Page 16 of Hunger in His Blood (Brides of the Kylorr #3)

CHAPTER 16

KALDUR

T wo nights later, I was readying for House Azola’s dinner, mentally barricading myself and preparing for the barrage of questions about the rumors of impending war. I’d spoken with my brothers earlier during our weekly meeting, and we’d all agreed to try to curb the whisperings for now, at least until we finalized a war bond with the Kaazor in the North.

It would only lead to panic. From the noble Houses, the news would spread throughout the entirety of the Kaalium. If there was one thing I’d learned from Erina, it was that keepers found out everything eventually and they would talk.

I was already on edge, and I knew exactly who would help ease it. But in an attempt to not make it obvious I’d found my blood mate by showing up to the dinner of nobles in too-tight clothing, I’d decided against taking a later feeding from her today. I hadn’t seen Erina since this morning, since she’d trembled against me in the hallway, fighting valiantly against her building desire as I’d taken my fill. I could still feel the prick of her nails as they’d dug into my shoulders.

I’d never been so satisfied on blood and so sexually frustrated in my life. Merely thinking about her made my cock harden. It was becoming more and more apparent that we couldn’t fight this forever on willpower alone. Sooner or later, we might both go mad.

There’s no reason to resist, that devious little voice in my mind whispered. She is yours already.

But in doing so, it would cement the bond. Forever shackled to her. Forever reliant on her blood. That was a commitment I didn’t want to make right now.

“ Vaan, ” I cursed under my breath, buttoning the last silver clasp on my molded vest. It looked like armor tonight, plated in silver embellishments. I thought it fitting, considering I felt like I was going into a hungry den of nobles.

If all of Vyaan knew that Erina was my kyrana , she would be expected to be at my side tonight. The fact that she would not be was an insult to her…so it was better she didn’t know about it. Still, the news that I’d taken a permanent blood giver would undoubtedly be a topic of conversation. I was hosting a dinner at the keep in another week. Erina would need to be in attendance, as was her right. It would even be expected, especially after tonight. I had no doubt that Lydrasa had already spread the news and by now knew who she was.

I headed toward my balcony door, keen to leave, to get this dinner over with so I could return, when a knock halted me. Light and a little hesitant. I knew who it was, and my fucking fangs nearly elongated right there and then.

Blowing out a sharp breath, I went to the door. Erina was there, dressed in plain light brown trousers and a soft white shirt that billowed out around her arms but nipped her in at the torso. Her hair was up in a pile on her head, a pencil tucked behind her ear, her cheeks flushed, her eyes bloodshot.

The surge of longing that went through me was alarming.

“I’m sorry—I just came in from the gardens. I lost track of time,” she said quickly. There was eagerness in her gaze. “Did you want to?— ”

If she asked me outright, I might not have the discipline to deny her.

“Later,” I rasped. “I’m heading out to a dinner tonight.”

“Oh,” she said, blinking her wide eyes. She had charcoal across her cheek again, and I wiped at it, frowning, rubbing at the smudge until it disappeared, wondering how she always dirtied herself there. Her skin was hot and she smelled more tempting than that morning, but I knew that was the hunger in me. “Oh, you look very handsome.”

She’d finally looked down at my clothing. The compliment fell easily from her lips, as did her pleased shy smile.

“Will you draw me like this, dallia ?” I rumbled, unable to resist the small tease. “Look your fill. I expect to see my likeness when I return to you tonight.”

Her laugh released some tension that had been lining my shoulders. The last two days had been shockingly easy with her. We had a routine, one we’d fallen into. Feedings only, yes. But there was an ease of talking with her, as charged as the conversations might be. It felt like we were both holding our breath in those conversations. I found them exciting and tantalizing, even though they were innocent. And I found myself thinking of her far too much when she was absent.

The bond, I knew, further wiggling itself into me like a parasite.

“I’ll see what I can do,” she replied. Her gaze ran over me again. She had lost track of time, it seemed. She’d been on her way out to the gardens when I’d caught her in the hallway just that morning. Had she not returned since?

“Make sure you eat and take your baanye ,” I told her gruffly. She needed to take better care of herself. She couldn’t survive the entire day on fruit from my orchards if she didn’t want to come inside.

“I will,” she promised. “See you tonight. ”

I inclined my head, then watched her disappear down the hallway to her quarters.

And suddenly the night seemed endless until I could see her next.

I smiled at Kyda through the silver smoke of lore floating throughout the dining hall of House Azola. Even the smoke couldn’t dull the snap of tension in my shoulders as I counted down the moments until I could take my leave politely now that dinner had ended.

