Page 5 of Hunger in His Blood (Brides of the Kylorr #3)

CHAPTER 5

KALDUR

I stared out the arched window in my study, observing the quietness of Vyaan below.

I’d chosen this room for my office as opposed to a larger one on the opposite side of keep—which afforded a beautiful view of the gardens, the mountains, and forests that surrounded the territory.

But here, I could see the hustle and bustle of the south side of the city. Not necessarily now , as late as it was, but during the day I could watch the comings and goings from the market and the daily routines of my people as they went about their lives. In some small way, that lent me a sense of comfort, of rightness.

The nobles typically congregated in the south end, but there were plenty of taverns, shops, meadows, and open spaces that drew many, from all over Vyaan, to this side of the city.

I pressed my forehead against the glass, closing my eyes, trying to ignore the restlessness under my skin, which had only grown worse since my encounter with Erina this afternoon.

A fucking disaster, I thought wearily. I couldn’t help but surmise that Azur and Kythel might find this quite ironic. They might even be gleeful about it, and they’d have every right to. I’d had plenty to say about their relationships with their blood mates—my regrettable attitude when I’d first met Gemma and my smug insistence to Kythel that he would never be able to stay away from Millie, though he’d certainly tried at the beginning of their courtship.

Now it seemed to bite me in the ass tenfold.

A keeper, I couldn’t help but scoff.

I thought of my uncle. My father’s third brother, Tynaar, who’d once overseen this territory. The cautionary tale—well, one of the cautionary tales—of our family. He’d been played for a fool, blinded by the tempting tease of a young, ambitious beauty…and he’d lost everything.

His wife, my aunt Harnan, had razed his reputation among the nobles, having come from a long established and exceedingly respected House. I’d both feared and respected that about my aunt—she could be vicious when scorned. She’d never once felt humiliation from her husband’s public affair. Instead, she’d insisted that he should feel the burning sizzle of embarrassment…and she’d made him pay.

To save face, House Kaalium had stripped Tynaar of his estate and demoted him from Kyzaire of the territory—all to assuage the nobles, who had, at that time, had quite weighty pull in Vyaan.

My uncle had been shamed, though he had still married the keeper after ending his own marriage to my aunt, thinking himself in love. The keeper, so I’d heard, had jumped into bed with another wealthy noble shortly after, and it was widely known among Vyaan’s society that she’d been paraded around as his mistress. A mistress married to a once great Kyzaire . The steepest plunge from grace under public scrutiny and gossip.

Bereft from heartbreak and shame…my uncle had taken his own life not even a year after he’d been stripped of his title. As for me, I’d barely been of age, but I’d been forced to ascend to the ti tle that had always been meant for me. Kyzaire of Vyaan. Sooner than expected.

House Kaalium had many dark secrets hidden away. Some terrible, some violent, some shameful. Some of my ancestors had been murderers, merciless and evil.

All of the old Houses had dark pasts. It was inescapable, given the longevity of legacy.

And yet my mother had endeavored to bear at least five children—one for each territory—so that a new era of House Kaalium’s rule could begin. It had been centuries since siblings had overseen every territory of our nation. Some Kyzaires had even been distant relations to the House or trusted advisors in the past.

Yet my brothers were installed at each great territory—Laras, Erzos, Salaire, Kyne, and Vyaan—presenting a united Kaalium for the first time in a long time.

But House Kaalium as it was now had made sacrifices. My mother certainly had…for this Kaalium to be a reality.

And now we are on the precipice of war when we are only just beginning our plans for the Kaalium, I couldn’t help but think bitterly, pushing away from the cooling touch of the window glass.

And I might very well be tempted by a keeper, just like Tynaar, I thought next as a low growl rumbled up my throat.

Blood was blood, after all. And history always repeated itself. That was a lesson my father had instilled in us, ever since we’d been young.

But Erina being a keeper didn’t change the fact that she was my blood mate.

Nor was I married, like my uncle had been.

