Page 75 of Hunt the Dusk
He settled back in his seat and shrugged a shoulder, causing the material covering it to stretch and rustle. “Uneventful.”
I gritted my teeth. “I suppose there’s only so much one can do locked in their chambers.”
I expected him to bite, but he merely smiled. “Indeed.”
For fucksake. “Well, at least Laudon was able to coax you out of your room.”
His eyes flashed. “At least he tried.”
“Excuse me?”
He sipped his wine to hide his smile, and my burst of indignation died. He was toying with me. He knew how often I’d knocked for him the past week. That damned door knocker and I were becoming best friends.
Laudon cleared his throat. “Could we continue our discussion, my liege?”
‘My liege’ was it now? What happened to Ezekiel old pal, old buddy? I suppose watching a fellow ancient have his head ripped off was humbling.
Ezekiel plucked a grape off his plate and popped it into his mouth, chewing slowly. “There is nothing more to discuss. As Itold you before my watcher joined us, there will be no petition for expansion and no permits of new business from outside of the territory, and we will certainly not be conscripting more humans.”
Ice trickled through my veins. “You want more humans?”
Laudon topped up his wine. “It’s a House-blessed request, and as spokesperson for the council, it falls to me to bring it to his grace.”
“And you have my answer to it all,” Ezekiel said smoothly.
Laudon made a sound of irritation. “But our numbers are growing and?—”
“Why is that?” Ezekiel asked. “Why is it that our numbers are growing when nature has herself stifled them?”
Laudon inhaled through his nose as if he needed the extra oxygen to keep calm. “If nature did not expect us to procreate, she would not have made turning humans possible.”
Ezekiel rolled his eyes. “There’s always a justification with you, isn’t there, Laudon?”
“I’m merely stating that?—”
“Dracul territory will remain as it is,” Ezekiel snapped. “The vampires who reside here make use of the vast abundance of space they have within the confines of our borders, am I clear? If that means curbing your method of procreation, then so be it.”
“And what of businesses outside the?—”
Ezekiel slammed his fist on the table so hard my heart shot into my mouth. “Vampires willnotleave Dracul territory!”
Laudon winced and slowly sat back in his seat. “I will convey your responses to the council, my liege,” he said stiffly. “But I urge you to reconsider. The world is changing, and by halting progress, you will force us into extinction.”
“Noted,” Ezekiel said, sounding bored now.
“Well, at least you’re taking interest in territory affairs.” Laudon didn’t say ‘this time,’ but it was implied in his tone. “I shall take my leave.”
Ezekiel waved him off, and Laudon quickly left the room.
I took a gulp of the wine, fruity and sharp, a shock to my palette and just what I needed to help make sense of what just happened. “I guess the summit didn’t cover expansion?”
“No. They just asked for control to make new rules,” Ezekiel drawled. “And when they couldn’t rid themselves of me, they’ve come to me to implement the very rules they wanted to overthrow me for. More space and more humans to serve them.”
“And you don’t agree?”
“Dracul territory is already the largest out of the three territories, and do you know why that is?”
“Why?”
