Page 41 of A Crown Without Mercy

She looked up and did her best to smile. “Thank you,” she said, sounding quieter than she had intended.

He motioned his glass toward the depictions on the walls. “Do you know what this is?”

Her brows furrowed while looking at the illustration. “I have no idea,” she stated.

“It’s the story of our ancestors.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Would you like to hear it?”

“Of course.”

Kieran pointed to the far wall and began. “It was the year 1320, and the Lycan’s had invaded and occupied most of Kroyidia, which pushed the mortals to the outskirts of the Country and into hiding. Their ultimate goal was to eradicate them in order to deplete our kind’s source of fresh blood.”

“My lord,” she whispered under her breath.

“Wars between clans broke out and often ended in death when the rising bloodlust ran rampant throughout the region. During the war, the cold indifference between our ancestors and the Lycans created famine, sickness, and social decay. The stench of rotting flesh, from the piles of Lycans’ partially burnt carcasses, overtook the once fragrant forest, while plums of nauseating smoke filled the air.”

“It sounds horrible. I have heard none of this.” She looked down and realized at some point she had placed her hand on his forearm.Shit!

Kieran took a drink and then pointed to another part of the drawing. “Jarimor Ascelin and Marius Acheron, two of the most powerful Nosferatu Lords, led the resistance against the Lycans and eventually enslaved them before beheading Bastan, and all those who were loyal to his cause prior to their defeat, bringing peace to our war-torn lands.”

As Kieran continued, his words faded into the background and became indistinct. Against her better judgement, she was becoming more attracted to him with every passing minute. She breathed in his musky scent and looked down at the muscular forearm draped across her chest, while his hand gently held her bicep. The warmth of his body against her back and how his muscles rippled against her with each subtle movement sent a stampede of chills up her spine. She took another sip and tried to focus on the sound of his voice, doing her best to ignore the unwanted wave of desire she felt rising to the surface.

“In the years that followed, Marius and Jarimor freed the Lycans and banished them to the outskirts of Kroyidia, which became known as The Black Moor—”

“I don’t mean to interrupt, but the same Black Moor at the edge of your Kingdom?”

“Yes. Why do you ask?”

“I’m curious, is all. I know of it, but I didn’t know its history.”

She knows a lot more than she is admitting,Kieran thought. “We believe that Bastan’s grandson, Ranan, is leading another uprising as we speak. He is hiding somewhere on the outskirts of the Moor.”

Sylvana swallowed hard, and her heart lurched the moment he spoke the name Ranan. She looked up at him and smiled, doing her best to look impassive. “Please, continue.”

“Jarimor and Marius outlawed all clans from associating with another race after male Nosferatu took female Lycans in their human form, as sex slaves, which resulted in the birth of a new breed, whom you refer to as Helots. They do not yield the powers of either Nosferatu or Lycan and allowing them to continue to breed would only result in a race that would be vulnerable, pallid, and unable to defend themselves or the Kingdom.”

“All this time, and neither my father nor my mother have ever mentioned this.”

“Unfortunately, history ends up on worn pages when tongues cease to speak. Never forget your past, Sylvana.”

“Is this the reason you keep such an extensive collection of books and scrolls?”

“Yes,” Kieran replied.

“Go on,” she said.

“Not all agreed with freeing the Lycans and fifty years after they brought the Kingdom back from the brink of destruction, Jarimor Ascelin was assassinated and his clan disappeared. Supposedly, the Acherons, my ancestors, betrayed him.”

“Your ancestors killed m—the Ascelins?” she replied, having quickly corrected herself.

“Yes, and by the year 1630, it was said there were a handful of purebred female Ascelins in hiding; had they been discovered, they would have been forced into mating an Acheron as a royal breeder.”

Sylvana stopped herself from thinking, knowing Kieran would be listening. She swallowed the last of her drink and flinched when she heard Nicolai’s voice.

“I was wondering where the two of you were hiding.” He walked over and placed a hand on Kieran’s shoulder. “Brother, thanks for taking care of her.”

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