Blood Sacrifice

            Stomach in her throat during the fall, Ari braced herself. She landed several stories down, absorbing the shock of her fall with crouched legs. Tyler had already taken off down the street, giving chase. Ari took off after him, catching up easily. He was stronger but Ari was faster, over taking him and rounding a corner, skidding to a halt.

            “Shit,” she muttered, Tyler skidding next to her. Instantly he was in front of Ari, stance wide enough to screen her. Ari wanted to hiss at him but he knew that logically it was his first reaction. Because when Ari had skid around the corner, she knew she made a mistake.

            Tyler and Ari were easily out numbered. There were ten hooded figures standing several yards away from them, fanned out and armed. Ari realized that when they had screamed ‘royal’ and ran, it wasn’t because they were suddenly afraid of a strong monarch in the building. They were pulling her to the outskirts by the road where they had more than enough people.

            “We want to talk,” someone called. Ari walked around Tyler’s side and he shifted towards her but she cut him down with a glare. The unit was still blocks back and could deliver backup shortly. Until then, Ari had a minute or two before another fight would engage. “Is there a particular one of you that is in charge?”

            “You can talk to me,” Ari answered the male voice curtly. She glanced at the sword in Tyler’s hand, realizing the identification error on the speakers half. Ari examined who spoke, a figure in the middle of the group. His voice was young, colored with arrogance. He wasn’t particularly tall, but he wasn’t short, either. He was flanked by a figure that was clearly a woman and a man who was Tyler’s size. “Since you fired on my unit and I’ve just killed a few of your friends.”

            “They aren’t friends, really. We just happen to need the same things.”

            “Whatever they are.” Ari lifted her chin. There was a slight breeze, making her hair ripple. Her face was still concealed by the hood, refusing to reveal her face if the opposing party wouldn’t do it first. “This is my city, you should start talking if you’re to convince me to spare you. Which is extremely unlikely all the same.”

            “We’re here on refuge,” the man said. He stepped forward. No one stopped him from doing so. Tyler made a sound deep in his chest but Ari did not look at him. “We can’t stay in our city. It’s madness there, and it’s no longer safe. We entered city and sought an audience with a monarch, but we were denied.”

            “There was no audience requested.”

            A dry laugh that held everything but humor. Trees branches shivered in the wind. Somewhere in the Tombstone, Ari could hear the soft voices of humans. Word of a vampire confrontation probably spread, as there were no longer any smell of humans in the direct area. Ari wondered how quickly they had left when they saw this armada of vampires come in.

            “Oh, it was requested. Just refused. By both covens of the city.”

            Tyler touched Ari on the lower back. She didn’t respond, knowing him well enough to know that the touch was supposed to mean her backup had arrived. They were avoiding direct engagement, probably Jax’s idea. “Regardless, you’ve been given an audience now. You need to get to your point. You’re not from our city, which means you’re here illegally. You’ve certainly fed on our humans and you have fired on a praetorian unit and a monarch. You’re breaking several laws and any alliance that we hold with your city.”

            “We have no city.” The speaker raised his hand and unveiled his face. Just as Ari suspected, he was young. His face was frozen at seventeen or close. It was dirty and unwashed, pale-blue eyes filled with ice glaring at her. “We lost the rights to our home. You all have no idea what is going on out there, and you shut your doors on us when we sought audience. So we decided to wait, hoping we would run into someone of importance. We saw the truck and decided to draw you out.” He glanced between Tyler and Ari. “And apparently we’ve got the two Dimitrikova’s here.”

            Tyler frowned and opened his mouth to correct the man but Ari spoke over him. “We don’t care what is going on in your city.” Her voice was firm. “If you’re criminals fleeing and seeking shelter, it is our right to deny audience and aid to you. You are not protected by our laws here.”

            “Dies Irae is in chaos. The streets run red with the blood of humans and vampires alike. The crown is being hammered and wrought of cruel iron. The buildings are turning to ash and bone, and it won’t stop with our city.”

