Page 122 of Blood So Brutal

“This is Scarlata Empire,” I answered from behind her. “This is your kingdom. They’re all gathering here for you, their queen.”

Huntyr sucked in a sharp breath. “What do you mean they’re gathering here for me?”

Jessiah dipped his chin. “When I arrived to find dozens of vampyres here, I admit, I was shocked. But my brother here seems to be very good at keeping secrets.”

His eyes slid to me with a message that we certainly would be speaking later.

“He has been working to rebuild what was lost, to find the vampyres who scattered after the war.”

“These are the survivors from Scarlata?” Each vampyre looked back at her, and I swelled with pride as they tilted their chins up in respect.

This was her kingdom. These were her people. The vampyres here had been waiting for years, never losing hope that the true blood queen was still out there somewhere.

One of the vampyres in the front row—a woman with long, red hair—stood. “We’re here to fight for you,” she announced as she pulled her own sword from its sheath. “We’re here to fight for what was lost.”

Many of the other vampyres stood then too, unsheathing their own weapons. Some were older, some young, still children. But one by one, they all stood, announcing their support for the true blood queen of Scarlata Empire.

And then, one by one, they all took a knee.

Silence rippled over the crowd.

I stepped forward until I was sure Huntyr could feel my presence behind her, reassuring her I was there. I would always be there.

“I don’t know what to say,” Huntyr whispered. Rummy placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled.

“You don’t have to say anything,” Jessiah added. “Just know that you’re not alone in this. None of us are.”

“And it’s time to prepare,” I chimed in.

“Prepare for what?” Huntyr asked.

Another silence fell over us, colder this time. Fiercer. I looked at the faces of the warriors staring back at us. Each one of them had something to gain, something to fight for, someone to protect.

“Prepare for war.”

Iwalked toward the fire with a handful of logs from the forest, Jessiah silently following behind me. The two of us had been doing this for an hour; walking to and from the forest to gather wood.

The silence didn’t bother me. I enjoyed it, actually. Huntyr had been catching up with Rummy and Voiler all day, but I made sure to keep her in my line of sight at all times. I wasn’t going to take my eyes off her after what we went through.

It wasn’t until I threw the third pile of logs next to the bright fire in the ruins of Scarlata that Jessiah finally cleared his throat. “He’s really gone, then?”

I looked at my brother, but his gaze was locked onto the burning embers ahead of us. “He’s gone,” I replied. “Luseyar flew away with his body, but we did it. The sword mixed with Huntyr’s magic worked.”

He nodded, emotionless. I hated the pang of guilt that followed. My father made us suffer. Not just us, either. He made entire species suffer. He kept the vampyres on their knees at his mercy. He corrupted The Golden City, he went against Era’s trust.

He deserved to die for the things he did.

“Thank you.” Jessiah turned to face me. His eyes glistened against the flickering fire. “I understand why you didn’t tell me about your plan, but know that I’m on your side, Wolf. I support you. What you did couldn’t have been easy.”

I cleared my own throat and tore my gaze away. Huntyr found my gaze from where she stood in the crowd. “It was shockingly easy when I assessed what was at risk.”

I wasn’t sure how long we stood there in silence, watching the fire crackle before us. But that was our tribute. That was our way of saying goodbye to the torture we endured our entire lives.

“Come on,” Jessiah said after a while. “You look like shit, you need to eat something.”

“You’ve always had a way with words, brother.” I ignored the tightness in my lungs and followed him as he made his way to the others. “I guess some things never change.”

“It’s about time you two join us,” Rummy announced, passing some of the meat that was cooked over the fire. “We were just talking about you.”

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