Page 36 of Blood Day (Blood Alliance #7)

Cedric

I combed my fingers through Lily’s hair, untangling the strands gently while she slept. She hadn’t brushed it after our shower, causing knots to form throughout the day. I’d already grabbed a comb for her to use when she woke up, leaving it on the nightstand with a note regarding breakfast.

She would not be dining with me and Khalid.

Because I didn’t trust him not to eat her.

And sharing Lily was not on today’s menu.

This new world tended to require sharing our “food,” the notion of exclusivity a concept looked down upon by many. But I wasn’t my brethren. When I picked a lover, I kept her for myself.

However, the royals of my kind could demand I share her—hence the reason I wanted to keep her hidden from Silvano.

And now Khalid.

Except Khalid already knew she was here.

Which made him a threat.

I kissed Lily’s forehead, silently vowing to protect her from him and his dark tastes. He favored knife play, something I knew as I’d observed him in action several times over our very long acquaintance.

We weren’t friends. But we weren’t enemies either. We merely understood each other. Maybe because we were similar in some ways.

Always plotting.

Always lurking.

Always hiding our true intentions.

He knew how to play the political game as well as I did.

However, the primary difference between us was he’d been required to take over his territory as a royal, his bloodline and status marking him as the only one capable of leading. Had he refused, the lands would have gone to Sahara or Ankit.

I supposed that Khalid could have allowed it and chosen to live outside of society—something only one vampire royal had actually opted to do—but it would have required Khalid to give up his palaces throughout the lands, as well as the people he’d cultivated as his own. Including his pet assassins.

Rather than fight the system, he’d accepted it.

And went about playing around the rules in his own way.

Something I knew from my time here at this Blood University; it was located on the border between his region and Sahara Region.

The two royals took turns maintaining order at the university here, and it was currently Khalid’s decade to manage everything.

A task a normal royal would delegate to a sovereign or a regent.

But not Khalid .

He was up to something.

And I intended to use this breakfast as a way of determining if that something would impact me in any way.

Hopefully not. I already had my own political games to play with Silvano.

Two years, I reminded myself. Two years to figure this shit out or accept fate.

Assuming he kept his word.

I’d dealt with the Clemente Clan problem by reminding Walter that he did not want to fuck with Silvano. Or he’d send me in to handle it. And Walter did not want that to happen, as evidenced by the two enforcers I’d sent back to him in pieces.

I was efficient and redefined the meaning of the term for him, proving that his little pups were no match for my strength and unique skill sets.

Sighing, I kissed Lily again, then left her on the bed.

I’d already showered and dressed, aware of Lily’s lingering scent on my skin. I hadn’t wanted to share that part of her with Khalid, so donning a suit as armor had felt appropriate. Besides, he’d likely be in some designer label as well.

I wore my usual black on black.

And I wasn’t surprised at all to find him waiting in the formal dining room in a similar color scheme.

His dark hair was still damp from a recent shower, his thin beard neatly trimmed. And he held a mug of coffee in his hand, the rim of which he had at his lips when I entered.

A human servant knelt at his side, her head bowed, waiting for his next command.

They all did that.

Especially around royalty .

“Evening,” he greeted.

“My Prince,” I returned formally.

He grunted. “Please don’t. We both know I fucking despise the titles.”

“Is that why you’re masquerading as a Master at the university?” I asked, taking the seat beside him, which kept the servant kneeling between us.

“It’s fascinating, actually. I arrived and only one person recognized me. So I just kept the title they gave me and started teaching. After silencing the one who had noticed the truth, of course.”

I studied him. “I had no idea you were that bored.”

“Says the sovereign who chose to teach over assuming his mantle.”

“It’s not technically mine yet,” I corrected as I reached forward to pour myself a cup of coffee from the carafe. I could ask the female on the floor to do it, but her shivering shoulders made me doubt her ability to serve me without making a mess.

“Semantics,” Khalid replied.

I shrugged. He wasn’t wrong. “As to why they didn’t recognize you, I imagine it’s due to your haircut and lack of head scarf.”

All the formal photos of him shown to humans in the political courses were of him dressed in clothes that hid most of his notable features, something I knew he did to keep himself disguised in photographs.

Not that he’d admit it out loud.

“It’s called a keffiyeh,” he informed me. “And I only wear it because Lilith hates it.”

