Passion of the Vampire King (Blood Fire Saga Book 5) by Bella Klaus (read novels website txt) 📕

to ask enough questions to work out that I was an impostor. I scrambled out of my seat and hurried out the door. “Thanks for the ride!”

The bus trundled down the cobbled street, heading for the edge of Striga, where it would weave through the upscale streets of Lamia. I crossed the road, nearly getting hit by a pair of wizards in their open-top car, and hurried down the gap between a pair of three-story stone houses covered in climbing roses. Their floral scents filled my nostrils, irritating my overheated skin.

Another pair of houses backed onto the ones I’d just passed, these covered in jasmine flowers, which had a subtler scent. Woodland stretched across the road and beyond that would be the palace fence. Sweat broke out across my skin, but I wiped it off before it got into my eyes, pulled out my phone, and rang Kain’s number.

He answered in two rings. “Mera?”

“Are you in the palace?” I looked at both sides of the road, paused to let a man in a three-wheeled car pass, and sprinted to the other side.

“Why are you breathing so hard?”

“I’m running toward you.” Most of the trees in this woodland had lost their leaves and their roots sprawled across the ground, providing ample opportunity for a girl to trip and fall flat on her face.

“Where?” he said, sounding as breathy as me. “I’m standing at the window and can’t see anyone.”

“I’m heading toward the east wing,” I said. “Do you know the willow pond?”

“Is that where you’re waiting?”

After a sprinting across a meadow and hoping the hounds were in their kennels, I ducked under a sprawling oak with twisted branches that trailed down to the ground.

“I’ll be there in about five minutes,” I replied, trying not to wheeze. “Could you bring me some Panacea water?”

He fell silent for a few moments, making my pulse race. Clenching my teeth, I slipped through the fence’s metal bars, this time not getting stuck. Kain probably didn’t know much about thrall, so couldn’t advise me on what to do to keep my addiction under control. The only thing I had was that enchanted water, and if they didn’t have any at the palace—

“Found a bottle,” he said. “Meet you there.” He hung up.

This part of the palace grounds was mostly woodland and on the opposite end to the mausoleum. In the summer, the growth was lush and thick enough to block traffic. At times, it was like being in the middle of the forest in the Human World.

The scent of pond water filled my nostrils, and the gentle splash of splashing water filled my ears. I jogged in the direction of the sound, stopping at the weeping willows whose branches dipped into the surface of a pond strewn with lily pads.

A sigh slipped from my lips. Valentine and I had picnicked here lots of times, and the cover of the trees provided us the privacy to undress and explore each other’s bodies.

Heat pulsed between my thighs, making my steps falter.

“Bloody hell.” I clung to a tree trunk and doubled over as a surge of need overtook my core. The craving for thrall seemed worse when I was alone, and I wasn’t sure what I would do if Valentine didn’t summon me before the sensations grew worse.

“Hey,” said a soft voice.

I turned to find Kain heading toward me, wearing a ruffled collar and a golden jacket that clashed with his blond hair, with a pair of what I could only describe as knickerbockers that ended at his knees. Thick hose covered his calves, ending in a pair of silk shoes with golden bows.

My eyes bulged. “What the hell—”

“Why am I dressed like a Medieval page boy?” he said with a scowl.

I pulled down my hood and rubbed the back of my head. “Well… yes.”

He handed me the bottle and furrowed his brow. “What’s wrong with you? Are you hurt?”

“Allergies.” I cracked open the bottle and took several long drags, not stopping until the sensation of ants crawling across my skin receded to a gentle annoyance. “What’s happening with you?”

Kain leaned against the tree trunk and sighed. “I just ducked out of a fitting. This is what their uncle wants me to wear to my coronation. Valentine’s brothers are too busy dealing with the riots to help, and one of them disappeared completely.”

Nodding, I made a mental note to give Lazarus a call and find out if he’d managed to work out a way to restore Beatrice. “Prince Draconius was prowling around the Council building yesterday, petitioning all the monarchs to support his claim to dump Valentine.”

Kain’s brows drew together. “What did the kings and queens say?”

“I’ve got at least one of them who promised not to support him.” I raised a shoulder and took another long sip. “The last time I spoke to the Supernatural Council, most of them believed Valentine would return to his position.”

“What about Valentine himself?” Kain asked.

“It’s hard to get through to him when he’s like this,” I stared out into the water, where a green frog the size of my fist hopped from one lily pad to another without disturbing their surfaces. “Valentine is obsessed with avenging his father and killing Kresnik.”

“Right,” Kain muttered.

My chest tightened. Of all the people in Logris I didn’t want to let down, Kain was at the top of the list. In human years, he was young, but as a vampire, he was virtually a newborn. Add to the mix that he grew up in the Human World and didn’t have the best start in life, it was obvious to anyone that he was centuries too young to take the throne.

“If it helps, Valentine keeps telling me he’ll handle things.”

He glowered at me from beneath his bangs. “By attacking me?”

I raised my head, walked to his tree and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Absolutely not. He knows that you’re his ward—someone he needs to protect.”

Kain exhaled a long breath. “When Valentine took me out of foster