Page 17 of Fated In Blood (Nocturne Vampire Clan #1)

17

RIORDAN

“ I don’t know if I’ve ever been as happy to see the fucking sky as I am right now.” The eastern sky glowed pink as I led the way down the steps, not our usual arrangement, but Blake had his arm wrapped around our new charge, who was tottering on her feet like a newborn colt, and the bastard wouldn’t let her fall.

“Agreed. I am never setting foot in that mausoleum again.”

The cool morning air kissed the sweeping lawn with heavy dew, except out on the east lawn, strewn with the ruined castle walls. There was no sign of last night’s crowd. Evidently, Tyrell had run them all off.

Not surprising, since he’d bagged his real quarry.

Us .

Our nameless charge was dazed, but her subdued state wouldn’t last long. We had to get her back to the manor house before true hunger set in. Maybe it already had, from the way she kept clenching and unclenching her shaking hands.

Or maybe she was imagining wrapping them around Tyrell’s throat.

I tried not to stare, but she was beautiful beneath the dirt and speckles of dried blood flaking off her, the rare kind of beauty that poets wrote incomprehensible shit about, and males twisted themselves into fools over. Ethereal, like an angel, someone might say, if they were good with words.

But I wasn’t interested in her beauty. I wanted those deadly skills. Her vicious fury. I wanted to turn her loose and let her fuck up everything Laurent Tyrell cared about.

Last night I’d planned to leave her here at Darkmore Castle, but…this was better.

Blake could feed her, since he was so goddamned noble, and once she was through her transition, we’d get a read on her abilities and send her back into the lion’s den. Whether or not she came back out wasn’t my problem, only that she did my bidding.

She’d been a formidable little thing as a human; with Blake’s blood inside her, all that rage, and a little training…

Tyrell wouldn’t know what hit him.

“We were there for too long, Blake. Fuck knows what we’re walking back into,” I muttered, the weight of responsibility crashing back down on my shoulders. Running a kingdom—especially one with a corrupt Ancient in charge—was a shit job, and I was stuck with it for life.

Or until Tyrell killed me.

But until that day, I’d keep fighting him, keep undermining him, until everything he’d spent four hundred years building crumbled beneath him.

I just hoped I was alive to watch the bastard fall.

“This is far enough.” We stopped a distance away from Tyrell’s castle, surrounded by chunks of rock and debris, but even the wanton destruction didn’t cheer me up. “We’re flying back to the manor house, and you’ll just have to trust us, this is the fastest way, even though you’ll probably puke your guts out. Just try not to throw up on Blake if you can help it. Makes him grumpy.”

My friend shifted on his feet, clearly torn about letting go of the girl. “This could be another fucking trap. You should go first, Rohr. I’ll guard our retreat, make sure Tyrell doesn’t send some guards or a revenant after us.”

I held out my arms awkwardly, feeling far too big when faced by this wisp of a girl. “I suppose that means I’ve got to carry you,” I explained, trying to look as non-threatening as possible so she didn’t get spooked and I ended up having to chase her across the fucking grounds. “We’re taking you somewhere you’ll be safe.”

Comparatively.

“You mean somewhere different than this shithole castle filled with bloodthirsty ghouls?” She swallowed but kept staring at the castle. “Normally escape would be my first choice, but my sister’s in there. With him .”

She choked out that last word.

“And there’s nothing you can do about that right now.” I made “come here” motions with my hands. “Look, things are about to get fucked up for you, and I’d prefer not to be standing on Tyrell’s doorstep when true hunger takes you over. Trust me when I say this, neither do you.”

“You throw the word trust around an awful lot for a soulless bloodsucker.” She eyed me like I had the plague. “No thanks. I’ve got places to be. Weapons to procure. Explosives to make. I’m sure you understand.”

Behind her, Blake's eyebrows disappeared into his hair.

“I’m not wasting time arguing with a baby vamp. You’re coming with us.” I ceased trying to be nice and spread my arms wider. “One way or the other.”

“That’s some caveman shit, right there. No thank you on the trust, and I’ll pass on whatever”—she waved her hand up and down the length of my body—“this bullshit is.”

“You will obey me. This is for your own fucking good. Can’t you see that?”

“We need to leave, Rohr,” Blake urged softly. “Tyrell’s up there enjoying every second of this.”

She scanned the front of the castle and the darkened windows. “He’s nowhere to be seen.”

