The St. Clair selections had been the topic of many conversations over the last few days. Because of my antipathy regarding Vampiric society, many of the Elders and Fare were leery of the fact that Efia had decided to allow us to choose our Fare without her input or interference due to my reluctance to adhere to my new lifestyle. The High Caste Fare were worried that we lacked the sophistication to select a Fare worthy of our social standing. Chloe and I thought the High Caste Fare were idiots!
“See anything you like, Chey?”
Tabitha whispered in my ear causing me to jump. I would never get used to her sneaking up on me and it was one of the few reasons I was looking forward to the Embrace. As soon as I was Embraced, I'd hear her coming. Turning, I reveled in the sight of my best friend's laughing face. She was going to milk this until the last second and I couldn’t really say that I blamed her.
“Yes, I think I know which two. How about you, Chlo?”
Chloe nodded her head and said “Yeth” around a mouthful of pineapple. She pointed at a sheet of paper at her elbow that had the names of her selections and returned to eating. Like I suspected, our selections would probably cause the assembled Fare to faint from shock.
Chapter 19
After the excitement of the Robeson’s trickery, the banquet room settled in for the announcement of our selections. One by one, the remaining Fare Electus were escorted to the front of the room. Upon being selected as a Fare, each individual would leave their family behind and be adopted into the family of their Vampire patron. To demonstrate their acceptance into their new family, each Fare was instructed go behind individual screens and remove their family uniform.
As I watched the remaining Fare step behind their screens, I could not help but feel like we were at a slave auction again. My hands were shaking and I began to sweat as the last of the Fare was led to their screen. This still felt wrong on so many levels.
A large Steward stepped forward with a scroll in hand. He bowed deeply in front of the dais. He remained there for longer than should have been possible, all without falling forward or shaking. I was impressed with his strength and balance. He stood, slowly, and handed the scroll to Governor Ezekiel.
“In this scroll,” the Governor began, “are words so cherished to our society that the reading and the hearing of them can only be done in the presence of those who are committed to upholding their meaning; both explicit and implied.”
Ezekiel’s voice was clear and seemed to be amplified. Everyone in the room sat up straight and proud of being part of such a monumental occasion. Everyone in the room watched in awe and pride as their family members prepared to be selected. This was a moment of honor for them and I instantly felt guilty for comparing it to slavery. These were not the faces of slaves; these were proud Fare sending their loved ones on to realize their purpose in life. Hot tears spilled from my eyes as I realized that, for everyone here, this was what they were born for.
Governor Ezekiel faced the congregation of people and inclined his head in reverence. In unison the audience stood and repeated the gesture. The families of the Electus walked to the front and knelt near their respective screens.
The Governor lifted the scroll and read, “The selection of a Fare is not something we take lightly. Not something to decide on a whim. You will be responsible for their care, their well-being and their life, as long as they continue to live. This union can only be broken through death, honorable or dishonorable.”
Chloe stood, walked down the steps of the dais and knelt in front of Ezekiel.
“Chloe St. Clair, do you vow to care for your Fare for as long as they live and honor the laws that govern the Vampire/Fare union?”
“Yes, I vow it.”
“Please stand and select your Fare.”
Governor Ezekiel handed Chloe a red Calla Lily and extended his hand to help her rise. Once on her feet, Chloe wasted no time marching straight over to Martenson Fare, bowed deeply and extended the flower to the head of the family. It took a moment for Patriarch Martenson to realize that his daughter, Nicole, was being selected first. His wife nudged him with her elbow and he quickly accepted the offering. Ezekiel then motioned to a Steward to come forward with a red uniform and handed it to Chloe. With uniform in hand, Chloe walked behind the screen and helped Nicole get dressed.
Returning to retrieve her second lily, Chloe paused for dramatic effect. She turned to look at Efia, who nodded in acceptance, and then she walked to the Bishop Fare. A collective gasp came from the assembled mass. They had just witnessed the selection of two Lower Caste Fare by the same Royal Vampire family. The Bishop Fare fought for composure as Governor Ezekiel retrieved the red uniform and went to help Landon get dressed.
