She must have felt it too for she looked to us. “This does not harm mortals. It does not take from you; it emits from you all the time. It’s natural. We don’t need to control you to absorb it. You just need to exist so we can do the same.” Her tone changed to dire when she continued, “This doesn’t mean that all beings don’t have those amongst them who thrive on negativity. The majority of wraiths and phantoms absorb positive energy. They crave joy. Or contentment. Or success. Or humor. A variety of these things. But there are those who feed off despair, anger, fear, jealousy, prejudice, hate. In our case, quite literally, you are what you eat.”

“Yikes,” I muttered.

“Yes,” she agreed. “And those who have sided with the traitors would thrive if humans were enslaved. A world of unhappy humans would mean they’d have even more of what they crave.”

“Not good,” I kept muttering.

“No, and worse, it’s gluttony. For there is already much anger, jealousy, prejudice, and fear for them to feed from.” She shook her head and, along with it, her music-video-drifting hair. “It makes no sense to the sisterhood. The more you consume, you just become more of what you consume. It doesn’t make you more powerful. It just makes you angrier, uglier, more hateful.”

“Just like humans,” Leah stated.

“Exactly,” Serena replied.

“The good news is,” Gregor butted in, “although Serena and her sisters have lost their foothold amongst our enemy, she’s managed to make a meeting with Gastineau.”

“Who’s Gastineau?” Abel asked.

“My lifemate,” Serena answered. “He’s also emperor of the phantoms. We were reconciled seventy-five years ago, but this lasted under a decade. However, we made a child during that time, our third daughter, and since he dotes on her, but I’m raising her, we’ve had to stay in close contact. As his brothers wish after the last situation they involved themselves in, which segregated our kind, Gastineau prefers to keep to the shadows and allow other immortals, and humans, to do what they will. Including making their mistakes. I hope to impress on him during our meeting that this time he must take a stand, with his brothers, alongside their sisters, uniting us all once again in order to keep peace.”

“And how is he leaning?” Abel asked.

“We, like wolves, once we find our mates, never stray. Imagine you were separated from your mate for decades, a mate you love who you’re simply angry with, a mate who’s raising your child.” She tipped her head. “I think you know how he’s leaning.”

“In other words, you got leverage,” Abel remarked, and her smile came back.