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

and curiosity burned through my insides. I saved the question for later, when I got a chance to speak to Valentine’s soul. That version of him was far less possessive and would likely answer questions about the Demon King without snarling like King Kong.

As the display indicated that we were halfway down, Valentine explained that each room on this floor had its own elevator so patrons could travel to and from Logris and other supernatural enclaves in Great Britain without having to encounter the Human World.

I nodded, the tension in my stomach releasing as we reached our destination. There was no telling how many floors we ascended this morning, but it had felt worse than taking off on a small aircraft.

The elevator slowed to a gentle stop, and the doors opened, and we stepped out to find a silver Mercedes SUV standing outside with its headlights on, illuminating a road that stretched into the dark. Its driver was a pale man dressed like an undertaker who glanced down at his smartphone.

“Überwald for room fourteen?” he said with a hopeful lilt to his voice.

Valentine inclined his head. “Show yourselves.”

The air crackled, and two people wearing black jumpsuits stepped out of the shadows. I flinched at their sudden appearance and lack of tangible magic, and tried not to step back as they dropped to their knees.

I couldn’t see much of their faces from above them, but I guessed that the smaller of the pair was Nut, the female guard.

Valentine peeled Macavity from his arm and beckoned at the pair to rise. “Nut will accompany you everywhere, including your bedroom, and Geb will always be close by.”

“Hello.” I raised a hand, examining their faces. Despite what Valentine said earlier, they looked identical to me.

They inclined their heads.

“Neither of them speak the vernacular tongue,” Valentine said.

“How do I communicate then?” I asked. “Latin?”

“They understand enough English and can make themselves understood.” Valentine pulled me into his arms and pressed a lingering kiss on my lips that brought back memories of our satisfying morning. “I will send for you as soon as I can.”

“Be careful.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him tight.

Valentine stepped back with a heavy sigh and a pained grimace that telegraphed his regret. He didn’t want to leave me, and I didn’t want us to part.

My heart ached, already missing our closeness. Every fiber of my being screamed at me to cling onto him and never let go, but I had to think of our future. Of the children we might one day have that would be at risk of persecution from Kresnik. It was the only thing stopping me from begging him to stay and conduct the war from Logris.

“Call on me any time,” I said.

Valentine floated the bag over to the twins. Out of the corner of my eye, one of them snatched it from the air. “Your phone.”

“You found it?”

He smiled and reached into the pocket of his denim jacket, producing the handset.

“How do I contact you?” I asked.

“I have enough of your blood in my system to know when you’re in trouble, but I may not always be able to get to you in time.” His gaze dropped to my lips. “Stick with Nut and Geb. It’s not always safe for me to summon you with the call stone.”

I glanced down at the engagement ring. “Alright.”

The elevator doors opened behind Valentine, and he stepped back, blowing me a kiss. I stood in the dark, watching the doors close and the lights behind their seam glide up and out of sight.

Someone behind me cleared their throat. I turned around as one of the twins opened the back door and gestured for me to sit.

“Are you Nut?” I asked.

She inclined her head.

Macavity raised himself up on his hind legs and pressed his front paws onto my shins, a sign that he wanted me to pick him up. I cradled him in my arms and stepped into the SUV. Moments later, Nut climbed in after me, and Geb got in the front.

The driver glanced at me through the rear-view mirror. “My docket says to take you to a cottage on the border of Lamia and Striga. Is that where we’re going?”

My phone buzzed with messages from Kain, asking me what the hell was happening with Valentine and if I’d really managed to unlock my magic and resurrect him. I read through the texts, not knowing where to start. He had to be frantic about everything that was now happening within Lamia.

One of the messages was from Istabelle, saying that she was going underground, a code word for a forgotten World War Two bunker in London that she had renovated into a luxury apartment. She asked me to join her if I ever got the chance.

“Could you take me to Chenies Street, please?”

The driver’s brows rose. “You mean the bunker in Goodge Street?”

My eyes narrowed. “How do you know about that?”

“I just picked up a bag of rocks from a very nice old lady,” he said with a broad smile. “She tipped me with a nice slice of chocolate cake.”

“Right,” I muttered. Überwald was supposed to be a high-end service for wealthy supernaturals who didn’t want their drivers gossiping to strangers.

Macavity curled himself into a ball while Nut and Geb turned invisible with a crackle of their magic. I settled into my seat and composed a long message to Kain.

The SUV sped down the dark road, and I calculated that it would take fifteen to twenty minutes to reach our destination. Koffie was on Putney High Street in South-West London, while Istabelle’s apartment bunker was in the center of London, between Goodge Street and the British Museum. Overground, the journey would take forty-five minutes depending on the traffic, but this network of roads made traveling through the city easier.

After ten minutes, I reread what I’d written in the Notes app and frowned. Kain was too young and too new to the Supernatural World to overburden with concepts such