The Sanction

Chapter One

Northumbria, Autumn - 1071

Amarinda Cronus shifted impatiently as her father waited to pay his respects to the Elder. The night air was chilled and she did not enjoy having to brave the cold for the sake of telling the old man good bye. Dozens of the Coven families were gathered on the green, their voices blending into a drone hum as they said their farewells. Behind them, against the backdrop of the undulating hills and a fierce full moon, the Cronus Coven stood. Built three hundred years before her birth, the Elder had told her of the battles won and lost within those walls, and of the heartache the very stone had witness as testament to their struggle for survival.

Amarinda considered the many Hunters that mingled with distant relations. For them, tonight marked the third annual meeting held at the manse to discuss the various threats and strategies they would employ to ensure their safety. Everyone had heard of the attack upon Boris Vyacheslav and his family one month prior to this meeting. One of his sons, a young Hunter who had been initiated only seven moons ago, had been careless, and had taken for himself an even younger girl as his lover. The Covens enforced strict rules against fraternizing with humans, especially since the girl in question had not yet seen her seventeenth birthday. The young Vyacheslav believed himself in love she had heard it said, and was foolish enough to entrust himself to her. In doing so, he had betrayed not only his Coven, but his kind. It was quite by accident their liaisons were discovered, that too by a Hunter. Vyacheslav earned himself the whip – thirty lashes as ordered by the Council. And the girl?

Amarinda shuddered at the thought, for it was rumored that the family of three was dealt with swiftly and quietly as not to arouse further suspicion. As it stood now, there was vast concern amongst the Covens, for the Hunters no longer looked for the rare vampire female as a potential mate, but to the over-abundant supply of humans. Amarinda would have scoffed at the idea the way the Elder was wont to if her very own mother did not walk into the Coven a human herself. Amalea Cronus was the only known female to survive the ritual that transformed her into a vampire. It was unheard of, the union of a vampire and a human. Such a thing could not be accomplished. But her mother and father had proved the naysayers wrong. To add insult to injury, Amarinda was born – the first female offspring of the Cronus Coven. There was much joy, for a female born child was a very rare thing among the vampire race. Amarinda was proud to be the only granddaughter of the Elder. She was doted upon and spoilt, and became a sore in his side only when the unmated Hunters sought his permission to branch out on their own and seek mates the way her father did.

She considered her parents beside her as they whispered words and thought that, amongst all the Hunters present on this night, it was unfortunate she had yet to find a mate. Or maybe, just maybe her fate was entwined with a human as well.

She frowned at the idea and tore her eyes away from her parents to individually scrutinize the Hunters close by. Her mother's voice interrupted her musings.

"The Elder should be here any minute now. Why don't you head back to the carriage and rest? Your father and I will be with you shortly."

She turned and hurried off, her arms hugged about her body against the frost of the night. Their family crest was easily distinguished amongst the rest of the carriages. She made quick work of the distance between the gathering and the parked carriages. With each hasty step, she felt the loose stones penetrate in the soft soles of the slippers she had taken to wearing. During the ball, the pinch of her heeled shoes had been too much.

Wincing, she continued relentlessly toward the dark carriage. As soon as she jerked the door open, she sensed a presence in the shadows. A tiny gasp was torn from her throat before she recognized the bemused smile on her brothers' face.