AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And my gut proved me right.
The large meeting room, which could accommodate eight hundred people, was completely full. Among them, two dozen hybrid females had also shown up. I hadn’t realized Dawn had invited them, too. And that shamed me.
As only the males had been targeted by the killers, with all the females safely tucked away in the main cities, it hadn’t even crossed my mind to involve them. And yet, this meeting was about more than just the murders. It was also about how Braxia and I—as its future ruler—could do better by them. It further outlined what a long way I still had to go on that front and why having Dawn help lead such an endeavor back home would be a blessing.
Standing on the dais of the former prayer hall, the altar replaced by a large wooden table, I let my gaze roam over the attendees. Animosity shone bright in the males’ eyes, while distrust oozed out of the females. Such a strong reaction from the men confused me. I had seen similar expressions in the past from people who had already made up their minds and who categorically refused to be swayed, whatever argument was presented to them.
But that would not deter me.
“Thank you everyone for coming in such numbers,” I said in a gentle tone. “For those who do not know me, I am Keran Xeldar, firstborn son and heir to Magnar Ravik. Two weeks ago, Dawn informed me of the wave of murders that has been occurring here and of the lack of support you’ve been getting from the local authorities. Therefore, I came to lend my assistance in apprehending the culprit.”
“Why? Why does the pureblood royal heir suddenly care about what’s happening to us?” Vintor shouted, earning himself many approving nods.
“The royal heir, and his father before him, has cared for a long time about what is happening to hybrids,” I replied calmly. “You will recall that it was my sire who forbade the hunting and mistreatment of hybrids. We’ve been enforcing it for the past nineteen years, and it has worked so well that no more of you flee Braxia to seek refuge here. Hence why this center is on the verge of closing.”
“Clearly, it’s not working so well anymore since purebloods are now taking hunting trips here to abuse us away from their ruler,” Vintor snarled, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
He ignored Dawn’s reproving look, glancing smugly around the room to bask in the approving nods of his comrades.
“I specifically came here fearing this was indeed the case and was determined to catch and make an example out of the clansmen responsible for this,” I conceded, denying him the pleasure of getting riled up by his taunts. “But in light of our investigation so far, we are confident that this isn’t a case of purebloods hunting hybrids in violation of our edict.”
The hybrids collectively raised their voices in protest, calling me a liar and a few other choice words.
Vintor shot to his feet, raising his hand to demand silence so that he could be heard. I forced a neutral expression on my face as the others complied while they had ignored a similar gesture from me. Dawn had been right in stating that he held tremendous sway over the hybrids. If I couldn’t get him on board, he could effectively sabotage any effort I might make to establish any kind of cordial rapport with them.
“Why doesn’t that response surprise me or any of us?” Vintor exclaimed with venom. “First, you turned a blind eye to decades of abuse and torture. And now, you shirk responsibility and hide behind denial when your authority is challenged.”
I waved a dismissing hand, silencing my urge to punch him in the throat. “Instead of trying to rile up the others with nonsense and tired old propaganda, you should try and pay attention to the important discovery we have made and are trying to share with you.”
“Propaganda?” Vintor exclaimed with outrage before glancing around the room, looking for support as he pointed an accusatory finger at me. “This is what purebloods do. Dismiss our very valid concerns, make us look ignorant or overly dramatic, belittle us to make themselves appear superior while lying to us.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Vintor, shut the hell up and let him speak!” Dawn exclaimed with exasperation. “If you only came here to talk shit, then you might as well leave. Our people aredying, and you’re busy being an attention whore and venting your grievances rather than allowing everyone to get the information that may help save their lives. I don’t want to lose anyone else. So please, cut it out.”
Shock, outrage, embarrassment, and anger flitted in quick succession on Vintor’s face. It took every bit of my willpower not to grin smugly at the idiot to have my female call him out like this and publicly siding with me. I couldn’t even muster the slightest guilt for the petty sentiment. However, the stunned reaction of the others, followed by an air of worry, also spoke of Dawn’s own sway over them. If my suspicions were right, she didn’t usually have these types of outbursts. They would undoubtedly interpret it as meaning they truly had grounds for concern.
Vintor made a disgusted gesture and let himself drop back on his chair in a way that implied he wasn’t conceding but merely letting Dawn have her way with a conversation not worth his time. I barely repressed the urge to roll my eyes at this lame attempt to save face. With a certainty I couldn’t explain, my gut told me that had he snapped back at Dawn, the others would have turned on him.
I almost thanked Dawn for her intervention but swallowed it back. As sweet as rubbing Vintor’s face in it would have been, I needed them focused on the lurking danger, not settling scores.
“I too believed that purebloods were hunting you,” I said in a conciliatory tone. “But a proper autopsy of the victims proved that the apparent ritual killings were in fact only meant to hide the more horrible things that were done to them, and which actually led to their deaths. The murderer isn’t hunting you. He’s experimenting on you.”
A collective gasp followed by baffled mutterings rose in the room. The hybrids exchanged confused and worried glances, many of them struggling to decide whether they believed me.
“What do you mean by that? What kind of experiments, and for what purpose?” Jaek asked, his questions echoing those etched on the faces of the others.
“We do not know what their purpose is,” I confessed with a heavy sigh, before giving them a rundown of our findings with the Kranax Beetle eggs and the puncture wounds indicating they had been drained of certain fluids.
Despite continuing to plaster an air of bravado on his face, Vintor also displayed the same disturbed expression as the others.
“It has come to our attention that there is a second group of off-worlders looking to recruit you,” I continued carefully. “We do not claim that they are the ones behind this, but if any of you has additional information you could share about them, it could help us zero in on a suspect.”
“Aaah! So that’s what this is all about!” Vintor exclaimed, going back to his self-righteous attitude. “You didn’t find anything shady about Jardan to keep him from recruiting us, so now you’re trying to discredit another potential recruiter.”
This time, I rolled my eyes, making no effort to hide my annoyance.
“You’re wasting your time,” Vintor continued in a haughty tone. “Whether these experiments are truly happening won’t matter in the greater scheme of things. Soon, we will all leave Haven, and they will not be able to hunt us anymore.”
“Soon, but you aren’t gone yet,” I retorted with a sliver of contempt in my voice. “Do you care so little about those who will die until then? And how about those who already died? Do they not deserve for their murderer to answer for his crimes?”
