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

arms around my shoulders and inhaled my hair with a deep breath. “Tell me what else is happening in the real world?”

“Your uncle is still trying to get Kain to take your throne,” I muttered. “He’s petitioning the monarchs of the Supernatural Council and getting the poor boy fitted for his coronation outfit.”

Valentine’s snarl reverberated across my chest.

Some might find a snarling vampire frightening, but I relaxed against his larger body, letting my eyes flutter shut. “I get that someone needs to repeal the taxes and the lockdowns, but isn’t there a way around it that doesn’t involve putting a teenager on a throne he doesn’t want?”

“My uncle is desperate to become a monarch,” said Valentine. “Did I ever tell you about my Royal House?”

“Only that it originated in New Mesopotamia,” I replied. “I saw a stained glass image of a dark-skinned woman in your mausoleum, who looks like she could be your founder.”

He inclined his head. “Lamashtu, the first vampire.”

I nodded and smiled. My assumption about the woman had been correct. “According to Hades, Prometheus made the supernaturals out of the fire he stole from the phoenixes.”

His brows rose. “In our legends, the creator was a god called Ithas. Lamashtu never explained how she was made. Only that she was once a queen.”

“Right.” I placed a hand on his chest. “What were you going to tell me about your uncle?”

“Only that my grandfather keeps him as a troubleshooter to travel across the Supernatural World to fix vampire-related issues. Draconius never gets to settle somewhere for longer than a century.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” I muttered.

Valentine chuckled and pressed a kiss on my lips. “You’re an absolute delight.”

I stared up into his smiling eyes. Maybe it was because I hadn’t lived a quarter of a century yet or maybe I hadn’t fully grasped vampire psychology, but I would get bored in the same job for ten years, let alone a hundred. Getting to travel the world and fix problems sounded exciting.

“Something’s happened to Beatrice,” I murmured.

He drew back, his smile fading into a concerned frown. “What?”

“A faerie stole her youth.” I exhaled a long breath. “Lazarus is taking care of her, and I managed to sever the parasitical connections, but we don’t know how to restore her.”

Valentine’s lips thinned. “Faeries aren’t supposed to bargain with humans.”

“She didn’t even know he was a supernatural.” I placed a hand on his chest. “If there’s something you can share—”

“If there’s a rogue faerie out there attacking humans, you need to tell an enforcer.”

I dipped my head, fixing my gaze on our bare feet. “But they’d erase her memory.”

Valentine cupped the side of my cheek. “If Lazarus cares enough about your friend to stay around after she’s lost her youth, then he’ll employ any means to help her get better.”

My shoulders sagged. I supposed a vampire prince would have more resources at his disposal, but it was hard to place my faith in Lazarus, no matter how much he seemed to dote on Beatrice.

“There’s another reason why I haven’t restored you,” I murmured.

His brows drew together. “You enjoy my preternatural counterpart’s company that much?”

The corners of my lips quirked into a smile. “He’s you and has your memories, but I can’t wait to push you back together, so I have only one Valentine.”

“Indeed?” he said with a smile.

“He killed Jonathan for threatening me with a knife.”

Valentine nodded. “I would have done the same.”

I slapped his chest. “You would have wanted to kill him but disarmed him first and decided later what to do.”

“Perhaps,” he muttered.

“Anyway.” I rocked forward on my tiptoes and pressed a kiss on his lips. “My power hasn’t fully returned.”

He drew back and frowned. “Why not?”

“A mental block?” I cringed. “You once told me to take my time learning to shift, but I was so desperate to save you—”

He placed his fingers on my lips. “There’s no point in dwelling on past mistakes when you already know that you’ll do better next time.”

The backs of my eyes stung with the onset of tears. This version of Valentine was always so patient with me, even after I’d made a mess of developing my powers. I knew this, he knew this, everyone involved in that awful ritual knew this. In my haste to rid myself of the firestone and save Valentine, I had helped to raise Kresnik from Hell.

“Why are you so good to me?” I asked.

Valentine cupped the side of my cheek and pressed a kiss on my forehead. “If you had seen me in my twenties, you would understand that you’re an angel compared to what I was.”

I tried to exhale my guilt in an outward breath, but the effort was futile. That didn’t mean I didn’t appreciate his attempt to make me feel better. “Thank you.”

He placed his hands on my shoulders and pressed down, indicating for me to sit.

“What are we doing?” I asked.

“I’m going to put you through a powerful exercise that will awaken your phoenix, which may transform your body in the real world.” His voice was solemn. “Tell me now if you’re sleeping where someone might get hurt.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

I drew back from Valentine, my brow furrowing into a frown. “How would a vampire know about techniques that help shifters?”

His violet eyes sparkled. “I’m going to guide you through a rite of passage ceremony called the beneficium. Every young shifter who doesn’t achieve their animal form by the age of twenty-one goes through it, and early developers have a beneficium rite as a formality. It’s a magical rite that most supernatural elders can perform.”

“Oh,” I said, still not quite fully understanding how the two connected. “Is this a vampire thing, or a general supernatural thing?”

His expression dimmed from joy to compassion, and he threaded his fingers through my hair, bringing us closer. “Most young people invite their loved ones to witness this important rite of passage, but I keep forgetting that you didn’t have many friends at the Academy.”

“Mine was graduation.” I