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In front of us, two thrones were positioned. Not the way they were in castles, raised high above in a show of lordship and rank. They were almost on level, raised only a little bit over everyone else. They were carved wood. High-backed and upholstered in red velvet. Grand, but not ostentatious.
Heads tilted as they took us in, and eyebrows raised, but no one whispered. No one glowered. It was an unusual response. I was used to the opposite.
Elias guided me to the twin seats, then gestured for me to take the one next to him. I did, feeling my knees shake as I sat, and Nova settled herself beside my chair. Her head was up and alert, watching the room so I could focus.
I crossed my ankles, trying to give the impression that this was fine and that I wasn’t on the verge of fainting or vomiting—or both. To keep up appearances, Elias reached over, taking my hand in his once more, resting our clasped hands where the two thrones met.
The vampires dipped their heads in respect, then all took their seats. I looked at the double door, and Ysabeau remained at her post, as aloof as ever.
Elias knocked on the arm of his chair, garnering attention—not that anyone wasn’t already giving us just that.
“Members of the High Court, thank you for arriving on short notice. I have an announcement I wanted to make.”
A woman with jet-black hair, brown eyes, and olive skin smiled. She was stunning. Her painted red lips curled into a grin, showcasing her elongated fangs. “We can see that,” she said, appraising me from top to bottom. “No need for the formalities, Elias. Fill us in. Have you taken a consort? She’s absolutely delicious.” The purr in her voice sent a tingle up my spine.
Murmurs of agreement filtered around from others seated at the table. And yet, still—no one had a negative expression. They all looked at me with awe.
Before my confidence could falter, a whisper in my consciousness reminded me that I was new to them. They didn’t know me. They didn’t know how Nova had come to be. Right now, they didn’t know details, and that meant they were curious.
I could handle curious.
Elias motioned for them to settle down. “Easy, Katie.” Squeezing my hand, he glanced at me and winked. “Dannika is new to Blood and Beryl. We don’t want to scare her off.”
“And what is Dannika doing here?” a regal-looking vampire asked. Her chestnut hair was pulled into a bun, decorated with small blue flowers I didn’t know the name of. High cheekbones accentuated a pointed nose and piercing red eyes. She didn’t seem to be a day over thirty-five in appearance, but her voice was aged and experienced, and she made no move to hide the coldness of her tone. “We heard that you took in shifters from Fire and Fluorite at the commemoration last Friday. One of which had a great wolf,” she trailed off, looking to Nova before back to Elias. “I’d assumed them to be prisoners, not consorts. This is not the case?”
“Marisa asks a question I believe we all want to know the answer to,” a male vampire agreed. His gaze flicking to our joined hands, he smirked. “I think we very much want to know about your new . . . guest.”
I could speak at this moment, or I could let them gawk at me. Talk about me as though I weren’t there. I could let Elias take over, never saying a word and letting him do all the convincing while I mustered the strength to keep a demure smile on my face.
The thing was, I was anything but demure.
If this was going to be a long-term arrangement, I would have to use my voice. I would have to make myself known. I would have to show them who I was. Or at least, who I wanted them to see.
I hadn’t gotten to define myself in Fire and Fluorite. The adults who’d whispered about a little girl who couldn’t shift had done that for me before I could understand that I was different. Cursed.
Blood and Beryl may not have been my first choice . . . but I was going to make the most of it. I needed to, for my own sanity and safety.
It was now or never.
I just hoped I didn’t throw up while doing it.
“I’m not a guest or a consort. I’m Elias’s mate,” I said, keeping my tenor even and projecting my statement so it echoed in the room. Elias studied me from his seat on the throne, giving me a twisted grin.
I focused my energy on keeping my heart rate slow and steady, like I was hunting. For all intents and purposes, I was. While they would be forced to accept whatever mate bond their leader claimed to have, I was also seeking their approval in other ways, and to do so, I had to tread carefully toward my target.
Marisa cocked an eyebrow ever so slightly. “His mate?” she asked, caution leaking through the chill. Murmurs of surprise and elation were whispered around the table, but she still remained unsure. Glancing at my wolf, she stopped herself from speaking further, realizing she needed to reconsider her words.
“I know who you are,” a tall and muscular vampire blurted out. His gray eyes held me in a cold stare. His very presence exuded danger, reminding me of the stories I was told as a child. This was the kind of vampire you didn’t want to meet in a dark alley. “You’re not even a normal shifter, are you?”
Everyone in the room snapped their heads in his direction.
“Kieran!” one shouted in response. “Manners, for the goddess’s sake.”
He shrugged. “I meant no disrespect. I’m just asking the question we all want to know.” He shifted his gaze from me to Nova. “I get intel for this court. I was there the night of the commemoration. I know of the two shifters our king brought in. You can’t shift, Dannika. How can you have a mate? Let alone a second-chance mate with our king?”
“How dare—” Elias began, but I cut him off with a raise of my hand. This battle was one I’d fight. It was the hill I’d die on if need be. It was my life, my wolf, and my fight to be had. Not Elias’s.
“I’m still a shifter,” I said, my voice going cold. This argument was all too familiar. “Magic still runs in my veins. It simply looks different. I exist in two forms at once. Two places at once. Some might say that makes me a stronger shifter.” I lowered my hand to Nova’s head, and she bared her teeth at the man called Kieran. “Master vampires have gifts that no other vampire does, is that correct?” Several members of the High Court nodded. “Then why is it assumed that I’m less powerful, less worthy, and less valued because of my difference? If I were a vampire, you would see this as my strength.”
