Chapter five
Amaya paced the luxurious bedroom, her heart thumping through her chest. But it was still hers, inside of her body and functioning. That was a victory in and of itself. Even with her limited knowledge of the king, she knew that not many escaped his wrath.
How was she getting out of this predicament?
One would think fear was what was hindering her thoughts but…
no. Her magic was flaring wildly around her as her body battled arousal and need.
For once, not a single thought in her head was helpful.
Her mind was crowded with the king of the vampires.
His chiseled face left no room for anything else.
She flashed back to an hour ago when she’d taken his blood. Amaya had looked into his dark eyes and seen the flames swirling within. She could almost feel the monster he was clawing to come out and devour her. It was a foolish choice to give herself to him. But what other option did she have?
Amaya’s body shuddered as she remembered the way his teeth had pierced her throat.
The pain had been instantaneous, but quickly swept away by pleasure that had swamped her body.
Even the memory of it heated her skin until the air around her left prickles of sensation.
Not to mention how her magic reacted to him.
The greedy chaos of her power wanted to attach itself to him and revel in his dark aura.
It called to her magic in a way she’d never experienced before.
She took a deep shuddering breath and headed to the window in her prison.
Escape was a ridiculous notion, especially since he held her mother somewhere in this compound.
While her power was useful for the Archive, it would be futile against a mansion full of vampires.
She turned from the window and paced. Had she made the right decision?
Would he allow her to change her mind? She bit her lip because she couldn’t in good conscience let him kill her uncle.
Looking around the lavish bedroom, she sighed. This…prison was a lot better than the bedroom of the small house she and her mother were renting. She shook her head; what was she thinking? Not even an hour alone and she was already rationalizing the situation.
“Get it together, Amaya,” she muttered in disgust.
She rushed to her bag the maid had left on the bench in front of her bed. Eyebrows lifting, she was shocked to find her phone. Rolling it around in her hand, she debated her actions. She could call her cousin, and then what?
The rest of her family would be involved. To what end?
She stared at it as a text came in.
Trace: What did Paul want? Did you make it home?
Her hands shook as she typed out the lie that would keep the rest of her family safe.
Amaya: Girl. Same shit different day.
An eyeroll gif was her cousin’s response, but she didn’t question it further.
Amaya was thankful that Tracy left it at that.
Her head lifted at a knock at the door. She ignored it, not ready to deal with what was on the other side.
Holding her breath, she waited on another knock; when it didn’t come, she released the air in her lungs and flopped down on the bed.
Closing her eyes and fighting to center herself, Amaya worked through the panic waiting in the wings to take over.
Her hand went to her neck, her fingers trailing the spot where King Levi had bitten her.
The skin still tingled there, but closing her eyes, the image of his blood-soaked mouth filled her vision.
She had to get out of here.
Her stomach grumbled as she sat up. Dinner had been long forgotten and now all she could think about was her mother. Was she alright? Amaya rushed to the door, regretting ignoring the knock the first time. She turned the knob, shocked to find that it worked. She wasn’t locked inside.
As she opened it, her breath stalled and she took a shaky step away. King Levi stood at her door, a tray of food in his hand. With every step he took inside her room, she fell back.
“What are you doing here?”
“You refused the tray from the maid I sent earlier,” he told her.
She shook her head because she hadn’t realized how deep she’d been in her thoughts.
How long ago had that knock been? Levi set down the tray and turned his full attention to her.
All the air in the room was sucked out. His presence left no room for anyone else.
Amaya knew power, she worked around it all the time, but this was raw, untamed, similar to the wild chaos she worked with daily.
How tied up in the Akachi was the king to be leaking this much magic?
It took her breath away. Her body sought to tune itself with his.
The pulse that was once racing slowed to match the hard thump of his.
She could tell that he hadn’t fed in a while, but how she knew that was a mystery.
Surely it had something to do with the blood bond.
Amaya examined her mind; there was a tether to him, though it was light.
It was enough for some of his feelings to come through.
She sensed his wariness and that…she didn’t know what to do with that.
Why should he be wary? He was holding her hostage.
“Not hostage, baby doll.”
He answered lowly and she shook away her scattered thoughts, immediately slamming a shield up over her mind.
Him having access to her thoughts would be dangerous.
Her brows lowered and she pinched her lips to keep in all the vile things she wanted to hurl at him.
Her mother’s safety was contingent on how she acted.
And from the way he clenched and unclenched his hands, patience was not something he had in spades.
Relaxing her shoulders, she took a deep, calming breath.
With it came his scent and her body warmed.
Damn this man. Why was her body betraying her like this?
“King Levi,” she started, working to put as much respect in her tone as she could. His smirk did not help. She smoothed out the expression on her face. “Is my mother safe?”
“I don’t hurt innocent people.”
“Now how I’m supposed to know that?” she snapped. She took a deep breath and corralled the magic that wanted to flare out at this man. “Can I see her, talk to her?”
“You and I need to get some shit straight first.”
She swallowed down a growl. It’s for my mother, she told herself.
“You’ve kidnapped me. What could we possibly have to discuss? Hell, you got the Akachi back and we’ve exchanged blood, you don’t even need to keep me here. You can call me to you at any point.”
That was probably what offended her the most about this agreement she’d bound herself in.
Anita had never liked living on the Chawi compound, and thus Amaya had grown up free of their restricting rules.
From the moment she’d turned eighteen and the chaos magic started to eat away at Anita’s mind, there had been no one for Amaya to answer to.
To make it to her late twenties just to turn around and be… beholden to another…
The vampire could call to her and Amaya would be forced to answer. Bitterness and anger stewed within her.
