Page 98 of Crave Me

“Water and truth,” he marveled, kicking onto his back to scull a little. “Then I suppose we should discuss what being fated mates means for us, since there’s no going back now.”

“I think we both know what it means,” I said, swimming toward him. “Our futures are tied whether we’re ready or not.”

“Indeed.” He closed his eyes as the last rays of sunshine disappeared into the twilight. “The other leaders will not be pleased with my enhancements. I can phase. I can sort of call stardust. I no longer seem to need as much blood as I used to. And I find that the sun doesn’t bother me at all now. Like I could stare at it and not feel the burn at all.”

“Is that uncommon?” I asked, referring to the sun part. “Because I’ve seen plenty of vampires walking in the sun here.”

“It doesn’t hurt us. But our senses are refined with age, so I often find it bothersome. Or I did. Until today.” He stopped sculling and moved forward, his legs bending under the water to put us at an even eye level.

I mimicked his stance, settling right in front of him. “So you’re concerned the other monarchs won’t accept these changes.” It was a summary of what he’d already said, but I suspected that was the key point to this conversation.

“Yes.” His gaze fell to my mouth before slowly returning to my eyes. “About fifty years ago, a portal opened in Portland, Oregon. It wasn’t the first of its kind, but it was the first one that couldn’t be hidden from humans. Because it opened in the center of a major highway.”

“Oh.” My eyes widened. “That must have been eventful.”

“An understatement.” His expression told me it wasn’t a good kind of eventful, either. “The world changed drastically with magic more or less manifesting in humans, creating a variety of species and power levels, and causing general turmoil. All of which led to The Great Sacrifice.”

“The genocide,” I said, recalling our previous conversation. “The one that led to the truce between the Houses.”

“Yes. It was a war, too. A mass culling. Because everyone fought for different reasons. But Gold and Garnet’s purpose has always been about glory and honor. We protected our homes. And we profited on the blood of others.”

“You did what you needed to do to survive,” I translated.

“No, we did what we needed to do tothrive,” he corrected. “We were better prepared than most, our skills already honed by our mercenary backgrounds. While we lost a great deal, we won a lot, too. Unity being one of those rewards.”

I nodded, understanding what he meant. “Your men and women work well together.”

“They do.” He tilted his head back to look at the sky, his dark hair dipping into the water behind him.

I followed his lead, allowing the hot water to warm my head before righting myself and meeting his gaze once more.

“The Houses formed a truce after that fateful night,” he told me. “That’s why it’s both a celebration to some and a memorial to others. Many lives were lost—sacrificed—that day. All in the name of a tenuous peace.”

“Does Gold and Garnet celebrate or memorialize the day?” I wondered aloud.

“We might be mercenaries of death, but we never celebrate it,” he replied. “We remember the fallen. And we honor them in our unity.”

That matched everything I’d come to know about his territory and him as a leader. “You don’t see that night as a victory.”

“I don’t,” he admitted. “I see it as a turning point in our history, one we should learn from to avoid repeating.”

“Which brings us back to your concern about the other leaders accepting your changing powers,” I surmised.

“Which brings me back to the concern about the Houses allowing you and me to reign,” he echoed, changing my words just a little bit. “But it’s about more than that. It’s about my people. Kaspian was right about whether or not they’ll accept you. What he didn’t add out loud was whether or not they’ll accept the new me.”

“If Gold and Garnet is all about glory and honor, then they’ll respect your increase in power,” I replied. “Right?”

“Yes, they will honor and respect it. But they’ll know the rest of the world might not. And that insecurity will cause turmoil among the members of my House.”

I swallowed, understanding what he meant. It was his job to protect his people, not their job to protect him. But they might be forced to if the other leaders didn’t approve of his enhanced abilities.

“Your leadership will be putting them at risk,” I said after a beat. “Assuming the other Houses won’t approve of these changes.”

“Yes.” He stepped into me, his palm finding the back of my neck as he held me close to him.

“But you mentioned the fake Odin and how no one challenges his immense power,” I reminded him. “So maybe what we need to do is prove to them all that we can lead in a similar fashion.”

“First, he’s not a fake Odin,” Vesperus murmured, his silver eyes sparkling with mirth. “But I really hope to hear you say that to him one day.”