“I’ll repeat that you need to make more Truebloods as soon as you can. I am not insulting you by implying that you do not have control here, but it is always a good idea to have strength in numbers. That strategy has worked for our kind for hundreds of years now, and we cannot abandon it.”
So this is why Mr. Rivera let Riley go after he attacked Mr. Logan.
There needed to be one Trueblood here to deal with this High Council. Who knows what would have happened if Riley weren’t here?
Riley squirms a bit in his chair. He's not pleased about this task. “Of course.”
And I'm not pleased, either. The undertone is there. Control these Nightsides of yours.
Then Stella lifts an empty glass and peers inside of it, almost as if she's bored. “Your father may have had numbers in his coven, but he did not control his Nightsides well, and it's clear that was his undoing. He did not control his anger well, either. He and the coven have been unstable since the death of Hazel, his former bride. Since then, we at the High Council have worried that he would go over the edge, and we're not surprised to hear that he jumped off two cliffs at the same time.”
I stiffen and remove my fingernail from my thigh, which throbs.
She's insulting Riley and warning him not to go down the same path. Talking about seeing why he's apparently his chosen heir was just a backhanded, manipulative compliment. Already, she's compared Riley to the failed leader.
Things aren't going well.
And I can't even defend him.
“I will do better than my father,” Riley insists, almost defensively.
“I hope that you do,” Stella says. “It is unusual to have someone so young take charge, and especially from a fled leader who broke Trueblood law and killed humans he is in charge of. Your father also failed to control the Nightsides in his charge and paid dearly. Mike and Ella Rivera could confirm both rumors. I hope that for your sake, we find your new coven to be legitimate.”
We're being judged.
Riley stiffens, too. “Yes, Ma'am.” He has no power here.
And neither do I.
Just that thought sends the mental steel out, and instantly I sense the impenetrable walls of the ancient vampires. Dominic had a shield of electricity around his mind that only came down when Lily stunned him into oblivion. These vampires have entire castle fortresses around their minds, and I feel like a fly banging into a mountain. I've got no chance with these people.
Stella rises. “I sense something.”
I retract and fight to keep my expression neutral.
“You sense something?” Riley gets out of his chair as well, looking around the room as if for an intruder. He pauses on me for a split second, less than that, before turning to Stella. “What do you hear?”
Stella turns away from me, much to my relief. “I will repeat our orders to gain control. You have one month before the Convening.” She doesn't waste any words.
I force my shoulders to stay down as the pressure flees, finally. I look to Walton and Daeshawn as if I'm confused. But Jorgen eyes Walton, who is apparently the oldest one here. The only thing that's saving me is that I'm young and not expected to even have any mind magic yet.
“The Convening is in one month?” Riley asks.
Stella snaps her fingers, and the other Truebloods rise. “Yes. All covens must attend. You must understand that our laws preserve the Truebloods' existence in this world. They are harsh for a reason.”
“Then we will attend,” Riley says with a nod. “And we will attend on the dot. I will not be my father.”
Stella leans close to Riley. “For your sake and for the sake of your Nightsides, you had better.”
CHAPTER THREE
The Truebloods leave quickly, and Riley stands at the front door to watch them go, hands behind his back as if he's in the military. The heavy wooden doors swing shut behind them, and no one acts as the doorman after that exchange.
What just happened?
No one dares to speak as the Truebloods enter a car outside and the frosty night air stops whooshing through the front doors. Car doors slam, and the tension rises even though the High Council are leaving from their polite visit. I want to kill them for treating Riley like this, for dumping even more stress onto us, for insulting Riley and calling him a failure before he's even had the chance to prove himself. Everyone's like my father, just letting things fall on those of us who haven’t even graduated high school yet.
At last, the car's engine purrs and the Truebloods pull out of the parking lot of the mansion.
I stand there in the entry hall, far away from Trish, Walton, and Daeshawn, who linger in the dining room.
“What the hell was that?” I ask.
Riley turns and rubs his eyes. “This is not good, Olivia. For many reasons.”
“I can see that,” I say. “They were horrible to you.”
“You almost lost control.” He narrows his eyes.
My heart thumps. We're about to fight again. The entryway, despite the big chandelier hanging overhead, seems to darken.
Yes. There's a lot of darkness here.
“I was holding back, the best I could,” I say. “And that's the truth. But I can't stand to see you get treated like you're a child, because you're not one anymore.”
Riley swallows as he draws closer to me. He takes a slow breath. “You probably held back, but these High Council vampires are even older than Dominic. They sense everything. I can't blame you for being angry.”
“Why didn’t they kill us all?” I ask.
Riley’s shoulders drop but his hair hangs in his face. “In most Trueblood covens, there are Nightside servants and slaves. Treating them like slaves helps prevent the development of their mental powers, in most cases. By letting your father escape, Dominic must have pissed off the High Council. Doing anything that endangers Truebloods or the balance we have with the hunters pisses
