Bloodline Diplomacy: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Academy Novel (Bloodline Academy Book 3) - Lan Chan (thriller books to read .txt) 📗

“Nothing.” The unfocused blast of his magic had eased my breathing. Or maybe it was because Lucifer decided to stop playing with me.

His expression clouded over. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“Nothing!” I said. “It’s got nothing to do with Terran.” He shook me gently.

“Alessia.” It was the utter fury in the way he dragged out my name that had me standing to attention. I pushed at his buttons all the time, and though he lost his temper, there was never anything vicious behind it. The look he gave me now was stripped of all affection. “I’m only going to ask you one more time. What are you hiding from me?”

What. The. Hell?

I shoved at his chest. “My apologies, Councillor. I didn’t realise I was under investigation.”

“Why are you protecting them?”

“Why wouldn’t I? Why wouldn’t you? Isn’t that what you were made for?” I didn’t know why I had to remind these Nephilim idiots of their mission.

“I have no obligation to any of them,” he said.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Disbelief had me speechless. Not for long, but it was still unheard of. “I don’t understand. Your first obligation is to protect the humans from demons. It literally says so in the manifesto of the Council.”

“Just because I have to protect this world in general doesn’t mean I have to care about the humans specifically.”

I reeled back like he’d slapped me. “Why do you bother if you hate us so much?” I couldn’t help the stone in my throat. Deep down, did he secretly despise me?

He shoved off the bed. His eyes were hooded. “The demons that came for my family were summoned through the portals by humans,” he said. “How long do you think it will take before humans learn to do the same when our existence is revealed?”

Understanding has me swallowing hard. I was caught between sympathy and frustration.

“I might be able to stop it from happening if I can find Gaia!”

He smirked. At that moment, he turned back into the arrogant jerk I’d first met. Thinking on it now, he’d been antagonistic towards me from the beginning. And now I understood why. “It’s too late for that now,” he said. “We’re going to war.”

“It doesn’t have to be like this! What’s wrong with you?”

He turned to me, his shoulders tensed. “Desi was my friend.” It was the last thing he said before he wrenched the door open and stalked out. Stupid idiot and his stupid loyalty. I was going to wring his neck when this was over.

I had a vision of a field of battle and I was on the other side. Why was I always on the other side? Despite being in my pyjamas, I marched over to the door and yanked it open. Two Nephilim guards stopped me from leaving by crossing their blades in front of the doorway.

“Move it or lose it,” I snapped. So Sophie was right. I did often just do things because I felt like it.

“The orders are for you to remain inside,” the one on the left said. “It’ll be your turn soon.”

Samantha shouldn’t have taught me binding spells. With my hedge magic, they were nothing but restraints. With the darker death magic, they leached energy. I heard the first gasp as I drew a circle around both of the Nephilim. Inside my mind, I pictured the circles constricting around them. The one on the right attempted to manifest his wings in order to break my hold. I squeezed tighter. With a flick of my fingers, I pushed them aside. They both toppled to the ground, their arms flattened to their sides.

I marched through the corridor. I’d never been on this side of the chambers before. It was a new experience. I had no clue where I was going, but a slip into the Ley dimension showed me a concentration of powerfully lit sparks of light just up ahead.

The Nephilim guards there saw me coming. “I’d move if I were you,” I said. It was hard to look badass in a pair of cupcake pyjama pants and a loose T-shirt, but I thought I managed it. That was two seconds before Jacqueline emerged through the door. She waved me forward.

Nobody was more surprised by my entrance than Rachel. She was struggling to prop herself up in front of the Council. Jacqueline took her place just inside the door. Peter sat placidly in an armchair at the back of the room. I remembered the way he’d said her name. It was the same way Basil said mine when he was worried about me. The way a father called his daughter. I did everything I could to avoid Kai’s gaze.

“We didn’t send for you, Alessia,” Victoria said.

“I sent for myself.”

“You act in many unsanctioned ways,” Orin pressed. “For example, aiding in the escape of a criminal.” He leaned forward inclining his head towards Rachel. His indigo wings flapped behind his back. I wanted to jump over there and rip them off his back.

“She didn’t do anything,” Rachel said. Her khaki cargo pants and tan shirt were soaked through with blood. It stained her forearms and the left side of her face. Half the visible parts of her skin were scratched. She looked like she’d gone a couple of rounds with a chainsaw. But when the Council glared down at her, she tilted her chin and glared back. I could see now why she hadn’t managed to stay with supernatural society. We were far too alike.

“That’s not for you to decide,” Victoria said. “You’ve already admitted to the murder of one of ours.”

My left cheek spasmed. That was when my eyes involuntarily tracked to Kai. He sat with his elbows on the table, his expression drawn tight. Desi had been his friend. She’d been my sort-of friend. I bit my tongue to fight back the tears.

“You murdered one of ours,” Rachel snapped back.

“We did nothing of the sort,” Victoria said. Durin growled at the accusation. It wasn’t in