▪︎ Chapter 146 ▪︎ “Princess! Do you care if we go too far?”

The rumbling of a large military truck drew several curious glances from the vampires gathered outside the hotel. 

Its heavy tires rolled across the asphalt before the vehicle slowed to a stop near the curb, the engine idling for several seconds before falling silent. 

A soldier climbed down from the driver's seat, adjusted his uniform, and approached Violetta with a crisp salute.

"Brigadier General. The weapons you requested are secured in the back."

Violetta returned the salute, her expression softening as she glanced toward the truck. "Thank you. And I'm sorry for making you come all this way, especially after everything that's happened."

The soldier shook his head. He looked tired, and there were faint shadows beneath his eyes, but his posture remained straight.

"There's no need to apologize, ma'am. I was there when the Tide attacked Oakridge. I saw what the vampires did for us." His gaze drifted toward the gathering of crimson-eyed women, several of whom were watching him with open curiosity. 

"I can't say I'm on their side, not after everything that's happened. But I won't forget that they saved my life, or the lives of the other soldiers and civilians who were there."

Violetta regarded him quietly before nodding. "That's more than enough. Thank you."

The soldier saluted again and stepped aside, allowing the vampires to approach the vehicle. 

He didn't appear particularly comfortable surrounded by so many of them, although he made no attempt to retreat when several wandered closer to inspect the truck.

Lavinia leaned around Gwendolyn, who had been standing directly in front of her, and peered into the open truck bed. 

Several familiar weapons rested inside, strapped securely to prevent them from shifting during transport. 

Her enormous greatsword was immediately recognizable, its blade extending across much of the available space.

She sighed.

A vampire with long blue hair fading into white at the tips, resembling seawater cresting into pale foam, crossed her arms and swayed from side to side. 

She watched the soldier return to his vehicle before turning toward the others.

"Why can't everyone be like him? He doesn't have to like us, but at least he's reasonable."

Rosaline smiled, resting one hand against her hip. "Because humans have all sorts of things to worry about. Pride, prejudice, appearances, what other people think of them. We still feel emotions, but we don't have nearly as much trouble keeping those emotions from interfering with our judgment."

"Humans can be reasonable too," Gwendolyn remarked, turning toward her. "They just don't always agree on what being reasonable means."

"Naturally," Rosaline replied. "That's part of the problem."

Violetta nodded thoughtfully. "There are differences between our species that go beyond physical abilities. Race and appearance, for example, have largely ceased to matter among vampires. Our skin colors vary, certainly, but our appearances don't stray very far from one another."

She gestured toward the women gathered around the truck.

"If you selected two vampires at random from opposite sides of the world, their hair, clothing, and personalities might be completely different. But compared to two randomly selected humans, they'd still look remarkably similar. The same height, similar features, the same eyes. Even our clothing follows a recognizable style."

The blue-haired vampire glanced down at her dress, then at Gwendolyn's.

"Well, we are all very pretty."

"That too," Violetta replied with a faint smile.

Several vampires giggled, while another leaned against her companion and declared that she couldn't imagine disliking someone simply because her skin was a different color. 

The conversation quickly wandered into comparisons of hairstyles and dresses, with one vampire insisting that the variety of hair colors among their species was considerably more interesting than anything humans had managed.

Lavinia listened without contributing.

She climbed onto the truck's rear step and pressed down on the buckle securing her greatsword. 

The strap loosened, and she lifted the enormous weapon free with one hand, drawing it into the open air. 

She gave it a light swing, producing a sharp whistle as the blade displaced the surrounding air, then lowered its tip toward the ground.

She was careful not to crack the asphalt.

The greatsword was nearly twice her height, and its weight would have made it completely impractical for an ordinary human. 

Yet in her hands, it felt comfortable, almost natural. She adjusted her grip and examined the blade, finding it exactly as she remembered.

It would have been a lie to say she wasn't nervous.

If her heart could still beat, Lavinia was fairly certain it would have been bumping around inside her chest.

She'd been nervous when the police arrived. She'd been nervous when the soldiers arrived. 