            “Dies Irae is always in chaos. What your covens do is not our business, despite your poetics.”

            His face turned to stone. “You will not discuss terms with us? Are we so estranged? We’re all vampires here.”

            “We will not discuss terms. You’ve broken our laws.”

            The man looked to Tyler. Ari didn’t look at Tyler but she felt her heart jump. It certainly wouldn’t harm her if they knew Tyler wasn’t someone of importance. But it was obvious that they were far more intimidated thinking there were two Dimitrikova’s in front of them. It might not be so frightening if they knew it was just one. “I hear Nikolai’s son is far more diplomatic than the daughter. What do you have to say about this? You’ll stand by her side?”

            “Sed lex dura lex.” Ari almost ogled at Tyler in surprise. Latin was strictly spoken by monarchs, a language that was dead before vampirism was even a problem in the world. “The law is hard, but it is the law. The decision is final. You won’t receive help from the Dimitrikova’s after you’ve broken laws that are punishable by death.”

            Behind Ari, Tyler shifted slightly. It was the softest movement. His foot dug into the dirt slightly, the sound crunching. Ari didn’t budge. She would not move, though Tyler was setting them both up to move at the right moment.

            The man straightened. “I was always hoping to run into a Cortez. I had heard of the unwavering arrogance of the Dimitrikova Coven. You’ve been around a long time, and you all still have sticks shoved right up your-"

            Ari tasted dirt as she was thrown into it. She hadn’t expected to go so harshly into the ground, but Tyler wasn’t worried about keeping the earth from her mouth as much as he was worried about pressing himself against her to shield her from a loud and hot spray of holy water.

            It happened quickly. Ari knew Tyler had known something was coming, but she wasn’t sure how he knew or what it was that her unit was doing. She guessed that after working with the same praetors for so long, Tyler knew better than she did what they would do and when they would do it. And he was spot on, pushing her down and covering her as grenades filled with holy water landed in front of the boy speaking, exploding with the blessed water.

            There were several different noises all at once, ranging from snarling to screaming. Tyler rolled off of Ari and yanked her to her feet, pressing their backs together. The grenade hadn’t killed anyone, but it had damaged most of the vampires from Dies Irae. The ones who recovered quickly attacked, but it was no longer Ari and Tyler by themselves. Jax threw down a small disk that extended upwards, a thin, metal shield. Ari ducked behind it and shot from around the side, Tyler shooting over the top. Jax and Wes were both moving forward with portable, metal shields.

            Thinking about it, Ari realized she didn’t put as many items on her belt as she should have.

            “Back to back?” Ari asked, looking at Tyler. He shot over the shield before looking at her. His lips were upturned and rolled his eyes at her, as if they weren’t shooting at someone over shields and buildings. “Come on, Ty.”

            “I need a shotgun.” Roman, another praetor behind them whistled, drawing Tyler’s attention. He tossed him a shotgun. Tyler caught it with one hand and grinned. The sword was back on his back and the pistol was holstered. Roman then tossed him a belt filled with shells. Tyler clipped it around his waste. “Alright, I have a shotgun. Put that damn sword away, warrior princess.”

            With a flourish, the sword was replaced. Ari ejected the magazine on her gun and put in a new clip. She pulled back the slid to load it and looked at him and grinned. Together, they emerged from the shield. Ari moved with ease, dodging the fire coming from around the buildings. She jumped over one of the shields, narrowly avoiding a bullet that hit the side of her boot.

            Landing, Ari straightened. She felt Tyler’s strong figure pressed against her back and felt safe. Tyler dropped a metal canister, smoke rising up around them. She grinned as the smoke concealed them, her mask and hood keeping it out of her eyes as they became invisible. It wasn’t easy to see through the smoke but it kept them safe as Ari took shots. She used everything other than sight to aid her, her ears picking up where the sound was coming from and tracking the angle that bullets were hissing through the smoke from.

