af

g advisors and I rush from the sheriff’s office to our meeting with the mayor. Our conversation with Sheriff Brown hadn’t gone as expected. I asked about crime rates

s and shakes his head. He’d been a secondary advisor to the king before being assigned to me recently, and I’m still not sure how I

ng to add to that remark wh

Hey

use it sounds so rude, but the volume and anger she’s bellowing out into the universe makes me th

ilder blue eyes stalks toward me, her blue cloak swir

sted advisor and best friend, who smirks and s

idering I could crush her in a split second, but there’s something interesting about

, trying no

u just did?” She stops before me, her h

t she might be talking about, but I ho

s.” She shook her head and continued, still shouting. “You just ran

people standing on the walkw

what she’s so upset about. “I said pardon me

need his help. “And you need to watch wh

I don’t look at him, but I don’t have to in order to

sonable, and

“I bet you have important people to see and a significant list of things to d

everal loafs of bread under his arm. I wonder if this is her husband, or if she is even old enough for that. When he w

l get more tomorrow,” he

t until tomorrow. Well?” she addresses m

r loaf?” I wonder if I even have any vlads on me. I don’t u

first loaf. The loaf you ruined. Secondly, it’s not like I can just go give more blood today to get more money. It’s forbidden—and I’d die. So, I’m shit out of luck until tomorrow, and now my sick mother and little brother and sister are going to have to eat nice, big bowls of air for

ris is on the move again. This time it

undred eighty years I can remember. Before that, when I was a human, it might’ve been possibl

sclosed so much information I cannot understand. I want to ask thi

Sir? We need to be going. Per

say to her again. “Miss?” I think that boy cal

curse in an ancient tongue. After all, when she utters it,

nd she starts to walk away with him, but in her blue eyes I s

ter who lives in an outlying village, the furthest one from the castle, a border territory between our realm and one controlled

peculiar,”

straight so I can interview the mayor. I need to have a better

s his head, but his words offend

pproach the mayor’s office and are shown in

ople I’ve seen in the town so far have been thin, some of the

refuse all of that. While we can eat and drink substances other than blood, we d

a bit much considering how dilapidated many of the buildings in town are. The sheriff’s office was nice, as is this office, the bakery I caught a glimpse of, and

They don’t want to work. Hell, we can barely get them to give blood. It’s a shame, really. This place used to be so prosperous. Now, it’s full of

re that can possibly be the only answer

There’s been talk of how it used to be, back w

territories, and the new rulers he instated came to an agreement with him that they would supply both blood and feeders to the castle in exchange for bei

supply dwindles as it has

ulling was

wo years ago. I am visiting to become more acquainted with the territory, as I have recently made my way through all the lands

nest opinion, Rafe

jects. “Pr

eyes, I have to wonder if it was intentional, but I gesture for him to continue. “Prince Rafe, I believe what we really need is a culling, get thes

re how I feel about this. Generally speaking, we only harvest feeders through cullings every five

low,” Kris whispers. “We

knitting. “Aren’t there other villag

If we could add this one in,

is large hands down on his larger thighs

is eyes, his long canines seeming to sharpen by the second. “I w

Why doesn’t the mayor already have control? U

is man, Mayor Black.