- 5 days ago
The Last Pint Of Sunshine Part 2
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00:00the extractions i signed the budget reports i approved the solaris maintenance program
00:05you were told it was for vivian's health i didn't ask questions i never once went to the extraction
00:12room i never once checked on her she was my wife and i treated her like inventory his voice echoed
00:21through the crypt the eternal flames flickered there's one more thing sir he pulled out a small
00:26device a recording unit this was in dr krause's files he recorded his sessions apparently a voice
00:32filled the crypt tinny recorded but unmistakable it was vivian's voice she's getting too weak the
00:39output is dropping if we push harder she'll die then we push harder and find a replacement there
00:45are other solaris descendants i have a list and the king caspian thinks she's a hypocomriac last
00:52week she fanted during an extraction and he told her to eat more protein he's perfect he doesn't
00:56see her at all the recording ended caspin stood frozen his face was a mask but behind his eyes
01:03something was shattering slowly irreversibly like ice breaking on a deep lake he told her to eat more
01:10protein he remembered i could see it in his face he remembered that conversation he remembered my pale
01:17face my shaking hands my whispered plea for help and he remembered dismissing me with a wave and a
01:25suggestion to visit the kitchen get vivian bring her here to the crypt i want her to see what she's
01:33done while she explains herself he's locked in the royal suite sir she's been making calls we
01:39intercepted one to dr crater she's trying to destroy evidence then drag her here in chains marcus nodded and
01:45left caspian was alone with my body and with me though he didn't know it he sat on the stone
01:52floor
01:53beside the altar he leaned his head against the cold granite i can feel you i don't know how but
01:59i can feel
01:59you like standing in sunlight through a window you're here aren't you i hovered above him the golden thread
02:06between us pulsed i'm here i thought but not for you he closed his eyes a single tear red because
02:14vampires cry blood slid down his cheek and fell onto the stone floor i'm sorry i'm sorry i didn't look
02:22the eternal flames burned on the crypt held its silence and somewhere above us the wards and the
02:28kingdom's walls crooked again upper now dimmer as the last of my stolen blood burned away into nothing
02:43as the last of my stolen blood burned away into nothing they brought viviana to the crypt in silver
02:49chains without my blood she looked exactly like what she was an ordinary woman in a borrowed dress
02:55wearing a crown that didn't belong to her two guards held her arms she stumbled on the stone steps
03:01her heels catching on the ancient grooves carved into the floor when she saw my body on the altar
03:08she stopped why is she here this is the royal crypt she's not royalty she's not even solaris she is
03:16both her index was 12 viviana yours was fabricated that's a lie dr krauser recorded everything would you like
03:24to hear yourself explain how my stupidity made your operation possible vivian's face went white not
03:30pale white the color of bone that's taken out of context krause was blackmailing me i said those
03:35things under duress you sold her blood to the ashford coven 12 million dollars they used it to breach our
03:41northern wall seven soldiers died in that attack vivian seven soldiers killed by my wife's stolen blood
03:47sold by my fiancee i am your wife now the bonding is void you are nothing vivian lunged forward dragging
03:56the guards with her she pointed a shaking finger at my body she was nothing a weak pathetic human who
04:02couldn't even fight back i did what anyone would do i took what i deserved you deserve 12 million dollars
04:07in a throne built on a dead woman's veins i deserved you do you know what it's like to grow
04:12up next to her
04:12she walked around like sunshine and every vampire in the room turned to look at her and she didn't
04:15even notice i noticed i knew what that blood was worth before she even knew she had it she was
04:20panting
04:20now the chains clink as her body shook i loved you first caspian i saw you at the solaris summit
04:26when
04:26i was 16. you were looking for a bride a solaris bride and i knew i knew if i could
04:31just get the blood
04:32get the mark i could be what you wanted so you poisoned your stepsister and drained her dry i gave
04:37her
04:37a purpose she had nothing no ambition no connections no she had a solaris index of 12. she could have
04:44powered a continent she could have healed plagues she could have been the most important person in
04:48the vampire world and you turned her into a blood bag in a basement vivian opened her mouth closed it
