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He took a breath, the air coming in quick but releasing slow. “Thank you.”
“Viper tells me you’ve taken the kingdoms for yourself.”
“I have.”
“You think that’s wise?”
“Doesn’t matter if it’s wise. That’s the deal we made.”
“If you rule the kingdoms, then this entire continent is vampire territory.”
“As it should be.” He relaxed in the chair, his hands gripping the edges of the armrests now that we talked about business.
“We have our kingdoms, Father. Can we leave the humans in peace?”
“The Ethereal are the ones who took away that peace when they poisoned them. I can protect the humans from the werewolves. I can only take what we need. I can prevent an attack on the vampires. Keeping your friends close—and your enemies closer.”
Nothing I said would change his mind, so I chose to let it go.
“Viper and Cobra have begun distributing the venom. You should see the line.”
“Do we have enough?”
“Not sure. Even if we don’t, most of the humans will be immune now, and that’s all that matters. The others will die off, but the stronger ones will survive. Eventually, this disease will disappear. All will be right with the world—once you’re well.”
* * *
I was stuck in bed for weeks.
Weeks.
The longest I’d ever been consumed by an injury. Or in my case, injuries. It would be easy for me to snap in my frustration, but I remembered the moment I’d realized I would die. The moment I’d told my wife I loved her for the final time. The pain I felt at that moment was infinitely worse than what I felt now.
This was nothing.
I sat on the bed and played cards with Fang while Larisa sat in the armchair, reading a book.
Fang put down his last card.
“Wow, you are good at this.”
Told ya.He slipped his tongue in and out.
Larisa didn’t take her eyes off the words on the page. “He cheats.”
Liessss.
I grabbed the cards and returned them to the pile before I shuffled them. My broken bones had realigned themselves and solidified, but the pain told me I needed more time before I could put on my armor and walk out of there.
Another round.
“You’ve kicked my ass three times in a row.”
Ssso?
“I’m not interested in it being four.”
Then get better.
