Page 11 of His Retribution

My head lifts, eyes narrow, lips form a most devious grin. "Think."

"We've sent out scouts and I've scoured the lands personally in search of any other shifter royalty. Dragons are all but extinct and predators are on that same path. Shifters of prey would never trust a dragon, let alone join forces with one. There is no one Ivan could recruit to lead or fight."

"Think," I repeat as I lean forward, placing my elbows on the holes of my jeans.

I'm met with a brief silence before I see understanding fall over both of them.

"Nero," Andrej grunts.

Tapping my finger against my temple I smirk. "We have a winner."

Karel scoffs. "Ivan may be as stupid as they come but even he is not mad enough to track down theUpírí král'."

"Madness is the only reason one would track him down." Sweeping my arm from head to toe, I motion to myself. "Hence why yours truly has devoted the last few centuries to such a task."

Andrej rolls his eyes as Karel shakes his head. "Even so, if someone like you, someone who shares his blood has been unable to find him for well over two hundred and seventy years, what makes you believe Ivan will fare any better?"

"That's just it,priatel'. Nero does not want me to find him. He allows me to get close, so close I can smell his vile stench, taste his toxic blood, practically feel it dripping from my fingers then, POOF! He vanishes without so much as a speck of dust left behind. Nero will be found if and when he allows, no sooner. If he knows Ivan is looking for him, looking to form an alliance with him to eradicate the last of the dragon shifter royalty and appoint himself king of what remains, well then surely he will make an exception for the madman."

"Clearly you've put some thought into this, brother.”

I nod and slump back against my seat. "The one thing Cyril shared in common with Nero was his hate for other shifters, although my grandfather does not discriminate—he hates dragons as well." I tip my head back with a sigh. "And though Cyril's purpose was to enslave or eliminate humans in order to rule over what remained of shifters without complication, Nero will want to wipe out all shifters and keep the humans, have them multiply even."

"Unlimited food," Andrej grunts.

"That." I point to my friend. "My grandfather will align himself with Ivan, provide an army to him in order to slaughter every last shifter that walks the Earth, thus performing a betrayal even Judas would be impressed by. Nero will turn on Ivan, annihilate him, what's left of your people, and allow his cretins of death to enslave the humans, leaving no one left to protect them. He will exterminate the pests so he may sow an endless crop of food ripe for the harvest."

"Speaking of which..." Karel lifts a brow. "When was the last time you fed?"

My stomach rumbles in response.

I have refused to feed properly since my light burnt out. One of the simple ways I can punish myself for allowing harm to befall my love. A sacrifice that is still not great enough to cleanse my hands of her blood.

"Two days."

In unison they scowl at me.

If I weren't such a miserable bastard, I'd laugh.

"Rather dangerous, brother," Andrej grits out.

I sigh. "I will hunt tonight if it pleases you."

"Not enough."

He is not wrong.

Vampires thrive on the blood of mortals. An educated and respectable vampire will take what he needs, make it as enjoyable as possible, and wipe the event from the human's mind as if it never happened.

We cannot take from shifters.

Well, wecan, but it leads to a great many complications and usually some sort of negative outcome for one or both parties involved.

We also cannot take from other vampires as our blood is like poison once ingested.

Unless our mate is shifter or vampire, it is futile to even try, and both of those are a rarity in themselves.

Ideally, vampires will find their human mate and take from them for the rest of eternity, their blood custom made to nourish their mate in a way nothing else will. The experience is intimate, beautiful, sensual even, and the blood-bond shared between a vampire and its mate is like none other ever created.