Blood Trials

“I know you’re there,” Félicité whispered. “I can feel you. Are you God?” There was no reply and Ridley felt herself tearing up. “I want my brother. I-is he okay? Are we going to die?” Ridley could only watch, helplessly, as the little girl cowered in her little cell. The Source could sense the pounding pain in Felix’s jaw and the coarse texture in her throat. “I can feel what they did to me. It feels like my head is going to explode. It hurts! Please make it stop.” She started screaming, bleeding from her orifices.

“I’m here,” Ridley declared. “I won’t let you be alone.”

Félicité’s screaming didn’t stop and Ridley tried to reach for her but it was like they too far apart. The Source’s hand filled with blood from Félicité’s eyes, nose, ears and mouth; even without touching her! The little girl’s bones were cracking and her body was reshaping itself with thick bristles popping out in patches. Ridley felt her legs buckle as doctors burst through the thick door.

“Get her on her side,” one ordered.

“No,” a second declared. “She’s atrophied. She’s useless.”

“No,” Ridley declared breathless. “Help her! She’s just a child!”

“Check on the brother,” the second doctor went on, walking out with the others.

Ridley knelt as close as she could get to Félicité but their distance wasn’t much shorter. Félicité shrivelled against the wall, reeling as her eyes turned gold. The coppery bundles of fox fur peeled off her with her skin. Her jaw dislodged itself and she was reduced to whimpering. Blood spread over the sterile floor and the Source couldn’t do anything about it.

The little girl looked across the floor, right at Ridley. Blood spluttered out of her mouth with tears mixing with the blood in her eyes. “I’m scared,” she said, perfectly against her dislocated jaw. “Please don’t leave, Ms Ridley.”

The Source covered her mouth, biting back her tears. “I’m not going anywhere,” she whispered. “I promise.” Félicité moaned before she got up, unharmed, and walked over to the Source. She hugged Ridley but the Source couldn’t feel it. Ridley was more captivated by the lifeless body she was still looking at.

Félicité looked down at Ridley and gave a weak smile. “Thank you. I’m not scared anymore,” the little girl whispered then walked passed her. Ridley saw Félicité’s lifeless eyes staring back at, along with her dishevelled, mutilated, blood-drenched body.

The Source felt a shock run through her body before she jolted upright to find herself still in the minibus van. Sebastian in the driver’s seat with Ankh’s wolf form next to him. Here, behind them, Ridley was alongside Tomás. “Sister,” he called softly.

“Did that just happen,” Ankh bellowed, although only Ridley heard her. “You see dead people now, too?”

The Bloodline affects us all differently. I, for example, was capable of flight from my transmutation into an owl. Onuris could manipulate the sands of Egypt’s desert lands. Earnest... well, we never learned what he was capable of, since he had little use for such godly gifts. This is another reason for you to be in solitary! You have no idea what you are capable of, until you need it.

Ridley leaned forward, with her head buried between her legs and Tomás’ hand on the back of her neck. Dominique also shifted to face her niece. I am so sorry you had to see that, Ms Axel. The Source sighed then wiped away her tears. That was... Earnest sighed and Ridley sat back up then wiped the last of her tears ... grotesque, to the very least.

“They’re killing the children,” the Source whispered as she dug for her sketchbook. Near the front, was the pencil likeness of Félicité and her twin brother, Évariste. She started scribbling notes alongside Félicité’s side of the page. “They’re guinea pigs.”

“What,” Dominique roared. “Surely, Viggo is not capable of such malice. Did you see correctly, dearest?”

“He’s re-spawning the entire therianthrope lineage. Wolves, hyenas, foxes; all of them.” Ridley looked back at her sketch. “They just left her to die alone. She wasn’t even seven, yet.”

“And the brother,” Tomás inquired. “What of him?” Ridley shook her head weakly. She leaned into Tomás, shifting to rest into him. His nimble fingers combed through her dark hair. “We will stop the Viking, my sister, if it is the last thing we do.”

Dominique rested her hand on Ridley’s crown. “This family will come out on top, dearest. Now, we will have the help of your other family, no?”

Absolutely not, Ninsun roared. I accepted a vampire hunter for a meddling Source, allowed the mongrel pet sidekick as support. But this! It is an infestation!

