I waited for him to get to whatever business I’ve been summoned for, but surreal silence stretched. It felt like my turn to say something, but was I even permitted to speak unprompted? My etiquette lessons were more than dusty. I didn’t need to interact to do my job. What even was the procedure after barging in in the middle of the night?

  The lordling looked sinfully relaxed caressing the offensive spikes. Even stranger, a former person didn’t appear to be entirely miserable. Or at all. Almost content. She was also extremely young. What kind of extraordinary criminal career did she lead, what unforgivable atrocity has she committed to deserve this fate?

  That was supposed to be me.

  That could have been me.

  It still might.

  Prompted by my unrest, the alien arm tried to be rid of its chemical shackle.

  “What did she do?” I whispered the question, unable to bear the oppressive ambiance any longer.

  Man raised his eyes. They narrowed as if trying to decipher my words. Didn’t quite manage to grasp it.

  “How do you mean?”

  I uncomfortably gestured towards my twitching limb and explained, “Surely. Fate reserved for the worst enemies.”

  Pale prince’s maniacal face brilliantly lit up as understanding finally dawned upon him.

  “The opposite,” he grated out and looked down onto a mutilated, mutated charge. “It’s the exact opposite,” man added in a much softer tone. The words contained affection and revealed the truth.

  Raktkalis really thought so. He didn’t do this out of spite. He liked the bizarre creature in his care, and perhaps even favoured the girl that came before.

  If that’s what the princeling did to the people he liked, what on earth befell those he abhorred?

  He went on, “Why would I bestow my enemies anything, above all – something so lethal? These bodies are far superior. Stronger, versatile.”

  Also inhuman, compromised, deranged. Nobody could keep their full mental faculties living like that. I didn’t dare utter my misgivings. The future ruler did not care for such trivialities. The only thing which mattered in this equation was his satisfaction.

  Subjectively, I didn’t disagree. The splice had a blade’s edge appeal. An altered appearance sang of unspoken danger. Animalistic gestures enhanced it.

  “Aren’t you Kalantans all about retaining humanity?”

  Their pale visage and the skyrocketing mortality was not solely due to the heavy industries on which their cities were built. They were actively poisoning even the most benign of infections.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “Just because I can’t have it, doesn’t mean I can’t grant it,” he spoke, and it was impossible to hold the steely gaze.

  I didn’t look away. My crippling, homicidal disability was meant to be a most generous gift. Truly, nobody else could have bestowed it. I loathed this man for it. I just hoped my face didn’t betray it.

  Changed the topic. “Where’s the rest of them?”

  He had a whole bunch of these abominations last I saw, and the eyeless wasn’t among them.

  “Dead.” His expression didn’t even flicker as he pronounced the following, “I’ve killed them.”

  So much for the fondness towards his adorable mutants. It was suddenly very stuffy, although one window had hole through it and another was wide open to air out the sleeping gas I unleashed earlier.

  “Why?” my accursed lips moved on their own. After all, this psychopath wasn’t the type to get bored of things that caught his fancy.

  Did I utter it too quietly this time? No answer was forthcoming.

  I desired desperately to escape the subject, but there was one more thing to ask, “My lord, d-do you still have t-the rest of the green creature?”

  Affixed gaze narrowed with undisclosed intentions. “I do. Why?”

  Good question. I couldn’t ask to return the remains to a grieving widow – even if that wasn’t an invisible spine. Independent settlements were about as desirable as the invasive animals themselves. If I said I wanted them, I’d receive a pile of ash. The invisible stalker would not appreciate that the next time I’m outside.

  I’ll have to be content with a simple confirmation.

  “C-considering setting it ablaze, my lord,” I muttered at the expense of sounding rude in regards to his most gracious gifts.

  Princeling rose with a lazy, almost deliberate grace. The predator’s quiet authority held a magnetic danger. It was an image I’d watched dozens of times on screen, now coming to life. I much preferred to be distanced from this deceptive peace.

  “You would have made a good Kalantan,” Raktkalis said, running a rough palm through my bare scalp. I willed my body into stillness, denying the impulse to flinch. As long as he didn’t grip a sword, I would not provoke him to. Walking off, he resumed, “If a little hypocritical. After all, you already carry something outlandish. Say, how did that happen?”

  My mouth opened to deny and lie, but thankfully no practised words came out. He already knew. Either ran some tests, or concluded as much from our encounters.

  I really hoped this wouldn’t be asked.

  “It d-doehsn’t have t-to have happened in any special way. I g-g-go out a lot,” I forced out, nervously playing with the vials inside the pocket.

  Turned to follow the princeling and found him glaring at the table. In Raktkalis household, the servants ate first, for whatever reason. Perhaps poisoning has been somewhat of an issue.

  Man’s furrowed forehead momentarily flashed towards me, “Curious that, too. Civilian surviving out there.”

  How? Luck. Cheap tricks and copious amounts of luck. However, the line of inquiry finally revealed to me – polite small talk was done. Real questions have begun. Those about the place which raised me.

  After none of the ghosts perished on the spot, Raktkalis sat down and nodded for me to take a seat before him. There might have been eyebrow movement involved, but the absent feature kept its secrets.

  “Join me,” he clarified when I simply stared at the bold brow for too long.

  Legs carried me in. That hadn’t been a request.

  A feast had been laid out at this predawn hour. A quick glance revealed to me that all of the dishes have been sampled. My assumption about tasting for poison had to be true. Still, if that’s what the girls in white body bags got to enjoy daily, their voluntary servitude was understandable. After all, Kalanta wasn’t prosperous.

  “You’re vegetarian?” my acuity suggested, and the nosiness got the better of me. My keen perceptiveness also noted the ghosts growing even tenser. Raktkalis’s stare could cut, too.

  I have belatedly remembered all the scathing remarks about the weak stomachs of sickly Kalantans. Before heads could roll over an imagined criticism, I sat down and rushed to gloss it over, “Me t-too.”

  He grinned wide, as if sensing my flustered lie – and enjoying the discomfort greatly.

  “I’m not. Not at home.”

  I nodded along with understanding. To avoid infected meat one had to steer clear of the large meat farms. Policing health of each cattle was simply unrealistic. If something extra metastasised on the steak-to-be – the better.

  Still, barely anybody stigmatised choosing the cheaper, unidentifiable cuts. The strange fauna brought down by militia has supplemented our diet each time there’s been a food shortage.

  It was safe – if cooked to crisp. Mostly. Starving populating hardly cared for the risks.

  Clearly, the Paragon of Humanity cared to remain unmutated.

  Still, what was he consuming during the expeditions? Field rations didn’t cater to anyone’s sensibilities, and when those ran out, the soldiers got to eat their indescribable kills. Did the grouchy, famished captain disapprovingly watch everybody have fun at the cook-out – from the shadows, for added drama?

  “Would you like something else? Speak. It shall be provided,” the gracious host encouraged a life of excess.

  I contemplated sending the unfortunate serfs to knock on the closed stores at five in the morning. A life of pointless dominance and an utter indifference towards others has been what I aspired towards.

  Disappointing myself the most, shook my head. The table was brimming with various cheeses, fruit and breads. I was sure proper flour has been procured for that too, even when large wheat fields had been all but lost to population at large.

  There was coffee, for fuck’s sake. That alone would have cost me an arduous job.

  Besides, this wasn’t a simple luncheon with friends. I didn’t put it behind this man to present me with a leg fresh off his sergeant. As a threat, or a joke – didn’t matter. It was a solid possibility. I didn’t need to go down that route. We’d talk, and I’ll go.