Page 9 of The Vampire’s Mercy (Blood Melody #1)

He lifted me off my feet and tossed me across the roof. I slammed into the concrete on my side, given no split seconds to brace myself. I grunted, bouncing into a roll, not stopping until my spine smacked into the roof’s low perimeter wall.

“Fuck…” I hissed through gritted teeth, pain shooting up and down my spinal cord.

Get up!

That wave of fear curled around me like a python, trying to squeeze courage out of me.

No. This fucker wouldn’t have me.

I jumped up, the blended blood blazing in my veins. I steeled myself against all fear, all emotions. Going to that executioner place, preparing to kill.

A quick check of the roof revealed a square box of brick with a door. An exit if I needed it, along with neighboring rooftops to leap onto.

Always good to have an exit strategy.

A scanhawk flew overhead, releasing its robotic caw. It didn’t stop, vanishing behind a taller building.

The king moved with languid footsteps.

I watched him approach, stakeblade waiting in the wings.

What about the crystal blade? Hopefully it’d show up to help with the killing.

“Foolish executioner,” he said, tone oozing with dark promise.

My blood went chilly for a moment.

No going back now. He knew who I was, my intentions, and now it all came down to either him or me.

He kept moving closer, snaring me in his gaze. My heartbeat tripled, adrenaline a flood, fueling my steely, murderous determination. I balled my hands into fists, assessing his slow steps and reading him for ticks, twitches, any signs of attack.

He gave nothing away.

“Did you really think it would be that easy?” he asked, coming to a stop about ten feet away from me.

“What gave me away?” I countered.

“The murder in your eyes,” he said.

“Really? It’s that obvious?”

He didn’t answer, staying stone still.

“So, what happens now?”

No response.

Like hell would I launch myself at him first. Nope. Never make the first move unless you have to.

The sounds of the city aside, things were strangely quiet on the rooftop. A place for him and me to throw down.

“Did you plan on getting me into bed before sticking the knife in my back?” He finally spoke, still not moving.

Ripples of seductive energy came at me, trying to worm its way inside me. I swatted it away, stronger now. More prepared.

“Stakeblade, not a knife,” I clapped back.

“Of course. Silly me.” He cocked his head to the side. “Well?”

“Well what?”

“Did you plan on fucking me?”

I made sure he saw the disgust twist my face. “I’d rather stick my dick in a wasp’s nest.”

He smiled with dark delight. “Is that so?”

Wow, his teeth were so pearly white and straight. “Disappointed?”

The wind stirred in his hair, upping his sex appeal. “I enjoyed watching your resistance.” Damn, he said the last word as if it were the hottest word in the dictionary.

Nope. You’re not getting to me.

And what sort of answer was that? “Uh-huh.”

“You’re not the first executioner to try this,” he answered. “And I’m sure you won’t be the last.”

A thought hit me. “Did you kill Glenda Green?”

An executioner famous for her skills on the battlefield, she’d vanished before the war ended. No one ever knew what happened to her, but some said she’d gone to find the vampire king.

He didn’t answer me.

Okay, the key here was to not let him push my buttons. “You got the last part wrong. This ends with me. I’m your last ride, you piece of shit.”

Hmmm. How fast would he be in defending a stakeblade throw?

Probably too fast.

“You’re amusing,” he replied.

When would he make a move so I could kick him in the face? “Not feeling very comical right now.”

“Indeed.”

I saw what he was doing here—talking at me to goad a reaction. Walking me toward a screw up. Well, I’d take his plan and shove it up his arse.

I bet it’s a pert arse.

Who gives a fuck?

“I’m surprised you’re up here alone,” I threw out, drowning my inner voice in a bathtub.

Shut the hell up!

No answer.

“Where’re your guards?”

A gust of wind ruffled his hair again. “Why do you care?”

He hit me with two heady waves. I shoved them both away.

Ah, easy as pissing now.

Now it was my turn to not answer him.

“Well?” he pressed.

I shrugged.

He smiled again. “I see. What happens now, elf?”

I couldn’t help my response. “You can whip off the jacket and give me easy access to your heart.”

He removed his jacket, tossing it over his shoulder. “Like this?”

Interesting.

By Aidan. His body. His muscular, enticing body. Every inch of him fine-tuned to perfection, spun from a sexy fantasy. At least my sexy fantasies. Planes of muscles perfect for tongues and fingers, a body of power.

A glowing red stone appeared in the center of his chest, scarlet veins spidering outward from it.

What the hell?

Scarlet light pulsed in a steady beat. A heartbeat.

My chest tightened, senses sparking. “The Heart of All…”

The scarlet veins spread across his shoulders, the jewel appearing brighter than before. Pulsing, pulsing, pulsing. Mesmerizing, my stakeblade manifesting in my hand from its own hunger to break it.

Curiosity piqued harder this time. Now this was the yummiest thing of all.

“Is this what you want?” he said.

I licked my lips. “Hell yeah.”

“If you want it, come and stake it,” he said.

I blinked, breaking my ravenous stare at the source of vampire life. “What?”

He looked down at himself, tracing a finger beneath the jewel. “Are you going to resist a chance to kill me?”

My teeth began grinding. This fucker was teasing me.

No. Shit.

“Are you for real?” I retorted.

No answer.

“Have you hit your head? Why would you offer up the Heart of All to me?”

Still no answer.

Hmmm. “What? Has this crop top made you see the light?”

“And what light would that be, elf?”

“That your scumbag ways need to be purged from this world,” I threw out.

Nothing, not even a twitch.

My muscles quivered with anger. “Prick.”

His eyes flared, his lips spreading with amusement. “Don’t you see how pathetic you are?”

I balled my hands so hard my knuckles ached, my fingernails biting in my palms. “King Prick.”

He took a full minute to speak, the silence heavy with irritation. “I haven’t survived this world without keen insight.”

I took a bite of the carrot he dangled. “Meaning what? You can sense executioners?”

“A royal perk,” he said.

“Shit…”

“It takes me a moment to unravel the lie, but I always find the secret within.” He licked his luscious lips. “You shine, though.” His head tilted to the side. “Why are you so shiny, elf?”

My insides twinged, rage and fear colliding. “Fuck you.”

He sensed me. He saw me? Dammit.

“Your kind hide so well,” he added. “If you’re wondering why I’m not out there hunting you across the realm.” Something passed over his face. Confusion, maybe? “I… I have other things to be concerned with.”

Yeah, great. Like getting his memory back or whatever. I didn’t give a fuck.

When would the fighting start?

More silence descended, testing my patience. I resisted a forward charge, not stupid enough to end things before it started.

Man, I hated myself for finding him attractive. A delicious outside didn’t beautify a rotten inside. Whatever he looked like, he was a vamp. The vamp of all vamps.

The Heart of All faded away, his skin returning to normal.

Fuck. Could I still hurt it without seeing it? Would my killing blow need to be aimed for the center of his chest rather than the traditional heart spot?

I’d try both.

A roar thundered from above, along with the sound of beating wings.

Not a new line of scanhawks, but an airborne frostbrood here to join our rooftop party.