That breaks something in the chamber. Other Council members who'd been planning to protect Dmitri, either out of loyalty or fear, suddenly find their courage. Aldric's confession gives them permission to voice their own doubts, their own guilt, their own desire for change.
"I vote for investigation," Terra says, standing beside Aldric. "I've been complicit too long."
"Investigation," another member calls out.
"Removal and investigation," a third adds.
The votes cascade, building momentum as more and more Council members choose truth over corruption. By the time Eugene calls for the final count, the result is overwhelming.
The vote passes by a two-thirds majority. Sixty-seven votes for removal and investigation, thirty-three against.
Dmitri Graves is removed from the Council, stripped of official authority, subject to full investigation into a century of corruption and murder.
But it’s clear the vampire is still watching, his presence weighing in on me, Dmitri witnessing his official downfall through whatever means he has at his disposal. And the rage radiating from him is terrifying, primal, the fury of someone who's losing everything he spent a hundred years building.
We've won politically. Exposed his corruption, stripped his authority, turned the Council against him.
But Dmitri still has resources we don't know about. Allies who weren't on the Council. Decades of built power and hidden connections. Money and influence and pure malevolent will.
He's not going to accept defeat quietly. My aura senses him already moving, already planning retaliation. The vampire who corrupted the entire system isn't going to go down without a fight.
The session ends, my projection fading from the Council chamber. The moment I'm back fully in my body, my mates surround me, all of them touching me at once. Hands on my shoulders, arms around my waist, fingers intertwined with mine.
"We won," Stellan breathes, his orange eyes glowing with disbelief.
"We won the political battle," Ambrose corrects, his pragmatic nature already thinking ahead. "But Dmitri is still out there. Still dangerous. Maybe more dangerous now that he has nothing left to lose."
Rumi's wings manifest, spreading protectively over all of us. "Let him come. We beat his hunters. We exposed his corruption. We can beat him too."
"He's had a hundred years to prepare contingencies," Harlow warns, his death-sight clearly showing him concerning futures. "He knew this might happen eventually. He'll have plans we haven't thought of."
Jade's demon form is fully manifested, horns and wings and tail, his hunger sharp with protective fury. "Then we make plans he hasn't thought of. We're not playing by his rules anymore."
I pull them all closer, feeling our bonds pulse with shared determination. We've come so far in two weeks. From rejected outcasts to fundamental forces. From suppressed and afraid to recognized and powerful.
But the real fight is just beginning.
Dmitri is coming, and we need to be ready.
19
STELLAN
OneweekafterSkye'srecognition as Praestes, we hold a formal ceremony renaming Grimrose Academy. The whole sanctuary gathers, students and faculty filling every available space in the main courtyard. Vera's camera crews are still here, still documenting everything that happens because the world is watching to see if we can actually make this change work. Some parents have even come to witness their children being allowed to exist freely for the first time, to see essence types they were told were too dangerous manifested without fear.
I stand with my five mates at the front of the crowd, everyone's various flavors of satisfaction and nervousness rippling through the bond. We've won major battles, stripped Dmitri of his Council position and exposed a century of corruption. But there's an underlying tension that won't fade, a constantawareness that winning political battles doesn't mean we're safe. Dmitri is still out there. His loyalists are still dangerous. The system we challenged has deep roots that won't be torn up overnight.
But for today, we celebrate.
Tamara, now officially appointed headmistress with full Council backing, addresses the crowd from the platform where the hunters stood just a week ago. The symbolism isn't lost on anyone. "For too long, this place was called Grimrose Academy, and it functioned as a prison disguised as an educational institution. A place where students were sent not to learn but to be broken, suppressed, controlled. Today, we officially become Phoenix Sanctuary, named for the creature who started this revolution and for what we all are. Beings of transformation, rising from the ashes of an oppressive system that tried to kill us."
The crowd roars with triumph. Students are crying, some of them embracing each other. Faculty members are clapping, even the ones who were complicit in the old system looking relieved that it's finally over. And my fire warming with pride and hope, controlled flames dancing just beneath my skin.
The plaque is unveiled, a massive bronze piece mounted on the main building where the old Grimrose Academy sign used to hang. "Phoenix Sanctuary" is written in elegant script with a phoenix symbol beside it. My phoenix. Me, immortalized as the symbol of freedom and change. A creature that was supposed to be extinct, that the Council tried to eliminate, now standing for everything this place represents.
It's overwhelming. I can barely breathe around the weight of it.
Jade's hand finds mine, squeezing reassurance into my palm. His warmth surrounds me, drinking in my anxiety before it can spiral. On my other side, Skye's power wraps around me like aprotective blanket. I'm not alone in this. I never have to be alone again.
