Bonds of the Vampire King (Blood Fire Saga Book 7) Bella Klaus (books to read this summer .TXT) 📖

“Then that would make them hypocrites for breaking the Supernatural Secrecy Act.”

“Shit.”

Sarah transformed into a monster with red eyes, inky-blue skin, and a mouthful of needle-sharp teeth. Oversized horns protruded from the crown of her head and curled out from the sides of her jaw, making everyone in the studio scream.

Annie clapped her hands over her eyes.

“You see?” Kresnik strolled to where he’d pinned her on the stage. “This is but one of your enemies. There are many more, all wearing the appearances of humans but with hearts as black as sin. In the name of the Father, I cast thy soul into the pits of Hell.”

“Wait,” Annie shrieked. “Hell is real?”

Kresnik produced a sword of fire and cleaved off Sarah’s head. Her body fell onto the stage, wearing the strapless top and booty shorts with her regular-looking head lying face-down. Applause rang out across the speakers.

I placed a hand over my mouth and sighed. Nobody but a supernatural would know that she’d just reverted to her true form.

“Father.” Annie dropped to her knees.

Kresnik turned to the camera and beckoned with both hands. Whoever was operating it got the message and zoomed in on his fiery face. “I offer salvation. Protection from the demonic plague that wishes to ruin humanity. Eternal life.”

“Immortality?” Annie’s voice shook.

He inclined his head and smiled. “Those who accept my gift will never know death.”

Fury burned through my veins. It didn’t take a professorship in Supernatural Warfare to know that Kresnik was building an army to march against Logris. Now that his people had been captured and there was no one to sneak into prisons to steal bodies to transform into zombies, he was recruiting regular humans.

I turned to Kain, who stared open-mouthed at the scam playing out on the screen. “I need to petition the Supernatural Council for Valentine’s release. Will you be alright here?”

“What?”

“Prince Draconius doesn’t give a damn about Kresnik’s machinations,” I said. “He’s going to be more determined than ever to force you to take the throne.”

Kain ran his fingers through his hair. “Why me?”

“He couldn’t coerce Valentine’s brothers to step up when he had a bunch of warriors and the power of an ancient vampire. Now that they can team up against him, you’re the only one he has a chance of coercing.” I gave him a gentle pat on the back, hoping he didn’t take my assessment as an insult.

“Yeah, I know,” he said with the longest sigh. “Why the hell wasn’t I born a half-blood like everyone else?”

“In a year or two, you’ll come into your power and will swat bullies like Prince Draconius.”

“That time can’t come soon enough,” he muttered. A heartbeat later, he raised his face to me and smiled, although the gesture froze halfway to his eyes. “Go. I’ll be fine here with all these cakes and burgers.”

I leaned down, giving him a kiss on the temple. “See you soon.”

Kain grunted. “It’s a pity old Macavity isn’t here to help me eat these snacks.”

“He’s not the biggest fan of dogs, and you don’t want to see him when he’s under threat.” I strode toward the door, my hands curling into fists.

Somehow, I needed to convince the Council that the time for petty politics was over. Now that Kresnik was back, it was all the more important for them to let Valentine out of jail.

Chapter Thirteen

I hurried down the pale hallways of Beowulf’s hideout, passing the occasional young shifter woman who glared at me as though I was a threat to her position within her king’s harem. As much as I tried to retrace my steps, I couldn’t find the mirror room, not even when I doubled back and groped through the air with my outstretched hands.

It was either concealed by wards, or the hideout was designed to keep women from escaping. The rattling of metallic wheels sounded from the distance, and relief spread through my insides.

“Lydia?” I turned around, waiting for the blue-haired woman to emerge from around the corner.

The rattling became quieter, and I broke into a run, trying to find the source of the sound. I hurried down a stairwell of wooden banisters decorated by mounted deer heads, down another hallway illuminated by a large window with a view of a forest landscape, and around another corner where I found her mopping the floor.

“Lydia?” I jogged toward her.

She turned around, meeting me with a deep scowl. “You can’t call me that in public.”

I flinched and glanced over my shoulder for signs of eavesdroppers. “Sorry. How do I get out of here? I can’t find the mirror room.”

“Follow me,” she muttered under her breath.

“Thanks,” I murmured, my insides fluttering with anxiety.

Part of me wished I had an app that would allow me to stream human television so I could keep up with what Kresnik was doing in the television studio but I was still sickened by the way he had coerced that woman to make the humans believe that there was a race of demons bent on destroying their way of life.

We continued down another set of steps to the ground floor, passing a dining room where Freida sat at the head of the table, holding court with seven bored-looking women. There was no sign of Eliza or the other women whom I'd met before, making me think King Beowulf’s harem was larger than I had imagined.

The women fell quiet as we passed, all of them shooting us venomous glares. Lydia curled her lip and snarled something under her breath that I didn’t catch, and led me to the end of the hallway where there was a heavy door.

“Put your hand on it,” she said, keeping her gaze low. “If you’re authorized to open it, it will unlock.”

I leaned into her and whispered, “Are you all prisoners here?”

“Some women kill to live in this shithole,” she muttered.

“What about you?” I said, keeping my voice low.

“You can’t help me.” She turned on her heel and walked away.

“Come with me,” I said.

Lydia