Page 10 of Chains of Blood and Darkness

My enemies approached me and my prize. I refused to back down and show fear—fear wasn’t an option.

Keir tilted his head back and forth thoughtfully as he assessed the Nephilim. He drew his slender brows into a frown, then moved to put his palm on her forehead.

“Don’t touch her,” I growled instantly.

He stepped back. “Very well.” He hovered his palm over her forehead but didn’t make contact with her skin. “She clings to life, but just barely,” he announced, concern lacing his tone. Clearly he was as desperate to save his people’s Anchoring Obsidian as I was our Aeternum Stone.

Trystan sniffed and shook his head miserably. “A grave mistake, Simon. Her value is beyond measure.” His voice was laden with a mix of sorrow and condemnation.

Simon’s face paled, and a tense breath escaped him. “B-beyond measure?” He looked down at the girl as if trying to figure out what made her so special.

Maximo looked down at the girl with disinterest. “She’s beautiful, but lovelies like her are a dime a dozen. She’s barely breathing, Santi. Let her go.”

“No. I won’t let her die.” I shouldered my way through the onlookers, parting them like the Red Sea.

I didn’t want to admit it, but Maximo was right. She was barely conscious, her breathing getting shallower by the minute.

Using my vampire speed, I raced up the grand staircase. Icould feel her heart beating weakly against my chest. I kicked open a door to one of Simon’s luxurious bedrooms and gently laid her down on a red canopy bed. Without hesitation, I bit open my wrist and pressed it to her lips.

“Drink,” I commanded. My blood would heal her injuries but wouldn’t turn her into a vampire unless I willed it. And that was the last thing I wanted to do. If she became a vampire, she would be useless to me.

She lay on the canopy bed, her skin pale against the brilliantly white sheets beneath her. A thin red line of blood trickled down her chin, leaving a trail of crimson against her ghostly complexion. She remained motionless, resembling a sculpture of the Roman goddess Venus.

My muscles tensed. I balled my hands into tight fists, and as I tapped into my powers of persuasion, the familiar prickling sensation ran over my skin, every hair standing on end. I focused all my energy on her still form.

“Drink.” My low voice echoed around the bedroom. The air crackled with my power.

I felt a slight tug on my wrist, and the corners of my mouth pulled up into a grin. Her lips pressed against my skin and sucked and sucked. She coughed and choked, twisting her head back and forth on the pillow. I pulled my arm away from her grasp and watched as she groaned and gasped for air. She was still under the effects of diazepam, but she was alive, and the realization shot a spark of hope through my tight chest.

The sound of boots thudding down the hallway caught my attention, and I spun around with a low growl. The door crashed open, and Keir burst into the room. His face wastense, but he attempted to flash me a smile. His eyes flicked to the girl stretched out on the bed.

“You saved her?”

I bared my teeth at him. “She’s mine.”

“Perhaps you should speak with Trystan and Simon.” Keir tilted his head. “Trystan has made a higher bid for her if she survives.”

I stiffened. “Remember what I took care of for you?” When Keir first came here, he had used my services to eliminate a deadly enemy.

Keir nodded solemnly. “Yes. And I told you I owed you.”

“Exactly. So watch her. No one, and I mean no one, comes in here.” I pointed directly at the girl. “And don’t touch her.”

Keir nodded slightly. “I won’t let anyone take her…” I could hear the hidden message in his voice. His type never did anything without expecting something in return, but he also wouldn’t want to defy me, not after I had helped him.

I stormed down the stairs to find Trystan and Simon conversing quietly in the corner.

As soon as Simon saw me, he let out a terrified shriek and ran away like a scared rabbit—as if he could outrun the Angel of Death.

Trystan’s blue eyes turned gold, warning me he was about to shift into a wolf. But I didn’t care—he wasn’t my intended target.

With an angry snarl, I seized Simon by the throat, lifting him off the floor. He squirmed and struggled, kicking his feet in the air, but I held him firmly in place. As Ibared my razor-sharp fangs, his eyes bulged, threatening to pop out of his skull.

Bringing him closer, I hissed at him. “You declared her sold to me. Do you honestly think you can go back on that?”

“But…he…” Simon gasped for air.

I squeezed his neck tighter, causing his face to turn bright red.

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