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

attention, and if I were a cat, I would have arched my back and hissed. Since I wanted to negotiate with the Demon King on equal footing, I forced myself not to step back, pulled back my shoulders, and raised myself to my full five feet five inches of height.

Heat blazed in his eyes, and he parted his lips to say, “We did not agree that you would leave me wholly dependent on your wellbeing—”

“You’re not—”

“Last night, I suffered hunger and thirst and craving for thrall,” he said through clenched teeth. “Because you resurrected me with your blood. You’re all I can think about since I reformed in this lesser body.”

My brows drew together. What on earth did he mean? He was an old man before and now he looked like a man in the prime of his life. Besides, it wasn’t my fault that Kresnik had violated the fifth jar beyond salvaging.

I shook my head from side to side. “If you’re thinking about me, it’s because I outsmarted you. You just want revenge.”

“True,” he drawled. “But I also got to witness firsthand what it’s like to suffer when the one who raised me from my ashes also suffered. If I destroy the woman who attacked him, I also destroy Kresnik.”

“Why? Because her blood helped resurrect him?”

“Exactly,” he said with a smirk. “The link between them is his greatest weakness.”

I glowered up into his maroon eyes. Determination shone through them, tempered with a touch of malice. My throat dried. How could I convince an amoral demon that killing people wasn’t the answer when everyone else around me was happy to slaughter others to protect me from Kresnik?

“Listen.” I stepped back, giving myself some space. “That blood connection only works when Kresnik inflicts pain on Coral. It backfires.”

“Then we will put a uniform on Coral and send her into the battlefront. When she dies, so does Kresnik.”

“What if one of the other fire users attacks her?” I asked. “Then Coral dies and Kresnik continues living but without any vulnerability.”

His lips curled into a smile cold enough to freeze my insides. “It is a good thing, then, that I only wish to take a sample of her blood.”

“Leave her blood alone,” I snapped.

“Why?”

As a member of the Supernatural Council, Hades knew why. About eighteen months before I left Logris, there was a huge scandal from the central hospital where a demon hybrid working there siphoned the luck from multiple blood samples. He’d been doing it for years and nobody noticed until he targeted a university professor who had completed his thesis on the tangibility of luck. That’s when everyone became careful with giving blood. After that, even blood brokers had to sign soul-binding contracts to only sell their customers’ donations for vampire consumption.

My tongue darted out to lick my dry lips. “Because I know what happens when people get blood samples. They say they’re only using it for one purpose, and—”

“That phlebotomist was imprisoned,” he said.

I pressed my lips together and bristled with disapproval. That filthy looking alchemist looked like he’d been dragged out of Hell to perform a mission, and I didn’t want to know what had earned him a place there.

“Blood isn’t the only way,” I said. “You can find a less risky sample, just like you did with my coven when you set up that trap.”

“My enforcers could pluck out her hair if that makes you feel better,” he said with a smirk.

It didn’t. “I don’t want demons anywhere near the runaways. What if Kresnik sent search parties after them? Don’t you think they'll be attracted by the magic of your enforcers?”

He inclined his head. “Find a way to sever our blood bond, and I will spare your precious Coral from my enforcers.”

“Coral and all the other escaped fire users.”

“Of course.”

I held out my hand.

He stared at it, his lips quirking into a smile. “It’s customary for parties to a contract to kiss when making bargains.”

I stepped back, putting the chair between myself and Hades. “You didn’t say that when you were a cloud of ash.”

Hades grabbed my hand and gave it a firm shake. “I will spare your friend if you can produce a sample before my alchemist finishes his elixir.”

“Thanks.” I headed for the exit.

“You’re forgetting something,” he said.

I glanced over my shoulder to find him tossing something at me from across the room. It was a rusty coin that looked like it had been minted by hand.

“What’s that?” I turned it around in my palm and frowned at the faded image. It looked like a man wearing a circlet on his head or a laurel wreath.

“A timer,” he replied. “You have two hours before my enforcers capture Coral and all her precious blood.”

My adrenaline spiked and I broke out into a jog. “Nut?” I glanced from side to side. “Geb?”

A warm hand landed on my shoulder, making my muscles relax.

“Let’s get out of here.” I headed for the golden elevator.

This time, when we stepped into its cab, the three heads of the dog stared out at us through sightless eyes, appearing to be mere etchings. The twins remained silent and unmoving throughout the descent, but I swore I could feel their presence.

At the ground floor, I pulled up the hood of my cloak and stepped out into a busy reception area.

The foyer was a vast space about the size of Grosvenor Square, with glass walls and ceilings that created a light and airy atmosphere no matter the time of day. Columns of artificial bulbs stretched down from the glass ceiling, forming a circular base at the floor that doubled as benches.

At this time of the morning, nobody was sitting around. Office workers streamed in through the automatic doors, walking past me toward the wall of elevators at my back that could take them up, down, left, right, straight to Heaven, to Hell or to the realm of the fae.

I walked at a brisk pace, acting like I was a reaper out on a morning assignment. Reapers