“Not to be rude, but Kalon’s quite full of himself, too,” I replied, smiling.
Valaine’s black eyes twinkled with amusement. “That’s only on the surface, Tristan. There’s a lot you don’t know underneath. Sides of him that will surprise you.”
There were sides of her I’d yet to uncover. Esme could handle Kalon. She could get to the bottom of it if she wanted to. Valaine was a different challenge altogether, and tonight she looked stunning in her black dress. The skirt and bodice were made of satin, and a lace bolero with long sleeves drew beautiful contrasts with her pale skin. Several rows of pearls covered the base of her neck, and her hair was pulled up in an artful bun, luscious and black and perfect.
“So, Maylin, Beryn… you two were made Aeternae,” Derek said, breaking the awkward silence that had reigned over the dinner table for the past half-hour. “When did that happen, and how?”
Beryn had been in his mid-sixties when he chose to become an Aeternae, and he would forever carry the fine lines, the wrinkles, and the long, white hair that had betrayed his age at the time. Unlike most Rimians I’d seen, however, Beryn was tall and rather well built, reminding me of Trev Blayne, Kalon’s friend. He smiled, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with a black silk napkin.
“I earned it,” Beryn replied. “I worked hard. I amassed my fortune.”
“And he was able to buy himself an Aeternae ticket to… eternity.” Maylin chuckled, her nose high. She was a curvy Nalorean woman, with pale skin and an hourglass figure, further outlined by the tightened blue velvet corset of her dress. She wore her pale blonde hair in a loose braid down her back, with diamonds and pearl strings tied around the tail.
“Don’t be jealous,” Beryn said, giving her a sideways glance. Maylin had been in her early twenties when she was turned. Her youth and arrogance seemed to have persisted. Beryn shifted his focus back to Derek. “Yes, I bought my transcendence. It took me years to make the decision. Unlike Maylin here, who killed people for it.”
That drew some glares from our crew as we looked at her. Maylin smirked. “I won a tournament in the Blood Arena. Everything I did was justified.”
I wanted to believe that that made it all right. But it didn’t. It was still wrong. Not your business, remember?
“Did you fight in the tournament for this opportunity, specifically?” Sofia asked, and Maylin nodded, beaming with pride.
“I almost didn’t make it into the final,” she replied. “To be honest, though, I did train with some of the greatest fighters among the Aeternae.”
She looked at Corbin when she said that, which led me to draw a reasonable conclusion. “You trained her,” I murmured, gawking at Valaine’s dad. It didn’t take long for me to remember that Valaine fought in the Blood Arena, too. “I suppose you trained your daughter, as well?”
Corbin sighed, crossing his arms. It made him look too big for his seat at the table, but he didn’t seem to care. “Maylin showed promise from the very first day she came to me for help. I was ready to maim her just to prove she didn’t have what it takes for the Blood Arena, but she surprised me.”
“I knocked him on his ass, is what he’s saying,” Maylin interjected, and emptied her chalice, reaching for the half-full pitcher.
“That’s an exaggeration.” Corbin chuckled, though I could still sense the strain in his tone. Maylin didn’t fear him one bit, but he still had to assert himself. He was the master commander of Visio’s armies, after all. “As for Valaine,” he added, frowning at his daughter. “I had no choice. If she was to win these tournaments, I had to make sure she learned everything it took to be undefeatable.”
“He trained Kalon, as well,” Valaine said. “My father is, by far, one of the greatest warriors of the Aeternae.”
“And one of the most seasoned, as well. Almost a million years spent fighting for and defending our empire,” Acheron replied, smiling at his friend. “Long before Danika and I even sat on this throne, before we were even born, Corbin has had nothing but the empire’s best interests at heart.”
“You’re too kind, Your Grace,” Corbin replied.
“How many Rimians and Naloreans turned into Aeternae are there?” I asked. “I suppose you keep a record, don’t you?”
Danika smiled. “We do. Approximately five thousand.”
“Will their children be born Aeternae, too?” Amal asked. I’d almost forgotten what her voice sounded like. She’d been quiet and brooding for so long.
“No. Unfortunately, those who are turned do not inherit the full scope of our species’ genetic pool. Their children will manifest some Aeternae traits, such as enhanced senses and heightened reflexes, but they will have to be turned, as well, if they wish to be like us. Otherwise, they will be mortal.”
“So, you have children of your own?” Amal asked Beryn and Maylin.
They both nodded, but they didn’t seem too keen to answer. I had a feeling it was a touchy subject for them.
