Page 21 of Heir of Blood and Moonlight

“Sophie,” Gavin said, his voice a whip crack.

Only when Gavin said my name did I realize I had stopped in front of the darker vampire and was raising my hand, reaching for his face like I might stroke my fingers over his crescent sigil.

I pulled my hand away, blushing yet again. “Sorry,” I whispered, taking a step back and averting my gaze.

His paler companion pushed open the double doors, and Gavin crossed the threshold into the loft beyond.

I took one step, but before I could join him, the darker vampire caught my wrist. I glanced down at his hand, then up at his face.

He clenched and unclenched his jaw repeatedly, like he was barely controlling himself. Grip firm but gentle, he raised my hand toward his face, releasing me just shy of forcing contact. I completed the motion, brushing my fingertips over the side of his face, tracing the intricately swirling lines making up his crescent sigil. His eyelids drifted shut, and he leaned into my touch.

“What’s your name?” I asked, my voice breathy.

The vampire’s eyelids opened, his midnight eyes locking with mine. “Thane, my queen,” he said, his deep voice resonating with some secret, hidden part of me. He bowed his head. “May I serve you well.”

The corner of my mouth lifted as I thought back to the dream and how good his mouth had felt on me. “I’m sure you will,” I said, skimming the pad of my thumb over his full lips.

His breath escaped in a long, slow sigh, and his hand settled on the curve of my hip.

“Thane!” Gavin barked.

The vampire’s dark eyes widened, and his hand fell away from my hip.

“Sophie . . .” Gavin’s restrained voice dragged my attention back toward him. “You are not yet ready tocommunewith multiple immortals. The power will overwhelm you. It willdestroyyou.” His voice had a raw edge as he approached slowly but purposely. “So far as we know, you are the last living vampire queen. You are our people’s only hope to survive.” He stopped so close to me that I had to tilt my head back to meet his eyes. “We cannot lose you again.”

I swallowed roughly, sobered by his words. “I’m sorry,” I said again, my cheeks heating for about the thousandth time. I shook my head and looked down at our shoes. “I don’t know what came over me.”

“It’s my blood,” Gavin explained. “You’ve been deprived for so long that your body doesn’t know how to handle it. We have to ease you in. Build up your tolerance. When you can handle a fullcommunionwith one immortal, then we can discuss adding members to your harem, but it will take time.”

I nodded, still so confused about all of this and not fully understanding his meaning.

Gavin captured my hand and pulled me away from Thane and through the doorway, into a high-ceilinged, open-concept spacefilled with modern furniture and antiques that appeared both fragile and priceless. More sigils glowed on the walls, wards protecting this space.

“Take the shifter to the blue room and hold him there,” Gavin told Thane. “Full lockdown protocol on the entire floor until we’re ready to move Sophie to the Moon Sanctuary.”

“Understood,” Thane said, turning his attention to Bastian, who still followed close behind me. He took hold of Bastian’s upper arm and pulled the shifter around me and deeper into the loft, toward a hallway off to the left of the vaulted living area.

Bastian followed without struggle, but he continued to look back at me until Thane dragged him around a corner and out of sight.

I turned my attention to Gavin. “You swear you won’t hurt him?”

His stare seared into me, more gray than luminous silver now. His sigils seemed duller, as well. “Not unless you order me to,” he said.

The initial, blissful high from his blood had worn off, and the reality of my situation was sinking in. My arousal waned, and dread knotted in my gut. My life as I had known it—as I had built it—was over.

I crossed the spacious living room, passing between an armchair and a couch and winding around a glass-topped coffee table to make my way toward the wall of windows overlooking Elliott Bay. The sun shone merrily in a cloudless sky, and the water’s smooth surface gleamed like polished labradorite. I hugged my middle, drowning in uncertainty.

I heard Gavin’s slow approach behind me, but more than that, Ifelthim drawing nearer. It was as though the exchange of blood down in the parking garage had linked us somehow.

“I assume Javier is the one who made this for you,” Gavin said, coming to stand beside me and holding his hand out, palm up.One of the tiny vials containing the blood tincture rested on his palm. He must have taken it from my purse.

I nodded.

“What happened to him?”

I shrugged and shook my head. “He took care of me, kept me hidden and safe. And then, one day, he was justgone.” I glanced at Gavin. “And I was alone.”

“When was this?”

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