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What he was saying sounded implausible and impossible to even fathom, but Hyhborn . . . they couldn’t lie.
“Those great buildings replaced the trees and destroyed entire forests, the machinery choked the air, and ease of life pushed creatures all across the world into the brink of extinction or beyond. All of it came at a cost. The world was dying, and mortals were either incapable of changing their ways or didn’t want to. The reasons really don’t matter, because all that destruction awoke the Hyhborn. Those ancients tried to warn the people, but too few had listened, and too few of the reawakened Deminyens had returned with a renewed connection with man. Too many began to see them as a scourge upon this earth. A plague that needed to be culled, and that’s what they did. Over half of the Deminyens turned on man, believing that they should be stripped of their freedom, convinced it was the only way to save them and the world, and as others attempted to defend the rights of man— that’s when the war started. It was between Hyhborn. Their fighting shook the earth until the buildings fell, whipped the wind, sending fire through cities, and raised the oceans, swallowing . . . swallowing entire continents. Mortals were just caught in the cross fire.”
“Continents?” I whispered.
“There used to be seven— large swaths of lands surrounded by vast bodies of water,” he said. “There are no longer seven.”
My gods. I squeezed the pillow tighter.
“Mortals weren’t completely innocent of what occurred. After all, their actions, their selfishness and willful ignorance, are what woke the Hyhborn, but none of them deserved to face such wrath, such ruin.” He looked at me. “The Great War didn’t just end lives. It reshaped the world completely.”
I tried to process all of that, but I didn’t think it was something I ever could. “There are Deminyens now who were a part of that world, right?”
“A few. There were steep losses on both sides.”
“The King?”
Prince Thorne faced me. “He was alive then.”
“And what side was he on?” I asked, half afraid.
“Both? Many of the Deminyens who survived were those who existed somewhere in the middle. They believed that mortals needed to be protected but could not be trusted to rule the lands. That left alone or given any real power, they would repeat history.”
Sometimes I thought that we lowborn couldn’t be trusted to carry a pitcher of water without spilling it, but to say we would repeat history was unfair when that history was unknown to us. “What do you think?”
“I’m not sure.” A wry grin appeared. “It truly varies from day to day.” His eyes met mine. “But what I do know is that kind of war cannot come to pass again. Mortals would not survive it, and everything must be done to prevent that from happening.”
“So, it’s what then?” I rose, dropping the pillow where I sat. “Sacrifice the few to save the many? Is that what obeying the King’s orders really means?”
“In the most simplified terms? Yes.” He watched me. “There is a reason why most mortals do not know the history of their realm.”
“Because if they did know, they would fear the Hyhborn?”
He nodded. “More than many already do.”
Chilled, I ran my hands over my arms. I wasn’t so sure that was the only reason the history was kept secret. Perhaps the King and those who ruled didn’t want us to have the chance to do and be better than we had done and been before. “That’s a lot to take in.”
“I know.”
“I suppose ignorance is bliss,” I murmured.
“Knowledge rarely makes things easier.” He inhaled deeply. “What I shared with you? It is forbidden to do so.”
I looked over at him. “Then why would you?”
“Yet again, I don’t know.” He laughed. “I think I felt the need to explain why I’ve done the things that I have, because it feels . . .” He frowned. “It feels important that you understand that I’m not . . .”
That he wasn’t a monster.
I drew in a ragged breath. I didn’t know what to think. Was he a monster? Possibly. He claimed to feel no compassion and laid waste to cities at the King’s orders, but he carried the weight of the King’s orders. I could see that even now.
I did know that he was neither bad nor good. Nor was I, and I didn’t need my intuition to confirm any of that or to know he saved those he could and mourned those he couldn’t.
“If you wish to leave, Calista, I will not stop you. I wouldn’t even blame you,” Prince Thorne said, drawing my gaze to him. “That I promise.”
Nodding, I backed up and turned from him, because that was . . . that was what I thought I needed to do. I crossed the space, the feel of his stare burning into my back. I reached the door, wrapping my fingers around the handle. It turned in my grasp. The door cracked open. My heart began to pound as I stared at the thin opening. I was frozen, at war with myself, because I . . .
I didn’t want to leave.
