“We trade human food, clothing, and other goods with them and in exchange they alert us when anyone may be coming to look for us. Though we do not actually hand them the humans that are banished from here, or deal in slavery, it doesn’t hurt that most end up seeking shelter and protection in the towns.
“The vampires within the towns are used to dealing with The Forsaken Ones, as we have started to call the banished, and are usually able to avoid them in order to reach us, though sometimes they do get lost. However, if they hope to keep receiving food they have no choice but to aid us. We need to know when someone is coming, or when the king has sent one of his raiding parties to attempt to find us. The Forsaken Ones are hazardous, and we’ve been having increasing problems with them lately, but they come in handy as a defense against the king’s soldiers, and other unwanted guests.”
Aria hadn’t realized what that town had been; it was a little unnerving to know they had been being spied on, and monitored, the entire time. “They asked to buy me though,” she blurted.
“No dear, it was Braith they were interested in. It’s been awhile since they’ve seen the prince, and they were a little surprised by his appearance. Though, they would have taken you if Braith had been willing.” Aria sat back, she was flabbergasted by this revelation. “Truth be told, we had once hoped that Braith would come here to do something about his father’s policies. We had given up that hope though.”
Gideon’s gaze was irritated as he turned his focus to Braith. “Why would you think I’d come at all?” Braith’s voice was hoarse, grating.
“You were never a malicious bastard like your father or Caleb. I thought you would eventually grow tired of the brutality, the unfairness of it all.”
“You could have started your own rebellion.”
Gideon shook his head, though he tried to appear casual, tension hummed through his shoulders. “Not many of us escaped Braith, certainly not enough to challenge the king again, not with the power he wielded. The number of vampires was just as badly decimated as the number of humans, especially vampires that didn’t agree with your father. We would have been massacred.
“It was a long time before we were able to establish this town. The first twenty or so years after the war were spent moving constantly, trying to avoid the hunting parties he sent after us, but eventually he grew tired of hunting us and became more concerned with the rebellion brewing in his own backyard. We continued to move about for a few more years, but there’s nothing out there anymore. Nothing Braith.”
Braith shook his head almost sadly and took another sip of blood. “We eventually found an underground water supply here that we were able to tap. It took a lot of work but we established an environment where humans and vampires could coexist peacefully.”
“We never knew much about The Barrens, but none of us suspected this existed amongst them,” Aria murmured.
“Nor did we want you to.” Gideon idly twirled the goblet in his fingers, his gaze pensive as he stared at the shiny metal. “The last thing we needed was an influx of humans leaving the woods to come here. We may not have everything we once had, may not live in the lap of luxury, but look around you, these people are happy.”
Aria studied the occupants of the restaurant. They were smiling and they were healthy. They weren’t dirty and bedraggled, they weren’t too thin or sickly like some in the woods. They weren’t pale and drained like the blood slaves. The most amazing thing though, was that they weren’t afraid. They weren’t hiding and screaming, they weren’t struggling to survive, they were sitting in the open, surrounded by vampires, and they showed no fear. It was wonderful.
“We weren’t going to let the word out until we were ready.”
“Ready for what?”
“For a revolution,” Braith informed her.
Gideon shrugged as he leaned forward. “Perhaps, but it still would have been a long time coming. Our numbers are not as strong as we would like, and to reach out to your little rebellion would have been risky.”
“Little rebellion?” Aria demanded in indignation.
“Even you must admit that you don’t accomplish much more than being a thorn in the king’s side.”
Aria’s jaw clenched as she leaned across the table. “At least we’re not hiding in the middle of the desert!” she snapped at him. “We’re there, we’re fighting now, and we’ve come to you to join this fight!”
Gideon arched a brow at her as he leaned closer. Braith rested his hand on the table, twisting so that his shoulder was in between them. Aria sensed no hostility from the man across from her though, just a desperate need for her to understand something. “You have no idea what the king is capable of, what humans are capable of when their livelihoods are threatened. Rushing into something, and getting ourselves killed, wouldn’t do anyone any good.
“The king has a way of drawing everyone in, of making them believe things that they wouldn’t normally believe. It is how he was able to wrest control, how he was able to inflict the damage upon the world that he did. By the time any of us realized what he had in mind, and the lengths that he would eventually go to, to get it, it was too late to stop him. We were outnumbered and overpowered, getting ourselves killed by rushing heedlessly back in would not help us one bit. Of course not everyone was on board with the king at first, which is why your mother was killed, something I think you now realize was your father’s doing.”