Page 34 of Darkest Heart

I grabbed her chin, pulling her to look at me. “You don’t have a choice, love. You’re in my world now, and without me, you and your sister will be blood whores by the end of the week. Or…”

“Become just a whore to you?” she asked.

“Or,” I enunciated, “you could both be dead. There’s no rule against killing our food. We just try not to, you know, keep up supply.” I glanced at her chest, heaving beneath the tight fabric, the silk cutting into her skin. “But we do have more of you coming in now.”

She shook her head. “Are they also from Salvius?”

“They’re from all over,” I explained, drumming my fingers against my knee. “The tournament seems to have breathed life back into mortal’s desires to visit our little island.”

She cursed under her breath. “Fucking idiots.”

“Yes,” I agreed. “But they want to become immortal. It is a gift many of the sick, dying desire. Some things are worth dying for.”

She flicked her brows up. “There are many things worth dying for. Being a vampire isn’t one of them.”

“Why not?” I asked, watching her curl a ring on her index finger over and over again. “Would you not want a life where the thought of everyone you love dying is removed? You can spend an eternity never losing a thing.”

She cocked her head. “Is that what you have?”

I swallowed hard, my heart skipping a beat. “Enough with the questions.”

“You started it.” She said, then exposed her neck. “Just get it over and done with. I’m tired.”

I rolled my eyes up, irritation clawing under my skin, and I had no idea why. But I was thirsty. The ache in my stomach returned, or perhaps it was always there and I’d stopped noticing it.

My fangs protruded from my gums, hunger taking over as her pulse beckoned me. I brought my bite onto her neck, sliding one hand into her hair as her blood poured over my tongue. Her shoulders tensed, a shudder dancing through her as I held her to me. I let it flow slowly, taking my time with the feed. Her fingers extended from her fists, her muscles easing as the venom slipped through her veins, taking away the pain from the initial bite.

My eyes rolled to the back of my head as I lost myself in the moment, my darkness purring as the hunger dissipated. Electricity danced over my skin as I grazed her waist, my dick hardening as she leaned deeper into me, her head falling back against the cushions.

Closing my lips around the puncture wounds, I moved back just a few inches to take in her carefree expression as she succumbed to venom’s effects, her features glowing against the hues of the flames in the fireplace.

I glared at the dagger sheathed to her thigh. The same one she held onto for dear life when she was brought in. Not that it would protect her against me, or any other vampire. But I understood. I used to have one similar when I was mortal, feeling the fears of the world closing in on me as the fragility of a mortal existence hung like a noose around my neck. Every person who died, every accident I’d witnessed at sea, reminders of the permanence of death. I hated it, but now, there was so little that could remove me from this world. I was the weapon. Maybe that’s why I wanted her close. She represented a part of me that I hadn’t quite let go of yet.

Shaking my head as if to scatter my thoughts, I laid her down on the sofa, letting her fall into a deep sleep. Normally, the mortals got horny after being fed on. They didn’t know why; they said it was venom, but everyone reacted differently. Truth was, all the venom did was pull the suppressed parts of them to the surface; for most, it was sexual. Not for Elizabeth. She must always feel like she needed to fight if her reaction was to sleep.

Brows furrowed, I stood, moving my gaze to the window. Rain beat against the glass, lightning flashing the sky blue. I quickly closed the drapes, then left the room. I locked the door, throwing the key into my pocket. If she tried to run again, I might not be able to stop Adrian from hurting her. Not like I cared. I shouldn’t. I didn’t; I decided. But my stomach knotted as I walked away.

She’d done as I asked. Behaved. It wasn’t as thrilling as I thought it would be. Nevertheless, I tried to be a man of my word and went to walk to my father’s room. He’d be there or in Sargon’s office. Before I could round the corner, Adrian appeared, disheveled and wild-eyed. “Niall.” He grabbed me by the collar, pushing me back against the wall.

I grabbed his throat before he could say another word, forcing him onto the ground. “What the fuck are you doing?”

He sped to his feet, fists clenched at his sides. “You sent Gwendolyn into my rooms. Don’t fucking deny it!”

“What?” The confusion I felt must have been obvious, because he paused, instead of coming at me again.

“She was in my room, looking through the sealed letters. Our archives for all of our members, right across Sanmorte.”

My lip quivered, my blood running cold as I shook my head in disbelief. “No…she has no reason to snoop.”

“I warned you to stay away from her.”

I gritted my teeth. “What did you do?”

He shrugged. “Nothing less than what the bitch deserved.”

“Adrian,” I warned, everything in me darkening. “Where is she?”

“I didn’t kill her,” he said, but I could barely process anything he was saying.

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