Familiar Blood

Vance

As I walk up to the small, discreet cafe on the city block, I take a deep, shuddering breath. The phone call that I finally made a few days ago after weeks of dragging my feet has finally led me here—to speak with Cornelius, the strangely familiar king.

I still don’t know why he wants to meet with me, and the last words that he spoke to me after Stella’s deposition still echo in my mind.

“I