“Welcome, my fellow brethren,” Holly’s voice reverberated off the stone walls. The crowd silenced and gave their attention to the council member, while I made snide remarks about her in my head. Government, in any sense of the word, is a pain in the ass, but forcing me to do something against my will or be snubbed by my community—that’s ridiculous. I hoped the community would be in an uproar against starting a war, it was my only chance to escape Holly’s plan for me.

“Dark times have fallen upon us, and it’s in these times we must act as one. Many speculations have surfaced about our trouble with the vampires, but tonight you will learn the truth. Tonight, we will end the fear they have bestowed in us and take action against them. The vampires have learned a long lost secret, the secret of our blood.” Holly’s hands fisted as they rest on the podium and her brows knitted together in anger. Her voice was strong and confident like a true leader.

“The gift of our magic lay in our blood, a gift from our Goddess. The vampires have tasted this gift and grown to crave what is not theirs. Vampires have their own magic which allows them to hypnotize their prey and binds them from entering another’s home. Because of this, they can relate to the magic in our blood and twist it into something perverse, using our gift for their own selfish deeds.”

Gasps and angry mumbling echoed through the crowd as they listened to Holly.

“We have lost many to their greed, and that all ends tonight. A war is upon us, my friends. We must take back what is rightfully ours, or our kind will grow extinct. We must act in the Goddess’s name and protect the gift she has given. Tonight, the council asks you stand with us in our war.” Holly finished with a prideful smile. Cheers and claps echoed in the cavernous space and beat against my head.

“Do not agree so eagerly, my family,” Holly warned, causing the celebration to settle. “If you agree to fight against the vampires, this is binding. Anyone who is caught consorting with the enemy will be treated as such,” Holly’s eyes found mine, emphasizing her thinly veiled threat. My heart beat like a sledgehammer against my ribs. She was making me give up Aiden, even after I already agreed, against my better judgment, to aid in the war. My chest heaved with panicked breathing, and the familiar twinge of magic danced along my skin. My whole world was crashing down upon me, suffocating me.

“Are there any questions?” Holly asked. The crowd was hesitant at first, but a couple hands drifted into the air.

“My daughter is a vampire; does that mean I can’t have contact with her because of the war? She hasn’t drunk witches blood—she’s an innocent in this,” A middle-aged woman with curly red hair and a kind face asked. Witches were chosen by the goddess, not necessarily born, like Fiona was. This woman’s daughter must not have been chosen and decided to turn into vampire instead.

“I understand your predicament, but no vampire is innocent in this war. Sooner or later, they will all crave our blood. This is a decision you must make, no matter how difficult it may be,” Holly answered with a sad smile.

I cursed her heartless words. The woman wiped a tear away, stood up, and left. When she passed me, I gave her a genuine smile and nodded; I was impressed she had the proverbial balls to stand against the council and for her daughter—if only I could find the same courage.

“Yes?” Holly said to a man who looked to be around thirty.

The man stood up and looked around the crowd, hesitant to say what was on his mind. “Shouldn’t we only punish those who have partaken of our blood? I know the council is looking out for our best interest, but why should those who haven’t had our blood be punished?” The man sat down and wiped off the sweat collected along his brow with a trembling hand.

Holly was silent for a moment while she eyed the crowd. Although she stood and spoke with confidence, I could tell she was worried about the compassion the people were showing towards the innocent vampires.

“It is easy to look at those who have not drunk from us as innocents,” Holly began. “Word is already spreading of the miraculous things our blood enables the vampires to do, and more and more vampires are tempted to drink from us. Loved ones are no exception, as I told the woman before you. We have a member here tonight who was betrayed by a loved one because the pull of our blood was too strong.” Holly held out her hand towards me. My stomach sunk and my breath caught in my lungs.

“Gwen Sparks was romantically involved with a vampire, and he betrayed her by becoming addicted to the magic in our blood. She trusted an innocent, as you call them, and in the end he deceived her.”

Everyone turned and looked at me, while I stared holes into Holly. I should have known the council would find out that Aiden was addicted to brew. While he tried to find answers about the case, his friend, Louis, urged him to try witches blood. The addiction was strong and fast. Aiden was on his way to becoming a full fledge brew junkie before I discovered what happened. Because I felt responsible due to the fact that he wouldn’t have gotten the addiction had he not been trying to help me solve the case, I offered to feed him so he wouldn’t kill a witch for his next fix. I was so upset about what happened that I took him to Ms. Ozland’s house, and we were able to break his addiction. It was painful for me, but worth it. Ms. Ozland was the only person, besides Aiden and me, who knew about that night—the only person who could have betrayed my trust.

