Page 12 of Hunger in His Blood (Brides of the Kylorr #3)

CHAPTER 12

KALDUR

B y midafternoon, the strength from my feeding had faded, my clothes loosening around me, and I felt relieved. I’d shut myself away in my study for the duration of the morning until I felt more like myself. Beyond Maudoric, I didn’t want anyone to know that I’d found my kyrana . Especially not my brothers.

Maudoric wouldn’t tell a soul. But for now…it was best I kept the discovery to myself.

My bleary gaze was looking over the expansion proposal for the South Road, which would lead further beyond Vyaan and connect to Salaire next. Orb lights were being installed next month, an off-planet order that had been pricey. But they were permanent sources of light and would ensure safer transport of exports and traveling caravans between the territories.

I had my own doubts and opinions on prioritizing the South Road’s completion when there was a threat of war looming. I’d opted against the plan, arguing that we should use our funds to begin increasing drava extraction. Kylorr black steel. It was mined from the Three Guardians, a mountain range close to Erzos. Drava weapons and structures were virtually unbreakable and were invaluable in a time of war.

But Kythel had reasoned that the road would make it easier to defend the Southern territories. Vyaan and Salaire, specifically. The transport of drava , of food, of much needed supplies was made a priority. He wasn’t wrong. Then again, neither was I.

Kylorr could transport supplies by flying them, but it expended a lot of energy, and some required groups to manage the weight, all tethered together. It was dangerous if even one Kylorr succumbed to exhaustion, potential for taking down the entire grouping, especially if they were flying with something as heavy as drava .

My brothers had been split, but Azur, as eldest, had made the final decision, siding with Kythel. Which hadn’t been a surprise.

Maudoric entered my study with a tray of food after a short rap on the door.

She eyed me as she set it down on the small table near the window that overlooked the south side of the village.

“Where is she?” I asked first, the question nearly unconscious.

“In the gardens,” Maudoric replied. “I have a few horticulturists keeping an eye out for her.”

I inclined my head. When I hadn’t been able to find Erina yesterday, when no one had known where she’d disappeared to, I’d…panicked. A strange burst of deep fear that didn’t make any logical sense. If not for one of the horticulturists’ report that he’d seen her near the starwood blooms before sundown, I would’ve searched the keep from top to bottom.

After a similar scare this morning, a mere twelve hours later, I’d tasked Maudoric to keep tabs on her whereabouts. I wasn’t going to secure my kyrana only to lose her so quickly, no matter how repelled I felt about the situation.

It would be unwise for me to lose her. A blood mate was a powerful weapon, especially if war came .

Maudoric cleared her throat, and I looked up. “Lydrasa of House Azola is waiting in the atrium. Would you like me to turn her away?”

A sharp annoyance pierced through me, but I reasoned it was only habit. Lydrasa came to me every couple days like clockwork. She had for the last several months. We aligned. She was more than willing, and I’d been…needful. Anything to suppress that awful sensation growing inside me.

A sensation I assumed had begun because of Erina. She’d come to work at my keep two years ago. It was no coincidence that that was when it had started. Even beneath her awful artificial scent, that beastly thing inside me had recognized her for what she truly was.

A part of me was angry. That I’d suffered so long and so needlessly, constantly driven to distraction. Nights of restless sleep, chased by bouts of fucking that had only momentarily dulled the ache.

“Send her up,” I told Maudoric, hearing something in my neck snap when I rolled it. If she was surprised by my answer—now that I had a blood mate—she didn’t show it. Her expression was carefully blank.

I stood from my desk, going to the window. Sunlight skimmed over my face as I heard my Head Keeper leave the room.

Now a part of me wished I’d taken the larger office in the East Wing so that I might overlook the gardens. So that I might see where Erina was spending her time.

A gruff scoff of disgust came from me.

No. I refused to be one of those males who pined over their blood bonded like a lovesick fool. There was nothing romantic about this. I intended to use Erina like a drug, to make me feel like my old self. That was the deal. She would lead an easy, pampered life from here on out. She wouldn’t have to worry about anything . All I required was her blood…and for her not to get too attached in the process.

My attentions couldn’t be diverted from Vyaan, from the entirety of the Kaalium right now. We were on the precipice of uncertain change. I didn’t need to be distracted by a female of all things.

Once, I’d scorned Kythel when he’d believed he could resist the pull of his blood mate in favor of marrying a daughter of a noble House. I’d laughed at him. Maybe now fate was punishing me.

