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There was no judgment or anger in his eyes, unlike his brothers.
“Those are my terms,” I said. “Agree to this truce between our peoples, and I’ll grant you access to this information.”
The brothers all looked at one another in silence, as if they could read one another’s minds. They all seemed to come to an agreement because Kingsnake turned to me. “We want our immortal races to coexist in harmony, regardless of your crimes, so we’ll sign your truce and move forward in a new era of peace.”
Viper released an annoyed sigh.
Cobra gave me a stare so heated it made my skin bubble.
I unrolled the scroll with my signature at the bottom and passed it to Kingsnake. With a feather-tip quill, he signed his name in black ink at the bottom. He passed the paper to Cobra, who also added his signature in cursive script.
The scroll was returned to me. “Thank you.”
Kingsnake stared at me, more intense than he’d been a moment before. “Speak.”
I defeated the dread and moved forward. “Before I share this with you, I want you to understand I was unaware of this until last week. And the great majority of the Ethereal are unaware of this truth—”
“Speak,” Kingsnake said, his eyes venomous.
My spine was straight, my core was strong, but I still felt weak with shame. “The reason the Ethereal have forged this endless crusade against your people is because we compete for the same resources.”
“What resources?” Kingsnake asked.
“The kingdoms of men.”
Still confused, he narrowed his eyes.
“You need their blood for immortality…and we need their souls.”
No movement. No reaction. But the tension was like the heat from a raging forest fire.
Kingsnake dropped his stare momentarily, his entire face tight with consternation. His eyes eventually made their way back to me. “Explain.”
“I can’t explain the mechanism. I’m not sure my father could either since it’s been operating long before either one of us was born. But when a human passes from this life…their soul is captured here. It travels to the river below the mountain that reaches our city, the river that waters our crops, that fills our canteens. The Ethereal truly believe the gods have blessed us with immortal life, have ordered us to eliminate the nightwalkers, while not realizing that they feed and drink the souls of mortals.” I finally got it off my chest, but instead of feeling better, I felt worse. It only made it truer.
Once Kingsnake heard my tale, he turned to look at Larisa beside him.
She looked pale, even for a vampire.
Cobra and Viper did the same, looking at the woman they regarded as a sister.
Larisa didn’t look at Kingsnake. Her eyes were on the table, and her fingertips moved over her lips in astonishment.
“I’m sorry…” There was no justification for what my people had done. It was pointless to apologize.
Kingsnake looked at Cobra for a while.
Cobra sank back into the chair, arms flat on the table.
The fact that they weren’t drawing their blades and threatening to kill me was a miracle. They seemed too shocked to do anything except sit there.
Kingsnake finally spoke. “My father was right—about everything.”
“Fuck,” Cobra said.
“The kingdoms believe we’re the enemy,” Kingsnake said. “But it’s the people they worship as gods…”
I used to be proud of my people. Now I was so ashamed.