“So, hopefully I’ve made it clear how serious our situation is,” Holly said, and the crowd turned their attention back to her. I couldn’t stand to be in the same room with her anymore so I walked out.

2

“I thought I’d find you here,” Fiona said. I made my early exit from the meeting and hid in the castle’s library. The room was hardly ever active and the large arched windows were fitted with comfy seats, a perfect place to think. I had curled up on one and stared out at the moonlit landscape.

I looked up at Fiona. Her blond hair was swept to the side in a ponytail and her blue eyes studied me with concern.

“So, it’s done? A war is definite?” I asked solemnly. I hated everything about the turmoil our two species were facing. The distribution of witches blood, or brew as the vampires called it, needed to stop, but a war seemed extreme.

“Yeah, besides a few doubtful people, everyone agrees it needs to be done,” Fiona answered.

“What about you? Do you think it needs to be done?”

“I know you’re torn on the situation because of Aiden, but we can’t let them continue to kill us, Gwen. Of course we’d love to settle it another way, but since the vampire council hasn’t taken action, we have to.” Fiona watched me like she was afraid I’d tear her a new one for agreeing with the council.

Instead, I gave her a small smile, then turned and rested my head against the stone wall to stare out the window again, “I know,”

Fiona sat down on the bench next to me. She watched me with cautious eyes but I could see a twinge of anger within them as well.

“What?”

“Why didn’t you tell me Aiden was addicted to brew?” Fiona’s eyes pinned me in my place while her mouth grew into a tight line.

I frowned, hating that Holly shared my personal life with the entire witch community. I didn’t want people to think Aiden was a monster, and right now, with all of this ugliness going on, that’s exactly what they would think. They wouldn’t care how sweet he was or that he’d never hurt me. When governments fight, they demand their people to take sides, and as far as the witches were concerned, Aiden was the enemy.

“I didn’t tell anyone,” I told her. “It happened when he was helping me find out who was distributing brew. He hasn’t had it since.”

“That you know of,” Fiona mumbled under her breath.

I jolted forward and gawked at her. “Everyone here already looks down on me for dating a vampire, the least you could do is not voice your doubts about my relationship with Aiden.” I paused; I really needed Fiona to be my ally.

“I’m sorry, Gwen. Emotions are really amped up around here, and it’s hard not to jump on Holly’s bandwagon, but I’ll try,” Fiona apologized. “But, aren’t you worried that Aiden might want to drink from you again? I’ve heard the addiction stays with them. I know you said you broke it, but how do you know? It’s not like he tells you everything.”

“This is you trying?” I snorted. Fiona had been pushing me to date Aiden, and now she acted like he was the scum of the earth.

“You’re my best friend. I just want to make sure you’re safe. I know how people in love can be blind to the things that are bad for them. I mean…Aiden was a nice guy, but you can’t assume he still is. He’s had a taste of your blood, the craving can’t just go away especially when he could just go out and buy brew from a dealer. You’d never even know.”

I closed my eyes for a moment, pinched the bridge of my nose and took a deep breath. It looked like I wasn’t going to have Fiona’s support no matter what. Somewhere in the back of her mind she would always think of Aiden as a junkie. Exactly the reason I hadn’t told her in the first place.

“Look, I can’t tell you how to think of the vampires, but when you say shit like that then you’re calling me naïve and dumb.”

Fiona began to say something but I held up my hand.

“Do you honestly think I’d be with a man who killed my kind just to get high? Am I that blind? Don’t you think I’d know, like maybe his electric blue eyes would give him away?” I had raised my voice so loud that it echoed through the large stone room. For some reason the magic in our blood turned a vampire’s eyes bright neon blue. That was a sign no one could miss, not even a lovesick fool like me.

Heavy footsteps warned us of someone’s approach in enough time to look up as Kye rounded the corner. I disliked him, even more now that I knew why I was paired up with him. It wasn’t his fault, but it didn’t matter. I was mad at the entire council for forcing me into something I didn’t want to do.