He was thin, and age had bent his tall frame so that he stood almost like a crumbling oak—hunched at the shoulders, skin perpetually weathered by the red sun.

The land and this village had nursed this man as it had me, and he faced me, unafraid.

“Or have you found a new one?” I muttered, narrowing my eyes.

“Our king left us to die on the edge of his kingdom,” the man said, his voice just as scarred as his body. “If that is the title you claim, then you may have it, along with the souls of our dead.”

I tilted my head to the side. “The dead have always burdened me. What are a few more?”

The mortal stared and then spoke quietly to the others. “The Blood King mocks our grief.”

I straightened my neck, the corner of my mouth lifting.

I knew this game. This brave, stupid mortal wanted to be a martyr. I wondered what spurred his sacrifice. Who had offered something more to believe in than the safety of my rule?

“If you wanted your death to mean something, you should have chosen to fight the monsters in your woods.”

“They only exist because of you,” he said. “Perhaps if you die, they would too.”

I chuckled at his ignorant response. It was a common belief among the people of Cordova, and many had attempted to assassinate me, believing that if I died, other monsters would follow, but I was a creation of Dis, and the monsters were creations of Asha. We were not the same, though we were all eager for the blood of mortals.

“I cannot die,” I said.

This time, the man smirked. “We do not need to take your life to end you.”

This response tightened every muscle in my body. Until this moment, I admired this man’s courage, but his words were dangerous and a direct threat to my queen. Despite this, I did not think he knew about my weakness; rather, he threatened Isolde because he knew I loved her.

“Is that a thread of humanity I see in your eyes?” the man asked, offering a raspy chuckle.

I moved at an imperceptible speed, appearing behind the martyr, striking his ankles. He cried out and collapsed to the muddy ground as I placed my palm against his forehead and jerked his head back.

“I am certain you wished to die quickly,” I said near his ear. “But threats against my queen deserve an agonizing end.”

Once more, he laughed. “I do not care how I die. I shall join my goddess in the sky.”

“Your goddess?” I seethed, truly mocking him. Asha did not protect her mortals in life, so why would she protect them in death? “Have you forgotten that all the dead belong to Dis?”