Blood Lines

37. Ultimatum

Her father led her to the third floor, where his study was situated. It was a rather large office room with a small terrace, which he opened and they walked out on. Up here, it was easy to see the stars as they glowed pleasantly in the lack of moon that evening. Lena waited for him to speak. He poured them each a glass of wine from his private collection and they toasted to the solstice as was tradition.

"Thank you for coming," he said at last.

She glanced at him. Her father looked the same as ever, clean cut, precise, almost like some sort of soldier in the way he held himself. He had been a member of the Vampire Military before he had made a family and taken up his position on the Council. He was highly respected, well thought of and admired. But all Lena had seen of him her entire life had been a turned shoulder and a disappointed gaze.

"I assume you received my correspondence then," he said, sipping his wine.

"I did," was all Lena could think to say.

"The arrangements are made. You will be coronated next month in front of the Vampire Council and we can discuss your duties and future role thereafter. It is a relatively small role for the time being, but after you complete your degree, I would like you to join my office so that you can get firsthand experience. You'll then serve as my page in the Council, attending all the open meetings and representing me when I can't be present."

"Have you discussed this with your son?" Lena burst out abruptly.

Tarus hesitated and took another sip of wine. "He'll be informed in due course."

"I'm surprised his best buddy Reginald hasn't already told him. Isn't his father on the Council? I'm sure they're not very happy about this."

"Actually, I've had a negotiation with Councilman Mertele. He's very happy with the arrangement we've made."

Lena felt a cold plunging sensation in her gut. She set her wine glass down. "A marriage proposal." She said. It wasn't a question.

"Exactly. Two of the next generations of purebloods to carry on a pure line. See you have a great mind for this role, my daughter."

Lena squirmed for a moment, imagining herself as Reginald's wife. The though made her nauseous. "And what if I don't agree to this?" she asked coldly.

Tarus glanced at her. "The marriage? I can probably renegotiate. Reginald has a younger sister, perhaps I can arrange a union with her and Jasper instead."

"Not just the marriage, Tarus. Being your heir. What if I don't agree to that?"

Tarus gave her a hard look, but he didn't seem all that surprised. "I had rather hoped you would agree," he said, swirling his wine. "It will make everything much easier for all of us."

Lena glared out at the star filled sky. The silence lasted but Lena wasn't about to break it. He might be a politician, but he currently had the most to lose here. Or so she thought.

"You do know that I put my neck over quite the fire when I removed Jasper from classes last semester?" he asked quietly. "It caused an uproar in our society for me to make that decision to reprimand him publicly. This brought a lot of scrutiny down on our bloodline. Brought into question our reputation as the oldest and greatest of all the vampire lines. It was obvious a solution needed to be found, to change the vantage of the situation. You, my daughter, are that solution."

The irony was clear in his tone but Lena didn't say anything.

Tarus sighed. "Very well, if you refuse my offer, I won't be able to fund your education any longer. The Academy is expensive, no? And I don't believe you or Alina have much in your bank accounts."

Lena twitched. She didn't like that he had brought Alina's name into this. He had come to her grandmother's house she recalled now. That had certainly been more than just a pleasant drop in. A threat?

"Fine," Lena said, shrugging. "I can take out a loan."

"You could, I suppose. But I can suggest you be expelled from the school. Cellof is in my pocket, after all. They'll do whatever I ask. And I believe your little department and all those happy little redbloods and humans would be quite devastated if I stopped funding their work. I doubt the Botany Department would be able to continue."

"You'd shut down the BHR Department?" Lena asked airily, though her stomach was twisting at the idea. "That's your grand scheme to make me do this? Have you seen my grades? It's not like I actually care about that stupid school. I only enrolled because I could become a guardian in training there."

Tarus smiled, as though he had seen through her bluff instantly. He narrowed his eyes. "Maragetta tells me you've made friends while you were there. One friend in particular. I wonder how she would feel about being expelled from the school?"

Lena turned to face him, unable to mask the cold fury in her face.

"Claetta Lomond, such a promising student. A shame she won't be returning to classes this next semester."

Lena's whole body tightened. He knew about Clae? Of course he did. Like he said, Cellof was in his pocket. He could do whatever he wanted to the school, and learn all he desired. She had been a fool. She had known it all along, but now it was hitting home. And the taste was bitter. Mare might be happy that she had finally made friends, but Lena had suspected all along that it would only bring hardship.

"So, do we have a deal?" Tarus asked calmly, holding out his hand.

She had no choice. If Clae was expelled, or worse, put in danger, she couldn't refuse. They shook and Tarus nodded. "I'll be in touch with the details of your coronation. It's lovely to have seen you in person, daughter."