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

only reason I wasn’t itching alongside my teammates was because I’d been injected with enough thrall to numb the pain of a broken nose. My gaze skimmed over the crystals Healer Calla kept on the shelves and landed on a set of Tibetan singing bowls complete with wooden mallets.

I turned to the healer and pointed at the shelf. “Is it alright if I borrow some of your things and take my teammates to the other room?”

She raised her head from her leather-bound book, giving me an absent stare. “Help yourself.”

After gathering all the onyx, obsidian, and black tourmaline I could find, I carried the crystals and the singing bowls to the center of the same ritual room Healer Calla had taken me into the first time I had visited her. Today, the treatment table stood flush against the wall. I arranged the five bowls in order of size, balancing them on flat stones that wouldn’t hamper their vibrations when struck.

After placing some mallets on the floor, I returned to the main room to invite the others to join me for sound healing. It took a while to convince everyone that sound healing was a harmless healing technique used by humans, but eventually, I convinced my teammates to come with me.

Everyone gathered around me in a semicircle, staring at me as though they’d lost part of their soul. Dark circles rimmed Racon’s eyes, and Gail looked like she hadn’t stopped crying for days.

My throat dried and the lining of my stomach fluttered with the onset of nerves. Tugging at the collar of my reaper cloak, I said, “I can’t promise anything, but a sound bath always helps smooth rough edges within the energy body following a nasty shock.”

Roman rubbed his neck. He and Leman slumped onto the floor with identical frowns between Clarence, who couldn’t meet my eyes. “Is that why we can’t stop scratching?”

“Everywhere you’re all touching is either on your chakras or meridians,” I murmured. “It looks like they were unsettled from the—”

“From the rape of our powers?” Leman spat.

My gaze dropped to the singing bowls. “That’s right.”

“What about the stones?” asked Clarence.

I picked up a round piece of black tourmaline and weighed it in my hand. Its magic drew me toward Gail, who was scratching behind her ear. “They’re going to absorb negative energy and dislodge attachments.”

After handing her the stone, I worked through the pile I had collected, letting each crystal guide me to the teammate who needed it the most. Everyone ended up with two or three except Coral, who only needed one. Two of the crystals wanted to stay with me, so I placed them in the space between my crossed legs, so I could keep my hands free for the healing.

I picked up a mallet and struck the outside of the largest singing bowl. It made a bass note that resounded for nearly a minute. When that sound faded, I tapped the second-largest bowl, which made a higher-pitched sound. Before that faded, I hit the third. Everyone’s eyes fluttered shut, giving me the encouragement to continue.

For the next round, I didn’t wait for the sounds to fade, instead striking one bowl after another, overlapping the notes. The sound echoed against the walls, adding to the atmosphere of healing. Everything faded, and there was no Valentine, Aurora, or Kresnik. For that moment, it was just me and a group of friends who needed my help.

After the introductory notes, I balanced the smallest bowl on the palm of my hand and tapped its side. A high-pitched sound rang out that resounded down my left arm and into my heart chakra. Focussing on its healing notes, I rotated the mallet around the bowl’s exterior, prolonging the sound.

My gaze wandered around the semi-circle. Now, everyone’s features were relaxed, and warm satisfaction filled my chest. Apart from Jonathan, this was the first time I had performed healing on supernaturals, and it seemed to be going well.

I continued the session until the butterflies in my stomach calmed and everyone else looked like they’d fallen asleep. After returning to the introduction notes and playing them backward, I let the sounds fade into silence and basked in the atmosphere of calm.

Roman stretched and yawned. “How did you know about the bowls?”

I raised a shoulder. “After leaving Logris, I spent three years apprenticing with a Master of Crystals. She taught me a lot about healing.”

The others murmured their thanks, and we agreed to meet up again the next day for another healing session.

Leman rose to his feet and offered Clarence a hand. “At least now I might be able to keep down my food.” He picked up his smaller friend, and they headed to the door. “Are you coming, Rac?”

Racon stared at Gail from across the circle, but the smaller woman dipped her head, avoiding eye contact. An ache formed in the back of my throat as I remembered that they were also half-siblings, and nobody bothered to stop them from falling in love. That had to be the worst betrayal of all.

Exhaling a long sigh, I gathered up the spare crystals for cleansing. The man I loved was dead and under the control of an evil Light Lord, but at least there was an inkling of hope that we could break free of Kresnik’s control, steal back my magic, and return Valentine to life. There was no solution for Racon and Gail.

Racon trudged across the room, casting a glance at Gail over his shoulder as he reached the door. When she didn’t meet his gaze, he sighed and left with the other boys, leaving me alone with the girls.

Healer Calla stepped into the room, wringing her hands. “How did it go?”

“Fine, thanks.” I glanced down at her pale knuckles. “Is there anything wrong?”

She shook her head from side to side. “I’ll pack up. Just hurry and leave.”

Since my blood stabilizers were already safe in the pocket of my cloak, I left Healer Calla’s infirmary with Coral and Gail, who dabbed her eyes