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He continued. “The king doesn’t use it often, if ever. He prefers to make a spectacle of those who would go against him during executions.”
“How so?”
“Normally, he drags the charged out into the court grounds and cuts off their heads in front of a crowd.”
“How very ancient. It sounds like he hasn’t come into the century yet.”
“Sanmorte is behind the modern world in so many ways, and Sargon and many others at court prefer that.”
“So.” I moved my plate away from me and grabbed a drink instead. “You want the bone-cane for yourself.”
He laughed. “It’s called the Cane of Cineris, although bone-cane sounds so much better.”
“Why do you want it?”
“That’s not the gift I’m after. There are several, one of which is the blood of the goddess, Vaneria.”
My brows furrowed as I sipped on orange juice, which tasted surprisingly good. “Why would you want the blood of the goddess of hearts?”
“It is said that her blood can return the mortality to any immortal.”
My jaw slacked, and I curled my fingers, my nails biting into my palm. “Okay.” I didn’t really know what to say. I wanted to laugh, but his expression told me he wasn’t joking. Even a little vulnerability cracked through. “I didn’t think that was possible.”
“The king has the power to grant it, but he won’t. I’ve asked him before.” He drummed his fingers against his leg. “He believes immortality is a gift not to be wasted.”
“So he could, in theory, turn himself mortal?”
“Yes. Vaneria gave it as a gift before she ascended for any new king, queen, prince, or princess who claimed their place. To become a ruler of Sanmorte, you must become immortal, which, to the gods, was seen as a great sacrifice. While there was not enough blood to turn back an entire race of vampires, she could offer enough for each new heir so that when they chose to finish their reign and hand the throne to their successor, they may become mortal once more.”
“Then the king is keeping it for himself? That doesn’t seem surprising. It is his gift after all.”
“He will never take it,” Sebastian said coolly. The afternoon sun lowered in the sky, pouring warmth onto the table and over my hands. “There has been much discussion around his retirement, and he has declared on more than one occasion that if he chooses to end his reign, then he will remain immortal and eventually die as one too. He’s not afraid of the underworld. In fact, he thinks it’s the perfect place to go in death, a guaranteed afterlife filled with all the vampires he’s ever met. Why would he die as a mortal? He would die and leave behind everyone he cares about.”
“If that’s true, then he should give it to you. The king,” I added.
“He won’t do it. His gifts are precious to him and represent the power he holds. His brother, Kalon, is also crowned prince and is next in line for the throne. After you,” he added. “He too has these gifts but would never give one to me. He’s far crueler than Sargon and despises me.”
“What other gifts did the gods give him?”
“He doesn’t feel bloodlust like we do, so if he doesn’t drink, he won’t desiccate and die. He can enjoy mortal food too, delights in showing off his ability to consume both. Only the reigning monarch has this power, so not even Kalon knows it.”
“The gods really must have believed in the monarchy.”
He nodded, leaning his chair back, his dark hair showing hues of deep brown under the sunlight.
“The first king was crowned by them. As you know, there are four gods: Laveniuess, Jaiunere, Vaneria, and Salenia.”
I nodded, and he continued.
“They saw it as their responsibility to bring structure and law to Sanmorte, as it was their sister who had brought such a curse onto the world. So the three of them, while Salenia was in the underworld she created, found a ruler of a kingdom who had succeeded in bringing order to the chaotic mortals from that time. They called him the chosen one and asked him to sacrifice his mortality and kingdom to rule Sanmorte, with the promise of a beautiful afterlife and the chance to become mortal once again one day. He already has a son and daughter, but his wife had died from disease not long before. The king agreed, and his children were also turned, prepared to one day take upon the burden of the monarchy.”
Hearing all their history unfold, things hidden in books that had been long banned in Baldoria, was far more fascinating than I could have ever thought. As I listened, stories unfolded in my mind, and my writer's brain itched to tell them of the first king and his children. “Am I from his bloodline?”
“Yes. Fortunately, his bloodline has not run dry, for if it did, the king could choose a successor. His son married a sorcerer, and they had two sons, naming them Sargon and Kalon.”
“How far back was this?”
“A millennium ago. The first king ruled for four centuries, his son for five, and the daughter helped him, remaining as princess until she decided to consume the goddess’s blood and become mortal too. Sargon was then crowned king as the eldest son and ruled for a century before having you. The first king achieved some level of peace between Sanmorte and the rest of the world, forming treaties and finding a balance between the need for vampires to feed and how they would do it.”
