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

Martika raised her head, revealing red-rimmed eyes. I hadn’t seen her since Kresnik had tested us for remnants of magic.

“Breakfast,” she said in a voice that sounded hoarse from screaming.

“Thanks…” I walked to the door. “Why am I getting meals sent up now?”

“General Sargon wishes for you to be comfortable during your confinement.” She lowered her eyes to the food and swallowed. “Our Lord ordered me to fetch items for you while you’re not serving the general, but I can’t come in because of the wards.”

“Thanks for bringing it up.” I hurried to the door, took the tray, and placed it on a side table.

The scent of chocolate wafted up from the metal dome, and I lifted it up to reveal four slices of chocolate banana bread, laden with rich chunks of chocolate and drizzled with a sauce that might have been a melted-down bar of Green and Black’s. A fruit salad of sliced bananas, strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries took up the middle of the plate, making my mouth water.

I picked up the second dome, underneath which a portion of smoked salmon eggs Benedict sat alone on a side plate. I turned to the door to find Martika still stood in the doorway, wringing her hands and staring at me as though I was the answer to an existential crisis.

“Are you alright?” I asked.

Her bottom lip trembled. “How do you do it?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You were the first of the acolytes who donated their magic to Our Lord.”

I chewed on my bottom lip, and rolled the word around in my head. The word acolyte suggested that they were followers, which would make sense if Kresnik still considered himself a god. “Are you asking how I’m coping without my power?”

She nodded.

“It was never really mine to begin with,” I murmured. At her frown, I added, “My entire life, I thought I was a Neutral who never had magic. Then it sparked a few weeks ago and nearly got me executed. Now that I’m free of that magic, it’s a bit of a relief.”

Her gray eyes roved over my face, perhaps seeking out signs of deception. I met her gaze, believing the truth in my words. The power in my soul might have attracted Valentine’s attention, but it had also caused us both misery. The only thing I missed about having fire magic was the chance to resurrect Valentine.

That didn’t mean I wouldn’t get it back. Kresnik didn’t deserve the power of a phoenix. Right now, I couldn’t tell if Kresnik had sent Martika to check me for signs of magic, or if she needed my help.

I tilted my head to the side. “Why do you ask?”

Her bottom lip trembled. “Our Lord took the elite team to a ritual room and extracted our power.”

“You can’t shift?” I asked.

“Don’t get me wrong.” She raised her palms. “It’s not that I’m ungrateful. Our Lord is merciful and kind. He spared me from the injection—”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

She shook her head and bolted down the hallway. “I have duties.”

My stomach tightened, squeezing out a roiling nausea that spread up the back of my throat. Reading between the lines, it looked like Kresnik had turned everyone in that elite team into preternatural vampires. Except Martika, who had lavished him with a blowjob that had made him howl like a beast.

Kresnik probably wanted more and didn’t want to risk sticking his erection in a mouthful of fangs.

Martika disappeared around the corner, and her footsteps echoed down the staircase. I scratched at my temple and hurried back toward the walk-in closet. Too much was happening too quickly, and I wasn’t about to miss another morning meeting because Valentine wanted me to stay in my room.

As I stepped inside, my legs buckled, and I landed on my hands and knees, gasping for air.

Roman had tested positive for magic and become one of the elites. Shallow breaths whistled in and out of my throat. Had Kresnik turned him, too?

After slipping on a pair of knickers, a bra, and a denim pinafore dress, I placed my cloak over my shoulders and hurried out of the closet. As I was about to head for the hallway, a cloud of smoke slid out from beneath the bed.

“That girl just confirmed that Kresnik is already turning her comrades into preternatural vampires to fight his war. Do you believe me now?” he asked.

“How do you know about the vampires?” I asked.

“It’s how Kresnik turned so many the last time.” Hades pooled out from under the bed, forming into a tall pillar. “After creating the master vampire, he injected his followers with hollow bird bones attached to animal bladders. It was a fucking mess until the Royal House of Sargon killed the problem at the root.”

I bowed my head. “You’re talking about Valentine’s father.”

“Destroy the master vampire, and you also destroy every preternatural spawned by his blood.” He drifted closer. “Will you reunite my ashes so I may clean up this mess?”

“I need some guarantees.”

“What?” he hissed.

“Devil’s bargains are always in blood.” I folded my arms across my chest and glowered up into the smoke. “Of which you have none. I’m also talking to one-seventh of the Demon King. How do I know the other six parts won’t decide to keep me as a pet?”

Power crackled like an electric storm, and it took every ounce of willpower not to flinch. I was all for saving the world, but as soon as I gathered that first jar, the balance of power would shift from me to Hades. The moment I gave him what he wanted, he could renege on our deal and save the world from preternaturals by destroying Valentine with hellfire.

He uttered a string of words in a language I didn’t understand. He was probably cursing me to hell, but since he didn’t say them in English, I decided not to take offense.

“You drive a hard bargain,” he snarled. “Is that how you drive cocks?”

“How mature,” I muttered.