“We definitely aren’t,” Zoltan replied. “Hence our Blood Arena and predilection for deadly duels.”

“You know what? I’m going to go ahead and say it, since no one else will,” Acheron interjected, looking at Kalon. “You handled yourself very well today, Lord Visentis.”

“I’m thankful for your grace and righteousness.” Clayne Mefithi finally spoke. The rest of the noble Aeternae had been murmuring among themselves at the other end of the table, occasionally smiling and nodding at anything that Danika and Acheron had to say. They didn’t seem all that happy to be with us tonight, but to be honest, I didn’t really mind that. It meant that maybe they had something to hide. I was always a fan of a good mystery. “And I apologize for the offense that my son committed today. I cannot stress that enough.”

Unlike his son, Clayne was a slender Aeternae, with ginger curls and bright green eyes. Kindness radiated from him like scorching heat waves—the complete opposite of Demetrius. How had his son turned out to be such a bloodthirsty psychopath? I didn’t believe in the nature of monsters. I was firmly convinced that they were made, not born. Demetrius couldn’t have been designed evil from his mother’s womb.

Kalon gave Clayne a faint nod. “I know you bear no responsibility for his actions, Lord Mefithi.”

“It’s why I invited him for dinner tonight,” Acheron said. “What happened in the Blood Arena should stay in the Blood Arena.”

“Only it won’t,” Petra cut in, still angry about the duel. “Call off your fight with Demetrius, Kalon, before it’s too late. Let him pay Krassus’s family and be done with it.”

“You think gold will make Krassus’s children feel better?” Kalon shot back. “What would you do if someone killed me after I yielded in a tournament, Mother? I guarantee you’d want their head on a spike. You wouldn’t take anything else from them.”

“It’s bad enough I have to watch you fight in those mindless tournaments,” Petra hissed. “There are better things you could do with your time. A Nalorean died, and the referees drew their conclusions. Leave it at that!”

Clayne shook his head slowly, staring at his crystal cup. “I must apologize. It’s because of my son’s poor decisions that you’re arguing right now. I do not wish to cause more strife in your family.”

“Don’t worry about it, Lord Mefithi,” Kalon replied, eyeing his mother. “The high priestess simply has trouble understanding that she no longer controls her son. Her sons, actually. Our youngest brother might still be in her grasp, but he’ll grow out of it, too. We’re allowed to make our own destiny.”

“Speaking of which,” Zoltan said. “Lord Visentis, there is a council meeting I’d like you to attend sometime next week. It involves some administrative changes around the palace and its neighborhood. I think the high priestess has wanted you to get involved in affairs of the empire before.”

I remembered Valaine telling us that Kalon didn’t have a specific role assigned anywhere, but that he’d been groomed to someday become Lord Supreme. Of course, there were doubts that the Nasani dynasty would step down anytime soon, but it hadn’t stopped Petra from channeling all her resources into making sure that her son was more than ready for the challenge.

It was also interesting to hear about Kalon’s brothers. I hadn’t met any of them yet, but I figured that would happen soon. The family dynamic of the Aeternae was certainly part of my area of interest, from an anthropological point of view.

“It would be my pleasure,” Kalon replied after a long pause. It seemed to please his mother, who leaned back into her tall chair and took a long sip of spiced blood from a flute-shaped crystal glass.

Beryn cleared his throat, drawing our attention. His eyes were fixed on Derek and Sofia, and his expression made me feel somewhat uncomfortable. I didn’t need to be a sentry to sense the mild aggression coming off him. My instincts were quite sharp.

“So, have you found what you were looking for?” he asked.

Derek frowned, looking slightly confused. “What do you mean?”

“You can’t tell me you expect us to believe you’re just visiting. It’s a tad absurd, given that I hear you’ll be running blood tests on our people soon,” Beryn said.

Danika straightened her back, suddenly uncomfortable. Acheron’s eyes threw darts at Beryn. Hell, no one at the table liked where this conversation was headed—including our group. Maylin, on the other hand, was smiling. She and Beryn must’ve talked about this before dinner.

“Where did you hear that?” Danika asked Beryn.

“Word travels fast, Your Grace,” Beryn replied. “I see you’re not denying it.”

“We’re simply trying to understand the similarities and the differences between our species,” Derek said, calm and reserved in his approach.

Beryn grinned. “It doesn’t have anything to do with whatever made you into a day-walker then, huh? Because we all know you got it from one of our own.”

