Page 24 of Queen of Vampire Hearts

“My mother was ashamed of what monsters the creatures had become. They rampaged through the realm, killing indiscriminately, but she couldn’t bring herself to kill them. As the goddess of a species, certain responsibilities fell to her, such as instituting a royal line. So, she had me.”

She later confessed to me that Endymion was my father, the first of her vampires. Zeus later cursed him to eternal sleep, keeping them apart forever. Endymion was my mother’s mate, but that mattered little to the spiteful Olympian.

I felt Phoebe frown against my shoulder. “That sounds cold. My mother always made sure that I knew how loved I was and that I was their greatest joy,” she admitted.

I envied her that. Unfortunately, despite my many partners, there were very few I would call genuine friends. I never had someone I trusted, at least not completely.

“My mother loved me, in her own way,” I hedged. “But, I was a means to an end.”

To my surprise, Phoebe tightened her arms around me. My initial instinct was to shift away from her, but I stopped myself. My lovers never sought to comfort me, always taking pleasure where they could before departing. But Phoebe’s soft, warm body filled me with contentment.

I kissed the top of her head softly and stroked her hair. The fiery mass played through my fingers, and her breathing evened out as she fell asleep. I doubted she had slept the night before, planning to run from me. My mate was such a mystery. She was running from something but refused my protection. She had to know I could shelter her better than any other immortal in the realm.

Her scent flooded me when she shifted in her sleep, soothing my mind, the frenzy absent in her presence.Why now?Why was Fate finally giving me a matenow? Ten thousand years of fighting and never-ending boredom. I’d spent millennia trying to fill the yawning emptiness inside me, and Fate, the vengeful bitch, waited until I could not recognize her in Tír nAill.

Boredom would be the furthest thing from my mind with Phoebe in my life. Instead of the bland future I dreaded, I would spend my days and nights making love to her. I doubted I would ever tire of her body. When I couldfinallyshare her, we would have children. Princes and princesses who would likely raise all kinds of hells if they inherited even a fraction of their mother’s power. I just had to convince her to stay.

My first priority was to find out who was after her.I hated that my mate felt even a second of fear and wanted to wipe any threat to her from the earth. Any who dared to harm her would serve as a cautionary tale for all. I was desperate to know every secret she hid behind her violet eyes and wished she trusted me enough to reveal all. I still knew so little about her and would need to proceed with caution and patience.

Unlike lycans, vampires didn’t actively pursue their mates, believing fate would provide. Matches between different species wereextremelyrare, and as I was learning, fraught with problems. If Phoebe was a vampire, she would have recognized me as her mate and would not be resisting so aggressively. But then, if that were the case, I wouldn’t havePhoebe.

A huge yawn interrupted my musings, and I recalled that I had barely slept since first meeting her. I closed my eyes for a couple of minutes and considered carrying her to the segmented bedroom at the back of the plane but decided against it, worried that any movement might wake her. I clutched her more tightly to me and allowed myself to drift off.

XII

The Realm of Mortals.

Outside of Bucharest, Romania.

But I am not imagining that I hit something on the floor. I sit back on my ass and hiss out another cry as I try to avoid pressing against my injured leg. As I blink again, my vision sharpens a little more, healing from whatever had decimated the Council chambers.

It’s enough for me to see what I tripped over.

MY EYES SNAPPED OPENto the feeling of being tossed around in a sardine can. On instinct, I tightened my arms around the seat, slamming my eyes shut again and burying my face into its warmth. It took me a moment to realize my seat wasbreathing. I opened my eyes slowly this time, surprised to see Lucien still held me, his brows furrowed in sleep. Yet Lucien never moved and hadn’t let go of me.There was no way he could be comfortable with me in his lap like this. I was not exactly light, and I would never be model skinny, not with tits and ass that no amount of dieting could get rid of. As a kid, I became very familiar with belts because pants that fit my outrageous ass gaped at my waist.

I shouldn’t have let him hold me. I should have fought to get out of his lap, but I was weak and wanted comfort. Despite my better judgment, I’d let him soothe my fears. I tried to wiggle out of his arms, but his hold only tightened around me. It was clear I wasn’t going anywhere at the moment. I huffed and disentangled my arms from around him, shifting to look out the window.

A beautiful countryside swam into view once we pierced the cloud cover. We could be anywhere. The plane flattened, the human pilot yelling back to alert us of our impending landing. I thought again of trying to get out of Lucien’s lap, but the plane bounced and skidded as we hit the ground. I gave up trying to look brave and clung to him for dear life, my heart slamming against my chest. Once the commotion eased, the well-dressed man appeared next to us. An amused smile quirked his lips when he noticed me clinging to Lucien.

“I don’t think he’s been sleeping,” he commented in his creole-accented voice, gesturing to Lucien with a nod of his head. I refused to feel bad.

This was getting too confusing. I needed to distance myself from him and reached out for my magick out of reflex. I needed its comforting presence, the feeling of the world breathing in and out with me. But there was nothing. My senses felt as if they were wrapped in wool.Quite the reality check.I shoved hard against Lucien this time, falling out of his arms and tumbling to the ground in front of him.

The other man made no move to help me up, staring at me with a smirk. I’m sure he was recalling Lucien’s reaction the last time he touched me. I huffed and flicked a lock of my rebellious hair out of my face, glaring at the other vampire. He merely shrugged, never dropping his smirk. It was obvious that his fear of Lucien’s reprisal was greater than the pull of his Southern manners.

I rose and looked out the small window again. “Where are we?”

The airplane taxied to a full stop, making Lucien come awake with a jolt. His fangs were exposed and his eyes red, ready to attack at a moment’s notice. I started in surprise at how absolutelyvicioushe looked. At that moment, I understood why those vampires had run from the alley rather than face him. I gulped, not taking my eyes off of him, tempted to back away.

He remained on edge until his wild eyes locked on me. The tension dissipated from his face, the mad red fading from his eyes. He leaned his head back and reached for my hand, pulling it to his lips to place a soft kiss on my palm. I was too stunned at the transition to pull away and felt the flush of pleasure creep into my cheeks. I hadn’t blushed in years.As a natural redhead, when I blushed, it was with my entire body. I thought I’d broken that habit years ago. Yet, a simple gesture from Lucien had me reacting as if I was a teenager again.

I studied Lucien, holding his gaze, ruby embers still burning in the depths of his green eyes. His power was a palpable thing. I wondered if he could possibly protect me but immediately rejected the idea. I couldn’t think like that, and I wouldn’t think like that. No one since my parents had protected me, and I had always learned to protect myself. I’d never needed a man to do anything, and I would not start with Lucien.

He glanced out the window and stood, his frame seeming to fill the space. I stepped back as he towered over me, having forgotten howlargehe was. “Ah! We’ve landed.”

Lucien refused to relinquish my hand, grasping my rucksack and go bag with his free one. Bast jumped down to follow us as the flight attendants lowered the stairs. I hesitated again at the top of the steps, a shiver of foreboding going through me as I looked at the ground. By staying in one place for an indefinite amount of time, I was painting a giant target on my back with the words:COME KILL ME.

If the Council came for me, I would be helpless and at their mercy without my powers. I refused to allow that, not again, never again. I had to get these cuffs off, even if I had to cut my hands off to do it.

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