Even now, with the immediate confrontation over and the street filled with vampires who had gathered because of her, she could feel that familiar uneasiness lingering beneath her composure.

Being a vampire made certain things easier.

Displaying one emotion while concealing another came almost naturally, and her thoughts remained remarkably clear even when she was frightened or angry. 

She could smile, speak calmly, and make decisions without allowing her nervousness to dictate her behavior.

Unfortunately, that didn't mean the decisions themselves were necessarily good.

Lavinia knew what could happen if relations between humans and supernatural beings continued deteriorating. 

She'd seen a possible future in which cruelty had become commonplace, where killing was no longer extraordinary, and where the distinction between protecting one's own people and brutalizing everyone else had become increasingly difficult to recognize.

She knew that future existed.

And despite knowing better, she seemed determined to rush straight toward it.

A wry smile crossed her face.

Humans weren't the only ones with flaws.

She'd considered Ethan a problem, and she'd killed him. 

It had been an impulsive decision, certainly, but not one she could honestly claim had been made without understanding what she was doing. 

She'd known that killing a human reporter in front of countless witnesses would provoke outrage.

She'd done it anyway.

Now she was standing in the middle of Oakridge, surrounded by more than a hundred vampires, preparing to pursue the people responsible for imprisoning and torturing one of their own.

And she was supposed to be someone who wanted peace.

For a human, perhaps that would have been called hypocrisy. Claiming to desire a peaceful world while repeatedly making decisions that increased the likelihood of violence was certainly contradictory.

But Lavinia suspected the explanation was considerably simpler.

She just didn't want to admit that she wasn't nearly as attached to peace as she pretended to be.

A peaceful world would be lovely. 

She could spend her days with Valerie and the others, visit her friends, explore the strange new places appearing throughout the world, and enjoy an existence that might continue indefinitely.

She had no particular desire to rule through violence.

But if peace required her to surrender everything that mattered, what exactly would she gain?

Suppose she sacrificed her own interests, abandoned vampires who depended upon her, and accepted every demand made by humanity. 

Suppose she endured humiliation after humiliation, all for the sake of preventing a conflict.

And suppose the conflict happened anyway.

Wouldn't she be the biggest loser?

She wouldn't be able to explain that outcome to Valerie or Gwendolyn. 

She wouldn't be able to explain it to the vampires who had answered her call, trusting that she would protect them.

More importantly, she wasn't certain she could explain it to herself.

Humans were capable of extraordinary irrationality, particularly when fear, pride, and hatred became involved. 

Vampires, by comparison, remained remarkably rational, even when their behavior appeared whimsical or excessive.

Their emotions were powerful, but they understood what they wanted.

Lavinia understood what she wanted, too.

If humans became dangerous, then defeating them was an obvious solution. 

If defeating them wasn't sufficient, terrifying them might be necessary. 

Instilling obedience through overwhelming force, demonstrating that cruelty would be answered with greater cruelty, ensuring that no one dared threaten vampires again.

It was a perfectly coherent approach.

That was what frightened her.

Not because she couldn't imagine doing those things, but because she could imagine doing them quite easily.

Lavinia fiddled with the handle of her greatsword before pressing her palm against the flat of its blade. 

She ran her hand along the cold metal, feeling its smooth surface beneath her fingers, then closed her eyes for a moment.

She sighed.

When she opened them again, she turned toward the gathered vampires.

"We'll find the captured vampire as quickly as we can."

Several of the women who had been lounging against parked vehicles or sitting along the curb immediately perked up. 

A cheer rose from one group, followed by excited conversation as others began discussing where they should search.

"Finally!"

"I wonder if she's still at that place!"

"Are we going to tear it apart?"

A vampire sitting atop a streetlight leaned forward, her legs swinging beneath her.

"Princess! Do you care if we go too far?"

Lavinia tilted her head.

"That depends. What do you consider too far?"

The question earned several thoughtful expressions.

Lavinia was genuinely curious. Some of the vampires gathered before her had killed humans, repeatedly in certain cases. 

Others had endured experiences that made her own former life seem remarkably ordinary. 

She couldn't simply assume that everyone shared her understanding of acceptable behavior.

