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

“Somebody turn off that blasted shower,” Prince Draconius yelled.

One of the figures in black who had worked on the ward rushed into the shower enclave and fumbled with the walls.

With an almighty burst of magic, all the flames exploded into ashes, and Valentine roared, his power snapping each of the fire mages’ necks. They fell to the wet floor like broken marionettes.

“Fools,” Prince Draconius roared. “You were supposed to hold him in place while they incinerated his body.”

One of the men turned, his eyes creased with anguish. Fangs protruded from a cruel mouth set within an unnaturally smooth face, indicating that he was also an ancient vampire. “He’s stronger than anticipated and powered by rage.”

“Then subdue him with Dharma salt, solid-flame daggers, firestone,” Prince Draconius shouted. “And focus on depleting his power.”

Despair washed through my veins, and I slumped forward. The only thing stopping me from falling onto the wet tiled floor was the ancient vampire holding me to his impossibly hard body. Prince Draconius must have found out somehow that Valentine’s magic was always depleted after a battle. I didn’t know how often he’d been feeding but he couldn’t continue like this forever.

Valentine swept his arm, pushing back the vampires surrounding him, but two more rushed in from behind us to bolster the enemies’ power.

A sob caught in the back of my throat, and my vision swam with tears. It looked like the Royal House of Sargon had learned something from having killed Logris’s previous Vampire King and now wanted to destroy Valentine quickly. My pulse thrashed in my throat like a trapped bird, urging me to do something—anything to help even the fight.

I was too weak to fight an ancient vampire, too inexperienced in my magic to escape. All I had was the knowledge that within my soul resided a rare and beautiful creature. A rare and beautiful creature that every power-mad male seemed to want to control.

Pushing away my roiling of disgust for the ancient vampire prince, I reached behind me and ran a hand down his thigh.

His grip around my ribcage loosened enough to allow me to twist around and meet his red eyes.

Prince Draconius stared down at me, his brows raised, his thin lips quirked into a smile. “You have something to say, Phoenix?”

I nodded.

He removed his hand from my mouth. “Speak.”

“Let me cure Valentine.”

His eyes narrowed. “Whatever for, my dear?”

“I can fix him.” My tongue darted out to lick my dry lips, and the ancient vampire’s eyes tracked the movement like a hungry predator. “Your Highness. I have enough phoenix fire to restore Valentine’s body. It worked with his heart, and I can communicate with his soul.”

Excitement flickered in his eyes. “And where would I find this living heart?”

My stomach tightened, and every nerve ending spasmed, screaming at me not to let this duplicitous creature get anywhere near Valentine’s heart.

“I placed it in a vault, where nobody would reach it.”

Prince Draconius’s pupils dilated, fixing me with a gaze that penetrated my soul. Until now, I had never known what it was like to be hypnotized or to feel like a mouse trapped within the hypnotic stare of a snake. Rapid palpitations resounded through my chest, reaching the outer layer of my skin.

The vampire’s pupils filled my vision, pushing out the steam and the smoke and the surroundings. My pulse between my ears pounded in sync to the beat of my panic. It was like being swallowed, only worse. Worse because Prince Draconius didn’t mean to consume just me, he wanted me to betray secrets that would lead to Valentine’s destruction.

My attempt at charm had failed. Instead of focussing on freeing Valentine, I should have told the wretched ancient that I found him manly and impressive and powerful. I should have distracted him with the opportunity of having me as a willing pet.

“Let’s see…” The ancient vampire’s murmur still managed to seep through my defenses, even though the fight continued to rage across the room, and Valentine’s growls made every molecule in the air vibrate with the strength of his fury.

Prince Draconius’s magic felt like curls of smoke, both dark and poisonous and overwhelming. As he invaded my mind, the tendrils split into wisps, which further divided to explore every facet of my mind.

Memories of the blowjob in Gourmande rushed to the surface, along with other distracting and salacious things I’d done with Valentine. The prince snorted and slipped beneath them. “I must commend Valentine for his defenses.” Prince Draconius’s oily voice slithered around the inner lining of my skull. “But nothing gets between an ancient vampire and his prey.”

My stomach plummeted. If I didn’t do something, he would discover—I stopped thinking about the item he was searching for and pictured the ceremony where Kresnik combined his soul with that of Father Jude and rose from the ashes.

Prince Draconius paused, filling my mind with his fascination. “You are his daughter?”

“Get out of my mind,” I snapped.

He continued to rummage through my memories, focussing on all my encounters with Kresnik. When Prince Draconius reached Kresnik’s attempt to extract the phoenix from my heart, he gasped.

“You know Kresnik’s inner workings,” he said in a voice filled with wonder. “He plans to turn Great Britain into his temple and spread his influence across the world.”

I reared back, trying to break free from the blackened mindscape, but the vampire prince delved into more and more of my memories. He paused at one of me sitting in the library of the derelict house, reading a scroll written by a man who claimed to be a god.

“Fascinating,” Prince Draconius purred. “Your mind holds the key to his immense power, his history, his plans.”

It was too early to feel relief that I had distracted Prince Draconius. Not when the vampires surrounding Valentine were determined to hold him in place while he wasted all his magic and weakened.

“Your Highness,” I said through stuttering breaths. “Please release me—”

“Never.” His lips moved so close to