Page 92 of Treasured

I’d never seen the general like this. Unfortunately for him, whatever was going on with him would have to wait. I had far more important things to deal with than this.

“Spit it out!” I commanded him.

He gulped and whispered, “It’s the humans… I… They’re dying.”

My eyes narrowed. “So what? Humans mean nothing. Besides, they breed like rabbits. I’m sure their numbers will replenish soon enough.”

Honestly, who did he think I was? I did not have the time to deal with these types of things. Others looked after the humans, ensuring they did their jobs properly and were readily available whenever vampires needed to feed.

Triboulet took a step back, shaking his head. “This is different. The darkness is spreading, and humans are no longer reproducing as they once did. They are ill, My Queen.”

“How many of them are sick?” We could afford to lose a few humans, and I was rapidly tiring of this conversation.

His eyes widened. “A-a-all of them, Your Majesty. Hollowfield and Calenth are both ghost towns,” he said, referring to two human villages near the Koln Mountains. “The entire population contracted the Wasting Illness three weeks ago. Now they’re dead.”

I was still having trouble understanding why he thought I would care about this. Humans were nothing but mortals with insignificant lifespans. There were so many of them. Far more than vampires. It seemed no matter how many died, more cropped up a few years later.

A headache was coming on. Great. Just what I needed. Rubbing my temples, I glared at the general. “What’s your point?”

Triboulet opened and closed his mouth. “We need the humans, Your Majesty,” he said slowly as if I were lacking intelligence. “For their blood.”

Rage boiled within me, and my nostrils flared. I straightened, shadows slipping from my palms as my wings snapped out. “Don’t speak to me like that!” I wanted to reach out and shake him. “I am not an idiot!”

The general trembled. “I didn’t… I mean… I’m sorry.”

Sorry.

He was sorry.

How many ridiculous, unimportant, lackluster apologies had I heard in my long life? How many times had people come to me spouting lies and asking for forgiveness, only to turn around and betray me at the first opportunity?

Apologies meant nothing.

I took a step towards Triboulet. To his credit, he did not quake. “I will only say this once.” I sneered. “The humans don’t matter. I could care less about them.”

“Your Majesty?”

This male. Had he always been so dimwitted, or was this a recent development?

“Triboulet, you’re walking on thin ice. You should think twice the next time you dare come to my quarters. Otherwise, you may find yourself as the next donor to my… cause.” I tapped the ruby, raising a brow.

His eyes widened, and the acrid scent of fear leaked from his pores. He’d witnessed enough sacrifices to know exactly what I was referring to. He extended his neck in a show of submission and dipped into a low bow. “Understood, Your Majesty. It won’t happen again.”

“Good.” I released the ruby. “Now, get out of here…”

My words ended in a strangled scream.

Something shifted within me. It was a turning, twisting, burning snapping of a rope. A severing. An end to something centuries old. A death that should never have come. It was the impossible made possible, the ruin of a connection, a betrayal so deep, it ripped me down to my core.

My lungs tightened, my eyes widened, and I gasped, stumbling back. My wings slammed into the wall, the pain not registering as an emptiness filled me. What was once full was now hollow.

“Queen Marguerite?” General Triboulet asked. “What’s wrong?”

No, no, no.

This was wrong.

This should be impossible.

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