My brain clicked off at that point. What Daniel had said to me before he’d tagged me filled my mind. It was like Telly thought the same thing. That I wanted to be tagged, that I enjoyed it. I stood. “You’re telling me I’m out of line?”
“No one gave you leave.” Telly drew himself up to his full height.
“Oh, I’m not leaving.” All eyes were on me. I reached down and pulled my sweater up and over my head. There was a moment when no one seemed to breathe. I met the open mouthed stares; I’d think I didn’t have a camisole on underneath the sweater by the looks on their faces.
“What in the world are you doing, Alexandria?” demanded Lucian.
Ignoring him, I stepped away from the chair and held my arms out in front of me. “Does this look like something I wanted to go along with? That I asked for this?”
Against their will, dozens and dozens of eyes fastened on my arms. Most gasped and shuddered, looking away quickly. Others didn’t. As if they couldn’t tear their eyes from the patchy red skin and its unnatural shine. My gaze flitted across the floor as Telly looked like he was having a heart attack beside me. I saw the proud tilt to Laadan’s chin. A few rows in front of her I saw Dawn’s horrified gaze. Further back, behind the Council members, Marcus paled. It kind of hit me that he’d never seen my scars, only caught glimpses of the ones on my neck. I don’t think he’d known how bad they were. I felt a hot flush crawl up my neck, but the stunned look of pride on Aiden’s face gave me the confidence to face the Ministers.
I wondered what Seth’s expression looked like. He was probably smiling. He loved it when I was irrational, and this was really irrational.
Twisting around, I showed them my arms. “They look like they hurt, don’t they? They did. It’s the worst kind of pain you can imagine.”
“Alexandria, sit down. We get your point.” Telly reached for me, but I stepped aside.
A Guard moved in, picking up my sweater. He held it, his eyes nervously bouncing between Telly and me.
I glanced at the other Guards, hoping they weren’t planning on body slamming me to the ground. All but one were half-bloods and none of them seemed willing to stop me. Tipping my head at the Ministers, I tried to keep the smile off my face. “So do you really think I went along with my mother? That I wanted this?”
Diana paled and looked away, shaking her head sadly. The remaining Ministers reacted much like the audience had. Either way, I’m pretty sure I’d gotten my point across.
A furious shade of red covered Telly’s cheeks. “Are you done, Alexandria?”
I met his scowl with my own. Leisurely, I went back to my chair and sat down. “I guess so.”
Telly ripped the sweater out of the Guard’s hand. I could tell he wanted to throw it at me, but with amazing self-control, he handed it over. I didn’t put it back on. “Now where were we?”
“We were at the point where you were accusing me of wanting to become a daimon.”
Several Ministers inhaled sharply. Telly looked seconds away from exploding. Leaning down so that our faces were inches apart, he spoke low and quick. “You are an unnatural thing, do you understand me? A harbinger of death to our kind and to our gods. The both of you.”
I shrunk back, wide-eyed. “Harbinger of death” sounded extreme and crazy.
“Head Minister,” called Lucian. “We could not hear your question. Would you care to speak again?”
Telly straightened. “I asked her if there was anything more she would like to add.”
My jaw hit the floor.
He smiled evenly. “There are areas besides the event in Gatlinburg that concern me greatly, Alexandria. Your behavior before you left the Covenant and the fighting you have taken part in upon your return have served you a great disadvantage, I’m afraid. And how is it that the night the Covenant was breached in North Carolina, you were outside your dorm after the curfew implemented for half-bloods?”
I so knew where this was going, so I cut to the chase. “I didn’t let the daimons in, if that is what you’re suggesting.”
Telly’s smile turned sour. “So it appears. Then there is your behavior since you arrived here. You accused a pure-blood of using a compulsion against you, did you not?”
“She did what?” screeched the old female Minister. “To accuse a pure-blood of such an act is shocking. Was there any proof, Minister Telly?”
“My Guards could not find anything to support the claim.” Telly paused dramatically. “And then you attacked a Master who was disciplining a servant.”
Several Ministers lost it then. Telly preened as they demanded to know exactly what occurred. I pictured rushing across the dais and kicking Telly in the groin over and over again.
When it calmed down a bit, Telly addressed the Council. His voice rang loud through the coliseum. “I fear that we have a greater concern than daimons pulling together and attacking us in droves. What you see sitting before us may look like an ordinary half-blood, but we all know that is not the case. In a matter of a few months, she will become the second Apollyon. If she is even half as uncontrollable as she is now, what do you think will occur when she Awakens?”
My heart stuttered, missing a beat.
“As the Head Minister, it pains me deeply to suggest this, but I fear we have no other choice. We must protect the future of our true Masters. I petition that we remove Alexandria Andros from the Covenant and place her under the supervision of the Masters.”
I jerked forward blindly. I couldn’t even move as the rush of fear coated my mouth and churned my stomach into raw knots. This was what Telly wanted—the whole reason for me being here. It had nothing to do with what the daimons planned.