Page 71 of Blood Currents
“And we drag my uncle there to face justice,” Keane said, his smile sharp as broken glass.
Elio’s expression had gone pale but determined.“My parents will be there.”
“I know,” I said gently.“This is your choice, Elio.We can do this without you if—”
“No.”His voice was steady, final.“No more hiding.No more protecting them from the truth.”His illusions flickered and died completely, showing his true face—scared but resolute.“They chose their path.Now I choose mine.”
“Then we need to move fast,” Parker said.“Before word of this rescue spreads and they have time to prepare their own narrative.”
Cyrus pulled out his communication crystal.“I’ll contact my father now.Tell him we have evidence that requires immediate council attention.”
“And we’ll bring Uncle as a very unwilling witness,” Keane added, his portal magic already reaching toward the restrained Alstone.
“Together?”I asked, looking around at my friends—my family.
“Together,” they answered.
The revolution was about to begin.
32
Elio
The portal opened directly intothe academy’s main auditorium, and I felt my carefully constructed world begin to crumble the moment we stepped through.
Everything I’d been raised to be—dutiful son, perfect heir, master of illusions and political games—shattered against the reality of what we were about to do.In a few minutes, I would stand before the most powerful people in the magical world and destroy my family’s reputation.Destroy my parents.Destroy myself.
And I’d never been more terrified or more certain of anything in my life.
“The emergency session has been called,” Cyrus said, closing his communication crystal.“My father’s demanding all council members respond immediately to the auditorium.They’ll be here within minutes.”
The auditorium felt vast and intimate at once—the same space where we’d first been introduced as heirs, where the council had burned Marigold’s father’s diary, where so many lies had been told with ceremonial authority.But tonight, it would be the stage for truth.
Beside me, Alstone struggled against Keane’s portal restraints.Dimensional energy wrapped around him like invisible chains, preventing him from moving or casting spells.His dark eyes promised retribution, but for once, his threats felt empty.
“You have no idea what you’re doing,” he snarled.“The consequences—”
“Will be exactly what they should have been years ago,” Keane interrupted, his voice cold as winter.“Justice.”
I tried to summon my usual masks, the careful composure that had protected me since childhood.But my illusions felt thin, insubstantial.Like trying to hide behind smoke.
“Elio.”Marigold’s voice was soft, concerned.“Are you ready for this?”
Ready?I wanted to laugh.How could anyone be ready to publicly betray their own parents?To stand in front of the council and expose decades of carefully hidden collaboration with vampires?
But when I looked at her—at the girl who’d seen through all my masks and somehow found something worth saving underneath—I felt something settle in my chest.Not peace, exactly.But certainty.
“No,” I said honestly.“But I’m going to do it anyway.”
The auditorium’s main doors opened with ceremonial weight, and Lord Raynoff entered first, his expression grim but determined.Behind him came additional figures—several high-ranking witches, senior faculty representatives, even Guard Captain Morrison.Witnesses to ensure whatever happened tonight couldn’t be buried or denied.
Raven and Lucas filed in with Aurora, taking positions near the far wall.They looked uncomfortable but determined, standing together as if drawing strength from each other’s presence.Raven caught my eye and nodded once, her familiar beetle tapping an anxious rhythm against her shoulder.
Among the witnesses stood a silver-haired witch I didn’t recognize.She carried herself with unusual grace, her pale eyes tracking the room with predatory focus.Something about her made my illusions flicker involuntarily—a cold, ancient quality that seemed strange.
Before I could examine my uneasy feeling, my parents arrived—Mother in her perfectly tailored robes, Father with his diplomatic smile already in place.They saw Cyrus immediately and then me, and for just a moment their masks slipped.
Confusion.Then growing horror as they noticed Alstone in magical restraints, Parker beside us with evidence of torture written across her bruised face, and bags full of documents that could only mean one thing.
