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Sure, she had heard rumours about some Witch of London, but never enough to make her take notice. Not until the council formed and started to asses any internal threats, that is.

It was Zara\'s warm and motherly voice that responded to Aria\'s outburst. "Now, now, Aria, dear. Let\'s not lose our heads."

She turned to Vlad, "That said, Aria does have a point. Setting aside the missed opportunity to recruit someone with a darkness affinity, these people… I think you called them Erik and Elora?

They seem to have some mysterious knowledge and abilities, and we can\'t let them run around in our lands doing as they please. Behaviour like that is precisely why we formed the council, to begin with."

She quickly glanced at Aria, "Well, for some of us, anyway."

She turned her attention to Seraphina with a warm smile, "I don\'t mean to put undue pressure on you, child. But surely you understand we can\'t let this go without proper explanation."

Seraphina didn\'t answer. Doing so would have been an insult to her own liege, and she wasn\'t about to make matters worse for herself now that it appeared like she may be getting off scot-free.

Vlad waved his hand dismissively, "She has already said she can\'t speak of these matters. Regardless of the reason for her inability to do so, I consider the matter closed."

Whether he actually considered it closed or intended to grill Seraphina for answers himself later was anyone\'s guess. The other two leaders had always considered Vlad a little eccentric and wouldn\'t put either option above him.

Aria was happy to voice her doubts, "Come now, you old bat! She\'s obviously lying!" A long and slightly forked but still distinctly human tongue left the woman\'s mouth and licked her lips, "Just give me a few hours with her, and she\'ll squeal like a pig."

Power thrummed in the air as blood-red runes appeared on the vampire ruler\'s skin. His voice was heavy with the threat of violence. "Touch a hair on the heads of any of my vampires, and I\'ll turn you into a handbag, you overgrown snake."

Then, as if nothing had happened, he returned to normal and scoffed, "Anyway, just because your faction is a nest of vipers who all hate your guts does not mean it is the same for me. I trust my people."

No one seemed fazed by Vlad\'s outburst, apparently used to it. Aria just grinned at his provocation, and Zara still smiled warmly as she said, "I understand the sentiment, Vlad. I feel the same about my own people.

That said, even if we assume Seraphina is speaking the truth, there must be a reason she can\'t speak of what happened in that house, and we should try to uncover it."

Seeing how even the more reasonable Zara wouldn\'t let this go, the old vampire relented a little. "Fine. When this meeting is done, I invite the both of you to join me in my chambers.

We will examine Seraphina, within reason, to see if we can uncover the cause of her inability to talk. However, if we cannot find anything, you will let this matter go. Continue to pursue this afterwards, and you will find yourself at the busines end of my sword."

He knew the other two, not even Aria, would go to war over this matter. And even if they did, he was prepared to face them.

As much as Vlad the Fifth was a cruel and authoritarian tyrant, he was also fiercely protective of his own people.

Zara nodded calmly at Vlad\'s words, clearly accepting his proposal. Aria was a little less graceful but accepted the proposal as well.

Meanwhile, Seraphina looked anxious but still relieved about the stay of execution. Her father seemed mostly anxious, however, as he turned his head towards Vlad, "My lord, I-"

But before he could continue, Vlad stuck up his hand, "Yes, Lucius. You may attend."

With his concern alleviated, Lucius released a breath, "Thank you, my Lord."

Vlad nodded sternly and turned back to the council. "Before we move on to other matters, do we have any idea at all where these people may be headed? We can\'t exactly send search parties in every direction, but the longer we wait, the lower the chances we find them."

Everyone present sank into thoughts, but no one spoke up. Until Zara offered a question directed at Seraphina, "Seraphina, I understand you can\'t or won\'t tell us anything right now, but if you could or would, do you have knowledge about their next destination?"

Seraphina looked at Vlad questioningly, and only when he nodded did she stand up from her kneeling position and turn towards the human section. She gave a slight bow and said, "No, lady Zara. They never spoke about this in front of me. I suspect not even the Ashcroft sisters knew where they were going."

Zara nodded and turned towards her two counterparts. "In that case, assuming the girl speaks the truth, I suggest we simply alert all our coastal and riverside settlements and leave it at that. We don\'t have the manpower to go on an extensive manhunt throughout Europe. Assuming they even stay on this continent, to begin with.

We can discuss the matter again if our investigation reveals some new information."

They quickly held a vote, and mere moments later, the result was unanimous. A full manhunt was off the table for now. Even Katya voted against it despite her desire to find Erik again. She had her own personal subordinates and would put them on this task.

Keeping the council out of the way was only beneficial for her.

Zara nodded, "Good. Now that that\'s settled, let\'s move on to other matters."

The leaders seemed to have made an implicit agreement not to mention Katya\'s impropriety any more.

Sure, she made a mistake and put her own interests ahead of the council\'s, but the fact was Katya was strong. So strong, in fact, that some suspected she was no weaker than Aria, and the only reason Aria ruled was because Katya had no interest in it.

Yet, others refuted that thought, as it was well-known that Katya hated Aria more than anyone. Surely a battle maniac like her would not shy away from a fight against someone she hated if she had even a remote chance of winning?

Whatever the truth, no one disputed that Katya was first below the leaders and, because of that, was given some implicit leeway in her actions.

Vlad nodded in response to Zara\'s statement, "Yes. We need to talk about the operation in Finnmark and, especially, about the situation in the East. The Pax Orientis is getting more aggressive by the day. I suspect war may not be more than a year away at most."

*********

Some hours later, five people gathered in a luxurious room on the vampire\'s side of the council chambers: Seraphina, her father and the three faction leaders.

The father and daughter pair were standing in front of the most powerful people in Europe with some anxiety. Lucius a little more than his daughter, perhaps.

Zara smiled warmly at them, like a mother calming down her children, "Don\'t worry so much, you two. So long as Seraphina hasn\'t lied to us, nothing will happen to her."

Everyone ignored Aria\'s snort as Vlad agreed with Zara, albeit more sternly. "Correct. For this examination, we will work from the assumption you haven\'t lied to us. This means you are somehow forced to remain quiet about parts of your time in London.

Can you tell us if this is done by magical means?"

With the covenant, Seraphina had to carefully consider and change her words if it prevented her from speaking. So she spoke slowly, "Yes, it was done by magical means."

The covenant only prevented her from revealing information about Erik and Elora, so this was still fine.

Vlad nodded, "Good." He turned to the human next to him. "Zara, if you would?"

The motherly figure nodded and extended her hands towards Seraphina, causing Lucius\' anxiety to increase, even while Seraphina bravely stood her ground. A soft green magic circle appeared, and light of the same colour began to wash over Seraphina.

After a few moments, under everyone\'s curious gazes, the light gathered together at the back of Seraphina\'s right hand. It continued to glow as Zara put her hands down.

Vlad immediately stepped forward with a frown on his face, "Extend your right hand, girl."

Seraphina did as asked, and soon, they all stared at the wolf\'s head with fairy wings: the mark of a covenant with Elora and Erik.