Bloodline Diplomacy: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Academy Novel (Bloodline Academy Book 3)

by Lan Chan

“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 magic I had seen inside the negotiation hall.

  She didn’t even have the audacity to deny it. Instead, she massaged her cheek and went to grab a bottle of liquor. I wanted to snatch it out of her hand and smash it against the wall. “Rachel!”

  She sat cross-legged on her bed and took a swig. That’s it. I marched over there, took the bottle, and threw it out the window. “You owe me thirty bucks,” she said.

  There was smoke coming out my ears. “I owe you a hell of a lot more than that.”

  “So why don’t you run off to your Nephilim and tell him what I did?”

  I sputtered. Was she kidding right now? I watched her for several beats. Her eyes were slightly glazed. Not like she was crying but like she was in shock. In disbelief. “I don’t get it. This treaty was meant to be a starting point towards peace. Why would you sabotage that?”

  I couldn’t get the question out of my head. Ever since I’d seen her magic where it marked Max and Desi. She’d done something to trigger their innate supernatural responses. In true hedge-witch fashion, I suspected she’d concocted some kind of salve that made Max regress.

  It didn’t shock me when she started to giggle. It was the mirthless effect of it that sapped me of anger. “We’ll never have peace. They’re always a hair’s breadth away from reverting to what they truly are.” She swiped her sleeve over her nose. “How much Arcana fruit have you eaten?”

  The question took me aback. How did she know about Arcana fruit? “Does it matter?”

  “Yes. Your Nephilim could have snapped Sean’s neck without blinking. That shifter would have torn through the room if the female Nephilim hadn’t stopped him. We had one defence against them. One advantage, and now they’ve taken that away. How do you think he figured it out?”

  She said it all in a jumble of words that I had to scramble to make sense of. “You weren’t there when Giselle was terrorising them –”

  “Whatever. They deserved to feel uncertain. They’ve lorded themselves over us for centuries. The sooner humans learn about them, the better off we’ll be.”

  “You can’t really believe that. Not all of them are out to get us.”

  She smirked. It was the kind of look you gave someone who just had no idea about anything. She was acting like I was some kind of naive kid.

  “So tell me,” I said. “You keep making these statements but you won’t tell me why you’re so adamant they’re evil. I understand fear. I get that some of the things they do are wrong. But you can’t just eradicate them the way you want. How is that any different to what you’re accusing them of doing to us?”

  She smiled. I wasn’t sure why until I backtracked and realised I’d been using terms like them and us. I couldn’t keep my allegiances straight. It was insanely frustrating. I also thought I was ready for her to open up.

  “My family used to live in Rivia,” she said. My legs gave way. Luckily I landed on the edge of my bed. “Mum was a teacher. She taught some of the kindergartners about humans and how they should behave to hide themselves. Sometimes she brought students home with her to see how we lived. We were like lab rats. I used to think they were so cute. Furry little half-monsters with teeth that weren’t so sharp at that age.”

  She looked dead ahead as she spoke. I didn’t realise I was bunching up the covers until I heard something tear. Unwittingly, I was waiting for the story to turn. “Dad and I were shopping for school supplies when we got the bulletin. By the time we arrived at the pre-school, she was on her last breath. Apparently some of the vampires had started a fight with the shifters. She tried to stop them and got injured. Her blood caused the vamps to change. Those sam
e little kids that she’d taken home with her ripped her apart. She was so far gone even the Nephilim healers couldn’t save her.

  “The Council pronounced it an accident. They tried to compensate us with money. Like that would make everything better.”

  I didn’t know what to say. I would have tried to comfort her, but she was giving off don’t-come-near-me vibes. And it seemed like this wound had scabbed over. The way she spoke was clinical. She’d gone through it so many times in her own head that it no longer held the sting even if it continued to fester.

  “Where is your dad now?” I asked.

  Her shoulders tensed. “He’s still trying to pretend they’re not monsters.” That’s where the bile was directed. “I went back and looked at the archives. There have been so many incidences across the decades of supernaturals accidentally going rogue and killing humans. But nobody ever does anything about it. It’s always swept under the rug. Like we’re so insignificant and we should be grateful they’re not just murdering us freely.”

