Her Blood Sings: Episode 01 Read Free Page A

current
newcomer, Vicenzo Monicelli, was powerful, but his claim would've
been dismissed if he hadn't done such a good job of manipulating
the already underlying distrust of other vampires against the
current leader of the Great Clan of Europe, Gaius. Sides had been
drawn, each getting loyal supporters. The Queen of all witches and
her brother swore allegiance to the current Great Clan of Europe
while the Unseelie Court had declared that each elf should pick his
or her side - which several had done. Other Great Clans had also
picked their sides, tainting the whole affair a particular shade of
awkward. Things were quickly escalating into a war unlike anything
the vampires had seen in centuries.
    So, Monicelli and Gaius had agreed to change
venues. There was simply no place in Europe where their battle
could go unnoticed. So, their choice of venue was in Darcy's turf.
The official reason was that vamps would be able to manage the
battle and its aftermath better in the New World. The unofficial
reason was that Darcy held a lot of prestige in the myth's world
and both parties wanted him on their side.
    Logically, Darcy had promised his unofficial
support to both sides.
    Chris and his family were now officially torn
in half. He and Lydia would fight for the Great Clan of Europe
while Louisa and Elliot would fight for the newcomer. Darcy had
claimed he could not choose sides, since Gaius was a personal
friend and Monicelli was a business partner, and that he was
heartbroken by the whole affair. In fact, Darcy had demanded a last
round of negotiations - something unheard of - to try to work a
peaceful solution out of this quagmire. Both sides were putting in
an effort because Darcy had asked them to.
    If Elliot and Lydia's behavior was any
indication of how it would be for the next couple of days,
negotiations were bound to fail.
    "What is the plan here?" Chris looked at
Darcy.
    "Are we keeping you from something, Chris?"
Lydia asked.
    Chris desperately wanted to fuck someone
tonight. He was bored out of his mind. But he wasn't about to tell
Lydia that. He kept his stare on Darcy and his voice neutral as he
asked, "In front of everybody else, we should be ready to tear each
other apart. Anything else?"
    "Just in front of other people?" Louisa
asked. Her big blue eyes blinked in mock innocence at Chris while
her lips twitched into a smile. "I thought we were already
pretending to be at each other’s throats. Isn't that what Elliot
and Lydia are doing?"
    Chris grinned at that. Louisa was always with
her books and experiments but every now and then she cracked a
joke. She loved to play the dumb blonde.
    Lydia, on the other hand, didn't appreciate
the joke at her expense. She narrowed her eyes at Louisa and
sneered. Elliot ignored Louisa all together.
    "I don't like it." Elliot said. He shook his
head, trying to add more weight to his claim. "This family has
traditions. We always go hunting on our first night in a new
town."
    Lydia started talking again. Elliot's and her
voices mingled until it was nothing but ruckus.
    "Enough," Darcy snapped. “Gaius is a friend
and a good man. He’ll be much kinder to us if he wins.” Darcy
dabbed a soft white napkin. "Vicenzo, on the other hand, is a loose
cannon. But there's a chance he will win. We have to play safe." He
turned to Elliot. "We're done talking about this."
    "I agree with Elliot that certain family
traditions have to be maintained," Chris said. He caught, out of
the corner of his eye, Lydia open her mouth ready to fight back.
"Still, our current divide has to be maintained. Unless we, as
siblings, decide to have negotiations of our own." When he was sure
he had his siblings attention, Chris added, "Two of us, from
opposing sides, could go hunting tonight and two others could go
hunting tomorrow. I'll volunteer. Who will join me? Louisa?" He
turned to Elliot. "Elliot?"
    Chris and Darcy exchanged the briefest of
looks. Darcy's lips twitched into a smile.
    "That would work perfectly