A vampire near the front raised her hand and swayed eagerly.

"Are the families of the people in those reports off limits? What about random humans? Are they off limits too?"

Lavinia stared at her.

Then she laughed incredulously.

Before the vampire could say anything else, Lavinia appeared directly in front of her, the sudden movement stirring the woman's hair. 

She placed one hand atop the vampire's head and looked down at her with an expression somewhere between amusement and disbelief.

"Of course they're off limits."

The vampire blinked.

"Even if they're related to someone who hurt her?"

"Yes. We're targeting the people directly involved, not their relatives, and certainly not random strangers." Lavinia gave her head a gentle pat before withdrawing her hand. 

"We can't simply lash out at everyone who happens to be nearby. Besides, if we cause too much trouble, the people holding her might decide to use her against us."

The vampire considered that.

"Oh. That would be bad."

"Very bad."

"Then I'll be careful!"

Lavinia smiled faintly. "I'd appreciate that."

Violetta had been listening from beside the truck, her expression growing increasingly complicated. She glanced across the gathering, then toward Lavinia, before releasing a quiet sigh.

"All right. If you're going to search, everyone moves in teams of at least two. No exceptions. You'll be responsible for your partners, and your partners will be responsible for you."

Several vampires groaned.

"Do we have to?"

"What if I want to go alone?"

"Two is such a small number!"

One vampire placed her hands firmly against her hips and stepped forward, her expression fierce.

"Why should we listen to you? Listening to the Princess is one thing, but you're not a Princess!"

Violetta looked at her without appearing particularly offended.

Before she could respond, Lavinia raised one hand.

"Violetta is someone you'll listen to."

Her voice was clear enough to carry across the gathering.

The vampires quieted.

Lavinia continued, "She's experienced, she's capable, and she's someone I trust. If you don't want to listen to her, you're welcome to find another Princess."

A few vampires exchanged exasperated looks.

One puffed out her cheeks. Another folded her arms and muttered something about how unfair it was that the Princess had already chosen favorites.

Several glanced toward Gwendolyn, Valerie, Rosaline, Violetta, and Adelaide, apparently assessing the women who had known Lavinia before the gathering.

Yet there was remarkably little hostility in their solid red eyes.

Unlike humans, vampires possessed no complicated national loyalties or political allegiances that they were obligated to maintain. 

A vampire could follow one Princess, leave her company, and eventually join another without necessarily treating the change as betrayal.

They were free to drift between the Royals.

But these vampires had only just found Lavinia, and the excitement of being surrounded by so many of their own kind was still fresh. 

Even those who disliked the restriction seemed far more interested in remaining with their new companions than leaving over something so minor.

Besides, Violetta was a vampire too.

It was difficult to remain particularly resentful toward someone they instinctively regarded with affection.

"Fine," the outspoken vampire eventually declared, turning away with an exaggerated huff. "But I'm choosing my partner!"

"That's perfectly acceptable," Violetta replied.

The woman immediately brightened and hurried toward a nearby vampire, taking her hands and enthusiastically proposing that they search together.

Gwendolyn watched the exchange with a warm smile before skipping toward the truck.

"Oh! My spear!"

She climbed onto the rear step, reached into the truck bed, and lifted her weapon free of its restraints. 

The spear was considerably longer than she was tall, yet she handled it effortlessly, twirling it through the air before bringing it to rest against her shoulder.

"I missed you!"

She examined the blade fondly, then turned toward the others.

"We should fight each other with our weapons sometime! That would be fun!"

Rosaline snorted as she retrieved her own weapon, a long whip fitted with sharp fragments along its length.

"That's a horrible idea."

Gwendolyn blinked. "Why?"

"Because we'd cut each other to pieces."

"But we heal!"

"Yes, darling, but there's a difference between wrestling with someone and swinging a weapon designed to carve through flesh." Rosaline lifted her whip, allowing part of its length to uncoil across the truck bed.

"This thing is twenty-five feet long and covered in sharp fragments. Lavinia's greatsword is nine feet long. Do you really think we could play with those without cleaving through each other almost immediately?"

