Page 12 of Call of the Blood

Idove in, smiling as I approached some of the closest witches.

“Hi, I’m Everly… Alexius’ recent addition to Savannah. Nancy didn’t say how any of this works and left before any other introductions could be made.” I tried to play it cool. Tried.

“Bella,” the closest greeted, holding out a hand. “Regular member of the coven, no special ranks to deal with from me. Nancy is my great-grandmother. I get it. She’s a whirlwind.”

“She really is,” I said, chuckling. “A good one. She’s wonderful.”

“I’m glad you think so. As for how all this works?” Bella pointed once our handshake was done. “We’re going to go outside. There, a tree was planted when the spell was first cast. As it’s grown, its capacity to help and protect has grown. We keep it alive; it keeps us alive.”

“Really? A single tree?” I wasn’t prepared for that.

“It’s heavily protected, and we can only talk about it now because we’re in the house. Once you leave, you can’t talk about it anymore. Magic.”

“Yeah, I know gag order magic,” I said, chuckling. “Know it very well.”

“It’s a classic for a reason. Every good witch knows how to make sure secrets are kept. It’s woven into the spell that its core is hidden in, whether we want it to be or not. It’s naturally deeply rooted and more protected from storms by the same spell that protects us. You will go to it while we perform the ritual.”

“And then you’ll bleed on it,” another woman cut in, walking up. Her gaze was more cutting than the warm, informative Bella. “Though maybe it won’t work since it’s not your blood.”

“It is, but I don’t think this party is the place to discuss vampire biology,” I retorted quickly, not missing a beat. This sort of attitude I was more prepared for. A sharp tongue, something that required me to be on guard.

“Oh, really?” She hummed, entertained and annoyed with me already.

“Do you want to enjoy the drink you’re holding or not?” I asked, daring. “Because I can ruin your appetite if you want me to. Hard to drink when you’re already queasy.”

“Don’t be catty right now, Claire,” Bella pleaded in a whisper.

The room was quiet now, everyone listening to the exchange. There were a thousand good reasons. I was a new, mostly unknown vampire in their most precious place. An outsider. I was being tested on every front. With Nancy, it had been friendly and fun and disarming. With Claire, it was catty, as Bella put it, and that put people on edge. Catty was just a soft word for bitchy or aggressive.

“Claire, it’s not the time,” Bella said, continuing in the hushed tone to try to bring down the energy, even if the room could hear it all. It was smarter than raising her voice. “I know you’re now council, but cousin, we can’t be rude to other supernaturals, certainly not one of Alexius’ people. He’s never brought someone in, and we should respect every member of his household.”

“She’s a nothing and a nobody. I don’t know why everyone is so worked up,” Claire replied, not bothering to keep her voice lower like Bella. Talking about me like I wasn’t there scratched something in me.

“Claire, huh?” I said softly, feeling something dark bubble up in my chest. “The last time I knew a Claire⁠—”

“Everly,” Alexius said softly, stepping out of the sitting room. “Let me show you the tree.” He extended an arm, and I took it, watching Claire roll her eyes.

“Just because he won’t fuck you doesn’t mean you get to be rude to guests,” Bella hissed as we walked away, probably not realizing we could clearly hear her.

“What do you think she was going to say?” Claire asked, ignoring her cousin’s comment. "What about the last Claire you knew?"

“That I killed her,” Alexius replied, loud enough for anyone and everyone listening in to hear. “Because she hurt Everly, Jacob, and his nest.” Alexius glanced back at Claire, and I saw the glint in his eye that showed he was properly annoyed with the entire thing and was going to do what he had just stopped me from doing. “I tore her limb from limb for her crimes against the people I cared about.”

“Claire, apologize,” Nancy snapped over the silence. Only her and Bella were daring enough to speak.

“Claire, take a walk, cousin,” Bella said at the same time as Nancy’s sharp order.

“I…” Claire didn’t finish. I turned to see her leaving the room entirely. Even though she was leaving, her heartbeat was the loudest, thundering in fear at the rumbling, murderous words of Alexius the Hunter, first and best vampire hunter.

Oops.

Alexius got me out the door, and I could see the magnificent tree. I wasn’t an arborist and was terrible at identifying these things, especially since I didn’t know the Southeast that well. If we were in Maine, I’d have a better chance.

What I could identify was that it was tall. It was strong and beautiful. It was immense and powerful. It radiated with it, overtaking everything I could see, making the world disappear around it. Stunning. It was awe-inspiring. Everything that had happened inside disappeared in an instant as I took it in.

“Alexius, what was that?” Nancy said, following us out.

He released me, and I couldn’t help but get closer to the tree, feeling the energy of it.