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My mouth dropped. “What? Why?”
“Why?” She stopped and turned to me. “You come here under the pretense of a guest when everyone knows it was because you were run out by the Omeron witches. You do not pay respect to the president first, and instead, you shopped. Then in return, you insult the president’s daughter in her own home, over a Lesser blood, and just as she warned, the Lesser blood caused mayhem on the president’s son’s birthday. You were commanded to fix the problem you caused by getting rid of the Lesser blood, and instead, you disobeyed and did what you wanted again for a Lesser blood. You walk and act as if you know best when you know nothing. You know nothing of us, our ways, or even yourself.”
“That is enough, Charline—”
“We are equal down here, Theseus Thorbørn. She asked, and I have chosen to answer. And while I am speaking to you, I shall say this, too, you are very selfish. Why you two are putting on this charade is beyond me and quite annoying. She is not your mate until she is your mate; therefore, the rest of us bowing and towing to her—a vampire whose blood is unknown—is disgraceful. We do not know her. American vampires are proud by nature. We bow our heads to very few of our own kind, your family being one of them. You make us entertain her foolishness without giving her a leg to stand on beyond you. She is young; of course, she shall be rowdy. However, you are supposed to correct her, not enable her. The vampires of Ankeiros may overlook it; that does not mean we will.”
I blinked slowly, trying to process her rant, and for some reason, I smiled a bit.
That did not bode well with Charline. “Do I amuse you, young one?”
“No. I’m glad you were able to get it off your chest,” I said. “This whole time, I sensed you were mad or annoyed, and I wasn’t sure why. Now that I know, I’m a bit relieved.”
“The point is to be better, not relieved, young one,” she grumbled. Turning around, she began to walk again.
“I will never be better, though,” I said to Theseus who wisely kept quiet. “The only mistake would have been seeing the president, but then again, why would the president want to see a nobody like me? As you said, I am not a Thorbørn. But I will keep that in mind for next time. As for Daiyu, I don’t apologize. For saving the human’s life and disobeying the orders to kill my friend, I doubly don’t apologize. You are right; I don’t know everything. But I do know right from wrong. You’re mad at me for not doing things that adhere to your traditions and customs but being prejudice towards Lesser bloods is wrong.”
“You will see the true nature of your friend one day, and I hope you remember this conversation and the energy you wasted on her,” Charline replied as we reached the light at the end of the cave.
The smell of moss, fresh water, pine trees, and the warmth of the sun hit my nose as we stepped toward the opening. There, large boulders carved with symbols, and words laid under a massive opening in the cave. The natural skylight looked directly up at the bright, blue sky. The sound of wind howled above as wolves did. The sun beat down into the cave at the spot, allowing for light to enter everywhere. The boulders seemed to make a mountain leading up and out of the cave.
There were very few vampires there. Daiyu and Mikhail both sat on their stones to the right
. Taelon stood at the stones between them and a Native American vampire woman I hadn’t seen before with tribal paint on her face. She was dressed in skins, and sat on a rock behind Jason, who was forced to kneel on his stone to the left. I assume she must have been the one representing him, but I didn’t know the purpose of the other people spread amongst the boulders.
“Druella, up here. Come sit with me!” Daiyu smiled and waved at me as if we were best friends who came to watch some game on the sidelines.
I glanced over to Theseus, who just nodded. I had to scale the rocks, but it didn’t take much effort, although my dress made it a bit unladylike. I wondered if Charline would add that to my list of faults.
“Welcome to court,” Daiyu said when I sat beside her, then kicked her brother with her foot. “Welcome her.”
Mikhail, who looked like he was sunbathing, sat up a bit. He looked at me, grimaced, and laid back down. “She ruined my party, and she does not need a welcome.”
“Forgive him.” Daiyu shook her head. “I think he was special as a mortal, and so even as he ages, he remains a child.”
“Are you calling me dumb?”
“I’m calling you special, now shhh; Dad’s coming.” She petted his legs, and he sat up, crossing his ankles underneath him.
I heard. The president came up the back of the rocks, not the same way Theseus did, but with a chieftain headdress that was so long and thick that the black and white feathers came forward over his body and covered it. He stood with his face covered in tribal paint, too.
“Is everyone here?” His voice was the only one heard.
“The accuser, the witness of the accusation, the accused, and his maker, as well as his representatives and character defendants are here, Father.” Taelon helped me put order to the people who were below me on the rocks.
“Very well, begin Taelon,” President Swan said, and I wondered if he would be the one to judge. It looked like it since he was seated higher than the rest of us., but I didn’t know for sure.
“Around midday of August 21st, I received a call from Lucy Ming—”
“Why is this Lucy Ming not here?” The Native American woman questioned, not rising from her rock.
“As you know, Lucy Ming is a Lesser blood. It is day time, and as such, she cannot be at court,” Taelon answered, and I swore it felt as if everyone here just had to dig it in that she was a Lesser blood. Luckily, the Native American woman just nodded, and Taelon went on. “Lucy Ming informed me that Theseus Thorbørn had returned to America and was in Northern Virginia. He had found his mate-to-be, Druella Monroe.”
Taelon pointed to me before the Native American woman could ask. Once again, she nodded.
“I was already on my way to speak to Theseus, as I knew the area was Omeron territory. I wished to avoid disturbance, but to be cautious, I had taken several vampires with me. One of them, the accused, was Jason Silber. Druella Monroe was working at the National Gallery, where a powerful witch named Simone Ward was also employed. They worked together without any disturbance, though it later became clear Simone was aware that Druella was a Noble blood vampire. I believe it was the presence of Theseus Thorbørn, another Noble blood vampire, which made her act. Apparently, a circle of their coven had vanished.”
“So, the witches assumed it could only be this other vampire that was strong enough to destroy one of their circles?” the woman questioned.