Danika rolled her eyes. “I see gossip is still running rampant.” She glanced at Acheron. “See, darling? This is why I’ve been advocating for smaller dinners and fewer guests lately.”

“I agree,” Acheron replied, raising an eyebrow at Beryn. “One of us, Beryn? One of whom, exactly?”

“Why, the Aeternae, of course,” Beryn said.

“I don’t think you’re in a position to question what Derek and his team do with the blood we give them,” Acheron declared. “You were turned. From a heritage point of view, you don’t get a say in this.”

“No, but I just want these foreigners to be honest,” Beryn replied. “I just want them to tell us that they came here for the day-walking cure. Judging by what they’ve said so far, frankly, it did not take a master linguist to figure it out.”

“Beryn doesn’t like pussy-footing much.” Maylin chuckled, thoroughly enjoying this.

Sofia exhaled sharply. “It’s true. We came here because our search for the day-walking protein brought us to Visio.”

It didn’t surprise Danika or Acheron. Zoltan seemed a tad displeased, at best, but he wasn’t shocked, and neither was Petra. In hindsight, it did make sense that they’d figured it out on their own, as much as we’d tried to convince ourselves otherwise. But I did wonder what had made them draw the conclusion, since they definitely didn’t know about our tracking magic.

“We didn’t want it to be the main objective of our visit, though,” Sofia added. “We are genuinely fascinated, in awe of your civilization and what you’ve accomplished here. For us, it’s always a pleasure to explore new worlds. As you all know by now, this isn’t our first foray into interstellar exploration.”

“I appreciate your candor,” Acheron replied. “Rest assured, we are not in any way upset or offended that you did not tell us immediately. It does make sense that you would want to help your people evolve, so they may walk in the sunlight without fear of dying.”

“See, Beryn? We like to be civil with our guests,” Danika said, sneering at the former Rimian. “If you were trying to start a diplomatic conflict, I suggest you go back to the drawing board and try something smarter. On the other hand, if all you intended was to embarrass our guests, I must say I’m thoroughly unimpressed.”

“Your Grace, I simply advocate for the truth, no matter how uncomfortable,” Beryn replied, apparently dissatisfied with the end result of his jabs. There was clearly some sort of endgame on his mind. And I felt uneasy not knowing what that was.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what brought you to the conclusion that we came here because of the day-walking protein? We did not lead the conversation there,” I said. “In fact, we let you draw the conclusions for yourselves, out of respect.”

Valaine’s hand covered mine over the armrest of my chair. No one else saw it, but I was compelled to look at her. She frowned, silently signaling me not to dig any deeper. However, it was too late. I’d already asked.

Acheron smiled. “Given you had the technology and the magic to come all the way here, we figured you must’ve had something to help you trace that protein back to our world.”

“Seems rather simple, doesn’t it?” Danika added.

Then why was I not convinced? The thought of having been spied on crossed my mind, and the implications troubled me. This wasn’t the time or the place to address them, but I was determined to speak to Esme about it—she looked as concerned as I was, likely making the same connections.

These people were fascinating. But they were also hiding things from us, things that could mean the difference between our mission’s success or failure—and possibly trouble.

Esme

“I think your white-haired scientist here should take blood samples from different Aeternae,” Petra said after a long and not so comfortable pause. She confused me with her mood swings, going from hot to cold, from helpful to hateful, in milliseconds. “With your permission, Lord and Lady Supreme, I will be more than happy to grant Amal full access to the palace’s study rooms so she can analyze all the samples and identify the protein needed for the vampires’ day-walking cure.”

Acheron nodded enthusiastically. “I’ll gladly give you some of my blood, if you wish.”

“Your Grace, surely there is no need for that,” Zoltan replied. “I and my colleagues will donate on your behalf.”

“Nonsense. The Nasani blood is pure and ancient. One of the first dynasties established on Visio,” Acheron said. “I will donate, and that’s the end of it.”

“You can take mine, as well,” Danika added, though she didn’t sound as excited as her husband. Even so, their willingness to help us wasn’t just surprising. It was downright humbling and heartwarming. For all their secrecy and double meanings nudged beneath their words, the Aeternae were definitely eager to support our quest. It was selfless.

“I suppose I don’t need to tell you that you people can have my blood,” Kalon muttered.

“Thank you,” I said, genuinely grateful to have his support in this endeavor.