“But,” Momoko held a finger up. “Please consider what we said, and see if you can sort your feelings out about the Drakes. We don’t want you to keep going like this.”
I tipped backwards, resting my shoulders against the glass pane of the window. “Fine,” I agreed. “I’ll think about it.” Eventually.
The truth was, I didn’t know exactly how I felt about everything. Right after I Ascended, I would have said I was ready to cut ties forever. But as much as I hated it, there was something reassuring about seeing the vampires lingering around our street.
I had to face Mason alone—or everyone would have doubted I ruled House Medeis by myself. But I was sick of our House being the only one pushing for change. I was tired of fighting alone.
Still. That didn’t mean I was willing to renew my friendship with Killian. Oh heck no. Right now, I mostly wanted to strangle him with his stupid, expensive tie made to match one of his stupid, expensive suits. His actions still made me grind my teeth, and I didn’t think I’d ever be able to look at Celestina and Josh the same again.
I let out a puff of air that turned into a cloud of mist in the chilly fall night. “Do you guys wanna watch me go tell a vampire to scram?” I asked.
“Yes!” Momoko popped to her feet. “It’s always hilarious. You’re so tiny, and an angry squeak from you sends those big, armed, deadly vampires running!”
“It’s always a great sight for House Medeis’s morale,” Felix added. He struggled to open the door and slide through without bumping into Momoko. “Why do they leave? Franco said when he went with you once they bowed to you a little bit and called you Miss Hazel.”
“Who knows?” I evasively said. I hid my face—and my tells, dang you childhood friends—by stooping over to pick up the abandoned monthly budget before I joined them inside.
I wasn’t about to tell them that after my magic was unsealed, Celestina and Josh pitted me against the other Drake vampires in daily battles, and that the title and bow were probably hangers-on from when I beat them. (Most of them, anyway. I thankfully never had to face Celestina or Josh.)
“Whatever. Vampires are weird,” Momoko grunted.
“They are,” I confirmed. “So let’s go shoo off whatever spy Killian has planted outside.”
“As you command, Adept!”
I groaned. “Seriously, you guys really are the worst!”
“We love you too, Adept!”
I plopped down in the uncomfortable wooden chair, rocking it slightly, and rested my arms on the polished table.
“I wish they’d serve coffee at functions like this.” Franco groaned and rubbed his eyes. “I am dying.”
“It was a lot of information to take in.” I peered at the notebook I’d taken a few notes in.
The group from South Dakota had already given a presentation—which had lasted three hours, not including the break we got at the halfway mark. They were finished now. The wizard Elite, the werewolf Pre-Dominant, the vampire Eminence AKA Killian, and the Winter Queen—who was acting as the fae representative on the Regional Committee of Magic starting in November—were supposed to publicly discuss the talk for a bit and give some closing remarks, but we still had five minutes left of our second break.
I glanced down my table. Everyone I had brought—Felix, Momoko, Franco, Leslie, Mr. Baree, and Mrs. Yamada—was already back from the bathrooms and seated in the wobbly chairs.
“I would have thought they’d get more comfortable chairs for this room.” Felix scowled as he wiggled in his seat.
“Maybe the point is that they are uncomfortable, so you don’t fall asleep,” Leslie said.
The meeting was held in the Regional Committee Chamber—the largest room in the Curia Cloisters. Like the assembly hall, it was filled with seemingly endless tables and chairs, though pressed at the front of the room was a raised dais that held a big, grand table and cushy chairs Felix would love. When in session, that was where the Regional Committee of Magic was seated. All the other seats were set up for their staff, and for the observers. (They drew quite the crowd—though there was some politics mixed into that as I think every leader made sure a good show of their people came, for intimidation or something stupid.)
The chamber also had a second story for observational purposes, which was filled with all the werewolf representatives—who had really shown up tonight. Probably because Pre-Dominant Harka was so interested in this. Based on the amount of yawning I saw up there, it didn’t seem like all the shifters shared her enthusiasm.
“Are we going to stay for the entire discussion portion of the meeting?” Momoko asked.
“I planned to,” I said. “What time is it?”
Mrs. Yamada—Momoko’s mother—checked her phone. “Nearly seven. I’m surprised the meeting lasted as long as it did, given that they started late in the afternoon.”
“I imagine they hoped more vampires would show.” Against my will, my gaze crept in Killian’s direction.
He—and his retinue—were the only vampires present. Given that there weren’t any younger vampires in attendance from the other Families, I was pretty sure this was a political statement on his end, and not a case of the vampire Elders being disinterested with life and society in general as they were prone to do. (Although he had only a handful of Drake vampires present.)
I was pretty sure the Elite’s hope that my presence would rattle him was a huge failure.
Killian hadn’t looked my way since I entered the room. And he didn’t appear any different. His skin was always pale—though instead of the more ghostly shade of some of his cohorts, his skin was more of a snow-white. His eyes appeared black instead of the regular vampire red from this distance, and his hair was artfully mussed so he resembled a model in his designer suit, but that’s how he always looked. The only difference I could see was that he had a five o’clock shadow, which was pretty unusual for him. I don’t think I’d ever seen him any way besides clean shaven. But it’s not like it made him look haggard—if anything he looked more model-like than usual.
Maybe I overestimated my own importance and he really did kick me out because he had no use for me…but he still could have had me sense when fae magic was used around him. That would have been dead useful in a fight with the Night Court.
“Good evening, Adept Medeis!” The Elite sauntered up to my table and leaned against it. “And greetings to those of the honorable House Medeis.”
Even Felix looked cowed as he stared up, slightly open mouthed, at Elite Bellus.
“Good Evening, Elite Bellus,” Mrs. Yamada said.
“Thank you for being my guests this evening!” He peered up and down the table at my escorts. “I’m glad you could make it.”
“It’s our honor,” Franco said. He showed no sign of all the passionate statements he’d made on the way here, talking about how all of them were coming just because they were paranoid about me leaving without at least a couple of them to guard my back, and lecturing me for letting Elite Bellus use me to try to manipulate Killian. (Who, Franco had spent a portion of his lecture pointing out, it was impossible to out manipulate, so why was Elite Bellus even bothering to try?)