Bonds of the Vampire King (Blood Fire Saga Book 7) by Bella Klaus (romantic books to read TXT) 📗

my head. “What if the shifter healer says she can’t help? There has to be another way to break our connection.”

“There is no means in angelic medicine to tear two joined souls asunder,” she replied, sounding grave.

“Then demonic medicine?” I blurted. “Greek gods?”

Valentine pulled me into his side. “Mera is right. We need recommendations for several healers, not just one. As the most eminent practitioner of soul healing, you must have colleagues around the Supernatural World we can consult?”

Her shoulders sagged. Maybe she thought we were going around in circles, maybe she thought she’d already given us a solution to rid the world of Kresnik, but I wasn’t going to sacrifice myself when most members of the Supernatural Council weren’t making much of an effort against him.

“Your best option at this stage would be to consult the history books,” she murmured. “Or find a supernatural who remembers Kresnik from before his previous defeat and see if they can identify potential weaknesses.”

My gaze locked with Valentine’s. The only Greek god we knew was a scoundrel who couldn’t even produce a simple register without being coerced. Valentine’s shoulders squared, and he offered me a tight smile.

It looked like my prediction that Hades would become an important ally was truer than I’d ever imagined.

Healer Hadriel completed her examination, finding no other sources of violation except for Kresnik’s soul bond and concluding that I was suffering from magical exhaustion. After prescribing forty-eight hours of soul remedies and rest, she booked me into the hospital’s convalescence suite.

Our next destination was another elevator ride away that took us around the main hospital building, a huge round structure surrounded by transparent tunnels that reminded me of Saturn and its rings. I only caught glimpses of Atlantis City in the distance, which was a mostly green paradise encased within a dome.

Neither of us spoke through the ten-minute journey, both lost in our own thoughts. Now that I shared a bond with Kresnik, he could probably access my magic, but could he enter my dreams? A shudder ran down my spine.

The elevator slowed toward the convalescence suite, another circular structure the same size as the Soul Healing ward. Once our transparent cab had attached itself to the building, the doors hissed open, revealing an apartment the size of the derelict penthouse.

Its open-plan interior was the height of a two-story house, with twenty-foot-tall walls, pale wood floors, and a mezzanine level that I guessed contained the bedroom suite. In the middle, a huge navy blue rug that housed an electric blue sofa formed the living area, and on the far-left wall stood a large kitchen and dining table.

“Are you alright?” Valentine placed a hand on the small of my back and guided me out of the elevator.

I stepped out, waiting for the elevator doors to shut before meeting his concerned gaze. “What are we going to do? It almost sounded like Healer Hadriel thought I was the solution for making sure Kresnik never escaped.”

He squeezed his eyes shut, and the muscles of his jaw tightened. “I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure I won’t lose you.”

“You won’t.” I placed my palms over his chest.

Valentine’s heartbeat resounded against my fingertips with a force that I felt deep within my bones. Maybe he thought I was considering self-sacrifice. I had to speak before he carried out his threat to put me in manacles.

“Listen to me.” I slid my hands around his neck.

His eyes narrowed. “Is this where you assure me you won’t do anything stupid and proceed to get yourself captured or hurt?”

I couldn’t even bristle at his words, because they were laden with truth. Instead, I shook my head, clinging to him as though that might keep him in place. “This is where we work together. If you want to put me in a pocket dimension for the duration of the war, then make sure it’s one that blocks Kresnik’s bond with me.”

“I’m not sure that such a thing exists.” His features relaxed, but not enough to demonstrate he was convinced by my words.

“Maybe we should ask around.”

Valentine’s brows formed a deep V. “You’re serious about hiding away?”

I leaned into him, resting my head on his shoulder, letting his sandalwood and musk scent fill my nostrils and calm my senses. Valentine’s smoky magic curled around me in a warm hug, an assurance that no matter what happened in the upcoming weeks, he would always be my protector.

“Kresnik needs to die,” I murmured. “But I need to stay alive to have that future with you. If isolating me somewhere while breaking this bond is a solution, then let’s try it.”

“Alright.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pressed a soft kiss on my forehead.

I tilted my head up to meet eyes bluer than the ocean, which shone with the depth of his concern. Maybe he’d had enough time to come to terms with this new complication, because the red in his irises had reduced to the thinnest of flecks. Creases formed between his brows, and his lids were heavy with sorrow.

A buzzer rang, making us jump apart and turn toward the source of the sound—a birchwood door beneath the mezzanine. Who else but Healer Hadriel knew of our location?

I glanced at Valentine and frowned. “Do you think that’s the concierge?”

“Nobody welcomed me when I last stayed here.” He pressed a finger to his lips, then pointed at the upper level, indicating for me to hide.

With a nod, I hurried across the wooden floor and up the stairs to a cozy mezzanine bedroom that overlooked the living area. I jogged past the king-sized bed that took up most of the space and stopped at three doors along the wall. The one on the left contained an empty walk-in closet, the middle an oatmeal-colored bathroom that matched the bed, and the third had a brass plaque marked EMERGENCY.

The door beneath where I stood clicked open. Valentine exchanged words with another deep voice, but I couldn’t follow the conversation as