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

sigh. “You can’t kill me without it backfiring, and you also can’t do anything to me without my consent. You can’t convince me to stay here as your pet, either, because Valentine protected my mind from external attacks.”

He shook his head, still with his arms folded across his chest.

I glanced across the room to where Macavity sat on his haunches, listening to our conversation with rapt attention. He bobbed his head as though to tell me I was winning, giving me a new bout of courage.

My tongue darted out to lick my dry lips. “This morning, Kresnik took me to his basement of preternaturals and tried to look into my mind. You congratulated me for keeping him out? That was Valentine’s doing. His magic is hardly going to let another man manipulate my thoughts.”

“So?” he asked with a curl of his lips.

“So, it means that I won’t ever submit to you, and if you keep me here, I’ll work out a way to escape and to reduce you to ash.”

He stepped toward me, hellfire curling from his head to produce a set of fiery horns. “You would dare—”

“I’m your master,” I shouted at the top of my voice.

Hades paused.

“You saw it for yourself. If anything happens to me, it will also happen to you. It’s just like with preternatural vampires. If I hurt myself, I also hurt you. If I starve myself, I also starve you. If I—”

“What do you propose?” he snapped.

“Unshackle me, so I can sit up on the bed,” I said.

He nodded. “Done.”

The magic encircling my ankles and wrists vanished, releasing the strain on my limbs. I sucked in a surprised breath and glanced at Macavity. His enthusiastic nod indicated for me to demand his release.

“And I want my cat,” I added.

Hades rolled his eyes and clicked his fingers. A Bengal-sized ball of fur landed on my lap. Macavity rose to his paws, turned around, and hissed at Hades. I placed a hand on his back, silently urging him to stay calm. This was one opponent a hellcat couldn’t defeat.

“Now, give us our freedom,” I said.

“Request denied.” Hades strolled around the bed and crossed the room, heading toward one of the racks of torture toys. He paused before the display and reached out to stroke the shaft of a flogger with purple-and-black tresses.

Pushing myself up to sitting, I shuffled around on the bed, making the cat jump off my lap. “Why not?”

“I still have the upper hand. As such, I won’t release you without a bargain.” He released the flogger and picked up a riding crop which ended with a piece of leather shaped like a heart.

My nose wrinkled. Was this fondling of BDSM equipment supposed to turn me on?

“Alright.” I swung my legs off the bed and padded across the room.

The floor was warm under my bare feet, but something told me that the fires of Hell kept it at that temperature rather than under-floor heating. Hades stood by a display of leather-handled canes that belonged in a video featuring women with silicone-enhanced breasts dressed like naughty schoolgirls.

Hopefully, he would get the notion out of his head that I found that sort of thing interesting. I had hated it when Valentine had spanked me… Mostly.

Hades stood nearly a foot taller than me and was twice as broad with dark magic crackling off his skin. He was nearly as muscular as Valentine and probably thought he looked attractive in his younger body, but I still preferred a freshly-risen-from-the-dead Valentine to Hades at his best. At least feral Valentine wanted to protect me—the Demon King was just concerned about having an exotic pet.

“Here’s your bargain,” I said, keeping my voice even. “Release me, or I’ll tell everyone in the Supernatural Council how Kresnik burned and humiliated you.”

His hands curled into fists. “You wouldn’t dare.”

I tilted my head up, meeting his blazing eyes. “Valentine will come looking for me eventually, and when he releases me, I’ll let everyone know how soundly a mage who escaped from your prison defeated the big bad Demon King.”

His nostrils flared, and the fire in his eyes flashed as though doused with lighter fluid. My skin tightened. I couldn’t tell if the expression was admiration or hatred but I was glad he had seen a demonstration of how the blood magic that had accelerated his regeneration would punish him if he tried to attack.

“And if I release you?” he asked.

“Then you can weave any tale of heroism you wish.” I folded my arms across my chest, trying to look like I made bargains with demons every day. “But tomorrow morning, you’ll escort me to the Supernatural Council meeting, where I will tell everyone that Kresnik has returned. And I want you to uphold our previous bargain and arrange a pardon for every fire user and their families.”

The walls of the room cracked with lightning, and sparks flew off the cowering will-o’-the-wisps. I held my breath, hoping that he would put his massive ego to one side and work with me to bring down Kresnik, but he held his silence, staring down at me as though he still wanted to tear out my soul and store it behind those golden bars.

“Very well,” he snarled, “But you must dine with me three times so I might show you what you’re missing.”

My eyes narrowed. “What do you mean by dine?”

“Eat. Drink. Exchange words of wit over a meal,” he said with a casual flick of his head.

“What else do you want?” I asked.

He shook his head and smiled, revealing a mouthful of dazzling white teeth that made him look less menacing. “Nothing else except for the promise that I will detain you here until you agree to my paltry request.”

“Fine,” I snapped.

Hades rocked back on his heels, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction. “In that case, I leave you to enjoy the rest of your night.” He ran a hand through his dark hair and preened. “My attendant will wake you in the morning and serve breakfast.”

“Will you