I was grateful that Xion had pushed Seraphina to not attend the sentencing. But that didn't prevent others from filling the throne room to the brim. Everyone was there from newspaper writers to family to those who wanted their own pound of flesh. Even the witch queen was there, sitting to the side dressed in all black with an army of guards surrounding her. She had come to show solidarity to her son it seemed, and maybe to send a message to those who thought to oppose him in the future. Anyone who crossed the vampire king, crossed her just the same.

And there was my family. Decidedly less frightening than the witch king, but an immense comfort to me. I wanted to see them before the sentencing, but hadn't had the time or the energy. I knew both my mother and my sister would bombard me with hugs and questions. For something like this, I needed to be in the right frame of mind. I needed no distractions.

Xion would carry out the decisions, but I was to sit beside him. He told me over and over again before we entered the throne room that if I disagreed with any of his judgements, all I had to do was voice it. In his mind, these people had wronged me just as much as they had wronged him.

The redhead from the ball was brought forward. I thought she was nothing more than a conspirator. She hadn't held a knife in her hands, she had simply pulled some strings. Surely, she would be the easiest to punish.

Daisy shifted anxiously from the sidelines. Her hands were bound in her lap and four of the most menacing guards stood over her and the rest of the prisoners.

"How do you plead?" Xion asked, almost sounding bored with the entire situation.

"Innocent," the woman spat back.

"Edith," Xion sighed. "We both know that you are not innocent."

"Not to you, but to the kingdom," she snarled, her wild eyes flashing. "You are a bastard, a half vampire, you do not deserve to sit on the throne."

"How pathetic it must be for you to have planned for months to get your wife on the throne and to lose to a half bred bastard then," he said.

Her lip curled. "Someone will kill you. You will not rule forever."

"That is fine," Xion agreed, shrugging his shoulder half-heartedly. "But you will not be the one to do it. You were given a chance and you succumbed to some brave humans and their handy farm tools. Your punishment should match your crime. You were the one who decided that I should be driven to bloodlust. You will be locked in a cell with no blood until your body cannot handle it. When you fear the Bloodlust will kill you, we will give you just enough blood to keep you alive and start to process over again."

"No!" Daisy screamed from the sidelines. "No, please! She had nothing to do with any of this! Please spare her!"

"It's okay," Edith shushed, but the fear was clear on her face. "Do not worry about me."

"Take me instead!" Daisy wailed, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Xion rolled his eyes at the theatrics of it all, but a part of me was a little sick. Clearly, Daisy did have a heart and clearly, it did not belong to Seraphina, but to Edith instead. I didn't know if seeing the display was heart wrenching or if knowing that she had played Seraphina was worse.

"I have made my decision, you may go," Xion dismissed.

A pair of guards flanked Edith and led her out of the room. The king turned to Daisy, his grin turning feral. "Since you are so willing, you can come and face your punishment next."

I sat beside Xion through it all. He showed no emotion through any of it, cool and stoic as he delivered life altering and life ending demands on those who wronged him. The only time he let a flicker of anything through is when he would settle his large hand on my thigh and I would feel the way he was shaking, know the hurt he was bottling up.

Everyone received their punishment, from the cook who had put the Lusting Lily into my drink to the high ranking officer that sent Xion on a wild goose chase, claiming that he had a lead on the person who drugged me, then left him stranded in some faraway forest.

Then came Sampson.

"I will pass your sentencing over to Lark," Xion announced.

Sampson scowled, his face turning red. What a way to live, to have no fear, only anger and greed. "She has no power in this court. She cannot give out orders to anyone, certainly not to the son of a jarl."

Xion let out a booming laugh that thundered through the throne room, causing everyone to still. Only I could feel the anger in him when his grip tightened on my thigh. "You forget who reigns over this palace, over these people. I am the law. I am the order. I decide. And I have chosen Lark."

I knew right away what I wanted for this worm of a man. "A feeder," I said. "I want him to be forced to give his blood as often as possible without killing him. I want him to have no control over when or who feeds from him."

I wanted him to know the fear that I felt. I wanted him to know what it was like to be helpless. And yes, I wanted him to pay for being sleazy and trying to court my young sister who didn't know any better and only saw the perks her family received.

"That sounds incredibly fair to me," Xion agreed. "See that it is done. I will add that your father will also be stripped of his title. I do not appreciate a jarl who raised tithes without consulting me."

Now Sampson grew very pale. "No, please. You don't understand--"

"We understand perfectly well. Now go. I don't care for looking at you and every second I see you, I consider if Lark's ruling is harsh enough."

Sampson was ushered out, sputtering and begging the entire way.

Xion concluded the session, dismissing everyone. We were the first to leave the room, exiting out the side door that led to the rest of the palace. Only then did his shoulders slump ever so slightly.

"Are you alright, little dove?" he asked, reaching up to tuck a stray strand of hair behind my ear.

"I'm fine. And you? That must have been awful for you. You trusted so many of those people and they hurt you so badly," I murmured.

He took one of my hands in his, giving it a hardy squeeze, a feeble smile on his mouth. "It had to be done. And in a week I will have another session. I will announce that all Bloodlettings are to stop. I was scared of rocking the boat, but it seems that my heritage is more of a concern that my policies."

A seed of warmth settled in my heart. "For what it is worth, I think you have great heritage and you will make wonderful changes to this kingdom."

His dark eyes twinkled. "That is worth everything, Lark."

The moment would have been sweet if we had remained alone. But the loud voice of my father filled the quiet space.

"So I take it you are King Xion then?" my dad demanded.

I could see it right away. My father wasn't the explosive kind, but I could read his energy. I saw it in the way his shoulders were pulled back, in the strength of his voice.

Xion did not. "Yes, I am. If you are who I think you are, I have heard so much about you." Sweet Xion released my hand before I could protest. He turned towards my dad, his hand outstretched, a small smile on his mouth. He was finally meeting my family, especially my father that I raved about endlessly.

My dad was not impressed and was not here to be flattered. As soon as he was close enough, he delivered a brutal punch that had Xion doubling over.

"That is for taking my daughter away. And I swear that if you ever hurt her again, you will be six feet under." My father watched through narrowed eyes as my mate let out a wheeze. "At least I know you could never raise a hand to her considering you aren't fast enough to block a punch from an old man, but if you ever do, I'll find a way to kill you twice."

~~~Question of the Day~~~

What travel destination do you think is overrated?

For me, Banff Alberta. Is it gorgeous? Yes. But it's so crowded and there's so much natural beauty elsewhere with less tourists.