 With both hands steady on her gun, she squeezed the trigger. She didn’t miss a single target. The rogue group hadn’t expected them to cross the line and jump into their territory. Ari could feel the kick of Tyler’s shotgun every time he fired, and she could feel his shoulder blade every time he pumped to reload.

            A few minutes passed and Ari saw no one else to kill. They were still surrounded by smoke, everything quieting. Neither one of them moved and inch. Ari could feel every part of Tyler pressed against her. His shoulder blades, her had against his back, his legs pressed against hers.
 
            “I think we’re clear,” Ari said. Tyler didn’t reply for a second but she felt him relax, dropping the shotgun to his side. Ari turned around. The canister at their feet was fizzing out, the smoke coming lighter and thinner. So quickly as she could, she stood on the tips of her toes and kissed him briefly on the corner of his mouth before stepping out of the smoke. “Let’s take care of this.”
 
            Under Ari’s orders, they dragged all of the fallen vampires to the center of the street. It took longer only because the gear weighed them down and because they were all worn. Wes had vanished to retrieve the car and drive it to where they were, leaving the rest of them to haul the bodies.
 
            Ari looked at the sky. It was still dark but there was a growing grey sheen to the sky that let her know that sunrise would come soon. It didn’t seem like they had already passed that far into the night, but time slipped away easily when she wasn’t watching it.
 
            Walking behind a building, Ari sighed. Tyler was a few feet behind her, like a steady orbit. He was never right up against her, but he was always within a few yards of her. She didn’t mind most of the time, knowing that it was because he felt better about her safety if it was him around and not the others. But he also respected her space.

            Looking down, she looked without an expression at the body. It was face down and soaked in blood. With the toe of her boot, Ari rolled it over. As she rolled the body, the vampire’s arm struck out, stabbing Ari directly in the calf. She let out a surprised shout, more caught off guard than in pain. 

            Ari raised her foot and brought it down hard as she could on the vampires face. The force of the blow sent her heavy boot through his skull. It was the vampire who had be at the lead, his young face now crushed in with bone sticking out and blood cooling in the cavity Ari’s foot had created.

            Hands picked her up, despite her protesting. Tyler carried her to the car, opening the door and sitting her on the seat. She reached to pull the knife out herself but he smacked her hands away, drawing a growl from Ari. His look verged on anger as he bent down, wrapping his fingers around the hilt of the knife before pulling it out. Ari did not flinch.

            Standing, Tyler brought the blade to his face, examining it. It was slick with Ari’s blood. “What?” Ari asked, ignoring the thin line of blood running down her calf from the wound. It would heel soon. “Answer me.”

            “You’re lucky.” He tossed the knife, glancing at her with that same look that bordered on anger. “You’ve been around for how many years, Ari?” She didn’t answer, brows pulling together. “And you couldn’t wait two seconds to make sure they were dead before rolling them over?”

            “A knife to the calf is hardly deadly.”

            “No, but what if it had been purposefully infect with Red Fang?”

            “That’s a lot of effort.”

            He tilted his head. “And yet, it isn’t uncommon, especially when people feel like poisoning a monarch.” He turned around, heading towards the where they came from. “Just stay over there for once.”

            “How did you know what to say?” He stopped walking, looking at her. Jax and the others were ignoring them. They were beginning to strip down the bodies and put them in a pile, taking the weapons and the clothes for storage. The sun would do the work for them, when it touched their skin. “The Latin. You don’t speak it, much less know it’s called Latin.” He shrugged one shoulder, noncommittal. “If I have to ask you to answer me for a second time today, I’m going to get very angry, Ty.”

            “I pay attention to what you say and do.” The answer came automatically this time. “I’m not stupid, I’m observant.”

            “I never said you were stupid.”

            “You never said I was very smart, either.”

