‘Not like this. Water like blue crystal. Soft sand and sighing breezes. And the shopping…’
I grin. Laurel loves clothes. I’ve given her quite a few things, as I have enough to wear for several lifetimes. I think my mother sometimes forgets that.
My grin fades as we pass the harvesting plant, a line of people waiting outside. Laurel glances at me.
‘You going to be able to do anything about that?’ She jerks her head.
‘I’m trying. But it’s more difficult than I thought. This is just one plant of hundreds across the realm.’
Kyle warned me, back when I believed he wanted a life with me. My father did, too. How difficult it would be to change things for humans. I knew it would be, but God and darkness, the red tape! The arguments! What I wanted, I thought, was simple. For donation to the plants to be optional, or the donation frequency decreased. For humans to be able to travel between Safe Zones, not tied to one place. We can’t give up blood harvesting totally, because then vampires will start tohunt humans again. But apparently, there are vampires and humans who want that, arranging their own lucrative illegal hunts, another thing I’ve been furious to discover. There are also humans who want things to stay as they are, happy to be farmed for their blood in return for what they see as a safe existence. It’s an almost impossible line to walk, keeping all the factions happy.
‘Surely you can dosomething!’
I stare at her. ‘I’m doing what I can,’ I say, feeling stung. This is another thing that worries me. Once I’m publicly anointed as the next Raven, and it becomes more widely known that I’m human, it feels like the pressure on me to change things will increase.
Before I ran away, I thought a human life was one of sunlight and warmth, a place of safety. But now I see the darkness overlaying it all, the shadow of Raven permeating every aspect of human existence. And the fact that, despite the lights and guards and boundaries, no human is safe. Not so long as the blood in their veins is what vampires need to survive. There’s no way around it. In no world can I take the throne and simply declare that humans are free and cannot be hunted. I’d be dead before I left the room. I can’t reverse the Rising, either. My hope, instead, is that I can build something new; work out a way for everyone to get something they want, rather than one group getting everything and the other getting not much at all, under the guise of ‘keeping them safe.’
My time in the Safe Zone is supposed to be for research; to figure out what humans really want, and how I can make that happen for them. It’s such a massive task. I can’t sleep, sometimes, for thinking about it. Yet I’m determined. I’ve already made a start, working with my parents to create a Free Zone for humans on the Channel Islands. It’s almost ready to launch, a triumphant start to my reign. At least, that’s my hope.
‘I’m sorry.’ Laurel’s auburn brows draw together. ‘I shouldn’t have said anything. I know you’re trying.’
I sigh. ‘No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you. It’s just…’
‘I know. And it’s okay.’ Laurel links her arm with mine, her head on my shoulder as we head towards the pick-up point. There’s a small group of people waiting already. They’re also dressed in Raven sweats. And they’re all food.
Not blood dancers like Laurel. Instead, they’re food for guards on the Raven estate, confined to a cage in the basement for their shift, then returning home. It’s horrible. I’ve suggested getting blood pouches like most vampires use, fresh from the harvesting plants. But apparently, one of the perks of being a guard on the estate is having live food. Another wall I’m trying not to bang my head on.
The bus pulls up with a hiss of brakes. We file on board, Laurel and I taking a seat together at the back. No one has ever recognised me, but I take as few chances as possible. I was barely acknowledged by vampires before the North Wind rebellion, and most humans weren’t even aware vampires could have human children. I suppose that’s because they’re usually killed at birth. I survived, and Michael survived, because our mothers fought for us. But I’ve chosen to remain a secret until I leave the Safe Zone, which is why I refuse the car my parents offered, taking the bus instead.
Trees crowd both sides of the road as we head towards Dark Haven, the vampire town closest to my home. The Great Forest borders our estate, spreading across the entire country to the far north, enveloping abandoned cities and towns and villages. It’s the same across the world, or so I’ve been told. Forests like this springing up everywhere, once humans were driven from their homes, killed or funnelled into Safe Zones. Our Great Forest is vast and impenetrable, a place of danger, home to Reaper gangs and darkness knows what else. There’s the occasional glimpse of humped buildings among the trees as we speed past, ghosts of the world that was. I remember the human guard, driving me back to Dark Haven after I escaped Kyle and Jessie’s clutches.There are houses in there,he said.Whole villages swallowed up. And other things.As I watch dark trees flash past, barren and tangled with winter, I wonder. What other things?
‘Hey, are we okay?’ Laurel nudges me.
I realise she was talking while I zoned out. ‘Of course we are.’
She looks down. ‘I shouldn’t have had a go at you. I’m just … it’s scary. And now we have Reapers to worry about as well.’ Her voice gets quieter.
‘No, I’m sorry. I do want to change things. And I will! I just can’t do it all at once. It’s not easy.’ I mutter the last words, feel like an ass even saying them. No part of human existence is easy.
Laurel’s expression softens. ‘You’re as trapped as we are, aren’t you?’
The bus rattles to a stop, the doors opening with another hiss. Everyone gets up, exiting quickly. Humans don’t tend to hang around too long in vampire towns, and our bus driver is no exception. Laurel and I are last off the bus, joining the others in a small huddle on the pavement. Even though it’s still daylight, night isn’t far off. Another bus will be along soon, to take us to the estate. There’s no reason for it not to come, but I understand their apprehension. I remember being alone here, the sun setting as I made a desperate dash for home. I was lucky to make it alive.
I haven’t answered Laurel. Because she isn’t wrong. I am trapped. On all sides. By red tape and political factions and a society centuries in the making. Even though the Red Rising was less than a century ago, humans were farmed for food long before that. Just not on such an … industrial scale. I’m trying to change the world. And I don’t know if I can do it.
The estate bus pulls up. It’s sleek, painted black with the Raven insignia silvered on the side. The door opens and we climb on board, single file. The seats are plush, comfortable, velvet curtains at the windows. Yet I can’t escape the feeling that this is more like a coffin than anything, taking these people to their slow death.
I sit down next to Laurel, and the bus starts to move. I’m going home.
But as shadows close around us, the bus taking me further from the Safe Zone, and Michael, it also feels as though I’m leaving home behind.
ChapterThree
FAMILY TIES
The gates at the rear of the Raven estate are already open, the house a towered square against the winter sunset. We pull to a stop at the back, where stone stairs lead down to the guard quarters in the basement.
I thank the driver as we disembark. As I do so, I notice a small flash of red on his collar, what looks like an enamelled pin catching the light. It sparks something in my memory.