04:54opened it again i want a lawyer you'll get a trial before the high court for murder treason
05:00and solaris fraud the penalty for each is death you can't kill me i have your heir the room was
05:07silent
05:08what i'm pregnant caspian eight weeks the court physician confirmed it yesterday you can't execute
05:14the mother of a valdian heir i felt something crack inside my spirit not grief i was beyond grief it
05:20was
05:20the last thread of attachment the final gossamer strand that had kept me tethered to this world
05:25caspian had a child coming with her with the woman who had killed me the golden thread connecting
05:31me to my body didn't let go it's time verify it get the physician run the tests if she's lying
05:38add
05:38it to the charges and if she's telling the truth he looked at the still peaceful face of the woman
05:44he
05:44had starved to death then the child is innocent and the mother is not take her to the holding cells
05:51maximum security no visitors no phone no communication of any kind vivian was dragged
05:55away screaming her voice echoed up through the stone corridors growing thinner and thinner until
06:00it was swallowed by silence caspian stood alone in the crypt he walked to the altar and pressed his lips
06:06to my forehead the kiss was gentle the gentlest thing he had ever done to me i'll fix this i
06:14don't
06:14know how but i'll fix this you can't fix dead caspia but even as i thought it something strange
06:20happened the golden thread between my spirit and my body the one that had been dimming suddenly
06:25pulsed bright hot alive and deep inside my dead chest beneath the still heart and the empty veins
06:30something flickered a spark tiny golden impossible the solaris floor the sun seed that lived in every
06:37descendant's heart it had been dormant for three years smothered by constant drainage but now that no
06:42one was taking from me it was waking up and it was hungry
06:54but now that no one was taking from me it was waking up and it was hungry
07:00i felt the pull before i understood it one moment i was floating near the ceiling of the crypt weightless
07:06and free the next the golden thread yanked me downward with the force of a crashing star
07:11it hurt not the dull familiar ache of needles and extraction this was fire solar fire ripping
07:18through the space between death and life i slammed back into my body the first sensation was cold
07:25bone deep marrow freezing cold my body had been dead for over two hours the blood in my veins had
07:32settled my muscles had begun to stiffen but the spark in my chest didn't care about biology it burned
07:38it started small a golden ember behind my sternum then it expanded sending tendrils of heat through my
07:46chest into my throat down my arms it reached my fingertips and they twicked i couldn't breathe my
07:53lungs were collapsed my diaphragm locked the spark burned hotter forcing the muscles to contract
07:59i gasped it was a horrible sound wet rattling like air being forced through a flooded pipe my back
08:07arched off the stone altar my hands thawed at the linen cloth the eternal flames poured every candle
08:14doubled in height the temperature in the room spiked caspia who had been sitting on the floor with his head
08:19in his hands jumped to his feet lena i couldn't answer i was choking on my own resurrection my heart
08:27stuttered one beat then nothing then two beats in rapid succession then nothing again the solaris
08:33core was trying to restart a machine that had been drained past empty medic someone get down here now
08:39my eyes opened the world was a blur of golden light and shadow i saw the stone ceiling i saw
08:46the candles
08:47i saw caspian's face above me his red-rimmed eyes wide with terror and hope don't move don't try to
08:54move help is coming but my body wasn't listening to him it wasn't listening to me either the solaris
09:01core had its own agenda the golden light spread from my chest to my skin it wasn't subtle it was
09:06visible
09:07radiating outward like i had swallowed the sun the medical port in my neck glowed white hot then
09:12cracked then shattered fragments of metal fell onto the altar smoking i screamed the port had been
09:19impeded in my jugular for three years ripping it out should have killed me again but the golden
09:24light sealed the wound instantly new tissue forming over the damage like liquid metal what's happening
09:31to her dr sanchez took one look at me and dropped her new medical bag solaris resurrection i've only read
09:38about this it hasn't happened 400 years is she alive she's coming alive the solaris core is regenerating
09:45her body from the inside out but she has almost no snow blood the core is burning her own tissue
09:50for
09:51fuel she needs blood she needs solaris compatible blood which doesn't exist in our reserves because
