Page 21 of Kingly Bitten

But she didn’t reply.

“Defiant,” I hummed against her ear, both thrilled by the challenge and furious because of it. “If I find out Cam is down there and you let this bunker implode on him, I will make you dig until he’s free.”

She didn’t react other than to continue panting, her chest heaving from a combination of obvious fear and exhaustion from my sudden attack.

“Sixty seconds,” she wheezed as that damn buzzing kick-started.

I’d apparently lost time while feasting on her neck. No wonder she was shaking. I’d probably taken too much. But damn if I cared right now. My cousin might be underground and about to lose his life in an explosion meant to destroy everything inside.

Damien and the others were already running toward the exit.

I almost dropped Calina to let her try to fend for herself, but the weakness in her body told me she wouldn’t make it. And I very much needed her alive for answers.

I also meant my threat—if I learned that Cam was down there somewhere, she would help me free him. Then I’d give her to him as a snack to bring him back to health.

Releasing her neck, I jerked her alongside me. She lasted two steps before she tripped and nearly pulled me down with her.

“I should leave you here,” I told her, the words a taunt more than a promise.

“I’m meant to die here,” she whispered back. “I’ve always been destined to die here.”

The words sounded almost drunk, like she’d not meant to voice them out loud but was too delirious to stop herself. However, hearing them made me wonder how she’d come to be here in the first place.

She sounded almost broken. Sad. Like she’d never been given the chance to live. Yet she’d stood up to me with the spirit and strength of a superior being.

It…she…fascinated me.

I bent to lift her svelte form into my arms. She turned to dead weight, something that had me wanting to snap at her until I realized her eyes had closed and she was no longer conscious.

The blood loss, I realized, looking at her neck.

Not only had I taken too much, but I’d also created an open wound with my mouth that had her life fluid gushing from her vein with no signs of stopping.

My jaw clenched, my resolve torn between letting it happen and helping her.

I need answers, I thought as I started walking.Therefore, I need her alive.

But I couldn’t take a moment to heal her until we were clear of the impending explosion.

I began to run then, holding her to my chest and engaging my vampiric speed and agility as I took off down the hallway and crossed over the threshold.

The blaring light of the afternoon sun hit my eyes, making me wince.

Sunlight wasn’t deadly to vampires, but that didn’t mean we liked it. Our senses were too sensitive and heightened to withstand long periods outside during the day. We usually hid in the dark, healing and rejuvenating our immortal souls.

But apart from burning my senses, it did nothing to dispel my maneuverability skills. My old age added to my strength, allowing me to move with grace and precision, taking me over a hundred yards away from the site before a rumble touched the earth beneath my feet.

Someone must have told Rick because the plane was no longer on the ground, but in the air, and I suspected Darius and Juliet were up there, too. Maybe even with the two researchers who had run when Louis had arrived.

I glanced around, spying Damien a few yards to my left. Louis and the vampire named Zack were with him. The other two vamps were closer to the wreckage, lying on the ground. But they were definitely alive.

I couldn’t say the same for the others.

A geyser of flames kissed the air, incinerating everything in its path.

Calina hadn’t mentioned that, making me wonder if she’d purposely withheld it or if she hadn’t known what type of explosion to expect.

Because that sort of fire was inescapable, even for an immortal as old as I was.