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

He continued walking toward me and climbed into my arms. I cuddled Macavity to my chest, giving him a peck on the top of his head.

Valentine’s smoky magic rippled with annoyance, but I pretended to be too engrossed in the cat to notice.

“You should have seen Macavity yesterday and this morning,” I said, keeping my gaze on the cat and not on the furious Vampire King. “When the Demon King abducted me, he climbed on his back and came to protect me in Hell. Then Macavity transformed into a huge leopard with sparks and lightning for fur.”

Macavity nodded and meowed the way some people might say ‘damn right.’

“He fought the Demon King?” Valentine asked.

“That coward magicked poor Macavity behind a cage,” I said.

Macavity turned to Valentine and meowed again as though assuring Valentine that all these events really had transpired, and he deserved a reward for being so brave. I glanced at Valentine out of the corner of my eye to find him staring intently at the cat.

“Do you understand each other?” I asked.

“More or less.” Valentine tickled Macavity under the chin. “We’ve known each other since I was born.”

My mind conjured up an image of Macavity watching over a pair of dark-haired babies I would have with Valentine, and I hugged the cat tighter.

Someone knocked on the door. A gruff voice said, “Überwald for room fourteen?”

“One moment.” Valentine walked to the other side of the room and picked up a round object encased within a silk cloth.

I stepped back, my brows furrowing. “What’s that?”

“Something for you to safeguard.” He pulled off the fabric revealing a large crystal ball. Within it floated a heart.

My heart accelerated, and the organ within the transparent sphere beat faster. Euphoria surged through my chest and radiated across the rest of my body, making my limbs tremble and filling my eyes with tears. This wasn’t just a heart but was Valentine’s soul.

Valentine stared down at me with a look of intensity that made everything pale into insignificance. Despite his warning about the Demon King and the new wardrobe of ugly clothes, he trusted me with his heart. He cupped the side of my face, his dark eyes shining with confidence and love.

All the words died in my throat. I lowered Macavity to the floor and took the heart within fingers that wouldn’t stop trembling. It was still alive, just as healthy as before, and now it was mine to keep until the time came to restore Valentine to life.

I hugged the sphere to my chest, feeling its faint reverberations and never wanting to let it go. “Why did you give it back?”

“Something as important as my heart shouldn’t be in a container anyone could unscrew,” he said, his voice full of reverence.

Still clutching the heart as if it was my own, I wrapped an arm around Valentine’s neck and pulled him down for a kiss. “Thank you.”

“This sphere is unbreakable, impervious to magical attacks,” he said.

“How?”

He smoothed a lock of hair off my face and tucked it behind my ear. “The first time I drank your blood and broke away from Kresnik’s influence, I took some strands of your hair while you slept and gave it to a witch who specializes in wards. Only your magic will burn through the sphere.”

“What about yours?” I asked.

His eyes softened. “Your power runs through my veins, but only you can produce flames.”

I had a hundred more questions, such as if I could reach Valentine’s soul through the enclosure, but Valentine took the sphere from my hands and slipped it into my pocket.

“Thank you for giving it back.” I squeezed his hand.

“There’s nobody else I would entrust with my heart.” He leaned into me and placed a soft kiss on my lips.

Macavity hissed, and we broke apart to find him staring at the exit. Valentine pulled me behind him, gesturing for me to go to the other side of the room. He glanced over his shoulder, waiting for me to retreat to the corner, and glanced down at Macavity, who stood between me and the door.

When Valentine was satisfied there were enough layers of protection between me and the door, he opened it.

Outside stood a demon with the head of a jackal, clad in the white uniform of a waiter, who gave Valentine a curt bow. “The Überwald driver messaged to say that Nut and Geb have arrived.”

Valentine slipped a silver coin in the man’s hand and closed the door. With a flick of his wrist, he moved the underwear on the table into the bag, which snapped shut. “Ready?”

“We’re leaving?”

“Nut and Geb are your bodyguards.” He strode across the room, flicked a wrist, and floated the bag to his hand. “Twins, but Nut is female and Geb is male. They have served the Royal House of Sargon since before the days of Kresnik and have come in from New Mesopotamia to help me keep you safe.”

Valentine continued to the other side of the room, where a pair of red screens on the wall opened up into an elevator.

My stomach plummeted, and I glanced down at Macavity, who stopped walking and gave his head a decisive shake. The cat put his weight on his back legs, looking like he was about to bolt.

I also stopped walking. “How many floors are we going down?”

“Thirty.” Valentine glanced from me to Macavity. “What’s wrong?”

“We had a harrowing experience with an elevator.”

Valentine offered Macavity his hand, and the cat clambered up his arm and clung to him like a frightened koala. I shot them both an apologetic glance and stepped into the golden cab.

As soon as Valentine stepped in after me, the doors closed, and it descended at a civilized pace. I told him about our trip from Hell to the Supernatural Council meeting room, and Valentine shook his head.

“I’m surprised he has a woman taking care of him at all,” he muttered.

“She seemed awfully pleased to get rid of me.”

“Maybe he’s finally stopped pining after his wife,” he said.

My brows drew together,