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

Up ahead was the entrance to Kenwood House. I slowed my steps and opened the door. “After tonight, Kresnik is going to be more determined than ever to extract my magic.”

“Correct,” he replied. “Without that healer, he’s likely to find a way to strip you of that phoenix and leave King Valentine with nothing salvageable to… cuddle.”

My lips tightened at what he really wanted to do. I pushed open the door and stepped into the stairwell and up the steps. “Where did Healer Calla’s soul go?”

He huffed. “Do you even need to ask?”

As I descended the stairs an ache formed in my chest and spread up the back of my throat. Swallowing hard, I clutched the base of my neck. “What about Aurora’s?”

Hades paused for several moments, making my steps falter. I couldn’t tell if he was using his power to track Aurora’s progress or trying to work out the best way to phrase terrible news. The demon wasn’t diplomatic, but I still had his fourth jar of ashes in my pocket and was still sore that he had lied to me about knowing the location of Valentine’s heart.

“One heroic act doesn’t negate a lifetime of wickedness,” he replied, sounding serious. “Only recently, she tried to infiltrate the realm of the gods to steal Prometheus’s divinity. She also helped to force the essence of a phoenix into the body of an infant.”

“Right,” I whispered.

“If it’s any consolation, all supernatural souls reside in my faction. It’s one of the better divisions of Hell.”

“Right,” I repeated because what else could I say?

It wasn’t like I had bargained with Hades to distort the natural order of things. If someone had been evil and they’d earned their place in Hell, who was I to demand they go to Heaven because I liked them? My eyes grew damp again, and I trudged up the stairs, desperate to ask him about Hell. Was it really a place of punishment like people said or a playground for sadistic demons? As much as I tried, my lips couldn’t form the words.

After passing the wards of Kenwood House, I rushed through the turquoise hallway and into the grand entrance of marble tiles where the candelabra still stood atop the circular table.

My gaze landed on the clay disk at its base, etched with symbols. Wax marred its surface, along with tiny flecks of white, which I guessed was the final fifth of Hades’ remains.

“You told me not to blow out the candles until you got your body back,” I said.

He didn’t reply because Kresnik had ensured that Hades wouldn’t ever return to a physical form. All the time I’d spent running around with the Demon King had been based on the lie that he would become whole again and help me break out.

“What if I told you I could give you your body back?”

“How?” he asked.

“I know a method.”

His jagged magic crackled around my body. “Then you must—”

“You’re in no position to make demands,” I snarled.

His magic stilled. “What do you want in return?”

“Your protection,” I replied. Before he could promise me a bunch of meaningless crap, I added, “Both from your attempts to cage me and the Supernatural Council’s. I want them to know that Kresnik is back, and I need guarantees that they won’t try to destroy Valentine to get at his preternatural army of vampires.”

“It’s the only way to stop the spread—”

“There’s no deal if anyone hurts Valentine,” I said in a much louder voice.

“Fine,” he growled. “What else?”

“Retribution for what you and the Mage King did to Valentine.”

Hades scoffed. “Don’t you think that being flayed alive, burned to ashes, and separated into five pieces was punishment enough? If you could read the profanity Kresnik scrawled on that disc, you would weep with horror.”

“Alright then.” I rolled my eyes. “You’re going to help me get revenge on the Mage King.”

“Done.”

“And three unspecified favors.”

When Hades didn’t answer, anxiety rippled through the lining of my stomach. Maybe I’d gone too far by adding this extra request, but I knew nothing about making deals with devils. The three favors were a buffer in case I was making a terrible mistake and getting myself ensnared.

I pulled back my shoulders and reminded myself that I was in the position of power, not him, and he would have to agree to my request if he ever wanted to regain his physical form.

“Very well,” he said in a voice too smooth to be believable. “You shall have everything you demanded including your three unspecified wishes. Now please restore my body to its former glory.”

“First, we need somewhere to hide in case Kresnik comes hunting for me.”

“There’s a cupboard around the corner,” he said. “What else do you need?”

“A distraction.” Inhaling a deep breath, I leaned across the circular table and blew out the candles.

They flared back to life again, making me snarl.

Hades chuckled. “Did you think the wards would be this easy to break?”

“Actually, I did.” I stuffed both hands in my pocket, feeling for inspiration. My fingers brushed against the jar of Hades’ ashes, the leather-bound book, the firestone heart, and the foil wrapper of the raisin and biscuit Yorkie.

At the bottom of the pile was the flick knife that opened up into a miniature reaper’s scythe.

My lips curled into a smile. “How about this?”

After pulling out the knife and flicking out its blade, I cut the first candle at its wick. The flame dropped to the clay disc and puttered out.

“Careful,” Hades snarled. “Those are my ashes.”

I ignored the demon and sliced through the other candle flames. When I extinguished the final one, the lights flickered, and an alarm rang through the hallway. My stomach plummeted, and I shoved the candelabra aside and picked up the disc embedded with Hades’ ashes.

Atmospheric magic that I hadn’t noticed before splintered, making my ears pop, and our surroundings seemed less vivid. I inhaled a frantic breath, filling my nostrils with the scent of disinfectant.

“Which way is the cupboard?” My voice trembled with the beginnings of