Page 72 of Blood Currents
We’d found everything.
“What is the meaning of this emergency assembly?”Mother demanded, her voice carrying all the authority of her position as she moved toward the central stage.But I heard the tremor underneath, the first crack in her perfect composure.
The Shroud Guard moved to flank my parents, not quite restraining them but clearly positioned to prevent any sudden movement.Yet despite being surrounded, they seemed strangely calm.Almost expectant.
“The meaning,” I said, stepping forward onto the same platform where they’d once burned Marigold’s father’s diary, “is that the lies end tonight.”
My illusions dissolved completely as I spoke—not just the ones around me but every carefully maintained facade I’d built over the years.For the first time in my life, I stood before my parents without a single mask, in front of witnesses who could never be silenced.
“Elio,” Father said carefully, “whatever you think you know—”
“I know you’ve been working with vampire allies for years,” I interrupted, my voice carrying clearly through the auditorium’s acoustics.“I know Mother developed psychological torture techniques specifically for the council’s use.I know you both collaborated in the systematic corruption of wellsprings across the magical world.”
The words fell into the space like stones into still water, creating ripples of shock that spread across every face.Gasps echoed from the assembled witnesses.But my parents’ expressions cut deepest—the look of a carefully constructed empire beginning to crumble.
“You don’t understand,” Mother said, but her voice lacked its usual conviction.“The stability of the magical world requires difficult choices—”
“The stability of the magical world requires truth,” I said, my voice growing stronger.“Something you taught me to avoid my entire life.”
Lord Raynoff stepped forward, his authority filling the auditorium.“What evidence do you bring before this assembly?”
Marigold moved beside me onto the stage, pulling documents from her bag—her father’s real journal, magical recordings, financial records showing payments to vampire mercenaries.
“Evidence that the vampire war was manufactured.That council members have been directing vampire attacks against their own investigators.That Project Cornerstone was designed to corrupt the very foundations of magic itself.”
“Lies,” my mother said, but the word came out hollow, unconvincing in the face of the assembled evidence.
“Are they?”Parker stepped forward despite her injuries, her voice carrying the weight of years spent gathering proof.“Then explain the torture equipment in Lord Alstone’s private laboratory.Explain the systematic corruption of magic.Explain why every investigator who got too close to the truth ended up dead.”
The auditorium buzzed with shocked whispers from the witnesses.This wasn’t a closed council session that could be buried.This was public, recorded, witnessed by people who couldn’t be silenced or disappeared.
“You trained me to be the perfect liar,” I said, looking directly at my parents.“To hide truth behind beautiful illusions, to say whatever was necessary to protect the family’s interests.But you never taught me what to do when the family’s interests required me to betray everything good in the world.”
“Elio,” Father’s voice carried warning now.“Think about what you’re doing.Think about your future—”
“Iamthinking about my future,” I said.“For the first time in my life, I’m thinking about the future I want instead of the one you designed for me.”
I turned to face the assembled witnesses, letting them see everything—my fear, my determination, my complete rejection of the world I’d been raised to inherit.
“My parents aren’t victims of this conspiracy,” I said, my voice carrying clearly through the auditorium.“They’re architects of it.Lady Lightford developed the psychological manipulation techniques used to break resistant subjects.Lord Lightford used his political connections to suppress investigations and eliminate threats.They’ve been working with vampire allies to spread corruption through the magical world’s most sacred sites.”
“You’re destroying everything,” Mother whispered, and for the first time in my life, I heard her sound truly afraid.
“Good,” I said simply.“It deserves to be destroyed.”
The auditorium erupted in shouted questions and demands for proof, but I barely heard them.All I could see was Marigold’s face—the wonder and pride and something that might have been love shining in her dark eyes.
“Why?”Marigold asked quietly, moving closer on the stage.“You could have stayed silent.Protected yourself.Why choose this?”
“Because,” I said, my voice breaking slightly, “you made me believe there was something under all the masks worth protecting.Something worth choosing over everything else.”
She reached for my hands, her touch warm and real and grounding.“There is.There always was.”
Lord Raynoff stepped forward, calling for order.“Guard Captain Morrison, place Lady and Lord Lightford under immediate arrest.These accusations require full investigation.”
“Father—” Cyrus started, but Lord Raynoff held up a hand.
“You were right, son,” he said quietly, his voice carrying grief and determination in equal measure.“About your mother.About all of it.I won’t make the same mistake twice.”
