Ryder didn’t say anything more, but as we turned and followed Kyle, things felt right between us. We still had a long way to go. I had no idea what Ryder wanted in the long term from us, but this felt like a positive step in the right direction.
The Quorum were dressed in their finest attire. It seemed nearly all of the Hive was assembled. The stadium that held the culling was now completely transformed into a clean and peaceful ceremonial hall. White and blue silk draped the walls. The bloodstained fighting mats that had covered the ground had been pulled up to reveal polished wood floors. A large chandelier hung in the middle of the room, giving an elegant ambiance that had been missing from my days in this room. Before us all lay ten gold urns. Odd that the place these men fought for their lives would also become the place they were laid to rest. A podium with a microphone stood empty, and Ryder squeezed my hand before approaching it. I stayed behind, leaning against the wall, next to Kyle and the other enforcers. My eyes remained locked on Ryder as he sidled through and around the masses of gathered Hive members. He never even glanced at the beautiful faces of our people around him. His focus was solely on the enforcers he had lost. When he reached the podium, he stood very still for a few long moments. No one made noises or spoke. The silence felt both respectful and heavy. People had lost friends, and loved ones. After this time of silence, Ryder cleared his throat and all eyes were on him.
“For centuries the ash have laid down their lives to protect the Hive, to protect the vampires and the Quorum that govern it. These ten men died doing their jobs … protecting all of you. They will be remembered! They will be honored!” His voice grew strong and loud toward the end. These words were met with applause. This Hive hierarchy really confused me. They made us kill ourselves for the opportunity to live with them. Then, even though the vampires were physically stronger, they made us fight to protect them. But we outnumbered them ten to one.
“These enforcers are mine to protect!” Ryder was all deadly now, his long arm pointing to all of us leaning against the wall. “And I will protect what is mine.”
There was no mistaking that threat. Whomever the mole was should be shaking in their boots right now. I held a little hope, too, that since he so readily grouped me in with them, it was time to mention that I really wanted to be an enforcer. Maybe he’d actually consider it at this point. Please, God, don’t make me answer phones for the rest of my life.
A group of enforcers walked out military-style in a perfect line. They picked up the vases, and as they turned to march from the stadium, golden urns cradled in their hands, they stopped only once to salute Ryder. The heaviness broke then and Ryder indicated that people could leave. The Quorum disbanded, and a few members trailed over to talk to the lead enforcer.
Kyle and I strolled within earshot, stopping in the pretense of waiting, but we were really listening in. I knew of most of the Quorum members now, but except for that lovely day where they forced me to go with them to the medical wing, I had not really met them.
The leader of the second house was a willowy female. She had dark blond curls that fell around her face. She was a lot taller than my five feet seven and looked extra cheerleader cute, even though she was most probably deadlier than cancer.
She was scolding Ryder. “You have one of my vampires in the pit who has had an unnecessarily long sentence. A month for biting an ash?” Her tone indicated that this was barely even a crime at all.
Ryder stood taller, his height giving him domination advantage over her. “A month for attacking and feeding off of a female ash.”
The Quorum members looked at me quickly before turning away again.
“Let him go, he has served enough time,” said the dour and jowly male leader of the third house, before turning with cheer-vamp and leaving.
As he watched their retreating backs, Ryder’s face indicated that he wanted to beat the Quorum into submission, but instead he just walked over to Kyle and me.
“Well, duty calls,” Ryder said.
Kyle grabbed my hand. “Wanna see the pit?”
Ryder shot him a glare, but before he could protest I nodded. I totally wanted to know what this infamous pit was.
Ryder shook his head, looking resigned. “It’s not going to be pretty, and starved vampires are pretty deadly. But if you want to come along…”
Even with our talk outside, I knew it was going to take him some time to stop treating me like a delicate flower and realize I was just as tough as most of the ash. Sure, I had boobs, but that only increased my power.
We all walked to the line of elevators. I paused, expecting we would take them down into the crater of hell or something. I mean, where else would the pit be? So I was a little surprised when instead of going to the normal silver elevators, we went around the corner, and there, resting in a small alcove, was an elevator with a red door. I had never seen it before in all my time at the Hive. It was perfectly hidden away. Ryder and Kyle put their thumbs on a keypad and the elevator beeped and flared to life. Whoa, legit super-secret. My stomach knotted in anxiety and excitement.