Page 9 of Mortal Blood
“You can start by explaining why you didn’t come to see me the moment you set foot inside my academy,” she said, anger crackling in the air around her.
“I wasn’t aware I needed to.”
“The human is unaware of the most basic of etiquette? Why am I unsurprised? Oh, wait…” She canted her head a fraction and her eyes narrowed. “Half-human.”
“The council spoke to you.”
“Did you imagine you could keep something of this magnitude from me?”
In truth, I hadn’t thought that far ahead.
“No, Domina. I was just—”
“Trying to find some way to cover up your true nature? I’d have thought you would have learned your lesson when the council took you away. Perhaps another visit to their facilities is in order.”
“I was trying to come to terms with what they told me,” Iground out. “Domina.”
“Hmph. The first sensible thing you’ve said inside these walls, Ms. Ellis,” she said grudgingly. “It is little wonder that such a revelation has appalled you.”
“How did you cope, Domina? When you were turned?”
All vampires were humans who’d been turned, but most were raised by the vampire clans, trained their whole lives in preparation for the day they’d be bitten. But it was well known that Astor was one of the few who’d been turned without any prior knowledge of the supernatural, the only one I’d ever met.
And I could see the moment the words left my mouth that it was the wrong thing to say.
“We are not in any way alike, Ms. Ellis,” she bit out. “I am a vampire of the Tor clan. “You—” She curled her lip. “You are an abomination, and if I had my way, you’d be destroyed.”
I swallowed hard, resisting the urge to step back from the disgust on her face, or wipe it off with my fist, because I quite liked having a fist. Abruptly, her lips shaped into a malicious smile, and she settled back into her chair.
“But when the council catches your father,he,at least, will be.”
I forced a nonchalant smile of my own, and lifted one shoulder in a shrug.
“Fine by me. He’s a criminal, and he deserves to face the full force of the law.”
I meant every word of it. I didn’t care that he’d broken any supernatural laws, but I cared he’d fucked my mother and then abandoned her, pregnant and alone, to raise a child while hermental health spiraled. The council would only be killing him if they got to him before I did.
“Indeed. And I have no doubt that he will. Criminals are not left at large in our world for long—something you may wish to keep in mind.”
“I haven’t broken any laws, Domina,” I said coldly. “The council cleared me of any charges.”
“Don’t play games with me. The council have ordered you to be remanded at the academy—myacademy—while they investigate your abhorrent nature.”
“Which is myfather’scrime, not mine.”
“Unless they determine you had some knowledge of it.”
“Which I didn’t.”
“We’ll see.” She smiled and the artificial light flashed against her teeth. “And rest assured, Ms. Ellis, I will be watching very closely.”
“Will that be all, Domina?” I asked stiffly.
“For now.”
I slipped from her office before she could change her mind. One thing was for sure: I was going to need to watch my back.
It sure was great to be back at Darkveil.