And yet memory ran deep in the Kaalium, like roots of an ancient tree. If I went down this road, it would be a jagged mark against me. A smirk when I entered a room of nobles. Whispering that I would catch in darkened corners at parties. The look of wariness in my brother Thaine’s eyes. I hope you know what you’re doing, he would tell me.

A knock came at the door. Soft, though not hesitant.

“Enter,” I called out.

I’d already made up my mind, weighing the consequences carefully. I knew this as I watched the door open and Erina step within the darkened confines of my study. There was no other choice, and I couldn’t deny that curiosity ran deep. I would always wonder?—

Her scent hit me. Hard .

A muffled groan rose before I could stop it, and I disguised it by clearing my throat. Never before had I thought that I would be sensitive to another’s scent, much less that of my blood mate. Azur hadn’t been. Kythel had been slightly more susceptible. But me? This was madness.

She wasn’t wearing that awful perfume, the one her lover had gifted her. I felt a twist in my gut at the thought but then reasoned it didn’t matter if she had a lover or not. I would not share. Ever.

Without the perfume, she smelled like… mine . I felt the possessiveness rise, my chest straightening, my heartbeat beginning to throb.

I’d never scented anything quite so lovely, so attractive to me. Her natural scent was light and fresh. Like the first rain after harvest season. That first rain bloomed the earth.

I heard her swallow even though she didn’t move away from the door. “You requested me, Kyzaire ?” she asked.

Breathing her in too deeply was perhaps not the most intelligent thing to do. I’d need my wits about me to navigate these next few moments, to make her my offer I’d been thinking long over since this afternoon. Her scent would only muddle my mind, slacken my tongue .

But that wary realization was in direct contrast to the words that slipped from my lips, “Come closer.”

She moved toward my desk, which I’d kept purposefully between us—though it seemed like a laughably moot effort now.

Erina stopped about halfway into the study, nearest the burning fire in the hearth, sparkling and crackling lowly. She was nervous, I saw. But there was also something lying in wait beneath the nerves. I’d seen it enough in my lifetime to recognize it readily.

She desires me, I thought, relieved at the realization. Perhaps because I could be a selfish bastard and if she desired me already, this would make it all the easier to convince her.

Erina’s pupils were dilated and a warm pink glow was flushed over the tops of her cheekbones, before the tantalizing color snaked down and bloomed across her neck. Her dark red hair was damp from a recent bath and piled into a messy bun at her crown. She was wearing a pretty blue nightdress, as if my summons had woken her, thin enough that I could see her hardened nipples puckering the material.

The picture she made was alluring and sensual. So much so that I was momentarily frozen, studying her. I envisioned placing my mouth over one nipple, teasing her through the dress. I wondered what kind of sounds she’d make in her pleasure, if she was a quiet or a passionate lover.

It’s the bond, I reasoned, shaking my head to try to clear it. It’s already coursing through me.

But with her scent in my nostrils, I realized she’d already given me a gift, and it hardened my resolve all the more. I was calm, like her mere presence was a balm on the restless and maddening energy that had plagued me for years. Tension released from my shoulders and my wings lowered. Was this how I’d felt before? Normal? It was sublime.

All this time and she’d been right under my nose, I thought.

Slowly, I walked around the desk toward her .

My gaze dropped to her hand, bandaged up, and a burn of shame speared me.

“I’m sorry for leaving so abruptly earlier,” I began, catching her eyes. “I should have helped bind your wound.”

Erina blinked and then dropped her gaze down to her hand, frowning. I could see what she was wondering. If I had summoned her here at this time of night merely to apologize—again—to her. Then I wondered what exactly she thought she was doing here. What had crossed her mind when I’d sent for her to meet with me? Had she been frightened? Excited?

“But I didn’t ask you to come so I could apologize for that,” I added. Her head lifted.

“Then why did you?” she asked, her voice low. She had a nice voice. Pleasing and warm.

I’d thought, for the better part of the last few hours, how to approach this conversation with her, and I’d settled on a portion of the truth instead of the full truth. I’d settled on directness rather than playing it coy, like noble courtships often began, all games and riddles, meant to frustrate as well as tease.

“I’m tempted by your blood, Erina,” I said carefully, watching her. “Very tempted.”

