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

thoughts, wondering what Hades was thinking, and trying to plan a way to get out of earshot, so I could ask him about vows.

It wasn’t like I knew for sure that I had the magic of a phoenix because I hadn’t transformed since that last time. Even under a truth enchantment, I wouldn’t admit to having taken back the power… as long as they didn’t ask me if I could produce sparks.

A pair of men stood straight ahead and opened the doors to the refectory with a deep bow.

Everyone rose off their seats, welcoming Kresnik into the dining hall. He stood in the doorway for a moment as a pair of men unrolled a red carpet that stretched from the entrance to the dais.

My lips pressed into a thin line, but I pushed aside all griping thoughts and focussed on the impending threat.

Kresnik stepped onto the carpet, and Valentine walked across the regular floor beside him, his large arm across my back sweeping me along for the promenade.

The people behind us followed in eerie silence, not even their footsteps making a sound. I glanced over my shoulder. Kresnik and I cast shadows across the white floor. Valentine didn’t and neither did the people in black.

As we approached the head table, my gaze caught Racon’s on the far right of the room. Coral sat beside him with her lips pressed into a thin line.

“May I sit with my brothers and sisters, Master?” I asked, trying not to cringe.

Kresnik chuckled. “Well done, my friend. You have tamed my wild daughter, and now it’s time for a new challenge. Break in another girl.”

I clenched my teeth. He certainly didn’t care about making his desire to take me from Valentine obvious.

Valentine inclined his head. “I would like to finish my current cow before starting another. This one is particularly nourishing.”

Memories of that humiliating night on the palace steps pushed themselves to the front of my mind, making me reel back with a start. Valentine’s fingers closed around my waist, keeping me steady as I gulped mouthfuls of air.

This wasn’t real. I told myself this over and over until the sentence became a blur of words. Valentine was just trying to protect me. Everything he had done so far had been an attempt to keep me safe. I had to believe that he still wanted to keep me at his side, even when the magic flowing through his veins now belonged to Kresnik.

The former god mounted the dais, making a displeased noise in the back of his throat.

Valentine released my waist and ushered me to the other side of the room, where Coral and the others sat. Relief loosened my muscles, although I couldn’t bask in the sensation because Kresnik would continue trying to convince Valentine to cast me aside until he got tired of waiting and tore out my magic with his claws.

“Welcome to a new day, my glorious children of the Flame.” Kresnik spread his arms wide.

Applause broke out across the refectory. I scurried through the maze of tables and slid into the seat next to Leman and Clarence. Gail and Coral turned their heads away from the head table and stared at me with wide eyes. Perhaps they were surprised to see me at my first briefing.

“I bring you wonderful news this morning.” Kresnik’s voice rang out across the vast space. “Our new elites who accepted the gift of eternal life have now risen and completed their training. Give them a round of applause.”

As everybody clapped, a line of about forty-eight people in black robes stepped forward and bowed. I rubbed my dry throat, wondering if Valentine had trained them or if their obedience was the work of Kresnik.

Coral leaned across the table. “Are you alright?”

“Fine,” I replied. “You?”

“Still powerless,” she said.

Kresnik swept his arm toward the elites. “They will perform the most dangerous mission of all. Our reconnaissance team has found where the genocidal maniacs at Supernatural Council are keeping their stores of volcano-charged firestone. They will transport these precious weapons to the Flame, where they may be deployed for boosting your power for the battle ahead.”

Applause thundered across the refectory, accompanied by wild shouts and cheers and whistles. Kresnik raised both palms, beaming under all the adulation.

I also forced a smile and clapped, even though my insides quivered. Only one person would absorb the contents of the firestone, and that would be Kresnik. Everyone else would join the preternatural army.

Frustration welled through my insides. Couldn’t they see what was happening? And what was the Council doing? They had to know by now that Hades and his team of demon enforcers hadn’t returned from their raid. Even if they didn’t, I was sure that they’d noticed the disappearance of the ward breakers who got caught sneaking about Hampstead Heath.

“Show yourselves,” Kresnik shouted over the wild applause.

The hooded elites pulled off their cloaks, revealing the faces of the people who had gotten hurt during the mission to take children from Logris, along with the people who had been singled out as still having magic during our last test.

Everyone fell silent. Out of shock, awe, or realization of their impending fate, I couldn’t tell. As my gaze darted around the room, the chair next to mine scraped back, and Leman rose to his feet.

“Roman?” His voice shook.

I glanced from one twin to the other. Sometimes they were impossible to tell apart, particularly in moments of stress, because they were ninety-percent identical. Roman had the slightly rounder face, while Leman’s was more slender.

Today, Roman’s blue eyes bordered on crimson. He stood in place, staring at his twin brother with a frown. His skin was paler than Leman’s, although I couldn’t tell if it was due to a lack of feeding or from not having much blood circulation. Valentine looked alive, consuming two men a day.

Leman rushed across the maze of tables toward his brother and placed his hands on his shoulder. “Is that really you?”

With a growl, Roman shoved him in the chest, knocking