Thrall of the Vampire King (Blood Fire Saga Book 4) by Bella Klaus (elon musk reading list .txt) 📕

convinced Father Jude to steal the soul of a phoenix and stuff it in the body of an unborn child.

It was no wonder that shadow had plagued me for years—I’d been a seed they had planted in Aurora’s womb to reap. Now that they’d taken what they needed, I wasn’t going to sit back and do nothing. As soon as I got myself off that bed, I would find a way to fight back.

My thoughts shifted to my current predicament, and I clenched my teeth, trying to wrench myself off the mattress. Valentine had gone too far. It was bad enough that he’d drunk from me—twice, bad enough that he’d done so knowing there was plenty of blood for him in the refrigerator, but why did he have to inject me with thrall?

How would trapping me in a room within the enemy stronghold keep me safe?

Clenching my teeth, I shifted my carcass and rolled to the edge of the bed. Ragged breaths heaved in and out of my lungs, and a wave of fatigue tried to pull me back. Curling my hands into fists, I slammed a fist on the mattress.

“Bugger this,” I said from between clenched teeth. “I’ve. Got. To. Move!”

With another shove, I landed face-down on the rug. Shock exploded in my nose, radiating pain across my face. I drew a breath through my teeth, shuddering at the overwhelming agony, but it was better than the numb euphoria of thrall.

I lay face-down on the rug, panting from the effort of both the rolling and the fall. With my hands at my sides, it was near impossible to gather enough leverage to rise. “Rest,” I said to myself. “We’ll try again in a bit.”

Minutes passed, and I continued lying on that rug like a dead fish, my nose throbbing. It was possibly hours, because the pain in my nose faded to a dull throb. Clouds covered the moon, encasing me in semi-darkness. My only source of illumination was the reflected light of the fireplace.

As the thrall wore off, my first stirrings of rage rose to the surface. Bloody preternatural Valentine. If I ever got hold of that wanker—wanker was too weak a word to describe him after what he’d done. If I ever got hold of that bastard, I’d shove him in front of a magicless window during the day and see how he enjoyed being subject to the whims of a more powerful entity.

What was he doing? What mission? Was that why Kresnik had been whispering to him on the stage? Questions like this swirled through my mind as I built myself into a rage. Rage always awoke my power. It spurred me to do better in my theory-based classes, and had once helped me muster enough magic to escape from prison.

“How dare he?” I snarled through clenched teeth. “Calling me Innamorata one minute and treating me like a cow the next.”

My blood roared, my breathing quickened, a surge of adrenaline spiked though my system. If I ever got back my magic…

I stretched out my arms like a starfish and bent my elbows, bringing my hands to my shoulders. Curling my fingers into the rug, I pushed down with my arms and raised my upper body a few inches off the floor.

Triumph filled my chest. I could do this. I could get up. Then my muscles collapsed, and I fell onto my bent arms. A relieved breath heaved from my lungs. At least this time, I didn’t smash my face.

By the time I mustered enough momentum to push myself up to kneeling, more of the thrall had loosened its grip on my body. Using the frame of the four-poster for support, I raised myself up the side of the bed and plonked my ass on the mattress.

The sun rose behind the London skyline, backlighting the horizon with orange light. It bled up to the indigo sky, shrugging off the last vestiges of night. I blinked over and over, adjusting my vision to the pale glow. How much time had passed since Valentine left me here?

A knock sounded on the door.

“Come in,” I slurred. This bloody thrall made me feel like I’d run two marathons and drained an entire pub.

The door creaked open, and Aurora stepped into the room, clad in her denim jacket and jeans. An annoyed breath escaped my lungs, making me slump forward. I didn’t have the energy to deal with that woman.

“You survived, then?” she asked.

“You noticed?”

She sniffed. “Our Lord wishes you to accompany your teammates in his academy.”

Shallow breaths heaved in and out of my lungs, and spasms squeezed my ribs. In my current state, I couldn’t tell if I was laughing or crying. It was probably both. Since when in the history of villains did the boss steal his enemy’s power, throw them to their death, and then retrieve them for extra training?

I shook my head. Bugger Kresnik and his edicts. He had taken everything from me but still wanted more. And bugger Aurora for being his henchwoman.

“Do you know how long it took me to get off the bed?” That’s what I said, but I’m sure the words were garbled.

“Enlighten me.”

I raised my head, ready to meet those hard eyes, but the woman flinched.

All the color leached from her skin, leaving it slack. “What happened to your face?”

“What?”

She made a circular movement around my nose. “You have bruising across the bridge of your nose and under your eyes.”

I shook my head and exhaled. After the first shock of pain from falling onto my face, it had stopped bothering me, or at least I hadn’t noticed anymore. It must have been because of the thrall.

Aurora crossed the room and made two sharp claps. “Come along.”

“What do you think I am?” I muttered. “A dog?”

I didn’t bother to raise my head to see if she twisted her features with disdain. Knowing she’d brought me into this life as a vessel for Kresnik’s return to power and then helped him discard me here was bad