Page 99 of Bitten

“And that opinion is?” the king asked.

“I think the bloodlust has a strong hold on him—strong enough that it kept him from putting it back on.”

Ralnur turned to his nephew. “Kane needs that amulet. I only want to find out if it’s possible to for him to wear it once again and get him back. That’s why I want to go.”

Adriel held his stare. “You’ll wear the amulet again. And I will send Theis and Noah to protect you—I know I can trust them.”

Ralnur nodded before bowing. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

The king turned to Theis. “Call Eilam and have him go with Solomon to Cannon’s hospital room.”

“And who stays to protect you?” Noah asked.

“I’ll go with Eilam and the dragon,” Adriel said. “I want to hear the truth with my own ears—and if I find I have a traitor, I will hold Cannon accountable myself.”

Ralnur saw the anger in Adriel’s eyes and knew the king could protect himself. Adriel was as powerful as his father had been, if not more.

“I know it’s growing late, but there’s no time to waste,” Ralnur said. “The longer he’s without the amulet, the greater the odds he can’t wear it again.”

“And I won’t be able to sleep knowing we might have a traitor amongst the guard,” the king said. “No sleep until we have our answers, hmm?”

Ralnur smiled and held out his hand to Noah, awaiting the gem. Even knowing the pain that would come, he held it there.

Anything for his mates.

* * * *

The search for Kane’s salvation…

Caelian rushed back to where Ralnur sat and slid into the chair beside the warlock. “I’ve found something.” He searched on the page for the spot before reading aloud.“Araghane was the first known paranormal being to ever be bitten by a vampire and survive the bloodlust without feeding—sometime around the Year of the Witch 9700. Once awakened, the bloodlust settled within but was said not to appear as strong as in a human. A Carpathian onyx was enchanted, drawing out and feeding on his bloodlust. It allowed him to remain dhampir and never cross into the land of the undead. After Araghane’s murder in the Year of the Witch 11115, the vampire who murdered him stole the amulet—but alas the last laugh was Araghane’s. One touch of the gem turned the vampire to ash.” Caelian looked up from the book. “I keep crossing paths with the dhampir.”

“What do you mean?” Noah asked.

“As I was searching for the source of Ralnur’s change, I kept stumbling over the notes about the dhampir. I was almost certain that’s the being who had changed you.” Caelian sighed. There was no way Kane was a dhampir. Both his parents had been human. No, Kane was most certainly now a vampire. “Kane bit me. Does this mean he’ll turn to ash now if we use the stone on him?”

“I don’t know,” Ralnur said. “He bit me, too.”

“You two don’t count,” Hoefsra said as he entered the fray, rolling a trolley of books past.

Ralnur eyed the odd little librarian, frowning.

Hoefsra lifted a brow. “You’re the dhampir’s mates. Your blood is different. He needs your blood, and you need his. Your blood won’t change him into a vampire. But if he feeds on any other’s blood, he might change.”

“He’s no dhampir,” Ralnur said. “His parents were humans.”

“Reginald Kane’s mother was human,” Hoefsra said. “The man who raised him wasn’t his father. His true father was a vampire.”

“Has Kane bit anyone else?” Theis asked.

“No. Not that I know of,” Ralnur said.

“How do you know this?” Caelian asked his grandfather.

“It’s all in the histories,” the old elf murmured.

“And you didn’t tell me sooner?” Caelian cried.

Hoefsra shrugged. “You didn’t ask.” He smiled. “Though I did bring you some books on the dhampir, did I not?”

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