Thrall of the Vampire King (Blood Fire Saga Book 4) Read online

  Thrall of the Vampire King

  Bella Klaus

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Night of the Vampire King

  Chapter One

  I slumped against the wall of the Flame’s hallway, trying to keep myself upright with my legs trembling to the beat of my panicked pulse. The lights were too bright, the space too narrow, and the walls too white. Valentine loomed over me, seeming to drift out of smoke.

  My throat dried. This was just like in the mausoleum, when he had first risen from the dead—worse, because at that time he had protected me from his four ravenous brothers. Today, it was Valentine who wanted to drink my blood… All because Kresnik had stolen the magic powering Valentine’s reanimation. His loyalty wasn’t with me anymore but with a man who probably had no use for me except as a snack for his vampire lieutenant.

  Valentine’s oversized fangs glinted in the hallway’s artificial light, as did his black hair—the only parts of his body that retained some of his former vitality. The rest of Valentine was corpselike, from the red irises that shone like stoplights within their hollows, to his sunken cheeks. Right now, he wasn’t just emaciated, but desiccated.

  My heart galloped across my chest like a wild horse bucking against a harness. Rapid breaths heaved in and out of my lungs as I felt the beginnings of a panic attack.

  “Valentine,” I croaked.

  “Mmmmm.”

  The sound of his pleasure made every fine hair on the back of my neck stand on end. When Valentine was in this bloodless state, it was hard to get through to him, even when he was powered by my blood.

  “Don’t do this,” I said, even though my words would be futile.

  Valentine cupped my cheek, the ice of his palm seeping into my flesh. I jerked away, but the arm around my back held me in place.

  My pulse fluttered in my throat like an impaled butterfly, and all the moisture left my tongue. He was drawing this out. Savoring the sight of my terror before he drained me into a husk. Valentine required the blood of two humans to maintain a functioning state of mind, much less if the victim was magical. After the ritual that had divested me of my magic, I wasn’t even sure if I qualified as a Neutral.

  The cool tip of his nose grazed my neck, sending a shudder down my back. I pressed my hands on Valentine’s chest, trying to wrench him off me, but it was like trying to push a building.

  He inhaled a deep breath, the sound making my nerves tremble.

  “Valentine?” I murmured. “This is Mera, remember? Innamorata?”

  The wet chill of his tongue swept over my jugular vein, and my insides swept into a torrent of despair. He was too far gone to remember that I wasn't his chew toy… or he no longer cared.

  Footsteps approached from behind. My gaze darted to the right, where denim-clad people streamed past us through the hallway, some of them slowing to cast us furtive glances. Not a single one of them asked if I needed any help.

  Maybe they were like the Supernatural Council and thought a woman who dated a preternatural vampire enjoyed being bitten. Maybe they thought this was how vampires kissed. It wasn’t like I could scream—I didn’t want Valentine to get hurt.

  “Valentine.” I placed a hand on his cold chest, trying to push him away, but his lips closed around my vein.

  Betrayal mingled with disappointment to form a bitter taste in the back of my throat. Was this their way of saying I didn’t deserve their help because of what had happened with Jonathan? It wasn’t like I had gotten to know anyone outside of my teammates, but this level of indifference wouldn’t have happened in the human world. Someone would have filmed it on their smartphone, or better still, called the police.

  Valentine made a low, satisfied growl, presumably at the adrenaline now spiking through my system. Apparently, it made the blood taste better. I had to do something—anything to stall him in this state. Even if it sounded ridiculous.

  “Let’s do this in private?” I murmured into his ear. “I don’t want to be ravished in the middle of a hallway with all these strange men watching.”

  When he paused, warm triumph filled my chest. So, it looked like he could process my words when they suited him.

  I ran my hands down his hard chest, trying not to grimace at how his flesh remained stone-like beneath his enforcer uniform.

  “We can take our time undressing each other. When you’ve gotten me ready, we can make love all night long.” I pressed a kiss on his jaw. “But let’s do it in private, where no-one will ogle what’s yours?”

  A satisfied rumble reverberated from his chest. I pressed my lips into a tight line, trying to suppress my disapproval. Apparently, undead creatures also liked a bit of romance. Even those too far into their bloodlust to form words.

  Applause broke out further down the hallway, followed by the roaring cheers of a crowd. Valentine’s head snapped up, and he turned toward the source of the sound. A breath caught in the back of my throat, and I prayed to whoever was listening that Valentine would be curious enough to want to investigate.

  As though he’d lost interest in ravishing my neck, Valentine turned on his heel. Unfortunately, the arm around my back dragged me along for the ride.

  His long strides through the hallway had me breaking into a jog to stop myself from falling on my face and needing to be carried in his arms. Something like that would only bring my neck closer to his mouth and turn me into a mobile snack.

  The denim-clad fire users who had originally gaped at us now moved aside to let us pass, and I clenched my teeth at their selective caution. So, it was fine for me to almost get ravaged but they didn’t want Valentine bumping into them?