  I bit my lips together. I couldn’t help thinking about what I’d do if a vampire murdered Nanna. My mind refused to give the notion wings. I knew there would be no reasoning with me. I sighed and lay down on the bed. It would be so nice just to close my eyes and forget about this whole night.

  “I get that you’re friends with some of them,” Rachel said. “But are you telling me you’d trust them completely not to go postal if they’re triggered. You saw the way that vamp and shifter reacted tonight. And that was just from one small piece of stimuli. That’s all it takes and you’re dead.” She cleared her throat. “Except you specifically might not be dead. And that’s why they’re so obsessed with keeping you guarded. There’s something about your power that makes you strong enough to fight them. It’s only a matter of time until they decide you’re too much of a threat.”

  Despite trying to deny it mentally, I thought of the time Brigid had low-key stabbed me. If Kai hadn’t been there to heal me, I would be dead. I thought of how hard I trained only to be naturally outclassed by all of them in Weaponry and Combat. And worst of all, I thought about how they were locking me out of everything because they were worried about where my loyalty would fall.

  “This is really messed up,” I said.

  “No it’s not. It’s simple. Like it or not, you’re still human. Let me show you what being human means when you don’t have power.”

  My eyes flicked open. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Yes or no?”

  I didn’t really have much of a choice. She scrambled out of bed. “What, right now?”

  “No time like the present.”

  I beg to differ but changed into jeans and a T-shirt anyway. “I’m taking Alessia to the city,” she announced to the kitchen at large before opening the front door. Samantha, Jessica, and Matilda were still in the kitchen speaking in low voices. Samantha nodded but they didn’t say anything.

  “I can’t believe they’re just letting us go,” I said.

  “Why? You’re an adult now.”

  If I were in Bloodline what I’d be getting was the third-degree. I supposed that was the point Rachel was trying to make. She noticed me picking at the leather seat.

  She put her foot on the gas when the light turned green. I waited for a little while before I spoke again. “Rachel. I understand that you really don’t like the supernaturals. But Max is a friend. So is Desi. Next time you feel like you need to make a point, speak to me instead. Because until they do something to hurt me, I don’t like them being used.”

  I knew Max prided himself on his ability to keep himself contained. This episode would hurt him in more ways than she could know.

  She eyed me sidelong. “You’re pretty fricken scary for someone so small.”

  I left it at that.

  I chewed my nails blunt as we got closer to Melbourne. We veered in the opposite direction from where we had gone last time. I couldn’t help glancing back around. At this time of night, the city was awash with the glow of lights. But that part of the city was shrouded in darkness. I shuddered at the thought. The tension in my chest only eased when the skyline was eaten up by other, taller buildings.

  We came to a halt in a suburb on the other side of the city. Rachel parked the car illegally in a side street and bade me out. We walked a block or so until we hit a strip of shops. Most of the retail stores were shut at this time of night but the restaurants were packed and so was the nightclub we were clearly headed towards.

  Rachel made her way to the front of the queue. I tried to ignore the death glares we were getting from some of the other patrons in line.

  Colour me surprised when the bouncer looked at Rachel and me and let us in. I’d never been inside a night club before but the smell of it immediately had me recoiling. I wasn’t a music connoisseur but the thumping bass set me on edge. Maybe it was the hedge-witch thing, but I liked peace and quiet. This was the complete opposite.

  Rachel elbowed her way through the crowd and somehow managed to find an empty booth in the corner of the dance floor. We could really use her skills in the dining hall. I suspected she was a regular.

  “What exactly are we here for?” I screamed at her above the music.

  She pointed at the crowd in a way that suggested she wanted me to watch. I blew out a breath and did as requested. All of my knowledge of clubs came from the little bit of television I’d managed to watch before Nanna got possessed. My eyes glazed as I studied people moving about the dance floor. Their erratic movements were kind of soothing. Rachel kicked me in the shin. I jerked alert.

