Page 27 of His Realm

“Yes, but many have lived for centuries in their sloth and indolence. You cannot expect them to change their ways overnight.”

“No, but again, if nothing is expected of you, ever, then how is change even possible?”

“It’s ridiculous to expect anything from such lazy, slovenly creatures.”

“You sound like Sabira.” I chuckled thinking of her face whenever she talked about the courtesans and their issue. “She is not a fan.”

“Listen to me: I don’t want to talk about my father’s ubiquitous offspring. I want you to forgive me for leaving.”

“It’s not for me to forgive. You had no choice.”

“You’re not— I hurt you with my leaving, and I⁠—”

“Again, you didn’t have a choice. What you did have a say in was telling me what you did to me before you left.”

Several moments passed, but he finally said, “Yes.”

“You should have, and you’re in the wrong there.”

“I was so set on my task, certain it would be quick and that I would not be parted from you for more than a week, two at the most, and then everything went to hell and⁠—”

“You’re making excuses, trying to justify what you did. Don’t do that. Apologize.”

“I’ve been trying to⁠—”

“Take all the blame. Do it now.”

“I already⁠—”

“No. The leaving is on the king. Where you screwed up was in not warning me once you knew you were going to be detained.”

“Yes,” was his quick reply.

“Tell me why you didn’t call.”

“Well, first, I never thought I would be away this long, and honestly, I’m horrified with myself for what I’ve done to you, and furious, constantly, over what I’ve done to myself.”

“What did you do to yourself?” I asked, worried.

He scoffed. “You’re more concerned over me than mad about what I’ve put you through, aren’t you?”

“Just—are you all right?” I whispered.

“You really are too softhearted to be the mate of a prince.”

“So I’ve heard,” I said with a sigh, thinking again how good it was to be having a real conversation with him after so long. I could feel all the cold, dark places inside me filling up with just the sound of his voice.

He suddenly bellowed at someone, and he must’ve moved the phone away from his ear because it was still loud, but it didn’t shatter my eardrums as it would have done had he not been so considerate.

“All I was supposed to do was make your blood ripe for me,” he continued as if that hadn’t just happened. “That’s what Cassius did to Nerilla, that’s what my father did to my mother. That’s the way of things.”

I already knew all that, but since there had to be a reason he was going over information I was already aware of, I stayed quiet.

“The difference is, you’re not a vampyr in the same way Nerilla and the queen are. As a matan, you carry a latent vampyr gene in your human body but don’t drink blood yourself, so when I changed your blood, I also extended your life.”

None of this was new information.

“And I told you that, but I didn’t tell you what it meant. I didn’t tell you the payment part for that change to your DNA.”