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Quade’s little smile slipped, and Render chuckled behind me. I flicked my attention to the vampire, and his laughter ceased the moment I did. He didn’t want to side with me, even though it was obvious that he wasn’t a fan of Quade’s. No surprise there. Usually, members of the council barely tolerated each other. The supernatural prejudice ran too deep.

  “I’m surprised you’re here on time, Render,” Quade said, finally acknowledging the vampire. He stepped forward so that the two men were toe-to-toe, sizing each other up. I had a feeling if we weren’t at vamp headquarters, they would’ve whipped out their dicks to start measuring them. There was something about supernaturals with enormous power and influence that made them get competitive. They were always getting into pissing contests, talking the big talk about who could kill the other one in a more efficient or gruesome way. “Last I heard, you were wanting to step down from the position,” Quade said. “What’s the matter, your councilman making you suck his cold, undead dick?”

  “The only deadass dick around here is you,” Render replied smoothly, with cold steel in his eyes.

  Quade’s eyes narrowed, and I felt his power pulsate. Unlike most elementals, Quade could conjure all of the elements—air, water, fire, and earth. Beads of water collected on his fingers, dripping onto the floor.

  Render’s gray eyes flicked down to the floor at the forming puddle and smirked. “Leaking?” He tsked. “What a terrible choice the elementals made. A paragon who can’t even control his own power. That’s just sad.”

  “Better than a race who go mad with bloodlust and then have to be put down like rabid dogs.”

  I shook my head at the jibes lobbing back and forth between the two. The animosity between them was so thick I could have bound it with rope and dragged it behind me. Every time they threw another verbal punch, their powers fluctuated, slamming into me with wave after wave of painful hunger. I knew they had to be powerful—they wouldn’t have been chosen as paragons otherwise—but this was more power than I’d ever felt before. It assaulted me, and their anger only made it worse. My Void was beating at me with fists, wanting to come out and drink them both up.

  “That female is not a rabid dog. She’s sick. Not that you’d fucking care,” Render snarled. “You elementals don’t give two shits about my people. You shouldn’t even be at this meeting. It should’ve been handled by vamps only.”

  Quade rolled his eyes, undeterred. “Every council verdict has to be overseen by the entire council, fang fuck. So suck it up.”

  Unable to take it anymore, I threw my hands up. “Can you guys stop? You’re both leaking power, and it’s driving me crazy.”

  My outburst drew the attention of both men.

  “What’s wrong? Your inner monster wants out of her cage?” Quade mocked.

  My eyes narrowed. He’d called me a monster when I was a little girl, too, and the term got under my skin. “I’m not a monster.”

  Ignoring me, Quade gave me a slow once over. The way he dragged over my body made my skin hum, and I hated that. I didn’t want to respond to him, but I couldn’t stop it. No amount of torture and jealousy could change the fact that I found him attractive. “You look good, Devicka, all things considered.”

  What a prick.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” I snapped. I didn’t like the backhanded compliment.

  Quade stepped closer, and I felt Render shift beside me on my right. Neither of them was touching me, but we were still too close. He leaned in, his lips mere inches from mine. I sucked in a breath and held it, too terrified to let it out. His eyes were so dark brown that they were nearly black. His thick lashes fanned across his lids. He had the tiniest freckle on the side of his nose. He was so close that I could feel his breath against my lips. My brain noted all of these things while my heart beat wildly in my chest.

  My eyes were wide and wary, my whole body tensed. I had no idea what he was going to do, and it freaked me the fuck out. I was used to being avoided at all costs by supers, so his nearness made my heartbeat skyrocket. I didn’t know how to handle his close proximity. My amulet was vibrating, trying to hold back my hunger. But it wasn’t just hunger from the Void that I felt. Nope, for some idiotic reason, my stomach fluttered like I was a nerdy schoolgirl with a crush on the playground bully. I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about what it would be like if he closed the gap between us and pressed his lips against mine.