  My gaze landed on a guy a couple of years older than me. He was standing over near one of the speakers. His features were half-obscured by the dim lighting but I could make out enough of his face to be momentarily mesmerized. There was nothing extraordinary about him. He wore plain denim jeans and an eggshell-blue shirt with the cuffs rolled up. His build wasn’t overly muscled but he wasn’t weedy either. If I had to describe him in just one word it would be: average. And yet when he speared me with his gaze, I felt the overwhelming urge to rise from my seat and shimmy over to him.

  For a second, my legs moved without me thinking. Rachel threw her arm out to stop me. Somebody danced past my field of vision. The obstruction broke his eye contact. Something snapped inside my mind. I gasped as though I had just broken the surface of the ocean.

  “What just happened?”

  Rachel was digging a hole into the laminate table with one of her hunting knives. Round and round she turned the handle until I was sure the tip would eventually come out the other side. “Compulsion.”

  I frowned. Surely that wasn’t all it took. Despite my better judgement, I returned my gaze to the guy who was clearly a vampire. Where I had been stopped from approaching him, other girls weren’t so lucky. One of the girls who had been dancing near him was now leaning over and saying something in his ear. When they left together, I thought Rachel would move to intercept them.

  “Shouldn’t we go after them?” I asked, my mind filling with all kinds of dangerous scenarios.

  “How do you pick?” was the weary response. She flicked her hand around the room. It dawned on me then that we were surrounded by vampires. They came in every shape and form. Both genders and then some.

  “Don’t the people who come here know what they’re getting themselves into?”

  “You tell me. You’re the one who goes to school with them.”

  I was pretty certain none of these vamps came to Bloodline. For a start, a lot of them were too old. Chronologically speaking. For another, I didn’t recognise any of them. I swept the room a couple of times, my breath held, my heart thudding. I didn’t know why I was so apprehensive until I did a couple of sweeps and was certain that Sasha wasn’t one of these vamps. It was ridiculous. Sasha was at Bloodline. I was still relieved.

  “Have you ever followed them?”

  She pointed at a blonde female in a tight-fitting black bandage dress. Her hair
was braided to the side. She was leading a man in a business suit into the bathroom. “We can follow them,” Rachel said. “But short of a stake through the heart, how are you going to stop her from draining him?”

  My hand moved involuntary to my neck. I wished I’d put on something more protective than a V-neck T-shirt. As we sat there, I felt completely exposed. If the vampires attacked, I could hold them off with a circle but then what? When they broke through, which they would do in minutes, where would I be?

  That didn’t stop me from getting up. “I’m going to the bathroom.”

  “Suit yourself.”

  She went back to stabbing the table while I hopped up and weaved my way through the crowd. I entered the ladies’ by cutting the line. “Oi! Wait your turn!” I threw the woman an apologetic look but kept going.

  There were three stalls and one disabled cubicle. They were all occupied. The pampered new me who had lived with magically cleaning bathrooms was disgusted by the stink and the wads of toilet paper in the corner by the trash can. The me from the streets just blocked it out. I’d seen much worse in my time. I thought nothing of getting onto all fours and peering through the bottom of the cubicles. I was only looking for feet and didn’t linger.

  The three stalls were occupied. Which only left the disabled stall at the end. This one took up the length of the wall. It only had one side that was open.

  One of the women in the other stalls had come out and was washing her hands. The sound of running water and the hand dryer muffled some of the noises coming from the disabled stall. “You okay, love?” the woman asked me.

  I had my ear pressed up to the stall. Her head turned to the side. “Ah, yeah,” I said. “Just checking if my friend is okay.”

  That seemed to be more than enough for her. She left as I stood there wondering what to do. When the woman in the stall beside the disabled one left, I jumped inside and closed the door. Using the toilet seat as a rest, I boosted myself over the wall.

  Nothing prepared me for what I saw. The man sat on the closed lid of the toilet. The blonde was on his lap straddling him. Her lips were pressed against his neck. I would have thought she was giving him a hickey if not for the single trail of blood that laced around his collar. His hand disappeared under the front of her tiny top. His eyes were closed but the blissful expression on his face was creepy to the extreme. I felt like a voyeur.