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

the force of his emotions. “You’ll regret stepping out of that door.”

“I’ll live with the consequences, thanks.” I pushed down on the handle, yanked the door open, and stepped backward into Namara’s office.

Hades remained in the middle of his lair with his arms folded and the corner of his lips curling into a smile. I glanced over my shoulder, looking for a trap or some other kind of revenge, but all I found was his assistant sitting behind her desk.

“Good evening, Miss Griffin,” Namara chirped. “Welcome back to our realm.”

“Thanks.” I tried pulling the door shut, but Hades held it open.

I met his dancing eyes, his wide grin, and would have asked what the hell he was laughing at, but he was no longer my concern and I still needed to tell Valentine what I’d done.

As I edged away from the chuckling demon king, a warm hand landed on my shoulder. I spun around to meet Nut’s black eyes. The tall woman stared down at me, her features expressionless.

“You survived?”

She inclined her head.

I glanced over her shoulder. “What about Geb?”

He stepped forward, removing his invisibility, and held up a scroll.

I tilted my head to the side, squinting at the ancient script. “What’s that?”

Geb placed his finger on the writing at the bottom and scowled.

I turned to Namara. “These two don’t speak English, Latin, or Ancient Greek. Could you translate, please?”

“Of course, Miss Griffin.” She rose from her seat, sashayed around the desk, placed her hand on Geb’s bicep, and spoke a string of words I had no way of understanding.

Geb replied, his words stilted. I got the impression he was the quiet type, even without a language barrier, but whatever he said made Namara shake her head and scowl. Geb grunted and repeated the same words over and over.

I bit down on my bottom lip. Surely they didn’t blame me for whatever happened to them in the slaughterhouse? November had suggested he’d killed them, but they’d survived his attack. Nut and Geb seemed indestructible, even managing to find me after dropping off the edge of a high-rise.

Hades chortled throughout their argument. I glanced from Geb to Namara, who continued a long conversation, neither of them sparing me a glance. Nut stared down at me with an intensity that made my insides curdle.

I stepped back toward the open door of Hades’ office, but her arm struck out like a cobra, and she grabbed me around the forearm, pulling me into her chest.

“Nut,” I whispered. “What are you doing?”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” said Hades.

Namara’s glamor faded. She reverted to her red-skinned appearance and screeched at Geb.

“Please,” I rasped. “Tell me what’s happening.”

The imp ignored me to prod Geb in the chest. Nut leaned down and sniffed my hair.

My heart leapfrogged to the back of my throat, and I shrieked. How could I have forgotten?

“Miss Griffin.” Hades swaggered out of the doorway, grinning wider than the day I’d resurrected him from his ashes. “Is the proverbial penny finally dropping?”

I turned to Nut. “You’ve come to collect your payment?”

The taller woman nodded.

“Okay.” I licked my lips, swallowed hard, chewed on the inside of my cheek, trying to work out what to say. “Your contract is with King Valentine, remember? He brought you from New Mesopotamia to protect me.”

“No.” Nut’s voice was even deeper than her brother’s, sounding as though it had come from the deepest cavern of Hell.

Every fine hair on the back of my neck stood on end, and my lips parted with a silent shriek. “I can take you to Valentine’s cell.”

“No,” she rumbled.

The contents of my stomach turned to liquid. I clenched hard, trying not to splatter them across the linoleum. I turned to Namara, but she was too preoccupied with her argument to notice me. She and Geb stood close enough to kiss, screaming unintelligible words at each other.

“Miss Griffin?” Hades slithered to my side. “Since Namara is busy flirting with Geb, would you like me to translate?”

I shot the pair another glance. Geb had stopped holding up the scroll, making me suspect Hades was telling the truth. Shuddering, I turned back to Hades. “How much will it cost?”

“No charge.” He raised both hands, his grin stretching beyond human limits. “I haven’t been so thoroughly entertained in eons.”

Every pulse in my body pounded, as though I didn’t already know I was in the deepest trouble of my life. Making sure not to say anything to accept or reject his help, I asked Nut, “How much do I owe you?”

She pointed a stubby finger at my sternum.

Hades chuckled. “This is priceless.”

“Gold,” I screamed. “How much money do I owe you?”

She made a circling motion around my internal organs and scowled.

“I know you can understand English,” I snapped. I pushed my magic to the surface of my skin, making her tighten her grip on my arm. If this manhandling continued, I would transform into a phoenix and let her eat her fill.

Nut finally parted her lips to speak in a voice that echoed across the room.

I turned pleading eyes to Hades. “What did she say?”

“Nut can feel your rise in body temperature.” Hades dabbed the corners of his eyes with an imaginary handkerchief. “She warns that if you’re thinking of turning her into ash, she will not give you the courtesy of turning visible the next time she attacks.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block out Namara and Geb’s stream of chatter, Hades’ mocking laughter, and Nut’s ever tightening grip. How on earth was I going to get out of this predicament with Hades now hating me enough to enjoy my downfall?

“Alright,” I said, just to give myself time to think. “I have Valentine’s credit card. We could—”

“No,” she said before launching into that ancient language.

“I’ll relay the message,” said Hades. “The twins’ contract with King Valentine was payable in gold, she says. You offered to pay double that amount if they accompanied you back to Koffiek to restore King Valentine to life. Now that the work is