  “It means,” he whispered so low that only I could hear, “that you’d be pretty...if you weren’t a pariah. Such a shame. We could have had fun.”

  He immediately backed away again, his expression smug as a puff of air left my mouth.

  His words cut through me like a knife as he continued to smirk at me like the asshole he was. I had half a mind to take off my amulet and show him just how much fun we could really have, but a cold voice that caused my hair to stand on end made me stop in my tracks.

  “Devicka?”

  I turned at the sound of my mother’s voice, wincing at her chiding tone. She was getting out of a sleek, black town car pulled up at the curb beside us. The driver held the door open for her as she slid out onto the sidewalk, looking perfectly prim and proper in her gray dress suit. Her blonde hair that matched mine was swept up in a low bun. She brushed imaginary lint from her shoulders and smoothed the wrinkles from her skirt. Mother always had to look perfect.

  I swiped the sweat that had gathered on my brow with the back of my hand before looking down at my own tattered outfit. Render hadn’t given me much time before crossing into the portal, so I was wearing black skinny jeans, a white V-neck, and my combat boots. One sweep of her eyes told me how much she disapproved, and I was stuck somewhere between craving her approval and not caring anymore.

  “Mother.” Our greetings were always strained, always short.

  She eyed the small spaces between myself and the other two men on either side of me, and her mouth turned down. “Keep your distance from the paragons, Devicka,” she ordered before clenching her bright teeth in displeasure. Her eyes skimmed my outfit again, and a full-on snarl kissed her lips, spelled with permanent, blood-red lipstick. She could never look disheveled, never look like she didn’t have her shit together.

  I bristled instantly, hating the way she looked at me—like I was a disease she didn’t want to spread. “I have my amulet on,” I said defensively, though it sounded lame even to my own ears. I knew the risks. I always knew the risks. It was something she reminded me of every damn chance she got.

  “And what if that amulet should fail? Or become overloaded? Or fall off?” she challenged in rapid-fire succession, making me slump my shoulders in shame. “You know the rules. You are not to endanger the lives of supers. Especially not the paragons of their races. These are the future leaders of our world and should be treated attentively and with respect,” she said, coming up to stand next to Quade.

  “I know,” I mumbled, looking at my shoes. I hated how small she always made me feel.

  Satisfied, she looked away from me and gave Quade an affectionate smile before greeting him with a hug that she’d never give me.

  Not once did it ever cross her mind that it was their damn fault. They were the ones crowding me—not the other way around. They obviously found the entire exchange amusing too, because they both had irritating smirks on their faces and refused to move an inch, continuing to bookend me on either side.

  Swallowing down all the angry retorts I wanted to say, I backed further away, leaving them in front of me. As soon as my mother deemed that I was far enough away from everyone, she disregarded me completely and started to visit with Quade and Render.

  “Quade, you did wonderful work on that elemental presentation for the council. Everyone is still talking about it,” she said.

  “I had an excellent teacher,” Quade replied with an easy, bright smile before adjusting the gray tie that complimented his perfectly tailored suit on his perfectly elemental body.

  My mother beamed. She fucking beamed at him l
ike he was the best thing to ever come into existence. Like she wished that he was her child instead of me. There was a painfully obvious parental pride in her eyes that I would never be able to unsee.

  I shouldn’t care, I kept telling myself. I shouldn’t care anymore. It had been almost ten years since she’d started despising me, so this was nothing new. Except no matter how many times I tried to convince myself not to care, there was still a rotten seed in my gut that sprouted with more tangled envy and thorned spite every time I was denied what every child had a right to—a mother’s love.

  “Are we still on for lunch tomorrow?” my mother asked him. “We should go over that meeting and get those responses sent to the newspapers.”

  Quade nodded. “Of course. I look forward to it.”

  What a suck up.

  My mother turned her attention on Render with noticeably less warmth. “Mr. Tillson,” she greeted with false politeness. “I trust you had no difficulties in escorting my daughter?”

  “Of course not,” he replied, expressionless.

