“He didn’tdistrust you,” Heath stated evenly, but his tone was thin around the edges. “He knew where your true loyalties lay and wouldn’t have risked drawing unnecessary attention to you.”
Malik’s surprise mirrored mine. Clearly, Heath was well-acquainted with Ian. And, gods, so many questions rose then. It was hard for me to silence them, but it wasn’t yet time to give them a voice.
Casteel’s hand pressed against my lower back. He’d moved closer without me realizing it. “Talk.”
Mira nodded, her gaze returning to mine. The longer I stared at her, the more I realized that her eyes, while black and unending, weren’t nearly as cold as other Ascended’s. The hope grew. “We agree to your demands, Your Majesty. As we said before, we have no intention of taking part in any Rites. We haveno desire to hurt mortals. Nor do we wish to serve a Crown that took us from our families and cursed us to this mockery of an existence.”
“And…” I drew in a shallow breath. “Why should I trust that you speak the truth? That as soon as things settle, you won’t just go back on your promises?”
“I can vouch for them,” Helenea said. “They—”
I held up a hand. “No offense, but I do not know you, either, so that means nothing to me.” I lowered my hand and focused on the Ascended. “Again, I want to hear from you why we should trust what you claim.”
“We are not like the Blood Queen nor the ones who call themselves Lords and Ladies,” Raina said. “We…we don’t behave as they do.”
“As in?” Casteel prodded.
“We don’t feed.”
My heart skipped. “At all?”
“How is that possible?” Delano demanded. “Don’t you need blood?”
“Blood is a source of strength and energy, but it’s not necessary to exist. That is just another lie fostered by the Blood Crown,” she told us. “In reality, blood is just a…”
“It’s an addiction. A high,” another said. Heath. The male who’d said Ian wasmagnificent. “A feeling of euphoria,” he continued. “Ofliving. But it’s not real. It’s just a taste of another’s life, and that one taste leads to the desire for more. It’s almost impossible to break, but itcanbe done. I did it. All of us have. Your brother did. And he was…he was so very young into his Ascension when he did. It takes most years to end the addiction.”
“We may not age. We may be…killed in the same ways as others, but our strength? Our needs? They are those of a mortal,”Raina said. I suddenly felt as if I needed to sit down. “We are the Unbound,” she continued. “We do not feed on blood.”
CHAPTER 42
POPPY
Casteel quietly stood beside me on the veranda as I stared at the wilted flowers in the urns, my mind replaying everything we’d just learned.
Part of me couldn’t believe it. There were Ascended who didn’t feed.
At least not on mortal blood.
“We feed on wild blood—the blood of beasts,” Regis had explained. “Not often. Only when we feel the bloodlust upon us.”
My mind immediately flashed to the birds we’d found in the other residence.
“And what happens if you’re unable to do so?” Casteel had actually asked something important while I’d tried not to cringe, telling myself I ate all manner of meat. What they did wasn’t allthat different.
“Since we’re not trying to maintain the strength of the Ascended, we do not need to feed often. Usually, a few times a month,” Wesley had told us. “But when we cannot stop the bloodlust from coming upon us, the same thing that happens to the Ascended happens to us. We go mad.”
“And when that happens,” Heath added, “we are put down. That is the oath every Unbound takes and makes with one another. That is what we’ve done in the past and will have to do again.”
Shock had once again slammed into me, and all I could do was listen as they explained more. According to Raina, many had been unable to stave off the bloodlust during what Heath had called the withdrawal period. They had found greater success in gradually replacing mortal blood with wild blood, much like a mother weaned a babe. Still, it wasn’t easy. And some chose to meet the sun.
Gods, it felt like someone had reached into my chest and squeezed.
Delano leaned against the pillar, angling his body toward me. “What are you thinking?”
Pressing my lips together, I shook my head. “Just…I’m thinking about the courage it takes to walk out into the sun, knowing what pain awaits.”
“It does require a lot of courage.” The breeze lifted the ends of his pale hair when his gaze drifted to Casteel. “It’s an act of true honor.”
