Page 14 of A Shadow of Betrayal

“And your family? It says here your surname is Smith. Is that supposed to be a joke?” he asks, looking over a relatively thick pair of reading glasses.

“No?” I answer. I hear Elaine clear her throat behind me and shake my head. “My father's last name is actually Smith, sir.”

“You may call me Senior Axford,” he informs me, his nose rising in the air just the smallest amount. “And which of your parents did you receive the sight from? Senior Drakos has informed us that his son, Ranger Theodore Drakos, believes you have no knowledge of our communities or the laws that come with the sight. Is that correct?”

“Perhaps the child is a Fracti? She could be telling the truth, Axford,” the man who is sitting next to Theo’s dad says, eyeing me with bright blue eyes. Another one of the men scoffs, and my eyes dart to the guy sitting next to the scowling Viking.

“She can see the Demons, Alexander. Her sight is not broken,” the man sneers, his full lips drawing back when our eyes connect, the look of disgust evident in his gaze. “Though I doubt if she truly is a Hunter. She still has the bruising she had when Drakos brought her in. Why hasn't she healed?”

“Look at her eyes,” one of the older men adds while leaning forward in his chair. “We already know whose bloodline she belongs to.” My attention instantly moves to the only other pair of green eyes in the room, and I again swallow when I find them full of anger and confusion.

“Not possible. The Regalis line has never once had a rogue nor lost one of our members,” the Viking man snaps, his hands gripping the arms of his chair so tight that his knuckles whiten as he glares at me. I watch as his shoulders tense, the odd tunic-like shirt he’s wearing makes him appear like he’s stepped out of some period romance movie. It's weird, but not in a bad way.

“You are new to this position, Umbra Regalis,” Senior Axford states, looking at the younger man with disapproval. “A position that is temporary, I might add,” he says with a wave of his hand, making the man that commented on my eyes clench his jaw in frustration. “Without looking at the records, there is no way to know if your claim is true.”

Wait... Regalis? Isn't that what Elaine said Creed's name was? I study the man in front of me and frown. I mean, this guy had seemed familiar, but I’m positive he’s not Creed. His hair is too long for one thing, and his nose is bigger, his facial features sharper, and his eyes colder. Yeah.. no. Not Creed.

“It is,” the Viking grinds out. He opens his mouth to add something, but stops when Elaine coughs behind me, drawing his attention. “But… I suppose we should give the girl time to answer the questions we all have instead of talking over each other,” he grumbles, sitting back in his chair and sighing, his anger melting from his tense body and making me wonder what the hell happened to change his attitude so fast.

I toss a look over my shoulder to Elaine and find her standing perfectly still in her beautiful dress, her hands clasped and face expressionless. When I stare at her for too long, she arches a brow and widens her eyes.

Oh shit, right.

I turn back around and find all the men staring at me, waiting for my answer, and I have to rack my brain for the question they asked.

“I don't!” I practically shout when I finally remember, earning several glares from the men sitting in front of me. “And my mother is the one that saw the monsters. I mean, Demons,” I quickly correct myself. Senior Axford looks at the alluring green-eyed man, and the room falls quiet. Following the older man's stare, I look over and find those piercing green eyes locked on my face, a look of concentration masking his features as he stares at me with an intensity that makes me shiver.

Unblinking, I meet his stare, that weird pull making me want to be closer, which scares me a little. I’m fairly certain this man is dangerous. Plus, he’s sitting up there with my kidnapper, so that kinda makes him the enemy… right? I definitely shouldn't want to be near him.

I shift uncomfortably under his powerful gaze, the hairs on my arms standing on end the longer the tense silence goes. It's not until the man dips his head in a slight nod that Senior Axford sighs and leans back in his chair.

“Not a rogue then,” he sighs almost wistfully. “And your mother's maiden name is what?” the older man asks as the other men shift in their chairs, suddenly leaning forward, now interested in my answer.

“Taylor. But I don’t think that will help. My grandparents adopted her when she was two, and I don’t know what her name was before that. Then my father sent her away to a mental hospital when I was a young child. He never spoke of her after that and chose to send me to my grandfather several years later when he couldn't deal with my… differences,” I finish, deciding to leave out the attack of one particular Demon that left scars on my back. I watch as all the men slump in their seats in disappointment.

“No matter. We can always figure it out on our own,” Senior Axford says and nods at two men dressed in navy blue who I hadn't noticed before now. They dip their heads and move to a table that holds an odd-shaped pitcher, a big golden-colored bowl with weird marks covering the lip, grabbing that and a… oh shit.

“Umbra Regalis, please assist me with the ceremony?” Senior Axford directs, slowly rising to his feet while steadying himself with the cane in his right hand before slowly descending the three steps to reach the floor as the two men dressed in blue grab a blade that was lying next to the bowl.

I clench my fists, fighting every instinct that tells me to turn and run as the green-eyed man slowly rises to his feet and walks to where I stand, not saying a word. I have to tilt my head back to meet his eyes, and I hate how it makes me feel. “What are you doing?” I ask in a shaky voice, losing some of the confidence I was trying to keep as the older man comes to a stop directly in front of me, placing his cane down for support.

“We will test your blood and find your bloodline. That will tell us what your fighting skills will lean toward and whether you have any magic abilities,” Senior Axford answers calmly. I instantly start to shake my head.

“I don't have magic, and I suck at fighting,” I whisper, this time taking a step back, unable to stop from fidgeting as the bowl, pitcher, and knife are brought over to the old man. I gasp when the green-eyed man suddenly reaches out, taking my wrist in hand and tugging me closer to the bowl. He steps behind me, and I instantly tense up, not liking how small he makes me feel. I’m tall for a woman, but this guy makes me feel tiny.

His firm chest presses against my back, making a chill run down my spine. The scent of smoke and cedar fills my senses, and my breath hitches in my throat as his big thumb slowly circles my wrist in a calming motion.

“Hold very still, Miss Smith,” he rasps, lowering his lips to the shell of my ear and making a sudden heat form between my thighs. I inhale sharply, clenching my legs together, more confused than anything else as Umbra Regalis’ voice is deep and makes me feel anything but calm as my heart thunders in my chest. “We don't want the old man to slip, now, do we?”

EIGHT

Meyer

Umbra Regalis’ voice holds a spark of amusement that I instantly hate, cooling the sudden and unwanted arousal that had started to pool low in my belly. Is he making fun of me for being scared? Why wouldn't I be at least a little frightened? I’ve never met any of these people, and now they’re saying they want to test my blood and have a knife and bowl to do that with!

“She is rather good at throwing knives,” the green-eyed man says out loud, and I try to spin and look at him with wide eyes.

What the hell? How does he know that?

---