Chapter 29: The Burden of Power

When Emilia opened her eyes, she was standing in a field. There was a small village near the tree line. Kids playing with dogs, a few fires lit, and women putting up the shelters.

It was a pre-historic, nomadic village, belonging to hunter-gatherers before any agricultural civilization had developed.

“This was my home before my mate and I became what we are.”

Emilia turned to her left where she found the Old One King standing beside her. He wasn’t a stone statue, though, he was flesh and speaking with his voice, not his mind.

“We’re not really here,” Emilia stated.

“This is a memory. I can no longer interact with the world in the same way I could when I fed on blood. But I gave that up long ago,” he said.

Emilia took a moment to look the king over. He was dressed in animal skins, a bronze ax on his belt. He had powerful muscles in his legs and chest, but his eyes were crimson.

“Why did you give that up?” she asked.

The king held his hand out to her. “Walk with me.”