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

eyelids at gentlemen behind a fan. Was there any point in telling him I wasn’t being a tease?

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“When will you state your demands?” he asked through bared teeth.

My mind went blank. I thought we had already agreed on a bunch of things—that I wouldn’t end up his pet, fire users wouldn’t automatically get sent to Hell when they died, they also wouldn’t get executed for wielding fire, and I’d also asked for Valentine to return to his position, free of repercussions for having once been preternatural.

“I don’t understand—”

“My ring,” he snarled.

Relief escaped my lungs in an outward breath. I’d forgotten all about the tiny skull with diamond eyes. “You want it back?”

Heat flared in his eyes, making them glow like hot coals. “Of course I do!”

It was hard to maintain eye contact with an ancient being who could tear a person’s soul from their body and cast it into Hell. Especially when said being had a dozen reasons for doing so and was probably working out a way to exact his vengeance.

I rotated my eyes to the side, but the heat of his glower still warmed my face. “If you release me, I’ll hand over your ring and leave.”

“Name your price.”

“Release me,” I said.

“An imbalanced exchange is not contractually binding.”

My breath caught. I’d seen enough legal dramas to suppose that Hades didn’t want me to claim that I made this particular agreement under duress. But what else could I ask for that would be equal in value to that ring?

“How about releasing me from the obligation of those dinners?”

“Denied,” he drawled.

I clenched my teeth. What did he want me to ask for? “Defeat Kresnik for me?”

His harsh laugh made my insides shrivel. “One would need to find that bastard in order to defeat him and then destroy every fire user he currently uses to draw upon power.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, picturing Petra, Coral, Gail, Racon, Clarence, and the twins. They and all the others who didn’t ask to be born with that power didn’t deserve to become sacrifices to rid the world of Kresnik.

“Name your price, Miss Griffin.” Hades loomed over me like a specter.

Without meaning to, I met his eyes, seeing a reflection of my frightened self. Instead of trembling and cowering like I had done during the trial and the time we had walked into the trap, I stared back with defiance, the corners of my mouth rising in a tiny smile.

My breath stilled. Was that really me or what Hades was seeing?

“I could just return you the ring for an unspecified favor in the future,” I heard myself saying.

“What do you think I am?”

“A demon?” The words slipped from my lips before I could stop them. Hades seemed the type who could dish out sarcasm but bristle when it was used against him.

My tongue darted out to moisten my dry lips, but my reflected self made a slow and exaggerated movement, designed to seduce. Annoyance rippled across my skin. No wonder he called himself the King of Lies. Even his eyes couldn’t tell the truth.

“What about all the families of fire users who got into trouble for protecting their children?” I asked.

“The Council issued posthumous pardons as requested,” he replied. “Those who are still alive have been released and those who are at large may return to their homes.”

Good news for Aunt Arianna and the rest of the coven, but she had left the country and could be anywhere in the world. In any other situation, I would have added something scathing about the point of pardoning people after their unjust executions, but this was the King of the Demons, who also imprisoned and tortured them for an eternity.

“What’s happening to the souls of those you executed?” I asked.

“A team of Anubis demons are weighing their hearts and determining their measure.”

My brows drew together. “I thought you knew who would go to Heaven or Hell based on their misdeeds during life.”

“Unjust punishments purify the souls quicker than just ones.” His lips thinned. “It’s a bureaucratic nightmare.”

“Alright then,” I said. “Can you help me find my coven?”

“I can give you the information we gathered on their movements,” he replied. “What else do you want in exchange for the ring?”

My heart sank. He was trying to maneuver me into asking for something specific, but I had no idea what he was talking about.

A knock sounded on the door, and the solid air holding me captive vanished.

“Who is it?” he snarled.

The door opened, and the imp from before sashayed inside. Without the tray obscuring her assets, every curve of her body was visible, including the outline of her nipples and the dip of her bellybutton. It was hard to tell if she was wearing armor or body paint, but a curl of vampire smoke pulled my attention away from her and toward the man walking behind her.

I noticed his clothes first—a fitted navy suit with a red band around the waist and a gold sash sweeping from his broad shoulders to the oversized sword on his hip. Medals decorated his entire chest and lapels and epaulettes, and gold embroidery adorned his cuffs.

The overwhelming magic of the vampire wrapped around me like a garrote, forcing my gaze up the gilded buttons of his jacket, up his black tie, and over the medal he suspended around his neck with a red sash.

There was no mistaking the identity of this vampire, even if he didn’t have the look of a wax statue breathed to life. Flawless skin stretched across unmoving features, surrounding deep-set eyes that shone a permanent crimson.

It was Prince Draconius Sargon de Akkadian—Valentine’s uncle from New Mesopotamia.

“What do you want?” Hades snapped.

Prince Draconius didn’t even flinch. “I am petitioning members of the Supernatural Council to approve my motion to install a pureblooded youth to the vampire throne.”

“Valentine is still alive,” I said.

The vampire turned his red eyes to me. “And you are?”

My lips tightened. I had met him a few times before. Each time, he