The next part of the ritual was the hard part for me. Knowing that I would have to repeat these steps, I was anxiously watched them. Efia stood and joined Chloe, her Fare and their families. Each head of the Fare household stepped forward with a ceremonial dagger and a chalice. Efia examined each dagger’s blade for sharpness and gave the order to proceed.
The blood came next. First Nicole and then Landon, each was cut on the wrist and their blood filled their respective chalices. The smell of their blood mixed with the tropical air and tickled the back of my throat. The feeling was uncomfortable and I fought not to squirm as my little sister lifted first one and then the other chalice to her lips and drank. Chloe turned, and followed by her Fare, bowed deeply to Efia and stood to the side. Then it was my turn.
Standing, I tried to remember what I had been taught. Tabitha stood with me, as a sign of solidarity. Even though she was there to represent the power of the Miklos clan, she was my very best friend, and at that moment, I could not have loved her more. All of the lies and deceit seemed a distant memories as she looked straight into my eyes and smiled. And I knew I could do it.
Taking my vows, I closed my eyes and thought about what I was promising. If I was to be a Vampire, I would have to take it seriously. With my first lily in hand, I walked toward my first selection. I didn’t look at Efia, but I could feel her eyes on my face. Knowing that for years to come my selections would be critiqued, analyzed and even possibly viewed as political maneuvers, I took a deep breath and lifted my chin. Even in this caste system, I wanted my selections to reflect my beliefs and not the desires of those in power. After a few steps, I knelt before the Simms family and presented my flower.
While I was helping Rillae dress, I noticed that she was crying; unashamed. When I attempted to turn her to face me, she shook her head and wiped her face with urgent strokes. Pure relief was on her face and it broke my heart. What kind of family would have selected her if not for me? Were the St. Clairs truly the best option? If so, then so many of these Fare were going to be disappointed today.
Giving in to the urge to hug her was easy, despite the fact that I knew it would be frowned upon. We held each other long enough that Governor Ezekiel cleared his throat. By the time I stepped from behind the screen and gathered my second lily, I was composed and determined. After the power play from the Robesons, Wyatt’s absence was a glaring reminder of the power of the High Caste Fare’s political ambition. Of the remaining Fare families, several were near royalty themselves, having held seats on the Fare Council for several generations. One family, however, was from the Middle Caste; the Piedmonts.
Thinking about how the Robesons had looked at him; treating him as if he didn’t exist, I looked at Ethan. Had they targeted him specifically or did they treat all Middle Caste families that way. I tried to puzzle my way through the motives when I saw it, clear as day. The Piedmonts were a large family of tall warriors. Each male member was over 6 feet tall and the females were not far behind. The family resemblance was easy to see in their faces, even though each of them were unique in skin-tone and eye-color.
The longer I stood there, staring at the Piedmonts, the louder the whispers from the congregation grew. Since Chloe had chosen two Lower Caste Fare and my first choice was Lower Caste as well, I would up
set the presumed balance of influence if I did not select a High Caste for my second choice. Weighing the implications of my options against the political desires of each family, my decision was clear. If I chose Cameron Tension, the High Caste would still have all of the power on the island, leaving the lowers to suffer in strained silence. Not to mention, I knew Adrianna wanted to select him. Decision made. All of the Piedmonts wept.
The next hour was a blur of activity. The selected Electus’ were announced, presented, introduced and celebrated by their families and friends while the Stewards prepared the proper documents for travel and living. Both Chloe and I received envelopes with duplicate documents in the event that our Fare lose them. This part felt too much like ownership to me, but when I protested Efia assured me that it was for their protection against pilfering. I knew that there were strict laws against certain types of abuse of Fare, but I still didn’t like having documentation resembling a pink slip.