09:57every drop we had came from her take mine you're a vampire sir your blood i'm her fated mate
10:05our blood is compatible it has to be take it dr sanchez hesitated for one second
10:11then she grabbed a transfusion kit from her bag the needle went into caspas's arm the tube filled
10:18with dark almost black vampire blood it flowed through the line and into the iv she hastily
10:24inserted into my arm the moment his blood entered my body the solaris core detonated the light exploded
10:30outward every candle in the crypt was blown out simultaneously the eternal flames which had
10:35burned for 800 years were extinguished and then in the absolute darkness a new light emerged me i was
10:42blown not the faint shimmer that vivian had faked this was a supernova golden light poured from my skin
10:49my eyes my open mouth it filled the clift turning the black granite to a warm amber the scars on
10:56my arms
10:56began to fade the bruises dissolved the extraction marks 47 of them smoothed over one by one as if an
11:03invisible
11:03hand was erasing my heart found its rhythm strong steady relentless i sat up my body was rebuilding
11:11itself in real time and modesty was a luxury for people who hadn't just returned from the dead i looked
11:17at my hands they were blowing so brightly i could see the bones in my skin and they were golden
11:22not like
11:24so layer of bone i looked at caspan he was on his knees the transfusion tube still in his arm
11:30staring at me
11:31with an expression i had never seen on his face awe pure terrified awe lena i opened my mouth to
11:38speak
11:39what came out was not words it was light a beam of concentrated solaris energy erupted from my throat
11:44hit the ceiling and blasted through fifty floors of outer tower it punched a hole through concrete steel
11:49and marble shooting into the night sky like a golden beacon every ward in the kingdom reignited
11:53simultaneously not at their previous strength at ten times their previous strength the barriers
12:00cummed with power visible now as golden linuses covering the walls the borders the sky itself every
12:07vampire in the kingdom felt it every soldier every citizen every enemy lurking at the borders solaris had
12:14returned and she was furious
12:29i didn't speak for three days not because i couldn't the resurrection had healed the solaris had
12:36returned and she was furious i didn't speak for three days not because i couldn't the resurrection had
12:45healed my throat my lungs everything i was physically stronger than i had ever been in my life i didn't
12:51speak
12:52because i had nothing to say to any of them they put me in the queen's chambers the ones viviana
12:56had occupied until 48 hours ago the silk sheet still smelled like her perfume i stripped the bed myself
13:02and slept on the bare mattress caspian came to the door every hour he knocked he waited he spoke
13:08through the wood lena please let me in i need to explain the doctors want to check your vitals i
13:15had
13:15the kitchen make your favorite the pasta with the please i sat by the window and watched the golden
13:21wards shimmer across the kingdom my wards powered by my blood my core my suffering they had never been
13:27this strong because they had never been powered by a running source every drop viviana had taken was
13:31stolen and stolen blood makes weak magic but now the solaris world is generating power on its own it had
13:39been starved for three years and now it was overcompensating flooding my body with more energy than i knew
13:46what to do with on the third day i opened the door not for casket for dominic he stood in
13:53the hallway
13:53leaning against the wall with his arms crossed he looked exactly as he had in the garage calm calculating
13:59amused you look better dead than most people look alive you knew in the garage you already knew
14:05what vivianus was i suspected you let me leave knowing i might die i gave you a choice that's more
14:12than anyone else did i held up his black card the serpent emblem glinted in the hallway light you said
14:17this was an investment what exactly were you investing in dominic smiled it was the same sharp
14:21dangerous smile from the garage the inevitable my brother's kingdom was built on stolen blood
14:25stolen blood always kurgles i just needed to be positioned correctly when it did and where are
14:30you positioned now right where i want to be talking to the most powerful solaris in four centuries who
14:35has every reason to burn this court to the ground i studied him dominic valdric the second son the
14:41overlooked brother the one who ran the obsidian court a shadow network that operated in the margins of
14:45castling's kingdom do you want dominic an alliance you have power i have infrastructure together we could
14:53i'm not a weapon no you're a woman who was used as one i'm offering you the chance to be
