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

Angel King, one of the fairer members of the Supernatural Council.

He rubbed his chin, staring down at Valentine with a frown. “King Valentine wasn’t caught on camera, and the circumstances were extenuating—”

“Therefore he’s permitted to break the rules that keep our people safe?” Hades turned to the Angel King, giving him a slow shake of the head. “Of all the beings in the Supernatural World, I never thought of you as one who employed one law for commoners and another for your friends.”

The Angel King spluttered. “That’s not what I said.”

“Sounds like nepotism to me,” Hades drawled.

The Fae King tutted. “The very definition of hypocrisy.”

My nostrils flared, and my heartbeat ratcheted up to eleven. Did I say I wanted to pummel Hades? I meant the Fae King. There was something deeply aggravating about an individual who made others suffer for cruel amusement. Hell, I wanted to reduce them both to ashes.

Valentine placed a calming hand on my shoulder. “Members of the hearing, please remember that we are at war with a newly arisen Kresnik—”

“Who currently resides in a warded cage in Hell.”

Valentine and I stiffened. If Kresnik was in Hell and I hadn’t been dragged down with him, then he had to still be alive. How much did I want to bet that his minions would find a way to break him out?

“Vote, Angel King,” Hades snapped.

“Aye, on the condition that King Valentine receives a mild rebuke—”

Hades slammed his fist down on the arm of his throne. “Denied.”

I turned pleading eyes to the Angel King. “Please retract your vote. The camera crew wasn’t around when Valentine fought Kresnik, and he was trying to stop the most dangerous enemy in a millennium from obtaining the power of a phoenix.”

The Angel King turned his gaze away from me and sighed. “Unfortunately, I must uphold the law.”

“None of you even believe Valentine should be punished.” My voice trembled. “Hades wants him out of the way so he can continue his quest to turn me into his plaything, and the Fae King’s only agreeing with him out of boredom.”

Hades leaned forward, offering me a pitying look. “I’m disappointed that one so young could be so cynical.”

“Am I wrong?”

“No.” He flashed both rows of perfect teeth in a wide grin.

The Fae King snorted but didn’t comment.

“A majority of three against two,” Valentine said, with a sigh. “What is my sentence?”

Hades straightened in his throne, looking like he was ready to break out into a celebratory strut. “Seven days.”

“Very well. I accept,” Valentine said.

A shocked breath whistled through my teeth. I turned to Valentine and gaped. This was bullshit—both the lenient sentence and the way he gave in to his colleagues’ machinations. I knew we weren’t going to move against Hades until we were completely sure Kresnik was dead and destroyed, but allowing them to lock him up for a week was ridiculous.

“How can you go along with such a biased verdict?” I hissed.

Valentine patted me on the knee and turned back to his colleagues. “And as a mated monarch, I reserve the right for an unlimited conjugal stay.”

My mouth dropped open. “What?”

Valentine pressed his lips together, suppressing a smirk.

“You’re not mated.” Hades leaned forward, clutching the arms of his throne, smoke curling from where his fingers seared the wood.

I glanced around at the other Council members, my mind scrambling to make sense of the conversation. Since when did people get to sneak sexual partners into prison cells? And wasn’t anyone going to reprimand the Demon King for vandalizing property with hellfire? Or did the unfair restrictions on fire users only count when one of the monarchs had something to gain?

Valentine smoothed down the front of his cloak. “Healer Hadriel of the Atlantis Hospital of Soul Healing certified our soul bond. I registered it with the Department of Records a week after Mera’s abduction.”

My throat dried, and I swallowed hard. Was that really true?

The Angel King snatched a scroll from thin air and with a click of his wrist unrolled its contents. “I have the record here. Congratulations, King Valentine. Something nice will be waiting for both of you in the prison suite.”

“Suite?” I whispered.

He leaned into me and whispered, “You’ll see.”

The scent of brimstone wafted in the air. I glanced up to find the arms of Hades’ throne completely charred. He’d probably thought he had a week to coerce me into a do-over of our final dinner. It served him right.

Hades hissed through his teeth. “I won’t allow King Valentine to shirk his responsibility with a seven-day honeymoon behind bars. We can’t run a Supernatural Council with five members.”

“Don’t complain,” said the Witch Queen. “It was your idea to hold the Vampire King accountable for his breach of the Supernatural Secrecy Act.”

Hades clenched his fists and snarled.

“I would be happy to attend meetings via the Supernet,” Valentine said without a trace of sarcasm.

Placing a hand over my mouth, I tried to hide a smile. Maybe next time, Hades would think twice about scheming.

Valentine rose off his stool and offered me a hand. “And if someone could inform my butler to move to the prison suite, I would be much obliged.”

I choked back a laugh, letting him help me to my feet. Butler service in prison? This was getting better.

Captains Zella and Caria led us through a set of doors at the back of the hearing room, which led to another dimly lit hallway. Valentine strolled at my side with a hand around my waist, acting as though the enforcers were taking us on a tour.

“Have you been to prison before?” I whispered.

“Many times in my youth,” he murmured. “Both my father and my uncle thought it was beneficial for my brothers and me to suffer the consequences of our actions.”

“Did you have a butler, too?”

He shook his head and smiled. “Caiman only started working directly with me when I took the throne. If I wanted something, I had to use the Hatch like everyone else.”

A laugh huffed out of my chest as I remembered Captain