The Rules of Blood-Volume Two ; Chapter 81 (297) - First Round of Negotiations

The Rules of Blood-Volume Two ; Chapter 81 (297) - First Round of Negotiations

The stories the three shared carried them well into the night.
By the afternoon, Lendros and Tahreni had joined, though they barely understood a word. They simply sat and listened, watching as the conversations flowed.
When dinner came, with everything they needed to cook already at hand, Blanc took it upon himself to prepare a meal for everyone, a meal they all enjoyed as the talk continued.
Afterward, Tahreni and Lendros retired to their rooms, leaving Blanc, Sera, and Velakia alone.
The three kept speaking until there was nothing left to say.
Blanc spoke the most, recounting everything he had endured, the attack on the vanguard, the Iron Line, the escape into the Golden Forest with Kael, Lune, and Celine, the weeks in the cave, the destruction of Duldera, Drew and his family’s death, the Moroi attack, the old alchemist woman, Miyanna, Blood Certa’s Domain, the Metamorphs, the Jaguar Path, the jaguar attack when Kael almost died, the turtles, the bridge, the Moose Path, the Metamorphs again, Allegra, the Forest Mother, Blood Aron, his concerns for Blood Aron's remaining members, and all that had happened in Blood Maroux’s Domain during the Concord, the weird moments with Sophie, and all that happened in the days leading to his departure to bring her back.
With each story, Sera realized her brother had endured far more than she had.
She regretted judging him for the women at his side, now seeing that perhaps they were what kept him sane, and the same man she remembered.
Though she noted that perhaps he was a touch more lustful than before, as many of the stories ended in bed with his wives.
But after that, Velakia began speaking, telling the two siblings about her life, recounting the moment the love of her life almost ruined her, how she got to the Empire and the reason for it, how they lived for a few months, how they met with Lucien and got to the Domain of Blood Maroux, how she met Blanc, her conversations with Lucien, the deal they made, and all that had happened on their journey that brought her and Blanc together in more ways than one.
In the heat of conversation, Sera began to also share everything she had endured.
The constant mistreatment, the plates hurled at her, the days when she came close to ending her life but lacked the courage, the betrayal by someone she thought was a friend during her escape, the killing of that same friend, and how she nearly died at the hands of her fiancé.
For Blanc, every word was a knife to the heart. His hatred for Blood Seraph, already strong, hardened into something darker.
If before he had merely despised them for their past deeds, now he wanted them dead. But Sera and Velakia managed to calm him before he acted rashly.
Afterwards, the conversation drifted to lighter topics, random thoughts, idle banter, and the negotiations that would begin in only a few hours.
As dawn neared, Blanc and Velakia bid Sera good night, and the three retired to their rooms. Blanc and Velakia, of course, shared a bed, and before long, they found themselves over each other.
When they finally stopped, wearing far less than they had when they lay down, the sun was already cresting the horizon, heralding the start of the negotiations.
So they quickly dressed in their finest clothes, woke the others, and, after a quick breakfast, followed a maid to the grand hall of Blood Seraph, where the talks would take place.
As the doors opened, no guard announced their welcome.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, the violation.
But there was no need for any such fancy introductions. All those who mattered were already present. And in the middle of the room awaited a white-marbled table.
The decorations of the hall were exquisite, its cleanliness almost charming, despite the souls of the Blood who lived within it being the very opposite of clean.
That contrast was written plainly on their faces.
On one side of the table stood Fiamma and Aidan of Blood Seraph, waiting in silence, one far angrier than the other.
Blanc paid them no mind and turned his gaze to the right.
There, at the head of the table, the Daughter presided as witness.
Her emotionless face was as still as ever, though her eyes roamed over their bodies as they approached.
Blanc nodded to her when they stopped.
