Bloodline Diplomacy: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Academy Novel (Bloodline Academy Book 3) by Lan Chan (best short novels .txt) 📕

We entered the assembly hall through the side as usual. Sophie waved at us from a row of seats closer to the back. Trey and Roland were beside her. I parked my butt in the chair next to her and Diana wedged in on the other side.

“So I’m guessing Sisterhood?” I said to them at large.

“You guessed right!” Trey said. He was such a gossip. He always managed to find out news way before anyone else did. “I’ve been hearing rumblings all summer, but it looks like the Council have finally decided to put the rumours to rest. I don’t even know why they bother. It’s not like everyone at school didn’t go home and blab about what happened to their families.”

“Maybe they don’t want to scare people,” Diana said.

“Oh and keeping the worst-kept secret is any better?”

She shrugged. We lapsed into silence as the seats around us all filled up. My leg was jiggling up and down. Diana nudged my foot with her steely boot. “You’re shaking the whole row.” I stopped but had to will myself not to start fidgeting elsewhere. I had expected Jacqueline to march to the front of the stage as she always did, but today when she entered the assembly hall, she stepped aside to let somebody else pass. There was a collective murmur amongst the crowd as a tall figure with indigo wings strode across the stage. Orin Harcourt wore a navy-blue suit that hugged his slim figure. Though he must have been pushing hundreds of years old, he didn’t look a day over fifty. I didn’t even want to unpack how he had a nineteen-year-old daughter.

He turned as he got to the lectern. His eyes scanned the crowd. They landed on me. And then he smiled. Something inside of me fizzled. This was not going to go well.

18

Orin cleared his throat. The hall grew quiet but not immediately the way it would have if Jacqueline had done the same. Though he was a member of the Council, the Fae weren’t known for their courteous treatment of the other races. They had ruled for a long time over some of the other races. Now that they were on a level playing field, not everybody was so accepting of them. Jacqueline turned her head just slightly as though to remind everyone she was still there. Not a single peep was heard after that.

“Students,” Orin started. His voice was as clear and pleasant as his daughter’s. I noticed most of the Fae were leaning forward in their chairs with rapt expressions. Diana rolled her eyes. Yep, the dwarves were one of those races who weren’t huge fans of the Fae. “I know you must all be aware of the events that occurred on the school grounds at the end of last semester. It has given rise to quite a lot of speculation about the Soul Sisterhood and the Council’s ability to protect the populace should there be a surge in violence against supernaturals. Rest assured that we are doing all that we can. Having said that, let me put the speculation to rest. The Soul Sisterhood has returned. In fact, I understand there is one among you who has been claimed by the Sisterhood.”

My head snapped up as the students in the seats around me turned in my direction. Sophie took my hand and squeezed it. I tried to look for Kai, but there were too many people and he wasn’t guarding the room.

On the stage, I caught Jacqueline’s eye. Hers were huge. I could well believe she had been ambushed by this speech just as I had been. That didn’t change the fact that Orin was hanging me out to dry.

“Alessia Hasting has had a tremulous year with Bloodline Academy. But her association with the Soul Sisterhood might prove to be a blessing in disguise. The woman who was apprehended on Academy grounds is being detained in Seraphina and will face the full extent of our justice. We are taking steps to ensure this kind of thing never happens again. Tonight, the Council will make an official bulletin to the supernatural community about the return of the Soul Sisterhood to our world. I know some of you may fear the abilities of the Sisterhood. It is disturbing to think that they may be impervious to us. Your Council will do everything we can to keep the Academy safe.”

“While I am sure you have many questions, I would encourage that you hold off on voicing them until you have had a chance to digest the news after the bulletin airs. Thank you for your time and I wish you a productive school year.”

Why the hell was everyone clapping so loudly? It wasn’t like he’d said anything meaningful. All he’d done was tell us a bunch of things we already knew. Now he was leaving, and he’d shove the hard questions off onto the faculty who knew about as much as I did.

Sufficed to say Jacqueline wasn’t happy. She said something to Orin as he strode past her, but he just smirked and then exited the hall behind the protective circle of his Fae bodyguards. People were talking amongst each other again. There were so many stares I felt like I was under a microscope.

“Don’t listen to them,” Sophie said.

“It’s a bit hard not to,” I hissed.

“They’re just scared.”

“So am I. But I’m getting a bit tired of being the one they blame for everything.”

Jacqueline had reached the top of the stage by now. I was hoping she would just dismiss us so that I could get the heck out of there and away from public scrutiny. No such luck.

Jacqueline tapped her fingers on her thigh. Anyone who had spent more than two minutes with her knew that if she fidgeted, stuff was going down. Her back was ramrod straight. Normally she would thank a speaker if we had them, but she didn’t bother this time.

“I’m sure you’re all anxious to get back