Weakly lifting himself upright to his knees, Saul narrowed a baleful glare up at Kai. Silence settled between the vampires, while countless prisoners still cried to themselves.
Apart from the rise and fall of his heaving chest, Saul stood emotionless, feeling a greater incensed increasing towards Kai.
"Whatever you seek from me is in vain! I will never submit!" Saul snapped as the simmering fury in his voice finally reached the surface through his answer.
Knowing how to push the right buttons, Kai snickered louder while his smirk became more sinister. "You know, Miles made me an offer on your sister. Perhaps I should take him up on that," he deliberately taunted Saul.
In a blind rage, Saul shot up from the floor, aiming to attack Kai with his extended claws. As he tried to slash through Kai's suit across the chest area, a firm grip wrapped around his throat. With one hand, Kai hauled Saul off his bare feet and dangled him in mid-air.
In amusement, Kai tilted his head and enjoyed the struggle written on Saul's face. Whatever little effort Saul had left in him to fight had finally diminished, and his body went limp in Kai's tight grasp. With a flex of his arm muscles, Kai flung Saul against the wall, where he ended up meeting the floor face-first again.
"Where is my sister?" Saul gnashed his fangs, breathing heavily against the concrete floor. "What have you done to her?"
"Nothing yet," Kai smoothly replied, keeping his tone nonchalant. "I've kept my promise for now."
Years ago, Kai had promised Saul that he would never sell Darlene to any vampires outside his Coven. At the time, it was an easy promise to keep, which was why he had granted it in the first place.
As Saul wobbled feebly to his feet, leaning on the wall for balance, he demanded with strain in his voice, "I won't believe you... until I see her!'"
"As soon as you cooperate, you'll see her soon," Kai earnestly answered.
He had no intentions of keeping Darlene from her older brother. In fact, Darlene was mainly around to keep Saul under control. Until recently, Kai hadn't found much use for Darlene. He mostly captured her as a minion to be given to his wife someday. Other than that, Darlene's purpose was limited in Kai's perspective, as he knew Slither vampiresses were the weakest among vampire species compared to the other vampiresses.
"What... do you want... then?" Saul bitterly asked, nearly biting his lip.
For his sister, he would deceitfully portray the part of being humble and act like a submissive vampire until the time came to strike. An inward grin of anticipation brightened his heart at the prospect of freeing Darlene and anyone else from his family or Coven who still remained under enslavement by the Collins. He just needed to cooperate for now and bide his time until the right opportunity presented itself.
"I want an extra bodyguard for my wife. Someone who is nearly as strong as me," Kai disclosed his terms for requiring Saul from his detained slumber.
"And if I don't?" Saul narrowed his eyes skeptically. The last he knew, Kai's wife hadn't been born yet.
"If you don't cooperate, I'll sell your sister and detain your last two advisors I've kept as minions. Then, you'll never see daylight again," Kai warned, making a perilous promise about the fate of everyone Saul cared about.
"Fine! I'll do it, but only if I know my sister remains unharmed and hasn't become anyone's courtesan," Saul growled defensively.
With a snappy tone, Kai retorted sharply, "Don't accuse my Coven of such acts when yours tried taking our females as breeders! Unlike your family's actions, we never violated your females the way your Coven had done to ours!"
"No, you only detained most of our females and their offspring, or enslaved them!" Saul curtly shot back with a nasty snarl.
"You should count yourself lucky I haven't allowed any of my allies to abuse Darlene like that. As far as I know, she's still pure, and you can ask her yourself if you care," Kai replied sternly, hardening his expression before a sly grin crossed his lips from that last part.
"I don't care to know if she has or not! I only care that she's well," Saul retorted, rolling his eyes with annoyance.
Being more serious, Kai strictly asked, "Do you submit to my ways?"
Through gritted teeth, Saul lied, pretending to concede, "I'll protect your wife!"
"Very well," Kai nodded in satisfaction.
Just as Kai turned to the metal bar door, an evil grin reached Saul's ears, and Glenn and Rome took notice of it. Right when Kai touched the metal bar to leave, a sneer curved his lips. Unhurried, he dropped his hand from the door and turned to face Saul.
"I almost forgot one last thing," Kai informed him, stepping within arm's reach of Saul.
"What's that?" Saul raised a peculiar eyebrow, his confusion quite apparent. "Aah!' he suddenly gnashed his fangs when Kai swiftly punched his fist through Saul's chest. In agonizing pain, Saul gasped, feeling his heart being strangled before it was wrenched out of his rib cage. Blood dripped down Kai's sleeve, staining his entire hand red, while a ruby heart pulsated in his palm.
"What have you done!" Saul exclaimed, collapsing to the cold floor, feeling even weaker than he had a second ago.
"Eliminating any schemes you might be plotting in your head," Kai replied, mocking him.
He already knew Saul wouldn't agree that easily. Sure, he'll see his sister, but Saul has a few things coming to him.
"How can I protect your wife if you take away my gifts!" Saul yelled, clutching his throbbing chest where his heart should be beating.
"You're resourceful, Saul. I'm sure you'll figure it out. In the meantime, you'll have to earn my trust if you ever want your heart back. Keep in mind, if you lay one hand on my wife or any female in my Coven, you'll wish I never woke you," Kai warned, staring him down with his darkening orbs.
Leaving it at that, Kai walked out of the cell they kept Saul in. Outside the cell, Saul helplessly watched as Rome held open a black, hand-sized chest embellished with dark blue gemstones. As soon as Glenn locked the door, Kai unhurriedly placed Saul's beating heart inside the small chest and closed the lid. After locking the chest with the skeleton key he wore around his neck, Kai's phone rang.
"Hello?" he answered after digging it out of his suit pocket.
In disbelief, his eyes suddenly widened, and sickness churned his stomach. Without saying goodbye, he disconnected the call and rushed to the exit without looking back. "Call Jack!" Kai shouted. "We need to get to the hospital!"