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

up so he couldn’t cause me physical harm, I sure as hell wasn’t looking forward to his reaction.

Chapter Two

Pulling on the ropes of magic around my wrists and ankles, I glowered up at the furious Demon King, whose muscular chest expanded and contracted with his rapid breaths.

Hades’ features twisted with confusion, then rage, and fizzling magic crackled off his naked torso, making Macavity roar loud enough to shatter my eardrums. The will-o’-the-wisps darted into the furthest corners of the chamber, quaking at the might of their combined anger.

Terror seized my heart in a clawed grip, and my eyes bulged. If I was wrong and Coral’s power over Kresnik had been a fluke, I was screwed in more ways than one. Shallow breaths rasped in and out of a throat that couldn’t stop trembling.

The old Mera might have broken down into sobs and pleaded for mercy, but not me. In the past few weeks, I had gone through a slew of shit I wouldn’t wish on even Ellora Vandamir, and it had given me a backbone of titanium even if the rest of my body still lagged behind.

Because of Kresnik’s machinations, Valentine had died, been resurrected, and I’d been sentenced to death. Because of the Demon King standing above me gnashing his perfect teeth, Valentine had fallen under his and the Mage King’s control and I had turned to the wrong people for help. Kresnik, Father Jude, and Aurora had brought me into this world as a vessel for power. I’d been nothing but a pawn to them until Aurora had sacrificed her life to save mine.

Talons of grief tore down my chest, leaving my insides in tatters. Aurora was also gone—burned from the inside out and now rotting in Hell. My heart thudded a sluggish beat as I struggled for air. Only the creature standing above me could save her, but he wouldn’t.

I’d lost count of how many people had betrayed Valentine and me—people who were supposed to be friends and allies and even family. Now Hades wanted to keep me as his sex slave and pet?

I shook my head, biting back a surge of fury. That wasn’t going to happen.

“How dare you resurrect me with this weakness?” Hades pressed a hand into the center of his chest, acting like he’d been betrayed.

My lips formed a tight line. This entire situation was partially his fault because he hadn’t secured Kresnik’s cell. If he hadn’t been so overconfident when attacking the Flame with his demon enforcers, and brought backup, he wouldn’t have gotten burned into ashes.

“Answer me,” he roared, making Macavity hiss.

Raising my chin, I met the tiny flames flickering beneath his irises. “I needed a strong ally in the Supernatural World who wasn’t under the control of Kresnik.”

“That’s it?” he asked.

“What were you expecting?” I tried not to roll my eyes. Did he think the boasts he had made about filling my orifices had spurred me to give him a body?

His nostrils flared, and he flattened his lips, indicating that he had.

I pushed myself up on my elbows and used my most commanding voice. “Release me before I boil the contents of your veins with my blood magic.”

Hades folded his arms across his chest. “You’re bluffing.”

A muscle on my face twitched. He was right, but I hadn’t expected him to work out the limits of the magic so quickly. Smoothing out my features, I said, “Why don’t you attack me again and we’ll see who’s the bullshitter?”

“We have uses for women like you in Hell,” he said in a voice as smooth as polished leather. I thought he was leading up to a threat, but his features twisted into a cold smile. “You’re beautiful, resourceful, and have a unique power coursing through your veins. Stay with me, and I will elevate you to the status of queen.”

So, he was switching to flattery. I turned my gaze away from Hades and exhaled my frustration in an outward breath. Could he be any more transparent?

“I’m going to be Valentine’s queen,” I said in my calmest voice. “Release me, and I’ll forget this ever happened.”

The cords of Hades’ neck expanded, and the muscles of his chest and arms and abs strained against his skin. All the major veins on his body bulged with the force of his rage, and sparks flew off his skin.

My throat dried, leaving behind membranes that felt like cracked earth. The humans used a phrase called wrath of the gods, but I’d thought it was just a saying until now. Hades wasn’t used to being refused, nor was he accustomed to someone holding power over him.

He reached for my neck with a sparking hand, filling my vision with incandescent light. Hellfire warmed my skin and filled my nostrils, searing a path of brimstone through my sinuses. Just before I felt the burn, the fiery particles jumping off his skin turned inward. Hades flinched and jumped away from the bed.

When he finally composed himself, it was to stare at me, his mouth slack. Perhaps he finally understood that he couldn’t hurt me without the damage turning back on himself.

“What did you think about that?” I said, taking credit for the magic. “The only reason I’m not reducing you to ash right now is because I want us to work together to destroy Kresnik.”

His lip curled. “Why would I want to associate with such a devious woman?”

“Because deviousness is your raison d’être?”

He glowered down at me without a trace of amusement.

I exhaled an annoyed breath through my nostrils. Who had time to fend off entitled Demon Kings? I needed to get my magic to start working again, find Valentine, make him tell me where he had put his heart, and then reduce all of him to ash. Was it too much to ask that these supernatural tyrants didn’t keep getting in our way?

If I didn’t get through to Hades, he might keep Macavity and me here forever until I submitted to him out of desperation.

“Listen,” I said with a