“You can tell when they need to feed because parts of their body will start to decompose. Their hand will turn black. Half of their face will look desiccated. When their food storages run low…they invade our lands.”
“Fuck…”
One hand rested on his chest, while the other supported his head. “They could annihilate us, but they don’t, because they need to keep us alive—until they need to feed again.”
Numb. That was the best way to describe how I felt. “Can they be killed?”
“Yes. When they’re weak.”
“So, when they’re hungry.”
“Yes. When they’re strong…it’s much more difficult.”
“How long has this been going on?”
“Forever. Long before my time.”
“If you’d told me this in the castle, I wouldn’t have believed you. Not when it’s not in the books in the library. Not when my father never mentioned it. Not when there’s never been any evidence to support such a barbaric existence at the bottom of the cliffs…”
He stared at the ceiling.
“Why doesn’t everyone take the tunnel to the top of the cliffs? I don’t know how many people there are, but I’m sure there’s room for everyone.”
He slowly turned his head back to me, his eyes open but lifeless. “And what happens when we aren’t there to feed on?”
My heart sank.
“They will make it to the top of the cliff—and eat you instead.”
His words were an attack on my entire system, everything going into panic mode.
“Your king has us right where he wants us. We’re the barrier that stops them from invading your lands. We’re the food source that keeps them satiated so they go no further. We sacrifice our lives and afterlives so you don’t have to.”
All I could do was breathe—in and out.
He studied me, examining every reaction on my face.
My natural instinct was to fight, to fight against anything I disagreed with, but the words remained tucked in my mouth. My entire life, I’d been told that no one had ever been to the bottom of the cliffs, that no one knew if it was land or sea. But in reality…it was an offering of souls. Sacrilege. “If we combine our forces, perhaps we could defeat them—”
“Never going to happen. At least not voluntarily.”
Breathe. In and out. In and out. “Does…my father know this?”
He turned back to the ceiling.
That was my answer. “Ryker?”
Silence.
“I can’t believe he never told me…”
“Your father has him under his thumb pretty good.”
“My family knows Necrosis wants to destroy us all and that people are suffering, and they…do nothing?”
“More than that.” He turned back to me. “The lottery you offer? For a family to have land in the Capital? That’s a lie.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s just a cover-up. The families selected don’t end up at the Capital. They end up here—at the bottom of the cliffs.”
“What…?” I couldn’t believe it. Just couldn’t.
“Yes.”
“No… My father wouldn’t do that.”
“Do you live under a rock?” Now his voice deepened with anger. “All those times you go to his study and he’s unavailable? You know what he’s doing?”
I didn’t want to know.
“He’s with his whores. He’d rather do that than give you the time of day.”
As hard as I tried not to, I winced.
“I know you want to keep your head buried in the sand, but you’re too smart for that.” Now his voice turned gentle, like he actually pitied me for once. “They probably never told you because they knew how you’d feel about it. Easier to leave you in the dark—along with everyone else.”
NINE
Huntley
At daybreak, we slipped out of the narrow entrance to the cave and walked across the snow. I noticed them right away, the enormous footprints from the yeti that had followed us here.
She did too. She dropped her chin and stared right at them for a long time.
I scanned our surroundings, seeing no sign of the monster that thrived in the snow. He probably grew impatient and chose to find another meal rather than wait around for us. Pops of blue were visible between the clouds overhead, and the wind had died down sometime in the early hours of the morning.
Ivory was quiet. Had been quiet since I’d told her the truth.
That her father was a scumbag.
She kept my pace but didn’t hit me with her usual line of questioning. She had enough information to chew on for the moment.
I was an excellent judge of character, and I could read her innocence like words on a page. Her naïveté was infuriating, but also genuine. I hated her a little less, even though I shouldn’t.
Halfway there, she broke the silence. “You never told me how you want me to help you.”
“You’ll see.”
“Why don’t you just tell me?”
“Because you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“Maybe before…but not now. Not after I’ve seen nine-foot-tall yetis and men with teeth coming out of their face…”
I kept up the lead, her slightly behind me to my left. “You’re a healer.”