            Ari blinked. “I think you’re very smart.” She hesitated. “Thank you for going with being mistaken for Jonathan. The Latin, it was really smart. They probably didn’t know what it meant, but they recognize the language of royalty. Thank you.”

            Tyler nodded once more before walking away. Ari watched him walk away, frustrated more with herself than with Tyler. Sometimes, Ari couldn’t figure out how she was supposed to speak to him. Of course Ari didn’t think that Tyler was stupid, she couldn’t think of any reason she would ever consider him unintelligent. But Tyler was right; Ari never told him when he did a good job, or pointed out that he was extremely unintelligent.

            Flicking her hair over her shoulder, she moved for a black, metal box. It was cool to the touch with an electronic keypad. She typed in a series of numbers and it popped the top. Inside were small, carbon canisters. They were black with a small silver button on the top, cold to the touch. She hit the button on the top and the metal grew warm in her hand as she closed the top of the box again, keeping the rest of the cans cool.

            When the button popped back up, she twisted the top of the canister. The smell of warm blood bloomed in front of her as she tilted her head back, bringing the can up to her lips and drinking the warm, thick liquid in a few long gulps. The injury on her leg grew itchy as she finished the small amount of blood. The blood would instantly go to work on her wound, stitching it together.

            Sliding out the vehicle, she walked over to Jax. The wound was still bloody, but Ari walked in it anyways, ignoring the pain that pinched with the damaged muscle. Jax tossed weapons into a small bin. Wes was disrobing the bodies and the other three in their unit split jobs between them, contacting the Towers to send in the report as well as contacting the Cortez coven to inform them of the incident. The Cortez and Dimitrikova covens still had not agreed to an alliance, but Ari told them to do it as a show of faith.

            Ari examined the faces of the dead. “I would like the conversation between myself and the leader of this group out of public knowledge.” Jax looked up at Ari. His eyes were very blue in the approaching dawn. “If anyone in this unit discusses what was exchanged, I’ll personally see to their punishment. I want to discuss what they said with my father without any other member of the coven interfering. Is that understood?”

            “Yes, Your Highness. No one from this unit will discuss the discussion.”

            Ari gave him a half smile. “I know, but I have to say it. Words are binding.”

            The wind shifted, bringing air and a new scent. Ari turned to look at the road leading out of the city. It was a roughly hewn path between trees. The wind was coming in hard, and the sound of thunder, or something like it was carried with it. Jax and the other praetors stopped what they were doing, turning to look down the road. The sound of a horse in the distance reached them.

            Mechanically, everyone started moving. Ari went to the back of the car, grabbing a rifle and tossing it to Wes, ordering him to the top of the highest building. He vanished. Jax and Roman activated metal barriers. Tyler had come back from dragging the body of the man who stabbed Ari, throwing his body on the pile. He loaded his gun, Ari doing the same. Jax and Roman covered the left side of the road, while Ari and Tyler covered the front, getting down behind a barrier. To the right side of the road, Luke, a young stat turned at seventeen and Orion who was his older brother turned at twenty, mimicked the others.

            Together, they all formed a spaced out u-shape. Whoever was coming down the road could not pass through Ari and Tyler up the middle, nor could they pass the other two on either side. With Wes up high and with a rifle, whoever it was- enemy or friend- would be vulnerable like fish in a barrel.

            “I don’t want anyone to fire,” Ari said, loud enough for even Wes up on the building to hear. “Until I give the command. I don’t care if they fire first. When I address them, you are all to act as if Tyler is my brother.”

            “Princess,” Jax started. “That technically-"

            “Law fifty-eight: Any being who claims to be or acts in the stead of a royal and/or monarch is subject to be punishment as severe as death or to the agreed upon punishment by the leading vampire of the coven,” Ari recited. “No being may claim to be acting in the name of the leading vampire of the coven unless instructed to do so.” Tyler glanced at Ari. She grinned. “Subsection D of Law fifty-eight: A monarch may give temporary or permanent permission to act as a royal or monarch, thus the permission may be revoked at any time the monarch who gave it initially.”