I’d been here for hours, and I knew that Lydrasa had spread the rumors already. I’d caught the lingering stares, the ways nobles tried to hide the quirk of their mouths. Every time I caught a glimpse of my former lover, irritation burned in my gut at her sly smile.

Her message was clear. No one rejected her, not even a Kyzaire .

But that’s her mistake, I thought. She thought herself invincible against House Kaalium because she’d had one of its sons between her thighs. Nothing made her protected against my House unless she was bound to me in marriage or blood…and she wasn’t.

I would speak with her before I left. I would give her a warning of my own because my patience had already been rubbed thin within a mere few moments of entering House Azola.

Kyda was Lydrasa’s mother, who’d pulled me into conversation as a familiar keeper roamed the room with a tray of a variety of lore yields from different years. My eyes had narrowed on her, knowing that she was one of mine, and I wondered why she was serving House Azola tonight.

“Tell me, Kyzaire , if the South Road is being extended to Salaire, then perhaps it will be easier to import the Southern silks from your brother’s territory. I know the shopkeeper here in Vyaan. He would be delighted if we got a steady supply in. It always sells so fast,” Kyda told me. She smiled. “Of course, he always keeps some for me. He knows how much I enjoy it.”

“As he should,” I said, taking a sip of my brew from the silver goblet. All around me, I could feel the circling of other nobles, all waiting for a chance to steal me for a conversation. I’d already spoken to nearly half of those in attendance. “I’ll see what arrangements can be made. But if you’ll pardon me, Kyda…I need to speak with your daughter.”

“Oh, of course,” she answered, her eyes twinkling knowingly. Whatever she assumed, I would let her assume it. As long as I could leave as soon as possible. And Lydrasa was the last obstacle in my way.

I hurried through the crowded room, dodging pulls into circles and conversations with an easy smile and apologies. A mask. That was what Erina had called it, hadn’t she? And she’d been right.

Sometimes I worried I’d become this mask. I worried I didn’t know who I was anymore. Once, I’d never cared about the opinions of others. I’d done what I’d wanted. The luxury of youth, I supposed.

“I need to speak with you,” I murmured into Lydrasa’s ear when I reached her, my grip on her arm firm. She’d been speaking with a son of House Braan. Judging by his darkened cheeks, I wondered if Lydrasa was already hunting for my replacement.

“My pleasure, Kyzaire ,” Lydrasa purred, her lips pulled into a playful smile.

“Privately.”

She inclined her head, excusing herself from the conversation. We passed the familiar keeper and Lydrasa touched her arm before leading me into a quiet hallway off the main dining hall.

“Why is one of my keepers serving at your gathering?” I asked when we were alone, enclosed in a private sitting room, blissfully quiet and clear of foggy smoke and raucous laughter. My ears nearly rang in relief.

“Velle?” Lydrasa asked, quirking a brow. “She used to work for House Azola. Did you not know? She’ll still visit us at times, offer to help with our parties if it’s a quiet night at your keep. I didn’t think to mention it because I didn’t think you’d care.”

“If Maudoric cleared it, then I have no reason to care.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Lydrasa replied with a small, delicate shrug. She circled me, tracing her fingers over my shoulders. “What’s wrong, Kaldur? Are you upset with me?”

“I know what you’ve been up to,” I informed her when she came to stand in front of me. I grabbed her forearm when she tried to move away. “I don’t appreciate you spreading my private business. Nor is it your place. Consider this a warning, Lydrasa. Keep me out of your mouth.”

She licked her lips. Her voice dropped and she touched my arm. “Yet I remember a time when you begged me to keep you in my mouth, Kyzaire .”

“Lydrasa,” I growled.

“Yes, yes,” she sighed, irritated. She dropped the act, like a curtain falling, and stalked away toward the shelves, which were littered in old artifacts from across the universe. Strange rocks and glittering gems. Grotesque little figurines and pots of bright colors. “I’m only watching out for you, Kaldur.”

I scoffed. “How exactly are you watching out for me? I’d love to hear this.”

“ Don’t make a mockery of me, Kyzaire ,” she hissed. My title felt like a jab as she glared. “I know every noble in this territory. I’ve dined with or fucked or been a comforting friend to nearly all of them. I know what I’m doing. I only want what’s best for Vyaan. My home . I’m trying to make you remember that so you don’t become the next Kyzaire of this territory to throw away his power on a keeper .” I hid my flinch well, but she still caught it. “I believe you will do great things here. When you and your brothers slowly started coming into power, uniting the Kaalium under one House again, I almost felt hopeful. I still feel hopeful. Why would you compromise that?”

