So many thoughts rushed through my head. “Do all Descenters feel this way?”
“Sadly, and perhaps unsurprisingly…no. We are not a monolith.”
“And what happens with the ones who don’t support this ideology?”
Her brows knitted. “Nothing.”
“Nothing?” Delano repeated.
“We deliberate, vote, and then act upon the will of the majority as a whole.”
“Civic rule,” Casteel murmured, and I frowned. “In other words, a democracy,” he elaborated. “Where all choices are designed by the will of the people.”
I turned back to Helenea. “And that works?”
She smiled and then laughed softly. “I know it sounds as unbelievable as Ascended who don’t feed. But it does work—though not always smoothly or without problems. But this way, we can ensure that no single person or entity becomes the will of the Descenters.”
No single person or entity…
I liked that idea. A lot. But… “It’s hard to believe.”
“It shouldn’t be,” Malik said with a slight frown. “After all, Atlantia is a kingdom of civic rule, where the King and Queen carry out the will of the people.”
“Oh.” My stomach turned as heat crept into my cheeks. “I didn’t know that. I haven’t been Queen long and…” I trailed off, realizing the more I talked, the more uninformed I sounded. Casteelhadspoken of something similar when we discussed how Atlantia was governed.
Casteel’s hand slid down my braid on my back. “There really hasn’t been much time to educate you on all Atlantia’s inner workings or the terminology used.” He lowered his head, and I felt the press of his lips on my temple as he reached out through thenotam.You have nothing to be embarrassed about.
“You may not have been Queen long,” Helenea spoke, “but you have accomplished more in that time than those who came before you.” She glanced at Casteel and Malik. “No offense to your parents.”
“None taken,” Malik replied.
The burn of embarrassment eased enough that I could refocus. “What about your brother? Does he feel the same as you do?”
“Not exactly, as I’m sure you’ve guessed based on what he said when you met him,” she admitted. “But he’s coming around.”
“And your sister?” I asked. “Is she…?”
The smile that played across her lips was sad. I immediately locked my senses away. “She tried to live as the Unbound, and we…we did everything to help her. But…”
“She met the sun,” Malik quietly finished for her.
An ache settled in my chest. “I am sorry.”
A sheen filled her blue eyes. “It was her choice. I wish it had been different, but I find relief in knowing she wasn’t alone when she died.”
I looked at Malik, figuring he had stood with Helenea’s sister.
“It was Millie,” he said. “Not me.”
“It is almost always Millie,” Helenea added. “I don’t know how she does it.”
My lips parted. I didn’t know what to say, but I felt…awe that she could do that—be with those who took their last breaths. I felt pride in knowing that someone who shared my blood could be so…selfless. And what Millicent did, what she provided for those who could not go on,wasselfless. Because it must hurt. Seeing so many choose to die because of what had been done to them had to linger.
Casteel’s hand moved in a slow, soothing pass down my back. “What about the other cities?”
“I know there are pockets of the Unbound elsewhere,” Helenea answered. “But how many? It’s hard to say, as we must be careful about what gets communicated.”
So, around four hundred in Carsodonia? That wasn’t many, but… “How many of the other Ascended do you think would be willing to live off wild blood? Become Unbound?”