“Mine were born before I was turned. I’ve had to watch them die of old age,” Beryn said, sadness heavy in his voice. “I’m looking after my great-great-grandchildren now. They will soon be gone, as well. No one in my family has wished to be turned, though they have had that opportunity, thanks to me.”
“They don’t want immortality?” I replied.
He sighed. “No. They think it’s unnatural.”
“The Aeternae are obviously not offended by this mindset,” Petra sought to assure us, while Zoltan eyed us carefully from his seat next to her. “We understand that not everyone appreciates a forever life. It does have its downsides, which Beryn here has experienced on a deeply personal level.”
“Watching your loved ones die around you, not just other Rimians and Naloreans,” I mused. “Yes, I understand. What about you, Maylin?”
“I had my twins after I was turned. One of them wished to become an Aeternae, so I helped him secure the riches he needed. The other… she chose to age and leave me and her brother,” Maylin said, lowering her gaze.
“Hold on. So, you have to pay to become an Aeternae?” Nethissis asked.
“Most of the time, yes,” Petra said. “You see, the gift of becoming an Aeternae is incredibly precious. Immortality is an honor we cannot bestow on just anyone. The pretenders must prove that they will do what it takes; they must prove that they understand what a privilege it is.”
“Few have been the cases in which a turning has been simply… gifted,” Zoltan added. “Usually, the Rimians and the Naloreans must pay a hefty price. Fortunes that many do not have. Beryn is a good example. The second option is through the tournaments, the path Maylin took. Risking one’s life for the sake of living forever.”
“Either way, we’ve earned our seats at the table,” Beryn declared.
It drew Danika’s ire, though she kept her composure and grace. “We, the Aeternae, have been nothing but respectful toward you and all the others we’ve turned.”
“True. But it doesn’t mean you like us,” Maylin cut in with a cold grin. “After all, we’re intruders into your way of life. Someone allowed this to happen all those years ago, and you know you can’t change the laws now. Not without stirring an uprising. Five thousand of us is no joke, is it?”
Suddenly, previously unknown tensions between their species began to arise. There was bitterness coming from the Aeternae. If Maylin was right, it meant that the Aeternae did not really want to turn others, but they did it anyway, due to old laws and traditions.
“You’re talking nonsense,” Danika muttered.
“We like almost everybody,” Acheron added. “But if you’re going to be rude and gratuitously mean, Maylin, we can always rescind the dinner invitations.”
Maylin feigned shock, while Beryn pinched the bridge of his nose. I had a feeling this wasn’t the first time she was stirring trouble here. “Oh, no… Then where will I go for all the cheap theatricals? Goodness gracious!”
“What Maylin means to say is that not all the Aeternae approve of other species being turned, regardless of the laws of the land,” Beryn said, his tone clipped in a bid to temper the former Nalorean.
Maylin scoffed, but she didn’t engage Danika or Acheron any further. Clearly, respect for the Lord and Lady Supreme could only stretch so far for creatures like her and Beryn. They weren’t afraid to speak their minds, and I was willing to bet it was because they’d been turned, thus standing a better chance against their makers.
“It’s natural that there are disagreements between your species,” Esme replied, trying to recalibrate the mood around the table. “The Aeternae are the supreme predators, the top of the food chain, and the ruling class, while the Rimians and Naloreans are comfortably subjugated and subservient. When one ascends from a lower to a higher level, that’s when the more uncomfortable truths come out. I think it’s okay for you all to disagree on certain things. To not like one another, even. I’d have been more suspicious if you were trying to sell us some utopic fantasy in which everybody gets along with everybody.”
Acheron laughed. “I like you, Esme Vaughn. You speak your mind without fear. It’s a rare quality in people.”
“Yes, she’s quite the firecracker, isn’t she?” Petra said, her eyes small and charged with venom as she looked at my sister. I didn’t like her. I didn’t like her one bit, and the fact that she wasn’t hiding her animosity toward Esme was all the more concerning.
Kalon shot his mother a cold stare. “She’s infinitely superior to most of the Aeternae women I’ve come across. Present company excluded, of course,” he said, and it was enough to soften Petra’s expression.
I breathed a sigh of relief, thankful to see him stick up for Esme, though I did wonder what Petra had in mind regarding my sister. This was something I’d have to investigate later down the line. Maybe tomorrow night, when Esme and I had agreed to do our invisible tour of the palace, unsupervised.
Valaine smiled. “As you can see, we’re not a perfect society. Not even a perfect species, as much as we’d like to think otherwise.”
“Perfection is overrated, if you ask me,” I said to her. “There’s more charm and excitement in a family drama or a territorial skirmish than in permanent peace and harmony. I don’t think we’re designed for such dreamworlds, anyway.”