She wasn’t…wrong.

“Go on,” I said, showing her I was listening. That was the thing about Lydrasa. She might’ve liked to gossip and stick her nose where it didn’t belong, but I knew her loyalties were tied to House Kaalium. I knew she put Vyaan above all else. Her family had been here since the territory’s inception. Every ancestor in her family’s shrine had their soul gem in place here. That was nearly as powerful as a blood bond.

I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t considered her as a potential wife. She would make Vyaan stronger, one of the better choices I could make for my territory. And while it would never be a love match, we respected one another as friends…and our sexual relationship had been satisfying. Many married couples wouldn’t be able to boast that.

“I don’t have to tell you, Kaldur. I know who you used to be. Everyone saw you as this unserious, lore- smoking womanizer with a charming smile that got you everything you ever wanted,” she said, approaching me. Her coy grin was gone, replaced with a serious expression, a hardened glint in her eyes. I swallowed, my nostrils flaring at her description. “But I know that’s not who you are, and you proved to these Houses that you are a very capable leader.

“But I’m here to remind you because you seem to have lost your way. The nobles of Vyaan ripped your uncle to shreds when he married that keeper. Laughed at him behind closed doors. You think you know what was said? You have no idea. Nobles don’t have to like you, Kaldur. But if we are heading to war?—”

“We are not?—”

She shot me a look. “ Please. If we are heading to war, the noble Houses don’t have to like you. But they do need to fear and respect you. The one sure way to make sure they don’t? Fuck one of your keepers and elevate her position within your House. You’d be another silly fool of House Kaalium and prove them all right. You’ve worked hard to get here, to shake their perception of you since the beginning. Don’t throw everything away for a woman .”

“It’s nothing I haven’t already thought myself,” I finally said. “Believe me.”

“Oh, I do,” Lydrasa said. She raised her voice, “Come in.”

My brow furrowed, watching the door push open, a familiar face appearing. Velle. She’d been waiting.

“Don’t take it from me,” Lydrasa told me. She regarded the hybrid girl across the room, gesturing her forward. “Tell him what you told me, Velle.”

The keeper bit her lip, as if torn. I frowned.

“Don’t worry—you won’t be in trouble,” Lydrasa coaxed. To me, she said, “I think you should know who you have in your bed.”

My eyes connected with Velle’s. I knew she was a friend of Erina’s. She was the one who’d walked in on us that morning.

“If you have something to say, speak,” I told her, though I kept my tone even. Everything about this felt wrong, but if they knew something I didn’t…I needed to know. Citizen files could only tell me so much.

I heard her swallow. Her hands fidgeted in front of her like she was scared. “Erina and I have been friends ever since she started working at your keep, Kyzaire . Maudoric asked me to take her under my care as she got her bearings, and we’ve been close ever since. But I am loyal to your House and I thought you should know that she’s not who she seems. I brought it up to Lady Lydrasa because I know you are both friends and…”

“Go on,” I prompted, my tone slightly rougher. My brow was furrowed, my lips pressed into a thin line.

“Erina is a very ambitious girl,” Velle said. “And in our conversations she’s made it clear that she intends to attach herself to a wealthy or noble family. Or to be a paid mistress of one of the Houses. Anything to gain status and wealth…but mostly for money.”

“And why is that?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. My heart had sped in my chest, dread beginning to build. Yet it didn’t sound like the female I’d come to know.

“Erina never had much growing up. She was an orphan…I’m not sure if she told you. She never wants to be poor again. But she also wants money because of—of Luc.”

“Luc?” I asked quickly, stilling. “Do you know him?”

“I know of him. They send each letters all the time,” Velle replied. Briefly, her eyes went to Lydrasa behind me. Her spine straightened. “Luc Denoren.”

The breath felt squeezed out of my lungs. “Denoren. Are they married?”

They share a family name? I thought in disbelief, that dread tripling in my belly.

Velle shook her head, and I didn’t know why I felt such relief at that.

It was short-lived, however.

“They aren’t married yet, but Erina and Luc made promises to one another. They took the same name in honor of that promise. They love each other. They grew up together at the orphanage, but when Luc came of age, he traveled to Laras. To make a name there. Her plan was to get a consistent source of credits, however she could, even if that meant marrying into a wealthy family for a time. Then she would send the credits to Luc in Laras, so that he could build a nice life for them both. Once they had enough, she planned to meet him there.”

