Page 55 of The Vampire King's Gift

Vivica shivered. Her arms wrapped around her frame. No longer was she immune to the cold. And it was slightly chilly in the Ever Dark, despite the bonfires blazing behind her.

“Why won’t you answer?” Vivica asked softly.

Because only Julian’s reaction to them becoming human mattered. Daemon could justlookinto Julian’s mind and know. Julian wasn’t blocking him. But it was impossible.

He was afraid.

He studied Julian’s outward reaction. His fledgling wasn’t backing away from him. Julian was still snuggly in his arms. He could not only feel Julian’s breath heating his skin, hear the steady thump of his heart in Daemon’s ears, but be tickled by the light brush of Julian’s eyelashes against his throat.

“How did you--you do this? How did you take awayeverything?” Vivica asked, her voice breaking for the first time.

She had chosen to become a Vampire. He riffled through her mind. She was 733 years old, 33 of those had been earned when she was mortal. She was now staring ahead at likely only 50 more years, and most of those would be spent infirm, if she did not catch a disease or have an accident before then. She was worrying about being on the streets in the sleet, shivering, thinking of all the cars that were whizzing by that could cut her down. She’d have no money. No friends. No family. At 33 with no history, how could she gain employment?

That is if she lives through this moment…

And she was thinking of her Mistress Kitty Yuen of the Helm Bloodline. Would Kitty take her in if she did survive? Could she be turned again into a Vampire again? But no, it wouldn’t matter even if shecouldbe turned again. Who would go up against King Daemon? No one. Not when he could turn them all into helpless, hapless humans. Despair like a black cloud settled over her.

“What will happen to us?” she whispered.

Julian turned towards her. Daemon wanted to clutch him close, but he eased his hold so that Julian could turn in the circle of his arms. His hands slid up to Julian’s shoulders. He tightened them, but did notgrab.

“What do you thinkshouldhappen to you?” Julian asked.

Daemon smiled in pride. Julian left her with no good way out. She had been ready to throw Daemon’s associates into a bonfire. She had attempted to attack them. She had cursed his name. Her follower had thought to touch Julian. How did she think this was going to go? What did she think she deserved?

Her mouth opened and shut. What was she to say? If she continued to speak of him and the other Immortals as the ultimate evil, she was certain she would truly die. If she simply fell to her knees, then her own power--whatever shreds of it were left--would be gone altogether, and she would have nothing if she survived. So what to say?

But, again, it didn’t matter. He was obsessing on her thoughts to avoid Julian’s. His fledgling didn’t seem upset. He wasn’t asking to speak to Daemon in private. He wasn’t demanding to be given an explanation for why Daemon hadn’t used Armageddon on him in the beginning, while they both thought that Julian would die. Not that it would have worked. Armageddon was only available on full-fledged Vampires, something that none of his potential fledglings had survived through.

Until Julian. Now Armageddon could be used on him.

A tremor went through Daemon’s whole being. He thought he might actually be sick. Things blurred for a moment. He held onto the fact that Julian still seemed thesame. No signs of betrayal.

I could know for certain if I just looked or simply asked…

“It doesn’t matter what I think,” Vivica finally said.

That is the most intelligent thing she has said.

“In some ways you’re right,” Julian answered her. “What you think is irrelevant. Especially about Daemon. He is king, because he is king. I didn’t understand that until now. It doesn’t matter if you believe in him. It doesn’t matter if you kneel before him. It doesn’t matter if he has a throne. Everything that makes a Vampire isn’t from you or me. It’s fromhim, And if he doesn’t want us to be Vampires anymore, if he takes back that gift, then it’s gone. Just gone. Because he rules all of us.” Julian let out a soft huff of laughter. “He is king, because he is king.”

A tear ran down Vivica’s cheek, as she began to shake. “It’s… gone. You’re right. It’s gone.” She shuddered. “Is it ever coming back?”

Julian looked up at Daemon. His expression was unreadable. “That’s really not up to me.”

At that moment, the Gate opened, and through it poured their allies. An ever growing throng of them. Lisette was at the head of the pack, followed by her pale-haired House members. The raucous members of House Ravenscroft led by William and Isabel followed thereafter. Then there were Charlie and Darcie with a gaggle of Mirryr Vampires, who kept sliding from form to form, reflecting the Order fashions, though not their faces. He saw the change in their eyes as they realized that they faced no Order berserkers, but instead, merehumans.

Predators to prey in a moment.

Lisette was first to greet him. She curtseyed before him. “I see we are hardly needed… unless it is to clean all this up.” She gestured to the former Vampires with a hint of fang showing. “Armageddon is fearsome, my king. I thought it would be something destructive, but this is so much worse than that.”

“Do not look at me with pity, you Kaly dog!” Vivica snapped.

Lisette let out a girlish laugh. “Are you going to let them live, my king, and age away? That might be a rather waste. I could domuchwith these many souls for you. I could perform many wonders.”

“No! Daemon,no, don’t… that’s not…” Julian looked at her with horror.

“You’ve seen how the dead can trouble the living, Julian,” Lisette said without rancor. “None here are worth your defense. They would have slaughtered you, Christian, everyone. They would have feasted on the fountains of your blood. They should be punished.”

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