Page 38 of The Vampire King's Victory

“But… but this place looks like somebody got it ready. The fires are lit. The candles… they would have burned down to pools of wax since you were last here,” Julian argued. “Did you pop back when I wasn’t looking and tidied up a bit? Did you like light some fires, air out the rooms--”

“No, my darling. The Ever Dark is merely welcoming us.” Daemon pressed a kiss to Julian’s temple and held him tighter.

“Wait, so… the city’s… alive? What do you mean? Are there werewolves like Tarn and Farun changing bed linen or--”

Daemon laughed and rewarded him with another kiss, which was quite nice but not really an answer. “The Ever Dark makes itself into whatever I need. The palace is ready for us and guests.”

He still wasn’t quite sure how that all worked. Was it like that house in an old 1970s movie he saw that repaired itself? Perhaps! But it was magic so maybe he didn’t need to understand. Maybe all he needed to know was that the Ever Dark lived for Daemon, became more alive for Daemon, and adapted to please him.

“Guests? This place is so huge it seems like all of the Vampires on Earth couldn’t fill it,” Julian remarked with a shake of his head.

“There won’t just be Vampires and Immortals here. We will need humans to sustain us as well. We cannot expect Eyros’ Acolytes to provide all we desire in terms of blood,” Daemon mused.

Julian nodded slowly. “It’s still weird and hard to think of… that. But I drink from you, and you need to drink from a lot of people to sustain yourself so...”

“You are worrying that it is like slavery, but it is not like that. Or will not be,” Daemon assured him. “People willwantto do this.”

“In the hopes that they’ll be made into Vampires?” Julian grimaced.

“Some, for sure. Others will simply enjoy the experience of being fed from. I know dear Dr. Stone is not a fan, but he is among the minority,” Daemon told him. “In the coming time, we will not need people in high places to cover up our mistakes. Our existence will be common knowledge. Only those who wish to be Acolytes will be.”

That had Julian feeling rather better.

With a rather rueful look, Julian admitted, “I think I’m rather a hypocrite, Daemon, because, on the one hand, I don’t want to prey on anyone, but on the other, I need their consent to feed, and that is to be in a human’s power. I’m not sure I’m fond of that either.”

“You will feed from me alone for a very long time so do not worry about that right now. But you do understand that the human in the feeding relationship is both controlled and in control. If you treat them as people and not simply food in any case,” Daemon said.

“Yeah, that makes sense. I’m sure it won’t be a problem to get humans to join us. You’re the king, after all,” Julian said. “We’ll have to fight them off really.”

“Yes,” Daemon simply answered with a nod.

That certainty--and no false modesty--still made Julian smile and shake his head, even though he knew it was really a profound “yes”. Daemon didn’t need to appear humble about these things, even if others would. He was the king and people would want to serve him. Whatever those people’s additional motivations, to please the king was paramount.

“And there will be servants, of course,” Daemon continued on his list of people who would exist in the palace and in Nightvallen. “We shall need them when representatives of theHouses come and take their places here to ask for aid or advice or simply to pay homage.”

Julian blinked. “Pay…homage? This royalty thing still gets me. I guess people will, of course, want to have someone here even with the palaces for the other Immortals nearby.”

“Those palaces will be packed by the members of those Bloodlines. There will be much jockeying for space and power. Only the elite of the elite will be allowed in our palace.” Daemon’s expression was quite calm at the thought of that, as if it were quite understandable and he would expect nothing less.

Having just met a few of the Vampire Houses, Julian realized how true that would be. Balthazar would enjoy every second of it, of course. He, the exile, now would have people vying for his friendship and just to be in the same space as him. Julian hoped that he didn’t end up finding the false friendship they offered too tiring. But, he realized then, that since Balthazar had Daemon--just like he had Christian--it wouldn’t matter so much.

There were plenty of people who wanted to befriend Christian and him because of their show, wanting to be near even the barest of celebrities, not caring about them at all really, but since he had Christian, his heart remained mostly untouched. Balthazar might just enjoy the schadenfreude of it all, but find his true happiness with hisrealfriends.

“I’m sure that Balthazar will find a way to take over a wing in the palace even with his own palace so near,” Julian said with a grin.

“Yes, I would often find him sleeping in my bed in the past. Lolling about. Or trying on my clothes. Or perched on the arm of the throne. Never in the seat, mind you, but close enough,” Daemon said with an affectionate shake of his head.

Julian’s eyebrows rose at the mention of the “bed”. “Did you and he… well, I guess you would… I mean… you’ve lived a long time and you’re clearly close so--”

“Yes, we have had a physical relationship, Julian. It is one based on love and trust, but not romance,” Daemon said with a warm smile. “It’s nothing to how I feel for you or he feels for Christian. It was something that was comforting to us both.”

“Yeah, no, I’m not jealous or… or anything,” Julian said, feeling a little jealous.

But then he shook himself. He knew how much Balthazar meant to Daemon and vice versa. They were friends and, sometimes, Daemon was a father figure to Balthazar. There wasn’t any competition there for him. It was something Daemon and Balthazar both needed. He would not resent or stand in any way in opposition to their friendship.

“I’m glad you understand,” Daemon murmured as he clearly caught wind of Julian’s thoughts. “You are my treasure. My one. There can only ever be you.”

Julian just absorbed those words. They were meant in a way that few other people could ever mean them to someone else. They were also incredibly precious. This wasDaemonsaying this. A being who had existed for who knew how long and, somehow, Julian mattered to him. The last time they had been in Nightvallen together, he’d thought that Daemon was rejecting him forever. It had been a cold, hard wound in his soul. But now he knew that was not true. Would never be true. Daemon loved and treasured him.

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