“What does that even mean?” Toshi asks.
“I told Kyle that we were coming for him. That we made Clarissa a promise. But I also told him that if he spun out of control—if he couldn’t control himself and it looked as if he was going to hurt her—I would kill him.”
“You didn’t,” Theo says.
“I did. And he seemed to be okay with it. Until he started freaking out.”
“Freaking out? About what?” Vlad asks.
“I wasn't sure. One minute he was gnashing and snarling, and the next the connection was broken. I don’t know what happened to him, but I know he was angry,” I say.
“Okay. So we’ve got Kyle alive and the Council meeting tonight. Did you find out anything else?” Toshi asks.
“Yes. The guards were talking about coating their spears in something meant for either men or women. And that makes me think that they’re going to be using the eradication of humans as a way to disperse the serum they’ve been experimenting with,” Vlad says.
“So they don’t want to kill the humans. They want to turn them?” Theo asks.
“It’s just a working theory, but it’s the only one we’ve got that lines up with the intel we have,” Vlad says. “It’s obvious the serum worked because of Clarissa. But if that same serum has been engineered to work on a fully-formed human male, who’s to say they didn’t tweak the female version of that serum to work on a fully-formed woman?” Vlad asks.
“When did you get so smart?” Toshi asks.
“Believe it or not, Cats aren’t the only intelligent Primal species,” Vlad says.
“Could’ve fooled me,” Toshi says with a grin.
“Knock it off,” I grumble. “We don’t have time.”
“And with that, can we put a pin in this for a second and talk about this promise to go after Kyle?” Vlad asks.
“What about it?” Toshi asks.
“I didn’t technically make her this promise.”
I growl at Vlad and quickly stand to my feet.
“I know what card you’re about to play, and it’s not going to happen. If you’re with Clarissa, then you’re with us. And that means you abide by the promise we made her.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. We have a war coming, and we’re really focused on one man we aren’t even sure is stable any longer?” Vlad asks.
“If you care for Clarissa at all given everything you’ve put her through, then you’ll follow through with the promise,” Theo says.
“And if you don’t, then we’ve got no issues kicking you to the curb,” Toshi says.
“I’d like to see you try,” Vlad growls.
“Now you know how it feels,” I say. “But we have a much bigger ordeal on our hands.”
“What?” Theo asks.
“I know these humans are training for war, and I know they think they can fend off the Council on their own, but I don’t trust them to keep Clarissa safe.”
“Why would they need to keep her safe if she’s fighting with us?” Vlad asks.
“She’s sick, you idiot. And even if she was feeling better, I still don’t like the idea of her fighting in this. The prophecy states—”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Prophecy?” Vlad asks.
“Sit down, shut up, and listen.”