Chapter 100-Indirect rejection

Chapter 100: 100-Indirect rejection

"Since you’re standing up for her so hard. She must be innocent. Then... she had no reason to worry, Zo."

A collective gasp moved through the garden. The spectators were eating up the drama. It was way too delicious to miss up on.

Maisa’s stomach dropped. She had no idea what a blood trial actually involved, but judging by the reaction around her, it clearly wasn’t something anyone volunteered for casually.

The mere mention of it had changed the atmosphere, turning whispers into uneasy silence.

"Addessa..."

"You are currently the accused, Maisa," Addessa’s tone was formal, almost detached. "Refrain from talking to me. It can be viewed as you interfering with the hearing."

Then, as though she hadn’t just drawn another painful boundary between them, Addessa winked and blew her a kiss.

Maisa froze. Her eyes closed instinctively as the invisible gesture brushed against her skin. For everyone else, it might have seemed playful but to Maisa, it felt cruel.

The black petal hovering over her heart began to fade slowly, almost imperceptibly.

A dull ache spread through her veins, followed by a deeper pain beneath her chest. It was a reminder of something she had desperately tried not to think about.

Addessa still hadn’t accepted the bond. Whatever connection existed between them, she was actively pulling away from it.

An indirect rejection. It was worse than hearing the word itself because there was no single moment Maisa could point to and say, ’There. That’s when she rejected me.’

Instead, it was happening gradually in every cold glance, every deliberate distance, every boundary Addessa placed between them and somehow, that made it hurt even more.

Maisa lowered her gaze. Her heart ached beneath the fading black petal, and for the first time since discovering the bond, she wondered whether a zing could truly bring two hearts together if one of them desperately wanted to remain apart.

Of all her mates, only Addessa continued to fight her and hadn’t confirmed acceptance.

Addessa continued. "Kriza, Sophia, and Jane broke academy rules. They endangered a vampire and interfered with the nation’s prison. Their actions deserve punishment," her boots echoed on the ground, her eyes settled on Maisa. "But Maisa is guilty too... that is a fact that no one here can deny."

"Aah?"

"What?"

"What is she saying?"

The reaction was immediate. Students leaned forward, desperate to catch every word she said and not miss out on the drama. Unified nods erupted around the garden.

Finally, that was what some of them had been waiting to hear. For days, Maisa had been protected, defended and given exceptions. Now, someone had finally stood up and challenged the idea that she was untouchable.

Maisa felt every stare. Her throat tightened because this time, they stared at her because someone was finally tearing her apart instead of holding her up.

She bid her lip and gripped the hem of her jacket.

Lumi stepped forward. "What exactly is she guilty of?"

Addessa turned toward her. "She’s been a vampire for two weeks and still doesn’t know our rules?" She gave a small laugh that lacked humor. "Pfft."

Lumi’s eyes narrowed. She felt upset and even more annoyed at Addessa’s horrible attitude.

"If I became human this very moment, I’d spend every waking hour learning how to be the best human I could possibly be. I’d study everything, I’d memorize every law, and I’d make sure I understood every rule before putting myself in a position to break one," her voice grew stronger.

"Maisa has vampire speed and vampire memory. She could read an entire library in a day and remember every word... and you’re telling me, she didn’t know about the dark forest. It’s literally on page four of every book."

Maisa’s chest tightened. She wanted to explain and tell them that she hadn’t even been given a proper orientation because everything had gone wrong the moment she arrived. And that her life had been one drama after another that she hadn’t gotten a chance to visit the library.

But Addessa wasn’t finished. "Naivety cannot become an excuse for breaking the rules. Vampires aren’t allowed in the forbidden dark forest. That’s always been the rule."

The garden became completely silent. The professors were taken aback. This was the first time they’d ever seen Addessa go after someone that had and look good doing in.

Addessa stood apart from the others, striking in an all-black leather ensemble that fitted her from head to toe, giving her an intimidating, almost untouchable presence.

The dark material emphasized the sharp elegance of her posture without diminishing the natural grace in her movements.

Her long black hair framed her face in sleek strands, contrasting beautifully against her fine, and refined features. High cheekbones, a straight nose, and perfectly defined lips gave her an almost aristocratic beauty, while her cold eyes carried the unmistakable weight of someone who had learned long ago not to let emotion dictate her decisions.

There was something severe about her beauty. It was polished and dangerous.

Even standing still, Addessa looked like she belonged to the highest ranks of vampire society. The leather only reinforced that impression, making her appear less like an ordinary student and more like someone who had walked straight out of a royal portrait and decided to replace the elegance with something darker.

Addessa twirled her hair between her fingers and spoke up, "If we excuse her today, another redblood will emerge tomorrow and use the same excuse... then another and another. Eventually, ignorance becomes permission to make mistakes and a way out of problems."

Several students nodded. They agreed with every point that Addessa put across.

Maisa felt her heart sink.

Addessa stepped closer to Varitreya. "Just a month ago, a mixedblood student named Aziza found a blueblood blood bag on the ground while heading to night preps. Remember her?"

Varitreya’s expression changed. It darkened. Of course she remembered. How could she not? She had been incharge of that hearing.

"She didn’t steal it," Addessa continued. "She didn’t force anyone to give it to her. She simply found it, picked it up, and drank it." ℴℴ𝘮

Varitreya, Lumi and Zolani went as pale as white paper. They knew that hearing, they say through the and passed judgment a now, it was coming back to bite them.

Her gaze hardened. "She didn’t know she was breaking a rule. Because there was no rule against a lower blood feeding on high blood that is found on the ground," Addessa’s voice became sharper. "But you punished her by draining fifty years from her immortality."

The silence that settled over the garden was so suffocating that it felt like they were deep in the depths of despair.

"Her mistake was ignorance, no?" She asked and pointed toward Maisa. "So why should Maisa be treated differently for stepping onto forbidden grounds because she didn’t know?"

Varitreya’s fingers curled slowly into fists. ’Did I wake up on the wrong side of the bed today? Why is everyone determined to defy me?’

Addessa didn’t stop there. Since she had decided to go after Maisa, she was determined to see it all the way through.

"Why was Aziza’s ignorance insufficient and deserving of cruel punishment when she was a mixedblood, but suddenly Maisa’s ignorance deserves compassion even though she is also an outcast?" She asked.

Her question rendered the whole garden speechless as jaws dropped all around her.