Ridley sighed then laid her head in Tomás’ lap, clutching her sketchbook to her chest. Their minibus bounced a lot in the train carriage. Whatever time had passed, it was not enough to their journey short. Tomás spent the remainder of the ride, combing through Ridley’s loose hair with Dominique regularly checking in on her. The matriarch of the du Luq family was, perhaps, the most uneasy.

Dominique was the first daughter born to Adrahasis and his wife, Allatu. Of course - back in Mesopotamia - Dominique was known as Ninlil but, nonetheless, she has always had a spirited personality given to melodrama. Those frigid blue eyes were merely a representation of the tough upbringing she had with Aimée and Renee, in feudal France. Her bee-stung lips were all any of the three of them had inherited from Allatu. The dark hair, pale eyes and equally pale skin were from Adrahasis, who had an unknown origin himself.

What Dominique did know about their father was that he had a stern hand, keeping his three daughters on the straight and narrow. That all changed from the Great Plague of Marseille and took him from them, which only brought the sisters closer. Clotilde-Renee and Aimée (alternatively known as Inanna and Sin) turned to Dominique as a motherly figure after that. Ever since, Dominique has done everything she can to hold her family together. Seeing them weak, low on morale or anything of the sort; it was crushing.

When their train screeched to a halt in Dunon Station, Dominique looked over her seat - at Ridley, sound asleep in Tomás’ lap - and nodded to herself. Sebastian reversed their minibus out of the carriage and into the Dunon streets, that were lively from the Tuesday afternoon busy. Ankh was breathing in her old home and its familiar scents, like the perfumery not far from the McDonald’s.

The minibus drove up the length of Main Street. All along the streets, little groups of people walking, talking, or just standing, perhaps waiting - for someone - or for a taxi. The pedestrian traffic was thick and heavy. Over there, near the grocery store, there is almost a congestion, the crowd is thickest here. There’s Barnyard; a hotspot for Dunon Academy students - both moon and sun students. There are several restaurants located in that area too, as are a number of street vendors.

There is nothing setting the minibus apart. Nothing proclaiming it as special, peculiar, or marked. It is just one vehicle among several driving up or down this particular stretch of Main Street, at this time, on this day. Joined to Main Street was la Fortifiée Boulevard. The road inclined along the hill that led to Dunon Academy. Like the name la Fortifiée suggested, the school was a fort. ‘Dunon’ in English translated to ‘fortified hill’.

Before Dunon Academy was a school, it was a base for The Hunt. Throughout history Dunon Town was a military location that withstood sieges, famine, battles and the lethal sibling rivalry between Ryan and Ridley. Ankh stuck her head out the window, feeling the Dunon summer pass through her grey fur. It was at this point where Tomás found it in him to wake up Ridley. The Source moaned before smelling the familiar aroma of the blood and chocolate chip biscuit flavour from Cookie Factory. A Dunon Town trademark.

The school was quite still, with sun students still in the midst of finals and moon students asleep. Ankh turned to Ridley, who was already going pale with dread. Sebastian followed the cobblestone road right through the school - to its very rear - which was where the headmaster’s residence was. Sebastian looked over his shoulder, to the ampyra family. “I sense something’s amiss here.”

Everyone turned to Ridley, even Ankh. The Source sighed then grabbed her suitcase and duffle bag. “There’s no turning back now. May as well strike the iron while it’s hot.” Sebastian gave a curt nod and followed the rest of the family out of the van. Ankh trotted after Sebastian, only to pause next to Ridley taking in the reconditioned lookout fortress that was her home. “It’s hard to believe it’s only been a few months,” she said. “It feels like years.”

“Samesies,” Ankh answered. “I’m going to take a toilet break but you go inside.”

The wolf walked into the line of trees, away from the house while Ridley dared herself to venture into her old abode. As grand as the fortress was - even today - it felt smaller. It was a meek shed compared to Chateau du Luq! Ridley set her bags aside, in the foyer, before walking the hollow house. To think, when they first moved in, she and Ryan would slide down the mahogany banisters, climb the drapes and play hide-and-seek with knives with Dane in the old tower that was taken down after it collapsed with them in it.

The well-known creak on the ornate staircase echoed through the first floor and Ridley couldn’t deny it; she missed the place. The cobwebs in the corns above the staircase that were too high up to reach. The dusty, draping light fixture on the stairs. The red carpet that ran the length of the corridor of the second floor. The old floral wallpaper and dark vanished wooden walls. The smell of the fort’s dust - a combination of dusty yet lavender-y - followed her passed the doors that led to a secondary parlour, bathrooms, empty bedrooms, and Ryan’s room.

