Passion of the Vampire King (Blood Fire Saga Book 5) by Bella Klaus (best motivational books txt) 📗

rippled through my insides at the realization. He was probably waiting for Valentine to kill me so that he could snatch my departed soul and absorb it into himself. It was how Father Jude had been able to stop Valentine’s soul from floating away when Jonathan had destroyed his heart.

The Shifter King clapped his hands together. “That settles it. The phoenix shifter, Hemera Griffin, falls under my jurisdiction—”

“As an elemental, she falls under mine,” said the Mage King. “She will fight with my enforcers in the upcoming war.”

I glanced from one monarch to the other. What happened to their all-fire-users-must-die edict? Had Hades told them something to change their mind?

The Demon King rose off his seat. “You’re all forgetting that all fire users belong to me as per section six, subsection six—”

“Martial law conditions apply.” The Angel King rapped his knuckles on the desk. “We must divert resources wherever appropriate.”

Annoyance tightened my skin. These people were talking about me as though they hadn’t all unanimously voted for my execution. Now they all wanted me to fight on their side against fire users?

Aurora’s words came back to me in full force. She had offered to help me unlock my power in exchange for not collaborating with the Supernatural Council. Grief wrapped around my shoulders like a shroud, making my insides feel as heavy as the argument breaking out among the monarchs.

Even though Aurora’s offer for help had been a ploy to steal my magic, I still felt more of an affinity with the people in the Flame than I did with the people of Logris. I ran my fingers through Macavity’s fur, taking comfort in his presence.

“I’m not fighting,” I said in a voice sharp enough to cut through their chatter.

All heads turned to me, their faces displaying degrees of disbelief. My gaze drifted to Hades, who sat back in his seat with his arms folded and raised a single brow.

“Hemera.” The Witch Queen injected her voice with compassion. “Kresnik is a very dangerous individual who threatens the stability of both Great Britain and the secrecy of the Supernatural World. Will you explain why you would sit by and let him spread terror across the land?”

My insides cringed first at the unfair accusation in her words and at all the attention. After a lifetime of being dismissed as a Neutral, I was used to mockery and dismissal. Now, these monarchs were looking at me as though I could make a difference against Kresnik.

I cared about all the things the Witch Queen mentioned. The humans needed to be safeguarded from the machinations of a supernatural despot, and our world needed to be protected from modern warfare—but I wouldn’t allow myself or Valentine to become pawns.

Folding my arms over my chest, I walked around the table, letting my heels click with every step. “How many supernatural children have you killed for the possession of fire?”

The Mage King leaned back in his seat and scoffed. “I hardly think the culling of a few dissidents compares—”

“They’re innocent,” I snapped. “Even if I can’t convince you that it’s wrong to murder children, each time you send a fire user’s soul to Hell, Kresnik can add it to his own power.”

“Explain,” said the Shifter King with a snarl.

“He told a group of us yesterday that we were born specifically to give him magic in a form that he can absorb.”

“Think of his children as ammunition fashioned to fit a specific gun,” said Hades. “I also witnessed the announcement and would concur with Miss Griffin’s assessment.”

The Supernatural Council fell silent, seeming to consider my words. I continued walking around the table, passing enforcers, whose eyes followed me everywhere I walked. The elevator doors had long gone, presumably disappeared back into Hell. I wasn’t returning to that place—ever—but if I ever got the chance to see Minthe again, she and I would exchange words.

“Are you suggesting that our policy to cull these users was wrong?” asked the Fae King.

“Yes, considering that it places all those souls in Hell where Kresnik and his people can access them,” I replied.

The Supernatural Council members turned back to the table and continued their discussion in low voices. My hearing wasn’t enhanced enough to decipher their words, and the rumble of my stomach drowned out most of what they said.

I ran a hand down Macavity’s back. In his leopard form, he was about the size of a liger. He lowered himself to his haunches and stared up into my eyes.

His right ear twitched, indicating that he was listening to the conversation taking place across the table. I stared into his eyes for signs of annoyance or alarm, but whatever they were discussing didn’t trigger much of a reaction. That had to be a good sign.

“Could you direct our enforcers to Kresnik’s new hideout?” the Witch Queen asked, breaking my attention away from Macavity.

I turned to meet her silver eyes. “He never confided in me.”

Hades had a better chance of knowing where Kresnik had evacuated the other fire users, as he’d been a disembodied spirit, able to split his attention into several places at once. I glanced at the Demon King, who shook his head.

“The ward breakers reported no detection of barrier magic,” she said.

I rubbed the back of my neck. “Did they check for temporal magic? The man who operated the wards recreated Kenwood House in a different realm. Maybe he just shifted the building somewhere else.”

The Shifter King pinched the bridge of his nose and muttered something unintelligible. My gaze drifted to the empty seat Valentine should have occupied, and a pang of sadness struck my heart. He should be sitting there with the other monarchs, offering his compassion and wisdom. Valentine’s family had been badly affected by Kresnik’s machinations and he was best placed to decide a course of action.

The Mage King continued to glower at me as though the injury I had inflicted on his person had long-lasting effects. I suppressed a shudder and focussed my attention back on the Witch