Gwendolyn considered that.

"Well, we could be careful."

Rosaline gave her an amused look.

"You want to be careful while fighting?"

"Of course!"

"That sounds terribly boring."

Gwendolyn laughed, apparently finding the objection reasonable.

Before Rosaline could coil the whip again, another vampire hurried over and seized part of it with both hands.

"Ooh! What's this?"

"Careful," Rosaline warned.

The vampire ignored her, bending the bladed links between her fingers. Several fragments cut into her palms, and thin streams of blood began running down her hands, filling the air with a sweet scent.

She didn't appear particularly concerned.

"Can I get one too? Not necessarily a whip, but something really cool!"

Rosaline gently took the weapon back.

"Preferably something that doesn't involve you slicing your hands open while examining it."

The vampire looked down.

"Oh!"

Her wounds were already closing.

The idea of acquiring weapons spread through the gathering with remarkable speed.

"I want a scythe!"

"A hammer! A really big hammer!"

"Can we get swords?"

"I want two swords!"

A vampire standing beside the truck raised both hands enthusiastically.

"I want a huge shield!"

Another looked toward her. "To protect yourself?"

"No! To hit people with!"

Valerie laughed as she climbed onto the truck bed and retrieved her bladed chain. 

She lifted it effortlessly, the heavy links sliding across her fingers with scarcely enough weight to register.

"I don't think shields are really meant for offense."

The vampire looked genuinely puzzled.

"Why not?"

"Well, they're shields."

"So?"

Valerie opened her mouth, then closed it again.

Rosaline laughed.

"She's got you there."

Valerie rolled her eyes affectionately and began gathering the chain into a loose coil.

Lavinia watched the conversation with a small smile before resting her greatsword against her shoulder.

"If you want weapons, we can stop by a vampire structure. Once we're inside, finding the weapons room shouldn't be particularly difficult."

Several vampires immediately spread their wings.

Lavinia raised a finger.

"Before anyone goes anywhere, I need something from all of you."

The wings stopped moving.

A vampire near the front tilted her head.

"What is it, Princess?"

"Your blood."

There was a moment of silence.

Then one vampire began squirming excitedly.

"Your blood? Oh! Princess, are you trying to bite all of us?"

Another gasped dramatically.

"Wait! Does that mean you want a harem?"

"A harem?"

"With all of us?"

"There's over a hundred of us!"

"Princess!"

A wave of delighted chatter swept through the gathering, accompanied by giggles and several rather suggestive remarks.

Valerie turned toward Lavinia with a grin.

"Oh, Lavinia. You never told me you were planning something so ambitious."

Lavinia rolled her eyes.

"That's not what I meant."

"Are you sure?" Rosaline asked innocently.

"Very."

Several vampires looked disappointed.

Lavinia sighed, then continued before the conversation could become any more ridiculous.

"It's a safeguard. If I have some of your blood, and one of you dies, I can bring you back."

The street fell quiet.

Even the vampires who had been laughing stopped to look at her.

Lavinia glanced around the gathering.

"It comes at a cost, and I can't promise there won't be complications, but I've already done it once. If I have your blood, I can attempt to revive you."

For several seconds, nobody spoke.

Then the entire gathering erupted.

"WHAT?"

"Princess!"

"Really?!"

"YOU CAN DO THAT?"

Vampires rushed toward her from every direction, their excitement immediately overwhelming any attempt at orderly conversation. 

Some extended their wrists, others tilted their heads and moved their hair aside, and several approached with expressions so hopeful that Lavinia found herself struggling not to laugh.

"Here! You can have mine!"

"Princess, please take mine too!"

"Would you prefer my wrist or my neck?"

One vampire looked at her through thick eyelashes.

"You can bite wherever you want."

Valerie burst into laughter.

Lavinia stared at the gathering, wondering how she'd managed to turn a practical precaution into something resembling a particularly enthusiastic marriage proposal.

"Everyone, calm down. I only need a little."

That didn't seem to discourage anyone.

A vampire near the back raised her hand.

"Even if I could come back, I don't think I'd want to experience dying."

