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That my stepmother was a vampire and had turned me into one too? Entirely something else.
“Because,” I said carefully, “after these men saved me, my stepmother chased us. We fled deeper into the mountains, where we were saved.” I braced myself. “By witches.”
“Witches?” Valeria snapped incredulously.
“Princess…” Lord Thomas started in a doubtful tone.
I hid a grimace. My people had such a strange relationship with magic. Yes, they let my stepmother’s power protect them with the wall and the various weapons and tools she’d helped fashion in the war and beyond. But that didn’t mean they trusted magic or anyone who used it—besides my stepmother, anyway, and only because my father ordered it. The Witch War had created the Wild Lands, and Melisandre’s story that madness would affect my father and I if we saw her spellwork had spread far beyond the castle, until many of my people believed that the entire enterprise was suspect at best—and that most witches were too.
“They helped us,” I said. “Protected us at great risk to themselves. But it’s not only because of their stories that I know this. It’s because we’ve encountered the Voidborn too.”
“Did you happen to receive reports of earthquakes approximately a week ago?” Casimir asked.
Lord Thomas nodded carefully. “A few farmers to the west said there were tremors, though we assumed they were a precursor to the wall falling.” He eyed us all. “Were those caused by these Voidborn you speak of?”
I nodded. “The Voidborn briefly succeeded in forcing their way into our world. We managed to escape them, but only barely.”
Distrust flashed across Valeria’s face and she shifted her weight slightly as if preparing to put herself between us and Lord Thomas. At the motion, the lord glanced her way.
“They passed the inspection,” he reminded her, more gently than one would normally speak to a subordinate.
She barely seemed mollified.
“At the time we saw them,” Casimir continued, “very nearly anything they touched turned to ash. Plants, animals. It scarcely seemed to make a difference to those creatures.”
I held myself still, keeping my eyes on Lord Thomas and Valeria. I wouldn’t let on that there was an important exception to what Casimir said about creatures with which the Voidborn came into contact.
Namely, vampires.
“Clearly, they’ve gained a new skill then,” Lord Thomas replied grimly, giving no indication he noticed anything amiss from me.
“How do we kill them?” Valeria asked coldly.
I glanced at my men, all of whom looked uncomfortable. Barring Clay’s small outburst, not a single one of the giants had said a word this entire time, and I could only assume it was out of a desire not to draw undue attention to themselves.
Or raise questions about exactly who—or what—they were.
“Thus far,” Casimir said, continuing the pattern of being the one to speak for them. “We have only found sunlight to be effective. When we were fleeing them, they could not last long in the sun.” He paused for a moment. “This may be why they’ve taken to sheltering inside humans.”
“Protection so they can continue their invasion,” Lord Thomas filled in.
Casimir nodded.
I suppressed a shiver as silence took up residence in the room. Humans possessed by the Voidborn became vicious killers. And when I was touched by those creatures, I’d become much the same.
But I’d come back. And thus, what of the possessed humans? Could we save them too somehow?
Gods, how many were out there now, possessed by these creatures and committing who knew what kinds of atrocities?
“It’s getting late,” Lord Thomas said, “and undoubtedly you wish to rest after your travels. I’ve asked Forian to prepare rooms for you all. I trust you’ll understand if I have dinner sent to you rather than hosting you in the grand hall as would befit your station, princess.”
I could hear all the layers of complications his polite words covered. Not only was his city under siege, but his people were likely stressed by our presence and the crimes of which I’d been accused. Hosting us for a formal dinner was not only inappropriate in general but would make his words about a trial to determine my guilt appear only for show.
And that wasn’t even bringing into it all the issues he didn’t know about, like the fact I didn’t exactly eat food anymore.
“Of course,” I replied.
A measure of tension eased from his face. “Thank you, princess.”
