Page 25 of Their Blood Queen
Harsh rules, but necessary in this world teetering on the edge of survival. The human population plummeted those first few decades when monsters and men mingled.
It wasn’t anyone’s fault. Both creatures have dark natures that must be carefully navigated.
Predator and prey have learned to coexist, and I have never felt that more sharply than now.
Because this delectable female most certainly feels like prey—but I want to protect her from the predators.
My beast, surprisingly, feels the same.
Has she already won you over? I think at him as I step around her, then kneel so I can better look at her face.
Her eyelashes lower even farther, covering those mirror shard eyes once again.
It doesn’t escape my notice that this female has the same type of eyes that my beast does. It’s the type of eyes the humans use in my portraits when trying to depict my form.
The only humans who have seen my Dream Eater side in person haven’t lived to talk about it—but many have seen me in this realm. Even if a person doesn’t fully remember my beast feeding on their nightmares and dreams, their subconscious does.
You’re compatible, I marvel as I resist the urge to reach out to her.
She has eyes like mine because she’s a match made just for me.
I’ve never met a human who’s compatible with my Dream Eater.
This isn’t just a human my beast is fascinated with. This is a potential mate—the first I have ever come across in all my many years.
Which makes the blood contract she signed tonight extremely unfortunate.
We’ll find a way around it, I assure my beast.
We have to. There’s no way I can give up this perfect creature to a human who doesn’t understand her worth.
Or maybe he does. Earl Rinhold brokered a blood contract with me just a few nights ago for a reason. The Rinhold family is not one to do anything lightly.
They are wealthy, yes, and they could have excelled into the Immortality Sector years ago.
So why did they spend their wealth on a bride price instead?
I’d asked that very question when the young male had come to me.
“You realize this is enough to elevate your family to the Immortality Sector, yes?” I had asked Earl Rinhold, who’d been accompanied by the Duke and Duchess of his family.
But they had allowed their son to broker the contract with me. The bride price was a substantial one, but the price for my blood to make the contract binding was even more.
Normally, the families manage their own courtships. But if they want my blessing—and nonnegotiable terms—they handle agreements through me.
“We wish to rise in the Immortality Sector, Lord Cain, not simply survive,” he had said with a lowered head, keeping all respectful mannerisms intact. “This will allow us to offer something unique to set us apart once we make the move.”
It had been a wise response, one I had respected and understood to be true. A smart family knows that the goal isn’t simply to rise into the next sector, but to be prepared for the new challenges that will await them there if they wish to survive, much less thrive.
I spend the majority of my time in the Immortality Sector. The Elite families there are held to near-impossible standards.
Immortality means those humans will be spared from the slow death of aging or illness—there is no promise they will survive me.
“And this girl, who is she?” I had asked. “What does she offer that will be so unique you’re risking an entire elevation fee for it?”
His answer had satisfied me then, but now I realize it had meant so much more.
“She is the key, my lord. The Nightingale family adopted her in secret, but we know she’s from one of the lost villages that had been on the verge of a breakthrough. Her fresh genetics combined with a Lady’s proper training makes her a perfect candidate for our new breeding program.” He had dared to raise his gaze to me for his final statement, allowing me to see the glint of excitement in his blue eyes. “I am offering you my firstborn, my lord, for a future Monsters Night.”