Bloodline Diplomacy: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Academy Novel (Bloodline Academy Book 3), Lan Chan [best way to read an ebook .TXT] 📗

couldn’t tear my attention from Rachel. Astrid had moved to contain Desi but the human still stood with her knife raised. She was frozen. Incredulity and then something else crossed her features. If I didn’t know any better, I would think it was fear.

“What the hell happened here?” Jacqueline yelled.

Samantha pushed past her to Matilda’s aid. I stood there panting and trying to get the phantom sore spot in my mind to heal. I was about to move towards where Sophie had Max’s head cradled in her lap when Kai appeared in front of me. He reached out and cupped my face, eyes sweeping over me. “Did they hurt you?” he asked.

I almost choked on my own comeback. “What just happened?” My breath was raspy. “You...you touched her.”

“I’ll do more than touch her the next time they try ambushing us.”

He put his back to me. If he had walked away I would have taken it as a dismissal. But he didn’t move an inch as the adults worked to clear the room and sort out what had happened. Any time someone came too close, he speared them with a deadly look. For goodness sake!

I tried to push at his back but he wouldn’t budge. “I can still use my powers,” I warned him.

“Go right ahead, Blue.” It was the relief in his voice that struck me. I should have been irritated that he was acting like I was some damsel. But the catch in his tone gave me pause. For some reason, I caught his hand. He glanced down in surprise and then he pulled me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around his neck and felt the furious beat of his heart even out. It must have been killing him to know there was a threat out there he couldn’t defend against. Tonight, he’d figured out how. We would have a discussion about this later, but for now, I could feel his relief uncurl from his tightly wound muscles.

Somebody cleared their throat. Kai released me but wouldn’t let me out of the cage of his arms. Jessica glared at us.

“We’re leaving,” she said. “You’re still on Terran time.”

“But nothing’s been agreed,” I protested. “You’ve barely had time to speak.”

“I think enough has been said,” Samantha interjected. She approached us with Matilda propped up. The other woman had cuts all over her skin. But she didn’t cower at Kai who was looming around me. I had to hand it to her for being tough.

“This is ridiculous,” I said. I pushed out of Kai’s hold. “We need to come to some sort of agreement. We can’t just keep fighting with each other.”

It was at that point that the Minister appeared. “I think what just happened here is a perfect example of the point we’ve been trying to press,” he said. Samantha shuddered when he placed his hand on her hip.

“We appreciate you’re trying to keep the peace. But this kind of peace is an illusion at best. You don’t give someone freedom of choice unless you also give them the truth. Isn’t that the strict mandate of the seraphim? By hiding yourselves away like this, you’re contravening their highest edict. Give us back our right to free will.”

Somebody snorted. “Free will and doing what’s best for the populace are two very different things.” This from the scratchy throat of the oldest vampire in existence. Victoria Amos stood by the doorway. For some reason she’d decided to add a cane to her ensemble. Was anybody actually fooled by her attempt at frailty? She was at least as strong as some of the Fae.

“How would you know until you try?” The Minister asked.

“We have tried,” Orin said. “All of our experiences suggest that humans aren’t ready.”

The Minister eyed me. “Your last induction seems to be working out fine.”

What the hell did he just call me? Kai was equally unimpressed. I stepped in front of him.

“Perhaps we should table this for another time,” Nora said. “I don’t think we’ll be able to salvage anything tonight. But this –” she swept her arm around the room, “– is unacceptable. From either side. If we can’t get ourselves in line, how do we expect to do what’s best for the civilians?”

“Perhaps we can consider another meeting,” Griff suggested. I didn’t miss the way Jessica averted her eyes. Griff was the Goblin King and the para-human representative on the Council. His skin was a pale khaki. He’d made an attempt at combing his matted hair for this occasion. But there wasn’t anything he could do about his pointed ears or the sharp little teeth inside his wide mouth.

“Perhaps,” the Minister said.

“Come,” Samantha said to me. I traded a glance with Nora. I could see her biting the inside of her cheek. But what could she really do? They had made a deal for me to attend Terran. I had to be there for another day. To be fair, it wasn’t me they had a problem with. I was perfectly safe. Sighing, I trudged behind the humans as they made their way out. I passed where Durin and Adam were trying to coax Max back into his human form. They eyed me with wariness. Great. Now the shifters would be giving me grief.

The ride back to Terran was dead silent. Rachel drove because Ashton’s arm was broken and Sean was still having trouble breathing.

“We will speak about this tomorrow,” Samantha called out to me as I tried to escape past. I changed into my pyjamas and sat there on my bed stewing until I heard Rachel’s thudding footsteps coming up. When she entered the room, I got up, pushed the door closed behind her, and punched her in the face.

32

She reeled back and clutched at her cheek. I wasn’t very strong but a surprise hit was a surprise hit. If she had any intention of reciprocating, I would be dead to rights. But she saw the conviction in my eyes. “Why?” I seethed. It was her