Black Blood

Novak’s father wants to see me, exactly when that article is circulating. I can only get scared and hope he won’t extradite me. Nobody seems to have recognised me so far, hopefully it stays that way. I look at Novak nervously and hope to get something reassuring from him, but in vain. Novak’s expression is emotionless and says nothing about how he feels about this announcement.

Then my eye catches the sweatpants I’m wearing. I’m not used to wearing trousers, looking informal and not getting ready. Somehow it feels nice to have my legs completely covered by the trousers, on the other hand uncomfortable.

‘I have to change first,’ I say nervously. I fiddle with my nails, my eyes focused on the ground.

‘Oh no that doesn’t matter to our Jonas.’ I am surprised at Timon’s informal and disrespectful language about the mayor. I wouldn’t dream of speaking like that about or to my father, it would cost me my head.

‘Come.’ Slowly I lift my head as Novak gently touches my hand. I meet his blue eyes. They look worried and far away slightly amused. I don’t know now if he wants me to touch his hand or if it was just a gesture to get me out of my thoughts. As soon as his fingers leave my hand and gently place it on my lower back, it tells me enough.

The slight pressure on my lower back brings me to a running pace. Compared to the speed of the two vampires next to me, it’s at a snail’s pace, something that encourages me to run faster than my ankle would like. My stride is anything but smooth, tending towards a half stumble. With every step, I am reminded of how weak my body is and it irritates me, makes me walk even faster.

‘Calm down.’ Novak grabs my wrist and forces me to walk more slowly. I feel my heart pounding in my throat and I can’t pinpoint where that is suddenly coming from. Novak suddenly stands in front of me again and holds me still. I look at him both nervously and curiously.

‘Why are you so nervous?’ Novak asks in a quiet tone. To be honest, I have no idea what I am so afraid of, the chance of being extradited to my father. If the Mayor wanted to extradite me, I would rather poison myself than be imprisoned in that castle. Novak puts his fingers under my chin, lifts my head and forces me to look into his eyes.

‘Tell me,’ he says. A shiver runs down my spine at hearing the compelling tone, reminds me of Christiaan. Despite the harshness of the tone, you can hear that there is a different train of thought behind it than Christiaan had, less aggressive.

‘I am...I am afraid that...your father...will...hand...me over.’ It comes out so haphazardly that Novak seems to be having trouble understanding it. He looks at me inquiringly for a moment and then nods.

‘My father will never hand anyone over to the castle. After my mother’s disappearance, he despises everything the royal family owns. He will not help them in any way, rather frustrate them.’ I can’t say that these words reassure me, in fact they scare me more. I don’t know what’s worse at this point, extradition to my father or a vengeful vampire driver. Either way, both are not situations I ever hoped to be in. Novak unexpectedly grabs my hand. I look up from the ground and meet his blue eyes.

‘It will be alright.’ The last time someone said that to me was my mother when I found out I was a night rider. I sigh deeply. Novak gently slides his thumb over the back of my hand and subconsciously it calms me down. This boy has an effect on my body that I don’t want.

After a few seconds, Novak lets go of my hand and smiles encouragingly. Slowly we start walking towards the huge building. For a moment the option of running away flashes through my mind, but then I realise that in a camp full of vampires I don’t stand a chance. My magic has been weakened with all those months of pushing away, I noticed when fleeing from the castle. My body is weakened, running doesn’t get me far. I am at the mercy of the mayor’s judgement.

Novak opens the large door of the main building and lets me walk in before him. The hustle and bustle has increased since we left, dozens of vampires are walking around doing their work. Here and there I feel the vampires’ eyes landing on me, holding me for a moment and then leaving again. Whether they are looking at me because I am unknown or because they have read the article, I don’t know, I hope they are.

Novak leads me to a new door. Before I can stop him, he knocks on the wood. He puts his hand on my lower back for a moment and gives me an encouraging smile.

‘Inside,’ says a heavy voice from behind the door. Novak puts his hand on the doorknob and turns it. The door slowly falls open, a large office full of wood and animal skins comes into my view.

My eye catches the desk on the other side of the room. In front of a large window is a wooden desk with a chair on which a middle-aged man is sitting. His brown hair has grey tufts, he has a small beard and is dressed in a neat shirt. His eyes are focused on the papers below him, glasses on the tip of his nose. The man is not necessarily heavily muscled, but trained, a bit like Novak and Myles.

Slowly, the man raises his head, examining who is standing in the doorway. His eyes are soft and friendly at first, until they change. His eyes widen, become distant and have a hint of aggression in them. He removes his glasses from his nose and stands up in one swift movement.

‘You.’ He hisses the word with such pure aggression that it sends a shiver down my spine. I want to turn around, run away and never come back. I hear behind me that Novak wants to say something, but his father is ahead of him.

‘I didn’t expect your family to ever have the guts to set foot in my house again. What have you come to do this time? To persecute me? Pick up my sons?’ The tone is hostile, very hostile. I have the feeling that the man is going to jump down my throat at any moment. I can tell from his choice of words that he doesn’t recognise me as a night rider but as a crown princess, which is apparently not a good development.