Hotbloods (Hotbloods #1)(24)

“The theory posed that the farther the planet, the harder the blood is to synthesize, but the more effective it is once we have figured out how to absorb it. The alchemist argued that there was likely some planet in the universe whose predominant species’ blood held the right potency and balance of chemicals to achieve immortality—we just needed to venture far enough.”

He paused, and I realized I was hardly breathing.

“And you believe that blood is ours,” I said slowly, the pieces suddenly falling into place. “You never planned to return us back home after we drank the Elysium—you were going to kill us and drink our blood!” My muscles tensed and my eyes shot to the doorway, where Jethro still stood.

Navan held up a hand and shook his head.

“Our race is out for your blood. We, however”—he gestured to his small group—“are not.”

“Then why are you here?” Angie asked, her blue eyes narrowing.

“Navan would never take credit for this, but he personally discovered Earth about a year ago,” Bashrik said.

“As far as I am aware, nobody other than the coldbloods with me here on this patch of land are even aware of Earth’s existence yet,” Navan said, ignoring his brother.

“How did you discover Earth then?” I asked. “And how can you be sure you’re the only ones?”

“Because I am a man of high rank back on Vysanthe—one of two Chiefs in charge of exploration missions. I know the type of technology that is available to our teams… and none of it is yet advanced enough to reach this far into the universe. My ship is unique.” He added this last part haltingly, almost shyly, as if he didn’t want to let on how proud he was of the ship. He glanced at the silvery sphere, a flicker of fondness in his eyes. “It’s the only one capable of traveling the distance. Jethro is a gifted mechanic as well as an experienced medic, and together, we figured out how to build what our fellows couldn’t. At the time, I just wanted a ship better than anyone else so that I could… well, get as far away from Vysanthe as possible.”

“Why is that?” I asked, frowning.

Navan looked truly uncomfortable at the question, and my fear that we were about to be devoured ebbed. “I’m sure you’ve got your ideas about who we are, what we’re like,” he said. “I’d venture to say they’re probably all wrong. Let’s just say I’m not proud of my species. I was originally trained as an alchemist, but about midway through my training, I decided to become an explorer instead—mainly because it afforded me frequent opportunities to get away from a culture that I honestly despise.”

He practically spat the last word, and I was taken aback by his emotion. It felt like a very personal thing for him to share with us, and I wasn’t expecting him to go this deep into his personal history. Now that he was, however, I’d be damned if I didn’t make the most of it. “Why do you hate it so much?” I pressed.

He looked up at me, and it suddenly felt as if everything else had fallen away, that we were the only two in the room. “I’m not sure if this is included in our little question and answer session,” he muttered.

“It’s a question,” I said. “So you have to answer.”

“Do I?” he asked softly—his tone somewhere between curious and dangerous. “I’m not used to being told what to do.”

I held his gaze, swallowing. “Yes,” I said. “You do.”

The seconds ticked by, and I found myself uncertain of how he was going to respond. His stare sent an almost electric shiver through me. My surroundings seemed to blur as the world narrowed down to just the two of us, existing in our own private universe. I had never experienced anything like it before—was it some sort of mind trick? I’d had trouble holding his gaze when we’d first met in the fields, too. It felt as though we had some sort of connection, though I knew how crazy that sounded. He was a creature from another planet—why the hell would I feel a connection with something like that?

He took a deep breath, breaking eye contact, and rubbed his hand across the lower part of his face. “Well… Where do I start?” he said, resuming his former conversational tone. “In a nutshell, what I hate most about my kind is that their every accomplishment has been earned at the cost of others. They take pride in what they can plunder, rather than what they can create. I don’t want to be like that.”

“What do you mean?” I asked. “I’d think if you were so advanced, you’d be able to create plenty.”

“They build their furniture from the bones of species they have driven to extinction and display it with pride in their homes; they boast cellars of blood from foreign creatures far too full for them to ever consume before expiry; they leech resources from planets on a whimsy, regardless of the consequences it might have for the local population. Once Vysanthe discovers a land that possesses something it wants, it will keep gnawing at it like a dog gnaws at the leg of a deer, piece by piece, sinew by sinew, until there’s nothing left.” He paused and drew in a deep breath. “Basically, I needed an excuse to get away; buy myself periods of time where I could just float in a vacuum without bumping into anyone of my own kind, clear my head, under the guise of embarking on missions to discover new species for our leaders’ plans. And so… I’m thankful that Jethro helped me build Soraya over there.” He cast a meaningful look at the older coldblood, and then another fond look at his ship.