Free Dominion (Book 1 of The Dominion Series) by S. E. Lund

and humans. I know there's the treaty. But beyond that."
    He considers for a moment and inhales deeply as if steeling himself.
    "The Treaty prevents vampires from killing humans for their blood. But it says nothing about the relationship between us. Eve, between humans there exist laws and rights and responsibilities. You are equal before the law. There are laws to protect you from each other. There are no such laws that govern relations between vampires and humans. There are no rights. There are no protections save one – the prohibition against murder." He glances away as if it’s hard for him to admit this. "In our dealings with humans, for the most part, you are our servants, our slaves. At the most, you are our subordinates. Never our equals."
    I frown. "Why? Who would agree to that?"
    "The Council. They knew that vampires would never consent to a treaty if it meant that we would be expected to treat humans as our equals. We're not. We are stronger, faster, more able. Our senses are sharper. Our minds faster. We can compel you. We can control you. We are your masters. Only humans like you – those who can’t be compelled, are immune to compulsion. You’re the wildcards. The problems."
    "So you treat humans like servants and slaves?"
    He nods. "That is the way it's done. You will find very few vampires with any power who treat humans as equals."
    I don't say anything for a moment, the knowledge not sitting well in my gut. Slaves? Servants? Subordinates?
    "What about you?"
    He hesitates. "When I am with other vampires, I fit in. When I am on my own? I don’t tend to interact with humans. In my dealings with humans through the SCU, I rely on rank to determine how I treat a human. Most are automatically my subordinates."
    I make a face. I don’t like that. Not one bit.
    "I'm sorry, Eve, to be the one to tell you this. It’s the truth. My kind view you as food. As toys. As amusements. As tools."
    "I don’t know what to say."
    "When you're with me, when we are around other vampires, its essential that you adopt the proper decorum. You have to act subordinate or else you'll be at risk, at least until you learn to fight and avoid being ambushed."
    I sigh and point to the manuscript. "Are you going to read?"
    He opens it to the first page, running his finger under the text. He reads for a moment and then inhales heavily as if the words are painful.
    "La pleine lune se lève, vitraux rouge des incendies dans la place du village..." he says, reading first in French, his voice hesitant, already filling with emotion. He sounds so cultured with his soft French accent. It contradicts the content of the words he reads.
    "A full moon rises, stained red from fires in the village square where five heretics burn at the stake. The Crusades broke my family, estranged me from my brother and now have killed me. I died, not on the battlefield as befitting a knight protecting my father's estate, but in a bed in an abandoned castle at the hands of an ancient vampire who bewitched me."
    He pauses for a moment, and I realize that this is very painful for him, and part of me feels incredible guilt that I'm intruding on his privacy.
    But I don't stop him from reading.
    ~~~
    A medic stands impassively at my feet. He checked me over moments ago, his face grim.
    "This one," the medic says and points down at me. A woman on a horse comes into focus. She's blurry, but I can tell she's beautiful with the palest skin and ruby lips. She'll be the last thing I see in this world. God has taken pity on a dying knight to give him this last vision of beauty.
    She slips off the horse and kneels down beside me.
    "Will he die?"
    "Yes," the medic says. "That's what you wanted, my Lady? The ones not yet dead, but who will not survive?"
    "Yes," she says. "Only those. I relieve them of their pain as they lie dying. It is the oath of my holy order. The ones who are dead are already with the Lord. The ones who will survive do not need me."
    The truth spoken so