Half-Blooded | The Dark Child Prophecy Series [✔️]

Chapter 16: Flaw In My Code

"I swear, Serenity, if you make me look like I have two black eyes, I'm going to stake you," my cousin giggled, trying not to move as I finished her makeup. Her olive-tan skin didn't need a touch of cosmetics, but I still enjoyed playing dress-up with her.

"If you don't stop squirming, you will," I laughed, putting the last coat of dark brown shadow into the crease of her left eyelid. I stepped away so she could look at herself in the vanity mirror on her desk within the parlor. "Done."

The Capitol Coven had once been a place that I loved to be, surrounded by all the branches of my family when they came together from across the world. For nights, they would converge on matters of State for the Shadow Stalkers while my cousins, brothers, and I would enjoy the amenities and social events. Now, it was just one of the places I came to escape my mother's coven house. I had a list of preferred destinations when I took off on adventures, but this wasn't the top venue of choice anymore...

My father had died in the gardens, shot by a Moon Worshipper sniper. And it would always be a place tainted with his blood.

I had flown from Portland to Barcelona, made a stop in Marseilles, France overnight to rest, and then traveled the rest of the way to Italy. I had managed to get in contact with Krystal while I was stopped in France. They were back at the Capitol to attend the next sessions of government for decisions about the trading lines for weapons and blood.

Krystal was gorgeous, a perfect mix of her parents: my aunt Eris Mezdor, the Dark Child and Queen, and my uncle Alphonse De La Vega. She had dark, chocolate hair and wide-set hazel eyes. Slight freckles were sprinkled across her cheeks and she had full pink lips. While her older twin brothers both took separate traits from their parents, she was the indescribable median between their physical appearances.

She ran her fingers over her cheek, smirking at herself. "Nice work. I'm just going to have you do my makeup from now on."

I laughed. "Nah, I hardly ever wear any myself. You don't want me to screw up your face every night."

"You're insane. You always look perfect," she exclaimed, reaching for her glass of wine.

I shook my head, disagreeing, as I also took a sip of my bourbon-and-blood Manhattan. "Well, what I know about hair and makeup, I learned from your mom. We both know my mother isn't a girly-girl."

"Because your mother is a badass," came the sound of a male voice from behind me. "She doesn't need all your girly-girl, frou-frou crap."

We both turned our heads to find Nikolas, the younger of the twin princes. He grinned cheekily to show his sarcasm. Nik was only younger by a few minutes, which he could never live down thanks to his siblings. He was tall and thin with appropriate muscle tone like his twin brother. But unlike Gabriel, Nikolas had dark brown, almost auburn, hair with hazel-gold eyes that matched Krystal's and their father's.

"Don't tell her that," I said, my head shaking. "She'll think she's gone soft."

"Not possible," Nikolas laughed, coming to join us in the salon on the family's floor.

We had an entire wing to ourselves for the Mezdor and Dracula bloodline. But it felt empty when the whole family wasn't in town. Krystal had taken a talent to rearranging the furniture to make it feel less bare when a sprawling family of nineteen went down to only five. The lounge had once been the den used for full family conferences. Now, it was set up like a cozy living room and staging room in between sessions of government business and Royal Crown affairs at galas and balls.

I rolled my eyes and went to top off my drink. I didn't want to talk about my mother. The moment she realized I hadn't come home immediately after my "release" from the Wolves, I would have a hundred phone calls and messages waiting for me to describe her frustration with my behavior.