Lavinia turned toward her and smiled.

"I'd hope you'd fight with everything you had before letting that happen."

The vampire nodded thoughtfully.

Lavinia understood the concern. She had no desire to experience death herself, and resurrection wasn't something she intended to encourage as an alternative to caution.

Besides, the cost was hardly insignificant.

Losing nearly two feet of height and half her blood volume had been mortifying enough the first time. 

She could still remember standing among her companions, suddenly reduced to a little over three feet tall, while everyone reacted to her predicament with varying degrees of concern and amusement.

'Once was quite enough, thank you.'

She adjusted her grip on the greatsword and looked toward the eager crowd.

"We'll do this properly. One at a time."

Several vampires groaned, although they immediately began arguing over who should go first.

Valerie was still smiling when her attention shifted toward a distant sound.

Wind.

Not the ordinary movement of air between buildings, but the distinct whistle produced by something traveling at considerable speed.

She tilted her head.

It wasn't a vampire.

The sound lacked the sharp, almost violent quality of a vampire's high-speed flight. 

Whatever was approaching was moving quickly, but not nearly quickly enough to produce the same disturbance.

Valerie glanced toward a nearby three-story building.

"Oh?"

Two figures appeared above the roof.

A moment later, they descended toward the street, landing lightly on the asphalt several yards from the gathered vampires.

Saelorian straightened and groaned.

"My impulsive sister decided we absolutely had to come and help, so here I am."

Aeloriane immediately smacked his shoulder.

"Saelorian!"

"What?"

"Don't be rude!"

"I'm not being rude. I'm explaining why we're here."

"You could at least sound happy about it!"

Saelorian smiled faintly.

"I'm delighted. Absolutely thrilled. I've never been happier to land in the middle of a street surrounded by over a hundred vampires."

Aeloriane glared at him.

Several nearby vampires giggled.

Lavinia turned toward the siblings, recognizing them immediately.

"Saelorian? Aeloriane?"

The two elves looked toward her.

Lavinia smiled.

"Have you both been managing okay?"

Saelorian nodded, his familiar easygoing expression returning.

"We've been fine. Things have been a little strange, but that's hardly unusual anymore."

"That's one way to put it," Aeloriane muttered.

Saelorian glanced toward the gathering before continuing.

"Anyway, we're here because we'd like to help broker peace between humans and supernatural beings. We're elves, after all, and we figured it would be better to involve ourselves before everything becomes completely unmanageable."

Lavinia regarded him thoughtfully.

She remembered another future.

A future in which one of the Royal Elves had been killed, and the elves had subsequently become among humanity's most bitter enemies. 

The memory remained unpleasantly vivid, particularly now that the two siblings were standing directly in front of her.

She sighed.

"The Institute experimented on an elf, too."

Saelorian's ever-present smile faded.

"I know."

Aeloriane's expression tightened.

"We read the files," Saelorian continued. "I saw what they did. And I'm not going to forgive the people responsible."

His voice had lost much of its usual playfulness.

"But we're all people. Humans, elves, vampires, werewolves, witches. If everyone starts running around attacking whoever happens to be nearby, things are going to crumble into an unsolvable mess."

Lavinia nodded slowly.

"That's what I'm worried about."

Saelorian looked toward the vampires gathered around them. 

Several were still holding out their wrists toward Lavinia, while others had resumed discussing weapons or were examining the enormous wings folded behind their companions.

"Although I see you've already gathered quite a few people."

"More than I expected," Lavinia admitted.

Aeloriane stepped closer, her gaze traveling across the gathering.

"They seem friendly."

"They are," Gwendolyn replied warmly.

Aeloriane smiled at her.

Lavinia rested her greatsword against the ground and looked between the siblings.

"Can you two speak for the elves?"

Aeloriane immediately puffed out her chest.

"Of course!"

Saelorian glanced toward his sister with amusement.

"We can certainly try."

"We're both Royal Elves!" Aeloriane declared proudly. "If anyone can help represent our species, it's us!"

Lavinia hummed.

"Well, I'm a Royal Vampire, and I can't speak for every vampire."

