What's at Stake

Chapter Twenty-Four

"What do you gain from not saying anything?" I argued.

"Do I need to gain something? Do you want me to use your secrets against you?"

"No, but..." I trailed off, biting my lip.

He watched me, frowning. "I just want your trust, Cleo."

"But what you heard—"

"I want to help you."

My eyes widened. "Help me?"

"Yes. I'm glad I overheard because now you don't have to go alone about this."

"But—"

Felix placed his hands on my shoulders, lowering his face so he was eye-level with me. "I'm sorry that I heard something you didn't want me to hear. But neither of us can change that. All I can do is offer my help now. Didn't we just talk about how we don't want to continue fighting?"

I took in his features, soft and open. I wanted to believe he was telling the truth. And it would be nice to have a confidant I could consult with. "Don't you hate Claude though? By helping me you'll be helping him, too."

"It's true I don't like him, but I care about you more than I dislike him," Felix said, his hands slipping off my shoulders. He tucked them into the pockets of his slacks, crossing the room to one of the desks and sitting on top of it. "And to be honest, Cleo, it's not like I didn't know you didn't come to this academy without an ulterior motive."

I grimaced. "Yeah, well."

"Your father is serious. I think it's best if you take my offer to help you. I don't want to see you hurt again."

I walked over to him, taking a seat in front, sitting backward so I could face him. "Yeah, I know he's serious."

"People like him are despic—" He stopped himself, mouth forming an O. "Oh. Sorry. I will try not to bad mouth your father. Even if he deserves it," he added in a mutter.

I couldn't help but smile a little. "Are you censoring yourself for me?"

"A bit," he said, returning my smile. But it disappeared a little. "I have to ask, though. Even after all that, would you still defend him?"

I bit the inside of my lip, stretching my legs out so they brushed against Felix's. "You really heard everything?"

"I did. Everything."

"I don't know. He's still my father. I still love him. And I can see where he's coming from. I can," I repeated at Felix's incredulous look. "Something must have happened to make him hate vampires so much. Just like how humans have done things that made vampires hate them."

"But you don't know what that is?"

"I don't," I admitted. "But there has to be something. Something that explains his actions."

"I don't think any reason would be good enough to justify threatening to abandon his daughter over," Felix said dryly.

"There has to be something," I repeated, mostly to myself. There had to be a reason my father would go so far. I refused to believe he could be that cruel. No one could be that cruel.

"I suppose either way it would work in your favor if we found the hidden heir."

"Yeah, that's my best option," I agreed.

"But what do you plan to do to them if you find them?"

"That's a good question. My first thought was that my father would blackmail them into doing something. But I'm not sure what. What do you think?"