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

I jumped down, slid into Valentine’s seat, folded my arms across my chest, and glowered across the table at the Mage King. “I’ve never tried to capture another sentient being for experiments,” I snapped. “I’ve also never taken control of a person’s spirit through necromancy and introduced taxes to line my pockets.”

“Will you explain yourself, Hemera?” The Witch Queen leaned forward, her hands clasped.

I was about to speak when a clap of magic held my vocal cords. Since there were no accompanying shadows, I guessed this was the work of the Demon King. I narrowed my eyes and shot him my most venomous glare.

Hades tilted his head to the side and placed a finger on his lips.

“Thank you for arriving at such short notice, Miss Griffin,” Hades said in a voice loud enough to distract even the Witch Queen. “We summoned you here as our resident expert on Kresnik to give us some insights into his current spectrum of powers.”

The magic around my vocal cords relaxed, and my brows drew together. Hades was the best placed to provide this intel, considering he’d spent so much time spying on Kresnik as a cloud of ash.

“What do you want to know?”

“Five hundred years ago, Kresnik used his preternaturals to infiltrate into our society,” said the Witch Queen. “Do you know if he’s employing this tactic now?”

My teeth worried at my bottom lip. It wasn’t like I went to all the breakfast and lunch briefings, and nobody had mentioned using the preternaturals as spies. Kresnik was more concerned about conquering the country with a superior army and seemed to be gathering his troops for one devastating strike.

I straightened in my seat and said, “The first night he rose from the ashes, he captured a bunch of enforcers—”

“Whom he executed.” Hades nodded. “Isn’t that right?”

My jaw clenched. Those enforcers had been winged demons—or demon hybrids—who Kresnik had heated with his magic before his women stabbed them through the hearts. Then they rose as preternaturals. Hades had to know this, otherwise he wouldn’t try to make me lie.

A laugh bubbled up in the back of my throat. He was probably embarrassed at having raided the Flame, thinking he would find me and recapture Valentine, only to get destroyed by Kresnik.

Pulling back my shoulders, I lifted my chin, making note of the leverage I held over the Demon King. “That’s correct.”

I turned back to the Witch Queen. “There are some spies within Logris, who helped smuggle fire users out of Logris. It’s hard to tell if they were sympathetic to their cause or willing to side against anyone willing to murder a child.”

She lowered her gaze, as did the Angel King. The Shifter King fidgeted in his seat and glanced away. My thoughts drifted to Petra and all the little children I’d seen in the classrooms, and an ache formed in my chest and travelled up toward my throat.

If these three monarchs plus Valentine were against the slaughter of innocents, then they would have been in the majority. Why did the Council continue these executions if over half of them disapproved?

Hades cleared his throat. “We’re more concerned about the presence of the magicless undead swarming our sewers. Would you say that Kresnik sought to concentrate the pressure of their souls to tear down the barriers between realms?”

“What a load of bull,” the Shifter King said with a snarl. “Those preternaturals are armed with enough firestone to level the Council building. Kresnik means to destroy the seat of our leadership.”

“The purpose of their presence is most likely assassinations.” The Witch Queen pinched the bridge of her nose.

Voices erupted around the table with each member of the Council offering their speculations on why Kresnik had posted so many preternaturals beneath Logris. I glanced at Hades, who raised a brow. When I lifted a shoulder, he scowled and jerked his head at me to play along.

I exhaled an exasperated breath. What the hell did I know about war or realms or even historical subterfuge, and who made me the expert on a psychotic former god, who I’d met less than a handful of times?

The Shifter King slammed his fist on the table, bellowing the same sentence over and over. I shot Hades a glance, who rolled his eyes. If I didn’t say something now, the six of them would continue squabbling, and before long, the symptoms of my addiction would flare up in a room full of powerful men with acute senses of smell.

“You’re all right,” I shouted, making them all fall silent and stare at me, their eyes expectant.

My skin pricked into goosebumps and a flock of butterflies erupted from my stomach. I cleared my throat. “Kresnik did order the theft of all your firestone, and he wanted to kill the members of this council, but the most important part of his plan is to regain the power of a god and rule Great Britain and beyond.”

The Angel King turned around in his seat, his brow creased with concern. “How does he intend to elevate himself into a god?”

I gulped. Didn’t they know? “He sent people to their realm, looking for his divinity.”

“Where is it?” asked the Witch Queen.

Thoughts of Aurora filled my mind, making my heart ache. Nobody deserved such a tortuous punishment, especially for failing to perform a task beyond their capabilities. I glanced across the table at Hades, who nodded for me to continue.

“It’s in the belly of an eagle.” I cringed at how ridiculous it sounded. “Kresnik tasked my mother with finding it.”

“Did she succeed?” the Angel King murmured.

I shook my head, fixing my gaze on the table. This was a memory I didn’t care to revisit.

The table fell silent.

“Now do you believe me?” Hades drawled.

A few of the monarchs around the table murmured their agreement. So, this was why Hades had summoned me—to corroborate his theory that Kresnik was really Prometheus.

“Alright then,” the Shifter King snapped. “Kresnik is a Greek god who lost his