Page 55 of Queen of Ashes and Scars
My mouth dries up, a searing heat invading my stomach at the thought of drinking from Keenan’s neck…
“The process will make me very weak. I need someone there to oversee the process and restrain ye if ye lose control. I usually have another angel doing it, but I can make an exception. Just this once.” He drops his gaze to his feet, suddenly looking shy and uncertain. “If our queen wants to help ye through the transition.”
“I’m still a newborn, how do you know I won’t lose my head?” Arielle asks quietly.
“I trust ye, Your Highness. Besides…I think yer presence could make the process more pleasant for me. Maybe with yer magic, the bite doesn’t have to be so painful.”
“I’m not sure…” I don’t know what I expected, but I didn’t think it would involve Ari, of all people. I don’t want to accidentally hurt her in a ritual that Keenan describes as a very volatile situation.
She gives my hand a good tug, turning me to her. “Let me be the one who sees you safely into your new life.”
“Alright,” I breathe against her lips.
Keenan pulls his shirt off his body and sits on the plush sofa. I grin at Arielle, the lovely vampire staring at the ridges in his stomach with a tinge of guilt, her fingers cold in mine.
Our gazes meet over Keenan’s shoulder. “Ready?” she asks, almost taunting me into action. “I’ll help you out a little. Human teeth aren’t exactly engineered for this.”
I nod and inch closer to her and Keenan, my heart about to jump out of my chest. Last chance to turn back, and yet I can’t bring myself to fear the monster I’m about to become. I’m…excited.
Arielle uses her venom to coat the tender skin of Keenan’s neck, and his gaze immediately glazes over. He groans as her magic starts to flow through his veins, and I know exactly how he’s feeling. Lucky bastard.
She nicks his jugular open until blood trickles out of the wound, humming under her breath before she moves out of the way. A hint of red colors her lips as she smiles, and Keenan pulls her in his lap for a kiss while I work out my nerves and lean down to taste his blood. Without giving myself the time to agonize over my choice, I press my mouth to the gash and swallow a mouthful of blood.
I expect it to taste like my own—metallic and bitter—but the rich liquid is actually sweet and enticing. It’s eerie and wild to be drinking him for a change, and a suffocating thrill shoots up my spine. Keenan’s blood doesn’t compare to anything I’ve ever tasted.
My tongue darts out, and I hold him closer, biting down on the wound for better access, sucking down his life essence like it’s the very air I need to survive.
Keenan’s blood is now my oxygen, and I need it more than I could ever need food or water.
I feel unmade.
Desperate.
Ravenous.
I gasp out for him, each gulp of blood rearranging my soul into something more. Something ancient and powerful and different. Keenan caresses the back of my neck and lets out a small, needy sigh like he wants to give me all there is to give, and I take and take from him without restraint.
I drink from him until my lungs and stomach feel full and needier still, the pleasure of each mouthful only eclipsed by the bliss of the next, my legs and arms stronger and more flexible. Keenan slowly sinks into the sofa, his head and hands falling to the cushion.
“Enough, now,” Arielle whispers, her lips ghosting along the shell of my ear.
I can feel each of Keenan’s heartbeats in my throat, and to be frank, I want to be sure to swallow his very last one. I instinctively push Arielle away from my prey and close my eyes to erase anything but the feel of him dying beneath me.If only I could taste all of him, then maybe I’d share his special brand of peace and carry it with me forever.
Two strong arms wrap around my midriff, Arielle’s steel grip unwavering as she wrestles me off my mark. “I need more!” I snarl at her, lost in a haze, and her brows pull together. My muscles itch in my arms, more resilient than they used to be, but still no match for her vampire strength.
She drags me to the other end of the room like I’m nothing but a rowdy toddler. “Enough, Leo! He’s almost dead.”
The distance drills some much-needed awareness back into my foggy brain, and I remember who I am and what I’m doing. My heart swells, a volcano of heat in my chest.
All of a sudden, my shoulder blades itch so painfully that I can’t help but scratch at them wildly, digging my nails in my skin, again and again, until it’s raw. This new, unexpected torment wrenches out my spine, carving lines deep in my bones, and I cry out in agony.
Arielle tries to stop me from hurting myself, shackling my wrists with her hands.
Tears stream down my face at the pain. “It hurts. I need—Just tear them out of me, please.”
Understanding washes over her face. “Turn around.”
With both care and decisiveness, my vampire queen peels off the sensitive skin of my back to free my wings. They sprout out of my back and spread out on each side of me, the sharp pain withering down as my body heals itself in one breath, the new appendages now only burning a little.