14:59the one
15:00holding the trigger i looked down the hallway at the end casca stood watching us his face was a mask
15:05controlled agony he saw dominic stand close to me he saw me talking to his brother the first words i'd
15:11spoken since dying the jealousy in his eyes was volcano lena can we talk please five minutes i looked at
15:19him i looked at the man who had married me and never touched me with kindness who had signed
15:23exception orders over breakfast who had told me to eat more protein while i bled out in a basement
15:27no one word it hit him like a bullet tell me about the obsidian court dominic off at his arm
15:33i didn't
15:34take it i wasn't ready to trust anyone's touch but i walked beside him down the corridor away from the
15:39key
15:40behind us i heard casper's fist hit the wall the stone cracked
15:52i heard casper's fist hit the wall the stone cracked i didn't look back the obsidian court was not a
16:07place
16:07it was a network a web of safe houses informants and operatives that stretched across every vampire
16:13territory on the continent dominic had built it over a decade quietly in the shadow of his brother's
16:18golden kingdom he showed me the files in a secure room three floors below the tower maps covered the
16:25walls screens displayed real-time data on troop movements blood market prices and political alliance
16:32your sister sold your blood to six different fractions ashfield dragon the crimson pact the
16:38solace underground the marin collective and one buyer we still can't identify what did they do with
16:44it ashford weaponized it dreven used it for healing their elder council the others are stockpiling
16:52waiting for what for the wards to fall your blood was the only thing keeping casper's borders secure
16:58every rival court knew the wards were blood powered they just didn't know who's blood now that you've
17:04resurrected and the wards are at full strength they're recalculating they're afraid they're cautious
17:11there's a difference fear comes later when they realize you're not under casper's control anymore
17:19i looked at the map six factions six buyers of my stolen blood each one had a piece of me
17:25circulating
17:26through their systems powering their weapons their wards their soldiers i want it back your blood
17:33every drop every vial every weapon they've built with it i want it destroyed or returned that would
17:39require infiltrating six hostile territories raiding their vaults and probably starting a war
17:44then we start a war dominic studied me for a long moment then he laughed a real laugh warm and
17:52surprised you really did come back different a knock on the door marcus entered looking uncomfortable
17:59the king request your presence in the throne room both of you dominic and i exchanged a glance
18:05the throne room was packed every noble family every council member every military commander had been
18:11summoned they stood in rows their faces a mix of curiosity fear and political calculator caspian sat
18:20on the obsidian throne at the head of the room he looked terrible dark circles under his eyes his jaw
18:27clenched his knuckles white on the armrests when i walked in every head turned the golden light of the
18:34solaris was subtle now a warm glow beneath my skin like sunlight through amber but in a room full of
18:41vampires was blinding whispers erupted that's her the one who died the solaris hair the real one
18:49she's glowing look at her eyes i walked to the center of the room and stopped
18:54i didn't bow i didn't kneel i stood lena thank you for coming
19:03i didn't come for you i came to address the court murmurs rippled through the crowd a queen even a
19:12former
19:13queen addressing the court without the king's permission was unprecedented you have the floor
19:20i turned to face the assembly three years ago i entered this court as a bride i was told i
19:26was ordinary
19:27i was told my stepster was the solaris and that my role was to support the crown instead i was
19:33taken to
19:33a room in the basement strapped to a chair and drained of my blood silence absolute suffocating silence
19:4247 extraction sessions in three years over 30 liters of solaris blood harvested from my body without my
19:50consent that blood powered your wards healed your soldiers and protected your families it was credited
19:59to vivian vos who is not and has never been solaris i let that sink in three days ago i
20:06was drained past
20:06the point of survival i died on the highway 17 miles from the border in the back seat of a
20:13car that was
20:13supposed to take me to freedom my heart stopped because there was nothing left to pump i looked at
20:19caspian he looked at his hands the king signed the extraction orders he approved the budgets he was
20:27told it was for vivian's maintenance and he never questioned it he never visited the extraction room
