Page 28

• King Kylian •

FROM THE MOMENT I stepped inside that room, my senses were alert; the scent of her fear perfuming the room was mouthwatering.

I hate feeding, so for my entire body to react the way it did, just from her scent, nearly stopped me in my tracks. She was turned away from me when I entered, and all I could see was ash-blonde hair cascading down to the center of her back. She wasn’t what I requested, the fae bitch behind the counter will pay for that. Eagan will see to it, but it was too tempting.

She was blindfolded, a process most blood banks have adopted because of me. Everyone has heard the rumors. No one survives if I feed from them. So, if my donor sees me coming, they will run at first sight.

As I circled my prey, taking in her delicate features, I wanted nothing more than to rip the blindfold off her face to get a good look at the woman who made my mouth water. Once I realized she was a virgin, I couldn’t help myself. I shouldn’t have touched her. It was wrong, yet nothing was sweeter than the smell of her arousal coating my fingers, nothing sounded more sinful than the gasps and moans she tried not to make.

When I finally sank my teeth into her, the first thing I felt was buzzing heat. Not pain. Power. This wasn’t fae or elven magic; it was something far stronger, dangerous, and it was all contained in this petite woman.

The moment my fangs punctured her delicate flesh, it was like she was already inside me, threading herself through my darkness, making a home where nothing human should survive.

Power pulsed through my veins like molten gold, coiling low in my chest, buzzing beneath my skin. For the first time in years, I wasn’t choking on rot. Instead, I felt more alive than I ever had, and all I could taste was her innocence, her love, her warmth, and her magic. It was intoxicating and addictive, and I lost complete control.

It was like I wanted to consume her, not just her blood, but her soul, like she was the sun I’ve gone without for what feels like lifetimes. She was the first breath of air after drowning.

Then the world tilted sideways, and when the power became too much, it exploded from her. The next moment, all I saw was black.

My entire body aches as I sit up too fast. I expect to be out cold in the blood bank, yet as I blink around at my surroundings, I know something is wrong.

Stone walls. Dim lights. Heavy chains bolted into the ground. This isn’t my palace, and it certainly isn’t the blood bank.

The mainland castle.

A dark-haired guard steps into view, arms crossed, and I squint my eyes to clear the haze. When my vision sharpens, I finally recognize the man.

Eagan. He’s one of mine.

“Good, you’re awake,” he says lazily, leaning against the stone wall, one foot crossing the other as he watches me.

“What happened?” my dry voice cracks.

“You fed,” he says. “Then you collapsed.”

I blink slowly.

I grit my teeth. “There was a girl.”

“Gone. She robbed you good, took your entire pouch. Didn’t leave so much as a coin,” he chuckles. “Since when do you like to play with your food, my king? I could smell her all over you.” He chuckles.

“She . . . I . . .” confusion washes over me, I have no idea how to explain what she did. It’s like she was both killing and awakening me at the same time. She was everything.

I stand faster than I should be able to, even for a vampire. The floor creaks beneath my boots, and even Eagan startles.

He watches me warily. “The Lycan King and his mutts keep knocking. I think he’s hoping she poisoned you and you’re dead so he can order his men to raid our kingdom.”

That doesn’t surprise me. The kingdoms have been standing on weak treaties for years, but as the ocean continues to rise, our territories become smaller, urging us closer to the mainland, one crumbling shoreline at a time. We often call it Purgatory because of its history as a prison, but it’s no man’s land. We take turns overseeing the island, knowing one day we may all be forced to share it if we can’t break our curses. I shudder at the thought, knowing if that day comes, it will be a bloodbath.

“She didn’t . . . poison me,” I say quietly, trying to make sense of why I have this savage desire for her, even after she robbed me.

“She cleared all the checks. Three of our men tasted a vial of her blood for poison beforehand, and they sensed nothing, all of them were perfectly fine and had no side effects,” Eagan replies, unease in his voice. “She was marked as clean, but she must have found another way to slip you something. You’ve been out for over two hours.”

“She wasn’t poisonous. She was more than clean.” My hands curl into fists, and my eyes meet his.

“You just said . . .”

“I know what I said!”