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

Coral and I moved away in silence. It was too early for me to exhale my relief, but the panic squeezing my heart had loosened enough for me to bring some air into my lungs.

We stared at each other through the corners of our eyes, neither of us daring to speak. As we reached the wall, a metallic shriek rang through the air.

Roman stood with his finger in the machine, his face flushed with pride. He turned to Kresnik and asked, “What does that mean, My Lord?”

“You’re the first member in my squad of elites.” Kresnik beckoned him over and grinned.

My heart sank. This didn’t sound good at all. Leman, who stood behind Roman in the line, got a low score, and joined us on the far side of the room. He kept glancing over at Roman, who stared at his twin open-mouthed.

I leaned into Coral. “What happened yesterday with the missions? Did you go?”

She shook her head, confirming my suspicions that she stayed behind in the infirmary. “The other five did. Thanks to the twins pooling their power, they were able to grab their target and return within a couple of hours.”

My brows drew together. “But Leman—”

“I know,” she muttered. “You’ll have to ask why his magic didn’t register.”

Leman reached our patch of wall but he stood a few feet away from us with his arms folded across his chest. He continued staring at his brother, who stared back with the same expression of surprise. I was about to ask him about what was going on, when the device made the same high-pitched wail.

“Yay!” Martika raised her hands in the air. “Shall I stand behind you, My Lord?”

Kresnik inclined his head and stared at her legs as she passed.

My shoulders sagged. The next time Kresnik invited Valentine to another supernatural evening out, a different girl would be kneeling under the table at my side. I lowered my head, mentally willing everyone else to hide their power, but more and more people registered as having magic.

As soon as the last person tested negative, Kresnik turned on his heel and left the room with ten new recruits and his undead enforcers, leaving the rest of us standing about without so much as Brother David for guidance.

“Dinner?” Coral asked.

My stomach rumbled. “Let’s go.”

We walked in silence through the hallway with Gail positioning herself between Coral and me, trying hard not to glance at Racon, who trailed behind Clarence and Leman. Clarence kept trying to get Leman to talk, but he shook his head and sighed.

The other rejects followed us toward the refectory, many of them dragging their feet but a few walking tall and looking relieved at not having been selected. I didn’t know what to think. Kresnik would rob his new recruits of their magic, but what would he do with them afterward? What would he do with us rejects?

Gail pushed open the door to a near-deserted refectory, with a few people carrying their trays toward the exit on the other side. Instead of a carpeted area in the middle, a high dais took up the far end of the space and atop it stood a table and three chairs that overlooked all the other seats.

Kresnik’s ornate wooden throne took up the middle with two regular chairs at either side. I guessed they were reserved for his current favorites. Valentine sure as hell didn’t need to eat or drink.

We continued to the counter, where even the kitchen staff had reduced to four elderly people who stood with their shoulders slumped. Instead of a variety of dishes, there was a cast-iron dish of lamb pieces floating in a red-wine sauce among chunks of potato, carrots, shallots, and sprigs of rosemary. Next to it was the same dish but without the meat.

Coral and Rita served themselves modest portions, but I shoveled a large helping of lamb stew onto my plate then helped myself to a pair of dumplings that were left on a baking tray.

“Where is everyone?” I asked.

“They’ve all got their tasks,” Racon said from behind me, sounding like he hadn’t slept in days. “Lord Kresnik dishes out the jobs at breakfast, and everyone else gets to sit around on their asses.”

I glanced over my shoulder to find him staring at the back of Gail’s head. “What do people have to do?”

“Assassinations, intel, searching for specific objects needed for the war.” He ladled out a small portion of the vegetarian dish and ignored the dumplings. “There’s a whole group of them raiding Logris for their stores of firestone.”

At the other end of the serving hatch were bowls of fruit, individual portions of yoghurt, rice pudding, and a large chocolate cake, complete with ice crystals from where it had been extracted from the deep freeze. I selected a plastic tub of ready-made profiteroles and a bar of supermarket-brand chocolate and went to the drinks station to find hot water, teabags, and milk.

I grabbed a peppermint blend, filled a mug, and followed the girls to a table furthest from the dais.

“We haven’t seen you in the refectory,” Gail said as I took my seat opposite her. “Where have you been eating?”

“Coral gave me a few things. And Valentine has a refrigerator in his suite. He took me out last night.” I shoveled a forkful of stew into my mouth and broke off a large piece of dumping to avoid answering any more questions.

“Miss Griffin,” whispered a voice in my ear.

My head snapped up, and I glanced from side to side, looking for traces of Hades’ mist.

Gail leaned forward and frowned. “Are you alright?”

“Try not to make it obvious you’re hearing voices in your head,” he drawled.

I rubbed the back of my neck and turned my attention back to Gail. “Yeah, I’m fine. What have you guys been doing while I’ve been away?”

“Now tell your friends you need to leave for a prior appointment with King Valentine,” he said.

I glanced at Racon, who sat at my left, opposite Coral, and at Leman,