“Won’t return?” Lord Brennen hissed in disbelief. “The audacity! You are their Lords. Make them! A simple command is all it takes.”
“A simple command does nothing!” Lord Dupree bellowed. “If you tried anything other than sending a messenger with a flimsy sheet of parchment, you would know that. Pock up a damn phone and make a phone call for once. My darkness. When I ordered every officer I control, even the head of my guard who voluntarily left to retrieve the blood and overlook the process himself, to return, he refused. Profusely. They all refused.”
“Mine stated that the blood needed to be kept safe,” Lord Josia whispered, running his fingers around the rim of his chalice. “My men said to keep the humans safe, to keep the blood safe, he and all the rest of my men needed to stay. Safety
