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

pile of ash lay on the pristine white floor, making me exhale my frustration in a harsh cry. I couldn’t even get close to Valentine’s remains in case upsetting them would prevent him from rising anew.

It was time to leave this place and see if I could replicate my transformation on the outside. I flew in the opposite direction and upward, trying to will myself awake. Hopefully it would be morning already, and by tonight, Valentine would have re-formed with an explanation as to why he’d allowed himself to get burned.

With one deep breath and then another, I rose out of the dreamscape to find myself back on the bed with my arms wrapped around the crystal sphere that encased Valentine’s heart.

I cracked open an eye. It was dark, with only the barest trace of illumination coming from the streetlights below. I exhaled a long breath, wondering if performing the ritual in the dreamscape would mean that I could voluntarily transform out here.

Turning into a phoenix that last time hadn’t automatically meant that I could do the same in the outside world, but as Valentine said, I’d had the firestone encasing my heart at the time. Now, I had no such obstacles.

Groaning, I flung out my right arm to the bedside table and fumbled for the lamp. When I managed to get it working, and light shone through my closed eyelids, I lay on my back and held up the sphere.

Valentine’s heart was still floating, still beating, still alive.

“At least I haven’t damaged him.” I brought the crystal ball down and pressed my lips on its smooth surface. “Love you.”

The phone I had left on the bedside table buzzed, making its screen glow. I twisted to the side and picked it up to find a message from Kain.

My coronation is in two days.

I grimaced. Prince Draconius didn’t mess about. I texted back, Sorry. I meant to kidnap you today. Can you meet me tomorrow so we can try again?

He messaged back immediately. Ha! It wouldn’t have worked. I tried driving out of Logris but they tracked me down at a Burger King on the M1. Now the car V gave me has no engine.

I stared at the screen, shaking my head at the determination of Prince Draconius. He seemed the type who might arrange an accident for Kain so he could make his position in Logris permanent. I pushed away those thoughts. Just because someone was overly political, it didn’t mean they were a murderer.

Next time I see V, I will tell him the date. I can’t make any promises, though. I clicked send, my stomach tightening with guilt that I couldn’t do more to help him.

Thanks, Kain texted back.

I tapped out of that screen and checked my other messages. Istabelle had sent one earlier in the day, asking if I had broken through my mental barrier. I texted back to tell her I’d tried the beneficium ritual and waited for her to message back.

When she didn’t I checked for messages from Lazarus and Beatrice, but neither of them had sent any messages.

I texted Lazarus first. What did the healer say?

It wasn’t like I was expecting an answer from him, so I sent Beatrice a message. Let me know that you’re alright. Did you manage to shake off the cold?

A knock sounded on the door, sending a jolt of adrenaline through my chest. I glanced down at the handset, which said 11:39PM and frowned. Who on earth would be calling on me at this time of the day?

“Yes?”

“Miss Griffin?” said a female voice.

“Who is it?”

“Corporal Penumbra, Miss,” she said. “Captain Zella thought you might like to come down and join her for a special mission.”

I swung my legs off the bed and slipped my shoes into a pair of boots. “Why does she want me?”

The young corporal didn’t answer for several moments, and I glanced around the room, looking for the rest of last night’s drink. Panacea water wasn’t in the authorized list of items on the Hatch’s menu, but the fire I’d blasted across my skin had taken the edge off my thrall addiction. My gaze landed on a bottle of Logris water that had come with my cheeseburger. I twisted off its cap and took several long gulps.

“Captain says the elixir is ready and that you should be there to watch it being used?” Corporal Penumbra finally said, sounding like she was reading.

“Oh.” If this was about the preternaturals in the sewer, I didn’t want to miss finding out if the alchemist managed to concoct something without the use of Coral’s blood.

I hurried to the door and flung it open, finding the enforcer standing in the hallway, staring at a similar kind of hand-held device to the one Captain Zella used. When she raised her head, I frowned. This was the same young woman who had walked me here from outside the Supernatural Council’s meeting room.

“Don’t you guys work shifts?” I asked.

Her lips tightened. “Mine ended at six, but the captain told me not to retire until I’d gotten you to come down.”

I rubbed the back of my neck and grimaced. “Sorry. Deep sleeper.”

“You should see a healer about that.” Her eyes narrowed. “What if the place was on fire?”

I stepped out of the door and into the hallway, where she turned on her heel and broke into a jog. Corporal Penumbra was clearly trying to mask her annoyance and I couldn’t blame her.

Valentine had seemed pretty eager to help me transform today, even when he’d previously told me to take my time. Perhaps learning that his uncle was serious about taking over the leadership of the vampires had made him decide to use the beneficium rite. Either way, it was to both of our benefit.

I jogged after the corporal and rounded the corner where she continued down a long hallway of unlabelled white doors that reminded me a little of the Flame. The next time the likes of Hades, the Mage King, or Prince Draconius tried to