Page 47 of Vampire Visions

“We’re in place. We’ve spread out and all have eyes on you, but we’re also making sure the crowds don’t bump us from outside of the Void.” Jack’s voice caused me to shift my attention. Our backs and our fronts were covered by the guys lurking in the Void, so it was time to mingle and let our presence be known. I was giddy at the idea of fucking up Kade’s plans.

Novak and I walked through the crowd, shaking hands and kissing cheeks. No one seemed to know what the party was in celebration of, but they were happy to attend, nonetheless.

“Sloane, darling. We're so happy to see that you’ve finally taken a mate.”

“I guess we're all here to welcome you and Sloane into your new positions?”

“It’s been quite some time since we’ve been led by two, much less a female.”

“I wish the invitation had been more specific. We’d have brought you a gift, sweet girl.”

“We can’t wait to see what you and Novak do with the Vampyre name.”

We chatted, answered questions, and kissed ass for about twenty minutes, before Jack let me know that Papi and Dad had arrived with Simon. They were in position with Dominic, Father’s second in command. Finally, I could seek out the villain in the room. After all the polite conversation, I was more than ready to make a scene, too.

As soon as I found her, I raised my voice to be heard over the crowd. “It’s so nice of you to throw a party for us, Kadence.” I smirked as her proud smile fell.

“W-What,” she stuttered in shock, “What are you doing here?” She tried to catch her expressions, but it was too little too late. I’d seen it, and so had everyone around us.

“Attending the party, of course.” I gave a look of innocence as I gushed praise to her. “It’s really sweet of you to plan everything for us. It took so much of the stress off our shoulders.”

“I didn’t do this for you,” she admitted, babbling as she backtracked. “I-I mean...”

“No?” Novak asked.

“Then who did you think was taking over?” I arched a manicured brow at her, a smug smile fighting its place on my lips.

“Surely not her...” York trailed off, glancing around at the growing crowd.

“You’re supposed to be dead.” She seethed, her voice low. There was no mistaking the anger behind her words, and we weren’t the only ones to hear it. Murmurs started to spread like wildfire as the vampires in the room digested her confession.

I rubbed my forehead with my middle finger, pulling one of Briggs’ moves as I assured her, “Not dead. Though, your lackey did shoot me in the head on Tuesday morning.” I shrugged nonchalantly. “He’s dead now.”

“Why are you here?” The throaty quality of her voice betrayed her feelings.

“Here?” I questioned her, pointing at the floor. “At my father’s home? Where you’ve hosted a party without Nathaniel King’s knowledge? And called in all the Heads of Vampyre without proper authority?”

Novak hummed in agreement. “Some clarification would help us, Kadence.”

“Yes,” she ground out through gritted teeth.

“Ahh, well that’s simple,” I began, glancing around at the crowd. “You see, we’re here to take our places as the High Coven Master and Mistress.”

“Under whose authority?” Kade spat. “You need council approval for that.” She laughed, the sound just the right amount of irritating. It grated against my nerves, making me want to wrap my hands around her throat in a nice, tight hug. “Nate isn’t here. Dominic won’t step in.” She looked around the room. “I’m not going to back either of you, unless Novak is willing to step up with me. Then I’ll back him.”

Novak barked out a long laugh just as Dominic walked in with my dad and Papi.

I peeked over my shoulder when I heard them talking to the elders. Grinning like a cat who caught the canary, I focused all of my attention on her. “You seem to not know your own laws, Kade.” I looked down, studying my nails. “We don’t need you. Dominic will back us, and Nathaniel’s co-mates are here to back us as well.”

Kadence didn’t get a chance to reply as Blaire stepped forward. Novak’s sister did not disappoint. The self-satisfied look on her face was so much like my mate’s that I had to do a double take.

“As Vampyre law dictates,” Blaire started as if she was reading from the law book itself. “If the High Coven Master or Mistress is incapacitated then the heir — Sloane in this case — needs two councils member’s approval.” She held up two fingers, high enough for everyone to see, then dropped it to just one. “Or one member and the Master’s equal, if he or she is mated.”

Blaire eyed Kadence in disgust, her voice accented only slightly with certain words, changed by her time living away from France. “You have no authority here. Dominic stands superior to you. Nathaniel’s co-mates stand equal to the Master in all aspects of our laws, which means that they stand superior to Dominic. Sloane holds a higher position than you as well, being the Master’s heir. Novak would also hold a higher position, since he was the chosen apprentice in the event that Sloane did not accept her position.”

The side of Blaire’s mouth quirked up in true winning spirit, and I decided that I fucking loved this bitch. “What you’re trying to do goes against every law that we vampires respect. And as such laws dictate punishment as well as hierarchy, you will now be held accountable by the witnesses in this room. Would you like for me to publicly list your infractions while I’m citing the laws?” Novak’s sister continued from the left side of the room. Those murmurs rose as the attendees started talking amongst themselves. I waited patiently, watching as accusing eyes start to turn toward Kadence.

“I don’t know what-“