  My mother nodded. She knew the importance of working with the other supers on the council, but there was still prejudice between the races. Just because they willingly worked together didn’t mean they had to like it. The council was meant to bring the different supernaturals together, but it usually just turned wars into political games.

  “Thank you for collecting her.” She gave him a half smile, and it made me sink into a deeper sense of self-loathing. She sent someone she didn’t even like—let alone trust—to pick me up. What did that say about how she felt about me?

  “Of course, Mrs. Cainson. I find the primitive human communities amusing. Besides, we’re meant to work together. Or at least that’s what they keep telling us at Thibault,” Render replied slyly. “The trip had its entertaining moments,” he added, casting a glance at me. I bet he was reciting my diary in his mind, associating all the private grievances I had about my mother while sneering at me. There wasn’t an ounce of pity in his gaze.

  “Yes, well. We do what we must. Shall we go in?” my mother asked while turning away, not even giving him an opportunity to answer. She did that in every aspect of her life now. She bulldozed through decisions in order to give herself back a semblance of the control and power that I’d taken away from her.

  The guys nodded and followed after her up the steps to the building. She walked with her shoulders rolled back, eyes directly ahead, overcompensating for her powerless state with a rigid stance and confident gait. I’d never once seen her falter in her heels or let her hair down—metaphorically or literally. She had to work twice as hard to earn the respect of her peers instead of being cast out into the human world, and it was all my fault.

  My mother stepped aside, allowing Quade to open the glass door for her. Of course, the door-holding was only reserved for her, because he went in right after. Render swung the door open for himself and....then the door promptly shut in my face.

  Fucking vampires with their sexy smirks, deadly flashing, and piss-poor manners.

  I yanked open the door and took in the shiny, dark walls as I passed through inside. Solid round columns lined the entrance where two burly security guards stood in black suits with dark shades on, hiding the direction of their gazes. They were both vampires, based on their chiseled beauty and clear skin.

  The security man closest to me snorted under his breath at my near face plant with the door, and my cheeks burned with embarrassment. “Vampires have terrible manners,” I grumbled as I hurried past.

  I was immediately confronted with Render’s mischievous grin. The asshole wanted me to say something to him, but I refused to give him the satisfaction, so instead, I simply brushed by him, my amulet brightening at the slight touch. I didn’t like my powers, but sometimes, people needed a polite reminder that I was dangerous.

  My feet echoed on the marble steps in the vast building as I looked around. Unlike the rest of the city, this had more of a historical design. The ceilings were tall and arched in a dome-like shape, with murals of naked renaissance models with bloodied veins.

  “Devicka. Check in first.”

  My mother’s words hit my back and made my shoulders tense up. As if I didn’t know the protocol. As if she hadn’t reminded me, embarrassingly so, every single time I’d been summoned. Aside from actually using my powers, this was always my least favorite part.

  My mother and Quade were already moving on, talking about whatever other elemental business they had and making their way to the private elevators while I made my way to the large, marble check-in desk.

  I stepped up to it, my head barely reaching over the top. The woman manning the desk was young and pretty with dark hair and round cheeks. She wore a headset and was directing phone calls in rapid-fire procession with a smile plastered on her friendly face.

  “Hello, how may I help you?” she asked in a cheery voice while tilting her head to the side like some kind of robot. I had a feeling her smile would be wiped clear from her face the moment she realized who—or more importantly what—I was.

  “Umm, hi. I was summoned to the council meeting,” I replied clumsily.

  She nodded briskly and started typing on her computer. “Name?”

  I cleared my throat so that I could speak as quietly as possible. I didn’t want all the other people nearby to hear me. “Devicka Cainson.”

  My quiet voice might as well have been a scream. Everyone stopped what they were doing. The other staff at the desk looked over at me, gaping. Supes in the room stopped in their tracks to openly gawk at me. Somewhere, a baby even cried and the phones stopped ringing. I felt fire heat my cheeks as the girl continued to stare at me; her customer service face had completely disappeared, and now all I saw was fear. Second time in less than ten minutes. Unfortunately, it wasn’t even a record.

