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

was overstepping my place. I met his gaze with a glower, wishing my eyes could also change color. As they couldn’t, I settled for baring my teeth.

“You have something of mine,” I snarled.

His brows rose.

“That heart,” I said. “It belongs to me.”

His lips spread into a grin of sharp teeth. “The one that was extracted from my body?”

“The heart that I brought back to life with my magic, yes,” I said with some bite. “Where is it?”

“If I gave you my heart, what would you do with it?” he asked in a voice that curled around my senses.

My throat thickened. That heart contained my soulmate, the man I loved and respected. Valentine’s body was… my gaze flickered up and down his muscular form. His deadly, delectable, domineering, muscular form. I might have trusted him once, but I couldn’t now. Not while he was under the influence of Kresnik.

He raised his brows, indicating that he was waiting for me to answer.

“I’d keep it close and love it as much as I love my own.” My throat thickened as I said the words.

“That won’t be necessary.” His expression didn’t change.

My heart stuttered, and I placed my hand on his chest, hoping I could feel something beating. When I didn’t, my insides tightened with trepidation, and I forced out the words, “Who’s got your heart?”

Valentine’s head tilted to the side as though he’d heard something from afar, and he scooped me into his arms.

My stomach lurched and a spike of adrenaline lanced my chest. “Put me down.” I gave him a hard thump. “I’m not your property!”

“Your punishment will wait,” he said in a voice that suggested he’d just added my assault on his person to my list of transgressions. “Our Lord calls.”

Valentine stalked toward the mansion, holding me to his chest. I glanced over my shoulder. Macavity had returned to the ground and stared at us through sad green eyes. Maybe I was just projecting my own emotions on the cat, but it looked like he’d missed spending time with us and just wanted to return home.

I sent a silent promise to Macavity that I would find a way for us to be together. Apart from my teammates, he was my only friend within the Flame. I certainly didn’t count Valentine among my allies, even if he saw himself as my benevolent master. Most responsible owners didn’t mistreat their pets, but they also didn’t drug them to stay put.

No matter how much I wriggled and shoved and kicked, Valentine’s grip on my body remained absolute. As we reached the door that led to the Flame’s stairwell, the growl he released sent a thrill of terror down my spine. I clamped my mouth shut, not wanting to worsen my impending punishment.

“Could you put me down, please?” I asked in a much calmer voice. “Everyone’s going to think I’m your cow.”

He stared down at me with a smirk. “That saves me from making the announcement.”

I flinched at the words, letting them settle before I ground my teeth. Why was I even trying to argue with this version of Valentine? He was nearly as big a tyrant as Kresnik.

Maybe I needed to play along with Valentine, too. I added finding his heart to my list of things to do, which included restoring my power so I could bring him back to life.

As we walked down the hallway, people inclined their heads at him and a few of them bowed. I made a note to discover what kinds of things he’d been doing in these meetings to garner so much respect. Two large men in denim donkey jackets stood by a door and bowed as they opened it for Valentine. It led to a restored-to-new ritual room one, where Kresnik sat on a wooden throne.

My throat dried as I took in Kresnik’s new appearance. His features had morphed into those of the sun god from the portraits, looking nothing like Father Jude. It was as though Kresnik had consumed his host in the two days that had passed. That, or he was a genius at creating illusions.

The one thing that differed from the picture was his hair. Instead of the burnt orange with golden highlights, it flowed down to his shoulders like sheets of blood. It looked peculiar against his bronze skin and contrasted with his white shirt and pants.

Aurora stood at his right side like a bodyguard, and a red-haired woman about my age who looked curvaceous in a flowing white gown stood on his left. The way she fawned over him said that she wasn’t his daughter. I shook off that thought. But then, this was Kresnik, the man who freely admitted to marrying his own sister. The woman was probably his great-great-granddaughter or something equally as heinous.

“There she is,” Kresnik said in a sharp voice that made the fine hairs on the back of my hair stand on end.

As Valentine set me on my feet, Kresnik raised his hand and beckoned me over.

My quadriceps stiffened, and the muscles in my back bunched. Every instinct in my body told me to run, but common sense reminded me I wouldn’t get very far. I turned to Valentine, silently pleading for him to whisk me away from this ritual-cum-throne room, but he placed a hand on the small of my back and walked me toward the self-styled god.

“You have her well trained,” Kresnik said. “Aurora informed me that she was willful.”

“Yes, My Lord,” Valentine replied in a monotone.

A shudder ran down my spine. If Valentine were alive and in control of his heart, he would tear Kresnik’s heart out for what he did to the previous Vampire King.

“It’s alright, my daughter,” Kresnik said, beckoning me closer. “There’s no need to be afraid.”

A rapid beat thrummed in my heart, quickening with each step I took toward the throne. I had several reasons to fear this man, the first being the amount of time he’d spent in Hell. Brimstone filled my nostrils and rubbed against my sinuses like