Previously on "The Otherworlders" - Sebastian, Jake, and Cameron find themselves at the center of Prince Julian's court, there to help celebrate the prince's engagement as a cover for their mission. 

When it comes time to bow reverently before the prince, Jake struggles with the clash of customs and the fact that bowing before a Vampyr prince might be interpreted as him groveling.

Hoping the prince won't insult the prince or embarrass Sebastian's family, Jake finds a comprise that, after Sebastian's thoughtful interference, meets with the prince's initially stoic approval.

**********

The crowd is gathered in Prince Julian's Throne Room as he stands before his court, his fiancé, Lady Agatha, by his side and a chalice of wine in his hands. He holds the chalice up in a toast. "To my bride-to-be!"

Lady Agatha blushes deeply and hangs her head, looking down at the floor to avoid eye contact with anyone.

Regardless, the crowd echoes Prince Julian's toast as he begins to pace along the dais.

Sir Geoffrey rolls his eyes and mutters, "Not exactly the kind of princess we were hoping for, is she?"

"Did you see how she couldn't even make eye contact with anyone during the entire procession?!" Lady Brigitte responds wickedly. "She must be as dull as a doorknob."

"I pity the prince that she will be his First Wife," Sir Geoffrey adds. "Imagine having to bring someone so tepid and unrefined into our noble social circle."

"Oh, good Gods!" Lady Brigitte says with a derisive snort. "Their pairing, outside of the political union, is a disaster waiting to happen! However..." She breathes in. "I'm sure her dowry will make up for her lack of grace or beauty in the end. Let's hope she can at least provide him with a male heir."

Sir Geoffrey and Lady Brigitte share a knowing look before turning their attention back to the prince.

"Now, I must say that many of you were surprised by my engagement announcement," Prince Julian continues, "and to be frank, that's understandable." He stops in the middle of the dais and takes in the crowd. "That is because we kept our impending union a secret, given the prestige of both Houses. But for those who know me well or are at least observant enough, you should have seen the signs, the clues of this coming event."

He scans the crowd, acknowledging a few of the guests with a nod. "But no matter." He continues, resuming his pacing. "The engagement is public now and the union of these two houses, the House of DuBois and the House of Bennington, will bring about a sense of stability, and we believe a greater prosperity to all of our people."

While the crowd breaks out into a cheer again, Sir Geoffrey leans in and murmurs to his wife, "The House of Bennington? Did you see this coming?"

"No," Lady Brigitte replies honestly. "Had I been paying attention, I suppose I would have. But I didn't. And I've never known a man who likes to flaunt the fact that he's got so many secrets more than Julian does. But I've not been part of the court for some time now."

"We should probably keep closer tabs on court intrigue going forward, don't you think?" Surprisingly, Sir Geoffrey says this without any arrogance or condescension, because while it's true he and his wife have a mutual disdain for each other, when it comes to court politics, they work exceedingly well together, like a well-oiled machine.

Meanwhile, Sebastian leads the boys back into the now empty antechamber where they huddle together to strategize. "Okay," he says. "Now's our chance. Let's figure out where to look for the artifact."

"Have you ever been here before?" Cameron asks.

"No, I haven't." Sebastian admits, fearing he might not be able to bring the value he'd assumed he would to the mission given that it's on his home turf.

"Seb, this place is huge!" Jake observes as he tries to estimate the number of hallways they'll have to explore.

"Well, I guess..." Sebastian starts to say before he realizes that Jake just used his nickname. Not the one his siblings use for him (thank the gods!), but the one that his school friends typically used. He wasn't expecting that from Jake, or from any of his other classmates for that matter, and he's surprised to find that he likes it.

"I guess we should," he continues, "as Master Achebe always says, 'start with the sacred'?"

Both Jake and Cameron nod in agreement.

Sebastian turns and squints. "Now, from what I remember, Prince Julian isn't religious at all. In fact, he's pretty anti-religious. The man worships women, power, and money, apparently. I don't think we're going to find a single holy spot in this entire palace."

"Women, power, and money," Jake scoffs. "So that takes us where? His bedroom? His throne room? His...?"

"Safe room!" Sebastian cries out with a snap.

"A safe room," Jake nods slowly. "Okay, that sounds like a disaster and a half. That's probably one of the most secure rooms in this entire place!"

"Yes, true." Sebastian holds up a finger and adds, "But it makes the most sense, wouldn't you say?"

"It does," Jake admits with a lazy shrug. "So, now, how do we go about finding it?"

Cameron reaches into his pocket and pulls out a purple crystal dangling from a silver chain.

"What's that?" Jake asks.

"It's an Amethyst charm." Cameron holds it up to the light. "You know how Inez can locate objects with her Sight?"

"Yeah?" Jake responds, a smile ghosting his lips as he thinks of Inez.

"It's essentially a less powerful and less precise version of that same form of magic," Cameron explains. "It can give the holder the same sort of intuition."

"So, it makes you a Seer too?" Sebastian asks.

"No, not exactly," Cameron replies with a chuckle. "But Enchanteds can use crystals as proxies for certain types of magic, magic we don't naturally possess. It's never as powerful or reliable as innate magic, but in a pinch, it can get the job done."

Cameron holds his arm up and swings the crystal before him. Then feeling its tug, heads in the direction of a long hallway off to the right of the antechamber.

They pass by row after row of closed doors, and when Jake and Sebastian catch up to Cameron, he indicates that he's not picking up any signals.

