleep. It's been too long since I had any blood and all of this has been exhausting on multiple levels. Arsen kisses me on the cheek.
"I'm running out for a bit," he whispers.
"No, stay," I grumble, trying to drag him into bed. He laughs under his breath and kisses me again, but pulls away.
"I've got a few things to take care of first," he says, raising his phone to indicate it's more Draugur business. "I'll be back as quick as I can."
"Be careful," I mumble, half asleep. "Sun's coming up."
"I will."
I'm asleep before the door even shuts behind him.
I wake up to the smell of bacon.
"Room service?" I slur, my eyes not even open yet. I hear Arsen laugh.
"Yeah, I figured we could use a treat."
I sit up, yawning and rubbing my eyes, and he sits down beside me with the tray. The light leaking through the drawn curtains is still pale and watery. I've only been asleep a couple of hours probably. Arsen and I are both still dressed. I didn't bother to change before falling into bed and I don't think he's laid down yet. But my attention is quickly captivated by the breakfast spread. Bacon, eggs, waffles, muffins, fresh fruit and yogurt.
"Is that champagne?" I ask, raising an eyebrow as he skillfully fills two crystal champagne flutes with prosecco and orange juice. The stems are decorated with golden ribbons, which seems a bit much to me.
"Like I said," he says with a little smile. "We needed a treat. Everything we've gone through lately…"
He hesitates, still holding both glasses, and frowns down at them for a moment.
"I could have lost you," he says. "More than once. I haven't felt that kind of fear since I was human. When you're immortal, it's easy to forget how fast things can change. You get comfortable, thinking you'll live forever, and instead death just sneaks up on you. I don't want to…"
He pauses, flustered, his face a little red. I stop picking at the bacon, sensing something is up. He gathers himself, trying to find the words.
"I don't want to miss the chance to appreciate this," he finally says, setting aside one of the glasses to take my hand. "I don't want to take this for granted, and risk losing it before I can really show you how I feel. I… I want to build a life with you, Sasha. And even if this all goes wrong and we don't get the chance, I need you to know that I wanted that. You mean more to me than anyone ever has."
He presses the champagne flute into my hand and I'm confused for a moment what that has to do with this incredibly touching declaration. Then I feel something hard against my palm, clinking against the crystal stem of the glass.
"Immortality has been worth it because I lived long enough to find you," he says, voice straining with sincerity as I stare down at the champagne flute, and the beautiful diamond ring tied to the stem by the ribbon. "Sasha, will you marry me?"
I drop the glass, spilling mimosa all over the sheets, and throw my arms around him, kissing him hard and breathless. He kisses me back, tender and earnest, his hands squeezing my waist. I might go on kissing him until we lose our senses and make love in the champagne-soaked bed, but we hear the breakfast tray slipping and break the kiss to grab it before it can crash to the floor. He laughs as he sets it aside on the night stand, and gives me a hopeful, nervous.
"Can I take that as a yes?"
"Yes," I say, laughing, happy to feel foolish about this. "Absolutely, yes."
We lay in bed, eating breakfast, ignoring the wet champagne spot, losing ourselves in kisses. I can't stop staring at the ring, which I put on the minute I could untie it from the champagne glass.
"It's only temporary," he says, seeing me staring at it again. He takes my hand, and kisses my finger right beneath the ring. "I went out to pick something up this morning because I didn't want to wait. But I have one back home, a family heirloom. A real star sapphire, set in silver. I'd like to have it resized for you. It's much nicer, and older than I am, which is saying something."
"I don't know," I say with a giggle, admiring the thin white gold band on my finger, its small diamond glittering. "I'm pretty happy with this one."
"Well I'm not," Arsen says with a playful growl, pulling me closer to drop kisses down my throat and chest. "You deserve better. You deserve the best. You deserve the whole damn world."
Flustered and delighted I don't contradict him- until the phone rings.
It's the landline hotel room phone and I get an uneasy sense of déjà vu as I pull away from Arsen.
"Maybe it's just room service asking if we need someone to come get the dishes?" Arsen suggests.
Hoping that's all it is, I pick up the phone.
"Good morning, beautiful."
It's not room service.
"What do you want?" I demand, anger flaring. How dare he call now, when I was, for half a minute, genuinely happy?
"The same thing as always, Sasha," Nico says patiently. "For you to stop this pointless rebellion and come home."
"Pointless?" I snap. "You're killing your own kind!"