Opposite of Blood Seraph, three chairs awaited. Blanc, Sera, and Velakia took their seats, settling in for what was to come, with Tahreni and Lendros standing behind them as guards.
“Were the guards necessary?” Fiamma sighed, “Or are they some sort of intimidation tactic?”
“Lady Seraph, not being able to trust you or your Blood is a given,” Blanc shrugged, “Last time we trusted your Blood, you failed to appear for battle and failed to care for my sister as you promised you would, so forgive us for not being quite able to.”
“But you can trust the Order, Lord Blanc,” the Daughter replied, “Stand your men down.”
Blanc turned his face towards Velakia.
“As you wish, my dear,” Velakia said, seeing the question in his eyes.
Blanc only nodded to that.
“Soj titas,” Velakia waved her hand downward toward Tahreni and Lendros.
“Bring them chairs,” Fiamma said towards a maid standing in the distance, “Put them near the wall like the rest of the guards.”
With a light bow, a maid left the hall, a few seconds later coming in carrying two chairs at her sides.
Once she placed them down to the left and right of the entrance by which they came, Tahreni and Lendros looked at Velakia, who only nodded in approval.
With a deep bow from the two, they turned on their heel and retreated towards the chairs that were prepared for them.
Once the two sat down, the Daughter cleared her throat.
“Well then, shall we begin?” she asked the parties present at the table.
“Let Blood Denegis speak what they want first,” Fiamma said, sitting deeper into her chair.
“Then, Blanc of Blood Denegis, feel free to begin,” the Daughter nodded, turning to face the young Noble Blood in front of her red eyes.
Blanc sighed, glancing at the two women beside him.
His gaze lingered first on Velakia, the woman who had made all of this possible.
Not merely because she was a princess, giving him the authority he did not know he needed, nor because of the intimacy they shared, but for what she had given him in ways no title or touch could measure.
She kept his mind busy, grounded.
Whether by irritating him or debating with him, making him laugh or sharing ideas, soothing him with comfort and making him panic, making him break promises and make more afterward, she had a way of holding him steady.
If Celine and Miyanna were what kept him sane, Velakia kept him grounded in that sanity.
And he loved her dearly for everything she was to him.
Then he turned to look at Sera, the woman with whom he shared the same blood.
His older sister, as well as the person who sent him closer to Vita’s embrace than any beast ever did.
His worst enemy, his best friend, besides his wives, as well as the person he came here for. And he had to make sure that no further harm would come her way. That she would live a good life, a happy life.
And the first step to do that was before him.
So he looked at the woman in front of him and her poor excuse of a son.
He clenched his jaw when he looked into Aidan’s red eyes, imagining a thousand ways in which he would enjoy killing him.
For these two were just as much to blame for all of Blood Denegis’s hardships as was the king of the Ulveth Kingdom or the Iron Line.
But he exhaled, calming himself down. It was not the time for that.
The time requested diplomacy first.
Not war.
War would come later, and he would make sure to be on the frontline of that battle, ready to take the heads of both the horned fucks in front of him.
Now, he only cleared his throat and got to his feet.
“As Blanc of Noble Blood Denegis, future fiancé of the First Princess of Iskahul, Velakia Iskahul, I put the following terms forward,” he began, looking at the Daughter, “We request the annulment of the engagement of Sera of Noble Blood Denegis and Aidan of Blood Seraph for the failed promises they made under the sacred vows and sanctity of the engagement ceremony to both attend the battle against the Iron Line, or properly care for Sera in the most humane ways, throwing dirt in both the Order and Blood Denegis’s faces.”
“What do you offer?” Fiamma asked, looking directly into Blanc’s gray eyes, “For my losses, of course.”
How about a dick straight into…
he threw curse after curse while looking at the woman, annoyed at not being able to say what he wanted to say out loud.
“We offer both the locked box you were interested in, as well as a promise not to retaliate for the betrayal Blood Seraph showed,” he replied instead.

.
!
Volume Two ; Chapter 81 (297) - First Round of Negotiations