Total pages in book: 401
Estimated words: 390373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1952(@200wpm)___ 1561(@250wpm)___ 1301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 390373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1952(@200wpm)___ 1561(@250wpm)___ 1301(@300wpm)
“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 was magnificent. “A feeling of euphoria,” he continued. “Of living. 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 it can be 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 all that 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.”
One none of them should’ve found themselves having to do.
Footsteps neared, and Emil stepped onto the veranda. Casteel turned. “How long have you known about this?” he asked.
“Not long,” Emil answered, coming to stand beside us. “A few days.”
“And you didn’t think to tell us?”
“That’s on me,” Malik said as he walked out with Helenea. “I asked him not to say anything until I spoke with them.”
A muscle ticked in Casteel’s jaw. “And why would you do that?”
“I wanted to give them a choice.” Malik crossed his arms and faced his brother. “You know, since they have been afforded so few of them.”
“So, instead of telling me, you told Emil?”
“I was talking to him about the house we went into,” Emil explained, squinting as he stared at the clouds. “How normal it all looked and how it wasn’t what I had expected or seen in some of the other homes.”
“It seemed obvious to me that he,” Malik said, nodding toward the auburn Elemental, “had an open mind.”
“And you thought we wouldn’t?”
“I thought she likely would,” he said, glancing at me. “But I told you there was a lot you didn’t know about the Ascended. You didn’t seem interested in hearing more.”