Bonds of the Vampire King (Blood Fire Saga Book 7) by Bella Klaus (reading e books .txt) 📕

My stomach plummeted, and a kaleidoscope of memories attacked me all at once. Waking up naked and unconscious after an indeterminate time. Kresnik being unusually nice. The tunic that barely covered his balls. Valentine said I’d gone missing for a month, but on what basis could I possibly insist that I was only gone for less than twenty-four hours?

Kresnik had no problem with copulating with his daughters—look at what he did with Martika. Nausea barreled through my guts with the intensity of an ogre’s fist.

What the hell was Healer Hadriel going to say next?

Chapter Six

I slumped forward, my heart heavy, and my insides churning and twisting with dread at what Healer Hadriel had seen that she had found so alarming. The walls of her office were suddenly too bright, and the window that looked out into the water now seemed like it might shatter and let in the Atlantic Ocean.

My gaze locked with the healer’s pale irises, their pearlescent sheen reflecting secrets I ached to uncover.

Valentine stepped out from the corner, breathing hard. His magic curled around me like a blanket, but I felt no comfort with so many knots tightening in my stomach. I turned toward him, cringing as his violet eyes turned red, and veins stood out on his temples.

“Healer Hadriel,” he said in a voice trembling with rage. “If Mera is hurt—”

“Your Majesty, I apologize for causing you both alarm.” The healer broke eye contact with me to address Valentine. “The issue I found isn’t physical, but I would like to discuss it with Mera alone.”

I tried to inhale, but the muscles around my chest were too tight to let in anything but the barest amount of air. How bad could it be? Valentine crossed the room, stopped at the side of the examination table, and wrapped a strong arm around my shoulders.

“Could you just say what’s happened? I’m going to tell Valentine anyway.”

Healer Hadriel turned back to me and hesitated.

“Please.” My voice broke.

She lowered her gaze for a moment, seeming to debate whether to break the news with Valentine in the room. His hand squeezed my shoulder, and he pressed a soft kiss on my temple, a silent assurance that whatever the healer had discovered, we would handle it together.

Healer Hadriel walked to the other side of the room and leaned against the stone desk with her hands clasped in front of her solar plexus. “While you were gone, I worked with King Valentine to track your location.” Her voice was calm, melodic, and without a trace of alarm, but something about the way she distanced herself from us was telling, especially when the solar plexus was the most frequent target of psychic attacks.

My gaze flicked to Valentine. He’d told me about the sessions he’d had with her, so this wasn’t exactly news.

“Are you familiar with the concept of soulmates?” she asked.

I nodded but didn’t elaborate.

“Only those with connections deep enough to travel across souls can qualify as mates. It’s a bond deeper than family or telepathy and formed by threads so subtle that only the most sensitive of supernaturals can detect it.”

Painful spasms squeezed my heart, and I breathed through the pulsing ache. This was common knowledge for anyone who had gone to the academy. We also learned that it was impossible for scanners to identify soulmate bonds, but what the hell did that mean for us? Had Kresnik broken our bond?

“You confirmed that my bond with Mera was intact but frayed,” Valentine said, his voice hoarse.

She inclined her head. “It was understandable given that you were forcibly separated across realms.”

My pulse beat hard enough to muffle her words. I clutched the edge of the examination table, straining to listen, but it was difficult because of the roar of blood between my ears. When would she stop giving us all the background information and get to the point?

“There’s another way soulmate bonds can be weakened,” she said in a quieter voice, her gaze darting to Valentine. “When one party forms a stronger bond with another.”

“What?” I shook my head. “That can’t be right. Valentine and I spent three years of courtship forming our bond.”

“Mera, you have another soulmate. Whoever he or she is wields more power than King Valentine.”

“Impossible,” Valentine said. “The time she spent in the Realm of the Gods was less than twenty-four hours. Time distortion—”

The healer raised her hand. “The passage of time is irrelevant. This new bond is deep and strong enough to supersede the one you have with King Valentine.”

“It has to be Kresnik,” I growled. “But how?”

She inclined her head. “Perhaps, but I didn’t spend long enough analyzing your magic to verify the other person’s identity. Given the rare elemental magic flowing through your bond, I can only conclude that your new soulmate is a very powerful fire user.”

Every ounce of blood drained from my face, leaving me lightheaded and slumping against Valentine, who stood more rigid than a statue. Through the shock and horror and disgust, my mind scrambled for an explanation.

I blurted, “What if it’s a parent and child bond? Kresnik saved my life when we were out in the Realm of the Gods. Could it have slotted into place then?”

Healer Hadriel stilled, but her lack of response said she didn’t believe that one event could make people soulmates.

“Perhaps,” she replied in a less steady voice. “The only time I’ve seen such profound bonds are from couples who have spent centuries together. That depth of love and connection can’t be formed overnight.”

I turned to Valentine, meeting his crimson eyes. “Nothing happened between Kresnik and me—”

He placed a finger over my lips. “You never need to assure me of anything. My belief in you is unshakable.”

At his words, only a fraction of the tightness in my chest eased, but that didn’t solve the problem of Kresnik’s latest machinations. I licked my dry lips. If I was going to break this wretched soul bond with that monster, it would probably be useful to