Towards the end of the hall, they pass by a door sitting slightly ajar and a low, moaning voice of a woman emanates from the room.

Jake and Sebastian barely notice, but Cameron stops. He calls out to the other two, "Did you guys hear that?"

Sebastian looks back over his shoulder at Cameron. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it," he says, and he and Jake continue walking.

Cameron follows behind, but he moves slowly and looks worried. "Okay, but guys," he says, "this is gonna sound really weird. But it's fair to say I've been around the block enough to know that does not sound like a moan of pleasure to me."

Sebastian looks back at him, annoyed. "And your point is..?"

"My point is, Sebastian..." Cameron snaps, trying to tamp down on his irritation, "...that someone might be hurt or in trouble in there. Shouldn't we do something?"

Sebastian rolls his eyes. "Cameron," he says. "We're on a mission, we don't have time for a pitstop! Plus, it's not what you think. I'm sure she's fine." He starts to head back down the hall.

Ignoring Sebastian's assessment, Cameron backtracks. "I just want to make sure," he murmurs as he reaches the room and peaks in through a crack in the door.

And what he sees inside shocks him!

"Holy shi..." Cameron mutters as he slips inside.

Jake and Sebastian exchange exasperated glances, then follow him.

In the lushly decorated room, awash in velvet and satin and bathed in soft candlelight, is a chaise lounge and on it, a young woman — maybe 19 or 20 — dressed in a thin, lacy, white gown. Her head is slumped over the back of the couch and her left arm hangs off the side. Her hand lingers above a large, silver bowl, blood dripping into it from a vein in her forearm.

Cameron rushes to the young woman's side.

At the sound of his pounding feet, the woman stirs, trying to rouse herself from her debilitating stupor. But before Cameron can reach her, Sebastian's hand whips out to stop him. "Don't!" he says as he catches Cameron's arm.

"She's in trouble!" Cameron snags his arm out of Sebastian's grip and runs over to the woman anyway.

Jake steps into the room. And when he sees the woman and the state she's in, he heads over to Cameron's side. Kneeling next to the woman, he looks back over his shoulder and confirms, "Cam's right. She's bleeding."

Sebastian sighs and dips his face into his hands. Oh, gods! How did this situation so quickly spiral out of control! He lifts his head. "She's not bleeding," he says on a beleaguered breath.

Cameron stands and shakes his head, dismissing Sebastian; and instead, he quickly grabs a handkerchief from a nearby dresser, and when he returns, he presses it against the young woman's arm to try to stop the bleeding.

"Guys, please don't," Sebastian groans. "This is a really bad idea. Plus, you know, the mission..?"

"Seriously, Sebastian?!" Cameron mutters angrily, not looking back at him. "Screw the mission! I think the woman just slit her wrists. She's bleeding really badly!"

"She's not bleeding!" Sebastian snaps as he steps fully into the room. "She's being bled!" He lowers his voice and whispers, "It's not the same thing!"

Off of Jake and Cameron's horrified expressions, Sebastian's shoulders slump and his head falls back as he looks up at the ceiling. This is harder than he thought it would be. He hadn't factored in the obvious culture clash. 

Once he composes himself, he looks at Jake and Cameron mournfully. "Look," he says, "they're extracting her blood as a part of Prince Julian's engagement ceremony, okay? It's an offering. This woman — whoever she is — actually volunteered for this part of the ritual. Despite how it looks, she's not being held against her will."

Cameron shoots Sebastian a skeptical look just as Sebastian realizes they're in the very last place they should be right now, especially since they're supposed to be working undercover. 

He starts to panic. "Guys!" he whisper-shouts at them. "You've got to listen to me! Any minute a Vampyr Priest will be coming through that door to check in on this woman before taking her, and her sacrificial blood, back to the Prince for a blessing. Please, just trust me! They're not going to let her bleed to death, I promise!"

With a sigh, Jake complies, slowly moving back towards Sebastian. But a growl rumbles in the back of this throat as he struggles to reconcile what he's seeing with his Shifter instinct to heal and protect.

Cameron, however, can't hold back. He's still desperate to come to this woman's aid, so he tries to finish knotting off the handkerchief around her arm.

He winces when Sebastian places a firm hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Cam, you can't do that," Sebastian says softly. "The priest will notice, and it'll tip him off that we were here." He adds, "Please, you have to trust me on this one."

Cameron looks up at Sebastian and sees the sincerity etched in his face. And after a beat, he rises and reluctantly backs away, giving Sebastian enough room to untie the bloody handkerchief and let the woman continue to bleed.

When Cameron joins Jake in the hallway, they stand in absolute silence, both of them wrestling with the frustration they feel at having to fight against their natural instincts to help.

"I guess we can't save everyone," Jake murmurs, and Cameron nods but still has an uncertian expression on his face.

Ultimately though, they both realize that as hard as it is to see something so lurid and ghastly, they've got to find a way to come to terms with Vampyric culture, and no matter how shocking or disturbing they may find it, learn to walk away.  

**********

A/N - Not too much to add overall. However, I did have a favorite moment in this chapter that, surprisingly enough, was not in the original rough draft. 

It sort of just came to me in the moment, and I think it was Sebastian letting us see a bit more of his vulnerable side. You know the moment, I'm talking about, right? Wouldn't you agree?

Until next week!

~ Paula ❤️