As beautiful as Lady Ashlynn's words and aspirations were, Adala doubted more than half the hall had heard anything she said after the words 'I am a Great Witch, the Mother of Trees…'
Adala herself barely heard the things that came after that. The shock was just too great. Somehow, she'd managed to get through half of the breakfast sitting directly next to Lady Ashlynn, by telling herself over and over again that she was a marchioness, not a Saintess, and that thought had held her together through round after round of shocks.
Her ability to think rationally abandoned her when she learned that High Inquisitor Ignatious, the kind, patient man who had come out to protect her after she spoke out against her father, was a vampire. Last night the Church had rained down Holy Fire on the Great Hall, and a vampire had given her safety and a place of refuge.
