Chapter 103-Drawing lines (3)

Chapter 103: 103-Drawing lines (3)

"What did you expect? Human compassion?"

Zolani’s expression hardened. She simply stared at Addessa for several seconds, disbelief slowly giving way to disappointment. Expecting human compassion from a vampire was already a stretch, but Zolani had always believed that even vampires could choose not to be cruel.

At the very least, she had expected Addessa to behave like someone who still possessed a heart. Apparently, she had expected too much.

Zolani’s gaze shifted toward Maisa. The girl stood there silently, shoulders tense, eyes lowered, a tear still glistening on her cheek. She looked nothing like the dangerous criminal Addessa had made her sound like. She looked frightened and Zolani couldn’t stand it.

"I’ll take the trial with her," her voice cut cleanly through the garden.

Several heads snapped up to look at her. They thought she was crazy and had lost her mind. Who would volunteer to go through the blood trial willingly?

Zolani stepped forward, her expression firm despite the fear stirring beneath her ribs.

"I won’t let her go through this injustice alone."

The garden erupted. Gasps broke from every corner. Students whispered in disbelief, professors exchanged startled looks, and even some of the council members seemed momentarily stunned.

It was becoming a day of firsts. First, Lumi Ashbourne knelt before the princess and now Zolani, one of the most compassionate members of the Student Council, had willingly placed herself in the path of a blood trial meant for someone else. No one could remember witnessing anything like it.

Lumi immediately lifted her head. Her eyes found Varitreya’s across the garden. The princess still hadn’t accepted her apology, she hadn’t told her to rise and the message was painfully clear.

Yet Lumi slowly pushed herself to her feet anyway. She looked toward Maisa, then back at Varitreya. "So will I."

Another wave of shock swept through the crowd. The students were beginning to wonder if Maisa practised dark magic and had used it to charm Zolani and Lumi and get them to do everything for her.

Lumi’s voice was steadier this time."I’ll take the trial too."

Addessa’s eyes narrowed. She hadn’t expected that move from them. For the briefest moment, hesitation flickered behind her cold expression. Her emotions slowly shifted to surprise, quickly replaced by calculation and at the end, she didn’t object to their move.

In fact, the more she thought about it, the more advantageous their decision became.

’Let them volunteer. Let a blueblood and a mixedblood suffer for a redblood. That would only make things easier,’ she thought.

Addessa could already see how the story would spread through the academy. Zolani suffered because of Maisa, Lumi was dragged into a blood trial because of Maisa.

The whispers would multiply. Sympathy would turn into resentment, and resentment would eventually become hatred and worse, Lumi was an Ashbourne.

Her family wouldn’t tolerate watching one of their own endure punishment because of a redblood. They would pressure Lumi to distance herself from Maisa. They would speak to the palace and demand that the princess reconsider allowing someone like Maisa to remain so close to the Student Council.

Everything would eventually turn against the redblood. And when everyone keeps their distance, Maisa will be left completely alone.

Her mother’s task would be accomplished without her having to lift another finger and perhaps, this time, she wouldn’t be a disappointment to her. Her mother won’t feel the need to bring up her brother to guilt trip her anymore.

Varitreya studied the three girls in silence. Her pale eyes moved from Zolani to Lumi before finally settling on Maisa. "Do you understand what you’re volunteering for?"

There was no softness in her voice, no reassurance and no friendship. There was only a warning.

Zolani didn’t hesitate. She nodded, for Maisa. "Yes."

Lumi followed. Her hands curled into small fists at her sides, but her gaze never wavered. "We won’t let Maisa face the blood trial alone."

The words settled heavily over the garden. For a moment, no one spoke as the three girls from three different bloodlines stood before the princess, waiting for her decision.

The entire academy watching as the fragile balance between everyone on the plartform began to fracture.

Addessa’s confidence flickered, only for a heartbeat but then she smiled. "Very well. Since they volunteer, I say we let them do it."

"Fine. Do it," Varitreya agreed.

Zolani stared at her. "You wanted a trial, right" she squeezed Maisa’s hand. "Then she’ll survive it and prove that she is innocent."

Lumi stepped beside them. "With us by her side she will definitely survive the trial unharmed."

Addessa’s smile widened. "Game on!" She accepted their challenge openly. "Let me see how she comes out unharmed."

The words settled over the garden. Maisa stood between them, utterly overwhelmed. On one side stood Varitreya, the mate who had once carried her out of danger and protected her without hesitation, yet had now been forced by the weight of her position to condemn her.

Beside her stood Zolani, holding her hand so tightly that Maisa could feel the warmth of her palm. Fighting for her like she had done many tunes before, even though Maisa didn’t feel worthy of her protection.

Lumi stood on her other side, no longer caring who was watching. She chose to stand with her and support her, proving how good a heart she has and that just filled Maisa with more and more pain.

And across from them stood Addessa, who was also her mate. The one who had just turned the entire situation into a battlefield, demanding her head on a spike, metaphorically.

Maisa looked at the four girls connected to her by a bond she had never asked for and for the first time since becoming a vampire, she wished desperately for an ordinary problem.

Something simple that didn’t involve bloodlines, ancient laws, royal authority, hunters, forbidden forests, impossible bonds and people whose lives had somehow become tangled with hers.

The flower beneath her chest pulsed once and then again. Four faint lights answered from four different directions.

And Maisa realized with a sinking feeling that whatever happened during the blood trial, nothing between the five of them would ever be simple again.

~

Far beyond the gathered students, where the shadows of the ancient trees swallowed the edges of the garden, two cloaked figures stood silently watching the hearing unfold.

Neither had spoken since the trial was announced and when it concluded, the shorter figure finally stepped forward.

Her hands had curled into tight fists beneath the sleeves of her black cloak, and her gaze remained fixed on Maisa. Even from this distance, she could see the girl’s trembling shoulders and the faint glow of the flower above her heart.

"Master said the true heart cannot be harmed," she whispered from beneath her hood. "And whoever harms it should be killed. But he never said what we should do when the one hurting her is one of her mates."

Her head turned slightly toward the taller figure. "What do we do now?"

"Kill Addessa Challan?"

The shorter figure spun around. Smack!

The sharp slap echoed beneath the trees. "Are you mad?" she hissed.

The subordinate immediately covered the side of their face, stunned.

"If we kill the blackblood, the zing will dissolve." Her voice dropped into a furious whisper. "And the entire purpose of awakening the true heart and her mates would be lost. Can you answer for that to Master?"

The subordinate lowered their head. "No."

"Then don’t suggest something so foolish again."

"I’m sorry."

The shorter figure turned back toward the garden. Her anger slowly faded, replaced by concern as her eyes returned to Maisa. The situation was becoming far more complicated than either of them had anticipated.

The true heart had awakened, the mates had been found but instead of protecting the bond, one of them was now threatening to tear it apart and they couldn’t interfere openly.

"Find a way to keep Maisa and her mates safe during the blood trial," she ordered.

The subordinate looked up. "All of them?"

"Yes."

She paused. "Nothing can happen to them before the next moonless. Do you understand?" Her tone was grave and serious.

The subordinate straightened immediately. "Understood!"

The shorter figure gave one last glance toward the garden before turning away. She released a heavy sigh as she disappeared into the darkness.

The subordinate remained behind. Their shoulders sank. "How exactly am I supposed to protect three people during a blood trial without anyone noticing?"