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Eighty-five stitches.

No Healers survived.

They were targeted first.

Healing Pools were all contaminated and rendered useless.

It wasn't a good night, and it was proving to be the start of a really bad day.

Thankfully my parents weren't on site when the attack happened. It was selfish of me to be grateful for that after so many were killed, but it was the only silver lining I could find and I had to find one otherwise I'd lose it.

And now my parents couldn't come back because it wasn't safe, but I talked to Father on the phone and he promised he would get here regardless of the threat if I needed him to be here.

Yes, I did need him.

But I downplayed the severity of my injuries, which he knew of already.

Once back at the Academy where it was safe, I knew Father would make an appearance.

He was too stubborn not to.

"How is she alive?" someone whispered from behind us.

That was the question that kept echoing in whispers when they thought I couldn't hear them or was in a catatonic state.

I refused to be medicated.

The pain was inconsequential once the severity of the situation hit me. That, and I was highly allergic to morphine and that was all that was left on site that could be administered for pain.

Thankfully, I was completely numb mentally and emotionally, and my body felt as if it was on fire but it was easily ignored at the moment.

Viggo had debriefed them on what happened, but I didn't contribute anything to the debriefing.

What was there to say?

I killed two evil vampires that traded their souls for immortality and Devilry, and let's not forget that they were trying to kill me or acquire me, that was a very real possibility.

My actions were self-defense thus they were completely justified.

But the one thing, out of the million things that I should have been trying to untangle but wasn't, was bugging me and I just couldn't ignore it.

"Why did they keep calling me Princess?" I asked, interrupting Commander Azrael.

The crowded room went silent and everyone turned in unison to look at me.

"I am sure they were being derogatory," Azrael said. "Or it was a case of mistaken identity. You were seen with the Prince of the Fifth House of Vampires, so they could have assumed you were a Royal as well. Every Upír wants to kill a Royal, especially a Vampire Royal; it is a badge of honor and their blood is sweeter from the purity of the bloodline."

That was a believable reason, especially after the female kept asking her companions if they were sure they had the right person because she couldn't smell or taste any Thaumaturgy in my blood.

"Why were my parents not here when the attack happened?" I asked, meeting Azrael's molten silver eyes.

Azrael offered a small smile that quickly fell. "Your parents went off-site to coordinate travel and to discuss things in private. Their discussion in regards to your care had gotten heated and the staff asked that they take it elsewhere because it was affecting the aura of the entire center," he explained.

"Okay, that's fair," I said, and he chuckled.

It wasn't hard to believe since my mother was the single most argumentative creature to ever draw breath.

"Thankfully they were not in the vicinity when the attack happened," he continued. "But at the request of the King and Queen of the Unified House, they have been ordered to return to the protection of the Palace until the threat has been mitigated, with extreme protest by your father of course. You will return there as well once you are medically cleared to travel."

That wasn't going to happen.

I gave him a look.

"Miss Li, you need to rest," Azrael said.

I offered a slight nod of the head. "I am well, Commander," I assured him.

Azrael cocked an eyebrow.

I cocked an eyebrow in return, giving him a look, and he blushed with a nod.

"Ariadne," Viggo said from next to me. "The doctors believe you are in shock."

"I've been standing here, being held up, but have been here the entire time and I heard their diagnosis," I informed him, and everyone else in the room that was treating me as if I were a child and belittling my intelligence. "I need my stake back and a shower. After that, I require something to eat other than Jell-O. Pike Place Market has a restaurant area that is about fifty minutes from here at this hour or just a wizard teleportation away, that has this amazing Japanese sushi house called Oya Sushi Desu. I am craving sushi, and I will pay you back, Uncle."

Azrael's face dropped.

"How long have I been here?" I asked; I was underweight.

"Five days," Viggo said.

I looked at him. "That isn't possible," I argued. "This type of weight loss isn't possible in just five days unless I had a tapeworm!"

Viggo licked his lips, struggling to find the words.

"Don't edit," I warned.

"Whatever hurt you," he whispered, tucking a loose lock of hair behind my ear for me, "the effect was immediate and just those first minutes caused severe physical damage, including weight loss and muscle atrophy."

That is concerning.

"Very well," I said, turning to Azrael. "Take Harper with whoever you send to get my food because I trust him with my life, he knows what I like, and I want enough to take back to the Academy to munch on for the next couple of days."

Everyone looked between me and Commander Azrael.

"Very well," Azrael said, motioning with his chin to one of the Imperial Guards and they nodded and headed from the room to prepare their teleportation spell. "Sushi you shall have, enough for a one-female army of Japanese-South African teenagers," he teased and I giggled. "But I would like your debriefing now. I, and everyone else here, are very interested in hearing about this." He picked my makeshift stake up off of the table behind him and then offered it to me.

I unwound the dried blood-caked silver necklace from what remained of the pencils then fastened it around my neck. "Three number two pencils; ideal for securing hair back, writing a thesis on linear partial differential equations for engineering and scientific methodology, and for staking upír."

Viggo smirked.

"Pencils wrapped in a silver Holy totem packed a punch," I said.

"Very ingenious," Azrael commended.

I shrugged and then winced. "Owie. Yes, Sir. The Academy has a very good training program, Sir."

Azrael snorted, as did many of the Sentinels in the room. "I highly doubt your impressive ingenuity can solely be accredited to your Academy, Miss Li. You are a very smart young female and unbelievably observant. From making a weapon with what was available to utilizing the few advantages that were in the area. Not many would have thought to use the emergency exit map as a guide. And in doing so, you and Prince de Babineaux were able to secure the exits, preventing their reinforcements from entering."

Again, I offered a nod of respect.

"It is what a Sentinel would do, Commander," I reminded him.

"It is what they should do, but not all would have," Azrael corrected.

I smirked. "Poor oversight by their superiors if you ask me, considering that was a very basic lesson at a very young age that my uncle taught me to do when in unfamiliar hostile territory."

Azrael's blush deepened. "Your uncle sounds like a wise man."

"And unbelievably humble," I reminded him.

He nodded with a small smile. "May I ask how it is that you severed the head from the one in the stairwell?" he asked. "It is most peculiar that the body did not burn away as their head did, and yet the wound was not cauterized."

I looked at Viggo and was surprised to see that he was silently conveying not to tell them.

"It could most certainly be the shock from my excessive blood loss, Sir, but technically I did not see the head come off the body," I promised; that wasn't a lie. "Though, I did learn that due to their slower system, Upír can only squirt barely six meters whereas we can squirt over nine meters!" I cheerfully said.

Azrael chuckled, to the surprise of his men. "Blood pressure causes the blood to squirt out coinciding with their pulse, thus it is to be expected that the lower blood pressure and slower heart rate, like those of an upír, would get less distance. Thank you for confirming that," he said with a wink.

Of course, I giggled.