Page 199 of On Wings of Blood

“Yes, but what if it’s not enough?”

I shook my head. “This is just... bizarre. Stop pretending you care, Blake.”

CHAPTER 48 - BLAKE

“I care because I want you and Regan to both make it out of this,” I lied. “Now do you want to know how I can help you or not?”

When she hesitated, I shrugged. “Fine. It’s been nice knowing you, Pendragon.”

I moved to go but she stepped in front of me.

I grinned.

“Get that self-satisfied look off your face,” she spat.

I held my hands up in mock surrender.

She wasn’t going to like this next part. I was bracing for her reaction.

“Fine,” she said, tapping her foot impatiently. “What’s the big tip? What do I have to do? Paint the refectory with blood? Sacrifice another blightborn virgin in the Sanctum?”

I flinched, and so did she as the cruel words left her mouth. She wasn’t hardened enough to make jokes about that yet. I wasn’t even sure if I was.

“If it involves you drinking me,” she hissed. “Then the answer is absolutely fucking not.”

I smirked. “It doesn’t. All you have to do is drink some ofmyblood. Think you can handle that?”

She took a step back. “You can’t be serious,” she said, wrinkling her nose in disgust. “No. Hell no.”

I sighed, resisting the urge to point out that any other girl at Bloodwing would have been flattered. I’d never even made the offer before. But Pendragon didn’t care about any of that. She didn’t care about our ways or traditions. She didn’t care about the power the blood of the four houses held.

After what we’d both witnessed in the Sanctum, I supposed I didn’t blame her.

“You agree to drink my blood,” I said. “And I’ll tell you a secret no one else knows. One that will give you power over me. One that could even get me killed. You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Admit it.”

Something dark flickered in her eyes and I hoped I wasn’t making the biggest mistake of my life.

“Well?” I said, trying to look impatient. The truth was, I didn’t really want to tell her. Part of me might have even been hoping she’d say no. But if she did, she’d be screwed.

“What will it do for me?” she demanded. “Your blood.”

I searched for the right words. “It’ll give you an edge. Make you stronger. Faster. Give you a little taste of my vampire abilities. Temporarily, of course.”

I pulled a small vial from my pocket and held it up so she could see the red liquid glistening inside. “You won't even have to touch me. Just drink this. It’ll help you survive.”

She stared at the vial in my hand as if I were trying to poison her. “Drinking your blood is just as bad as touching you.”

I tried to laugh it off. “You might be right.”

For a long moment, she glared at me. But then her hand reached out slowly for the vial.

I watched her uncork it, then tilt the small glass bottle to her lips. My eyes fixed on her slender pale throat as she swallowed.

There was something erotic about watching her take part of me inside of her.

She downed the blood, her expression twisting in discomfort. But she didn’t gag or spit it out.

“Good girl,” I said with a smirk.

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