Page 64 of Blood Descendants
“I’m sorry, did you just sayKingCyrus?” I question, my brows rising.
James looks over at me, and from his expression, I can tell he still can’t believe we don’t know this information. “Shit. Ifyou don’t know about Cyrus, you don’t even know how we came to exist, do you, Ares?”
“Haven’t given it that much deep thought,” Ares admits, albeit begrudgingly.
James wipes a hand over his face, shaking his head as he blinks three times hard. “Two thousand plus years ago, a man named Cyrus was… an experimenter. Back then, they probably would have called him a witch doctor. Now, some might say he was a scientist. But he created this… concoction that made him the ultimate predator. Stronger. Faster. Insane strength. But he was cursed for it by craving the blood of his own former kind. He became the first vampire.”
This doesn’t sound real. This sounds like a fairy tale or a scary story told to frighten children. Then again, Ares once told me about vampires, and though he said he didn’t know how they came to be, a curse was actually one possibility he mentioned.
“You’re talking about this Cyrus like he’s still alive today,” Ares points out, his look doubtful.
“He is,” James says, nodding his head. “And he still rules as king of all vampires. The fact that you don’t know about him…”
“Get over it, and keep explaining,” Ares says, his patience growing thin again.
James snaps his mouth shut and nods. It’s the most aggressive I’ve seen Ares be with someone he wasn’t about to kill, or his father. Ares does not like feeling like he’s in the dark.
“So, Cyrus had a wife, Sevan. And he really, really loved her. When he realized time no longer had a hold on him, he wanted Sevan to become like him. But she refused. She saw the monster her husband had become, and she didn’t want to belike him. But one night, Cyrus forced it on her. Turned her into what he was. What he didn’t know was that she was pregnant.”
“Monster,” I say under my breath.
“Undoubtedly,” James agrees. “Sevan was a vampire now, but the baby still grew in her. When he was born, he was totally human. And Sevan was relieved. She didn’t want him being like them. But after he grew into adulthood, he died. But four days later…”
“He Resurrected,” Ares concludes.
James nods. “He became the first Born vampire. And he recognized the potential of what they were. How they could change the world. But not with three vampires. So, this son set out to run his own experiments. He took human lovers. And eventually, some of them conceived.”
“He made his own breeding program,” I say with a sneer on my face.
“Can you blame him?” James counters, looking up at me from beneath his dark lashes. Those strange eyes of his lock on mine. Green, but nearly yellow. “If you were the first of your kind, would you not get lonely? Would you not want a family?”
“Easy for a man to say when he doesn’t have to do the hard part,” I counter him, a sour taste in the back of my throat.
He doesn’t react. He just looks back at Ares and continues. “He was successful. The Blood Father created nineteen children. And those children died when they came of age, and every one of them Resurrected as a vampire. And those of his male children managed to do the same thing.”
It makes me sick. The thought of this breeding happening, the women who were just carriers.
“The Blood Father?” Ares questions the name.
James nods. “I’ll get to that. Cyrus wanted to keep the vampires a secret. He felt they were in danger with few numbers. But he also saw power in the secrecy. He wanted to grow their family and keep it contained in their village in Austria. Bide their time in that castle.”
“Castle?” I question again.
James nods but doesn’t look at me. “But the Blood Father saw opportunity. The number of vampires was growing. And they were so much stronger than humans. He laid out plans to make their presence known, to take a position of power within the world.”
It chills me to think what this could mean. If the vampires took positions of power. If they decided to use their abilities to influence the world. It’s terrifying to consider.
“Cyrus and Sevan turned on their son,” James says, his tone cold. “They rallied some of their grandchildren, and there was a war. Family against family. Father against son. And this war raged on for years. In the end, Cyrus beheaded the Blood Father.”
Chills wash over me. But I feel something like… relief.
“Cyrus took power once again. Those who allied themselves with him, he granted power and privilege to. He made them the first Royals. Those who sided with his son, he shunned and banished. The Born. And while he rejected his son’s vision, Cyrus realized that the vampires wouldn’t stay contained. So, he granted the Royals stewardship over the world. Gave them the task of managing the vampires. And their biggest job is to keep the vampires’ secret.”
“House of Marshals,” I say as the puzzle pieces start coming together. “House of Conrath. They’re these Royals.”
James nods. “There are really three kinds of vampires in this world. The Bitten. The Born. And the Royals. Yet the only difference between the Born and the Royals is blood. If their bloodlines track back to those certain grandchildren who sided with Cyrus. And the Born… they’re nobody to the Royals. Subjects. Cyrus erased his son’s name from history. He is known only as the Blood Father now. And there is no changing the past. No making up for the sins of the fathers. The Royals’ bloodlines are tracked. Especially the females.”
Ick. This shit keeps coming up.