"For the greater good," Niko says evenly. "When I'm done, there will be no more infighting between vampires. No more pointless centuries of feuding. There will be only the Baetal, and a world firmly under our control. No more hiding in the shadows, no more guilt. No more worrying the humans will eventually nuke us all, or worse kill us slowly by poisoning the planet. We'll be in control, and with the steady wisdom of immortality, we'll fix everything. It'll be a better world for humans too, you'll see."
"You're literally planning world domination," I say, disgusted.
"Oh, let it go sweetheart," Niko says impatiently. "Every vampire rebels against their master when they're young. It's natural. But I don't have time to let this run its course. The plan is moving ahead too quickly. I don't want to risk that you might not survive it. If you give up and come home now, you'll be safe. And you'll be beside me when I remake the world. I could make you a Queen."
"I'm not interested," I tell him flatly. "You need to stop deluding yourself and give up. You will lose. You've already lost. Just stop before more people get hurt."
"You don't have any idea what you're talking about," Niko scoffs. "My victory was already assured the moment I discovered the virus. It's changing me, Sasha. Refining me."
"You're infected?" Sympathetic horror flashes through me. I thought he was smarter than that, that he would at least protect himself from the virus.
"I'm becoming what vampires were always meant to be," Niko says with perfect confidence. "I'm more powerful than ever. Faster, sharper, more alert. I want to share this with you, Sasha." His voice shifts, becoming softer, more genuine. "You're mine, Sasha. I made you. Chose you above all others to be with me forever. I love you. I know you love me. Come home. Give yourself to me and I will remake the world in your name. Fear me, love me, obey me, and everything you desire will be yours."
"I desire for you to fuck off," I say, but I can't put as much venom into as I'd like. I'm worried about him. Despite everything, he is my maker. It's a connection I don't even fully understand. But it makes my heart ache at the thought of him, infected, probably dying, and still chasing this stupid plan which is only going to get him and a whole lot of other people killed. I don't love him, I don't think I ever could. But I want to save him, and I don't think I can.
"As you wish," Niko says after a moment. "But I'll be waiting. As soon as you realize your mistake, I'll be here to forgive you. Even if I have to wait forever. Even if I have to kill everyone you've ever cared about to make you return to me. Even if I have to imprison for you a hundred years before you relent. I'll still forgive you. And once you finally give your heart to me, I will give you the crown of the world-"
I hang up. I don't need to hear any more of that. My heart beats hard in my throat and I scrub at my eyes to stop them from tearing up.
"You alright?" Arsen asks tentatively, taking my hand and pulling it away from my eyes. I force a smile, and look down at the ring on my finger.
&nb
sp; "Yeah," I tell him. "Not even Niko can ruin this for me."
Chapter 15
Jackson arrives a few hours later and we welcome him up to the hotel room to make plans and work out the specifics of our search. He spreads the satellite map of the area out on the bed and we sit around it arguing.
"This water treatment facility is closest to the coven," Arsen says, pointing out a spot on the map that he's marked in green. "It's the most likely place for him to hit."
"Unless he isn't going for the water supply," I remind him. I circle a few spots of my own. "There's an airport, a mall, and a stadium all in range of the compound as well. From what we've seen the virus is primarily airborne. I don't doubt he could get it into the water, but it would be much easier to aerosolize it and dump it over a crowd."
"Even if he does go after the water," Jackson points out. "He may not hit the water treatment plant. There's a ton of filters on that thing. And a lot more of that goes to agriculture than it does to consumption. And as far as we know the virus doesn't transmit to animals. These cave systems could give him stealth access to the water table if he's willing to climb deep enough, and a vampire is bound to be a hell of a lot more successful at spelunking than a human. Or he might hit the Colorado river."
"I don't think he could contaminate the river in enough quantity to actually spread anything," I say with a frown. "That's a hell of a lot of water to poison. And if he doesn't get the concentration high enough people won't consume enough of the virus to actually infect them. It might actually boost their immunity."
"Does he know any of that?" Arsen asks, frustrated. "He's not the scientist behind this, remember? Sasha killed that guy."
I grimace. "Don't remind me."
"I'm just saying, does he have enough knowledge of water distribution on the west coast and like, how viruses work and shit to know any of that? Or will he just go for the most obvious thing because he's out of his depth?"
Girl, Immortal (Girl, Vampire Book 3) Page 11