            A few of the praetors snickered. “Understood, princess.”

            “I was there when the laws were written,” Ari smirked. “I know them. Wes, I want your first shot trained on whoever is protected heaviest. Those in power don’t always speak first.”

            “Yes, princess.”

            “Make sure your covered, too. Sun will be up shortly.”

            Hooves. That was the sound that thundered down the pathway. The closer the horses traveled, the more Ari could hear the sound, the horses beating the solid earth into shape at each gallop. They were moving swiftly, no time to spare it seemed. Ari shifted impatiently, her eyes trained on the road. Tyler had pulled out binoculars, the light from their lens glowing against his face.

            Looking up at the sky, Ari knew they were running out of nighttime. That was fine. She touched the cloth across her face, making sure that it was secured. She didn’t need to fear the suns ray dressed like this. Her gear had protected her faithfully for decades

            Tyler let out a whistle in four short notes. Ari liked the way it sounded, the melody just a simple trill if varied notes. No one responded to the whistle, but Ari nodded to herself. Four riders were fine. The riders were outmatched, despite being on horseback.

            Ari could see them suddenly. They appeared, all black horses coming down the narrow lane. They two by two, thundering down the path with skill and speed. Ari looked at the two riders in the front. One was definitely male, his hulking figure and his gear distinguishing him from the female riding beside him. They wore blackout gear similar to Ari and her men, which meant they were vampires.

            As the riders neared, they slowed measurably. Ari could see some sort of exchange between the leading riders before they continued towards the open mouth of the road at steady but cautioned pace. Ari shifted, waiting as the horses slowed more and stopped at the edge of the road fifty yards in front of Ari and Tyler. The two riders behind the first pair fanned out on both sides of the first two, making a straight line.

            No one said anything. The two riders who had been behind were also shaped feminine, sitting gracefully atop the worn horses that pawed the ground and made sounds of exhaustion, rearing their heads back and frothing out the mouth. Ari wondered why the riders had ridden their beasts near to death, and how long they had been riding. As if hearing her thoughts, one of the horses on the outside bowed at the knees, dropping their rider, who landed smoothly. She put her hand on the animal’s neck, trying to calm the beast but it’s eyes rolled back into her head.

            The female rider in the front slid of her horse. Her movements were slightly off balanced. It was the slightest movement but Ari’s eyes picked it up as she watched. She was slight in height, maybe a few inches taller than Ari. That was all that Ari could tell.

            “Dona nobis pacem,” the woman spoke, a lilting accent to her voice that made Ari blink. She was unfamiliar with the accent, but knew that it was distinctly European. But what surprised her most, was the Latin phrase. Grant us peace. It was a phrase that almost no one knew, a strict code between families.

            Ari stood. Tyler made a sound of protest but Ari spoke, “Ave atque pacem.” Ari almost thought she could see a sigh of relief. She looked down at Tyler and nudged him, making him stand. “My name is Ariadne Dimitrikova. I apologize for the unique welcome party, as we were not expecting a royal transport. I’m afraid I must ask you to reveal your faces and your names before moving any further.”

            “Only if we may ask you to do the same.”

            “As you may.”

            Delicately, Ari raised her hands and pulled the hood and the cloth from her face. The cool air was light on her face as the four repeated the motion. Tyler removed his as well before casting a glance towards Ari that she ignored and did not return. Rather, she watched the four strangers.

            The woman speaking wasn’t what Ari expected. She was hardly too many years older than Ari- at least, when she was turned. A youthful and beautiful young woman stared back at Ari with full lips, and eyes somewhere between green and blue. Her hair was blonde and fell in ringlets.