After the last of the Fare were selected, the fifteen Steward Electus stood and presented themselves to the room. Wyatt Robeson had been selected by a member of the Castellano Royal family in absentia. Chloe and I had made our preferences known to Solomon before the ceremonies began. If he was surprised by them, he kept his opinions to himself. He was, in essence, the head of our household and we had given him the final decision in the matter. The selecting of the Stewards was identical to the Fare except that the blood given was that of the family leader, in our case Efia. Solomon stoically selected Gretchen and Tyler to join the St. Clair family and immediately assigned them to me and Chloe, earning my lifelong gratitude.
Approximately five hours after the ceremony began, our new Stewards escorted us to our suites, ran our baths and turned down our beds. I sank into the tub as soon as it was full and let out a primal yell. The day had taken its toll on me and I was ready for a good night’s sleep.
“Cheyenne, wake up.”
Chloe was standing above my bath looking at me with a crooked smile on her face. Obviously having fallen asleep in the tub, I shivered in the cold water and reached for the towel that she held out for me. Once wrapped in its warmth, I dried my body and put on a robe and slippers before heading out.
A party of some sort had broken out in the common room. There was pizza, soda and chips on the table in front of the sofa with a group of people already digging in. When I was almost to the couch, my new Fare, noticing my arrival, began to stand in respect.
“Please, don’t,” I begged. “I can’t do anymore Princess crap tonight.”
Rillae and Nicole, having already spent time in our suites, simply shrugged and continued to eat. Ethan and Landon, however, were at a loss and didn’t know what to do with themselves. They glanced at each other for a few moments before forcing themselves to relax.
“So, how long was I asleep?”
“About 45 minutes. You must have been exhausted.”
“Yeah. I think that trick with the blood doping did me in. It was painful.” I grabbed a slice of pizza and poured some Parmesan cheese on it. “So, Ethan, how did it feel to be selected? I hope the St. Clair family is acceptable to you.”
Ethan started to choke on his pizza and Landon slapped him on the back in an effort to help. I handed him a napkin to wipe his mouth and was surprised to see shock on his face. Confused, I looked between Chloe and Nicole before turning back to Ethan.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“They're not used to being treated like equals,” Chloe said, having finished chewing and swallowing her food. “They're raised believing that their patrons will treat them as lesser and that they must stay in their place. I told them that they're family now. It's just up to them to believe it.”
I looked at Ethan and Rillae and vowed to revamp the system, no pun intended. I would use whatever influence I had to promote equality and mutual respect in my new society. Actions spoke louder than words, however, so I held up the napkin once more and waited for Ethan to take it.
“Rillae, have you gotten enough to eat or would you like some more?” I picked up the tray of pizza and walked to her side of the sofa to serve her.
Not skipping a beat, she smiled and took two large slices of pizza from the tray and began to eat. Turning to Ethan, I extended the tray. He held my gaze for a ten count and then reached for the pizza. I was tempted to snatch the tray back just to get a reaction, but I didn’t know how he would take it and didn’t want to be cruel.
“Chloe has been telling us about the trouble that you’ve had with Grigor,” Rillae started.
“Rillae, shut up!” Ethan commanded around his pizza.
Maybe it would have sounded more intimidating if the pizza hadn’t caused him to lisp. Nicole was the first to start laughing, followed closely by me, Chloe and Rillae. We laughed so hard that we were in tears. To be fair, the boys had no idea how to handle us and were afraid of stepping out of line.
After the laughter subsided, I turned to Rillae and recounted the events that led me to where we were. Each of the Fare listened intently to my story and shook their heads when I finished. I wanted them to look at my entire life and not just the ‘Royal Vampire’ part. It meant a lot that they respect me for my character and not my station in this new life of mine.
Chapter 20
We stayed up talking until the wee hours of the morning brought Stewards to escort the boys to different sleeping chambers. Had Chloe and I both been Embraced at that point, the Stewards would have simply let them stay due to the nutritional relationship that Fare have with their patrons. I wasn’t sure if it was Efia who wanted to separate Chloe and Landon last night, but everyone had seen the way that they were looking at one another.
