Page 7 of Queen of Vampire Hearts

Bast lifted her head, giving me a loaded look.

My cheeks burned at the memory of Lucien, and I exhaled loudly. “Don’t worry, I’ll never see him again, and I’m sure he’s forgotten all about me already.”

Why did that feel like a lie? I literally met him at an orgy, and not even a mortal orgy, but animmortalone. Some would say that immortal lust was a perk of being immortal. It was not a bonus, but a fucking curse. You thought mortals fantasize about sex a lot? Imagine having the need of an immortal. It was like a cat in heat, rubbing against any available surface just to get off.

Lucien would move on to another conquest. The chances of someone that gorgeous trying to find me were somewhere around, never to never in a million years. I didn’t give my name or any other information. He couldn’t track me down even if he wanted to, not that he would.

Rule No. 3: Don’t tell anyone anything, ever.

I only knew his name because the fae queen had called it.Lucien. I flicked my hand, and all the lights in my apartment went out, my door and window locks snapping shut. He tasted like lemons and olive oil. I trailed my hand over my lips in the dark. Immortals were more hedonistic, never wasting time in hunting for pleasure when it was there for the taking. His presence at such an event showed his lustful nature. Yet, when paired with his boredom at the surrounding orgy, it hinted that such scenes were common for him. It was impossible that he would seek me out.

Would he have even bothered to return for me in Tír nAill, or would he have simply moved on to someone who would have sex with him? I’d surprised myself when I’d told him I wouldn’t. I was not a prude by any means, but something had held me back with Lucien. Infrequent one-night stands were my standard fare when I needed that momentary release, but when Lucien first touched me, a warning whispered through my mind that one night would never be enough.

Forget about him.He’s probably forgotten all about you already.With that sobering and disheartening thought, I forced myself to sleep.

I only know the dark, the fathomless abyss of blackness.It’s comforting, soothing, almost familiar. I can smell my mother’s perfume, the scent of Georgia peaches stinging my nose. My father’s hands are heavy on my shoulders, the palms, calloused and rough from work. I look up to see his familiar face, only to find nothing but the unwavering twilight. I drop to my knees, my eyes watering as I start to choke, unable to breathe. Why can’t I breathe?

The lack of air forces me awake, and my eyes flash open. My back arches as I try to breathe, rolling to my side. I cough, trying to clear my lungs of whatever is choking me. Spittle sprays from my lips, dropping onto the black floor, disturbing the mound of ash beneath me.

My vision is blurred, everything just shapes and traces of colors, but I can’t focus on one. My hand forms a fist, and I slam it into my stomach, dislodging more. The black dust chokes me more on its way out of my system. My hands shake, and my arms tremble as I try to push myself to my feet. I barely get to my knees before black spots invade my vision, trying to force me back into the darkness. I don’t know how long it takes for the black dots to stop. It feels like hours but could have only been minutes.

When I’m confident I’m not about to pass out, I slowly sit back on my heels, shaking my head to dislodge the film of ash over my eyes. My hands touch the side of my head, trying to recall where I am. What do I remember?

IV

The Realm of Tír nAill.

The Unseelie Court.

I DECIDED I WAS GOING KILL ERIKas I set off in search of the werewolf.

It took less than a minute to find the lycan in one of the private rooms upstairs. Unsurprisingly, two of his wolves were escorting him. Some of his most trusted followers always surrounded the Lycan King, something I knew irritated Erik to no end. They acted as pseudo bodyguards for the werewolf. Protection Erik insisted he neither wanted nor needed. The King of the Lycans was more than capable of taking care of himself, and he was not in danger from me. Strangely enough, we werefriends, something neither wolves nor vampires seemed to understand. Though, I wasn’t quite sure I understood it either.

The two sentries sneered at my appearance, shifting to glare at me. Their eyes glowed amber, a sign that their wolf was close to the surface and warning me to get the fuck away.I rolled my eyes. When would the wolves understand I had no intention of killing their king? A thousand years since I beheaded Erik’s father, and they still expected me to betray Erik at any moment.

“Titania said you needed to speak to me? That it was urgent?” I whipped out, impatient to get back, already imagining the depraved things I was going to do to the female downstairs. Why the hells was Erik even here? That kind of event was always more my thing than his. Not that Erik was a monk by any means, just morediscreet.

His light eyebrows shot up in surprise at my tone, tugging at the three slashing scars that tracked down one side of his face. “Why,hello, Lucien. Nice to see you, too.”

“Urgent was the word.Urgent. Does that mean something different in Norwegian?” I snapped, my voice still hoarse from shouting earlier.

Erik just stared at me, his blue eyes sparkling with humor despite the millennia he’d lived. He was a former Viking and light where I was dark. Though we were close in height, Erik was broader, more like a brawler. He’d shaved his long braids sometime over the years, leaving his cropped blonde hair slightly longer on top. The three faded scars that reached from the corner of one eye into his hairline were a gift from his deceased father. They were testimonies of an injury he’d received from before he gained the immortal ability to regenerate. Wolves only became truly immortal on their first full shift, like most shifters, though some never achieved the final shift. The scars only made him more attractive to females, his dangerous edge alluring to many.

I grumbled out the usual niceties. I regretted my harsh tone, but my mind remained on the female I’d left alone on the balcony. What if someone approaches her she likes more? I needed to get back to her.

Gods, that female. I didn’t think I’d ever been so consumed by someone, so desperate to own them, to make them mine, to have their submission, toneedtheir submission. I could already imagine her on her knees before me, her stunning eyes gazing up at me, begging to be rewarded for behaving. My mouth watered at the thought, but right now, the wolf demanded my attention.

“It just might,” he said, then his face turned serious. “The witches approached me.” I quirked a surprised brow at the announcement. The witches never sought other species. They were usually too busy grappling for power and control. “They want a favor.”

I crossed my arms over my chest, trying not to shift my weight from foot to foot in impatience. “A favor? From us?”

Very unusual, and any other day, I would have been all over this intriguing little mystery. The witches were usually aboveinterspeciesmingling. They saw themselves as above most other immortals. So them coming to a wolf and a vampire forhelpwas fucking rich. Normally, I would be peppering Erik with questions and demanding details, but I could barely think past my need to get back downstairs. I grasped for control, forcing myself to focus on Erik.

Erik nodded. “They want our help to kill a witch.”

“TheWitches Councilwantsourhelp with killing a witch?”

The Council was renowned for tracking and executing their wrongdoers with a vengeance, even going so far as claiming that no one could escape their magic. Their definition ofno oneclearly differed from mine.

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