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

“They tried to drag me away for an execution, but Hades materialized and saved me.”

His nostrils flared. “He gave you his name?”

“Focus,” I hissed. “What the hell happened last night? What the hell have you been doing to me all this time? Nothing about you right now says that you’re under anyone’s influence but your own.”

Valentine clenched his jaw, snorting an impatient breath through his nostrils. “I was keeping you safe.”

A gasp slipped from my lips. My mouth opened and closed, but I could form no words. I stared into Valentine’s crimson eyes, reeling at his bizarre interpretation of protecting me. Maybe I had misheard him because he seriously thought that keeping me barely conscious and confined to a bed was beneficial for my continued survival.

“How?” I said that first word so breathy it might as well have been a wheeze. “How could you keep me safe when every time you drank my blood, I needed to take stabilizers to stop myself from fainting?”

Valentine turned his gaze toward the golden chaise, the pressure of his accusations easing off. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down and his brows tightened into a deep furrow. In the dim light, the angles of his face were sharper, making him look like he’d been painted with a palette of blacks and reds.

I leaned forward, trying to work out what he was thinking, but my mind went blank.

“The power is in your blood,” Valentine said, seeming to force out the words. “The more I took, the more Neutral you would appear if anyone tested your magic.”

I shook my head from side to side. Kresnik tested me at least twice, and I thought I’d been clever enough to hide away my power. “The blood loss was why I kept failing the magical tests?”

“And the thrall,” he said.

“How?”

Valentine exhaled a long breath, the way he used to do when he was alive and about to say something difficult. He took my hand, guided me to a love seat, and pulled me onto his lap. I stiffened for a moment, not knowing what he planned to do next, but when he ran a hand down my arm, I relaxed into his touch.

“The blood of some supernatural beings is so enticing to vampires that they would have been hunted to extinction if they weren’t powerful enough to defend themselves.”

“What kind of beings?”

“Some faeries and a few breeds of demon that prefer to stay in Hell.” His arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me close.

“What about phoenixes?” I asked.

His chuckle reverberated against my side. “I doubt that anyone would be foolish enough to drink the blood of a being made from fire.”

“Right,” I said with a laugh. “But what’s this got to do with me?”

“Thrall can subdue beings of immense magical power, so they’re powerless to do anything but submit to the vampire.”

I turned around on his lap, meeting his eyes. Most of the crimson had bled out of his irises, leaving them as fathomless as the night’s sky. Valentine gazed at me with the same hesitant frown he made after rescuing me from being abducted by Jonathan, when he thought I had run away after finding his cupboard full of men.

This was a lot to absorb. All this time, I thought Kresnik had controlled Valentine’s actions, but part of him had been working against Kresnik’s magic. It seemed impossible considering the absolute power the Mage King had over Valentine after casting shadows through his heart.

“You injected me with thrall to dampen their power?” I said, just to make sure I had followed his explanation.

He cupped the side of my face and ran the pad of his thumb over my cheekbone, sending shivers of pleasure across my skin. “I knew that first night when I took you that your power would return. It was just as it had been when we were courting.”

My lips parted to let out a shocked breath. “That’s why you kept me helpless and unconscious?”

“And to stop you from crossing paths with Kresnik,” he replied. “But you were determined to defy my orders.”

“You should have explained it to me.”

Valentine shook his head. “I couldn’t risk being overheard or having the knowledge spill from your mind. He was in the room next to ours and wanted to know I was using you ruthlessly.”

Prickly heat rose to my cheeks at the thought of that monster using his enhanced hearing to listen in on Valentine and me. My flesh crawled, but Valentine’s warm arms rubbed away the humiliation.

“Kresnik tried a few times to read my thoughts,” I murmured.

“Did he find anything?” Valentine asked.

“Just memories of the things we did together.” I didn’t bother to repeat the indecent proposal Kresnik made yesterday as we left his basement of zombies.

He nodded. “The few times I checked your mind, it contained magic from when I was still alive. I added a few embellishments to the protective spells to deter anyone from delving closer.”

I chewed on the inside of my lip, trying to muster up the words for what I really needed to ask. “What’s happening with you now? All this talk sounds disloyal to your so-called lord.”

Valentine stiffened, a snarl rumbling in his throat.

I narrowed my eyes and met his furious gaze. “Don’t sound so offended. I had to endure a week of you referring to that parasite as your lord and master, even when we were alone.”

As I said the words, I realized that I was being unfair. Valentine probably knew when Kresnik was near or had someone listening in on us. Since my power was returning, it was only a matter of time before Kresnik started sniffing around me for answers.

“Were you under his control then?” I asked.

“At first.” He ran a hand down his face and sighed. “The stronger you became, the more control you took of the phoenix, until the magic that ran through my veins became wholly yours.”

“Does that mean I’m your master now?”

His lips curled into a smile, and he stared at me through