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)
“It wasn’t lack of interest, Malik.” Casteel’s voice was level, but the anger and frustration in it were apparent. “I just had other, more important shit on my mind.”
“I know.” Malik’s head tilted. “That’s why I told you before—”
“Before we made the mistake of killing them?” I finished for him.
He nodded and kept his gaze on his younger brother. “I never would’ve known about Mira and the others if it weren’t for Millie.”
My heart skipped. “She showed you this?”
“Yes. But, technically, she had no choice.” A brief grin appeared. “Long story. And to be honest, I didn’t believe it when I first met them. Ascended, who feed on wild blood? Who are willing to meet the sun instead of taking mortal blood? Bullshit. Of all the Ascended I’ve known, I’ve never met one who would lower themselves in such a way to survive. But the thing is, Cas, I hadn’t met all the Ascended. I only met the worst of them. Unlike Emil, who hadn’t had much one-on-one time with them, I was blinded by my experiences and couldn’t even consider the possibility there was a different way for them to live. Not until I saw it for myself. Which is why I wanted you all to come here.” He met our stares. “I wanted you to hear what they had to say in their own words.”
Casteel fell silent. His shields were up, but I imagined he was feeling about a dozen different emotions. Because I was.
“How many are like this?” I asked.
“There are about two thousand Ascended in Carsodonia.” He rocked back slightly on his heels and glanced at the quiet Descenter. “You think roughly twenty percent of them?”
Helenea nodded.
“A Descenter,” Casteel commented, drawing her gaze. “I wouldn’t have guessed, in a thousand years, I’d find one cozying up to the Ascended.”
“You wouldn’t find me cozying up to the Ascended in a thousand years.” Helenea’s voice was steady, but she clutched her skirt in a white-knuckled grip. “Those in there? They are not the Ascended.”
“How could you see them as anything but vamprys?” I asked.
“Because I am willing to see the truth,” she said. “Whether or not it fits my narrative or beliefs.” Her grip on her skirt eased, and her attention shifted back to Casteel. “The Descenters may have started as a resistance group against the tyranny of the Blood Crown and as supporters of Atlantia, but our ideology has grown beyond that.”
“How so?” Casteel mused.
“It includes all those who have had their freedoms stripped away. And that includes the Ascended.”
My brows rose. “All of them?”
“We believe they should be given a choice—a chance to live without pain being inflicted upon them or inflicting pain on others. So, technically, yes. All.” Her fingers straightened as she let go of her skirt. “We do not believe the same for those who choose to continue as Ascended, however.”
So many thoughts rushed through my head. “Do all Descenters feel this way?”
“Sadly, and perhaps unsurprisingly…no. We are not a monolith.”
“And what happens with the ones who don’t support this ideology?”
Her brows knitted. “Nothing.”
“Nothing?” Delano repeated.
“We deliberate, vote, and then act upon the will of the majority as a whole.”
“Civic rule,” Casteel murmured, and I frowned. “In other words, a democracy,” he elaborated. “Where all choices are designed by the will of the people.”
I turned back to Helenea. “And that works?”
She smiled and then laughed softly. “I know it sounds as unbelievable as Ascended who don’t feed. But it does work—though not always smoothly or without problems. But this way, we can ensure that no single person or entity becomes the will of the Descenters.”
No single person or entity…
I liked that idea. A lot. But… “It’s hard to believe.”
“It shouldn’t be,” Malik said with a slight frown. “After all, Atlantia is a kingdom of civic rule, where the King and Queen carry out the will of the people.”
“Oh.” My stomach turned as heat crept into my cheeks. “I didn’t know that. I haven’t been Queen long and…” I trailed off, realizing the more I talked, the more uninformed I sounded. Casteel had spoken of something similar when we discussed how Atlantia was governed.
Casteel’s hand slid down my braid on my back. “There really hasn’t been much time to educate you on all Atlantia’s inner workings or the terminology used.” He lowered his head, and I felt the press of his lips on my temple as he reached out through the notam. You have nothing to be embarrassed about.
“You may not have been Queen long,” Helenea spoke, “but you have accomplished more in that time than those who came before you.” She glanced at Casteel and Malik. “No offense to your parents.”
“None taken,” Malik replied.
The burn of embarrassment eased enough that I could refocus. “What about your brother? Does he feel the same as you do?”