CHAPTER 5

SOFIA QUISPE POV

“Right,” I mumbled, feeling my face grow red hot once more as I started to remove my clothes. Having to undress in front of my Lord Father was degrading enough, let alone with the entire assembled Court watching. I was starting to think whoever had created this Rite of Ascension had some seriously bizarre aesthetic requirements. Why couldn't I have been a less public Fledgling?

I tried not to look at anyone until I was undressed. The awkwardness, the vulnerability, the fear of the unknown, all began to congeal into a formless, stiflingly heavy pressure pouring into my lungs.

Clothed only in moonlight, I closed my eyes and willed my latent powers to the surface, more desperate for the awakening now than opposed to it. I wasn't sure exactly how fast this was supposed to happen, but when I looked up and saw my father and the Priestess both watching me in differing states of confusion, I realized it really was supposed to be more of an instant thing for purebloods.

“Go on, dear,” the Priestess said, as if I hadn't already been trying with every fiber of my will. Not a great sign.

The more I thought about it, the shallower my breathing became.

My father, Lord Aron Quispe, through gritted teeth, growled out loud just before I could even venture to ask for help: “That’s enough playing around. Just Awaken your gifts already.”

I looked up at him in a combination of dismay and fierce irritation. I didn't do as good a job of hiding the latter as usual, and I hissed, "You don't think that I am trying?"

He narrowed his eyes dangerously, but the Priestess intervened, “You are overthinking the process, Lavinia. Just stop resisting the call and your inherent nature will do the rest.”

“I’m not resisting,” I protested. What did these people think - I was actively trying to hold back? I would have done anything to get out of there, with particular emphasis on now. I shook my head, and my long hair cascaded down my shoulders.

“I can’t. I don’t know what’s wrong, but I just can’t manifest anything.”

Now the crowd that had gathered was whispering, and I had the distinct feeling, from the scandalised tones, this was not something that happened often to a noble of high standing. Even the Elder vampires looked somewhat nonplussed.

Yes, definitely not a good omen.

I jolted when I realized someone was approaching my right side and relaxed only slightly when I saw it was Zilo in his human form. The concern etched on his face put me on edge, even though he was usually my anchor. He was naked, mostly, and in the back of my mind, there was the passing, inevitable acknowledgment of the fact that his body was as perfect as the rest of him.

"Is everything alright?" he asked, surveying me. I wasn't really sure what to make of the flash of Blood Hunger or even desire that crossed his gaze, although it seemed more like a very involuntary reaction, and he promptly suppressed it.

Just as he asked, my father cut in with, "Lavinia refuses to Awaken her gifts."

“I won’t refuse!” I exclaimed. “I just can’t.”

“Of course you can,” my father growled, “You are a Blooded noble that is what we do, It is bred in your bones."

I caught the subtlety, the undeniable shift in Zilo's pheromones. Anger. He masked it well, but it was there in his eyes—soft eyes now sharp as they looked at my father. At least someone was on my side.

"I must have it wrong, Lord Quispe. It is a great burden on her, and the whole Covenant is here," said Zilo pointedly, in a way that made me think that I missed something from a previous conversation about this.

“Of course, it is pressure,” my father growled. “It is Tradition.”

Zilo shrugged, turning back to me. Worried once more, his gaze softened as he reached out, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. It was impossible to hide how I melted under his touch, even in such dire circumstances.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine, my Lady,” he said gently. “It can be difficult the first time. The Glamour often takes time to solidify. It helps to focus on the earth beneath your feet. Feel the energy of the life-force coming up through the dirt and grass… the moonlight on your skin,” he said, his voice softening as his fingertips brushed over my shoulder.

I nodded, closing my eyes and trying to do what he said. To my surprise, I did feel something, even if I wasn't sure what. Maybe it was just in my head, but the moonlight on my skin kind of tingled. It was more alarming than it had been before, but not entirely unpleasant. I could sense something at the door to my mind, a gentle, weak push rather than the all-out intrusion of Telepathy I'd been told to expect.

I finally relented and opened my eyes, and another tide of despair - Zilo wearing the same look of bafflement on his face as everyone else.

If even he thought I was a hopeless case…

"What the hell is going on here?" Zack demanded, his voice even rougher than usual as he approached them as a human. I grimaced, but I was more annoyed than embarrassed for once. He was naked, too, and unlike Zilo, he wasn't even trying to hide his displeasure.

“I can’t Awaken my gifts,” I said, folding my arms over my chest and hugging myself. “And apparently, everyone thinks I’m doing it on purpose.”

“Zack!” Zilo barked, sounding angrier than I’d heard him in forever.

"What?" Zack said, challenging her. "It's the truth-she's always been melodramatic. Babying her is only going to make it worse."

"Coddling?" I said, turning to him with an exasperated tone, no longer able to hold my tongue. "This is the most you've even spoken to me in years. Who the hell do you think you are to say something like that?"

My father's sudden inhalation of breath was loud enough to carry over the murmurs of the crowd. I had just verbally attacked one of my future consorts in front of the entire Covenant.

Zack's eyes narrowed, the blue bleeding to a dangerous gold. For the first time all night, he was finally engaged, finally present. Not in a good way.

"I am the one who is about to be shackled to a Dhampir incapable of even doing a simple Rite," he spat, deadly low. "I am the one who will have to suffer the consequences of your incompetence."

His viciousness, the absence of the filter on his tongue, hit me like a physical blow. The shame that had laced my earlier feelings vanished in an upsurge of pure, blinding fury.

Before anyone could react, the tingle on my skin intensified, becoming a scorching heat. I felt the air around me compress, and the very grass beneath my feet seemed to wilt. My vision tunneled, and I could suddenly see the intricate pathways of energy coursing through the earth, the trees, and the vampires surrounding me. It wasn't the gentle Telepathy I expected. It was a raw, aggressive, untamed force that exploded from my core.

I was no longer just Lavinia.

I let out a desperate cry, and with it, I launched the feeling outward-the heat, the frustration, the sheer rage-at the nearest threat. Zack.

The surge slapped into him and he stumbled back, eyes wide with his powerful glamour flickering violently. A choked sound was torn out of him-a gasp of pain and surprise-before he crashed backward onto the earth.

Just emerged from behind the shadows, Klaus froze on his feet, his obsidian aura congealing in that very moment. Zilo spun around, his face a mask of shock, with a slowly dawning comprehension.

"It worked," the Priestess breathed, sounding awed. "She has Ascended. And her gift. is potent."

I stood trembling, my anger receding, leaving me exhausted but powerful. The raw energy still vibrated through me, a buzzing electric hum that seemed to be both shield and weapon.

My eyes, I realized, had framed the world in a new focus-everything was sharp, vibrating, and dangerous. Zack groaned, pushing himself up, his eyes now ablaze in gold as he stared at me, no more in apathy, but in a terrifying maelstrom of lust and challenge. "You like to play rough, Lady," he grated out, his face splitting in a predatory smile. "Fine. The Hunt is on." The Sanguine Circle glowed a blinding, wicked red beneath the Blood Moon. I need to choose what to name my power.