Struck (A Vampire Novel) ✔

Twenty-One

As I walked through the Headquarters between Xander and Aveline, I was finally able to truly get a good look at the members in their coterie. All I saw was hatred. Face after face glared at me as we walked with and past them, most stopping when they noticed me. None tried to reach for me, whether to hurt me or yell at me, and none even said a word against me. I knew it was only because I had been claimed, and that Jacobi had ordered otherwise, that they were refraining from harming me. What I didn't know was why they weren't even saying anything. Maybe it was because all their words were already written on their faces.

We all walked into the ballroom, where the event had been hosted at. It looked significantly different than the last time I had been led through it. The tables had been removed and the lights were harsh and bright. The coterie was gathering in a semi-circle in front of the stage where the band had been playing before. Only instead of a band, there was a rather fancy, long, almost golden table settled with a handful of people sitting behind it.

They were, for a lack of a better definition, gorgeous. Seven of them were seated, discussing between each other in quiet voices things I couldn't make out. I would have mistaken them for human if it weren't for their unnatural beauty and the way they held themselves as if they had never moved slow and carelessly as a human in their entire life. It was fascinating.

Xander spotted my gaze of wonder as we moved towards the front of the coterie, settling between a few members who shuffled away from us when spotting me. He bent his head slightly towards me in order to address me with a hushed voice.

"The two Royals on the left are Vassily," He indicated to the two male vampires who were in conversation with one another. They looked like identical twins, with skin the color of fresh cocoa beans and hair as dark as night. A glance towards the crowd revealed pale blue eyes, which was a startling but pleasant contrast to their features. They held a professional appearance of authority that could easily be enforced.

"The two on the right are Thron," Xander continued, moving my gaze to the two Royals who were the only ones staring either in the distance or at the crowding coterie. One was a small man, both in frame and possibly in height. He probably was about my size. His hair was a platinum blonde color that I had to believe was dyed. The girl next to him was only a bit bigger than him, with blonde hair as short as his. Their emerald eyes waited boredly for something to happen, though I couldn't be sure what exactly they hoped for.

"And the three in the middle are part of the leading Royals, Roslind. The leading Royal is in the middle, Audrina Roslind," He stated, pointing out the last three Royals. Audrina Roslind was absolutely stunning and just by looking at her you could tell she was obviously the most powerful of the Royals. The men on either side of her were whispering things to her occasionally after looking around the room. The two men were large and frightening, with dark brown hair and equally dark eyes. Their skin appeared sun kissed, though it must have just been their natural color. I wasn't sure if vampires tanned. Audrina didn't stop looking over each member of the coterie, her mocha brown eyes intelligent with a hint of danger. Her hair, just as dark brown as the two men, was long and sleek, causing her features to appear even sharper than they originally would be. I found without even knowing her that I feared and was intimidated by her.

If this was who the leading Royal was now, I couldn't even imagine what Eve Raene looked like.

I tore my eyes from the table of Royals and looked at the area in front of them where the floor was bare except for one figure standing firmly in the center. Jacobi didn't let his eye wander from Audrina's form, his body tense but not wavering. I gulped, imagining how suffocating it would feel to be in the center of such attention awaiting punishment of all things. My anxiety grew just watching him stand there, even though he appeared unafraid and determined.