Page 26 of Kingly Bitten

I shrugged. “If that’s what you need to do to assert your dominance, then so be it.” I tilted my head to offer my vein. “It’s what Lilith would do and has done countless times.”

What she had never done was offer me her blood to bring me back. That Jace had done so made him…different. And I wasn’t sure if I liked that difference or not.

“An immortal blood bag,” he mused. “And a tasty one at that.” He lifted his ankle off his opposite knee and leaned forward to rest his forearms against his thighs.

Dressed in all black, he was an opposing presence. Yet his eyes held a twinkle of amusement in their depths, one that made me feel more at ease, like we were just verbally sparring.

Oh, I had no doubt this predator would devour me. And unlike what his earlier accusation had suggested, I didn’t consider myself superior to him.

But I clearly possessed something he desired.

Information.

What I didn’t understand was why he desired it. He’d mentioned a Cam—a name I didn’t know. But he hadn’t given much else away.

“What do you really want to know?” I asked, curious. “Threatening me is moot—I’m naked, tied to a chair, and sitting opposite a millennia-old vampire; I’m very aware of yoursuperiorityin this situation. So rather than posture, tell me what you want. I’ll tell you if I can give it to you. Then we’ll negotiate from there.”

“You’re making assumptions about my need to negotiate anything. As you said, you’re clearly in an inferior position.”

“Yes. But I’ve endured over a century of torture, King Jace. There’s not much you can do to me that hasn’t already been done.” I attempted to relax into my chair as well as I could with my wrists strapped to the arms and my ankles chained to the legs. “But feel free to give it your best shot.”

“Jace,” he replied. “I’m not Lilith. I don’t need a title like ‘God’ or ‘King’ to feel important.”

No, I imagined he didn’t. Confidence radiated from him with that constant undercurrent of age and experience.

“And I don’t want to torture you, Calina. But I do need answers, and I will do what it takes to acquire them.”

“Interesting, as you’ve yet to truly ask me anything of import,” I murmured. “You want me to prove my worth but haven’t offered me an opportunity to.”

“Because you want to negotiate.”

“I do. But I also want all our pieces on the board. You don’t work for Lilith, yet you showed up at her bunker. How?”

“How did you come to be in that bunker?” he countered, avoiding my query.

I’d allow it because this answer wasn’t valuable. “Lilith created me and put me in charge of Bunker 47. A top-secret location, I might add, that you mysteriously found. Yet you claim not to work for her.”

“I don’t work for her.”

“Do you work with her?” I rephrased. “Are you assuming the mantle of her legacy now that she’s dead? Is that why the other vampire calls you King Jace?”

His gaze narrowed. “How do you know she’s dead?”

“Doomsday protocol was only to be engaged upon her death. And as I’m still mostly unharmed after ignoring her directives, I can safely assume she’s truly gone. Which leads me to wonder if you’re her replacement. That would explain my healthy state—you need me alive and coherent to pass on the necessary research details.” I spoke the words as I thought them, only my lips curled down at the end.

Because no, that couldn’t be right. He hadn’t known enough upon his arrival at Bunker 47.

Lilith would never leave her counterpart or successor without at least a few key details.

“Hmm, well, if you don’t work for or with her,” I continued, puzzling through the facts out loud, “then you would be against her. An adversary of some kind. In which case, you want to steal the research to use for yourself. A power move? A way to take over the board?”

Maybe he wasn’t a true king but a future one.

I scrutinized his features, searching for a clue.

But he merely smiled.

“You’re quite something,” he mused. “What if I told you I intend to replace Lilith and revolutionize the way the world works?”