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“My acquaintance with humans has been in very particular contexts. I think I may need to. . . alter some of my ways. I might not always know how. Is it fair to ask for patience? I really do want to get to know you.”
I let out a deep breath. I didn’t expect this. “What context was that?”
He shrugs. “Battle.”
My eyebrows go up. I don’t know what I expected of a being thousands of years old. That he just hung out at this castle the whole time? But him being a warrior. . . My eyes track over his gigantic shoulders and huge, muscled thighs. Yeah, that makes sense.
“What kind of battles? Cause I’ve never heard of you, and I feel like the history books might have made mention of someone as, uh, unique as you.”
His grin comes back, cracking wide as he laughs.
“Oh, I’m sure you know my work. My brothers and I were there with Hannibal of Carthage, Alexander, Ceasar, and Genghis Khan. Anywhere blood was to be spilled and power to be gained, we were there to shape the destinies of men.”
I stop chewing and just barely manage to swallow my food. Uhhhh. “So you like. . . spilling blood?”
His grin goes wide, teeth a little menacing as his gaze gets a faraway haziness to it. “Armies marching as far as the eye could see, the smell of adrenaline and battle fury in the air as men are roused to war. And then, all that pent-up energy finally released with the first arrow launched and the clash of warriors or infantrymen. Then comes chaos, barely leashed as the tide turns back and forth as men fight for their lives and other foolish notions like nation and honor. In truth, they were merely pawns in a far more glorious game.”
I pull back. I’m a pacifist. “How can you say that? They were people.”
He blinks, returning to the present moment with me.
“Is that how you see me? Just as a pawn in some game?”
He shakes his head. “No, Lo-Ren. That is my past.”
“One you obviously miss.”
His eyebrows narrow. “It was what I was made for. My father crafted sons that he might know power on this plane of existence.”
“And the only way he could get power was by killing people?”
“War is how men gain power,” he says, looking at me like I’m foolish or naïve not to understand that.
I throw my hands up. “That’s such a—a—a destructive, male thing to say! What did your father need all that power for anyway?” I ask, disgusted. “Just so he could fight another war and kill a bunch more people? What did it ever get him?”
Remus laughs as if I just don’t get it. “What do you mean, what did it get him? He won influence. He whispered in the ears of the most powerful men on earth. They won wealth, riches, and kingdoms and created empires! The world you now know is because of what my father, brothers, and I did. We created civilizations.”
I cough out a disbelieving laugh. “You mean you destroyed civilizations. You’re only talking about war, not peace.”
Remus waves a hand away. “Peace was what happened until the next war when another great leader rose up.”
“Are you serious? What about the great leaders who were able to maintain peace? Don’t you get that that’s what actually makes a leader great?”
“Expanding a territory is what makes a leader great. Conquering so that you have created an empire from the stretch of one sea to another is what makes a leader great.”
“If war is so great, why aren’t you still out there leading battles and whispering in the ears of generals?” I ask, fists on my hips. I can’t believe I ever went along with such a, a barbarian.
He waves a hand again, reaching for a bottle of whisky and uncorking the top. He drinks straight from the bottle like I did from the wine earlier. “I decided to retire. Even the most celebrated generals deserve to rest at the end of their great service.”
“Who did you ever serve?” I spit out.
He looks straight at me. “Myself.” But then his eyes drop as he takes another long swig. “And my father, I suppose.” I remember the stealthy figure stealing fire from the angels.
“And where is he? Off with your brothers? War criminals on vacation?”
Remus slams the bottle of whiskey down on the counter. “My father’s gone. Damned to Gehenna if there’s any justice in the place we sent him back to.”
“Really? Is that what you want? Justice for all the lives you’ve taken?”
