Page 9

9

FELIX

Luke collapses to the ground, and I instinctively move to catch him, but Dante is faster. He cradles Luke’s head, preventing it from cracking against the stone floor.

Gaida is staring at him, standing as if she is still holding the sword.

“Where did it go?” I ask carefully, giving Draken the stink-eye.

“Where does it ever go?” he replies blandly.

“Mashtar was pissed the fuck off,” Gaida murmurs. “He didn’t expect this. He didn’t expect this to work. He was confident it wouldn’t.”

“So he has gone off in a strop?” Dante asks.

Gaida huffs out a laugh, though there’s no humour in it. “A strop doesn’t begin to cover it. He’s incandescent with rage.”

“Can you feel him?” I ask, studying her face carefully. The bond between her and Luke has clearly formed. I can see it in the way she keeps glancing at his unconscious form, the way her body unconsciously leans toward him even as she stands still. But there’s something else in her expression, a new awareness that wasn’t there before.

“Not directly,” she says after a moment. “But I felt him through the sword. And now...” She trails off, frowning.

“And now?” I prompt.

“And now I feel Luke. He is taking over my senses. The bond is intense.”

Draken watches her with those unnervingly bright green eyes, his head tilted slightly like a predator assessing prey. “The sword will return to you, my Queen. It always does.”

“And when it does, I’m going to destroy it,” she says, brushing me aside as she clenches her fists and moves to the other side of the vault. “Why did you let me do this?”

Draken raises an eyebrow, surprised by her question, as are Dante and I. Also, we are not thrilled with why she has asked him this.

“Let you?” he asks with a smile. “My Queen, you fail to understand this relationship.”

“You don’t have a relationship,” I spit out.

He turns those eyes on me, and I glare back at him, ensuring to bring as much magick to the party as necessary.

He dismisses me, but I can’t tell if it’s because he is cautious or simply thinks I’m insignificant.

“Your wish, my Queen, is my command. You say jump, I will ask how high. You say kill…” the pause is ominous as fuck. “… I ask whom. You say?—”

“We get it,” Dante grits out. “You are her servant.”

Draken lets out a soft laugh. “No, simply one who serves the goddess he is bound to.”

“Oh, fuck off,” I growl. “You aren’t bound to her, goddess or otherwise.”

“Aren’t I?” Draken’s smile turns cold. “The Blood Queen and I are bound by forces older than this academy, older than your magickal lineage. I was created to serve her purpose, just as she was created to serve mine.”

“That doesn’t sound like service to me. That sounds like you have your own agenda.”

“Everyone has an agenda,” Draken says smoothly.

On the floor, Luke stirs, his eyelids fluttering. Dante helps him sit up, supporting his weight as Luke struggles to orient himself.

“How do you feel?” Dante asks him.

Luke’s eyes immediately seek out Gaida, and the intensity of his gaze concerns me. “Different,” he says, his voice hoarse. “Stronger. Clearer.”

“The bond is settling,” Draken comments, watching them with undisguised interest. “It’s quite fascinating, really. I’ve never seen a sire bond form between a Blood Queen and one so old.”

I clench my teeth, fighting the urge to blast him with every ounce of magick I possess. “Is there a reason you’re still here? Or do you just enjoy being creepy and cryptic?”

“Felix,” Gaida murmurs, her eyes on Luke.

“What?” I snap. “We’ve got an ancient vampire with a new sire bond, a missing sword containing an enraged deity, and this guy standing around making mysterious pronouncements like we’re in some gothic horror novel.”

Draken’s laugh is genuine this time, which somehow makes it worse. “I like this one,” he says to Gaida. “He has spirit.”

“He has a name,” I growl.

“Felix,” Gaida says. “His name is Felix.”

She ignores everything else then and crosses over to kneel beside Luke, her hands hovering uncertainly before touching his face. The moment their skin connects, a visible shiver runs through both of them. Whatever this bond is, it’s powerful. Possibly dangerous.

“Can you stand?” she asks Luke softly.

He nods, though his movements are still sluggish as Dante helps him to his feet. Once upright, Luke seems to regain more of himself, his posture straightening, his eyes clearing.

“The sword,” he says, his voice stronger now. “We need to find it before Mashtar can regroup.”

“Any idea where it goes when it vanishes?” I ask Draken.

