The Blood Kingdom by Kate Cunningham

Author:Kate Cunningham [Kate Cunningham]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Katherine Cunningham
Published: 2023-12-22T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 29

A tidy stack of books was already in front of Aurelia by the time Ven made his way to the chairs in front of the roaring fireplace. He plopped down into the seat across from her without invitation, throwing his booted feet up onto the low table between them as he thumbed open a book. With a snap of his fingers, another small feast appeared, accompanied by two glasses of red wine.

Aurelia chewed on the inside of her cheek, finishing a chapter in one of the books Ven had given her the day before. “There were queens once—” she murmured disbelievingly, “They ruled the human realm before the council was formed.”

“Fierce women indeed.” Ven smiled fondly, glancing up from the page.

Aurelia dropped the book into her lap and sat up. “You knew them?”

“Some—others I only knew by reputation, but the one that fought beside us during the war was an incredible female. She and the King were some of the bravest people I’ve met to this day,” he replied, sadness darkening his eyes.

“She must have been the last…” Her voice was hushed with reverence.

He nodded, “The last two rulers of the human realm gave their lives for their people’s freedom. They didn’t leave an heir to claim the throne, so their advisors formed the council after the war was over.”

So the myth surrounding how the seven guardians had been chosen by the Gods … It was all a lie. She’d never really believed it, but still, to be confronted with the truth stung even more.

She shook her head thinking of all the power the Nameless brothers possessed within the Capitol. The First Brother always had a seat on the Council. Always advised with the will and guidance of the Unnamed Gods. And to know that it was all constructed from the rubble of the war—it was all bullshit.

Sitting back in her chair again, Aurelia buried her nose once more in the lengthy volume. She sipped the wine and took bites of food as she comfortably lounged in the chair near the fire in a position her mother would have absolutely deemed unladylike.

She was devouring any record she could find about the early history of their world, reading the truth for the first time. Finding accounts and records that were more than vague warnings or exaggerated allegories.

“This record keeps mentioning the four relics,” she murmured.

“They were objects the Dark King used to harness an excess of power.” Ven looked up from his book, his eyes darkening slightly as he set it down on the table and picked up his glass. “Magick always seeks a balance, and every vessel has a limit.”

He waved a hand to his body. “Some of us have a deeper well of power to draw from before it needs to be replenished, but there is always a limit. It’s why our kind requires blood to replenish our magick. For the other kingdoms, it’s amplified through elements, nature … Without each of these basic sources of power, our magick would diminish entirely.

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