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Chapter Ten

VICTOR

“I watched you feed from the servant earlier. It was quite titillating. You seem like a male who knows how to make a girl feel good,” purred the woman with lank auburn curls and a luminescent sprinkling of dots beneath her eyes.

She walked her fingers up my chest, and I battled with the urge to break every one of them.

Night had fallen, the bell indicating all should be abed had rang long ago. The petite woman was a fool to agree to meet with me in a darkened corner, far from prying eyes. Lucky for her, I drank my fill earlier, so I would be prepared for this very thing.

Somehow, I’d managed to avoid the sorceress for the rest of the evening, despite the close quarters.

Infuriating female. How dare she accuse me of being the source of all her problems?

I was the one who was kidnapped. And by a bunch of bungling thieves at that.

Runa and her brothers could rot in this place for all I cared .

It was past time I focused on my own goals—escaping this prison and finding a portal.

While not watching Runa as several of Gamma cell’s predators eyed the wench, I was determined to make the most of my incarceration.

There were plenty of beings here who could provide me with the information and resources I required to go home.

Since the torque disabled my ability to use compulsion, I’d need to get creative.

“Talk to me, sweet, and I’ll take you on a trip you won’t soon forget,” I demanded of the senseless female before me.

At this rate, I’d be the leech they accused me of being. In Gamma cell, drugs and alcohol were in short supply, making vampire venom a commodity.

The thought occurred to me… I was whoring myself.

I’d done far worse than this in my youth.

The short time I’d lived in Carcerem with my mother hadn’t been kind nor easy.

The impoverished slums were especially hard on young vampires.

The mortal realm wasn’t much better. Except there, I was top of the food chain and stood a better chance of surviving on my own.

At least this task I found more pleasurable than most.

“You mentioned you were one of the king’s seers for a time,” I said.

“Oh, I was. One of his best, much to my detriment.” Her expression grew haunted. “Seers who tell the truth don’t last long in his court.”

“Tell me, what was it that heralded your banishment to the pit?” Perhaps it was something I could use.

She rolled out her bottom lip. “I tried to warn King Idris that his end is nigh. That the prophecy is true. The rightful king will soon reclaim his throne.”

Nothing useful, then. What the hell did anyone care about prophecies? At any given moment, there were usually hundreds of mystical forecasts circulating. A seer’s ability to see the future was even worse than a meteorologist’s ability to predict the weather.

“Idris’s so-called fate doesn’t concern me. What do you know about portal magic?”

The seer eyed my mouth, then stroked her finger along the column of her throat. “Quite a bit. If you’re willing to pay.”

I exhaled an aggrieved sigh. Might as well get it over with.

I enjoyed feeding from the servant, savoring Runa’s reaction.

Those violet eyes locked with mine while I drank from another woman, the sorceress’s spicy scent deepening.

I’d noted the way she’d squeezed her thighs together while pretending she was unaffected.

This, I would not enjoy.

I crooked my finger, and the woman’s eyes lit up. She moved closer with the intent of wrapping her arms around my shoulders, and I shoved her hands away. “No touching,” I commanded.

“But—”

Quickly, I sank my fangs into her flesh. Her stench was nothing like the sorceress’s delicious fragrance. One sip, and I released the seer’s throat.

The woman moaned, running her hands down her body. “Oh, that’s nice,” she gasped then stiffened, her muscles turning rigid. “Flark. Not now. This will totally ruin my buzz.”

I studied her strange reaction. “What’s happening?”

The seer’s eyes turned fully white, and her head fell back. She gazed up at nothing.

From her gaping mouth, a strange voice emerged.

“When twin moons collide, the fallen king will rise.

Upon that span, a hero of gold shall bring a shift of power.

The mountains will quake, and the land will roar with vengeance.

Siblings will battle as the mighty tree weeps.

Only one will survive.

The Chosen One. ”

Suddenly, her head snapped up, and she grabbed the front of my tunic. Face pale, she stared at me with glowing eyes, gasping, “The Chosen One.”

Seers and their bloody visions. Again, she babbled about Idris and the threat he faced from some fallen king.

According to the woman, this was the sort of thing that had landed her in prison.

I could understand why. No king appreciated threats to their rule.

If there were any truth to her prediction, perhaps I would have investigated further, using it as leverage against Idris.

That was, if I had planned to stick around, which I didn’t.

Now I’d given her what she wanted. It was time she did the same before the guards caught us.

“Wake up. Now.” I grasped the woman’s shoulders and gave her a shake.

The seer blinked, her foggy gaze slowly clearing. After a moment, she frowned, looking at her hands on my chest. “Oh, when did that happen? Did I miss something?”

Stepping back, I knocked her hands from my tunic. “You were about to tell me how to open a portal.”

“I was?” She smoothed her hair back from her face, her expression dreamy. “Boy, that venom of yours really packs a punch.”

I curled my fingers into my palms. “The portal ,” I snapped.

“Keep your pants on,” she slurred, wobbling like a drunkard, then smiled. “Or don’t.”

“You have three seconds until I tear your throat out. One.”

“Fine. Fine. Sheesh. Not like we’re going anywhere,” she snorted. “First, opening a portal takes some big-time power, the kind of power you can only acquire through an eternal sacrifice. That sacrifice must be offered freely.”

“You’re talking about blood magic?”

“Yes. And only a sorceress with portal magic can perform the spell. ”

So, I’d have to murder an innocent. That part was easy enough. “Where do I find this sorceress?”

“Well, right next to the king, silly.”

“Explain,” I insisted.

The twit had the audacity to roll her eyes.

“That’s right. You’re not from these parts.

See, when King Idris first claimed the throne, our sacred arbor denied his dominion, refusing to grant him access to her power.

For the sake of the realm, this could not stand.

Problem was, King Idris was the only one in the kingdom with divine blood.

That’s why I did a reading for him and discovered the only way to remedy the situation was through a sorceress from a unique bloodline. ”

I narrowed my eyes, dread tightening my gut. “You’re the reason he made Raelynn his queen?”

The seer planted a hand on her bony hip.

“Don’t look at me like I’m some common criminal.

It was for the good of the whole kingdom that our king had access to its power.

The Starborn females were the only line of sorceresses still living with portal magic.

Once they were mated, the queen was able to open a gateway between the king and the sacred arbor. ”

Ah. Perhaps this was why Runa claimed her sister had betrayed the kingdom. Though why the little thief would feel responsible was beyond me and not my concern.

“Are you saying the king’s sorceress can open portals?”

“Well, yes, same as her mother before her. Stupid cow, she died years ago, trying to hide her daughters from the new king. Had she merely cooperated, they all could have lived a life of luxury. But no. She was from one of a handful of villages that rebelled once King Idris came to power. Because of her defiance, the king slaughtered her husband and razed her village. If you think about it, it’s rather sad, really. ”

“Sad. Yes,” I agreed, not that I had much sympathy for peasants and commoners .

“You mentioned the Starborn women. Do you mean to say the portal magic is connected to their bloodline?”

“In theory.” She hitched a shoulder. “Both the mother and eldest daughter had it. From what I understand, the youngest daughter hadn’t come into her powers yet when the king and Raelynn were married.”

That child being Runa.

By the gods. Runa was the key to everything.

Runa.

The back of my neck prickled, anxious teeth nipping at my flesh. Something was wrong.

I needed to hurry back.

Now !