Hey, Everyone! Just wanted to let you know that this is like the shortest of my chapters so far but I had to cut it where it is because otherwise, if I make it the normal length, I would have to end at a really odd part.

Happy Reading

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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Outside of the Manor, I can sense the turmoil inside, hear the voices rise. Cringing when I hear my name repeated continuously, I creep closer, fearing the inevitable. The moment I cross the threshold, steely hands grab me, wrapping around my upper arms like shackles. I don’t fight it but stand proud as I am dragged down into the lower levels. We pass the Council room and descend even deeper into the earth. Fear starts as a trickle in my blood stream but soon it is a full rushing river as I am shoved into the basement, the cold stone walls dripping water in an eerie consistency. I know now that they have made the judgment against me…not Isaac. This somehow highness my mood until I look up.

The gloom pins me to the floor, unable to see more than a few feet in front of me until my eyes adjust. That’s when I see the people circled around me, their eyes glowing all assortments of colors. I can pick out Nora, her purple orbs shinning the brightest out of all of them. Carmen stands beside her, his golden eyes daring not to look at me. All are riveted towards Philip whose own dark-hazel eyes glint hazily in the dark.

“Sophia Martin, you have wronged us.” Philip’s voice booms like thunder, his eyes changing quickly to a vibrant yellow—the color of fury. I look around and see many others’ turn this same buttery color; I shiver against the dirt floor, my knees throbbing from the fall.

“Fellow members have alerted me of your deceit,” Philip continues, commanding attention even in his shaky leadership position. I glare pointedly at Carmen and Nora, who glare back, their eyes blending in with the gloom as their anger rises. “Will you care to explain what you have done? Or would you rather have me explain?” Philip asks, his eyes still yellow. I see his jaw stiffen and pop and fear that if I get any closer, he will attack.

I stand trembling to my feet. “I will explain.” My voice is calm compared to what I feel inside. Philip nods and steps back into the crowd, crossing his arms over his chest. I spin slowly, looking everyone directly in the eye to show them that my fear is diminishing. I stand straighter, stopping to face Philip again. Squaring my shoulders, I look at him with determination.

“You all know the code, our Law about humans and contact with them. It is forbidden. And it is simple to understand why. Our thirst, our lust for their blood is enough to drive us all crazy. But over the years, we have adapted.

“We are able to go to school. To mingle among them, to live a normal life. But still, the contact issue is there, thriving just below the surface. We have all faced challenges; we have all almost lost the control, the will to resist.

“I have actually lost that control once. You all remember last spring when that terrible event conspired.” I pause, swallowing hard, as many more eyes blended with the dark. But I press forward, gaining confidence with Philip’s steady yellow eyes. “I had turned into a monster that night. And none of us want to be that creature of the night. Not one. But we live. We survive. We continue to face the challenges and overcome them.

“And a challenge has come to face me.

“Over the past few weeks I have come to know a human as well as I know you all. I have come to know him as a brother and sister. But a feeling I still have yet to understand has been building between the two of us. And two nights before, I gave in to my human instinct. And I have—“

“She kissed the human!” a voice rings out, startling all, including me, into a deathly silence. Carmen’s breathing is ragged as he glares at me with such ferocity that my knees knock weakly against each other. Whispers soon travel around the circle until all eyes are black and I can’t tell them apart. Philip’s eyes, however, stay yellow as he forces to stay in control.

“Silence!” he shouts. “Is this true, Sophia?” I hear the slight waver in his voice and I know he wishes for it to not be, for it to be a prank, a lie.

But I raise my head and answer in truth. “Yes. I kissed him.”

Gasps echo around the basement, resembling tiny fires being extinguished around me. I swallow hard but meet every gaze with pride. “I have no regrets!” I shout over the rising volume of the whisperings. “Everyone seeks another in their life. Another to love, another to hold, another to tell all to. For example, look at Nora and Carmen. They are to be Bonded in a few short weeks. They have found each other. And I’m extremely happy for them.

“And I have found my own in him.” This last statement makes everyone’s eyes widen and then I see many fists clench, many jaws pop, many knees bend in defensive stances.

“She’s a human-lover!”

“A hot-blooder!”

“She wants a heart of her own!” a curse so horrible rings out. I flinch openly and search for the voice but I can’t pinpoint it in the group. Philip raises his hands for calm but the Coven doesn’t respond. The crescendo rises; the circle breaks up, the vampires moving in restfulness. I shrink away from them, knowing what will come. Philip’s voice is drowned out and I know my fate.

I will be destroyed.

I will be burned at Ashton’s Slate.

I will be killed.

Soon, cries ring out about judgment, about the Silver Sword, about the Blue Fire. I think then of my family, of my human mother and father. I haven’t thought of them in over thirty years. But here the memories come, clear and fog-free. I relish them, savor them. I see my mother’s heart-shaped face, her long black hair that is mine. I spot my father, his chiseled features cutting through my memory, his olive-green eyes that are mine as well. Tears’ well, making the memories fade as the circle encloses upon me. I haven’t seen their faces so clearly in so long…if I had a heart, it would have been breaking in half now.

I soon hear the snarls, the growls of the hungry vampires. They crave my blood, my death. I close my eyes and bend to my knees, giving in. I know that I can’t fight my way out. I would be destroyed before I could reach the door. Instead, I let the many hands raise me up, getting ready to carry me to Ashton’s Slate. I feel punches and sharp elbows but I barely cringe, making the pandemonium disappear until all I can see is Isaac’s face swimming before my eyes. His gorgeous blue eyes, those luscious lips, that expressive brow. His crooked grin that makes my stomach flutter, those tender hands that hold me so softly. I reminisce of his kisses, of his spoken words of affection.

“I love you, Isaac,” I whisper through my tears as I am carried from the Manor.