He paused on a table of vampires and humans, all of them chatting quietly while eating a meal. Though the humans appeared more subdued than the vampires beside them, they weren’t dressed in revealing clothes or being forced to kneel. Instead, they were eating right alongside the immortals.
The only difference in their meals appeared to be the drinks on the table. Blood wine for the vampires and various other beverages for the humans.
“In Blood City, we’ve imposed a strict blood donation program,” Khalid informed everyone. “All mortals in my territory are required to give blood every eight weeks. They’re also required to find gainful employment or attend schools, unless they’ve recently had a child, in which case we provide all care until the offspring reaches two years of age. Then one of the parents is required to return to work while the other stays home.”
“You have children in your region?” Jace asked.
Khalid grinned. “Yes. Many. And their parents bred willingly, not forcefully.”
He panned over to another screen that had my lips parting.
Because it appeared to be a daycare.
The technology automatically hid all the children’s faces, too, surprising me more.
“This can’t be real,” Ryder said, his tone and expression indicating his distrust. He wasn’t one who could be easily convinced by some fancy camerawork. And neither was my brother.
Neither am I, Cam murmured.This could all very easily be a lie.
Yes,I agreed.But what would be the purpose of it?
To provide a distraction of some kind?he suggested.
“It’s real,” Hazel insisted. “I’ve seen it.”
“Me, too,” Cedric echoed. “I didn’t believe it at first either. But…” He trailed off, his shoulders shrugging. “You’ll have to see it to understand.”
“Let’s say I believe you,” Jace said slowly, his tone suggesting he didn’t actually believe any of this but was playing along for now. “How have you hidden this from Lilith? From the other royals?”
“By being known for my inhospitable nature, of course,” Khalid drawled.
Jace’s responding expression conveyed his need for Khalid to elaborate. It was all in his eyes, the way they narrowed just enough to display his annoyance without him actually voicing it.
“When a royal visits—which is rare—I host them in one of the sovereign cities. Never in Blood City,” Khalid went on. “My sovereign cities are all scarcely populated, but they maintain an appearance that rivals our current world order.”
“And Lilith accepted that?” Jace pressed.
“I never gave her an option to decline,” Khalid returned. “Nor did I entertain her often. She relied on her satellite surveillance, just like she did for monitoring everyone else. However, as we all know, video feeds can be easily manipulated and contrived.”
“Which is why I still call bullshit on everything,” Ryder drawled. “All that fancy tech you just showed? Humans dining with vampires? It’s a beautiful notion, Khalid. But it’s too much of a fantasy for me to believe it.”
Khalid grinned. “I was really hoping you would say that, old friend. That’s why I already have a jet prepped and ready to go, should you choose to accept my offer of a visit. Or, I suppose, more accurately worded, should you choose to accept mychallenge.”
The room fell silent once more.
Ryder’s gaze narrowed.
Jace and Darius shared a glance.
Cam merely observed like he’d done this entire time, his mind already rejecting the idea of traveling to Khalid Region. He didn’t want to relocate until we discussed all our options.
And he wasn’t thinkingwe,as in everyone at the table, butwe,as inhe and I.
“You’re inviting all of us to Blood City?” Kylan asked, incredulity coloring his tone.
“No. Just Ryder. It would be too conspicuous to host everyone.” He shifted his gaze to Damien. “But I’d allow you to accompany your maker. Then you both can report back with your findings.” He looked around the room. “I imagine you all would believe them over me, Hazel, and Cedric, yes?”
More silence.