Her lips parted in surprise, and my eyes swept down to them, watching her pink tongue dart out to wet them. I ignored the way my cock twitched in response.

“I’m not sure what you mean,” she confessed softly, uncertain.

I wondered how long she’d lived on my home planet of Krynn. Had she been born here? Or had asylum been offered to her? Did a noble House sponsor her? And what of her parents? Humans weren’t uncommon on Krynn, not for the last few decades at least, but I did wonder how much she truly knew about my race. Humans, from my experience, tended to stick to their own people.

“I’ll put it like this,” I said. “Perhaps you have a favorite meal? One you could eat over and over again. Kylorr have it too, in the form of blood. And your blood? To be blunt? I’ve never smelled anything quite so appealing to me.”

Her eyes sharpened on me. “You want to feed from me?”

Was she appalled by that? Curious? Tempted? I couldn’t tell from her expression. She looked only surprised.

“Yes,” I replied, my voice gruff and low as I tried to track every small new expression I could on her face. “Very much so.”

“ Oh, ” she breathed, her eyes dropping to my chest, flicking back and forth between the silver clasps there on my vest, unseeing. “Oh.”

Allowing her time to process the confession, I waited a small moment, and it felt endlessly long. Her scent was distracting. My fangs, I realized, were elongated. I tasted the sweetness of my venom across my tongue.

“It would be an arrangement between us,” I continued, keeping my tone even and smooth, as if I had these negotiations with a blood mate every day. “This would benefit us both, not just me.”

Why were my feet drawing me closer? I studied her carefully, trying to read her. She was naturally expressive. She was curious, flattered, but wary. I spied the flash of excitement, felt the energy rise off her like steam.

A knotted part in me untangled. She would accept me, accept this. Good .

“Can I think about it?” she asked me, halting my feet, which unknowingly had drifted straight toward her. Surprise curled in my chest. “It seems like a big decision. It would be wise to take time to…to…”

I lifted a curl of her hair that had escaped from the damp bun, watching it twine around my finger like an embrace.

“…to properly think about it. Right?” she finished, stammering slightly when she realized my nearness.

“Of course,” I murmured. “Take all the time you need. But you haven’t heard my offer. ”

“Oh,” Erina breathed, her wide eyes on mine. A warm brown with strands of gold amber. Lovely. “I… Yes, I should hear your offer.”

My lips quirked, knowing the offer wasn’t necessary. This was a dance, a game—one I’d navigated far too many times. Everything was a transaction, disguised as courting or romance.

Yet the smell of her was intoxicating. And her eyes made my office shift and sway around me, like she’d dragged me into a strange realm where time slowed. My heartbeat was languid, at ease one moment and pounding the next.

I dropped the curl of hair, watching the end of it brush the pink of her lips. I imagined sinking one of my fangs into the fullness of the bottom one, just a small cut so I could lap at the blood, a small teasing taste as I kissed it.

Madness, I thought, slightly shaken as my body tightened.

I cleared my throat. “You would be my blood giver alone. No longer will you be a keeper in my House or expected to work as one.”

“But—”

Panic flashed across her face. I wondered about it only briefly before I added, “You will move into the South Wing.” My private wing of the keep. “You’ll have your own rooms. You’ll be paid a monthly stipend.” A quite generous one, I thought…but I needed her to say yes. “And you’ll be free to spend your days and nights as you wish.”

“And what’s the bad part?” she asked, surprising me.

“The bad part?” I chuffed out, flashing her a small smile. “Hardly any, unless you have an aversion to being fed from. The most unpleasant thing you’ll have to do is take baanye regularly. I’ve heard it’s an acquired taste.” When she didn’t react, I asked, “You do know what baanye is, yes?”

“Yes, of course,” she replied. “A tea to help aid blood production.”

I inclined my head. There was another edge of this arrangement, one that we would both tip over. But she would need to know—I didn’t see a way around it, and I needed her to understand this from the very beginning.

“And if,” I said, carefully choosing the words, like I was plucking them out from a basket, “the nature of the feedings lead to sex, you will need to take marroswood as well.”