The ceremony surrounding The Council was not particularly extensive, but it was too much for the thin patience Elias had for the situation.
Since The Council Meeting was called due to a vampire's misconduct, Ife was responsible for most of the formalities, especially pertaining to evidence. Only the truth would be tolerated, and to ensure such, each representative of The Council had ways to force the truth out. The High Priestess casted a spell based in blood magic. The Alpha King used his ability to command. The fae representative carried a book charmed by the first fae queen, Titania. As for Ife, he simply told the vampires that they could not lie.
As one of the men on trial, Elias was closely guarded by soldiers of each species. He could not care less. "Why is none of this energy used to find where that hag took my child?" he snarled as the High Priestess walked over to him. "I have no plans of going anywhere, not without her, at least."
She cocked her head to the side, letting her long, black hair fall over her shoulder. The strong scent of oak, fennel, and rosemary wafted off her, calming Elias ever-so-slightly. The antique protection spell she wore around her neck still brought back fond memories for the ancient vampire.
"Your child is fine. I have my own guarding her," Circe responded.
"Why can't I have my own?" he retorted; but he did not completely brush past the fact that Circe has seen Claire. His voice dropped, allowing a fraction of his desperation to show through, "How is she?"
Circe's lips flattened into a thin line, and Elias curled his fingers into a ball, his manicured nails piercing his skin. One of the vampire guards shifted slightly, and Elias snapped at her, "If you even think about my blood, I will spread yours all over this garden." She readjusted quickly.
"She was not conscious when I saw her," was all the High Priestess said before leaving, her high-pitched voice not giving away any emotion.
A new rage shook Elias to his core. No one took what was his. It had been centuries since someone even bothered to try. That witch would die for what she did, for how she dared to disrespect Elias Elhassan.
Circe finished her enchantment, and The Council Meeting was ready to start. Elias stood up from his seat with his muscles tensed, ready to rip the throat out of anyone who had laid a finger on his child. Finally, Jocelyn appeared, but Claire was not with her. Her fresh scent clung to the witch, but he couldn't smell or feel her.
"Where is she?!" Elias roared, startling everyone but The Council members and Jocelyn herself.
Rolling her eyes, she motioned over past the tree line. The moment he saw Claire, he realized why: the witch had injected her with bloodroot, blocking her scent. He growled and stormed past his guards. They looked to their leaders in concern, but Ife waved them off confidently; he had commanded Elias to not leave, so he would not leave.
Claire stumbled through the forest, barely able to hold her head up. She could smell Colin nearby, but nothing else but the bloodroot. Suddenly, she was hit with a mix of creatures, but importantly, Elias. Blindly, she tried to get out of the strong grip holding onto her shackled arms and go to him.
No matter how mad she was at him, she needed the comfort he brought and the clarity he offered. She had thought about it, and she decided to forgive him. How could he have known what she was before she turned if her magic had been locked away? And he certainly never hurt her. Claire had decided after listening to Mack that Jocelyn had been lying about him. Even if her uncle was lying about parts of his story, Jocelyn was clearly the monster, not Elias. He didn't make her sick. He saved her. He loved her too much to have done something like that.
Elias could feel the pain vibrating off her, as well as something else. A scent he did not recognize came off her, something witchy. Healing her pain as much as he could, he stood in front of her and whispered, "Claire?"
Her tongue felt too heavy to speak, so she began to cry, throwing herself at him. Elias pulled her into his arms as she sobbed wordlessly, unable to stop. "Shhh," he soothed, rubbing the back of her head as she cried into his chest. "It's going to be okay, ma chérie. I'll make sure of it."
"I'm scared," she finally whispered, though her voice was slightly slurred.
Elias frowned and kissed the top of her head. He took her hands in his and ripped away the silver cuffs. She sighed, feeling the relief immediately.
"I don't remember this as part of any Council Meeting I've attended," Jocelyn said stiffly. It took all the self-control Elias had not to kill her where she stood.
"Jocelyn Drusus," the High Priestess called out abruptly.
Before she could walk away, Claire's arm shot out and grabbed her pant leg. Elias was surprised, but he did not stop her. Claire looked up with puffy eyes and a red nose. "Where is Colin?" she growled.
Elias raised a brow and helped Claire to her feet, still protectively wrapped in his embrace.
"What did you just say?" Alpha Peter stepped forward.
Claire ignored him and took a shaky step out of Elias's arms towards the Priestess. "You said that if I went with you, he would be okay. Where is he?"
As Claire turned her back on her sire, he noticed a thick scar from the base of her neck that continued into her shirt, which was different from the one he had last seen her in. He knew that his child did not have a scar there, and the fury within him only grew.
"Where is he?!" she yelled at the witch as she walked away. Claire tried to chase after her, but she was too weak and simply fell, caught by Elias again.
Alpha Peter marched over to her, anger vibrating from him. Elias pulled Claire slightly behind him, reminding the Alpha exactly whose protection she was under. "What did you say about Colin?"
Colin had not explained much about his father, but she could tell enough to know two things: one, he was dangerous, and two, he did not care about Colin. She swallowed the lump of fear in her throat and looked him in the eye. "He came after me, to rescue me. I haven't seen him in two days."
A tall, pale man stepped forward. Power rolled off his strong physique in waves. He ran his hand through his neatly combed red hair and looked between Alpha Peter and the hybrid girl. "Alpha Peter," he said sharply. "You did not mention this to me."
Peter bowed his head slightly as he stuttered nervously, "Yes, Alpha Riann, sir. He was sent away from the pack for a bit. I knew it was because of the issues with his mate, but his behavior was not safe for others to be around. I forbad him from returning to this land so that he would not disrupt the Council Meeting, but I suppose that he found another way to do so."
Riann Faolchú, the Alpha King of the North, narrowed his green eyes. He turned to Circe and said calmly, "I would like to know where my subject is."
Circe nodded, glaring at Jocelyn. "As would I. I expected him to be here."
Jocelyn sighed called out to the woods. A witch stepped forward, the other man who had been a part of the border patrol that captured Colin. "Take the Alpha King to the kid." She looked calmly at the two powerful creatures and said, "He was trespassing on my lands, two times in as many days. The way I see it, I could've had him killed on sight. Keeping him controlled was an act of mercy."
The Alpha King nodded curtly and sent one of his warriors with the witch. He shot Peter an angry look before returning to his seat, waving for the proceedings to begin. Circe took her seat as well, and Peter, Elias, and Jocelyn all walked over to their respective places, glaring at one another.
The fae representative, a dryad named Marwen Thumblerot, stepped forward. Long vines hung from their head like hair, and their thick, bark-like skin smelt of maple. They cleared their throat and offered a hand to Claire. With a slightly bored tone, they said, "The sooner we begin this, the sooner it can be over."
And they led her to the sit at the stand. The Council Meeting had begun.