Page 239 of Blood Day

Why Lilith had chosen to repurpose Chicago for such ventures was beyond me. While I liked the city, there were others I preferred more. London. Paris. I supposed Dubai would be on my list, too.

Minus the sweltering day heat.

Fortunately, Khalid had a car waiting for us. It was ablack four-by-four, similar to the one we’d taken from the compound to his jet. Only this time, Khalid slipped into the driver’s seat. “Join me up front, Cedric,” he said, the command clear.

As Emine was already in the back, I didn’t really have a reason to disobey. So I settled Lily in beside her before joining Khalid up front.

He said nothing as he put the vehicle into gear, his silence ominous and underlined by death. But I was used to that with my kind, allowing me to focus on the scenery instead of his lethal presence by my side.

Lily confirmed she was doing the same, her mind filling with admiration as she took in the scenery. We were much closer to the ocean here, allowing some greenery to appear, something she seemed quite taken by, as she’d not seen much in life apart from endless sand.

I considered that for a moment before asking, “Can we drive along the coast?” If Khalid was leading us into a trap, perhaps he could grant us this final concession.

“I’ll do one better for you,” he replied. “I’ll take you to the residence I’ve set up for you on the coast.”

“You’ve set up a residence for us?” I asked, unable to hide my surprise. “Without knowing my decision?”

“I already know that you’re going to accept, Cedric. I might as well make you and Lily comfortable while you come to that conclusion yourself.”

“And then what?” I wondered aloud, glancing at him. “Will we be moved?” He’d said he wanted me to become his sovereign, but he hadn’t told me which area yet.

“Most of my leadership resides in the main city because that’s where the reformed Blood University is located. The other cities in my territory are primarily maintained as a façade to meet Lilith’s expectations. When the war comes, it’ll be Dubai we all plan to protect.”

“Not your entire region?” He owned most of the eastern half of the former Middle East—Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates. It was quite the territory.

“There are areas of the region I want to keep, but I learned long ago that it’s best to focus on a central location when wanting to safeguard resources. And we have everything we need here.” He turned onto a road that headed toward the city as he spoke, allowing us to see the sprawling landscape of buildings. While he’d restructured some of them, the overall appearance remained similar to the ones in my memories.

Except these were slightly more modernized to current times.

And clearly bolstered by technology.

“What happens when Lilith visits?” I asked him, curious as to how he handled on-site visits. Manipulating camera feeds was one thing. Faking an alternate reality with the Goddess in your region was entirely another.

“We have a protocol for that,” he murmured. “But we’ve only had to enact it twice. She typically leaves me alone because everything she’s seen from me is exactly what she wants.” He glanced at me. “As you know, it’s all about playing the game.”

I grunted and returned my gaze to the scenery. “This entire society is built around political mindfucks.”

“It’s built on greed and gluttony. They’ll all starve eventually. Which is why most of the mortals in Khalid Region live here. It’s protected by an army of vampires—not human Vigils—and a handful of lycans.”

“Lycans?” I repeated.

He nodded. “I’ve provided sanctuary to several familiesover the years, and I plan to take in more when the revolution begins.”

“Lycans like Viper.”

“Yes, Viper will be one of them.”

“Which is why you don’t need to pay him—that’s what you meant by him getting more from you than money.”

“Of a sort,” he answered vaguely. “He’s one of my dragons.”

My brow came down. “Dragons?”

“A story for another day, perhaps. But it’s not important right now. What matters is this.” He gestured toward the city. “This is my proof of worth.”

With every mile we drove, it became more and more apparent that Khalid hadn’t been lying at all. If anything, he hadn’t been thorough enough with his explanation.

Because the moment we crossed into the city borders, there were humans roaming about, just like he’d shown on the feeds. Many of them were smiling. Some were not—which told me they were still distrusting of their fate. And others were just going about their day as one would have in the old era.