Lydrasa entered my study, a sensual smirk already poised on her lips. “Door open or closed?” she teased.

It had always turned her on…the possibility of getting caught. I’d felt the way her cunt had clenched around me tight when Erina had walked in on us the other day.

Normally I’d have her bent over the desk by now, the tension snapping in my bones, making me want to crawl out of my skin.

Now? My cock didn’t give so much as a twitch.

Another thing taken from me, I thought. The ability to fuck others.

I had half a mind to test it. To prove that I couldn’t be controlled by a blood bond.

But I had a feeling it would make me feel all the worse.

“I need to speak with you,” I said, leaning against the edge of my desk, crossing my arms over my chest as I eyed her. Lydrasa’s smile slowly faded. She shut the door and then sauntered over toward me, her stride graceful. She might’ve been eight years older than me, but she didn’t look it.

“Am I in trouble?” she asked, her easy smile flitting over her features, a mixture of innocence and teasing. “Why do I feel like I’m about to get punished?”

“We both know you would enjoy that, zendra ,” I said easily, my lips quirking up at one corner. I needed to maneuver this carefully. Lydrasa was still a friend, a powerful ally within Vyaan. I didn’t need to insult her .

She studied me, her pretty eyes raking up and down my body, and though my expression was easy, I worried about what she might discover. She was intelligent and observant, and both traits had served her well flitting through the noble Houses all these years.

“Something’s different about you,” she commented. I spied her finger tapping along her dress. A small movement that I knew meant she was puzzling something out. “Has something happened?”

“I’ll be direct with you, Lydrasa. Our arrangement needs to end.”

She didn’t react to the words save for a small sharpening of her gaze. She only asked, “May I ask why, Kyzaire ? Especially when it’s one that benefits both of us so well.”

“I’ve taken a blood giver.”

Her lips pressed, her chin tilting up. “That doesn’t mean we have to stop,” she pointed out. “Unless your blood giver is the jealous type.”

“She is,” I lied. “There is a contract in place. It’s one I am honor bound not to break.”

“And you did this without consulting me?”

I grinned though irritation snapped through my spine, making my wings raise. Lydrasa noted that. I went to her, tipping her chin up to meet my eyes. “I don’t have to ask for your permission, zendra . In anything I do.”

She stepped back, out of my reach. “You’re correct, Kyzaire . You most certainly don’t.”

The noble female was smiling now, but it held all the warmth of a hungry lyvin . “She must be quite the blood giver for you to obey so willingly.”

My jaw tightened. Lydrasa would have her suspicions, of course, but I would never confirm them for her.

“I’m behaving,” I said easily, “for now.”

“Who is she? Where did you find her? ”

“At a dyaan ,” I told her. A blood-giver establishment. “I had a taste of her and knew I wanted more. And more.”

She huffed.

“Keep your secrets, then,” Lydrasa said, a sensual smile appearing. She approached, pressing a couple fingers to my chest, the tip of her claw a small bite. Through my shirt, I felt the heat of them as they trailed down my front. “I’ll find them all out soon enough.”

“I don’t doubt it.”

Her touch met the waistband of my pants, skimming over my still-soft cock. She traced the length of it, and I snatched her hand quickly, giving her wrist a warning squeeze as discomfort burned in my chest. I hadn’t liked that. I didn’t want her to touch me, when before her touch had always been welcomed.

“Maudoric will see you out,” I told her, voice firm, leading her to the door.

I could feel the sharp pinch of her anger as it sizzled beneath the surface. She wouldn’t let this lie, I knew that. But mercifully, at that very moment, she surrendered.

“Enjoy your blood giver, Kyzaire ,” she said with a sharp grin. “Let me know if you ever want to share her. I’m not the jealous type, and I’ll make it worth her while.”

I knew she was poking at me now. Testing the boundaries.

I’d never been the jealous type either…and yet the thought of anyone touching my kyrana , tasting her, made rage rise.

She’s baiting you—don’t give in, I thought, gritting my teeth.

“Goodbye, Lydrasa.”

“I’ll see you at the dinner party in a few days,” she promised, her eyes glinting like steel. “My father is so looking forward to your visit.”

Like always, she needed the last word.

Energy was building in my veins. I needed a distraction, something to soothe the grumbling, prowling, new beast within me .

Use her, I thought.

Before I knew it, I went stalking through my keep toward the gardens.