Taken by a Vampire (Vampire Queen) - By Joey W. Hill Page 0,217

for her initial audience with Lady Lyssa. Only now the whole Council was present. But so was Evan. She assumed he would take the chair, with her at his knee. Instead, Niall guided her to it. She pushed at his hands. “Evan . . .”

“Sit,” her Master said quietly, and she did, warring between taking the chair that should belong to a standing vampire, and not wanting to appear as if she were arguing with him before Council. Once she was seated, Niall took a stance on one side of the chair, Evan on the other.

Lady Lyssa studied her from behind the polished table that curved around half of the chamber. It was a lovely dark wood with griffin-style feet and decorative edging that had obviously been custom-made. Alanna liked it much better than the massive one in Berlin. However, when she lifted her gaze, however briefly, the pin of those intense jade eyes made everything else disappear. It was also capable of making Alanna’s heart rate increase, but she breathed through it, remembering Debra’s admonition.

“Our questions will be brief, Alanna. You need to recover your strength to serve a vampire Master again. That is the only priority you have. Do you understand?”

“Yes, my lady.” Alanna bowed her head.

“In deliberating your fate, I have a question I want you to answer honestly.”

“I would answer the Council no other way, my lady.”

Jacob was standing behind his lady’s chair, the only servant present other than her and Niall. When Alanna dared a quick glance upward, she noted his expression flicker in approval at her, bolstering her somewhat. She did her best to sit even straighter.

“You are a member of the InhServ corps, your destiny specifically sculpted to support the elite of our ranks. While you may think none of those are interested in you because of your situation, that is not the case.”

Weeks ago, such news would have been welcome. Now her heart plummeted. She gripped the chair arm, tried to stop her head from swimming off her shoulders. But did it matter now if she fainted? Evan’s request would be denied. Giving her to him in lieu of a higher-ranking vampire’s request would be an unforgivable insult.

“That aside, I want you to tell me who you desire to be your Master.”

The question startled her enough she met the queen’s eyes before jerking her head back down. “My apologies, my lady . . . I don’t understand. My preferences are irrelevant. I serve the Council’s desires.”

“That is correct.” The queen’s cool tone suggested she was confirming the obvious. Alanna suppressed the need to squirm. “Your training has been so thorough that, even if you had a preference, you would submit wordlessly to your fate and fully embrace the service of whomever we choose. Isn’t that correct?”

“Yes, my lady.”

Except her voice quavered shamefully. Perhaps she couldn’t quell her emotions the way she normally might because she was in such a weakened state. The idea of leaving Niall and Evan was going to tear her apart right before the Council.

“Look at me.”

Alanna lifted her head, surprised by the unexpected command. The tilted almond shape of the green eyes suggested Lyssa’s Asian blood, her skin as smooth as antique ivory silk. “You promised me honesty, did you not?”

“Yes, my lady.”

“So tell us your heart, child. You’re clutching that chair so hard you’re in danger of splinters.”

She immediately released the wood, mortified by the physical evidence of resistance, but she wasn’t sure how to proceed. She could speak her heart to Evan and Niall in the infirmary, but here, the weight of tradition and ritual, everything being an InhServ meant, was before her. She was lost. Struggling.

Lyssa leaned forward, perhaps no more than an inch, but the motion held Alanna’s attention as effectively as a graceful, deadly spider would hold a butterfly.

“Alanna, whatever decision the Council makes, I am telling you that you may speak your heart honestly here. It does not go against you, nor does it leave these chambers.”

Oh God. She understood then. Lady Lyssa was giving her the opportunity to express her true feelings toward Evan and Niall as a matter of record. Even though politics would require her to be assigned elsewhere, Alanna’s feelings toward them would be documented in perpetuity.

It was an unprecedented honor, one that overwhelmed her. It was a nod to Evan as well, for his service to the Council. But had Lyssa also realized it as a necessity, bringing closure so Alanna could go forward and perform as