20:33he never asked why his wife was pale bruised and begging for help lena
20:43i'm not finished he closed his mouth i came back the solaris corps resurrected me but i didn't come
20:51back for this court i didn't come back for the king i came back because my blood is still out
20:55there
20:56sold on the black market by vivian vos who are using it to build weapons against you the murders became
21:01shouts
21:04council members turned to each other in alarm i am the only person who can neutralize those weapons
21:11solaris blood answers to its source i can recall it deactivate it or detonate it remotely but i will not
21:19do it as a subject of this court i reached up and removed the thin gold circle they had placed
21:25on my head
21:25when i entered the queen's chambers i set it on the stone floor i renounced my position as queen of
21:33the valdric court i renounced my marriage to caspian valdric caspian flinched as it struck and i invoke the
21:42blood debt the room went nuclear blood deed was the oldest law in vampire society if a vampire or a
21:53vampire
21:53court took blood from a living being without proper consent or compensation the donor could invoke a
21:59debt equal to the value of what was taken 30 liters of solarius 12 blood at black market rates was
22:05worth
22:06approximately 200 million dollars but blood debt wasn't paid in money it was paid in power territory authority
22:16i claim the southern province the port cities of valen and corsica and full autonomy from from the valdric
22:23court that's a third of my kingdom
22:28that's a fraction of what you owe me the council erupted nobles shouted commanders argued but the law was
22:35fear and every person in that room knew it caspian stared at me not with anger not with defiance with
22:43the
22:43shattered recognition of a man watching and the consequence of his cruelty walk out the door with a
22:51piece of his empire granted the room fell silent the southern province is yours lena as is your freedom
23:02i picked up the gold circle from the floor i didn't put it back on i handed it to domino
23:07who stood at the
23:09edge of the room watching with barely concealed satisfaction melt it down make it into something
23:16useful i walked out of the throne room behind me the court descended into chaos but i was done with
23:23their
23:24chaos i had a kingdom to build and blood to reclaim
23:36but i was done with their chaos i had a kingdom to build and blood to reclaim the southern province
23:43was beautiful and broken valen and corsia were port cities that had been neglected for decades
23:50strategically important but chronically underfunded caspian had poured resources into the northern
23:56territories where the glory was the south was an afterthought which made it perfect i arrived with
24:03nothing but dominic's black card and the clothes on my back within a week i had a headquarters an abandoned
24:10lighthouse on the casucan cliffs and a staff of 12 hand-picked from dominic's obsidian network
24:16the first thing i did was seal the borders with salarius walls they drew power directly from my
24:22core which was still growing stronger every day the second thing i did was open the ports valen and
24:30corsica sat at the intersection of three major trade boards within two minutes merchant ships began diverting
24:36to my harbors the third thing i did was send a message to every faction that had purchased my stolen
24:41blood
24:42return what you took or i will come and get it the marin collected the cleaner stockpile within 48 hours
24:48they had heard about the resurrection and wanted no part of an angry salarius
24:52the solace underground sent a diplomatic envoy with a formal apology and three crates of
24:58preserved blood buyers they also sent a proposal for a trade alliance the crimson pack ignored me
25:04durvin sent a one-word reply no ashford sent a bomb it arrived in a shipping container marked as medical
25:10supplies dominic's couple caught it at the port 12 hours before detonation
25:16the explosives was released with weaponized salarius blood my blood twisted into a destructive charge
25:24they're testing you they're making a mistake
25:30what do you want to do i closed my eyes i looked inward past the warmth of the solaris core
25:37into the golden network
25:39that connected me to every drop of my blood that still existed in the world i could feel them thousands
25:46of bars scattered across six territories each one pulsed with a faint echo of my heartbeat they were pieces of
25:52me
25:52stolen and scattered but still mine i focused on the ashford reserves i could feel them the vaults
25:59underground temperature controlled hundreds of vials arranged in racks and beyond the vials the weapons
26:05silver tip shells loaded with solaris charges designed to shatter vampire wards i can reach them
