“Lord Draven, please attend the dining hall immediately. Lord Blaire and the others are waiting.”

Alfred, who was the oldest and most loyal butler of the family, routinely escorted Draven through the mansion toward the dining hall.

“No need for an escort, Alfred. I know the way.”

“Pardon me, Lord Draven, but Lord Blaire instructed me to bring you to the dining hall immediately upon contact. He is in a foul mood as a result of you being over half an hour late.”

Draven gave no response. His family hated him, and his father was eternally disappointed. Being late to this meeting was not the straw that broke the camel’s back- that camel had its back broken, died, and been buried years ago. They approached towering doors with ornate design. Alfred pushed the doors open after knocking twice.

“My Lord, Lord Draven has arrived.”

Blaire sat at the head of the table opposite of the entrance. His wife, Samara, sat to his right. It was customary for the wife of a vampire to never sit anywhere but the right of the head of a family. If it was a woman that was the current head of a family, her husband would sit to her left- and if she were the single head of a family, her first born son sits to her left. These are things that Jensen had no knowledge of ever learning- they were certainly not mentioned in the books. However, he had already known that he had memories of Draven’s childhood, and his emotions were fused to Draven’s. He had not just filled into his shoes- he had completely become Draven, with memories, desires, and emotions all joined. This was something that Draven had learned as a child.

“You’re late, Draven.” Blaire’s words cut like a dagger. His eyes, the same.

“Father, forgive Draven. He is unable to help his sluggish personality.”

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Jade’s voice immediately followed Blaire’s. Even if she were the one to say it, Draven could tell by quickly scanning the expressions of those in the room that, had she not spoken, someone probably would have said something harsher. Draven entered and took his seat- between Jade and Sting.

“Yes, yes, I’m late. What of it? The dungeon?”

The expressions at the table were that of surprise. Draven had always been a selfish character, but always hid his disobedience.

“How dare you, runt?” Jarrett hollered as he rose out of his seat.

“We wait for half an hour, and you speak so freely?!” Jarrett was possibly the person that Draven had gotten along with the worst. Jade cut eyes at Draven, as if she were surprised that he would talk back. Glow’s eyes remained closed- with the casual, fake smile that he had always worn. Sting spoke up sheepishly.

“I-I’m sure he didn’t mean it that way, Brother Jarrett!”

“Shut up, Sting!” Lara shouted with her mouth full and raising her fork. She swallowed a massive bite of meat before continuing.

“Draven’s late, as always! I bet he was drunk at some bar again!”

Blaire raised his hand to bring instantaneous silence to the table.

“Draven’s antics aside, let’s begin.” Blaire went on to explain that the Night Family was to attend the Vampyre Feast in two months. The feast was an event to celebrate a decade of continued growth and harvests of the Vampyre family. At least, that was what the public thought. In reality, it was the Vampyre’s way of analyzing the quality of the branches and what they could potentially offer to the main family. This was an incredibly monumental event that Blaire had been preparing for years for- specifically by honing Jade and Lara’s potential. If the Night family showed two young individuals with well above average talent, the Night family could surely rise from last of the four branch families.

“What will the exhibitions be this time, Father?” Jarrett questioned his father honestly. He was the only child of Blaire and Samara that had participated in the previous Feast- and he had high hopes of performing well enough to secure himself as rightful heir of the family.

“Death matches.” It was Samara that responded. Her feminine voice sounded like that of a seductive witch.

“Or, something close to the matter.” She laughed as she looked at Draven. Something about her eyes deeply unsettled him. ‘Is Samara perhaps the most intuitive in the household? There is something about the look she keeps giving… Am I being paranoid?’

“Well, my beloved son, Draven? Will you participate in this life or death battle with other vampires to earn valor for your family?”