I was nervous and there was no hiding it. My heart galloped wildly in my chest as we entered the building, walking down the hallway very aware we were being watched. The urge to take hold of Silas’ hand I had to smother. Instead I thought about the silk white scarf with red embroidering with symbols I could not decipher. Silas had dropped around my neck before we left, wrapping around my neck.

It was a thoughtfulness he didn’t usually express but I put it down to the situation where my life was literally hanging in the balance.

I was a Sire, he was a vampire. In this world, there was no place for us to be together.

But that was a problem for another day. Today I just wanted to make it out alive but I wasn’t sure that was guaranteed no matter what Silas had planned.

Breathe. I told myself, trying to stave off the panic that threatened to take over. I clutch my jacket closed, needing to do something with my hands.

Silas walked tall, shoulders proudly broad, He would cower to no one. There was an ancient confidence in him that I wished I had. The truth was I didn’t, I was fearful that this would not go as planned and I would be the one to pay, with my eternity.

There were guards to the entrance of the large room I remembered all too well. The audience quietened as we entered. The only sound was our footsteps as we drew near to the elders who were seated and watching.

My eyes settled on Rowan, and I could not decipher anything from his hard features. He would have no mercy on me. On the outside I was still but inside I trembled.

My stomach dropped a little and I used all my strength not to turn and run. It would be futile. There was no escape.

It was then I saw Thane and his evil sister, Talon, standing side by side. Thane glared at me, Talon look down at me like I was something to be stamped out.

In my mind I could already see how this was going to play out. Rowan would demand my life and there would be nothing Silas could do to stop them.

Especially now that I could not bear anymore vampire babies. I had no use and that left me in a dire situation.

Rowan eyes stayed on me, his bold stare hard and unwavering.

I was screwed, I just knew it.

“I warned you,” Rowan said as he unfolded to an intimidating height. His voice cut through the silence.

I swallowed nervously, knowing exactly what he was going to say. My shoulders sagged under his bold glare.

“Your fate is sealed,” he announced and I could not look him in the eye for fear it would be true.

He look to the guards who hurried to capture me as I looked on helpless.

Silas intercepted the guards, putting himself between me and the guards.

“Stop.” The guards immediately halted. I took a shaky breath, trying to keep some sort of control.

A gasp swept through the audience.

“You dare oppose me Silas?” Rowan question, his eyes so gold like looked magical but there was nothing magical about the evil that he embodied.

“You cannot take what is mine,” Silas responded, calmly.

The angry vampire glared daggers at him. “She attacked a vampire. The lives of our kind are precious and are to be protected at all costs.”

“She is the mother of my sons,” Silas stated, like that would be enough to save my life.

The deep set frown in Rowan’s features deepened. “She has fulfilled her use but she cannot have anymore children. She is useless now.”

“My sons still require their mother.”

I frowned, feeling a pang of hurt that he couldn’t just say that he was the one who needed me.

“You were engaged. Are our kind not good enough for you Silas?” He had a glint in his eyes. It felt like he was setting Silas up for something. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

Silas shook his head slowly. “This is more than that. This is about the survival of our kind.”

The vampires around us started to murmur.

“And how exactly is keeping this Sire alive if she cannot produce any more offspring?” He folded his arms.

“We have been following the same plan for centuries. Are we any better off than a hundred years ago?” Silas turned to ask the vampires surrounding us. “Something needs to change or we will be following the same strategy and getting the same results. We are treading water and our survival as a species hangs in the balance.”

The voices grew, some angry. I wanted to see their expressions but I dared not move.

“Change is not easy but it is a necessity.”

“And how is sparing her, a sire, going to save our kind?” Rowan sounded disgusted at the thought that a kind they viewed as weak would be save the all powerful vampires.

Silas turned to face Rowan. “She has already give us to two new vampires. My sons.” His voice was matter of fact, no emotion.

“Is this some sort of sentimental crusade you’re on? Are you getting soft Silas?” I felt his eyes on me and I refused to look at him, instead averting my gaze.

“She has done what no other female Sire has ever been able to do.”

Rowan shrugged. “That doesn’t matter now. She is effectively sterile now. She has outlived her use.” This time I looked up to see him look me up and down like I was nothing.

I swallowed the hurt.

They were cruel. Rowan, Thane and Talon. It was who they were.

Power and superiority had bred this terrifying trait. Humans, Sires, even Scavs meant nothing to them. We were only to be used and the discarded.

For a second I remembered the frightened female Scav who had only been a frightened young girl whose only fault had been being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I could so easily have suffered the same fate.

“She has done more for our kind than any other Sire. She deserves our respect, not contempt.”

I was astonished. My mouth fell open as I stared at Silas. His words, they were beautiful and unexpected.

“Respect?” Thane scoffed. “She attacked me twice.”

He looked around the room, almost looking for support.

“Do we live in a world where the life of a Sire is held higher than a Vampire?” He continued.

The audience hushed.

Damn it. I could feel the change move across the room. There was no way they would value me over one of their own. Never.

My hopes crashed to the floor and I felt dazed. Like I had suffered a fatal blow. There was no coming back from this.

Thane, feeling stronger turned to Silas.

“She has to die. If we don’t make an example of her, they will rise up and they will crush us.”

The room was silent, while some of them nodded in agreement.

This time I couldn’t stop the alarmed look I shot to Silas but he was focussed on Rowan.

Was this how our story ended? He couldn’t save me and I would die.

“You cannot touch her,” Silas stated, more vehemently.

“Why not?” Thane asked, aggressively.

“Because she belongs to me and you cannot take what is mine.” He growled.

It was the first time he made a show of who he really was. A powerful vampire.

“You cannot stop us.” Rowan stepped forward. “It’s our decision. It’s the only decision that will keep order and our kind safe. Thane is right. If we show weakness, it will be the end of our kind.”

He looked to the other councilors before his attention moved to me.

I raised my chin, refusing to cower any longer.

No matter how much I feared my fate, I would not allow them to see it.

“Take her,” Rowan commanded his guards who immediately grabbed my arm.

“Don’t touch her,” Silas hissed at the guards as they moved closer.

The guards began to surround us.

The situation deteriorating and I could only see one outcome.

“She is mine and you cannot take her.”

He then turned to face me and then opened my coat.

“What-” Rowan yelled. There wasn’t an audible gasp through the crowd.

“That’s not possible,” Thane whispered in horror.

My eyes shot from one to the other. The guards halted their approach.

I didn’t understand what was going on.

Silas reached to touch the white silk scarf.

“You cannot do that…” Rowan said, shaking his head.

“And that’s where you’re wrong.”

The sound of Jude’s voice brought relief as the vampires parted to allow him closer.

He was a sight for sore eyes.

“According to our laws he can choose whoever he wants. Nowhere does it state that it cannot be a Sire.”

I still did not understand what they were talking about.

Silas took my hand in his.

“You cannot take... my wife.”