As his thoughts wandered further and further, Odys pulled them back. He needed to deal with the problem at hand first.
With an overall plan in mind, Odys called Mandy, the finance minister, and the commerce minister together to work out the details.
Backlund, Phelps Street.
Emlyn White, handsome and red-eyed, hurried away from that damned street.
The Church of the Evernight Goddess had finally released him. He craved human blood so badly that the sight of young men and women on the street
made him swallow hard.
Still, Emlyn held himself back until he got home. After telling his parents he was safe, he poured a cup of fresh blood from the storage chest and drained it.
His craving had barely eased when a marquis's messenger arrived, inviting the viscounts and barons in Backlund to a ball.
At the thought of the fresher blood available at the marquis's estate, Emlyn was already looking forward to the evening.
The White Family obtained its blood through "Bloodletting Therapy," so it mostly came from patients.
The marquis's family, however, ran hospitals and blood donation centers. Blood from healthy humans tasted far better.
That evening, Emlyn arrived at the ball with a glass of bright red blood and chatted idly with the other Sanguine.
They still laughed at him behind his back—for becoming a servant of the Church of the Earth Mother and for being detained so long by the Church of the Evernight Goddess.
But Emlyn was a Sanguine Viscount now. They would not, and dared not, mock him to his face.
As they talked, Emlyn heard startling news: Lenburg's president, Audis Gall, had signed a decree recognizing Elves, Giants, and Sanguine as lawful citizens.
The decree had appeared in the papers, and Elves were reportedly already in contact with Lenburg's president.