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“Then what lies to the east?”
“I don’t know,” he snapped. “My land is far to the west.”
“If your people are at war, how could they come to our aid?”
“I’ve been gone far longer than I anticipated, so that war has been won or lost by now.”
“So you may not even have a home anymore?” I asked. “You may have nothing to offer me?”
He was quiet for a second, probably thinking about the friends and family he’d left behind. “I have faith that we won. The Ethereal are powerful beings—but the vampires are ruthless, and my brothers are vicious.”
“Your brothers?”
“A lot of the specific details don’t matter, but there are different factions of vampires, sired by different serpents. One brother is king of the Kingsnake Vampires and has one of our brothers as his general, and the other brother is king of the Cobra Vampires. And then my father is the first Original, so he’s basically the king of them all.”
“And what does that make you?”
“My father has selected me as his successor upon his unlikely death.”
“Then you’re a prince.”
He gave a slight cringe. “If you must give it a title…then, yes.”
“And you think you can convince them to vacate their lands after they’ve already fought in a war to aid strangers?” It seemed farfetched to me, and if I couldn’t use him, then I could kill him now.
“My father is the first Original, the king of all vampires, and since I’m his favorite son, there’s nothing he wouldn’t do to spare my life. And my brothers would fight for me as well—even though we aren’t always on the best terms.”
I stared at him, finding an unlikely ally in my greatest enemy. “You’re never allowed to leave my sight, so how will you call for aid?”
“I’ll have to pen a letter, written in a way that will assure my father it’s from me and not an impostor. Your couriers will have to follow my directions to sail to my lands, but to be honest, it’s a far and arduous journey.”
“My sailors can handle it.”
“They may handle it better with my guidance—”
“Nice try.” I moved to the bars and motioned to the guard to unlock the door.
“I’m a man of my word—”
“You are no man—as you just admitted.”
“Whatever I may be, I keep my promises.”
The guard opened the door, and I stepped out.
Aurelias tried to follow me, but I shut the door in his face and ordered the guard to lock it.
His eyes immediately soured. “I’ll be dead by tomorrow if you don’t release me. I feed on human blood, and it’s been a very long time since my last feeding.”
“And you think I’m going to let you feed on one of my citizens?”
His gaze hardened.
“No.”
“I told you I would die—”
“There must be a compromise.”