            To the left of the girl who spoke was a man. He was handsome but severe looking, his eyes alert and wandering up to the top of the building. His eyes lingered where Wes was hidden. Ari was impressed that he had been able to pick Wes out quickly before his eyes continued onto the rest of them, no doubt counting heads, weapons and positions. A guard, Ari was sure of it.

            On the man’s other side, a tall woman with a stately posture stared at them. Her hair was brown and curled like fine silk, her eyes attentive and her face smooth, free of all emotion. A sword hung at her waist, the hilt broad and beautiful. Ari knew it to be old.

            Still soothing the horse that seemed to be on its final breaths was another woman. Her face was elegant and narrow with sharp blue eyes and short hair that was black like ink spilt on parchment. Ari couldn’t see the weapons on this woman, but she assumed they were there somewhere, just out of sight. Or perhaps the woman was a weapon herself, which was not unlikely.

            “My name,” the girl spoke. “Is Griselda MacLeoir, from Dies Irae. I know that you were not warned of our arrival and it seems as if we have come at a grievous time, but it could not be helped. We have to get to your father as quickly as we can, and your presence would be most welcome and encouraged.”

            MacLeoir. Ari rolled the name around her mind, knowing that her father had just returned from there not but a few days ago with rumors and whispers of war. And yet the princess of the MacLeoir coven was standing in front of them, after Ari and her men had just killed rogue citizens from Dies Irae.

            “We will take you to the Towers,” Ari said slowly. “I believe there is much to be discussed. My unit will escort you, though I fear that our journey may require walking.”

            Griselda nodded once. “Is there a way to get there concealed? My presence must not be known. You must understand I would never ask this, but these are dire circumstances and I must remain undetected.”

            “I know a way through the abandoned tunnels,” Tyler said. It was the first time he had spoken. Ari almost forgot that he was there. She looked at him now. He was looking directly at Griselda and her guards, chin up, gaze unwavering. “We can take you all the way to the gates undetected, though it will surely be unpleasant. The tunnels here are often filled with humans and vampires who are fond of the dark.”

            “It matters not. Will you take us?”

            Tyler nodded once. “We will.”

            “This is one of our praetorian units,” Ari said. She raised her hand, relieving the men as they stood up and revealed their faces. “Jax is the captain of this one. He will make sure that we arrive safely. Are you armed?”

            “Barely.”

            “We will arm you- within reason, you understand.” Griselda gave one curt nod. “We have not been greeted kindly by the people of your city thus far.” Ari waited for Griselda to reply, but she said nothing, keeping a level gaze on Ari. “Alright, then. Let’s go.”

            It was clear they wouldn’t be taking the car back to the Towers. Ari’s men emptied the car, shoving things in heavy packs and arming themselves. Because everything was high-tech and advanced, it wasn’t much to carry, and everything was compact. Ari opened the cooler that had several canisters of blood left. She offered two to Griselda and her guards.

            “Feed. You look like you’re about to fall. It will be a long walk. If you must, we can feed underground, though I do not suggest it. The humans within the Tombstone are often riddled with disease and a great many of them may carry Red Fever.”

            Griselda and her guards took the blood graciously. “We won’t feed on them. It’s a risk we can’t take, but thank you for the blood. We haven’t fed since leaving.”

            Ari nodded once. “We will take care of you at the Towers. You’re our guest.” Ari turned to Jax. “Turn of all tracking devices. I don’t want a single radar on us. If one of our homing devices go off, punishment will be given.”

            Jax nodded. “Understood.”

            Damp, cold air had seeped down into the old tunnels. From the second the group walked down the crumbled and ruined stairs, Ari had cringed and decided to hold her breath. The smell of human death, decay and foul living conditions were too much for her to handle. So she didn’t breath, keeping close to the wall that felt of moist earth and crumbling rust.

Tyler had not been kidding when he spoke of humans and vampires. The humans were like something out of a nightmare. Ari was not afraid of them, but she could appreciate how horrifying they were. Thin limbs, knobby joints and eyes sunken in and wide from the lack of light, they looked more like pale spiders with four legs than humans.