  Didn’t they realize that Kresnik had risen and they were either in danger or about to be led into a war with the Supernatural Council? Aurora had dropped enough hints for me to understand that they were ready to fight back against those who hunted their kind. I made a mental note to leave these people to the mercies of their bloodthirsty new leader if I ever got out of this stronghold alive.

  The crowd thickened around the entrance to ritual room four, the amphitheater where Jonathan got banished. Valentine pushed his way through the people and stepped into the circular space.

  It was half full, with the front two rows of curved seats occupied, and dozens of injured people strewn across the sunken stage. Some groaned and writhed in agony, while a few of them lay still.

  As Valentine walked us down the steps that led to the front, my gaze dropped to Brother David, the man who had interrupted the ritual to tell us that Valentine was at the wards. He lay in the middle of the stage with a plate-sized hole in his chest, exposing shattered ribs. My stomach dropped, and I clapped a hand over my mouth. No one could have survived such a blow, especially one that left his heart in tatters. Did that mean the enforcers had dragged his soul to Hell?

  Aurora stood in front of the big screen, still dressed in white. Beside her was the silhouette of a tall man with a muscular frame. On his other side stood Healer Calla, who wore a fresh gown of white. A few o
ther women of varying ages stood among them, also clad in white.

  Valentine seated me in the front and placed a heavy hand on my shoulder. His silent command to stay. It wasn’t like I was complaining, but why did he bring me here? Had he been summoned by Kresnik’s magic? I met his crimson eyes and nodded, ready to bolt the moment he was distracted.

  The silhouette stepped through the screen, a rejuvenated Father Jude with his thick head of red hair. Instead of the black garment he had created with the shadows he stole from Clarence, he wore a white jumpsuit that skimmed the contours of his muscular frame.

  Immense magic radiated off his body, making my insides thrum. I clenched my teeth. Of course he would be powerful after loading himself with the magic of seven people. Seven people who were deemed to have special abilities—a dragon shifter, an ifrit, three dual-powered mages, a wielder of black flames, a woman with immense power reserves, and a phoenix. Me.

  A hush fell across the auditorium as he continued toward the middle of the stage. I’d gotten the impression that the high priest isolated himself and hid behind screens so as not to alter time. Whatever he had taken from us had both boosted his ability to maintain the wards and tethered him to the current timestream.

  Father Jude pressed his hands together in prayer. “Thank you, my children.”

  The doors behind us closed, and everyone around us roared again, drowning out my thoughts. I turned my gaze to the stairs on the far-right of the room, my heart sinking as women in pinafores led little children down toward the stage. Somehow, I’d hoped they would be spared the sight of injured people and corpses.

  “I have returned.” Father Jude spread out his arms.

  My throat thickened as I reminded myself that this wasn’t Father Jude. Perhaps all along he was Kresnik. Valentine lowered himself into the seat next to mine and folded his arms across his chest. I stared into his profile, wondering if I ever had a chance of freeing his body now that my magic belonged to someone else.

  “How beautiful it is to see you and in such expanded numbers,” the man onstage said in a voice as slippery as silk. As he turned to press a kiss on Aurora’s cheek, the crowd went wild.

  “How wonderful it is to fight alongside my family and emerge triumphant!”

  More cheers. I leaned forward, forcing deep breaths in and out of my nostrils. The key to breaking Valentine from his control was taking my magic back, but if I was going to survive the night, I’d have to concentrate. Concentrate on the man’s weakness. Concentrate on how he used his magic and concentrate on a way to slip through his defenses.

  “For those who joined since our exodus from Ignatius Manor, I am Kresnik!”

  My throat convulsed, and I shot Valentine a glance. His features remained expressionless as though he was waiting for a command.

  Gulping hard, I bit down on my lip. This was the man who had murdered Valentine’s father and controlled his preternatural body. Somewhere deep in the back of Valentine’s mind, he had to know this, too. Had the magic completely consumed his reason?

  Only a few of the people sitting around the seats gasped at the new information, making me wonder if the older residents of the Flame knew what Father Jude had been planning all along. I waited for him to explain the difference between himself and the high priest, but he balled his fists and paced around the stage.

  “The time for hiding from the Supernatural Council is over,” he snarled. “We have reached a critical mass where our firepower matches theirs. We have enough firestone to destroy Logris, and our former persecutors will become our slaves.”

  Shouts and cheers and the stomping of feet filled the vast space.

  “Indeed.” Kresnik’s voice rang through the air. “We will not hide, we will not cower, we will no longer fear for the lives of our brethren. Before the Supernatural Council recovers from their losses, we will be ready to attack!”

  My throat dried. I understood everyone’s fury. The Supernatural Council had ordered my execution and wanted my coven dead because I was a fire user. I’d even seen what they had tried to do to an innocent little girl. From everyone’s point of view, the Council was evil.