  “Can you just put out the announcement already?” I hissed between my teeth while looking side to side. I pulled at the collar of my shirt as sweat dripped down my spine from the nerves.

  She blinked rapidly, all traces of her smile gone. Her face slipped into a horrified expression, and I watched as even her lips seemed to pale. With wide eyes and shaking fingers, she typed on the computer and pressed the buttons on her phone. Within seconds, a voice came over the speakers. “Attention: The Void is present. Please stay in your designated areas. If you wish to depart, please let the nearest security personnel know, and they can escort you. Do not engage with the Void and please keep calm.”

  The voice rang in my ears and bounced off the walls. Everyone stared at me, but when I turned to look, they scurried away like their feet were on fire. There were no friendly smiles or even bored disinterest. These people were terrified of me.

  Four security guards came forward to flank me. Four huge, burly men that towered over me and trapped me between them. Each of them wore full, black body suits and armor. With masks covering their features, all I could see was the steely determination in their eyes as they grunted for me to move. They were careful not to touch me as I was herded away toward the elevators, and the rest of the people in the main hallway continued to stare. I hated it. I wished I could’ve turn invisible and disappeared.

  When we reached the elevator, I was shocked to see Render there, waiting. “I can escort her,” he said, his voice stern but calm. Despite everyone else shaking in their fucking vampire boots at the idea of being close to me, he wasn’t bothered. Still, I kind of preferred the weapon-wielding guards over the asshole vamp.

  The guards gave each other questioning looks, but they didn’t argue with him. I wasn’t sure if it was because he had a lot of sway here, or if they wanted any excuse to get the fuck away from me. I also wasn’t sure which scenario was better.

  “Come along, Void. People are waiting,” he said with a mean grin, flashing me his fangs as he spun around into the elevator. I got in behind him, and the guards watched through the clear glass as we ascended several stories. When we got out, Render wasted no time walki
ng out and heading toward a large, ornate door at the end of a polished hallway. He seemed calm, but his damn hand was running through his dark hair again, giving his unease away.

  “Aren’t you worried I’ll steal your powers?” I asked him.

  Render paused at the door to look at me. His smirk had broken out into a full-grown grin now. I stopped a few feet away, my mother’s warning still fresh in my mind. “No,” he began, turning around to come back to where I stood. “I think you’ve got the world right where you want it. You’ve convinced everyone that you’re this terrifying thing that could steal powers at a moment’s notice, but I think that’s bullshit. I think you’re a weak girl who can’t control her own form of bloodlust,” he said, leaning in close to intimidate me. “Maybe it’s you who needs to be put down,” he said, making me swallow down a dose of fear. “I know the truth, Void,” he added quietly, watching my every reaction, from the way I gnawed on my lip to how fast I blinked.

  I tilted my chin to stare him in the eye, forcing the Void down, even though bile was rising in my throat. “And what is the truth, vamp?” I asked, feeling daring as I met his stare head-on. I didn’t like the intimidation game he played. I’d spent my entire life being feared and avoided, and it was jarring to be around Render and Quade, who kept pushing the boundaries.

  “The truth is,” Render began, “you’re more afraid of you than anyone else is.”

  He then spun on his heel and yanked open the heavy door, guiding me inside the large courtroom while acid churned in my stomach. The sad thing was, he was absolutely right. No one was more scared of what I was capable of than I.

  Chapter 3

  Judge Braxton was a willowy man. His sleek black hair looked spelled to appear thicker, and his thin frame was swallowed up by the large golden chair he was sitting in. The high collar on his shirt covered his short neck, and his sunken in eyes were emotionless as he took me in.

  Looking around, I could sense the magic in the air. The arena—I mean courtroom—was obviously spelled to block spectators from my Void. I could see the sheen of a shield all around the room, separating the stadium-style bench seats above from the lower area where I stood. The council members sat behind Judge Braxton in their own box seats, looking down at me with clear distaste, while the people in the audience had the wide eyes of fear.