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

reinforce a pecking order, no matter how much more powerful one shifter was than the other. It came in many guises, from outright jostling, to pointing out imagined flaws, to direct attacks.

“Hey,” I snapped. “If you don’t want to help Valentine—”

“Can’t either of you take a joke?” Beowulf waved a dismissive hand.

“You weren’t laughing when I insulted your balls,” said Kain.

Beowulf narrowed his eyes.

I exchanged a glance with Caiman, wondering if Valentine had made a mistake to call the Shifter King for help. Caiman raised a shoulder in one of those silent gestures that said it was up to me if I wanted to follow this idiot to his hideout.

A knock sounded on the door, and a servant in black livery hurried inside. “I’m sorry to interrupt, Mr. Caiman, but the Demon King is at the door.”

I placed a hand over my chest. “Is he looking for me?”

The man shook his head. “I’m afraid he wishes to see Master Kain.”

Chapter Eleven

I clenched my teeth, curled my hands into fists, and readied myself for a fight. Kain stood at my side, his cheeks paling, and Beowulf bared his teeth in a snarl. The last time Prince Draconius had attempted to lobby Hades for the throne, the Demon King had rejected him outright, but now that they were allies?

My throat dried, and I turned to Caiman, whose features were as hard as granite. “Are we too late?”

The butler shook his head. “Our wards will not allow even the Demon King to enter without the express permission of someone within the household.”

“I’ll take the boy to my retreat in Forest Hill. It’s private shifter territory. He won’t think of looking for him there.”

“Right.” A relieved breath whooshed out of my lungs. I turned my attention back to Kain. “Do you think you and King Beowulf can be civil with each other for the journey?”

He nodded.

Beowulf’s eyes softened. “Let’s go.”

Caiman turned to the footman and murmured some instructions while Beowulf guided Kain out of the room and down the hallway.

As their footsteps quietened, I turned to the butler and frowned. “What’s next?”

“We will keep the Demon King waiting while we search the palace grounds.” He raised his fingers into quotes for those last few words. “That will give King Beowulf enough time to reach the underground tunnels, while I escort you to the mirror room where you will travel to the shifters’ private retreat.”

“Lead the way.”

In a fluid movement, Caiman turned on his heel and headed to the door. I followed after him into the stone hallway, quickening my steps to match his longer paces. We walked in silence, my mind occupied with wondering why now of all times Hades was moving against Valentine.

It couldn’t be about me, could it? No one could want to possess a phoenix so badly that they would destabilize the leadership of a supernatural city in the middle of a war. Or did Hades really think that ninety-nine wards were enough to hold Kresnik?

Whatever was going on between Valentine and Hades ran deeper than the Demon King’s desire to possess a phoenix. I wasn’t vain or self-centered enough to believe that Hades would go to all this effort on my account. He had helped the Mage King levy taxes on Lamia, even after their plan to capture me had failed.

Caiman opened the door to the mirror room, where a quartet of armed guards stood to attention. There was no sign of the mercenaries who had joined us for the trip to the Notting Hill safe house, even though at least half of them had survived the traps—before Kresnik had abducted me.

Instead of guiding me toward any of the massive gold-framed mirrors hanging on the wall, the butler swept his arm to a silver mirror in the corner on a stand that resembled the kind found in fancy changing rooms.

He placed a hand on its pale frame, pushing his magic to set its coordinates. “This way, My Lady.”

I bit down on my lip, making a mental note to see if someone could teach me how to operate one of those devices. “This will take me straight to King Beowulf’s retreat?” I asked, my voice raspy. “What about the wards?”

“His Majesty gave me access to the property’s receiving room, but someone from the Shifter King’s household will have to escort you through the wards.”

“Okay, that sort of makes sense,” I murmured.

The mirror’s surface rippled, indicating it was time for me to step through. I inhaled a deep breath. Who knew how long it would take Beowulf and Kain to arrive at their destination, or if there would be anyone at the other side to meet me. But right now, I was in no mood to bump into Hades.

“Thanks, Caiman. See you later.” I stepped through the mirror and landed on a wooden surface on the other side.

Beowulf’s mirror room was more like a sauna than a waiting area, with its pine floors and walls and ceilings. Sawdust littered the floor, and the scent of wet dog hung in the air, making my nostrils twitch.

I headed toward a set of double doors, which were also pine, and placed my finger on the handle. An electric shock buzzed up my hand and up to my elbow, and I snatched away my arm.

“That will teach me to wait for Beowulf’s staff to let me inside,” I muttered under my breath.

Since the room was bare, save for the mirror I’d stepped through and another that took up an entire ten-foot-wide wall, I leaned against one of the wood panels and folded my arms across my chest. Now would probably be a good time to report back to Valentine, but I didn’t want to scorch anything or turn into a being of pure fire while stuck in a warded room of wood.

I reached into the pocket of my cloak, pulled out my new phone, and checked for messages. There was a text from Beatrice. Before I could read it, the door opened, and I