He seems surprised by my including him. But then he shrugs. “Who knows? It might still be here, just invisible.”

“Like last time,” I mutter. “We need to figure out this ritual that will destroy the sword but not release Mashtar.”

“Agreed,” Luke says, completely himself again now, only better, stronger, more powerful than I’ve ever seen him. “You, stay here.” He points to Draken as he once again sweeps us out of the vault with his magick and seals it shut behind us.

“You seem fine,” I point out.

“Better than fine,” he growls and wraps his hand around Gaida’s neck, slamming her up against the wall.

“Whoa,” I say, moving to interject, but when he drops his fangs and bites into her, I back off.

Not my vampire circus, not my vampire monkeys.

Luke’s bite is possessive, dominant, and clearly not painful from the way Gaida moans against him. Her hands clutch at his shoulders, not pushing him away but drawing him closer. I watch, mesmerised, as he drinks from her, the bond between them visible to me with my magickal affinity for these things.

“Erm,” Dante mutters beside me. “Should we give them a moment?”

I tear my eyes away from the spectacle. “Probably.”

Neither of us moves.

Even when they fumble with each other’s clothes, we still just stand there.

I’m transfixed by their passion. It’s something I have never felt or even wanted to feel. But knowing that Luke, who is so much like me, can be this way with her, the woman we both love, it gives me hope that I’m not going to be stuck in a non-physical relationship with her for eternity.

She shoves her leggings down, wiggling to get free for him. With her legs tightly closed, he rams his cock into her and my breath catches. Having watched her and Dante before, I find myself eager to witness this.

Dante grunts and adjusts himself, clearly as affected as I am by the sight before us. Luke fucks her with abandon, his mouth never leaving her neck as he feeds. She clings to him, her head thrown back against the wall, her expression one of pure ecstasy.

“Mine,” Luke growls against her throat, loud enough for us to hear. “Say it.”

“Yours,” she gasps, her fingers digging into his shoulders. “I’m yours, Luke.”

Something primal and possessive flashes in his eyes. “And I am yours. Your charge. Your creation.”

They move together with desperate intensity, their connection electric and raw. The power dynamic between them has shifted, but it somehow remains balanced. She is his sire, yet he dominates her physically, and she yields to him willingly.

When they climax together, the air around them shimmers with power. I feel it wash over me like a wave, making my skin tingle with awareness.

“Fuck,” Dante whispers beside me, his voice strained.

“No shit,” I murmur, finally looking away as Luke pulls back from Gaida, both of them breathing heavily.

Luke adjusts his clothing with swift, efficient movements, while Gaida struggles with her leggings. Her cheeks are flushed, her eyes bright with satisfaction.

“Feel better?” she asks Luke, a hint of amusement in her tone.

Luke’s smile is slow and predatory. “Much better. I needed to establish something.”

“I’d say you established it pretty thoroughly,” Dante remarks, not bothering to hide his arousal.

I clear my throat. “As fascinating as this new dynamic is, we still have the problem of a missing sword containing an enraged ancient being, plus his son locked in our vault, and a dangerous Blood Magick ritual to figure out.”

Gaida smooths her hair back, composure returning despite the flush still staining her cheeks. “Right. The ritual to destroy the sword without releasing Mashtar. Felix. This is your arena.”

I smirk at her. “As you wish, my Queen. Follow me.”

She snorts, but everyone falls into step behind me.

We leave the vault and make our way across campus to the library and down to the restricted section where that fucking creepy book lies in wait. But at least we know what we are looking for now. Makes a change.

I take the lead through the library, my stride purposeful as I navigate the labyrinthine shelves. The restricted section is warded as usual, but we all pass straight through with Luke at our side. The book instantly flies towards Gaida.

She uses her vampire reflexes to snatch it out of the air, a grim look on her face. “Is that a good sign or a bad sign?”

“I’d say good. It wants Mashtar destroyed.”

“Okay, so we have an ancient creature locked in a vault and seemingly on our side as well as the creepy emotion book,” she mutters.

“Seemingly is the right word,” I murmur, taking the book from her. The instant it passes between us, I feel its influence latching onto the lingering sense of arousal I had from watching Luke and Gaida.

Gaida’s breath hitches as she feels it too and quickly drops her hand.

Turning from her, before I do something we will both regret, I place it on the table and get to work.