Bitten (The Vampire Legends #3)(11)
Author: Emma Knight

“Do the right thing, Hunter. Tell me where they are,” Violet said back in a creepy tone.

“I am doing the right thing. I just don’t know,” he said, now changing his tune to playing dumb.

“GUARDS, TAKE HIM AWAY!” Violet beckoned to the guards.

At that moment, the gates opened and the voice of a girl came pouring in. “No, please don’t hurt me. Please!” she shouted.

Into view came a girl with blonde hair, dressed in an orange prison robe, being dragged into the jury room by four other large security guards. Hunter couldn’t get a close look at her face, but somehow knew he recognized her voice.

“Wait!” Hunter said, trying to buy time, waiting to see who this mysterious, beautiful girl was.

The guards stopped dragging him out as Violet said, “HALT!”

“Did you suddenly remember where your coven is?” Violet asked.

Hunter waited, as the girl was brought into the room and placed right next to him. They took off her blindfold and had her stand there, alone, waiting to be sentenced.

“Penelope?” he asked. “Is that you?”

The girl turned her head and looked at Hunter, then smiled and began to walk towards him.

“STOP RIGHT THERE!” Violet said. “How do you two know each other?”

Hunter tried to hide the passion he felt for her. He didn’t want to reveal the two had been lovers many centuries ago when they studied abroad in London. He couldn’t let her find out—if she did, she’d surely kill both of them, he thought to himself. But, he hadn’t seen her in hundreds of years. He’d though she died in one of the great wars that had passed.

“I thought you died?” Hunter said, looking longingly at Penelope.

“It was a close call, but I survived!” Penelope said, smiling. “And I tried to find you, but…”

“I searched everywhere for you, Pen, I really did,” Hunter said.

Violet cleared her throat.

“I’ve heard just about enough of this love story,” Violet said. “Hunter, it seems like you just can’t keep your hands off of anyone these days.”

Hunter stood there. Not responding.

“And YOU,” she said, pointing to Penelope. “Seems like you may know a thing or two about Hunter here?”

“Well,” Penelope said, cowardly. “I haven’t seen him, as you know, in many many years.”

Hunter tried to figure out what she meant by that. Then she spoke again.

“You’ve kept me here since the last great war. I haven’t seen or heard from Hunter. You know that,” Penelope said, now getting angry.

“GUARDS, execute her! She’s worthless to us now,” Violet screeched.

“NO! WAIT!” Hunter retorted. “Don’t kill her, take me!”

“Tell me where Benji is?” Violet said, bargaining with him. “If you tell me where he is, we will set her free.”

Hunter looked at Penelope and her beautiful blue eyes, staring back, hoping, and praying for survival.

“Let her go!” Hunter yelled again, getting heated.

Violet gave a nod and the guards came and poked her with a sword.

“OUCH!” she screamed as a tiny bit of her arm was pierced by the sword. Hunter saw the blood oozing out in small drips.

“NO! NO! I can’t bear to watch this anymore,” he said.

“Then, you know what you have to do. Tell us and she will be saved.”

“Well,” Hunter said, taking a deep breath. “I know Benji and the first thing he would do would be to rally the troupes and to get the Blue Tablet.”

Moments after he said it, he regretted it. He knew he shouldn’t betray his coven like this, but the sight of Penelope’s execution was too much for him to stand.

“The Blue Tablet?” Violet asked smugly. “And where might that be kept?”

Violet nodded her head again and the guards came marching back up to Penelope with their swords drawn.

“It’s um…” Hunter said, before they could hurt her again. “It’s at Grandvia Castle.”

“Grandvia Castle, Grandvia Castle,” Violet hummed. “I haven’t heard that name in centuries.”

“TAKE HER AWAY! EXECUTE HER AT DAWN!” Violet yelled to the guards.

“NO, VIOLET! You promised.”

“Look at you, Hunter. You’ve betrayed your brother and your coven to save this poor girl. Now look how far that’s gotten you.”

“AHH!!!” Penelope shrieked as she was dragged out of the jury room with her blindfold back on. “Please don’t hurt me!”

“Violet, you said that if I told you where Benji was, that you’d free her,” Hunter said, trying to coax her to do the right thing.

“Did you really think I’d do that Hunter?” she said. “Would you have done that for me? Would you have risked your life, the life of your own brother and your entire coven for me? I DON’T THINK SO!”

“Violet, this isn’t about you,” Hunter said.

“I don’t think our love was ever that strong,” she said. “You never loved me like you did Penelope.”

“Violet, set her free, you promised,” he said again.

Then all of a sudden, the guards came up behind him and put his blindfold back over his eyes and started dragging him out of the room. Then, he heard her speak again.

“I LIED!” Violet said, followed by a loud cackle laugh.

Chapter Seven

Inside the large gymnasium of the castle, Rachel stood there with the group of young vampires learning how to fly. Unfortunately, it wasn’t coming as natural to her as some of the others and she was feeling a bit depressed about it. But not as depressed as she felt about the idea of learning how to fly in the first place. She knew it was necessary to survive as a vampire, but she still wished this had never happened to her. She wanted so badly to escape all of this and return back to her former life.

“Let your wings protract naturally,” the coach said in a calming voice. “You are one with your wings.”

Rachel tried again to let them protract, but they wouldn’t come out far enough to gain momentum to lift off.

“I’m trying, I can’t do it. I think they’re stuck.”

“You’re thinking too hard, Rachel. This seems to be a common theme with you,” the coach answered.

Rachel looked around to see all her fellow young vampires each achieving a lift off and soaring high into the quadruple story gymnasium, their wings glistening as the light hit them. Even her new friend Georgia was flying.