Turning Tables

Chapter 19

Rose

I felt the bomb drop through the bond. Sonya was busy explaining what was going on and Emily, Jill's Mother, was filling in the blanks here and there. I was glad Sonya did most of the talking. Lissa was just staring at them. Her thoughts were going a mile a minute, but on the outside she was just staring, with her mouth open. It wasn't very flattering to be honest. I was so busy looking at Lissa I hadn't noticed someone grabbing me from behind.

I was dragged into the next room, a parlor, or sun room, or whatever. I turned around and I saw my parents standing there. I was surprised. I had texted a lot of people. Adrian, Lissa and Hans, but I hadn't contacted my parents. Why were they even here? and why were they together in one room, staring at me. It was disconcerting.

Adrian was moving from the parlor-sun-sitting room towards the main reception room when he passed me he winked. "I know how much the old man loves drama, and I had a feeling you were bringing drama."

Oh, he had no idea.

My mother snapped her fingers in front of my face to get my attention. Like I am some dog!

"What?" I snapped.

"You thought we wouldn't find out? Why didn't you call me?" My estranged father bellowed at me.

I took a step back, a little overwhelmed by their reaction. "I know you like intrigue, old man, but I didn't even know who Jill was or if she even wanted to come to Court. I can handle a few schemes of my own, I'll have you know."

This seemed to confuse my parents. Their identical looks were very funny. If I had a camera I would have snapped a picture. It could be our new Christmas card. 'First Christmas we are all together, Rose leaving her parents stunned!'.

"You think I care about some illegitimate child?" Abe practically yelled. My mother actually looked thoughtful as she interrupted him. "You do, You find this whole thing fascinating and are already calculating how you can get your finger into that pie."

My father was momentarily speechless by my mother. "Yes, you are right. But that is not the point here!"

This was the weirdest conversation ever. It seemed now my parents were arguing with each other instead of yelling at me. I had a weird sensation that if I had grown up with my parents that this would have been a frequent occurrence. Eventually they remembered they were mad at me.

"The point is!" My father sternly told my mother to make her quiet down. "Is that you went on a suicide mission! Twelve Strigoi for just you and Belikov? That is crazy and I will deal with the council members who didn't give you back-up, but you should have called me... called us. I could have helped. Instead you risked your life because those assholes ordered you to, trying to get rid of you."

Oh so that is what it was about.

"Eleven."

This seemed to confuse them even more. "What?"

"There were eleven Strigoi, not twelve."

"Still not the point!" Oh my father was pissed.

I threw my hands in the air. "There wasn't time. Dimitri and I debated every option and no matter how we worked it out, striking them at that moment was the best case scenario. Just not for us. And we made it out alive. Besides, we had back-up. Mikhail and Mia came back to help us and Sonya was surprisingly helpful too."

My mother squinted her eyes at me. Where my father was outspoken in his rage, my mother seemed to be quietly seething. Funny, I would have thought it was the other way around.

"And when you accepted the mission, were they there with you?" She asked.

I looked down towards my shoes. "No."