Page 194 of Vampires of Eden

Ellis straightens and clears his throat. “He… Lord Cherrington told me to set the cottage on fire after the news broke about Prince Alexander and Daniel Lim. I-I went to the cottage, and I didn’t want to do it—I was terrified to do something like that. But… I saw Prince Alexander drive away, and there were no other cars parked at the cottage. I couldn’t sense anyone’s vampiric essence, so I… I did it, thinking no one was home. I’m so, so sorry. I need this job, but I never wanted to hurt anyone.”

“Thank you, Ellis,” Nadya says. “That’s enough. Lord Cherrington, we have two more witnesses from your estate who can confirm overhearing you instructing Ellis to set fire to the Álvarez Vineyard. What say you?”

The silence gripping the room is frigid again.

Lord Cherrington smirks. “False.Lies.”

My father sits up straighter from his seat. He addresses Lord Cherrington with eyes like ice. “In accordance with addendum two-c of section twenty-three, we have identified three witnesses who confirm and validate the accusations brought against you. Christian Bernard Cherrington, you are henceforth expelled from the Royal Order. Not you, nor any vampire from your futurelineage may hold an honored position within this council. Further, your title of lordship shall no longer be recognized within the Eden aristocracy.”

“You can’t do this to me!” he says, practically spitting the words.

“And yet, we have,” Nadya says. “You are dismissed from the Royal Order. If you wish to appeal our decision, you may do so after one century has passed.” Nadya takes hold of the gavel and smacks it down. The sound is loud and final, like a third hit across Cherrington’s face.

“This aristocracy isrotting,” Cherrington says, sneering and pointing up toward the rafters. “I’ll have nothing to do with deplorable bonds such as?—”

“Hey,” I call out once more. “Shut up and leave!” Why do evil bastards always need to have the last word or explain themselves? “Go.”

Cherrington eyes me, but swiftly thinks better of it and turns on his heel, stalking out of the room and not looking back.

When the door shuts behind him, we address Ellis. He expresses his remorse again, looking both me and Danny in the eyes as he apologizes. We assign him several hours of community service, and assure him that we’ll assist him in finding a new, less homicidal position.

After Ellis leaves, the collective release of tension around the room is palpable. Like a worried mother hen, I turn and glance at Daniel. He scrunches his nose at me and mouths the words, “Hello, Rabbit,” which makes me swoon a little.

“Aleksey, we want to throw a party for you and Daniel.” Sebastian holds his palms together like a prayer, fluttering his dark eyelashes. “Nothing too big! Something intimate and nice so we can get to know him better.”

“We were supposed to bring that up atthe end,” Ashwin scolds, sneering. “You said you’d be chill about all this, Bas. You’re not being chill.”

“Right, I know, but things just now were so serious,” Sebastianreasons. “We needed to lighten the mood, like a sandwich with something yummy in the middle?—”

“Why are the two of you here?” I cut in, unable to help myself. I’ve been going with the flow, but their presence is quite weird.

“Mother is going to retire,” Sebastian says excitedly. “I’m in training now, too!”

“With Cherrington out, my family has purchased our seat back,” Ashwin says with her chin lifted.

“Wow,” I say flatly. “The gang’s all here.”

“Let’s move onto the proposal,” Nadya says, refocusing the group. “We’ll talk about the other things later. Alexander, are you ready?”

Slightly taken aback, I nod, stand and distribute the copies of the proposal.

Maybe I was expecting some screaming about me and Daniel? Especially with my mother present. But as I glance up at her, she meets my eyes in a non-hostile expression. I’m surprised that she hasn’t said a single word, or loudly declared that she’ll never accept my bonding and that I’m dead to her. Something dramatic and telenovela-ish.

When everyone at the table has a stapled copy, I set my shoulders back and pitch my voice loudly so that Danny can hear me in the rafters. “We’ll start with section one—which covers the basic laws surrounding land ownership, and who is allowed to hold the rights to physical, domestic and commercial property…”

CHAPTER 46

Daniel

I’m trying something.

Whether it works or not, I don’t know.

Me, Leoni and Alexander returned to the vineyard a week ago—four days after he gave his proposal to the Governing Board in Central.

About that. I wish he could have hit that old haughty vampire a few more times. I’ve searched myself, wondering if I should feel some shame or remorse for the joy I experienced while watching my bonded partner physically assault another vampire. If I’m lacking in some critical, moral substance for feeling satisfied about the whole thing.

The answer is, I don’t care.