Sacrifice in Blood

Chapter 53: Consequences

"Blood-bound? What does that mean?" Tyler said then, his face completely taken aback. He looked to me and to the council and back, bewildered.

"She has chosen to bind herself to the Children of the Night for eternity, turning her back on her kind. She has been seeing the vampire this whole time, keeping their vows a secret from all of you." An elder with a long Merlin-like beard said, matter of factly.

"No- that's not-" I tried to explain but the whole coven had erupted into chaos, exclaiming amongst themselves and looking at me, horrified. Ava was the only one who remained silent, by my side.

"Is it true?" Tyler demanded, grabbing my wrist and forcing me to look at him. Mason and a couple of the coven chimed in too, talking over each other. I didn't know where to turn or who to focus on. I felt dizzy, the coven surrounding me.

"I-It's not-" I tried to desperately explain.

Suddenly, there was another crack of lighting and thunder, bringing the chaos to silence. I noted that it was the Merlin-looking elder who apparently had power over the weather.

"Leina Thornton, you must come with us now and face the consequences of your actions. You have broken the law and endangered the covenant between our kinds." Marguerite said, her voice strong and commanding coming from such an elderly woman.

"She had no choice, she would have died! Talon saved her." Ava said then, fearless and coming to my rescue. I sent my best friend a look of utter gratitude.

"You knew?" Tyler said, dropping my wrists and stepping back, looking at Ava and I aghast. I could see the betrayal and disgust in his eyes.

No, please don't look at me like that, I thought frantically. I took another step towards him but he mirrored me and took a further step away. I felt like I had been punched in the gut.

"Is there any proof of what you claim?" Charlie, asked then, sceptical. She was incredibly talented at herbal magic and had always been super kind and patient with me when I was trying to make salves and elixirs.

"Yes, of course." One of the coven representatives on the council said, looking pleased she asked, stepping forward. He was flanked by two other council members as they approached, my coven warily stepped out of their way. Ava stood her ground by my side defiantly. I was still reeling from Tyler's rejection and was barely keeping up.

The man who had spoken grabbed me by the arm and I immediately tried to pull out of his grasp.

"If what we're saying has no truth then you needn't be worried." He said, a small smile on his lips that said he knew exactly how to prove this once and for all.

Evidence? What evidence was he talking about? Talon's recent bite mark had since healed nicely but I started to worry maybe they could see the faint scar.

My overwhelmed brain caught up just as he tore off my jacket and ripped my shirt clean down the back. He turned me around so my back was to my coven.

Shit!

My heart was racing as there were gasps; my tattoo was on full show now.

"A blood red tattoo is one of the results of a blood-binding ceremony, signifying the eternal vows between human and vampire. For a witch to pledge herself to a vampire is practically unheard of and a disgrace" the man said, disgust in his voice. He seemed to be gloating though, enjoying the tirade.

I pulled away from him to face my coven.

"I didn't choose this. It just happened!" I said, pathetically as I finally found my voice. They were twisting what happened to turn my coven against me.