CHAPTER THREE #2
“And it’s permanent. I’ll always be as safe as I could possibly be in Savannah.”
“Yes… So, even if you leave one day, you can come back, and the protection will still be yours to claim.”
“Thank you…” That felt important. Special.
Alexius only nodded, not saying anything in return.
After a minute, I spoke up again.
“Names?”
“Ah, yes. Names. The oldest matriarch of the coven is Nancy Palmer. She’s the most powerful right now, though at her age, using her full power isn’t…
safe for her. She’s ninety-three. The Palmer family is a core family.
So are the Campbell family and the Walker family.
Those three founded the coven, and each has their own matriarch.
Those matriarchs make a council. Each generation, if there are three girls close enough in age, one from each family, that’s the next ruling group.
Currently, there are three of those groups.
The elderly matriarchs. The experienced mothers.
The up-and-coming younger women, around your age.
It’s good that there are three right now. ”
“Why three?”
“There’s something about powerful things coming in threes,” Alexius said, his shrug nonchalant. “Now, onto the other women you need to know.”
From there, I was absorbed in names, some of them sounding like they came out of some Antebellum-era film, screaming that there was old money and a problematic history to contend with when we got there.
Aside from that vibe, I promised myself I wouldn’t judge.
After so long—a year and four or five months—I was being fully pulled into the weird world of Savannah.
I knew more people on the Tribunal than other supernaturals in the city I lived in.
I knew that was unusual at best. Most supernaturals worked on a local basis, and the idea of knowing a Tribunal member was like being friends with the King of England.
“We’re here,” he murmured, slowing down to park in front of an old home, dripping with history and pointing to wealth.
It was beautiful. I thought so much of Savannah was beautiful, especially the architecture.
It was lit up at night, the warm glow from the windows seeming inviting.
As I got out and took it in, I saw the shadows of people moving inside.
The wind blew gently, whipping my hair, and I felt Alexius reach out and tuck it back.
I didn’t react, fighting not to embarrass myself before I had to meet new people.
“They have a nice home,” he said, knowing what I was staring at. “This is the main house, where they congregate and protect themselves if anything happens. I’m the only supernatural who can come to it without the spells stopping me, so long as my intent is good.”
As we approached, the front door opened, and an incredibly old woman walked out. She still wore heels. Her posture was perfect. But there was no mistaking that she was definitely at least in her seventies.
“Alexius. I hope the drive was clear.”
“Not a single bit of traffic. How are you this evening, Nancy?”
Wait. What? She’s the ninety-three-year-old? She looks twenty years younger.
“Good. It’s a good evening for a gathering.” She stayed in the doorway as Alexius took another step closer.
“Are you going to let us begin this meeting?” he asked, and I knew when he was cautious. It wasn’t often. It wasn’t something for me to ignore.
“I want to see her. Girl.” Nancy looked at me, the air around her expecting my obedience. “Come here.”
“You won’t talk to my vampire like that,” Alexius warned softly. “I don’t speak to your witches that way.”
“She’s not your vampire, though, is she?” Nancy tilted her head to the side. “She’s an Orphan. Did you think we wouldn’t hear the rumors? She’s no one’s.” Nancy smiled as Alexius glowered, shifting to block me a little from her view.
“Alexius, I can—”
“Unless you have some other claim on her outside of employer. I wouldn’t order your lover around, for example.”
It was hard to make a vampire blush. Thankfully.
“Nancy—” Alexius didn’t sound flustered like I felt.
“Alexius, I have known you since I was fourteen. In the near eighty years we’ve known each other, you have never allowed a vampire to walk the streets of this city outside of the two we couldn’t do anything about.
Isaiah rarely leaves your home, and he outranks us and our deal, so he has brought others that not even you can stop, but so rarely and always ones he has full control over.
Jacob was your son and present when my coven and you created this alliance.
But suddenly, you have this tiny thing, and you are very clearly letting her walk free, only watching her from afar.
I think I deserve the chance to inspect the girl you give such liberties to that not even the Tribunal vampires are allowed on most days.
It’s not because I’m a cranky old witch.
It’s because I’m a nosy old woman.” Nancy’s smile was endearing now, and I thought of a grandmother.
“And I want to know about her before I let them know about her. That’s the privilege of being a nosy old woman in power. ”
I felt Alexius relax, but I was already taken. She was having a laugh at our expense, but I was oddly not bothered by it. It was that grandmother energy and how she felt comfortable teasing Alexius.
I moved around Alexius and went up the stairs to her porch, stopping a few feet away. I also made sure to keep my speed very human.
I held out my hand, smiling.
“Everly Abbott. It’s nice to meet you, ma’am.”
“Well met, Everly. Nancy Palmer.”
Her grip was still firm, even in her nineties.
“Everly Abbott… it feels odd to say, but it feels like the right name for a vampire,” she said, patting the back of my hand, not releasing it. “Maybe it’s your family name. There’s something fun, the dichotomy of a religious name and being a creature of the night.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever considered that.”
“Come, tell me your story. How you went from human to vampire and now trapped living with him as an immortal. The one thing I’m grateful about aging and dying. I’ll no longer have to think about how a gorgeous man stalks around our city and never came through my window at night.”
That got me. My heart was thumping, and the heat was spreading up my face. Alexius groaned loudly behind me.
“Ah, so I see you have similar thoughts,” Nancy said, the sparkle in her eye mischievous. “We’ll discuss that, too.”
Oh my God.
I couldn’t even look back at Alexius for help.