26:12right now from here the weapons all of it every drop they have if you detonate their stockpile remotely
26:19it will destroy their weapons facility probably their eastern command center too that's an act of war
26:25they sent me a bomb dominic we're already at war i opened my eyes the golden light in my iridus
26:31reflected off his dark red lines do it i reached out through the network i found the ashford visors
26:38i wrapped my consciousness around them like a fist and i squeezed 200 miles away in the underground vault of
26:44the ashford coven eastern stronghold the explosion was not fire it was light pure golden devastating light
26:52it vaporized the weapons the vault and two floors of reinforced concrete above it the blast was visible
26:58from space a brief golden flash on the dark surface of the earth the ashford coven's eastern command
27:04centers to exist no casualties i had felt for life signs before detonating and found only automated systems
27:12steps the ashford were cruel but they were smart they didn't station personnel near volatile blood
27:18weapons but the message was clear within six hours every faction that still held my blood sent word
27:25they were returned all of it unconditionally except darren their elder council sent a second message
27:32longer this time the solaris blood into purchase we will not return it if you attempt to reclaim it by
27:40force
27:40we will deploy it against your territory you may be powerful girl but you are one woman with two
27:47four cities we are a nation i read the message twice then i set it down and looked at dominic
27:53i need
27:54to go to draven alone alone that's suicide i died once already it didn't stick you're the most terrifying
28:02person i've ever met good that's the point
28:14you're the most terrifying person i've ever met good that's the point caspian came to the southern
28:20province on a tuesday he came without guards without ceremony without his crown he stood at the gate of my
28:27lighthouse compound in a plain black coat his hands in his pockets looking like a man arriving at his
28:33own sentencing my guard stopped him he didn't resist tell her i'm here tell her i'll wait as long as
28:39she
28:39needs i watched him on the security feed from my office he stood at the gate for four hours it
28:45rained he
28:46didn't move at sunset i went down he looked worse than the last time i'd seen him the dark circles
28:58had
28:58deepened his cheekbones were sharper he had lost weight a vampire losing weight meant he wasn't feeding
29:06you're starving yourself blood tastes like ash since you died since i found out everything tastes like ash
29:15that's the broken mate bond i know we stood on opposite sides of the iron gate the rain had stopped
29:21but the air was heavy with moisture the ocean crashed against the cliffs below us vivian is pregnant i
29:28heard the test confirmed it eight weeks a boy congratulations don't
29:37what do you want caspian he reached into his coat and pulled out a file he held it through the
29:42bars of the
29:42gate the dragon intelligence you need to lay out of their blood vault guard rotations access codes
29:49everything why because you're going there alone and you'll die without it you don't get to care about
29:58whether i die i know i know i don't have the right i know what i did i know that
30:05sorry is a word so small
30:07it's an insult but i am not here as your husband or your mate or your king i am here
30:14as the man who
30:14owes you a debt that can never be paid offering the only thing i have left you push the file
30:22further
30:22through the bars take it use it come back alive and then never speak to me again if that's what
30:29you want
30:30i will accept it i looked at the file i looked at him i took it our fingers brushed the
30:37mate bond
30:38dormant damaged but not dead sparked a jolt of warmth shot up my arm i saw caspian gasp his eyes
30:45flashing
30:45gold for an instant i pulled away this doesn't change anything i know
30:54i'm not coming back to you i know your child with viviane will know the truth every truth
31:03including what their mother did and what their father failed to prevent i studied his face there
31:08was no manipulation in it no strategy just the raw gutted expression of a man standing in the wreckage
31:14his own making goodbye caspian goodbye lena i turned and walked back toward the lighthouse
31:25the file was heavy in my hands i would have loved you if i'd known i would have loved you
31:32so well
31:33i didn't turn around but i felt the golden thread between us pulse one last time
31:53the draven vault was 300 feet underground built into the bedrock of their mountain fortress
32:01i walked in through the front door not metaphorically i literally walked through
32:06their main entrance past their guards through their security checkpoints the solarius light
