The Call - The Secrets of Avelina Chronicles Book 4

16. Damian

Once two weeks passed, Damian knew he was in trouble. Kaitlin was sure he would be wrong about the outcome of the discussion with the council, but the more time went by the more he was proven right. Mortimer had instigated a mutiny and with each passing hour, he was gaining more and more support. No-one had done anything about it other than voice their support for a new regime, as there was no successor or other possible candidate to take over the rule of the three clans. But as Damian saw it, if they had decided to go against his rule, it would only be a matter of time before his whole world crumbled around him and they decided to separate the three clans once again.

It had happened periodically over their existence, that one ruler would unite the three clans and bring peace to the vampires, only for someone to see things differently and ruin everything. Sometimes it was as simple as the leader dying or getting killed in battle that brought the clans to separate again. Sometimes it was a complex, outright mutiny or a secretive conspiracy to kill off or discredit a ruler. Damian was only glad the he wasn't facing the last two options. To be killed off would be terrible. He had once been unafraid of death, but now he had Kaitlin and their children and their grandchildren and his grandchildren were having children. He had too big of a family to leave behind without worrying that a new ruler would turn them out of their home just because they were related to him.

Damian had so much to think about and worry about if his rule ended that he could barely function for those two weeks. He wondered what he could do to safeguard his family from his impending fall from grace. He had spent the best part of four hundred and fifty years ruling the united clans after just over one thousand and ten years as a vampire. It wouldn't be easy to change after all that time and accept that he would have to live somewhere other than the Croiset clan house he had lived in all those long years. Or that he and Kaitlin might have to move away and face banishment or segregation from the rest of the clan. Could they leave their children and grandchildren behind, so they didn't have to suffer the same fate and risk never seeing them again?

It would all be for their own good, but it would be heartbreaking none the less, particularly if they never got to see the end to Tegen's isolation. Or which decisions their great-grandchildren made when they came of age to decide whether to be vampires or remain humans. What if the ruler who took over from him let Tegen out into the world, believing her punishment to be an overreaction and she did something reckless or put others in danger? It would be on their heads not his. But all the same, it was his granddaughter who could ruin her entire life and put herself in a situation she would never recover from.

All Damian could do was take care of everything he could while he still had the power to do so. During those two weeks, while everything was up in the air, he took the chance to unite Corbin and Arizona. She made a plausible show of running away so her parents wouldn't look for her. Their life together, at least, would be secure even if it was the only thing that would be. He gave his suggestion to Lucius, pointing out a future ruler, if his time to rule had ended. He suggested Matthew be put forward to take over the rule of the three clans before they could separate. It was logical and his due, having once been passed over for the job.

But once that was done, he had nothing else to do. So he and Kaitlin enjoyed what little time they had left at the clan house, in her garden. It would soon be someone else's concern as to how well it was kept and whether it continued to exist or not, so they spent the time they had enjoying the view and each others company.

"I am sorry my darling. I had thought we would live out the rest of our lives in this house. Seeing our grandchildren grow up and their children...and theirs..." Damian sighed to himself in apology. Kaitlin snuggled into him and adored her garden in silence. He seemed so defeated that she was shocked into silence for a few moments, wondering why this sudden event had broken his spirit when he had faced and won many battles over the years. Was it perhaps that Mortimer had never shown any interest in contributing to the council before? And his sudden decision to voice disapproval and demand the end of Damian's rule was just one betrayal of his trust and loyalty that ran too deep? Or was it the vocal support that Mortimer had received from many high standing members of the clan?