Bloodline Secrecy: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Academy Novel (Bloodline Academy Book 2) Lan Chan (pdf e book reader .TXT) 📖

apologise. I’m sure if he yielded, the rest of the Council would look upon him favourably. But he refuses to speak to anyone. I’m not sure if he’s even eaten since he was confined. He’s quite...stubborn that way. I was hoping you might be able to speak to him.”

She was looking at me. They were all looking at me.

“Ah...I don’t think that’s such a great idea.”

“Why not?” Astrid’s expression was bland.

“First of all, what am I supposed to say? Second of all, we’re not really on speaking terms right now.”

“I know,” Astrid said. “That seems to me to be part of the problem.” She pierced me with that sky-blue gaze. I wasn’t sure how I’d missed the sincerity in it before. Maybe because I’d been clouded by jealousy. “Please.”

“It’s only three days,” I pressed. “He’ll live.”

“The confinement is only for three days. Whether he’ll continue to spiral afterwards is the problem. I really don’t wish to go back to the days when he was so angry he couldn’t see straight. It was an awful time.”

“I don’t know,” I said. “This doesn’t seem like a very good idea.” I’d only just gotten it through to him that we couldn’t be around each other. The last thing I needed was for things to get complicated again.

“Nothing ever seems to be when you care about someone,” Astrid said. “It’s always complicated.”

I pointed my fork at her. “For someone who says she doesn’t know how to make friends, you seem to be catching on really quick.”

She smiled. I almost fell in love with her myself. Roland made a squeaking sound. “I know I’m a bit socially awkward,” she said. “I’ve been raised to value absolute truth. This environment where people say one thing and mean something else doesn’t sit well with me. But I have very few friends. And I don’t enjoy seeing them distressed. Whatever the reason for your estrangement, is it worth losing a friend?”

My heart shrivelled. I wanted to tell her that it was. That I would suffer the torment of never speaking to him again if it meant keeping him alive. But the truth would endanger them all, and I couldn’t come up with a good enough reason without seeming like a cold-hearted cow. That’s how I ended up following her through the gilded halls of the Seraphina prison.

12

I didn’t know why they even called it a prison. This place was like a five-star resort. If there was a heaven it was the marbled halls of the Nephilim city. Astrid had teleported us in. I had a feeling it was the only way to get in and out of the place.

Nobody seemed to have any problems with me being there. I guess they figured that if I had gotten in it was because I’d come with someone who trusted me.

“It occurs to me that you’re too trusting,” I said to Astrid.

She walked beside me, her stride shortening to accommodate me. “Yes, I know. Malachi tells me that all the time. I’m learning to be wary of those around me. I’ve lived my whole life in Seraphina. My father is slightly overprotective.”

We passed by a pair of Nephilim in golden armour. The shields and arm guards made me swallow hard. I dug nails into my palms to keep the nightmare at bay. They nodded at Astrid who responded in kind. I plastered myself against the wall to allow them to pass. Cold sweat ran down my back. The sight of the armour had a fist reaching into my chest and squeezing my heart. It looked so pristinely beautiful. Unmarred by blood and death. One day soon that wouldn’t be the case. On that day I might be the one bringing about that death.

“Alessia?”

Astrid was a few steps ahead. She had turned back when she noticed I hadn’t moved. I clenched my fists. “Jacqueline mentioned that you’ve seen the vision,” I said. “The one of me fighting against you all.”

Astrid nodded. “What do you make of it?” I asked.

She contemplated the question. I realised I liked that about her. She didn’t just blurt out any old crap like I did to cover up the fact that she didn’t have an answer. Silence had always been awkward to me, but she was comfortable with it.

“I’m not sure,” she said. “Visions are seldom black and white. There is no such thing as a sure vision. It is always marred by circumstance and perspective.”

“Everyone has seen the same thing, though,” I said.

She tapped her chin. “Yes, that is troublesome. In that case, I don’t think there is any room for interpretation as to the facts of the matter. But the intent might be the key.”

“Why don’t you hate me for it?”

“Why would I? What’s the point in hating someone for something they might do in the future?”

“Perhaps it will change things.”

“If somebody is slated to do something terrible in the future, does it not make sense to be kind to them so they won’t do it rather than condemn them so they will be pushed to do it?”

I smiled. She had a point.

“That’s what Kai keeps telling me anyway.” She paused. Her lips pulled down into a pained expression. “This way.”

We walked down a few flights of stairs. The railing on the left opened out to a courtyard below that was decorated with blossom-covered trees. I was beginning to think she’d exaggerated the circumstances when we turned right and came upon a pair of guards in silver armour. They blocked the large wooden doors.

“I’m here to see Malachi,” Astrid said.

The guard on the left had flowing blond hair halfway down to his back. It would have made him look feminine except that his shoulders were almost as wide as the doors. His face was a tapestry of rigid angles.

“That’s probably not a good idea today,” he said. “He’s in a mood.”

“That won’t be a problem.”

The guard glanced at me. I was most definitely not Nephilim. His expression didn’t change. “He’s not being reasonable right