Page 113 of The Blood Witch

“Thank you,” he whispered. “I appreciate hearing that.”

Alice turned away, allowing him a moment of privacy with his emotions.

“Have you met the other council members?” she asked, motioning toward the throne room.

Callum shook his head. He cleared his throat, pulling himself together. He was the deSanguine now. He wasn’t some child, yearning to play with the others.

“Come with me, then,” the Witch said, stepping forward and opening the door.

There were more people there than he expected. Callum glanced around, curious. Each Faction supposedly only had one representative.With him and Alice representing two of the four Factions, shouldn’t there only be two more people here?

“Leandra. Linh.” Alice greeted the two older Witches waiting next to the long oak table wearily. “This is an unexpected surprise.”

Unexpected and unpleasant, her tone suggested. Callum watched the Witches closely.

“Who is this?” the oldest of the women asked, looking Callum up and down. He may as well have been a piece of animal shit Alice had tracked in on her boots.

“The new deSanguine,” Alice announced.

“Is he?” a delicate voice asked from the table, and Callum turned to regard the speaker. This was no Eternal City accent. This voice was older, older even than some of the eldest Vampires. The woman who spoke was the only one seated, though she stood gracefully as he turned his gaze to her.

“Welcome, new deSanguine,” she said. “I knew your father for many years. Not all of them unpleasant.”

Her voice was like a poisoned sweet, and something in the aura around her sent a shiver of fear down his spine. From somewhere deep in the banks of his memory, he pulled out the name.

“Kallista,” Callum said, and her mouth curved to a slight smile. “My father spoke of you. Often, and with great respect.”

“Liar,” the Demon whispered, but her smile perked even more.

“We need to talk,” the older of the Witches—Linh—was saying to Alice. “Without all of these...” She glanced over at Kallista and Callum coldly. “These spectators.”

“Actually, you’re the spectator here, Linh,” Alice answered, walking around her to come and sit at the council table. Callum did the same, following her only to pause before the remaining two chairs.

Which one was his?

A barely perceivable nod from Kallista indicated the chair to her right, so Callum took the hint graciously and sat, inclining his head to her in thanks.

“They are members of the council,” Alice continued. “But you, and you as well, Leandra, are the spectators here.”

“We are advisors to?—”

“No. No, you’re not,” Alice cut her off quickly. “Youwereadvisors to the princess, and youwereadvisors to me. Before you abdicated your duties, just as she did, and left representing our Faction to Sana and myself. You haven’t been advisors to anything for months, and I’ll be damned if I’ll let you claim the title now, just because it benefits you to do so.”

The other Witch, Leandra, had the decency to look ashamed, but the older woman’s fury only grew. She opened her mouth but was interrupted as the door to their back opened, and a Witch near to Alice’s age stepped into the room.

This Witch, wearing a soft blue robe, blinked in surprise, looking at first to Callum, then to Leandra and finally to Linh.

“I’ll get more chairs,” she said, decidedly, and then turned and practically fled from the room.

Alice sighed.

“You forget, Alice, that we are the ones who gave you this seat on the council,” Linh said threateningly.And we can take it away, her smug face seemed to finish saying.

“And you forget that you had to practically beg me to take it,” Alice answered in a cold voice. “I doubt much has changed since then.”

“Is this what they’re always like?” Callum asked Kallista loudly, earning a glare from Linh and a wince from Alice. “These meetings?”

“Oh no,” Kallista assured him. “Sometimes they’re much worse.”

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