Vampires also lurked in the corners, but the group moved unchallenged. Most vampires that lived within the tunnels were sick and demented, never leaving to breathe the fresh air and feeding on those who were sick. These were vampires either bread outside of the covens-pests, in a sense- or they had abandoned the covens long ago.

Rogue vampires weren’t illegal as long as they stayed within their city, and as long as they didn’t cause a disturbance. Most laws regarding feeding on humans were broken, especially out in the Tombstones, but it was overlooked. If the two ruling covens killed every rogue vampire that hunted humans, there would be a lot less vampires in the world.

Tyler never led the group astray. Ari noted how he didn’t doubt a single turn, how he never hesitated. He moved headstrong, not breaking his stride. On occasion he would turn his head away from a certain turn, as if it pained him to look there. Ari didn’t ask why, but she wanted to.

Instead, Ari studied Griselda. She never broke stride, carrying her head high and moved with ease. It was obvious how exhausted she and her guards were. Griselda was pale and her eyes were bloodshot. Ari couldn’t help but notice the way Griselda’s jaw flexed as they passed humans. Despite the smell, it must have triggered the princess’ innate hunger.

Even moving quickly, it took hours to find a rotten set of stairs that led back up to the world above. Ari was thankful for it. The tunnels were too dark and the sounds that she heard echoing in them were not her favorite. The skittering of rats, the moist sucking of a vampire having an unhealthy meal, the ragged breathing of the strange humans.

Morning had come to the world. The sun was just turning the sky orange when they approached the gates. The guards opened them immediately upon Ari’s command. Once on the grounds, the group began to rush. They weren’t worried about the sun, but they wanted to get inside. Ari kept glancing at the strangers. It was obvious that they were closer and closer to exhaustion and it made Ari worried. Blood starvation was dangerous and could knock out the strongest of vampires. The blood Ari gave them didn’t seem to offer much help.

Storming up the steps, Ari threw open the doors of the tower. “Get the king,” she ordered, voice booming at a group of vampires. “Tell him to meet us in the study immediately. And find my brother, I want them there now, is that understood?”

“Your highness,” several vampires said, bowing and breaking off. Ari gestured for the group to follow her. “I want all of you with me,” Ari said, leading them up the stairs. “Every one of you will be asked to give an account. When I’ve decided I no longer need you, you make unload your gear and get the rest you need.”

No one disagreed.

Vampires and humans alike watched them all walking through the building. Ari knew they must have looked strange, praetors all dressed in black and with a higher number than they left with. They all kept their face guards up, even when Ari led them into a private study, ordering everyone off the entire floor.

“Con!” Ari thundered as she walked down the hall, ripping open a door. The vampire looked up at her lazily until he saw the rigidness to her figure, standing from reading his book in the study. “Bring me Mason and Corrine.”

“I’ll have them here shortly.” Con vanished, leaving the vampires alone in the study. “You may sit, you must be tired.”

Griselda shook her head. “If I sit, it may make things worse.”

Ari nodded, admiring her strength. “Whatever is best.”

It only took a few minutes for the door to be thrown open. Nikolai was standing the doorway, gaze sweeping them all of them. Ari stepped towards him, opening her mouth to greet him when a body knocked into her, sending her stumbling forward. Ari whirled around after regaining her balance to see that from the time it took Nikolai to look around the room, Griselda had lost consciousness, toppling forward into Ari.

The veil across her face fell open, Griselda’s face pale, eyes closed from blacking out. Nikolai seemed surprised, moving towards her as Ari said, “Our guest seems to have fainted. Where the fuck are the bloodships I asked for?”

Nikolai got on his knees, tenderly reaching out towards the fallen vampire. “I want everyone out of this room.”

Ari frowned. “But-"

“Now.”

Ari hesitated for a second before bowing her head and sweeping out of the room, black coat rippling behind her.