Conclave (Vampire Conclave: Book 3), page 25
Jhann laughs nervously. “I would be lying if I said no, so I’ll tell the truth and say yes.”
Immediately, the crowd begins to chant “kiss” as if daring Jhann to act on his desires in front of them. It quickly becomes apparent to me that they won’t let up until Jhann kisses me. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Julian fold his arms over his chest and scowl at the proceedings. He knows what’s coming, and he knows that there isn’t anything either one of us can do about it without casting suspicion. In order to satisfy the crowd, I lean over to Jhann and kiss him on the cheek.
“Oh, come on!” the young man who started all of this says disappointedly. “You call that a kiss? My grandmother pecks me on the cheek like that. Kiss him like you mean it!”
The crowd’s chant of “kiss” grows incredibly loud, and I know nothing else will please them except a full kiss on the lips. I can feel Jhann’s hesitation to do such a thing in front of an audience, but I also sense his natural desire to kiss me. It’s flattering, but it also makes me slightly uncomfortable. I don’t want Jhann to develop feelings for me because that would simply cause more complications down the road, and that’s the last thing I need right now.
Jhann turns to me. “I don’t think they’ll be satisfied with another peck.”
“No, I don’t think they will be either,” I agree.
“Are you all right with me kissing you?” he whispers intimately.
Involuntarily, I glance in Julian’s direction. I’m worried about his reaction to what’s about to happen next, but even he must see that there’s no way Jhann and I can’t kiss. The alfar are demanding a show of intimacy between their future queen and king, and it’s not something I can deny them.
As Jhann leans into me, I feel his free hand go around to the back of my waist and gently hold me in place. Just before his lips touch mine, I close my eyes and brace myself for the feel of a man, who isn’t Julian, kissing me. Jhann’s lips are softer than I expected. He tenderly kisses my lips once, twice, and a final third time before pulling away. Our crowd of onlookers finally seem satisfied as they begin to cheer and clap their hearty approval.
“See, not so bad,” Jhann whispers to me with a small pleased smile as he pulls away from me slightly to look into my eyes.
I don’t dare say anything, because if I agree with him, the control Julian is exhibiting will vanish, and if I disagree with him, the crowd will either hear or see it, shattering the illusion we’re trying to perpetuate that we intend to go through with a wedding one day.
I decide not to say anything at all and simply smile back at Jhann wordlessly.
Jhann moves his hand away from my back and returns his attention to the crowd.
“Are there any other questions?” he asks them.
“I have one,” I hear Aron Firestorm declare.
I can’t say I’m surprised, but I was hoping he wouldn’t have a question to ask since Shael beat him to the most important one.
“Princess Sarah,” Aron says, “are you in love with your sentinel?”
Quite a few gasps can be heard from the crowd, but I can sense they all want to know the answer to Aron’s question. How exactly do I respond without lying?
“I love him as a dear friend, protector, and companion,” I answer, hoping that’s close enough to the truth to keep the ball in my hands white.
When I look down at it, I see that it’s definitely turned a pale shade of pink.
“Pink?” Agatha says, sounding confused as she stares at the orb in my hands. “What in the world does pink mean?”
“It means that what she said is a partial truth,” Ardis answers, causing the crowd to talk excitedly amongst themselves over my small white lie.
I notice that Ardis looks troubled by something as she studies me more closely than before. I don’t get the feeling it’s because I love Julian. There’s something else that’s troubling her about me now.
“Princess Sarah,” Ardis says, apparently preparing to ask me a question of her own, “does the child you carry belong to your sentinel?”
Complete silence envelops the crowd. I’m not sure who’s more shocked by Ardis’s question: them or me.
“I’m not pregnant,” I declare as the orb in my hands goes back to being lily white, signifying that I’m telling the truth, but why did Ardis feel the need to ask me such a question in the first place?
I hear a collective sigh of relief come from the crowd.
