Endless (Embrace)

I do love being special.

‘Why does the whole Assembly come together so rarely?’ I asked Rainer, after finishing my warm-up.

‘Seth and Decima deem very little to be worthy of their presence. They vote on some issues, but have not sat in their Assembly chairs in over one hundred and fifty years. Plus, Wil and I are usually based in London. We only moved here after …’

I nodded. She didn’t need to finish for me to know she meant – after Nyla.

We started walking towards the main hall.

‘There will be a lot of people watching. Try to ignore them. It’s Drenson’s choice who you will fight so I can’t tell you what to expect, but I’m sure even if they throw a senior Grigori at you, you’ll be fine.’ I couldn’t hide the smile at her praise. ‘The mental obstacles will be more difficult, but you can do it. At the end, the Assembly will vote for your position as an official member of the Academy and of the Grigori population.’

‘How do you see that working?’

Rainer’s eyes exposed her apprehension. ‘Unfortunately, Drenson and Josephine are unlikely to be swayed in your favour, so that means you need to get Seth and Decima on side as well as Valerie and Hakon if you want to be sure of a win.’

‘What about Adele?’

Rainer didn’t even consider before answering. ‘She’s never voted against Drenson. She never will.’

I could understand that, although it didn’t help me much. Valerie had made it clear I wasn’t her nearest and dearest and I’d been in history lessons with Hakon for the past three weeks and we hadn’t exactly bonded. Probably my fault since I was guilty of paying more attention to his sheer size than listening to the history he’d been attempting to bring me up to speed on. As for Seth and Decima – they were almost primordial; I had no idea what I could do to win them over. I was too scared to even look in their direction.

Rainer and I carried on in silence until we reached the double doors to the Assembly. ‘You ready?’

I nodded.

Rainer pushed the doors open to the massive room and I entered my official Grigori testing.

Lincoln stood just inside the doors and I paused only to hand him my dagger. I wasn’t permitted to have it in the testing but I trusted no one else with it. His eyes met mine briefly, reflecting nothing but confidence.

Rainer took her seat with the other Assembly members, and I assumed my position in the centre of the room. Grigori lined the walls and more people watched on from the large balcony above. I spotted Griffin standing with Zoe and Spence, their attempts at hiding their concern not exactly successful.

‘Violet Eden,’ Drenson addressed me.

‘Yes,’ I answered, trying to appear at ease.

‘Do you come here today willingly to submit to Grigori testing?’

‘Yes.’

Drenson was so formal, but I could see the challenge in his eyes.

‘Are you willing to recognise the Assembly as your superior council and abide by the decisions that are made here today?’

It was a loaded question and we all knew it. But I couldn’t back down now. The only thing I could do was pass the tests if I wanted to maintain not only my position in the Grigori community, but Lincoln’s position as well. As my partner, whatever happened to me, affected him directly.

‘Yes,’ I replied, noting Josephine’s smirk.

She sat to Drenson’s left, wearing a steel-grey pantsuit, her hair tied up in a French roll that looked too soft for her features.

‘Let’s begin, then,’ Drenson said.

A senior instructor stepped forward and began calling out movements for me to perform. After all of Rainer’s training the actions came as easily as though I was doing them in my sleep, but I ensured I completed each one carefully.

Satisfied, Drenson stood up again and gestured to a woman stationed by a door to his left. When it opened, three senior Grigori entered the room and stood on the edge of the sparring floor. Each one dressed in black loose-fitting fighting clothes. The first carried two traditional Dragonfly katanas, the second, two Grigori daggers, while the third simply held his palms up, empty handed.

‘Select your weapon,’ Drenson instructed me.

Frankly, I was surprised.

Am I really being given a choice of weapon and opponent?

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Rainer leaning across her chair talking to Valerie and Hakon, her hands chopping through the air. Whatever she knew, it wasn’t good.

Okay. Be smart.

I looked at the weapons. There was no doubt the dagger was my best option, but then again, it was also weapon of choice for most Grigori. Bare hands were okay, but like Rainer had said, I was strongest with tools.

I stared at the katanas. I was good with them. I could be better, but then again, I always felt that I could do more. Something about holding a katana felt natural.

It was a risk, but I took it, moving into position opposite the Grigori holding the two Dragonfly swords.

‘You have selected your weapon?’ Drenson asked.