“He’s there. Can’t you feel him?” I motioned to her stomach. “Right there. Like a kernel of cold deadness, twisting around in your gut?”

She narrowed her gaze on me. “I thought I had heartburn.”

Blake herded her a step closer. “Now, Rohr. Before it’s too late.”

I reached for her, and she danced away, fast and lithe, my fingers barely brushing her bare arm when I should have caught her with ease. The evil creature had the fucking audacity to grin at me as she bounced on her toes, ten feet away.

“Stop being a pain in my ass. We’re not going to harm you. We could have killed you a hundred times over in the past seven hours and we didn’t. Now let me…” I swept my arm through the air, intending to scoop her up, but I never made it.

I didn’t even see her move until her foot sank into my testicles, air bursting out of my lungs as pain spliced me in half, my vision shredding apart. Fuck, the evil little thing was fast as a snake.

And she fought dirty.

Once I could stand straight again, I might even admire her.

“Get her to the goddamned house,” I choked, and Blake stepped up behind the girl, wrapping his arms around her and vanishing.

I couldn’t see Tyrell, but he was up there, watching this debacle, probably with a glass of his finest scotch in hand. I flipped him the bird, gathered my magic, and flew—every piece of me screaming in agony—back home.

I landed inside the foyer of Crimson Manor and found Blake Adolphus Marten, head of Nocturne Clan’s security, cupping his groin, sweat pouring off his face.

“You’re a pure-blooded vampire, one of the most powerful predators on earth. Possibly the best fighter I’ve ever seen in my life. One would think, given what you’d just witnessed, you would have guarded your balls better.”

“Fuck, she’s fast,” he grunted, drool dribbling from his mouth.

“Also something you witnessed firsthand, my friend.” I scanned the empty hall. “Dare I ask where she is?”

“That way.” Blake pointed to our left. One handed, because damn . After something like that, it always felt like if you let go of your balls, they might just fall the fuck off.

I located her immediately through our newly forged blood bond, in a room around the corner, currently trying to pry open one of the painted-shut windows so she could slip out through the gardens. Well, the joke was on her, because nobody escaped the gardens unless we allowed them to.

“Riordan.” Blake managed to lift his head and meet my gaze. “Her eyes were already glowing.”

Fucking hell .

A brand-new vampire with no self-control and a fresh set of fangs on the loose in a building filled with unsuspecting victims. “Get your shit together and go hunt her down.” She was nothing but a complication in my life, but fuck me if those words didn’t ignite a fire deep inside me, even with my own still-aching balls.

“Before anyone gets hurt,” I tacked on, since that should be my highest priority as king, not imagining how good she’d feel on my cock. This unwanted attraction was only her blood in my system messing with my head .

“Go find her, Blake. If you think I’m the one feeding her these next seven days, think again.” I winced inside as he straightened to his full height, face white as paper. “I need her to be strong, my friend. She’s about to become Tyrell’s downfall.”

His face brightened before a troubled expression shuttered it again. “I see. You only saved her to use her.”

Was that… judgment in his voice?

I’d known Blake my entire life. Even when my sire was alive, he’d been my one constant, besides Tyrell and the craven Nocturne royals, yet never once had I heard that questioning note come out of his mouth.

“We’ll discuss what comes next if she survives her transition. My guess is she’s starving.” I nodded in the direction she’d fled, marked by a trail of her sweet, addictive scent.

“You’d better hurry, my friend. She’s stronger than any newborn I’ve ever seen.”

I closed my eyes and focused, a smile playing on my lips, even though I should probably be pissed. She was climbing through the window, elation rippling down the bond when her feet hit the ground and she took off running through the garden, thinking she was free.

She was going to be the fucking perfect weapon.

Blake paused before he vanished. “Fuck, how does this even work? You Made her. Should I be asking you for permission…or something?”

“For now, that’s our secret. Tyrell’s planning to use her against us, it’s best if he doesn’t know I’m the one who Made her.” Blake nodded, instantly understanding. When it came to the crafty games Laurent liked to play, secrets were power, and this particular secret could give me an edge.

“You give her whatever she wants. If she’s half as wild now as she was as a human, you’re about to have your fucking hands full. Make her strong, Blake, then we use her to tear Laurent apart.”

Sensing his doubt, I clapped my hand on his shoulder. “I don’t know much about her, but I know this. She wants revenge, and she’ll jump at a chance to kill Tyrell.”

Guilt flashed in his eyes. “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”