  Unease rippled through my insides. Kresnik seemed to be the kind of man who would commit even greater atrocities than all the Council Members put together. It looked like he was taking advantage of their fear to mobilize an army.

  “Five hundred years ago, they brought in overseas reinforcements to subdue my power. Those monsters used the blackest of magic to break me into pieces, but I still prevailed. They tore out my divinity and hid it in the earth, yet all I could think about were my precious children.” Kresnik’s muscles bulged from his white jumpsuit as though he was reliving the horror.

  Sobs broke out across the auditorium. I glanced around, my chest tightening at the sight of their remembered pain. It was impossible to harden my heart against the plight of people living centuries under the threat of the Supernatural Council one day finding them to drag their souls to Hell.

  Kresnik nodded, seeming satisfied with their reaction. “We lived peacefully in Ignatius House, rebuilding our ranks and bringing more soldiers into existence, yet the Demon King and his enforcers tracked us and destroyed our home.”

  My breath hitched. Was he referring to the burned-out derelict? It was certainly large enough to accommodate hundreds of people, and it had also been raided by demon enforcers. Without thinking, I placed a hand on Valentine’s forearm.

  “Is he talking about the penthouse?” I whispered into his ear.

  Valentine stared ahead at Kresnik without so much as inclining his head. I pressed the heel of my hand into my aching chest and curled my trembling fingers into a fist. Perhaps I needed to try again once he had fed. A shudder seized my spine. There might not be a me to ask these questions if I let him taste my blood.

  “Brother Jude led you to this sanctuary, while I stayed behind with the preternatural army to fight our persecutors.” Kresnik spread his arms wide. “Their combined magics overwhelmed mine. They broke apart my physical body and dragged my soul to Hell.”

  I leaned forward, my eyes wide. Kresnik’s account matched what Valentine had told me about the mansion. No wonder Valentine’s soul had been so desperate for me to escape the derelict when I had let him know that was where I was hiding. From what I was piecing together, the mage who had inhabited that mansion had been a weaker form of Kresnik.

  “For decades, I roamed Britain, a disembodied shadow, waiting for my moment to rise, and here I am!”

  A disembodied shadow? Every muscle in my body stiffened.

  Palpitations drew the blood from my cheeks and flooded my heart. I clutched at my chest, trying not to hyperventilate. There had been a shadow around the time someone had stolen my memory. There had also been a shadow when I’d gotten cursed with the blood lure.

  What if the person who had attacked me in my apartment hadn’t been a shadow mage but an ordinary human possessed by a shadow? It would make sense that the shadow attacked again, even though Macavity had destroyed the man.

  “Valentine.” Kresnik’s voice sliced through my thoughts.

  Valentine rose from his seat and stepped onto the stage. He walked over to Kresnik’s side and kneeled. A hush settled over the auditorium, and annoyance settled over my skin and penetrated it to the marrow. How dare a thief use his power to force a man to his knees?

  “This, my children, is the strongest warrior in the Royal House of Sargon,” Kresnik said, his voice ringing with pride. “Valentine will be the general of my preternatural army and he will report directly to me.”

  Polite applause broke out across the auditorium. I glanced around to find the place as full as it had been for Jonathan’s banishment.

  Coral slipped into the seat next to mine. “What the hell is happening?”

  “It looks like Father Jude sacrificed himself to let Kresnik live,” I muttered.

  “That can’t be right,” she whispered. “Phoenix flames aren’t used for body swaps.”
>
  I shook my head. “Kresnik just said the Supernatural Council destroyed his physical body.”

  Coral glowered at the man standing onstage. “At least I know why it was impossible to burn through your curse.”

  I nodded. A woman of such immense power should have been able to overwhelm the shadow magic that had changed my blood. If Kresnik or Father Jude had replenished it each time I’d broken free, it was no wonder it kept recurring at the most inconvenient times.

  “Why did they want me to die from a vampire bite?” I murmured, mostly to myself.

  Coral snorted. “To release your fiery soul, so they could take it for themselves? To push you to be stronger so they could steal it? I wouldn’t be surprised if they caused all the trouble I had with vampires, too. Everything I can think of amounts to one thing. They wanted to fatten you up before extracting your magic.”

  She was right. Hadn’t Coral said to me earlier that a shadow had frightened her into expressing her fire?

  Kresnik’s voice drifted back to my awareness. “Britain will become a supernatural power, much like New Mesopotamia. We’ll need to feed our vampires and provide new recruits for our army of preternaturals, so I see no reason to wage war with the humans.”

  More applause.

  My jaw tightened. He made himself sound like he wasn’t just going to murder a bunch of humans and turn them into vampires and zombies. What then? Their undead army would control the masses and frighten everyone into falling in line with his tyranny.

  “Each member of the Supernatural Council will die at my hands, but I will spare those who never persecuted our kind. While you will all live as princes within my new order, they will become my loyal vassals.”