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

the vampire princes?” I crossed the room, picked up my phone, and slipped it into the pocket of my cloak. “They’ve still got a bounty on my head.”

Her gaze flickered from the unmade bed to the empty tray, which I hadn’t yet placed back into the hatch. “Surely that was something you negotiated yesterday evening with Prince Lazarus?”

“We were busy with other stuff,” I muttered.

Captain Zella’s brows rose. The old me might have wondered if she thought I was letting all the Sargon brothers feed from me, but this Mera was too neck-deep in demanding fiancés to care.

I strode to the door and pulled on the handle. “Are we going to look for Jonathan?”

“Lead the way,” she said to my back.

I sat in the back seat of the van as it raced through the roadways beneath London. The two enforcers from the day before worked on their computers, tapping in all the information I could provide about Jonathan.

They checked the crystal shop’s surveillance footage and pulled up a few images of men who vaguely fit his description. They found one of Jonathan and Kain, standing by the carousel of leaflets.

“That’s him,” I said.

“Cross-reference his face with the census,” said Captain Zella.

I leaned forward. Jonathan had said he was born in Logris, but I wasn’t sure how long he had lived there.

A moment later, the female enforcer leaned out from behind her computer. “Jonatanas Samil, twenty-eight, born in Lunaris to a Neutral mother. Father unknown.”

Captain Zella turned to me with her brows raised. When we had first met, she had reeled off biographical information like that, ending with a pointed comment that I had no father.

I rubbed the back of my head. “If Kresnik needs him so badly, I expect Jonathan’s like me.”

“Conceived for the purpose of bringing forth fire magic for his absorption?” she asked.

My stomach tightened. It sounded far worse when she said it in that stern voice—almost like our innocent baby souls had collaborated with Kresnik for the opportunity to fuel his rise to power. I shook off that thought and turned my gaze to the male enforcer, who had swiveled his chair to face Captain Zella and me.

“The nearest public transport to Kenwood House is the Compton Avenue bus stop on Hampstead Lane.” I twisted my phone in my fingers. “If you can access any CCTV cameras in the past five to seven days, you might be able to find him.”

“I’ll tap into the TFL site,” said the male enforcer.

I exhaled a relieved breath. “Transport for London records everything.”

TFL was the government body that operated the busses, tubes, and some of the roads and overground trains in London. It recorded activity within its buildings, vehicles, and even equipped its staff with body cameras. It made sense that the enforcers would track Jonathan’s location through their archives.

While the enforcers were searching TFL, I sent Kain a text.

Sorry for disappearing for so long. Can we meet up sometime? Mera.

“After boarding the 210 bus, Jonathan Samil took the 139 to the Selfridges department store on Oxford Street,” said the female enforcer.

I leaned forward and frowned. “Was he alone?”

The woman leaned around her monitor to make eye contact. “Once a group of large men walked him to the bus stop, they headed back into Hampstead Heath.”

My phone buzzed, and I dropped my gaze to its screen.

Did you get your power back?

Kain and I sent messages back and forth. He said that Valentine’s uncle was putting pressure on him to become the next Vampire King. Constantine, Ferdinand, and Sylvester were refusing to step up to the role, and none of them wanted to help him stand up to the ancient vampire.

I exhaled a weary breath. Kain’s only chance at having a normal childhood was if I restored Valentine, so he could take back the throne.

“Report.” Captain Zella’s sharp voice sliced through my brooding.

“I’ve just logged on to the security footage for the London Marriott Hotel. He was last seen walking down Duke Street, and was approached by a woman wearing white. Take a look.”

My mouth dropped open. Duke Street was one of the roads that led to the crystal shop and Grosvenor Square. In the three years Jonathan had come to me for sound baths, he hadn’t once mentioned where he lived. I sort of assumed he commuted every day from the Flame, seeing as Hampstead Heath was just fifty minutes away.

I raised my head and twisted around to the big screen behind my seat. Jonathan trudged down a dimly lit road of redbrick buildings, passing restaurants, boutiques, and the occasional apartment block. The hood of his duffle coat was down, and the streetlights reflected off his blonde hair and the fluorescent strips of his overstuffed backpack.

A peroxide blonde stepped out from the shadows, wearing a white corset and matching bodysuit, cat ears, and a swishy white tail. She offered Jonathan a leaflet and gestured for him to enter one of the buildings. Moments later, he followed her out of the camera frame.

“Do you have audio?” asked Captain Zella.

“Unfortunately not.” The enforcer disappeared behind her monitor and tapped out a few commands. “Jonathan Samil entered an establishment called…” She coughed. “The Cat’s Cream. Does that sound familiar?”

Everyone turned to me.

I was pretty sure there used to be a pharmacy in that space. Someone had probably set it up around the time Valentine stepped into my life. “Never heard of it.”

“What time did he leave?”

“One moment.” The enforcer disappeared behind the computer screen.

I glanced down at my mobile to find more new messages. One from Lazarus, asking if Beatrice had mentioned if Christian had given Beatrice anything that he could use to track his location. I bit down on my bottom lip and frowned. A good tech mage should be able to track Christian’s phone, but most supernaturals couldn’t afford the expense. I texted back to ask why he wasn’t taking that route.

Kain messaged to ask if I had enough control over Valentine to bring him to the palace and talk