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“The tomb was obviously well shielded by Aetas’ powers. He prevented you from using your own. Once you become leader, it will be up to you to take his place in that. Let’s say you are strong enough to prevent him from succeeding in escape. What if while contained, instead of feeding him the original way, we were to make it intravenous? You told us before that he had a tube in your neck. He obviously thought this though. That was his plan for you. His failure was feeding you weak blood. Probably human, or someone of lower rank. If we were to bag your own and keep him isolated and contained—guarded even in a hospital-type setting, the plan could succeed. Of course you’d have to have trusted guards. And the person switching out the bags would have to be you or someone you confided in so he couldn’t try to manipulate his escape. But it could work if he were completely in lockdown and monitored.”
“You would bag my blood?”
“I could, yes. We could set up times for you to donate. Once or twice a week. We could afford to feed him enough to keep him healthy without going overboard to give him too much power. We could study the effects and monitor his output of energy. Ultimately, we could control him by monitoring how much of your blood we provide.”
“Fascinating,” Hunter breathed out. “But won’t his powers grow as Marko’s increase, too?”
Well yes,” Nelson admitted. But the king can always be the stronger one by thriving in his life, while … Aetas is only fed enough to survive in a healthy state. It may be a little hard to understand, but I believe it is possible.” He paused. “Aetas will live regardless if the king is to rule. It could work or not, but this way, even if Aetas’ powers are impossible to control, at least the intravenous input keeps Master Delacroix at a safe distance, and Aetas restrained at all times.
“And in a hospital type setting?” Marko was beginning to pace. I could see that his mind was racing as he went over the possibilities.
“Yes. Somewhere close to where you’ll take up residence. A place where only you and a select few know of.”
Marko’s hand came up as he looked around the room. “We’ll talk more about this privately.” He scanned the vampires and I wished I knew what he was thinking. By looking into their eyes, he could see their intentions. Were they good? Did they believe and want to help us? It appeared so.
“Protect the doctor and you protect yourselves. We will all have a role to play if we’re going to be safe. I need you all—”
I blinked passed the change in the air. I felt it the moment Marko’s head whipped around to the front door.
“We are not alone. You all must go and stick together. I will call to you.” Marko’s hand flicked and that was all it took to send the vampires surging to their feet. Some had their fangs exposed while the others’ claws were out, including my own.
“Come.” I rushed forward, leading them to the back door. My pulse was rising as I jerked to a stop not feet away. Enforcers. One in the back, one in the front. Two. I knew their numbers even if I couldn’t physically see them yet.
“There’s two,” I announced, glancing at Hunter who was feet away, closer to Marko. “Do we kill them?”
“Not yet. Just … wait. They’re …” Marko’s lids closed as his head tilted. “They already feel me. They’re confused … and communicating. I can’t hear what they’re saying. It’s just a jumble of broken words, by I can pick up on some of it.”
My lips separated as I locked my stare with Hunter’s. It wasn’t possible. Marko shouldn’t be able to read their minds without making eye contact. He wasn’t bonded to them, yet he was breaking through the barriers of the impossible.
“You hear their thoughts? From here?”
“I hear more than their thoughts, ma minette. I see their lives. I feel their desires. I am everything and everywhere if I choose. Right now, I am nothing. I am not here. You are not here. None of us exist.”
The last was barely audible as his tone dropped. Tingling vibrated against my skin and true fear developed inside of me as I watched the man I love open his black eyes. Ones that used to only change where the color was. Now they were like mine and Hunters. Even the white part was gone.
Who was Marko becoming? How strong would he get? Would it be too much—enough to make him lose his mind like Aetas? The thought terrified me.
One of the males shifted next to me as an almost nonexistent shadow crept along the back wall. On instinct my hand came out to still him. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I trusted that Marko’s words meant something. If we didn’t exist, perhaps the enforcers didn’t know of our presence.
Another dark shape became visible from the corner of my eye and I slowed my breathing as I quietly stepped to the side. Marko was still staring ahead as if in a daze. His black eyes were as dark as a void. He was gone, but where I wasn’t sure.
Hunter’s steps were silent as he made it to my side. The vampires around us were trembling. If we were caught—if Marko was caught—we were as good as dead.
Darker the shadows became, becoming more visible as they moved in closer to each other. One shot up the stairs while the other stayed rooted not feet away. Marko still stood like a statue, appearing oblivious to what was happening around us. Banging erupted upstairs and Daisy jumped, grabbing to my arm. She seemed to catch herself, immediately dropping the hold.
“They’re gone!” The shout had the other enforcer turning into his normal, vampire self. He let out a sound of aggravation as an enforcer with a paled out version of olive skin stomped down the steps. His black clothes matched the darkness of his eyes as he scanned the room.
“I told you we should have been more cautious. The queen probably felt us coming from a mile away. She’ll be long gone now.”
“That wasn’t just the queen and we both know it.” The blond enforcer turned and studied the room. His mouth was tight and uneasiness was embedded in his features. “We both felt it. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear the king was here. The power … it went well beyond what the queen holds. Hell, my skin is still crawling. Look.” He pulled up the long sleeve black shirt exposing his forearms. “Fucking goosebumps.”
The other enforcer knock his arm out of the way as he came toward us. “Something wasn’t right, I’ll give you that. But the king … we both know he’s buried away in that fucking room, scouring through all those books. He’s been in there for over a day now. He’s damn near lost his mind.”
“His mind was gone from the beginning,” the blond said lowly under his breath. “I don’t like this. I don’t like any of it.”
“Then perhaps you’ll help me.”
Marko’s head turned in their direction and his eyes were still black. Both men jumped, automatically lowering in a defensive position. Their eyes were wide as they dropped even further to their knees to bow.
