Passion of the Vampire King (Blood Fire Saga Book 5) Bella Klaus (the red fox clan TXT) 📖

“Can you do it again?” Kain asked, breaking me out of my musings.

“Wait a minute.” I shrugged off my cloak, letting the breeze cool my fevered skin.

Kain flinched, his nose wrinkling. “Are you okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your scent?” He placed a hand over his mouth and nose.

I winced. The cloak had covered the worst of my thrall-addiction-related odor. My gaze darted between the curtain of the weeping willow’s branches, looking for signs of a gloating Prince Draconius, but he didn’t reappear to bellow an accusation about me trying to ensnare a teenage boy.

Macavity tilted his head to the side, pretending he didn’t know what Kain was talking about. My heart softened. He really was a ride-or-die cat.

“Sorry about that,” I muttered. “The smell will disappear once I coat myself with flames.”

Kain nodded, still clutching at his face. “Won’t your clothes burn?”

I glanced down at my overalls, checking the cuffs for signs of scorch marks from when I attacked the ancient vampire with my flames. “Valentine bought them for me, and we’ve spent the past week or so in an environment where everything was fireproof. I’m sure he’s bought me the same.”

“Alright then.” Kain sat back, resting his weight on his palms.

I gave him a sharp nod and stepped back.

Macavity nodded back, running his huge tongue over his nose.

Sucking in a deep breath, I drew as much oxygen as I could into my lungs, filling them until I thought they would burst. Magic swirled in my heart chakra, and I kept the air down, letting it build and build until the magic seeped up to my throat chakra and down to the solar plexus. Power surged through all the meridians running down my front, which radiated into the neighboring energy pathways until every part of my body felt like it was coursing with magic.

Kain frowned. “It’s not working.”

“Building up to it,” I said, letting out a little of the breath.

When the magic felt like it would overflow, I pushed it out to my skin.

Kain stood, and Macavity leaped to his feet and bolted through the willow tree’s long branches. A moment later, he poked his head through, tilting it to the side to check that it was still me.

“What’s happening?” I asked.

“You’re standing in the middle of a blob of fire.” Kain folded his arms across his chest and tapped his bottom lip, his brows furrowed with concentration. “But the flames around your head have a beak and peacock crest.”

My shoulders sagged, and the magic receded into my skin. “When I last transformed, I cawed instead of speaking.”

“Maybe you need to find a shifter to help you.” Kain edged toward me and sniffed. “On the plus side, you no longer smell like a cat in heat.”

I flung a playful arm at his gut, making him double over with a huff of laughter.

Moments later, he straightened, his eyes turning gray. “Seriously, though. Do you think that’s enough firepower to bring Valentine back?”

Macavity crept toward me and sat on his haunches, giving me an accusing stare that seemed to ask why I hadn’t told him I was a giant bird. When he sat up like this, he was almost as tall as me and with a head and mouth large enough to swallow me whole.

I ran a hand through his soft fur as my way of apologizing, even though I had told him in words during my story and he’d seen me multiple times using fire magic. Hopefully, he still saw me as a person and not something he would hunt if it wasn’t covered in flames.

“What do you think?” asked Kain.

“It’s best to wait until I have a hundred percent of the magic. I’ve seen what happens when someone gets burned halfway, and nothing can bring them back.”

“Alright,” Kain said with a sigh.

Someone from behind us cleared their throat. I turned to find the female limousine driver from the night before, standing on the other side of the trees. Today, she wore a black jacket with her skirt and shirt, giving the appearance of an office worker.

“What do you want?” I asked.

She gestured toward the other side of the pond. “My lord sent me to fetch you. The Supernatural Council requires your presence immediately.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

I folded my arms across my chest, and stared at the approaching driver. “Why does the Council want me?”

Her gaze wandered down to Macavity, and she gave the hellcat a warm smile. “I only follow the orders of my lord.”

Since the leopard wasn’t snarling, I didn’t consider her presence a threat. Besides, the driver didn’t seem harmful last night, merely a tad creepy and adamant about carrying out her duty.

I turned to Kain and sighed. “Has my presence here gotten you into trouble?”

He snorted. “They all treat me like I’m already the king. Except for Prince Draconius, who thinks he’s my dad. Just get your powers back and save Valentine.”

“I’ll do my best.”

Kain stepped back and headed for the trees. As I picked up my cloak and placed it over my shoulders, Macavity glanced from the boy’s retreating form to me, seeming torn as to who to follow.

I placed my hands on his furry cheeks, meeting his jewel-green eyes with a serious frown. “Kain doesn’t have his guardian to protect him, and he’s all alone in a palace full of strange vampires who are trying to force him to do something he doesn’t want. Will you take care of him?”

His left ear twitched, and he made a worried rumble in the back of his throat as though to ask ‘What about you?’

I pulled back my shoulders, making myself look competent and brave, so Macavity could turn his concerns back to Kain. “I’ve got my reaper cloak, a mini scythe, my phoenix fire, and the Demon King, who owes me a favor.”

He snorted with disbelief. I guess the memory of our trip to Hell was still fresh in his mind. Thank goodness Macavity didn’t understand concepts like Fifty Shades and didn’t register the significance