Ridley let herself to find it completely revamped. Gone were Ryan’s posters and desk and little nuance trinkets. Even her bed was gone! Instead, the bed was replaced by a cot. The walls were light blue. Before Ryan’s demise, Esmeralda had announced she was pregnant. The glimmer of good news was rudely overwhelmed by everything that happened around that time. Even when Ridley spoke to her parents about leaving, Esmeralda’s swelled womb was just nothing of note.

Here he was, a little boy, wide awake in his cot and completely intrigued by his overhead mobile. Ridley could feel he wasn’t an ampyra, like Esmeralda. It made sense, biologically, Esmeralda was a redblood and Clarke wasn’t ampyra at all. Ridley gave him a weak smile and he cooed at her. He had Esmeralda’s everything; there wasn’t a hint of Clarke in him. The Source gathered her half-brother in her arms and he only blinked at her.

He grabbed at her finger and continued gurgling and staring at her. Ridley hummed at him and he grabbed at her hair. In the deafening silence of the house, Ridley heard footsteps approaching. Instinctively she aimed her gun at the door. A woman - greying and wrinkled - stood there with her own side arm pointed at Ridley. “Mariska,” Ridley greeted.

“Riddles,” the Romanian woman answered. “Look how grown you are,” she went on, not giving any sign that she was going to lower her gun. “You’ve turned into such a beautiful woman, despite circumstances.”

“You got old.”

“It has been seven years,” Mariska answered. The nursery was briefly silent with the two women still aiming arms at each other. Mariska was Esmeralda’s mother; a blackblood ampyra who also mentored parttime. “I see you’ve met little Rowan.” Ridley looked down to the baby in her arms, still just staring at her. “Splitting image of his father, hey?”

“I don’t see it,” Ridley admitted. “Wavy brown hair, wide eyes, button nose; dead ringer for Esmeralda.”

“I thought you left.” Ridley looked back to Mariska, with neither one lowering their guns. “You gave them more grey hair than they already had.”

Ridley narrowed her eyes, sensing something not quite right with the house. Then she heard it; Dominique’s dread-inducing, sirenic scream. The two hunters bolted downstairs, with Rowan still in Ridley’s arm. They were storming downstairs, with no stealth at all, following the harrow into the parlor. Ridley had her gun aimed at Esmeralda and Mariska had her gun aimed at Dominique.

Esmeralda too had a gun at Dominique but hers was a pistol. “You’re supposed to be dead,” Esmeralda declared.

“No,” Ridley bellowed. Esmeralda looked to Ridley, startled and distracted. Dominique whimpered then ducked behind her niece. “She’s with me,” the huntress stated more collected. Rowan, in her arm, started moaning before letting out feeble cries. Mariska sighed then sheathed her gun before taking her grandson. “This’s Dominique,” Ridley went on. “My aunt,” she clarified, only making Esmeralda’s face contort in disgust. “Dominique, this is Mariska, and my mother Esmeralda.”

“‘Mother’,” Dominique echoed.

“R-Ridley,” was all Esmeralda could get out. The Source also snuck her Beretta 9mm back into the garter over her jeans. She crossed into the parlor, going to hug her mother. “Ohmygod!” Esmeralda cried into the side of Ridley’s head, squeezing her tightly against her chest. “You’re back,” she sighed. Esmeralda sniffled and Ridley only patted Esmeralda’s back. “... a-and you’re hugging?”

“Just take it,” the Source replied.

Esmeralda smothered Ridley’s temple in kisses and the hunter finally broke away in discomfort. “Y-your aunt? Wha-what?”

“It’s a long story,” was all Ridley’s reply was. “We just need somewhere to stay awhile. We’ll be gone as soon as we’re done here.”

“What!”

“This’s temporary,” Ridley conformed. She was already backing away and returning to the doorway. “There’s nothing here for me.” Mariska looked to her equally dumbfounded. “Where’s Badr? I need to speak with him.”

Esmeralda shook her head, not computing what she heard. Ridley sighed then turned on her heel and was already leaving the house, with Dominique in pursuit. The curvy du Luq looked over her shoulder at the two women in the parlour watching them leave. She sized up Esmeralda then scoffed before turning with Ridley to leave through the huge front door that had no reason to be as grand as it was.

“‘Mother’, you say? That abomination of a vampire has no blood ties to you. Redbloods are a monstrosity to our fine lineage.”

