Bloodline Diplomacy
Bloodline Academy Book Three
Lan Chan
Copyright © 2020 by Lan Chan
All rights reserved.
Without limiting the rights under copyright, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, (electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner and the publisher of this book.
All names, characters, groups and events portrayed in this book are fictitious, and all opinions expressed by the characters, whose preferences and attitudes are entirely their own. Any similarities to real persons or groups, living or dead are coincidental and not intended by the author.
Cover by Christian Bentulan
Editing by Contagious Edits
Created with Vellum
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
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1
As I gripped the steering wheel tight and eased my foot down on the gas, I thought I might have discovered a potential Nephilim weakness. Flicking my gaze to the rear-view mirror, I caught Astrid mid dry-retch. She cupped her hands over her mouth. The window was opened a fraction for air. It blasted her hair across her face. If she yacked now, it was going to blow back in her face.
Beside me, Wanda sat white-knuckled. Her whole body was plastered to the passenger seat like she was training for a space mission. “Not so fast!” Wanda said.
“I’m barely pushing a hundred. You just think it’s faster because you’re seeing it from the side.”
“Lex!”
I sighed and took my foot off the gas a little. Wanda scrubbed at her face. “I don’t know what possessed me to agree to this. You’re a menace.”
“There’s nobody else out here.”
“It doesn’t matter. The road rules don’t evaporate just because you’re alone.” I wanted to argue that they kind of did. Also, we were still inside the borders of the Academy. There was no way I was going to get busted by the cops. Despite the rapid drop in speed, Astrid continued to appear green. She swiped at her brow with the back of her hand. The radio that hadn’t been working anyway threw out sparks against the white circle Wanda had drawn around the electronics.
“Don’t freak out,” Wanda said, turning her head to the side and eyeing Astrid. “The last thing we need is for the car to break down.”
“I still don’t see why we couldn’t have just done this on our own,” I said. We were on a routine mission to check the surveillance tower. It was impossibly irritating to have to bring one of the supernaturals with us. Wanda and I had been doing this guard gig for a couple of weeks now. Every time we went out, one of the supernaturals would mess with the car. Last time, Marshall had yawned and blown out the power steering.
I slapped the wheel. Wanda was teaching me how to drive. I always knew the first car I’d get to drive would be a rusted-up piece of junk. It was a billion-year-old, boxy Toyota. I had no idea where the supernaturals had gotten it from. The colour was a disgusting egg-yolk yellow. Some time in its history it must have been owned by somebody vastly more proud of it than me. There were black racing stripes painted down the middle. I was trying my best to earn those stripes, but Astrid was really cramping my style.
Wanda tapped her foot. “This is super easy,” I said.
She gave me the side-eye. Then she smiled. “Yeah, I guess compared to fighting a supercharged vampire, driving a car isn’t all that difficult.”
Astrid made a lurching sound. “I don’t know how you stand it,” she said. “I feel like my insides are going to come up.”
I was mid-laugh when a tingle of ice dragged a line down the back of my neck. We were approaching the checkpoint perimeter. “Keep your eyes on the road,” Wanda said. She leaned forward in her seat. Her head turned in a sweep. Of course I tried to do the same. My hands took their cue from my eyes. We veered across the dirt road. Astrid whimpered. Wanda’s breath hitched.
“Jeez,” I said. “It’s not that bad.”
Wanda flagged away my sarcasm. “Slow down.”
The caution in her voice had me complying. She pointed to the perimeter of the guard tower. Not up the top but around the base where the six metal legs were bolted into the ground. I squinted but couldn’t see what she was worried about.
“Around that scrub of bottle brush,” she said. I craned my neck to the side and swore. Astrid unbuckled her seat belt. The analogue clock on the dashboard started to wind around until time accelerated.
“Astrid,” I warned. But her attention was fixed on the four mountain bikes that had been concealed in the bushes. Out of habit, I drew a circle around the car. In order for the towers to operate this close to the Academy, all traces of supernatural magic had to be purged from the area. Thankfully, that didn’t extend to low magic. Not that a circle would do much for us if they decided to start firing. I had about enough juice to hold off for a while, but eventually even I would tire.
“Stop the car,” Astrid said. I was already in the midst of doing so. It was too late at this point to try for stealth. The thrill of driving melted away. It was replaced by the cold dread of premonition. The Academy existed on land that was situated in the middle of Australia. The closest big town was Alice Springs. Even that was too far away for a bike ride. A
