Page 7 of Kingly Bitten

“Indeed,” Darius agreed before taking a sip of his coffee. It was spiked with blood from hisErosita, something I’d scented the moment he’d entered.

I didn’t dare ask for a taste.

Darius used to be the sharing sort. That had all changed when Juliet had entered his life, and I respected that. At least when in private. However, in public, we had to put on a show. I helped protect him and his interests, just as I knew he would have my back if I ever required it.

“She had to have trusted someone with leadership in her absence,” I continued. “If we can find that person, perhaps we can torture the lab location out of him or her.” I shifted my focus from the map to the list of known allies.

We’d compiled the names after reviewing all the contents on her phone. Each contact fell into one of two categories—Lilith sympathizer or potential revolutionary.

“None of her files suggest there’s a partner of any kind,” Darius replied. “But I agree. There’s something we’re missing.”

I pulled up a group of photos, showcasing them on the wall in a way Damien had taught us. We were still in Ryder Region, having chosen to remain a few extra days to review all the data he’d collected on Lilith. It proved useful since Damien, Ryder’s second, had a lot of fun toys for us to use.

“She would never trust a lycan,” I decided out loud, pushing all the photos of Lilith sympathizers with wolfish origins to one side, leaving five royal vampires on the screen.

It was a surprisingly small number.

We’d anticipated much more, but apparently, there were several royals who had questioned Lilith’s leadership over the years.

Kylan, a notorious problem royal with a penchant for pissing off and challenging Lilith, was reaching out to each one to learn more. Meanwhile, Edon, Luka, and Logan—our three alpha wolf allies—were in charge of contacting the alphas with known anti-Lilith sentiments.

Darius and I were leading the effort to locate the lab that held Cam captive. He was my cousin and Darius’s maker, marking us as the appropriate individuals to locate the long-lost Vampire King. Most believed him to be dead because of Lilith’s antics. But we knew it wasn’t true. Otherwise, hisErositawould have died along with him, and Izzy was very much alive.

“Well, it’s not Helias,” Darius said, drawing a slash across the smirking photo of the blond male with beady black eyes. “He’s too arrogant to be a partner in anything. And the only reason he’s even sided with any of this is because she gave him Zurich.”

I dipped my chin in agreement. “He would only partner if she let him be the God to her Goddess.” I reached out and tapped a photo of an olive-skinned male with sharp features. “My money is on Ayaz. He’s always advocated for world domination and the enslavement of humankind. It’s why he involved himself in the Ottoman Empire all those centuries ago.”

“That didn’t go very well for him,” Darius drawled.

“Because he let the humans fight the battle for him.” Which was one of the many reasons he claimed mortals to be useless aside from being blood bags.

“Don’t discount Lajos or Sofia. They’re both renowned for their cruelty. Lajos has gone through nine blood slaves in the last six years. He’s gluttonous with no care for precious blood types. And you’ve seen the living conditions Jasmine maintains in her own capital city.”

“Wasn’t very hard for Jasmine to do, considering what the war did to the Philippines,” I pointed out, shuddering with the memory.

“Well, she hasn’t done anything to fix it.”

“True,” I agreed, rubbing my hand over the stubble dotting my chin. It’d been a few days since I’d used my razor.

Darius was in a similar state, his dark hair unusually long and nearly touching his ears. He typically kept his appearance rather neat, always preferring to wear suits—just like me—and cropping his hair short. I wondered if Juliet preferred it this length or if he’d decided to embrace the lengthier styles of our olden days. Modern things like electrical razors and regular haircuts weren’t as common three thousand years ago.

He ran his fingers through his longer locks now while bringing his mug to his lips for another sip. The flush on his cheeks told me how much he enjoyed the flavor. “You know, drinking from the vein is much more satisfying.”

His dark green eyes flashed. “I had that this morning before I came to meet you. And I’ll be having it again as soon as we’re finished here.”

“Are you trying to make me jealous?” I’d left my harem back in Jace City. Not that I had much interest in them anymore. All the politics and the chance for a revolution had severely impacted my sex drive.

It’d been several weeks since my last fuck, a fact that didn’t bother me nearly as much as it should. Perhaps because that experience had been satisfying enough. Or more likely because I had too much on my mind to even consider playing right now.

“She’s addictive,” Darius murmured, his irises swirling with intensity. “So yes, you should be jealous.”

“As your royal, I could demand a taste.”

“But you won’t,” he countered.

“But I won’t,” I conceded. “Something you—”

“I need you to see this,” a deep voice interjected, the one I’d come to know quite well over the last weeks.