My lips twitched, amused by his antics. We both knew he only did it to hide. However, the fact that Lilith hated it simply added to the allure. “I’ve always liked you. ”

“A lie, but the feeling is mutual,” he murmured, sipping from his mug again.

I followed suit, noting his cultural influence on today’s coffee. I approved, Middle Eastern–style coffee having always been one of my favorites. It was more potent and stronger than my usual European-style blend.

The world might be different now with the regions and countries all renamed to meet our standards.

However, I still very much preferred the former cultures when defining something.

Lilith might have restructured the maps, but the history remained.

“So. How was Clemente Clan?” Khalid asked.

“Always cutting straight to the point, hmm?” I mused, setting my cup down with a smile. “What do you really want to know, Khalid?”

We’d known each other long enough to avoid the word games our kind often indulged in. If he wanted information I could share, then I would.

Besides, I suspected his question was merely a warning of some kind—a way to say, “I know what you’ve been up to,” without actually vocalizing it.

He couldn’t give two fucks about Silvano’s antics.

However, he was always watching, and he wanted to remind me of that by asking his very pointed question.

“Do you want to be a sovereign?” he asked.

“No. But Silvano isn’t giving me a choice.” It was a truth I wouldn’t typically reveal, but Khalid functioned as a walking lie detector. To tell him otherwise would just prolong a political discussion between us that could otherwise be wrapped up in a handful of sentences.

He nodded. “I thought not. It’s why you’ve been hiding here. ”

“?‘Hiding’ is a stretch,” I replied, picking up my coffee again for another sip. “What are you doing here?”

He smiled. “Maybe I’m hiding, too.”

I snorted. “You’re always hiding in plain sight.”

“Touché,” he mused before finishing his cup. He drew his fingers through the hair of the servant kneeling between us. “Could you please let them know we’re ready for breakfast?”

Such a politely worded question for a royal to issue to a human.

But it summarized Khalid perfectly.

He was always bending rules and twisting them to suit his means. And he would purposely be kind to servants just to piss all over Lilith’s demand that we be cruel to those beneath us.

“Yes, My Prince,” the servant replied as she stood.

“Thank you,” he murmured, watching her leave. “They’re such docile little toys. It’s so rare to find one with a backbone nowadays.”

“Wasn’t that the point of breaking them all?” I asked.

He lifted a shoulder. “I suppose.” He considered the doorway for a moment before returning his focus to me. “Prospect Four Hundred and Seven. You’ve requested to keep her for the month.”

There wasn’t a question there, but I nodded anyway. “She needs more hands-on training.”

“Hmm.” He drummed his fingers on the table, his turquoise eyes blazing with knowledge. “What hands-on training do you intend to provide?”

“Sexual training. Servitude. Perhaps additional combat, but only for foreplay purposes.” Not a lie. I intended to instruct her on all those topics.

He studied me for another beat. “You fancy her.”

“She’s beautiful and skilled with her mouth.” I tried to sound as nonchalant as possible. “I would like to enjoy that while I can.”

The door opened again as two servers appeared with breakfast trays. They set them on the table and began to kneel. Khalid stopped them with a curtly stated “You’re dismissed.”

Interesting . Most royals would have told the servants to lie naked on the table to vary the meal between food and blood.

Silvano wouldn’t have even bothered with the food. He would have taken the petite female server, placed her on the table, and fucked her while drinking her dry.

Not Khalid.

He’d dismissed the staff with a sternness that had told them not to return.

“You’re surprised.” Khalid didn’t look at me while he spoke, his gaze on the trays of food. “If you need blood, you can call them back.”

I picked up a piece of pita bread from a side plate and eyed the various spreads. “I have a prospect in my bed more than willing to give me blood.” Not that I needed much of it.

“Is that another reason for keeping her? Her ‘willingness’ to donate?” His tone held a certain dry quality to it, causing my focus to shift to him. He wasn’t looking at me, though. He was focused on the shakshuka dish.

“Is there such a thing as ‘willing’ in this new world?” I countered, causing his gaze to flick up to mine. “Humans are now cattle. Are cows given a choice in their slaughter?”

He considered me for a long moment, those eyes of his holding a thousand secrets, not one of which he would ever give away.

Rather than reply to my questions, he returned his focus to the meal and dipped some pita bread in the shakshuka.