The silence in the room was deafening. A swirling of anger, jealousy, and bitterness nearly consumed me, but I would keep it bottled and compressed. At least until I was alone.

“I admire you and your House, Kyzaire , and you’ve treated all of us very well,” Velle finally said, her eyes holding mine. “Even though she is my friend, I’ve told her that I don’t like what she’s doing. That it’s wrong. She’s…she’s playing you. She acts like she’s innocent, but she’s quite cunning. Even the stories she writes—those are the stories that she worked on with Luc. They are her love letter to him, a way to be connected to him until they are reunited.”

It took everything in me to deliver my tone evenly and with a small, disarming toss of a smile. “I assure you, Erina is my blood giver only. We have an arrangement. One that benefits us both. If it suites her for her own ambitions, that’s her business. I care not what she does with the money I give her.”

“It’s just that,” Velle said quickly, stepping forward, making me cut her a look. “You’re…you’re a Kyzaire . She caught your attention. You’re not just any noble but a son of the Kaalium! She knows that changes everything. She will want more. She may love Luc, but like I said, she is ambitious. She knows that a marriage to you would give her everything she ever wanted, not just for her but for Luc too. She will angle for a more permanent place in your keep—I promise you that. She’s told me so herself.”

I grinned even though it felt like a cracking stretch of ice across my features. “Then she is welcome to try. But you must really take me for a fool if you believe a calculating keeper will ascend to the position of Kylaira in my keep simply because she sets her mind to it.”

A warning, more for the keeper in front of me than anything else. I knew Velle’s kind. I was willing to bet that her and Erina’s ambitions were not so different. Like attracted like. And for her to turn on her friend…well, that told me all I needed to know about her loyalties.

“Thank you, Velle,” Lydrasa cut in. “You can go.”

Velle inclined her head and then darted from the room, closing the door behind her. Quiet once again shrouded the room, but this time it felt oppressive instead of a reprieve. There was a familiar restlessness growing within me, one I hadn’t felt since the blood bond had begun.

Had Erina been playing me for a fool this entire time? Was everything as calculated as Velle suggested?

Her knowledge of Luc was damning, however. Their shared name even more so. I’d have Maudoric verify it, to find record of a Luc Denoren in Laras, but still…

If there was a chance that what Velle said was true, I needed to keep even more distance from Erina. If she weren’t my blood mate, I’d have enough reason to turn her away from the keep for this. But her being my kyrana changed everything…especially if she loved another.

The fierce rage bubbled in my chest, and I squeezed my fists tight, piercing through the flesh with my shorn claws.

“Don’t speak of this to anyone else,” I ordered Lydrasa. “And make sure Velle keeps quiet.”

Lydrasa inclined her head. I knew I could rely on her. “She won’t say a word to anyone. I’ll make sure of it.”

“Good,” I rasped.

“What are you going to do about the girl?” Lydrasa inquired.

I tipped up her chin, making her meet my eyes. Her lips curled at whatever she saw in my gaze.

“Nothing,” I purred.

Shock rippled through her. She laughed, but it sounded more like a scoff. “ Nothing? After all of that? You have a serpent in your House, and you’ll just let her slither into your bed?”

“Like I said,” I murmured, shrugging one shoulder, “she is my blood giver. I like the taste of her…for now. That doesn’t mean I’ll marry her. On Raazos’s blood, Lydrasa, I already told you. We have an arrangement, one that I made very clear from the beginning. If she thinks she can seduce me into more…well, I’m always up for some fun. She’s more than welcome to try.”

“Unbelievable,” Lydrasa whispered, amusement dancing in her eyes. “Very well. You know what you’re doing. Just keep it under wraps. The nobles are already beginning to titter.”

“I wonder why,” I whispered, pressing a kiss to her cheek. Against her skin, I said, “I’m sure it’s your handiwork.”

“Always have to keep you on your toes, Kyzaire .”

I scoffed and pulled away, releasing her. “I’m leaving.”

“You wouldn’t lie to me about this, would you?” came the question.

Her eyes burned into me when I replied, “Lie about what?”

“About what she is to you? This whole situation reeks of strangeness. It’s out of your character, and I don’t like it.”

She suspects, I couldn’t help but worry.

I smirked. “You don’t have to like it.”

Lydrasa harrumphed, rolling her eyes.

“I would never lie to you,” I lied, purring. “Don’t you believe me?”

“No,” she deadpanned.

“Good.”

Then I left House Azola.