We learned that Lucinda, a member of Landon’s family, was the product of a pre-Embraced Vampire and her Fare. Their grandmother had been days away from her Embrace when she was discovered to be with child. Her Fare begged her not to lie about the child and that he would gladly die for the love of both of them. The woman told her parents that she was in love with her Fare and would follow him to the grave if they killed him. That was how she came to be the matriarch of a Lower Caste Fare family. They were one of very few Fare families with Vampire ancestors and yet they were treated like the scourge of the Earth.
Curiosity made me wonder which Vampire family Lucinda was related to and if their blood would be more potent than other Fare. The longer I thought about Lucinda’s blood the more my mouth began to water. Just a few short weeks away from my Embrace and I was acting more and more like the Vampire Efia believed I would be. I had put my power on display, even if it was in the defense of a Fare, and I was craving blood.
Closing my eyes in an attempt to shake off the thirst and clear my head, I heard rather than saw someone else enter the room. Chloe and I were lying on the couch in front of the fireplace and our female Fare had curled up together in an oversized reclining chair, leaving on recliner empty until then. A pair of man's legs were rocking the chair in long smooth motions. Slowly lifting my head, I found Solomon looking right at me. He was supposed to be in the Steward quarters so his presence here was ominous. My movement awoke the other sleeping girls and we all waited for Solomon to speak.
“What’s wrong?” I prompted when he remained silent.
“Efia would like you to get ready to depart. Grigor has found and killed a blood descendant.”
We all sat there and let Solomon’s words sink in. Since Grigor discovered the potency of our family’s blood was at its peak when we were 18, he had stopped killing anyone much younger or older than that. The younger descendants would simply be held until they ‘ripened’ and the older ones would be used for snack-food and breeding. The reality that the dead descendant must have been close to my age hit both me and Chloe at the same time. She had a stream of tears falling down her face as her body shook with silent sobs. Her Fare, Nicole, moved to hug her, but comfort was not what Chloe wanted; it was in her eyes. Behind the sadness and the fear, Chloe was angry and wanted revenge; a ver
y potent and very dangerous combination.
With a slight nod of acknowledgment, Solomon stood to leave. He called out to someone once he reached the door and six female Stewards marched into the room. Three of them began cleaning while the others started packing suitcases that I hadn’t even remembered being unpacked. The Stewards laid uniforms on the couch; two black and two red. They were moving with such speed and proficiency that I wondered if they were trained for military scale extractions.
We dressed quickly and followed the Stewards to an open quad outside of our rooms. Lucinda and Jeannette were already there with Ethan and Landon. I looked from Jeannette to Ethan. Both of them had fair skin and large eyes that looked familial. Jeannette glanced at me and smiled. When she smiled, her face lit up and she looked even younger than before.
“He’s my cousin,” Jeannette stated simply, explaining to me the reason they carried themselves in the same manner.
She was so happy that her cousin had a good patron with a good family. I wondered why she never told me who Ethan was. It is possible that either she or he didn’t want me to show any favoritism. Well, it was neither here nor there at that point. If we had to go up against Grigor anytime soon, Ethan may very well have a dead patron.
Relief flowed through me when my brothers walked into the quad. It looked as if the entire Miklos clan was planning to depart the island. They stood just mere feet from us, keeping neither a royally acceptable nor respectful distance. The Council was very careful to discourage monopolies of power, but the St. Clair and Miklos clans were blurring the lines concerning political alliances.
Efia and Pleasant arrived with a trail of political advisors and lobbyists. Efia was speaking to a female Vampire who must have been of equally high station because they were walking side by side instead of one in front of the other. Royal Vampire families held each other in high regard, though seldom spoke candidly in public so that was a rare sight to behold. Every Fare and Steward stopped talking and lowered their eyes. Even Tabitha, having come to stand by my side, had lowered her eyes in reverence. The only person who was looking directly at the two monarchs was me.
Blood Descendants (St. Clair Vampires Book 1) Page 19
