[𝟷] 𝘾𝙍𝙊𝙒𝙉 𝙊𝙁 𝙏𝙃𝙊𝙍𝙉𝙎, 𝘕.𝘔. [EDITING]

𝕍𝕀𝕀𝕀

8 | the king of new orleans

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀SOFT MURMURS ESCAPED THE MOUTH OF A BLONDE AS SHE FLIPPED THROUGH A SPELL BOOK. A WOMAN WATCHED HER ━ her face cold and uncaring. Impatience was shown in the way she rapped her fingertips against the table in a steady tempo.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"I've tried sending her messages, but I've gotten no responses," the girl, Visily, finally spoke. Her voice was steady ━ without emotion. "What do you think we need to do?" She looked up, her eyes landing on her Regent.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"The vampires are hosting a party tonight. Go there, get a message to my daughter. We need that hybrid dog on a tight leash, lest it bites the feeding hand." Valeriya Romanov had a commanding voice like no other. Her back was straight, her eyes icy. She demanded respect.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Visily raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "You don't think it's dangerous." It was more a question than a statement.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Of course it isn't, he would never think of hurting her." Valeriya stood from where she had been sitting on a plush armchair. "Either she does this for me, or she can say goodbye to any sense of family that she has left. Make that clear to her, will you?"

♔

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Wren allowed her eyes to look over the crowd below as she followed Klaus up onto a balcony. A man waited there, his caramel skin glowing in the flashing lights. The vibrato from the speakers pounded within her chest.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀She felt powerful ━ electrified. Like she could do anything.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Wren turned her eyes back to the group below and watched them intently. She could see sweat sheening on the skin of the humans as they danced erratically ━ some on beat with the music, and others the complete opposite.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀The dance floor looked like chaos, but she found herself drawn toward it. Vitality pulsed from it, entrancing her and making her want to leap from the balcony and join the crowd.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀She had fallen a bit behind Klaus as she was watching the dancers, so when a hand pressed a note against her palm she flinched violently away from it. The touch sent a rush of power through her veins ━ power she had unintentionally stolen.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Twisting violently around, she looked for the flash of blonde that had delivered the message ━ only to see no one around her.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀The messenger was gone.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Furrowing her eyebrows, she unraveled the note and read it quickly.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Make him want you," it read, " ━ V."

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀They wanted her to seduce the Hybrid. To what end? She cursed quietly under her breath, before crumpling the note in her palm. Fuck them, she thought. They traded me away to the French Quarter Coven like I was nothing.