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

he had burned out his magical core, and Valentine had corroborated that. Nobody sitting around appeared surprised at the revelation, except Coral, who rubbed her chin.

I leaned forward and listened closer.

“For four centuries, I dwelled among you in our safe houses, holding the wards while you lived in peace and prosperity.” Kresnik walked around Aurora and Healer Calla, casting his glower over everyone seated around the ritual room.

“When enforcers came for you a second time, what did I do?” He stopped in front of Martika and leaned down to make eye contact.

She flinched. “You fought while everyone moved on to the next safe house, My Lord.”

“I sacrificed myself again, so you would escape,” he snarled. Kresnik continued walking around the room. “Jude, my closest acolyte, absorbed my ability to maintain the wards and led you all to safety, and he worked tirelessly through the decades to bring me back.”

Some of the women around the room burst into tears. I glanced from side to side, not knowing if they were crying out of guilt or fear. Everyone sitting here ranged from thirty to thirteen—far too young to have been involved in any of the events Kresnik referenced.

“Is this true?” I whispered beneath the sounds of the wailing.

“We raided a mansion outside London that belonged to the Royal House of Sargon,” said Hades. “That’s where we found Kresnik’s injured body and dragged his soul to Hell.”

As Kresnik continued his rant, I confirmed several facts. One, that he had separated himself into multiple parts—divinity, magic, body, soul, and shadow. Two, that he lost his divinity thousands of years ago. Three, the so-called mage who had built a mansion on the land Valentine’s father had purchased during his time as a preternatural had been Kresnik.

Four, after being secured to a rock and having his liver eaten every day, losing most of his magic, and being cast into hell, Kresnik had become quite mad.

He clapped at his chest with his palm. “All the time I was gone, the Supernatural Council slaughtered children like you. Each person sitting here owes their existence to me.”

My heart sank. This was where even more people would learn the truth about their parentage.

“With the help of Jude, I bred each and every one of you with strong mothers and even stronger magic, hoping to instill you with power in a digestible form.”

Outraged chatter broke out across the room. I placed my trembling fingers over my lips and glanced in the direction of the door, which had now disappeared. Why did I think I was Kresnik’s target? The man would devour us all.

Kresnik turned to meet my eyes. “Bring forward the first child.”

My muscles tightened, and I clenched my teeth, ready to kick him in the balls if he came near.

With an almighty creak, the door opened, and the man who had brought me in with the lasso of fire carried in a small figure who squirmed in his arms.

My stomach plummeted, and every ounce of blood in my veins turned to sludge. I tried to rise, but a force stronger than gravity rooted me to the floor.

The man walked in front of me and dropped his quarry on the floor. It was the little girl we had rescued from enforcers in Logris, Petra.

Chapter Twenty-Two

I sat against the wall, my ears ringing with the screams that echoed across ritual room two. The power holding me in place seized my head with the same cold grip that had descended on me when I had lost my memories the day of the ball.

No matter how much I tried to jerk or scream or close my eyes, I remained locked in Kresnik’s gaze. His power snaked into my mind, trying to burrow through my nonexistent defenses and claim my secrets, but images of Valentine rose to the surface, making Kresnik back out.

He bared his teeth, staring at me with burning hatred, even when he held the life of a little girl to ransom.

Every muscle in my body strained as I tried to break free, but the invisible force held me down.

“Whose magic is holding me back?” I whispered from between clenched teeth.

“Not me,” Hades whispered back.

I believed him. Maybe it was the sight of all the other fire users straining against invisible bonds around the room.

Kresnik stretched his arms wide, making Petra’s squirming body rise four feet off the floor. Her face contorted with pain, but her voice was muffled. The force holding us all down stretched out her limbs to stop her from squirming.

“This child contains a unique form of hellfire,” he snarled. “Would you believe I bred her from the soul of a basan I found in the Fifth Faction of Hell?”

The cold magic around my head receded as Kresnik cast his gaze around my side of the room. Basans were also known as fire roosters that could produce both hot and cold flames, but I still didn’t understand how he would benefit from stealing the weak magic of a child.

“He’s breeding spies,” Hades whispered beneath the panicked chatter.

I didn’t dare speak because Kresnik’s gaze returned to me.

“We use basans in Hell to infiltrate other factions and report back on plots against us,” Hades added.

All I could think about was the little girl suspended against her will. I shot Healer Calla a helpless glance, but the woman clasped her hands to her chest and smiled up at Kresnik.

Aurora stared straight ahead as though trying to place her mind somewhere else. There was nothing Aurora could do to help as she was probably still thinking of her last punishment.

Thoughts whizzed through my head. I’d heard of Greek gods taking the form of mortal men in order to impregnate their wives. Had Kresnik gotten one of his proxies to infiltrate Logris so that Petra’s mother could birth a basan shifter? It would explain why she looked so different from everyone else in her family. What was the point of all this—how much power did one person need to possess?

Kresnik turned his gaze