Page 108 of The Vampire's Mercy

I hopped from foot to foot, pulling my shoulders back, shaking out my frustrations.

Unlock…

Would this new magical development unlock something to kill Silvanus? Like our bond?

Hmmm. I wasn’t sure, seeing as the visions and dreams were also trying to tell him something.

By Aidan. What if we had to join forces to fight a new big bad?

Ugh. He was supposed to be the final boss, nothing else. But the more I thought on that, the more the possibility grew.

Dammit. Why couldn’t things be simple?

I kill the king.

King goes dusty.

Cue me guzzling a case of beer until I fell into a happy sleep. Hangover be damned!

An elf could dream, right?

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

PARIS

Three days passed with no attack, and not much of anything else other than a rise in my bloodlust.

Ugh.

Singing reached a roadblock, the king’s memories stuck. I didn’t believe we’d reached the end of the line with it, but I also didn’t see a way forward without either finding the tower or learning more about this curse.

I tested the singing on Vaughn, but I knew it wouldn’t work. The king was the source, so the king would remember first.

So, my days followed a boring routine of three meals and lots of chill time with Medusa. She was such an awesome bedroom buddy, always happy to see me.

At least I had one friend here.

I received plenty of death glares and hushed whispers whenever I went to eat with Elio, who clearly wanted to put an ocean between us.

The new clothes being in play really threw salt in the wounds.

Ha ha!

On the third day, I took a bite from my second caramel shortbread of the morning, enjoying every moment of the sugary goodness as best as I could. But it paled in comparison to the king’s blood.

By Aidan, I needed his blood more than ever. The thirst was too much, my desire about to become a wildfire.

“Tonight is the thrall feeding,” Elio said, picking at his toast. “Your first one.”

“But not my first taste of him,” I blurted by mistake.

Oops.

Elio stilled, as tightly wound as a coiled spring under too much pressure. “Yes. When he made you.”

“That’s right.” He didn’t need to know about the incident with Roy. No throwing fuel on his envy here.

A couple of thralls sitting opposite whispered about us. Executioner hearing worked super well, picking up their conversation. Basically, they cursed me out, putting down their king. All that good stuff.