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

My nostrils flared. This had to be Mrs. Meg’s sleepy tea, but what was the old faerie doing here now of all times? I blinked hard, clenched my teeth, rolled my shoulders, and tried to resist the lure of sleep.

The twins opened their mouths with identical yawns, their shoulders drooping. Geb asked Caiman a question, but his words slowed and slurred.

The urge to sleep dragged on my consciousness with thick claws, pulling down on me with an irresistible weight. I shook my head from side to side, trying to resist, but my eyes fluttered shut, and I lost consciousness before I hit the floor.

Warm breath fanned across my skin, and a rough tongue slid down one side of my face. I cracked open an eye to meet the jewel-green gaze of a concerned-looking leopard.

Sunlight streamed in from a window behind us, making the ends of his fur shine like spun gold. He hovered over me like a sphinx, resting his weight on his haunches and with his front legs on either side of my body. If this wasn’t the hellcat I knew and loved, it would look like I’d become a leopard’s latest chew toy.

“Macavity?” I croaked.

He parted his jaws and made a rumbling sound that I think might have been a meow.

“Where are we?”

Macavity rose to his feet and stepped away, revealing the rest of our surroundings. I lay atop a super-king-size bed surrounded by thick gold drapes which had been left open to let in the light.

I rose onto my elbows and peered out through the bed curtains, finding a matching sofa opposite. Next to it was a wooden box of toys large enough for an oversized leopard.

“Is this your bedroom?” I swung my legs off the side of the mattress, stood on a deep-pile rug, and stretched.

Instead of answering, Macavity bounded across the room to the door, which swung open to let in a trolley pulled by Mrs. Meg.

“It’s good to see you survived the night.” She stopped at a low table and set down a large plate of chopped meat.

The leopard advanced toward the faerie, shaking his head from side to side, and snarled. Macavity was nearly twice her size and looked like he could swallow her in a single bite.

Mrs. Meg turned to the leopard and placed her hands on her hips. “Now, see here, Mr. Macavity. You will not bully me into dragging a carcass into the living quarters.”

Macavity roared.

She pursed her lips and wagged her finger up at the snarling beast. “You know the rules. If you wish to eat as a full-sized hellcat, you go to the kennels with the Inferno hounds. Now, shrink down and eat your breakfast like a good hellcat, while I tend to the Lady Phoenix.”

With one last roar, Macavity transformed into a Bengal and ran around her feet.

I shook my head. “How do you get him to listen to you?”

“After having a hundred and twelve children of my own and nannying four times that amount, I know my way around a belligerent little mister. If you don’t set the rules from day one, they’ll take advantage.”

“So that’s where I went wrong?” I turned to the low table, where Macavity had already buried his head in a heaping pile of cut meat.

As the effects of the sleepy tea faded, memories from the day before drifted back into my consciousness. Valentine’s arrest, Kresnik’s televised return, the bizarre bargain I’d made with the Council of Ministers, rejecting Hades and then seeing him take pleasure in Nut and Geb coming to collect my organs.

I ran trembling fingers through my hair and exhaled a ragged breath. “What’s happened—”

“The terrible twins should be waking from their sleepy tea in the pocket dimension,” said Mrs. Meg. “We’ve left them with enough cattle to eviscerate.”

“Poor cattle,” I muttered under my breath. “Thanks for coming to my rescue.”

She picked up a tray, bustled toward a small dining table with it, and set it down. “I’m still under contract with His Majesty to keep you safe and fed.” She pulled back a chair and turned to me with a frown. “What are you still doing sitting on the floor? Breakfast is ready.”

I rose to my feet, rubbing at my temples with a frown. “There’s no time to eat. Valentine’s—”

“His Majesty is safe behind bars, and Kresnik’s too busy gathering his flock to come after anyone just yet.”

I padded toward the old faerie. She must have changed me last night while I was slumbering under the effects of her narcotic tea, because I wore a Mina Harcourt-style nightgown. It was long and white and frilly around the top, showing just enough neck to entice a lecherous vampire.

I shook off those thoughts, letting her words sink in. “How do you know about Kresnik?”

“It’s all over the papers.” She patted the back of the chair. “Turns out he was the ifrit who abducted you, and the Supernatural Council suppressed that information.”

“And they didn’t suppress the press?” I slipped into the seat, letting the mingled scents of cooked meat fill my nostrils.

Sitting in front of me was a full English breakfast with sausage and bacon and scrambled eggs. It was served with grilled mushrooms, tomatoes, and baked beans with a dollop of tomato ketchup on the side.

The old faerie patted me on the back. “Eat up, and I’ll fill you in on the news.”

While I cut into the sausage and bacon, Mrs. Meg poured me a generous serving of tea. “Kresnik’s appearance on human television has plunged both worlds into panic,” she said. “Humans are rallying around him to hunt down their demon enemies, and supernaturals are clogging the escape routes.”

“They’re running away?” I chewed on my mouthful.

She sighed. “Everyone knows someone who was affected by Kresnik’s last reign of terror. Even though he never reached Elphame, he still managed to hurt a good number of faeries living in this realm.”

“Maybe that’s why the Council wanted to keep