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He nodded. “Both humans and faeries wanted to find a solution to the blood shed between our people. Years of war had decimated all of us. Our father, Randall, was the newly crowned King of Aurelius. He was told that the curse was contained to Erador—that if we left, it would be lifted. A fresh start in a new world. Faeries gathered in Aurelius to prepare for the journey. We brought food, livestock—anything that would help us colonize a new world. Some humans chose to come as well. We’d been mingling for nearly a century by then.

Some had bonded to faeries for various reasons, despite the war, while others wanted the opportunity to begin again in a new world. ”

“And some were forced against their will,” Raf quipped.

Galen side-eyed him. “It was a time of many wrongs on both sides. Today, we pay humans for their blood. Relations between faeries and humans have evolved in Nymera, out of necessity.”

Rafael snorted in response.

“As I was saying,” Galen said with a sigh.

“We migrated over by the thousands. As the last few faeries crossed through the portal, the world walker betrayed her own people. She sealed us in—closing the portal before anyone had time to react. Our curse had not been lifted. We had a world to call our own, but our source of magic had been cut off. We were handicapped—left only with the group of humans that crossed over with the faeries. With our magic so limited, we’re a mockery of what Fae are meant to be. ”

If he was looking for sympathy, he was barking up the wrong tree. I liked my blood right where it was.

“Are you going to try and drink my blood?” I sneered at him.

Louis choked on his coffee, coughing as he recovered. He looked up at Galen to gage his reaction.

“No,” Galen said defensively. “I wouldn’t force myself on you. We’re civilized about the exchange. Blood-lust does exist, but I’m more than capable of rising above it.”

I met his fiery gaze and gave it right back.

Louis cut in. “It’s important you understand that we don’t want to drink blood. We’ve been forced to due to this twisted curse. Many Fae are vegetarians. We do our best to treat all living beings with respect and dignity.”

“You shouldn’t have to worry about anyone wanting your blood while you’re living at the castle,” Raf said to me while glaring at Galen. “It’s well stocked.”

“Exactly how much does one have to drink to restore their magic?”

“It depends on several factors,” Galen replied. “Age of a faerie, how powerful they are, the quality of magic. Typically, we just need a… sip , now and then, to satiate us. The magic stays in our system until we wield it, and then we have to replenish it.”

“H-how do you get it?” I choked out.

Galen smiled at me, flashing his fangs. “We have sharp teeth. We’ve also discovered a method to safely extract blood using needles and syringes, though its not nearly as fun.”

I was going to be sick.

“Have some water, you’re looking a bit… peaky,” he chuckled, handing me a glass.

“You just told me you sip from humans. Of course , I look peaky, ” I snapped. “So… you don’t murder people for their blood?”

“No… Why would we want to do that? We’d lose access to our source of magic,” Galen said .

“And… does it taste awful?”

They all laughed this time, but Galen answered. “It doesn’t taste like blood to us because of the magic. It tastes better than you can imagine.” I wished I hadn’t asked.

“And how many humans live in this world?”

Raf replied, “Tough to say, with how quickly the human population has been shrinking. They may soon become extinct in Nymera.”

My eyes grew large.

“My brother is exaggerating, as usual. No one’s going extinct. But we do need access to your world, our home world ,” Galen said. “Some Fae don’t have a steady source anymore. Our people have been waiting a long, long time for a world walker. We want to go home.”

“I see,” I mumbled, staring down at my empty plate.

And there it was; the reason they hadn’t harmed me. They wanted me to take them back to Erador. Well, they were about to be severely disappointed, because I had no clue how I’d arrived here.

They wanted to come to my world and drink the blood of my people, because the human population here was… shrinking .

Did they think I was an idiot? Even if I could world-walk— which I couldn’t —I’d never let them into Erador. And Galen was wrong; I wasn’t a faerie.

I was never going to get home… I was stuck in a world of blood-thirsty monsters. Cold dread creeped down my spine, giving me the chills. “I can’t world-walk!” I cried in a burst of anger. “And I can’t help you.”

“It’s a lot to process,” Galen said evenly. “But for what it’s worth, I think you can. First we’ll help you learn to wield your magic, then we can worry about opening a portal. One step at a time.”

Rafael stood quickly. “Now that we’ve gotten that over with, I’m heading to town.” He shrugged on a black leather jacket.

“Beers or brothels this time, brother?” Louis asked, also standing.

“Both,” Raf replied with a grin. I resisted the urge to lift my lip in disgust.

“Marigold, I believe we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other. I look forward to it,” Louis said with an exaggerated bow. Raf had already disappeared. I hadn’t even seen him leave.

Galen turned to me. “We need to talk to my mother soon, but I’d like to show you around first. I want you to feel at home here. ”

“Like a fish feels at home on a hook?” I bit back. I couldn’t tell if the hunger in his expression was for me or my blood. He could stay hungry. In fact, he could starve.

His mouth tugged into a cocky half-grin. “Does that mean you’re hooked? If you want me to come to your bedroom tonight, all you have to do is ask.”

I gasped in outrage. “Absolutely not . Last night, I was in a state of duress, which you took advantage of. It won’t happen again.”

He had the nerve to scoff. “You kissed me first, if I recall. And you’re going to kiss me again,” he challenged. “You won’t last three days.”

“Why? Do you plan on eating me before then?”

He laughed, rolling his eyes. I kept a healthy distance from him while we walked to Robert. He leaned down and whispered, “I plan on doing much more than that.”