32:13rolling off my skin burned every vampire who tried to touch me they recoiled like shadows from a flame
32:22seven ancient vampires each one older than most civilizations they sat in high-backed chairs arranged in
32:29a semicircle looking down at me with the contempt of beings who had watched empires crumble you are bold
32:35solarius walking into the house of your enemy you're not my enemy you're a customer who refuses to
32:42return stolen goods we purchased that blood legally from a woman who had no right to sell it under vampire
32:48law stolen blood carries the debt of the thief vivian voss is awaiting trial her transactions are void we don't
32:55recognize valdig law you'll recognize solaris law i held up my hand the golden light intensified every vassal of
33:04my blood in their vault i could feel them hundreds of feet below us began to vibrate the floor trembled
33:12you felt that in ashford 300 vials one thought no survivors your vault holds twice that amount if i detonate
33:20it here this mountain becomes a crater you would kill yourself in the blast i already died once my core
33:26brought me back want to test whether it works twice the silence in the great hall was absolute
33:32i let the threat hang for exactly 10 seconds then i lowered my hand but i'm not here to destroy
33:38i'm here to trade trade you have my blood i have something you need more a solarius alliance your wards
33:44are failing your territories are shrinking the ashford destruction proved that blood weapons are a liability
33:48not an asset but a living solarius willingly powering your defenses that's worth more than any vault
33:54you would power our wards
33:59i would sell you ward energy at fair market rates through a regulated channel no extraction
34:08no theft no black market my core generates more power than i can use
34:15i'd rather sell the surplus than watch it go to waste
34:18the elders exchange glances politics calculation greed and the blood in our vault returned every vials
34:30non-negotiable and if we refuse i smiled it was the first real smile i'd worn in three years
34:39then i walk out and tomorrow every drop of my blood in your possession turns to poison it won't explode
34:45it
34:46will corrode your weapons your healing stores your elder treatments all of it rotting from the inside
34:51out slowly expensively irreversibly i didn't know if i could actually do that but they didn't know i
34:58couldn't varick studied me for a long time then slowly he began to laugh you are not what i expected
35:06the report said you were weak passive a victim the reports were written by the people who made me one
35:12we accept your terms the blood will be returned by dawn and we will discuss the ward contract
35:18i bowed my head a gesture of respect not submission i walked out of the draven fortress the same way
35:25i
35:25walked in through the front door head high glowing like a second sun the blood came back all of it
35:33every vial every drop every stolen piece of me i didn't destroy it i absorbed it i stood on the
35:41cliffs of course about dawn open the crates and let the solaris core pull it all home the golden light
35:47was so bright that ships at sea reported seeing a second sunrise on the western horizon when it was
35:53over i stood on the edge of the cliff the empty vials scattered at my feet and looked out at
36:00the ocean
36:01i was whole for the first time in my life no one was taking from me no sister no husband
36:08no court
36:09no needles no machines no basement chairs i was standing on my own land powered by my own light
36:16building something that was mine dominic found me there an hour later he brought coffee real coffee
36:23not the synthetic stuff from the tower the drain contract is signed ashfield is requesting terms
36:28too and the meron collective wants to open an embassy in valon good also k's been filed the divorce papers
36:35officially it's done i took a sip of coffee it was hot and bitter and perfect how do you feel
36:43i thought
36:44about it i thought about the extraction chair the medical court the sound of my own blood filling
36:49plastic bags i thought about caspin's voice telling you to eat more protein i thought about vivian's
36:54laugh i thought about dying in the back seat of a car alone 17 miles from freedom and i thought
36:59about
36:59this the cliff the ocean the sunrise the coffee the empire i was building from the ashes of my own
37:06body
37:07alive i feel alive dominic clinked his cup against mine the wards hummed the ports bustled the lighthouse
37:15flames swept across the water gold instead of white i didn't look north i didn't look towards valdeth tower
37:21where caspiac sat on his throne with a broken bond in a kingdom that no longer glowed
37:30i looked forward there was work to do
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