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

and Geb strode into the room and walked past me. I glanced over my shoulder to find them heading toward Valentine, who held up a heart as large as the one in the sphere. Thick arteries and veins flopped down from the organ, spilling blood down his fingers and the rest of Valentine’s hand.

With a bow, Geb took Jonathan’s heart and raised it to his lips. I spun toward the door before he bit into the organ and placed a hand on my chest. That was one way to dispose of something Kresnik desperately needed to level up.

Valentine’s warm hand landed on my back. “Innamorata?”

I turned to meet his worried eyes. “It’s alright,” I said with a long sigh. “Jonathan shouldn’t have threatened me like that.”

His brows furrowed. “You are still troubled.”

“It’s going to take a while to get used to war.”

Without another word, Valentine wrapped his arms around my back and pulled me into his chest.

“Please come back to Logris,” I said. “Knowing that you’re out there, doing things for Kresnik—”

“The best place to gather information is at his side.” Valentine drew back, meeting my gaze with eyes that hardened with determination. His hands tightened on my shoulders as though trying to instill the importance of his words. “Today, we stationed all the preternaturals in the sewers ready to infiltrate the Council building.”

My mouth dropped open. “Vampires?”

“The magicless undead.” He ushered me out of the room with a hand on the small of my back and headed down the hallway toward the cats. “Each preternatural armed with enough stolen firestone to destroy every enforcer on duty.”

His words landed like a fist to the throat, making my steps falter. I dipped my head, and squeezed my eyes shut as my mind conjured up the space beneath Kresnik’s room that housed hundreds of zombie prisoners. That explained why he’d sent out a team of preternatural vampires to steal Logris’s cache of firestone.

A dead weight settled in my lungs, making every breath a struggle. “But the Academy is attached to the Supernatural Council—”

“He has already removed his children from Logris,” Valentine said without missing a step.

I raised my head to meet Valentine’s gaze. “You must think I’m being petty, asking you to spare Jonathan’s life when so many others are under threat.”

He shook his head. “You didn’t know.”

We continued past the last frosted-glass enclosure toward the transparent tunnel that ran through where Irdu kept the cats. The mostly-black tiger from before hurried toward us, staring out through the glass, its turquoise eyes less suspicious.

I swallowed back a lump in my throat. “When will Kresnik activate the preternaturals?”

Valentine placed a hand on my cheek, and the corner of his lips curled into a smile. “Kresnik planned to graft Jonathan’s fifth chamber into his heart and fill it with your magic before the final attack.”

My throat dried. “So, we still have time?”

He nodded, and ushered me toward two of the blue-eyed kittens from before. They looked a little like Damisa, the cat who had come to our hotel room looking for Macavity, with tiger stripes set within golden fur. One of them stood upright, staring at me with its tail curled into a question mark, while its sibling climbed on its back.

A third kitten scurried close and sat by the pair, swiping a tongue at the standing kitten’s ear, who closed an eye.

I exhaled a long breath, resting my head on Valentine’s shoulder, my stress easing a fraction at the display of cuteness. “I’ve got to tell the Council.”

Valentine rubbed circles on my back. “Nut and Geb will return you to Logris when they’ve finished.”

I nodded, trying not to think about the twins eating Jonathan’s entrails.

A ball raced past, and the kittens scampered after it, leaving us to continue toward the elevator.

“Did you learn anything else?”

“He expected his team to have located you by now,” Valentine said.

“How are they able to move about in Hell?”

“Kresnik found a way to fuse pieces of an enchanted helmet to their souls,” Valentine said. “He’s keeping the portal to Hell open for as long as he can but is getting impatient with their lack of progress.”

I shook my head, marveling at how anyone could infiltrate Hell, let alone find a way out.

Footsteps echoed behind us, and Valentine placed his fingers beneath my chin, tilting my head up so our eyes could meet. “It’s time for me to leave.” He placed a soft kiss on my lips. “Nut and Geb will keep you safe while I’m away.”

“What about your uncle?” I wrapped a hand around his forearm. “You can’t let Kain—”

Valentine silenced me with another kiss. “I’ll deal with Draconius after I’ve destroyed Kresnik. Thank you for finding Jonathan. You’ve made my job a lot easier.”

Before I could ask when he planned on executing his plan, he disappeared in the blink of an eye.

My lips tightened. How on earth would I explain this to Valentine’s soul tonight, and what about Kain?

Nut placed a hand on my shoulder and guided me through the enclosure of cats. I glanced at the frolicking felines, but not even they could lift my spirits. A lump formed in the back of my throat that wouldn’t disappear no matter how much I swallowed. Valentine’s soul was completely dependent on me, and I had let him down.

We continued to the elevator, where the twins guided me out through the establishment’s main floor, where the happy chatter from the cafe filled my ears and the scent of freshly roasted coffee filled my nostrils.

I swallowed back the bitter taste on my tongue as we walked toward the exit, passing the fountain and unwitting humans sitting around tables and enjoying drinks poured by servers in tuxedos. If only they knew this was a place run by a demon willing to sell anyone for the right price.

We reached the exit, where the twins turned themselves invisible. The two bald giants at the door inclined their heads, seeming to recognize me from the first time I came in with Valentine. One