The Rewards of the Strong - Part 5

"Once, many centuries ago, we would foretell the future for the Emperor," Penelope offered, as if throwing the fact to him so that he might cling to it, so that she might run away.

"What happened?" Vol pressed. One would never guess he was in the state he was in. He ought not to have been able to sit upright given his wounds, but he pressed forward with a dominance that rivalled Ruddock's.

"We… fell out of favour," Penelope said. She flinched when Vol's eyes narrowed again, detecting deceit. "Our bloodline grew mixed. A war came, many of our families were lost, and our blood thinned, as we were forced to marry further from our kin. Centuries ago, we would marry to cousins, if we could… But… The gift thinned. Even those that got it had it unreliably."

"And you?" Vol said.