In Bloom - Felix Volturi

27. Revelations

It wasn't long after our conversation when Felix returned. Other than Tom's confession, he hadn't missed much; Tom had just been filling me in about his life in California while I tanked another beer.

"What did I miss?" Felix asked, eyeing my empty beer cans without sitting down.

Whatever. I brushed it off.

"Nothing much," Tom said.

"So, what? Are you hanging around all night?" Felix asked him bluntly.

"No, I'm waiting for someone, actually," Tom said, unbothered by Felix's jab. He looked around, as if searching for someone, before pausing. "Speak of the devil," Tom said, standing up.

I turned to look in the direction Tom was, only to see a pretty, tall brunette waving him over.

Tom waved back at the woman before glancing back at Felix and me. "It was good seeing you guys," he said briskly.

"See ya," I said, trying not to sound so dejected.

I wondered who the woman was, and then immediately reminded myself that it didn't matter. I just hoped that Tom was still able to keep his mouth shut.

"Tough break," Felix said facetiously as Tom walked away. When he reached the woman, they kissed before disappearing into the crowd.

"Don't be ugly," I muttered sourly.

Felix sat back down at the table, across from me. "Guess you're not the only one who's moved on," he observed.

I shot Felix a glare, but didn't say anything. I needed to change the conversation; the longer we talked about Tom, the more opportunities Felix would have to ask about what we were talking about. "Who paged you?" I asked.

"Aro," Felix replied, very matter-of-fact.

"What does he want?"

"Take a wild guess."

"Is he mad?"

"You're going to have some explaining to do," Felix said.

I rolled my eyes and exhaled dramatically. "Did you tell him we'll be back before the end of the week?"

"I did."

"And?"

"We're expected back right after your little show. No excuses," Felix said sternly. "We leave as soon as you get off stage."

"Fine, whatever," I agreed. I would get what I wanted in the end - if Aro wanted to waste his breath lecturing me, he was more than welcome to. It's not like I'd learn my lesson.

I stared off into the crowd at no one in particular. My mood was trashed at that point, and I had little interest in sticking around.

"Do you need another drink?" Felix asked pointedly.

I glared at him yet again.

"I'm just asking," he said with a cold smirk.

Clearly, he was just as irritated with me as I was with him.

"No, I'm good," I said, plastering on a smile and rising from the table. I grabbed my empty cans and tossed them before walking away.

Felix caught up with me after a few moments. I thought I'd made it perfectly clear that I wasn't interested in his company anymore - not if he was going to be an asshole - but, he wasn't one to abandon his post so easily.

I accepted that no matter how big of a hissy fit I threw, I wouldn't be able to shake him, so I moved on. "Any details on the mission?" I asked, forcing a conversation with him.

"They are still holding the person of interest in Italy while they collect more information," Felix said cryptically.

"Person of interest?" I asked, suddenly wishing I went with him in Amsterdam to investigate the mission. "In what way?"

"The person we found had a group of humans with them - about ten. Once we handled the humans, Jane decided to take the person of interest back to Italy for questioning."

"Why?"

"They claimed that their group was only a small faction of a much larger group," Felix said, keeping his voice even.

"Oh, my god," I said, sucking in a breath. "How big?"

"I don't know. They said the last time they heard, the headcount was hovering around a couple hundred."

"A couple hundred!" I gasped. "And the people— they know about us? All of them?"

"Now you understand why Aro is so impatient about our return," Felix replied.

"Holy..." I trailed off.

"I already bought us some time, so we might as well use it," Felix said. "Aro thinks this is a good opportunity for you to get your affairs in order here, once and for all. Bow out quietly, so no one goes looking for you and begins to ask questions."

"Right," I nodded. "That's a good point."

"The larger group seems to be in a secluded location at the moment, a place they believe they won't be found, I'm sure," Felix informed me.

"So, they'll stay put?"

"Yes. Aro believes so."

"Okay," I exhaled. I felt a little guilty for wasting so much time, but at least Aro indicated that we still had a little wiggle room with our timeline. Still, I knew that I couldn't afford to play any more games until after the mission, as complicated as it was becoming, was handled.

Two hundred humans. Two hundred. It was one thing for me to tell Tom on the cool - I knew him well, and I'd intended to turn him when I told him about vampires - but TWO HUNDRED people?

What could a vampire want with a following that large? What was their plan?

More questions muddied my thoughts as Felix and I continued to aimlessly walk around the fair. I was dying to know what was going on back in Italy - but, I'd already committed to sticking around. If I disappeared out of thin air, it would only kick up more drama that would probably end up biting me in the ass later.

"Well, well, well..." I heard Felix say smugly.

I looked up at him quickly, before glancing in the direction he was looking.

"What the hell?" I muttered under my breath. "Steve?" I called out as I picked up my pace.

Sure enough, Felix had spotted Steve and Lucy Two strolling around the fair, hand in hand.

Oooooo! After all of the shit talk he did back at the house, sitting on his high horse, I was more than ready to rip him a new one.

So much for giving a shit about the band, that dickbag!