Page 23 of Fated

Determined not to be ignored, I tried again. “So, you guys are vampires—very cool.”

This time, I injected as much fake enthusiasm as I could muster.

That earned a snort from Calyx and a head shake from Ash. Calyx’s eyes found mine again in the mirror, searing into me. I could feel it—he was dying to talk. “It’s so crazy that you guys can be out in the daylight. I always thought vampires exploded in the sun or something,” I baited him.

“We aren’t vampires. Vampires are just myths made up in your world,” Calyx said, sounding mildly agitated.

Internally, I smiled.Got him.

“Our species is relatively new,” he added.

“New?”

“We were created about sixteen years ago,” Calyx said.

My eyes widened, my jaw nearly hitting the floor. “You guys are sixteen?”

It came out more as a shout than a question. This time, Ash let out a low snort, and Calyx burst into raucous laughter.

“No, Areya. Do we look sixteen to you?”

Ash turned and shot me a devilish grin, catching me blushing despite myself.

Calyx chuckled again. “Our king turned our entire kingdomsixteen years ago. Before that, we were probably just pathetic humans living equally pathetic human lives.”

“You don’t remember anything before sixteen years ago?” I was genuinely curious.

“Nope.”

“You don’t remember your parents?”

“Nope.”

“And that doesn’t bother you?”

This time, Ash answered. “We aren’t human, Areya, so we aren’t bothered by petty human emotions.” He spat the wordhumanas if it were something foul on his tongue.

“We’re gods among humans,” Calyx chimed in. “We were gifted power, immortality, a wicked set of wings …” Calyx wagged his eyebrows, earning a curious look from Ash.

“Why did your king make you?”

“He was super powerful and wanted a loyal army,” Calyx said and shrugged. “When we woke up, we remembered our names and nothing else about our past lives. Everyone of age was rounded up and trained into warriors for the king’s army. Ash and I, being the badasses we are, were selected by the king to be his second and third in command. We have privileges the rest of our people can only dream of.”

He grinned smugly.

“You said everyone of age. What about the children?”

“The ones deemed strong enough are trained from the time they can walk,” Calyx answered.

“And the rest?” I cringed, knowing what was coming.

“They’re killed,” he stated matter-of-factly.

A wave of nausea hit me, bringing the urge to be sick.

“No more questions?” Calyx asked, noticing my silence.

Forcing down the revulsion rising in me, I knew I needed to keep asking questions if I had any chance of understanding what was coming. So, I shoved down my rising emotion and kept talking. “Why can Ash do that mind control thing?”

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