Cornelius’s eyes narrowed on his oldest son and as he opened his mouth to reply, Tegan cut him off. “It was my fault, I had Drakhyn blood on me and insisted I change before meeting you.” She didn’t look at Cord but sensed he would be smirking at her small lie.
Cornelius’s attention was on her again and she met his stare steadily. “You look exactly like your mother.” His voice didn’t soften, he stated it matter of factly, almost accusatory.
“Father told me the same,” Tegan acknowledged quietly.
“You call Salemfatherso quickly?” Cornelius scoffed with a look of contempt towards Salem, who had sat quietly behind his desk watching the interaction.
“Leonid,” Tegan corrected and almost wished she hadn’t when she saw the gleam of triumph in Cornelius’s eyes.
“You will leave with us today,” Cornelius stated as he sat, angling the chair to face her, putting his back to Michael, Sloane and his wife. “You should be with us, the Vampyre should have taken you to me at your birth.”
“No,” Tegan replied. “I am an Elite Sentinel and I have been stationed here by the Great Council.”
“I have made contact with the Great Council and lodged my request,” Cornelius waved his hand dismissively.
“And I am sure they will be swift in telling you I am stationedhere,” Tegan did not look away from this man who was her blood. As she realised that she was in the room with all of her family, bar Zahra, she felt a little overwhelmed. A cool hand on her elbow centred her. She didn’t need to look to know it was Cord.
“You should sit,” he murmured to her as he drew a chair over to her.
Nodding in acceptance, Tegan sat and for the first time since entering the room, looked at Salem. “Regardless of my station here, I would wish to stay to learn more about you and Michael.”
Salem’s smile was warm as he regarded her. “You will stay here, I have also petitioned the Great Council on your behalf,” he informed her before regarding Cornelius. “The Great Council stationed Tegan here, knowing full well who she was and who her parents were, they will not approve your request.”
“We’ll see. I am sure they will consider my proposal,” Cornelius glared at Salem. “After all, why would they let her stay with the male that got my sister killed after ruining her?”
“Husband,” Delilah’s soft voice drew Cornelius’s attention. “Let’s not squabble over old times, we come here to meet Tegan and to tell her of the ball.”
“Ball?” Tegan’s alarmed look at Delilah had Sloane covering his smile.
“Yes dear, we thought the best way to introduce you to the Houses was for a ball to be held.” The slight blonde woman looked almost dreamy with anticipation. “It will be held in your honour, and we can see if there are any potential matches for you.”
“Matches?” Tegan threw a worried look to Salem. “I am not here to be matched, I am an Elite Sentinel, my duty is to defend this territory from Drakhyn.”
Delilah looked uncomfortable as she adjusted in her seat. “Surely you don’t want toactuallypatrol when you could be matched to a worthy Akrhyn?”
“Mother,” Sloane tugged at her hand to get her attention. “Tegan is an Elite Sentinel, the Great Council themselves oversaw her Trials, she is not here to be matched. Besides sheisa worthy Akrhyn.”
“But she is eighteen,” Delilah looked at Tegan and frowned. “We need her to be betrothed, else who will want her?”
Tegan flinched at the woman’s words, the old traditional customs of Akrhyn were dying off, but the main Houses still adhered to them, albeit Tegan was not betrothed and had no intention of being so. However, she couldn’t stop from glancing quickly at Cord, whose expression remained impassive, before turning to Salem. “I am not here to be betrothed.”
“No, you are not.” Salem agreed. “Delilah, not everyone needs to be matched. Tegan has been secluded most of her life, she does not need a debut into the Akrhyn way of life.”
“She will attend the ball, you all will,” Cornelius directed. “My sister was shunned before she died, because of her involvement withyou,” his sneer when he spoke to Salem was filled with loathing. “Akrhyn had already turned their backs on her, so when we learned she was pregnant with your child, my father was filled with rage and forbade any of us to talk to her.” Cornelius glared at Salem, the heat in his words rising. “Because ofyou, I did not speak to my sister again, because ofyoumy sister died with shame and my House had a black mark against it.” Cornelius stood as he swept his gaze around the room, “You willallattend the ball, even that disgrace of a daughter you have, and we will show a united front to those thatdaredto question my sister when she was alive. My only pity is that her daughter will be treated the same way her mother was in the end, because ofyou.” Cornelius strode angrily from the room, Delilah hurrying after him, when the door was closed behind them the room was silent.
“Well, I think that went better than expected,” Cord commented as he took his father’s seat. “I mean, he didn’t kill anyone or kidnap Tegan.”
“Yet,” Sloane muttered.
“True, there is still time,” Cord mused. “Did he say how long he was staying?” he asked his brother.
“Too long,” was Sloane’s reply.
“Pity,” Cord murmured as Sloane nodded in agreement.
“Do I have to attend a ball?” Tegan blurted as she looked around the room, hoping for the answer to be no.
“What Cornelius says makes sense,” Marcus’s soft words were to Salem. “It would be better if we could present joint Houses in welcoming Tegan to the Akrhyn way of life.”