“Esmeralda was the one who didn’t try to kill me on several occasions.” Dominique halted then scoffed folding her arms.

Ridley turned back to the trees to see Ankh waiting. “You could’ve been a little kinder to Esmeralda,” the wolf stated.

“Let’s just find Badr. He’s probably on patrol.”

“Take care, dearest,” Dominique bid. Sebastian and Tomás were still by the van, unloading her belongings. “By the gods, there is no way on earth I will allow our rough diamond dearest to call that mongrel blood her mother. Ridley is a flower of rugged beauty and robust majesty. That thing is a redblood.”

“’Tis her family, we must abide,” Sebastian countered.

“Ha! My dear boy, they’ve replaced her with a new babe! Let us do what we came to do and take our battle angel home afterwards, no?” Dominique looked back at Ridley and Ankh heading towards the school. “We, and we alone, are her true family.”

Ankh’s panting alongside Ridley’s black high tops on the cobblestone filled the air as they made through the school. There were whispers and gasps among the sun students upon seeing the prodigal huntress return, as if no time had passed. “I forgot how much I did not miss this,” the Source whispered.

Youth. Such a garish and primitive phase in these times, Earnest stated. Ankh hummed her agreement amidst the stares and whispers. Ridley kept her eyes ahead and her face cool with Ankh at her side. Dunon Academy had just let out for the day, following the conclusion of the day’s exam. Ridley side eyed the familiar faces she passed, some completely awed by her brazen strut through the corridors.

The monochrome uniform still as ugly as she remembered it to be; a white shirt underneath a black blazer and tie. Then, a black skirt for the girls or black trousers for the boys. Paired with black school-issued socks and a pair of freestyled black shoes within the perimeters of sneakers, trainers or ‘general lace-up shoes, not exceeding the height above the ankle’ according to the school’s rule book.

A few teachers also made appearances in the corridors. Mr Goodrich, the sun students’ art teacher, was perhaps the most surprising to see; he gave her warm grin and welcoming nod. Ankh was sniffing their route ahead, leading Ridley towards Sayeed’s scent. There was a floored quiet in the corridors where Ridley and Ankh were going and, usually, Ridley would revel in this but this was not the same time or the same Ridley.

Her return certainly tore open old wounds, though. Moonbeam and Carson saw the hunter walking away from them and followed her. Carson - the more livid of the two - grabbed Ridley by the shoulder. “Hey, Ghost of Murderer’s Past,” she called, spinning the hunter around. Ridley was met with the Taiwanese girl’s fist. “You’ve got some nerve!” Ridley stammered into the line of lockers behind her.

Ridley sighed then straightened up. “You should’ve stayed where you were,” Moonbeam vexed.

Ah, Ninsun commented, I see you are quite popular here too. Ankh sighed then stepped aside, sitting at the end of the lockers. I would love to see how this pans out! Ridley looked to the two seething seniors. Carson jabbed Ridley again and the huntress slammed back into the lockers. Oh, this is fun! Do let them continue! I could watch all day. Ridley shook her head at both the past Source as well as Ryan’s friends.

Carson gave a battle cry as she came ramming at Ridley again with another fist. Ridley arched an eyebrow before grabbing Carson’s fist. A mere flick of her hand and she dislocated Carson’s wrist, making Ankh cringe and look away. Ridley jabbed at Carson’s nose then bent it aside. Blood gushed from the orifice and Ridley felt its aroma fill her nostrils. She tossed Carson aside then turned on Moonbeam. Moonbeam slapped Ridley. Ridley punched her in the stomach.

“Let me make something clear,” Ridley began in annoyance yet held her composure. She looked over both of them, knowing she take them apart without breaking a sweat. “Ryan went rogue. I did what any other hunter would do. Sister or not, she made her choice.” The Source looked back at Carson and stuck her fingers up Carson’s bleeding nose. She cracked her nose, making the grade twelve scream. “There. Now it will heal properly.”

An echoing applause came from behind her and she found Ankh on her hindlegs, nestling into Sayeed’s chest. “Brawling with the non-hunting populace. That’s double detention.”

“I’m not a student here, anymore,” Ridley rebuttalled.

“Then two weeks’ suspension,” Sayeed persisted. Ankh licked his cheek persistently. “It’s good to see you, Axel.” There was a relief on his face as Ankh leaped down. Ridley glanced over her shoulder at Carson and Moonbeam, discarding them both. She shook hands with Sayeed. “I’m glad you’re back. Clarke’s been a shit storm since you left.”

