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

been a ruse. The only thing she had wanted was to use me as a means to resurrect Kresnik and bolster his power.

Aurora ushered me to the left of the space, and into the chamber Father Jude once occupied. It was now just a treatment table with a plastic chair, the desks and books and other personal effects missing.

As soon as Aurora leaned me against the wall, she turned on her heel and left me alone with the gray-haired healer. Instead of her usual pigtails, she wore her hair frizzy and loose. Her cheeks glowed a healthy pink, presumably from the joy of resurrecting her lord.

Healer Calla helped me onto the table and laid me on my back. She rubbed her hands together, making them glow, and then held them two feet over my prone body. “Let’s take a look at you.”

Her gentle healing energy warmed my skin. Everything from her unlined face to her gentle eyes and the feel of her magic said that she was a kind person who wanted to help others. But she had participated in that ceremony, knowing it would result in the theft of our magic. She’d probably also helped with our creation.

As her power soaked into my skin, it drifted to my chakras, starting from the root, then the sacral, the solar plexus and up to the heart. Each energy center swelled with her healing magic, and spilled out into the meridians running up and down my body.

Good sense told me to stay quiet and play along with these people until I found an opening to escape, but when her magic reached my throat chakra, the words tumbled from my lips before I could stop them.

“Was there any purpose to my life?” I asked.

Healer Calla’s brows drew together, and she stepped back, withdrawing the warmth of her magic. “What on earth are you talking about, dear?”

“Didn’t you help to create me as a vessel to bring a certain type of magic to this realm?”

Her expression smoothed into a neutral mask, and she paused for several moments, seeming to gather her thoughts. Palpitations squeezed my heart, and the lining of my stomach fluttered with nerves. Deep down, I knew the truth. I’d already been discarded, and Kresnik had probably sent Aurora up to throw out my exsanguinated corpse before it rotted. Now that he had my magic, there was little point in keeping me alive except as a plaything for Valentine.

“Your conception was a deliberate act in service of Our Lord,” she said, her words measured. “Everything else you’ve experienced thus far has been determined by you.”

My throat thickened. I hated confronting this woman, hated laying my heart bare, but it was like the magic she had poured into my chakras made me vomit out my feelings. I skirted around notions of escape and tried to focus on harmless subjects.

“Why am I still here if the ritual took all my power?” I asked. “Am I just a blood cow?”

A warm smile lifted the healer’s features, and she spread her arms wide. “Our Lord is your father. We’re family.”

I parted my lips to contradict her, but she placed her hand on mine. “After the Demon King destroyed his physical body, Father Jude became his vessel. Lord Kresnik loves each and every one of his children, especially you.”

A long breath heaved from my lungs, and I forced her magic down to my solar plexus, where it would no longer run my mouth. Why was I talking to her, anyway? She was part of Kresnik’s inner circle. This was a roundabout method of interrogation.

Healer Calla squeezed my hand. “I know you’re upset about the loss of your power, and you feel less important compared to the other warriors within the Flame. But the power was never yours. At least without the fire magic, you’re free from a burden that could lead to your execution.”

“So I’m back to being a Neutral?” I asked, my voice flat.

She stepped out of the room and reappeared moments later with a white box. After helping me sit up, she opened up the package to reveal dozens of red spheres that reminded me of gobstoppers. “The Vampire King didn’t take too much blood, but I’m going to prescribe you stabilizers to maintain a healthy blood count. Take two a day—more if you find yourself becoming lightheaded.”

My lips tightened. A caring healer might warn me of the dangers of feeding a vampire from the vein or letting my blood count become too low. Forcing my lips into a smile, I murmured my thanks.

I would take her stabilizers, but I had no intentions of serving as anyone’s cow. After placing one in my mouth, and letting it fizzle on my tongue, my heartbeat slowed, and some of the energy returned to my limbs. Healer Calla nodded her approval and gestured at me to take another.

“Is there anything you can give me to help make my blood unappetizing to vampires?” I asked before popping a second stabilizer into my mouth.

She pressed a hand over her mouth and laughed. “Don’t all young ladies enjoy the attention of a wickedly handsome vampire?”

“Not that kind,” I said from between clenched teeth.

Healer Calla raised a glowing finger and shone a light in my eyes. “How’s your vision?”

I swallowed hard. “The edges are blurred right now.”

“That will be the thrall,” she murmured. “You must ask the Vampire King not to give you so much, as it will interfere with your duties for Our Lord.”

I bit back a retort. Right now, I was trapped in the Flame with a bunch of people who wanted me to exist as an unwilling blood cow, and I needed to pretend I was on their side… at least until I found a way for us both to escape what was turning into a cult.

“Is there an antidote to thrall?” I asked. “If we’re going to war, I can’t spend my time comatose.”

She rubbed her chin and headed for the door. “Let me consult my books.”

As soon