Page 7 of Blood Day

Then I’d take her to her grave.

Peacefully.

Beautifully.

Passionately.

My gift to her. And a memory to haunt me for a lifetime.

Such a delicate, sweet flower.

I bent to inhale her fragrance, loving the way her blood sang beneath my ministrations. She wanted me, just as she should. It was only natural to crave the touch of a superior.

Many took advantage of it.

Something I could so easily do now after she’d blatantly stated her desire topleaseme.

Maybe I should let her. Indulge the connection. Allow her to worship me at my feet for what little time she had left on this earth.

I ran my fingers through her hair once more, considering the option.

It was a dangerously attractive option. We weren’t supposed to take humans away from their studies, but many of my kind offered private courses to increase a mortal’s potential and worth.

That wasn’t the same as claiming her or keeping her as mine.

Individual studies increased a human’s value, making them more attractive to the vampires and lycans who took mortals into their possession.

Maybe I could offer her my own form of training.

Then fail her entirely.

Write a personal recommendation to have her removed immediately for a lack of obedience.

I could even offer to be the one to terminate her.

I drew my knuckles down her cheek, considering the option and wondering why I hadn’t thought of it before. Perhaps because she hadn’t ever approached me about her scores.

That arguably showed courage.

A courage I would have to break.

Or maybe I would stoke it with fire, allow her to shine for a few brief moments in time, then reward her with death.

Students died every day.

No one cared.

I’d considered removing her before, but something about her wilting enthralled me.

Perhaps I should let her blossom just to destroy her.

A tempting idea.I cocked my head. “How badly do you want to pass my course, little flower? What position in society is it that you desire?”

She swallowed, her pupils dilating to cover those fiery embers in her irises. They’d only grown stronger in the last few minutes while I held her on her knees, staring down at her in mild contemplation.

“I want to go to the Immortal Cup,” she told me, making me roll my eyes.

“All humans want that. Only twelve go a year. You think you’re special enough to qualify?”