“Thanks for agreeing to help us. Ankh told me that this... secret... runs in your father’s family. It goes back generations.” Sayeed furrowed his eyebrows at her then looked to Ankh. “She told me everything. Green eyes and all.”

“You did what! Ankh!”

“She had to,” Ridley voiced. “I’ll explain everything but, first, I need to find Dane and Marcus Sinclair.”

“Wow, first name basis with Sorensen?”

“We don’t have time for this, Badr, we’re on a schedule.”

“Glad to see much hasn’t changed about you.”

“Bite me.”

“Sorensen’s in the banquet hall, late night snack,” Sayeed stated, pointing to the late afternoon. “Do you need an escort or do you remember the way?” Ridley passed him while he chuckled, looking back at Moonbeam and Carson. “You two must be incredibly brave or incredibly stupid to try and take on a hunter.” Ankh scoffed as she followed after Sayeed and Ridley. “So, where were you guys?”

“I found my brother,” Ridley replied. “As it turns out, I had two.”

“And how many of them did you kill?”

“Just one. Their father valued Timothee more but he was human. He kept him alive by pumping gold blood into him for almost four hundred and fifty years. Tomás got their father back, though. Shot him clean in the neck. It was so satisfying."

"I was kidding."

"I'm aware," Ridley admitted.

She looked to the Egyptian hunter as he pulled open the doors to the school's dining hall. She walked through the sitting area, seeing a few more sun students - and even a few moon students - studying. Students from both sides were equally bewildered to see Ridley back on site. She didn't look their way but Ankh did, taking in the familiar smell of Dunon Academy's dining hall.

The Source turned into the blood cells; a line of cubicles for stemming. Ridley could feel every ampyra there, drinking blood and she could smell the entire spectrum of blood types in the cells. In the aroma of bloods, Ridley could sense Sayeed picking up the mouth-watering air too. It was distracting to goldbloods but a blackblood like him, it shouldn't have been as pronounced to him as Ridley could detect it was.

Ankh looked at her, shaking her head, when Sayeed drew back a curtain. There, on the other side - of the minty green curtain - was Dane Sorensen. Ridley's lips parted because he wasn't alone. Through their psionic link, Ridley heard Ankh gasp. Firmly kissing Dane was another hunter. A huntress. She had a ring tattoo with a sai dagger in it, on her upper left arm. An Assassin gradus. It matched the Lone gradus Ridley also had on her own upper left arm; they both came from the Soloist series.

Ridley felt an unmatched clenching in her chest from the one emotion she never thought possible she would ever experience: jealousy. To add insult to injury, Sayeed called to them, "hey, lovebirds. You'll never guess what the wolf dragged in."

Dane broke away from his companion to see Ridley fold her arms, trying to contain herself. "Ridley?" He stood up, roughly wiping his mouth. "Y-you're..."

The Source's eyes shifted to the huntress with the Danish hunter, arching an eyebrow at her. "Riddles," the girl purred. "Decades it seems and yet here we are again." Ridley deepened the arch in her eyebrow with Ankh and Dane looking between the two of them. "It's me. Chasseur?"

"Marie," Ridley purred back. "And I thought seeing Mariska was a throwback."

Dane's fair face drained of colour as he looked between them. "You two know each other?"

They both ignored him. "I never thought I'd be happy to see you." The girls shook hands and Marie turned Ridley's wrist over. The Marksmanship archery on her wrist. "Haven't we been busy."

"Clearly," Ridley voiced, gesturing to the Assassin tattoo.

Ridley glanced at Dane then looked back at Marie Chasseur, lowering her eyebrow. "R-Ridley," Dane began. "We were just..." The huntress' dark eyes looked over to an oncoming wheelchair that had a grey woman with Markus at her side while a nurse pushing the wheelchair. "M-Marie and I are..."

Ridley looked to Sayeed, failing at hiding her jealousy. "Ankh will debrief you on everything," she cut in. "Sinclair," she called.

God in heaven, Earnest cried. I wasn't expecting to see him so soon. Ridley brushed passed Dane and Marie, exhaling shakily. Her jealousy was going nowhere but not looking at her childhood rival next to Dane was a small comfort. I cannot thank you enough for doing this Ms Axel. He... he's changed so much.