When I look back at Ardis, I can see she clearly looks puzzled by my answer and the whiteness of the ball in my hands.
“Then you don’t know?” Ardis asks, still looking perplexed. “I can feel the presence of another life inside you, Princess Sarah. You are indeed pregnant. The only question is: who is the father?”
“There is no father because there is no child,” I state firmly. “Ardis, why are you doing this? Why are you lying?”
If I thought the commotion I heard over Ardis’s question of paternity was loud, questioning her honesty causes everyone in attendance to gasp like I’ve just insulted God himself.
Ardis narrows her eyes at me like I’m a petulant child who needs to be put in her place.
“I will let that question slide because you are new to our world and our ways, but for future reference, valkyries cannot lie. We can only tell the truth, just like people can only answer our questions honestly. I can see that you were not aware of the pregnancy, but since you are the future leader of the alfar, they have a right to know who the father of the next heir is.”
I want to look at Julian, but I know that would simply give the answer away. But how can Julian be the father? Vampires aren’t able to sire children, at least that’s what I was told. Could they have gotten something so fundamental about their biology wrong? I haven’t been with another man since college. If I’m pregnant, Julian has to be the father, but how could such a miracle have happened? And it’s only been a few days since we first made love. How can Ardis sense a baby growing inside me at this early of a stage?
“I thought vampires couldn’t produce offspring,” Aron says, assuming Julian has to be the father. “Unless …” he allows his thoughts to trail off, causing everyone to hang onto his next words, which was probably the exact outcome he was counting on. “What if Sarah is able to wield some sort of dark magic?”
Another collective gasp can be heard emanating from the crowd, but with Aron’s question comes instant clarity to me.
I’m a re-animator. I’m not even fully sure what all that entails, but if I can bring the dead back to life for a short period of time, does that mean whatever magic I possess was able to give life to Julian’s contribution to the pregnancy? If I am indeed pregnant—and Ardis seems positive that that’s the case—it’s the only explanation that makes sense. I immediately look over at Shael for help because she’s the one person who knows my secret. I haven’t even found time to tell Julian yet.
“I hate to say it,” Ireen says, even though her words are the complete opposite of how she actually feels, “but Aron could be right. After all, dark magic does run in her family.”
“What do you mean?” I ask her without thinking. It is just a natural question on my part because no one told me about this particular family legacy.
“Why do you think the breach to Earth is in the basement of the Moonshade castle?” Ireen asks me. “It was made by one of your own ancestors, the darkest mage Alfheim has ever seen. Thankfully, he left us by making the breach and escaping to Earth. If you have some sort of dark magic, which seems very likely now considering your unholy pregnancy, maybe you should return to Earth and save us from yourself.”
“This is ridiculous!” Shael says, coming to my defense. “And I won’t stand here and allow Sarah to be condemned of something no one has any evidence of, much less proven.”
“But what if she is pregnant with the vampire’s child?” Aron says like a rabid dog with a bone in its mouth who isn’t willing to let it go anytime soon. “It would be an abomination to allow such a creature to inherit the alfar throne one day, especially when there’s a better option available.”
A quiet murmur can be heard as people begin to speculate what Aron could be talking about.
“What option is that, Aron?” Ireen asks innocently, as if on cue, making me wonder if the two of them orchestrated this whole scandalous state of affairs for their own nefarious purposes.
“There’s another heir to the Moonshade throne,” he announces, lifting his head up a notch. “Me.”
The uproar of the crowd becomes deafening. Both Julian and Nadia come to stand beside me not only for moral support, but also protection in case things get out of hand here.
“What utter nonsense,” Shael declares, looking at Aron scathingly. “You have about as much right to the throne as Viktor the cat does, Aron Firestorm.”
Aron looks at Shael with absolute loathing. “I have more right to the throne than your precious Sarah does. At least I’m a pure-blooded alfar and not some half-breed dark mage.”
“What claim do you have to the throne?” Ardis asks Aron, forcing him to tell the truth to all of us.