Aeloriane blinked.

"Really?"

"Really."

Lavinia glanced toward the gathering.

She suspected the other Princesses would honor an agreement she made, at least as a courtesy. 

Their shared nature made cooperation feel remarkably natural, and she couldn't imagine any of them deliberately undermining another without good reason.

But that didn't mean she could simply declare herself the representative of every vampire in existence.

There were six other Princesses, each with her own companions and interests. Lavinia had no intention of pretending they didn't exist.

Besides, she could feel several of their vast presences drawing nearer through the Blood Sea.

There was no particular reason to rush.

She could wait until they arrived.

"If we're going to discuss something that affects all of us," Lavinia continued, "I'd rather have the others here too."

Saelorian nodded.

"That sounds reasonable."

Aeloriane looked around again.

The street was becoming increasingly lively. 

Several vampires had taken to the air in pairs or trios, apparently beginning their search, while others remained near the hotel, content to wait for further instructions.

A few had gathered around Violetta, asking questions about where they should begin looking. 

The purple haired vampire answered patiently, although she appeared determined to prevent anyone from departing without a partner.

Elsewhere, a group of vampires was enthusiastically discussing the possibility of acquiring weapons.

"I still think a scythe would be wonderful."

"Wouldn't it be awkward to carry?"

"We have wings!"

"That doesn't answer the question!"

Near the curb, two vampires were discussing films.

"Have you ever watched those old vampire movies?"

"Oh, yes! They're hilarious!"

"Why do humans think we sleep in coffins?"

"I don't know! And why are we always so dramatic?"

"Well, some of us are dramatic."

Both women glanced toward a nearby vampire who had been enthusiastically describing her plans to acquire an enormous hammer.

She noticed them looking and waved cheerfully.

The two immediately burst into laughter.

Aeloriane found herself smiling.

She'd expected the gathering to feel considerably more threatening, especially after everything she'd heard about the confrontation with the police. Instead, the vampires seemed almost overwhelmingly cheerful.

Several noticed the siblings and began whispering excitedly.

"Elves are so pretty."

"Look at their ears!"

"They're different from ours!"

"Do you think their hair feels different?"

"Why would it?"

"I don't know! I'm curious!"

Saelorian glanced toward the whispering women.

"I can hear you, you know."

One vampire giggled.

"We know!"

Aeloriane laughed softly, her earlier tension easing.

A short distance away, another vampire leaned toward Valerie.

"Your Princess is so composed. Has she always been like that?"

Valerie looked toward Lavinia, who was attempting to explain to several eager vampires that collecting blood samples did not require biting everyone on the neck.

She smiled.

"Oh, absolutely. She's always been the picture of dignity."

Gwendolyn covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.

Lavinia turned toward them.

"I can hear you."

"I know!" Valerie replied brightly.

Rosaline, meanwhile, stood a little apart from the others, gathering a vampire's long hair into a ponytail. 

The woman sat contentedly on the curb, humming while Rosaline worked, occasionally asking whether the hairstyle suited her.

"It looks lovely," Rosaline assured her.

"Really?"

"Of course. Hold still."

The vampire obediently stopped moving, although her smile remained.

Lavinia watched the scene for a moment.

The street was crowded, noisy, and filled with creatures that much of humanity had begun regarding with suspicion or outright hostility. 

Yet the vampires seemed perfectly content to spend their time laughing, teasing one another, and discussing matters that had absolutely nothing to do with the growing political crisis.

Perhaps that was simply what they were like.

Affection came easily to them, and companionship seemed to require very little effort.

Even strangers could become close within minutes, their shared nature smoothing away many of the barriers that might have separated humans.

Lavinia found that comforting.

It also reminded her of what she stood to lose.

She looked toward the elven siblings, then toward Violetta and the gathered vampires.

There was still time to prevent the worst possible outcome.

Whether she would actually manage it was another matter.

For now, she had a captured vampire to find, more than a hundred new companions to protect, and six other Princesses drawing steadily closer.

Lavinia sighed softly, then smiled.

Things were becoming complicated.

And somehow, despite everything, she was looking forward to meeting the others.