74: Once again

I stared into her dark brown eyes for a moment, unable to see anything more than the eyes of Sebastian’s mother, the eyes of the woman who’d once killed me. If only I’d known the first time I’d met her who exactly she was and who exactly I was, maybe I could have killed her right then and there. But it was too late. She’d obviously known exactly who I was the moment she saw my face at the meeting, and as such, she had the upper hand on me.
She gave me a sickening smile after a moment and then extended a hand towards me. I stared at it, tempted almost to smack it away, but I restrained myself and took it anyway.
“I see you’re feeling *much* better Phoenix.” She said as she helped me up. I nodded slowly but never once took my eyes off of hers. She then gazed down at the injured vampires on the floor and said, rather loudly, “Can someone call medical assistance for these two weak little *children*. Perhaps some fresh blood could help speed up the healing and a little bit of whiskey could help with the pain.”
And it was as though the entire room were just itching for her to make that request because as soon as it had left her mouth, the entire crowd dispersed. Only my four lovers, Alice, the twin victims of my bloodlust, and Meera remained.
“Oh, thank goodness you’re here Meera!” Darren said as he attempted to crawl his way towards us on his elbows. His brother was still far from being anywhere near conscious. “This hybrid bitch tried to kill my brother! You saw her, didn’t you?”
Meera finally let go of my hand, wiping the blood which had transferred from my skin to hers, on her pants. She then smiled at Darren before giving a little sigh, “From what I recall, the both of you clearly provoked Phoenix. She had every right to kill you. However, to spare myself the admin of two dead nobles, I decided to intervene. You’re welcome. Now I hope you will think long and hard before you try to provoke her again. A hybrid is one extremely deadly creature.”
Perhaps the most frightening thing about this entire encounter was the fact that Meera was actually taking my side. Then again, even at the meeting with the nobles, she behaved rather courteously towards me. But there was still something that made me unbearably uncomfortable around her. Something definitely *Katherine* about her.
Darren gaped at the woman and then gazed towards me for a moment before resting his eyes back on Meera.
“You’re not serious… you’re taking the side of this half-breed? How dare you?”
“How dare *you*? Are you questioning *my* authority you little good-for-nothing demon spawn?” And there it was. The rage burning in her brown eyes, the clenching of her fists, the deep red blush of anger against her golden-brown skin. Even the way she stood, fuming, authoritative, superior and unrelenting in her insults. She *had* to be Katherine.
But Meera proceeded no further with her little outburst. Instead, she caught herself almost immediately, almost as though she had just realised her mistake, and then another false smile made its way onto her face before she turned away from Darren who seemed afraid enough not to continue his own backlash.
“I apologise for my behaviour just now.” She said to the rest of us. She then looked at Demetri and for a moment a distasteful frown made its way onto her face. He picked it up immediately and tilted his head to the side as the two continued to gaze at each other in a sort of strange curiosity. She however attempted to justify her curiosity by inquiring whether he was the famous Demetri Forbes she’d been hearing about. Demetri was obviously not buying what she was selling, but played along, nonetheless.
“It seems I’ve already become famous. And you are?”
She walked towards him and extended a hand before saying, “Meera. Meera Balakrishnan. I’m the head of Sanguis.”
The gaze they held would have seemed ordinary to any bystanders, however for me, it was nothing if not a gaze filled with hatred and years of resentment.
“Wow, leader of Saguis. You’ve built up a good name for yourself, lady.” He said.
She smiled and nodded before saying, “I suppose you can say that. And your legacy has become non-existent over the years. It’s almost as though you never existed. It’s funny.”
He raised a brow. “What is?”
She gave a chuckle, retracted her hand and then shrugged off what she’d said earlier.
“Anyway, I do truly hope all is well with you, Phoenix. Being ill for so long must have been… unpleasant. You do seem to be so much better. In fact, I recall reports of you barely being able to get through a simple training session, and yet here you are, having had defeated two noble vampires. That’s very impressive. Then again, hybrids are quite powerful creatures.” I could tell she was nothing if not suspicious regarding my disappearance for the last few days and was clearly fishing for answers. But I wouldn’t give them to her. Instead, I’d be doing a little fishing myself.
“Have you ever met another hybrid before?” I asked curiously.
She raised a brow, contemplated for a moment and then nodded to herself. “I haven’t met one per se. I’ve read about one though. Diana Dragović was her name.”
Sebastian gasped immediately and asked, “How do you know about her?”
She smirked and then said, “Come on Sebastian… how else would I know about her?”
A moment passed by, and the entire room fell silent, only to be disrupted by a loud laugh which seemed to escape Meera’s lips.
“Oh, you should have seen your faces!” She yelled with a laugh.
At this point I was beyond disturbed by the mind-numbingly confusing behaviour Meera was portraying.
“I read about her in the lost archives. I used to be obsessed with vampire history. But don’t worry… *Prince Dragović* your secret is safe with me.”
Sebastian’s shocked expression transformed into one of relief. It seemed he truly did believe this woman. Then again, he was always blind when it came to his mother. Demetri and I, however, were nowhere near convinced by Meera’s story. But I suppose that was her intention. She wanted us to be just as paranoid about her as she had now become of us. Both sides were unsure of how much the other knew and this game of pretend was a means to uncover just how much of the truth we were aware of.

Meera left the room after an uneasy greeting, and by then Kyle and Darren’s parents as well as a few other vampires had begun entering the room again to tend to the two injured vampires. As they passed by me, they gave malicious and deadly glares. It was more anger than disgust. I, however, could care less. I was so disturbed by Meera and her behaviour that I just stared absently into the distance, trying to put together the puzzle pieces. Once again, the woman was in a position of power. Once again, she hid behind a mask of innocence. Then there would be a matter of convincing Sebastian that this woman was truly his mother. All of it brought about a sickening sense of déjà vu and the scent of my death practically lingered in the air again, only emphasised by the Game of Successio looming over my head. And it was then that it finally began to dawn on me that my date with death was only a few days away. A game of slaughter, only the truth of it was that I was the little lamb being waved off to it along with the rest of the vampire nobles who believed in harmony between the werewolf and vampire species. Katherine was clearly a very smart woman, I just had to be smarter.
“Are you alright, Phoenix?” Sebastian asked, pulling me away from my thoughts.
I smiled and nodded before saying, “I think you and I need to discuss something privately.”
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Stay safe! Stay healthy! Sending my love!💕