Lifting the chair under me, I scooted it forward until my knees were almost touching the desk. Sitting back, I put my ankles up on it. It was meant to bother him, and it did, but instead of pushing back, Cormel leaned forward until I could see he wasn’t breathing. “Would you like something to drink?” he said, the words precise and clear.

I took my feet off his desk and leaned over it, the flat of my arms stretched out until my fists were right under his face and I could watch his eyes dilate to a full, angry black. “Where’s Ivy?”

Trent cleared his throat. “I’d like a black coffee,” he said pleasantly. “I don’t know what Rachel wants. Second-guessing her is a mistake.”

He’d given me a way to back off, and I took it, settling into the leather chair and trying to keep my breathing shallow and avoid taking in so much vampire pheromones. My God, they were thick down here. “Coffee,” I said, and the man eased out of the room, shutting the door behind him. “Cormel, this is stupid. Felix walked into the sun. How much proof do you need?”

“Right to the point,” Cormel said, sighing. “But wrong nevertheless.”

“It will kill you,” I continued, wanting to get out of here. “Don’t ask me why, but I don’t want to see you dead.”

“Dead?” Cormel’s pupils shrank, and I breathed easier. “No, you simply don’t want to see us progress out of the trap we’re in. Felix was not sane. I am.”

“You think you’re sane?” I said, almost laughing. “The longer you’ve been sucking people dry, the harder it is to survive the trauma of your soul. Give me Ivy and I’ll see what I can do for the newly undead, but you having your soul will cause you to suncide. Landon knows it. He’s counting on it. Why are you listening to him?”

Trent dryly cleared his throat, but I fixed my eyes on Cormel, daring him to look away. His lip had curled up to show a little more fang, making me wonder if I should back off.

“Landon is doing exactly what I want,” the vampire said. “We will not perish but be stronger for our souls after we ... adapt. Can you imagine it?” he said, eyes alight. “The power of the undead with the strength of the living?”

I thought of Nina, swaying the crowd with just that. “It’s a dream, Cormel.”

A flicker of unease crossed him. He knew, and yet he still persisted. Why? Steepling his fingers, he said, “Indications show that with enough time the emotions will fade.”

“Guilt takes forever to fade.”