In Your Dreams

Chapter 30

Julian kept giving me water. I told him I was fine, but he insisted I looked like I was trying to hydrate myself. I didn't object when he handed me the chocolate cake and cookies though.

About a half an hour had passed since Julian sat me down at the table, and the tension between us hasn't died down. I wish I could read his mind like he could read mine; it would make things so much easier.

A thought that has been on my mind since mine and Tristan's dance was eating at me. I wanted to know if Julian had a soulmate. I mentally kept slapping myself because my brain was telling me that if he liked me, then he obviously didn't have one, but my heart sank at that the thought of him ever having one. Then, a pang of guilt kept hitting me when I thought about it because Tristan told me that I was his soulmate. So, wouldn't it be considered cheating since I felt something for Julian? Unfortunately for me, I was sitting next to a mind reader, who most likely heard everything.

"Julian..." I drew out his name.

He gave me a knowing look.

I continued, "Do you have a soulmate?"

Julian's lips lifted slightly before going into a flat line. Drawing a breath, he started to speak, "I..."

A booming voice cut him off. It was King Gabriel announcing that he was going to talk about the progress of coexistence.

"Come on.  He wants you up there when he speaks," Julian sighed, taking my hand and leading me to where the King stood.

"Do I have to speak?  I'm not prepared," I asked nervously.

"He might have you say a few words about how you feel about vampires. Don't worry though. You will be fine," he reassured me.

My feet carried me onto the platform where King Gabriel stood, and hundreds of eyes were on me.

He was already in the middle of his speech. "...good will come out of coexistence. We have set up a blood bank company as a cover to collect blood to prove that we don't need to directly feed from the source. Once we have enough, we can slowly come out of the shadows and show humans that we don't need to harm them. We can reveal where we get our blood. Some of you may be wondering if the humans will continue to donate after finding out about our existence. As long as we don't pose a threat, the human government will require blood donation in fear we might retaliate. After all, we are the superior race. Claire is a prime example of how humans may react when they find out about us. I will let you all listen to her testimony," the King preached and motioned towards me.

I was frozen. It was my turn to speak, and I didn't even know what to say.  I wasn't prepared.

Just be honest. Julian's voice echoed through my head.

I took a few deep breaths.  "Um...hello. My name is Claire Fields, and I'm a human as you all know." A small amount of laughter came from the audience. "I was kind of freaked out when I came here...to be honest. I had no idea that you all existed, but I've been treated great since I came here. To me, you all are just people with special abilities—superheroes.  I can see that humans might be doubtful at first...but if you show them what your King just explained, then I'm sure we could all live together peacefully. So...yeah. Thank you."

My face felt hot, and I felt lightheaded again. I was so nervous. My anxiety began to melt away when a low applause echoed through the ballroom. I didn't humiliate myself at least.

King Gabriel nodded towards me with approval. "There you have it. She is a glimpse of our future, and I hope that it has converted the skeptics. I hope that I can eventually convince you all to accept our newfound future. Thank you all for coming tonight. Enjoy the food and dancing," King Gabriel boomed.