Page 151 of The Primal of Blood and Bone (Blood and Ash #6)

“We only heard about it after it was done,” Helenea said, speaking for the first time since we’d entered.

She swallowed thickly. “The stockpiles consisted of more than just Atlantian blood. It was also taken from the third sons—” Her voice caught as her sharp, icy sorrow pierced my shields. “And daughters.”

“All of them?” I asked. She nodded. “Was one of them your sibling?”

“Yes.” Helenea’s shoulders stiffened, but her lips quivered. “My sister.”

The essence tightened in my chest. “I’m sorry.”

She lowered her gaze. “Thank you.”

“What about your second-born sister?” Casteel asked.

“She Ascended,” Helenea said. That was all she said.

I assumed she wasn’t here, or she would’ve been introduced as such. “Who gave the order? The Blood Queen?”

“No. The Hawleys,” Wesley forced out through a tight jaw. “Lord Edmund and Lady Laural Hawley did. They were close to the former Queen and often handled portions of the Rites.”

My fingers twitched. “Are they still among us?”

Casteel’s nostrils flared. “They are.”

“It’s a damn shame they still breathe this air,” Wesley muttered.

“Are you familiar with them?” I asked Casteel.

Anger radiated from him in icy waves. “They have requested an audience multiple times.”

“They will be getting that audience shortly,” I said, returning my gaze to Wesley. “And they will not be breathing this air for much longer.”

One side of the Ascended’s lips curled up. “Then I must thank you again.”

“Wesley once served in their home,” Malik explained.

That was all I needed to hear to understand Wesley’s comments.

“You said you did not partake in the last Rite,” Casteel said, his gaze narrowing on Mira. “I was under the impression it was required.”

“It is, but we did not attend,” she answered, her chin lifting. “We will never step foot in that Temple—or any of the Temples—again.”

“Really?” Casteel’s tone was as dry as my throat.

“Yes,” she answered. “The Temple does not spark memories of joy. Only terror and disgust.”

“And the Blood Queen allowed your absence?” I asked as the eather calmed, allowing Delano to relax his stance.

“Thanks to you,” she replied with a faint smile. “She was too distracted with what was happening throughout Solis to enforce attendance or dole out punishment for not being there.”

My head cocked. “If she wasn’t too distracted…”

“We would’ve been killed,” Regis stated. “Just as those before us were. And we accepted that.”

I blinked. “Those before you?”

“The other Ascended who refused to take part in the Rites,” Malik answered from where he leaned against the wall, his arms crossed much like his brother’s. “Or the…entertainment.”

Casteel’s sneer was encased in ice. “How admirable.”

“It was not admirable, Your Majesty.” Mira’s fingers tightened around her book. “It simply was .”

He stared at her, unblinking, while my thoughts raced. Because of Ian, I had to believe that not all Ascended were the same. I’d hoped he was different—and that others were, too. The possibility that my hope wasn’t based on wishes alone left me feeling off-kilter.

Mira cleared her throat. “We heard what you offered in Oak Ambler. That you were…willing to give us an option. Correct? We heard about your demands: to not take part in the Rites and to not feed on mortals unless they’re willing.”

“How did you hear about that?” I asked.

“Me,” Helenea said. “I heard about the offer through the Descenters there.”

I stared at her. “I have so many questions for you. So many.”

She swallowed again.

“Are you still…willing to give us that choice?” Raina asked.

I had been.

“If you disagreed so resolutely with what was happening,” Delano said, his wintry eyes hard as he surveyed the group, “what did you do to stop them? Other than sit in here and play cards?”

“That’s a good question,” Casteel tacked on.

Malik started to speak, but I held up a hand. “It is a good question. One I want to hear them answer.”

Mira looked confused as she tilted her head. “How could we do anything? They are far stronger than us. They would’ve snapped our necks before we could raise even a hand against them. Just like those of us who tried to intervene in the past.”

“I’m not sure I understand,” I said as Casteel’s and Delano’s surprise washed over me. The lack of confusion from Emil and Malik was noticeable. “How are they stronger than you? I was under the impression that all Ascended shared the same level of strength.”

Mira appeared even more baffled. “Your…brother? Ian?” she started, and I stiffened. “I apologize, Your Majesty,” she quickly added. “I’m sorry for your loss. Ian was…”

“Magnificent,” the quiet male Ascended murmured, drawing my gaze.

“What is your name again?” I asked. I wanted to know—needed to.

“Heath,” he told me. “Heath Purcell.”

“He spoke with you, right?” Mira pressed. “Ian?”

I dragged my gaze from Heath. “Only briefly, and we were never alone.”

Her face tightened. “I understand.”

“What is it you understand?” My eyes shifted to Malik, my thoughts flashing to the home with no stockpile of blood. Had we been wrong in our assumptions? Hope threatened to swell. “That you appear to already know?”

“I cannot answer for anything regarding Ian.” Malik’s brow furrowed. “I don’t think he entirely…trusted me.”

“He didn’t dis trust you,” Heath stated evenly, but his tone was thin around the edges. “He knew where your true loyalties lay and wouldn’t have risked drawing unnecessary attention to you.”

Malik’s surprise mirrored mine. Clearly, Heath was well-acquainted with Ian. And, gods, so many questions rose then. It was hard for me to silence them, but it wasn’t yet time to give them a voice.

Casteel’s hand pressed against my lower back. He’d moved closer without me realizing it. “Talk.”

Mira nodded, her gaze returning to mine.

The longer I stared at her, the more I realized that her eyes, while black and unending, weren’t nearly as cold as other Ascended’s.

The hope grew. “We agree to your demands, Your Majesty. As we said before, we have no intention of taking part in any Rites. We have no desire to hurt mortals. Nor do we wish to serve a Crown that took us from our families and cursed us to this mockery of an existence.”

“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.”