Dick was profoundly grateful that he had often returned to Wayne Manor to visit his family over the past few months, occasionally practiced singing with Little Merfolk, and never taken off the mermaid silk charm Little Girl had given him.
If he had fallen here...
Seemingly realizing that Dick had not been charmed, Pandora frowned slightly, then quickly changed tactics. She released Dick and retreated with Long-Haired Man, the vampire, to their previous distance.
"Mr. Nightwing, our cause is just."
Pandora straightened, resuming her elegant, refined aristocratic bearing as she tried once again to persuade Dick to take her side.
"Mary is deliberately spreading unrest. Her people have been hounding those of us in the Blood Clan who refuse to obey her orders. Once she is gone, we can reunite our entire kind, and then-"
"Absolutely not." Dick immediately interrupted her, refusing outright. "I won't kill someone to settle a dispute, nor do I believe killing can solve every problem."
Looking at the numerous vampires before him, Dick discreetly took a deep breath.
He was outnumbered. An open falling-out was not a good choice right now.
Dick softened his tone slightly, unwilling to escalate the conflict outright. "If you want your demands addressed, negotiation is the only legitimate way. You could sit down with Queen Mary and discuss your differences properly. You're all of the same kind, after all, aren't you?"
Pandora lowered her eyelids slightly. Her long lashes cast small shadows, concealing her gaze, and her voice suddenly turned sorrowful.
"We tried negotiating, but..."
Long-Haired Man, the vampire standing beside her, abruptly stepped forward. His handsome face twisted into a vicious expression, and his icy voice rang out, laden with resentment suppressed for centuries. "We are inherently superior to humans."
"Mary and her followers have long since forgotten that