AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We have a plan,he said. My eyes narrowed.Johnny and I—
Johnny!?
I don’t trust him fully, either, but they have a plan that might actually work. My cuffs aren’t like yours; I can snap out of them. They just have to provide a distraction, and then we’ll be out of her. So don’t speak at all if that thing is going to hurt you, because I’m already on edge and if I snap and ruin our chances of escape, we’ll be dead for real.
I swallowed around a ball of emotion.Sariel—
Do you understand me?he pressed.
Yes. I do.
Good girl.
I didn’t hear what the High Priestess had said, but I was stunned as I watched Aggy walk out of the door I’d come from. She was dressed in a tight skirt suit, and her hair was pulled back into a sleek, tight bun. She took a seat on a smaller platform in front of mine, her back to the crowd of people to my left. Next, several other members of AMH’s staff came out, two of which I recognized were from the group that had made my life miserable when Sariel had hated my guts and sicced them on me.
“This will be a group examination, as we do not have time to interview all of you individually,” the High Priestess said. She motioned for the vampire Elder to take over. “Elder Pagani will conduct your interview.”
The Elder leaned forward to speak into the mic. “In front of each of you is a small red button. If you would like to answer my question, press it and wait. I expect you to be honest with your answers.”
He was Russian. His accent wasn’t particularly thick, but it was noticeable enough that I could pinpoint exactly where he was from at once. His eyes shifted and shimmered as he looked at me.
I could sense a bottomless well of hunger within him. It filled my veins with ice.
“Was Ms. Gribald ever violent in the workplace?”
A litany of dings went off. The Elder’s eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. “Witness number four,” he called.
“There was one incident where she slapped Sariel Ambrose in the face,” the witness answered.
That was true. She had slapped him in the face.
“Witness number two.”
“She verbally assaulted me in the bathrooms.”
I didn’t recognize this girl, so that was a lie.
I could feel Sariel’s eyes boring into the side of my head as a reminder—as witness after witness, Aggy included, lied about me—that if I spoke or tried to defend myself, I’d get hurt. They all painted me in such a violent light, their testimonies so convincing, that for a second, I had to wonder if I hadn't blacked out and done everything they claimed I’d done.
By the time the Elder dismissed them, I was a cat-killing, money-stealing, verbal, physical, and emotional abuser with a penchant for hissing at people I didn’t like.
The High Priestess took back the reins. “In the interest of time, I want to clarify that, using the blood samples taken by the AMH Human Resources Department, we were able to confirm that Ms. Gribald is indeed a half-fallen, half-blessed blood hybrid.”
She raised a paper that the camera zoomed in on. On the flatscreens throughout the room, my medical details were displayed for everyone to see.
The results did confirm that the doctor had found both types of blood cells and furthermore had labeled my blood type ‘anomaly,’ which was normal for many hybrids.
“After hearing testimonies of her peers and the people who lived within the same community as her, it is quite clear to us once again why we do not leave hybrids unculled and free to run around our world. They are violent and parasitic, using our resources while bullying and endangering our people. The actions listed are common, almost textbook, and show up in every single mixed blood, regardless of parentage. I am disappointed—humbled, even—by the fact that we are faced with the evidence that our people still uncaringly mate outside of their species, thus endangering their friends and families. They are aiding and abetting what could lead to the eventual collapse of our society.”
She paused for dramatic effect, her eyes falling upon every section of people in the room.
“Some of you may look up here and see a regular young adult, but we,” she motioned to the Council, “see the bigger picture. Which is why we are here to make the decisions you may not be able to.”
She sat back, her eyes landing on me. “Thus, I, Francesca fe Angelo, High Priestess of all High Priestesses, sentence you, Aria Gribald, to death by beheading. Those in favor, say aye.”
“Aye,” was echoed by every Council member—except Elias Olskin, whose jaw tensed, his eyes closing as if he could block out my distraught expression that way.
I’d known I was going to die before all of this, but hearing the rest of the Council agree without remark—not one person in this room questioning them, even—broke something within me.