"I love green apples, but I have never seen one as green as the envy on your face," Ankh teased. "Who is this chick?"

"Marie Chasseur," Ridley whispered while making her way to Markus. "Depending on your perspective, she's the Ridley Axel of France or I'm the Marie Chasseur of Monterio. Skilled archer, exceptional in combat, we're one of few who were certified in underwater combat before making hunt."

"Did you just flatter yourself?"

Ridley ignored Ankh but smirked in reply as she reached the wheelchair. "Sinclair, we need to talk."

The dazed old lady in the wheelchair hummed as she gave them a small smile. "Go with the lovely lady, Markie, you've been lonely too long."

Markus was still stunned from Ridley's presence but nodded at the woman. "Take care, Delphine," he concluded and the nurse wheeled her off. "Ms Axel, you've returned. I-I... welcome back."

"We need to talk," she deflected. "It's urgent."

Markus only nodded before leading her into an empty cubicle. "It must be incredible if I am the one you wish to-"

"I have something for you." Ridley unearthed the letter from her back pocket. She handed him the letter. "It's from Earnest. He didn't die that night in the fire." Markus looked from the letter to her. "He thought you did and that's why he left for France."

"F-France? He's alive? Where? Is he with you?"

"Let me finish," Ridley persisted. She swallowed hard. "He was in France the entire time, believing you were dead. When I got there..." Ridley looked aside to collect herself. "All he wanted was to find you. I-I told him everything I knew about you. He asked me to give this to you."

Markus looked back at the letter with a nod as he replied, "This is his hand." He looked back to Ridley. "Where is he? I must find him!"

The Source hesitated her reply. No! Please you must not say, Ms Axel. Ridley furrowed her eyebrows at Earnest's protest. I would love nothing more than for him to know I am not truly gone but this line of work is a solitary one. He, nor anyone else, may know this truth. It is a great honour and also a great tragedy to be the Source.

"He's your family," Ridley whispered, earning confusion from Markus.

It is our duty to remain objective, Ninsun voiced. The First, he's rules were succinct and we all abide by them. Not a soul may know what the Source is, nor who is tasked with protecting it. The Bloodline must be protected from all! Including the family of the one the Bloodline is inside.

I do not wish my brother to be alone, Ms Axel, but... 'tis what must be done.

Ridley hugged herself, uncomfortably. "I'm sorry, he's gone."

Markus looked down at the letter with his gold tears filling his eyes. "No," the English nobleman whispered. He leaned into the wall, pressing the letter to his chest. "H-how?"

Ridley hummed her discomfort, reliving the night she slowly drank Earnest dry, putting him through the excruciating pain of a bite to the neck. She closed her eyes and sucked in a heavy breath of air. "He was a crossfire. It was a clean shot; right through his head. The death was instant," she added, feeling Onuris, Earnest and Ninsun nodding in her head. "I'm sorry to tear open this wound, Sinclair. He was a good friend."

Thank you, Ms Axel.

"Thank you, Ms Axel."

Ridley nodded looking over her shoulder at Dane and Marie sharing a stem victim. A middle-aged woman wearing a shocking pink lipstick that stuck up way more than necessary. Sayeed and Ankh weren't far away from them but Sayeed was with his own stem. The three ampyras were clearly well acquainted. The envy bubbled inside Ridley at the sight of Dane with Marie. Even with their teeth buried into the woman's arms, they were smiling at each other.

"Ah, I see you've met Ms Chasseur," Markus began though his voice had cracked from fighting back the tears. Ridley arched her chin at them, simmering with a growing anger. "She has quite the temper. She lacks..." Markus looked over Marie then shook his head "... well, everything you encompass." The Source look back to him. "I've been around long enough to see the speckles of the green-eyed monster's disease, Ms Axel. Mr Sorensen has a good head on his shoulders; he will grow tired of her."

"I don't need my ego inflated."

"I am his roommate, am I not? I know him well." Ridley looked back at them. "I've also lived long enough to say with confidence, you should admit what you feel for him."

"My aunt believes you're not wise until you're dead."

"I was married, twice. I know of what I speak, Ms Axel."

Ridley sighed then looked to Sayeed combing Ankh's gruff and the wolfen nodded mutely at the Source. Ridley looked back to Dane and Marie, devouring that milf who was slowly losing consciousness in her seat. Ridley pursed her lips as she glowered her annoyance. "Of all the places in the world, it had to be Dunon."