“My biological father is Rhys Moonshade,” he announces, causing the crowd to go into another frenzy.
“Be quiet!” Ardis yells at the gathering, causing them all to immediately become silent. She then turns her full attention to Aron. “Go on.”
“Rhys and my mother had an affair while they attended Valengard Academy,” Aron says. “At the time, she was engaged to marry Galan Firestorm, but when she found out she was pregnant, she told Rhys about my existence, but he refused to marry her. Instead of being shamed for having an illegitimate child, she went through with the marriage to Galan and never told him the truth.”
“And how did you come to learn who your real father is?” Ardis asks.
“Just before my mother passed away, she told me that Rhys Moonshade was actually my father and that I was the true heir to House Moonshade.”
“You can’t inherit the throne,” Shael tells him unequivocally. “My brother never legally acknowledged your existence, which simply makes you a bastard in the eyes of our law, Aron.”
“Why do you think I’ve never petitioned to become the next heir?” Aron asks her. “I understand the law, Shael, but considering the circumstances, perhaps the people of Alfheim would feel safer if I was placed in the line of succession for the throne ahead of Sarah. I am older than she is, which would make me the next person to inherit the crown.”
I simply stand there and stare at Aron in both shock and denial that everything he’s just said is true. Could he actually be my half-brother? Is that why he hates my father so much, because he shunned his mother when she told him about the pregnancy? I find it hard to believe that my father would run away from such a responsibility, but what other explanation is there?
“Until a test can be performed to tell whether or not your claim is even true,” Shael says, attempting to be the voice of reason amidst chaos, “all of this speculation is pointless, and your drama has completely ruined this celebration. As a result, I officially call this party to a close and respectfully ask that everyone leave immediately.”
People begin to ask Shael what she intends to do about Aron’s claim and whether or not it’s true that I’m able to wield dark magic.
“I believe your queen asked you to leave!” Alden thunders, daring those attempting to badger Shael with more questions to say one more word and give him a reason to physically throw them out.
Apparently no one wants to go up against Shael’s sentinel, and the crowd quietly disperses and begins to leave the grounds. Only Aron and Ireen remain where they’re standing. I see a few people speak to Aron before they leave, and I can feel their sympathy over his plight. It doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence that so many people seem to support Aron’s claim to the throne, and it makes me question whether or not there will be a struggle for power after Shael’s reign is over.
My aunt walks over to me, filled with concern over how Aron’s allegations about my father have affected me. To be honest, I don’t know how I feel. On the one hand, I want to believe Aron was lying, but since Ardis asked him the questions, I know he was telling the truth. The next question I have to ask myself is: Did my father actually turn his back on Aron and his mother when he learned about her pregnancy? I honestly don’t understand how that can be true, yet Aron seemed so sure of his assertion. He believes it’s true. Could his mother have lied to him about that part of the story? I don’t know. The only thing I do know for certain is that I’ll see my father sometime in my future, and I intend to get the truth about this from him.
“Sarah,” Shael says to me, “why don’t we go inside so we can have a moment of privacy?” She looks over at Jhann and says, “You’re welcome to come too, Jhann, since this also concerns you.”
Before he even speaks, I can feel Jhann pulling away emotionally from the situation. He wants to leave as quickly as possible, and I have to wonder how much longer I’ll be engaged to the ruler of House Nysas now that I’ve apparently gotten myself knocked up by a vampire. I can’t say I blame him. The only reason he agreed to marry me in the first place was to gain strength for his own house, and if Aron is successful in his bid to convince the alfar that he’s the better choice to rule them, then Jhann’s reason for marrying me vanishes.
“I should be getting back to Morgan,” Jhann says, using his son as an excuse to leave. He hands the white truth orb in his hand over to Ardis before looking back at me. “I’ll contact you tomorrow to see what needs to be done. I wish you all a good night.”
Jhann walks away, but I know for certain that he would rather be moving at a much faster pace.
