Page 65 of The Sanguine Selection

“The time has come, pet, for you to meet your new master.” His words trickle over my body like beads of ice. “Too long have I waited for this. For the taste of your blood…and other things.” As he moves his eyes along my body, I shudder in revulsion.

In an instant, he bares his fangs, head lowering to my neck.

“How did you do it?” I manage to squeak out, needing to distract him, delay this eventuality as long as possible. The thought of another’s lips upon my skin, tasting me. His breath heats my skin as I crane away from him, but he pulls away, hands enclosed around my shackles.

“The curse of the Blood Slaves,” he says with a grin. “Something I devised a hundred years ago.”

“B-Before the kings were entombed?” I’m trying hard to understand.

He nods. “Did they tell you, pet, what happened to their last Blood Slave? Did they tell you why they’ve leashed and collared you?”

I swallow and lick my lips, my mouth parched. “No. I just assumed—”

“Assumed what? That she died of old age?” His tone is mocking as he slides a hand behind my neck and releases the collar, the cool air kissing the heated skin beneath the leather. He tosses it to the ground in disgust. “Blood Slaves live as long as their masters once the king’s blood has been shared. But they didn’t share theirs with you did they? No… They just took and took and took and left you defenseless.”

“I don’t understand. If she didn’t die of old age, then how? How did she die?”

Navar cracks his neck and stands to full height. He’s not as tall as the kings but every bit as big as Papa was. I can’t even risk thinking about my father, not for one second. Not while this predator has me in his clutches.

“Your kings killed her,” he reveals with a sinister grin. “I watched it happen. They drank her to fucking death, and it nearly killed them. Would have, too, had Jasper not been so quick to get them to the tombs of their ancestors.”

That crack in my chest completely fractures. “They wouldn’t do that.”

Navar laughs. “They couldn’t help themselves, of course. So completely lost to their blood lust, were your kings, that they didn't even hear her screams. She died with their fangs still embedded in her flesh, their cocks impaling her cunt and her ass. They consumed her until there was nothing left but ash and bones.”

I try to form words but none come. I’m at a loss. I could have come to terms with just about anything regarding the previous Blood Slave but this? Knowing it was them who killed her? I feel myself go boneless, all the fight I had left leaking from my soul. Foolish I was to ever have feelings for them. They haven't just killed their enemies, but their Blood Slave. And by circumstance, they almost killed themselves.

Navar fingers his gross beard, his nose upturned. “It’s all coming together in that pretty little head of yours isn’t it, slave? All the pieces creating a rather gruesome picture painted on a canvas of flesh.” He paces in front of me as the noise above us grows quiet. “Do you see now, why they kept you in that cage? Because they no longer understand how to wield their power, how to use you. They’ve allowed their fear to affect how they rule and the members of Libarynn have grown tired of it. Power is to be shared, wielded. And I will wield you.”

The coppery scent of blood hits my nose as a dozen vampires infiltrate the stone room. Some I recognize from Sintara and my blood rages, knowing they’ve turned on their kings. They all bare their fangs, eyes blazing, nostrils flaring. Most are covered in blood and immediately I wonder if it's the kings, then wonder if I really care after what I’ve learned.

So I face them and hold my head proud. “So what then? You kill me? Kill them?”

“No, silly human. You are now my greatest possession, my most potent weapon. Your blood will not only strengthen me, but the rest of the rebellion. You, my dear, are the fuel to our entire operation. And as for your kings, they are already dying. You see, I laced their drink with something, the one thing that could kill them, something I’ve been guarding with my life the past hundred years hoping one day it could be of use to me.”

“What is it?” I ask, hating how quickly my bravery gives way to the tremble in my voice.

“Blood. Her blood. Siphoned from the Blood Slave they loved then killed.” My jaw drops in shock and Navar laughs at my discomfort. “See how clever your new master is? I collected little drops over the years, when her body healed from a brutal night, then the kings were still sleeping off their high from her essence. Tonight, in toasting you, they drank down the last remaining bit of her. And since she is already dead, so is the life essence in her blood, and therefore, so are they. It is the only poison powerful enough to kill a king. Right now, it courses through their veins, infecting them, invading their minds, their twisted souls. It won’t be long until your bond with them breaks and I can claim you as my own but for now, a taste will do.”

I scream as they launch themselves at me. My entire body rages in pain as bite after bite sinks into my skin. It fucking hurts, agony rippling through me in waves that has my vision darkening, lungs struggling to inhale a breath.

They are going to kill me, I think as I give in to the horrors and let myself slip into nothingness. My last thoughts are of Papa, of how I failed him. Of how I failedthem. Was my life never worth anything? Was I not destined for something more than this?

I can’t stay awake now, the blood loss taking me down into the all consuming arms of darkness.

This is not your end,a voice whispers inside my head before consciousness finally ebbs.

And I become one with the shadows.