A Shade of Vampire 82: A Circle of Nine by Bella Forrest

Author:Bella Forrest [Forrest, Bella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Nightlight Press
Published: 2019-11-16T18:30:00+00:00

Derek

“Funny enough, you look as though you’ve just seen a ghost, when you’re the one who showed up out of nowhere,” Danika said, somewhat amused.

I walked toward her desk with slow and deliberate movements, watching her eyes dart all over me as she tried to gauge my demeanor. Needing her to be calm, I raised my hands in a peacemaking gesture. “I’m only here to talk,” I replied. “Your Grace, I’m truly sorry for what happened to the Lord Supreme. He didn’t deserve to go out like that. Believe me when I say I understand how terrible you must feel.”

“You’ve lost your wife?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I lost my son. Twice. I understand the pain, though I was blessed enough to get my family back, eventually,” I said. “I know how it feels. The grief is almost toxic. It burns through you and clouds your judgment. You make rash decisions… It’s why I felt the need to speak with you, despite the abrupt way we left the other day.”

Danika returned to her chair, settling behind her desk with both hands in sight. “What do you wish to discuss, Derek?”

“Valaine.”

She rolled her eyes. “I should have known you’d start with her.”

“She is innocent, Your Grace. You’ve given a traitor like Zoltan too much credence.”

“Your blood tests showed a connection.” Danika pointed a finger at me.

“But the tests were vague, and more studies are needed. The little we got from Valaine’s blood samples is insufficient to establish a clear link between Valaine and the Black Fever. The elements are too scarce and unconnected. You can’t rile the people of Visio against her without a comprehensive examination,” I said. “We’re already hearing the commoners talking about how her death might stop the Black Fever, which is preposterous.”

“Then by all means, have Valaine surrender. Have your whole crew return and abide by my conditions. You’ll get your chance to examine the girl and disprove Zoltan’s accusation against her.”

“Why do you need us imprisoned, if we’re all working toward the same goal?”

“Because you ran off the first chance you got!” Danika snapped. “As soon as you smelled a whiff of trouble, you disappeared!”

I couldn’t hold back anymore. “Because your first reaction after your husband’s death was to have us all arrested! That’s not how you treat your allies! Not after all the work we put into studying the Black Fever. Not after we gave you our word that we wouldn’t quit until a cure was found!”

Danika breathed out, and I could almost see her anger faltering like a bad circuit. Her shoulders dropped, and she stared at the papers in front of her for a good minute. Silence settled across the room.

“I’m old and experienced enough to tell that you’ve got an agenda of your own, now that the Lord Supreme is dead,” I said, unwilling to let her off the hook yet. “I’m not sure what it is, but I know it would make your husband sad if he were still alive. Legalizing

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