“It seems that my presence has only caused you turmoil,” Ardis says to me. “That was not my intention.”
“Why exactly are you here?” Nadia asks, sounding suspicious of Ardis’s presence at the party. “Valkyries don’t normally attend functions like this.”
“Shael asked me if I would like to participate in the festivities, and I accepted her kind invitation,” Ardis replies.
“I only asked Ardis to come because Agatha thought it might be a fun way for Sarah and Jhann to get to know one another better,” my aunt says.
“I’m such an idiot!” Agatha berates herself as she slaps the palm of her right hand smack-dab in the middle of her forehead, like she just realized something important. “I should have known better than to take his advice.”
“Take whose advice?” I ask Agatha.
“That scoundrel right over there,” she replies, pointing a finger at Aron Firestorm. “I got totally taken in by how charming he was being while we discussed the fireworks his family was going to provide for the party. When he asked me what other activities I had planned, he suggested that we ask a valkyrie to attend the party. How could I have been so blind to his real agenda?”
“I only wanted the truth to be known about what your father did to me and my mother,” Aron says to me as he and Ireen walk up to the pavilion. “I had no idea you would be pregnant with your vampire’s child or that you might be able to wield some sort of dark magic.”
“I still don’t believe Rhys would simply abandon your mother like that,” Shael says, coming to my father’s defense. “We will need to have your blood tested to verify that you’re truly my brother’s illegitimate son, but even then, you have no legal rights to the throne. You’re not a true member of our family.”
“Why don’t we have his blood tested first?” I suggest, trying to avoid the start of another argument. “Then we can talk about how we want to proceed from there.” I look at Aron and have to ask, “What would you have done if I had chosen you to be my husband instead of Jhann? If you’re my half-brother, don’t you think that would have made things just a tad awkward?”
“Before two people can get married here, certain blood tests are run to make sure the couple are genetically compatible with one another. Everything would have come out in the open naturally then. I wouldn’t have had to make such a scene in order to have the truth known.”
“Why didn’t you just come and tell us all of this instead of making a public spectacle out of what should have been kept a private family matter?” I ask.
“Would you have believed me if I had?” he asks skeptically. “You don’t believe me now, even though you know I can’t lie to a valkyrie.”
He’s right. I probably wouldn’t have believed him. Why would I when he just placed my father in such an unflattering light?
“Come to the castle tomorrow and we’ll have a paternity test run to determine if your mother told you the truth,” Shael says, sounding as if she believes the test will prove the exact opposite. She doesn’t seem willing to even consider the possibility that Aron is right and that he is my half-brother. I can’t say that I’m entirely happy about the possibility, but there’s a small part of me that hopes he is my sibling.
Nadia told me that she used to date Aron and that he was a very different man back then. It was only after his mother’s death that he changed. It’s obvious to me now that her deathbed confession about my father is what changed him. Perhaps finally gaining acceptance into the Moonshade family will help Aron find his true self again.
“I’ll be here in the morning,” Aron tells Shael.
“And what about Galan Firestorm?” I ask Aron. “I didn’t see him here tonight. Does he know he isn’t your father?”
“He does now. I told him right before I departed to come here tonight,” Aron reveals. “That’s why he wasn’t at the party. He took the news harder than I expected him to. I suppose it’s because he doesn’t have an heir for House Firestorm anymore.”
“Did he disown you?” I ask in surprise.
“Not exactly, but I’m not bound to House Firestorm by blood now. I can’t inherit the throne there either. It was one of the reasons why I’ve never told anyone what my mother told me. Firestorm may not be the most powerful house in Alfheim, but we have been gaining ground on House Moonshade. I was planning to bide my time. Once my father died, I would have control of House Firestorm, and after Shael died, I planned to claim rights to House Moonshade. Then you came along, Sarah, and spoiled my scheme. I couldn’t stand the idea of you becoming queen of the alfar when I’m the rightful heir.”