Levi smiled, madness swirling in his gaze. “Oh, but I want you here, baby doll.”
Faster than she could process, the king was in her face and space. He leaned over, nudging her head to get access to her throat. She stopped breathing, her heart rate accelerating.
“I decided the moment I saw you that I would have you.”
“I’m not an object for you to collect.”
He chuckled and rubbed his nose down the side of her neck. “Fuck, you smell amazing, babydoll. I know your pussy is fire.”
Amaya gasped and stepped back from him.
“You need to let us go so I can properly care for my mother.” She couldn’t help the tremble in her voice.
Just his presence this close to her was rattling her senses. The little bit of blood they’d exchanged was doing its job. She craved him. It was the bond…right?
“Need? No. I need to taste you.” He licked her neck. “Need to feel the way you’ll grip my dick, feel your curves against me. Those are needs, baby doll. You want to be released, and I don’t think I will. I think I’ll make you keep your word to me.”
Mad at the way her body melted for him, her temper rose.
So badly she wanted to lash out with her power, but besides the fact that she didn’t know how he’d respond to the aggression, her magic was a passive thing.
As offense, it was nothing. Dampening power and magic — what was that to a vampire when his strength was three times her own?
She was sure he wasn’t interested enough in her to ignore an outright attack.
“You and your gold-fanged gang can’t just go around kidnapping people,” she breathed out.
“I haven’t kidnapped people, I’ve taken a thief into my custody. I can’t imagine the Collective would care about that.”
“Not that you would care either way.”
He shrugged, his eyes spearing her, seeing places within her that she kept hidden to the world. “Look at you, already knowing your man.”
Those words momentarily struck her mute. They stared at each other, a maniacal light shining in his gaze as it raked over her body.
“I have no intention in being food for you unless you plan to take my blood without my consent.”
His growl stopped her words and lifted the hair on the back of her neck. “I don’t have to take shit from no one. Ain’t never had to. You’ll come to me of your own free will and you’ll love it over here.”
Though his words held a hint of teasing, Levi’s eyes were hard, a flicker of a flame on the inside. He was mad as hell and she needed to tread carefully.
“Can I please see my mother?”
He grit his teeth, battling with urges Amaya prayed he beat, before his face cleared. “Your mother is safe and comfortable.”
“I don’t believe you.”
Stepping from her, Levi held his hand out towards the door.
Wary, Amaya took a deep breath and walked past him, closing her eyes as his scent wrapped around her.
When she reached the hallway, one of his enforcers was there, standing at a door a few feet away.
Instinctively, she knew that was where they were keeping her mother.
Taking shaky steps, she closed the distance between her and the wooden door the enforcer stood in front of.
A shuddering breath shook her body as she turned the knob. Her mother was sitting in a chair at the window, her visage peaceful, no hint of distress. Tears crested Amaya’s eyes and while fear was still with her, having her mother safe was her top priority.
Anita turned to her and smiled softly. “There you are.”
She rushed to her mother’s side, kneeling. “Are you okay, mama?”
Anita nodded. “Better than I’ve felt in a while. The Bayi have treated me kindly.” She cupped her daughter’s cheek. “Are we in trouble, Amaya?”
She closed her eyes and swallowed down the sob. “Uncle Paul did put us in a bit of a predicament, but I’ll get us out of this,” she promised.
Her mother hummed. “I tried to keep my brother on the straight and narrow, but you know your uncle,” she sighed. “I trust you to work something out. In the meantime, this situation doesn’t feel dangerous.”
Reassured by that, Amaya lowered her head.
With the riotous thoughts in her mind, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to trust her own instincts.
While having her mother lucid comforted her, she wasn’t sure how long that would last. And would it make it better, having Anita aware of what was happening to them?
“How long will we be here?” Anita asked. Her eyes were clear of the madness Amaya was so used to seeing in her gaze.
“I don’t know yet.”
As though a switch flipped, Anita’s eyes clouded over and a sort of blankness overtook her. Amaya noticed that it happened most in high-stress situations and she cursed her uncle all over again. It was the reason she took great pains to keep her mother home safe and resting.
“Mom,” she whispered. Anita didn’t answer and her hand fell from Amaya’s cheek. Sighing, she sucked up her pride and stood. “Can you help me, please?”
She was reluctant to ask, but she didn’t want to risk carrying her mother and causing her injury.
She expected the enforcer to come up, but Levi was next to her, gently moving her aside.
He lifted Anita and carried her over to the bed.
Silent at her side, he waited as Amaya moved the blanket back.
Her eyes strayed to the king’s face as he placed Anita on the bed gently and stepped away.
There was empathy in his gaze, an understanding that told her he was suffering similarly as her mother.
Well, with the Akachi in his possession, she wasn’t surprised. Still, her own empathy was stoked for him. Furiously smashing the emotion down, Amaya tucked Anita in, her heart pinching at the vacant look on her mother’s face.
“Can you…” She swallowed and paused her words.
With every favor she asked, she understood that she would be further in his debt.
His hand landed on her shoulder. “I will have someone with her twenty-four hours.”
She nodded. “Will I be able to see her?”
“You are not a prisoner here, Amaya.”
“That’s funny because it certainly feels like it,” she said, shaking off his hand. “Thank you,” she whispered.
Amaya leaned down and kissed her mother’s forehead.
“You can leave,” she told him, going towards the chair in the corner and dragging it to the bed.
His presence still took up the room…until it didn’t. Moments later, the soft click of the door closing made her flinch. She settled in the chair beside her mother’s bed and laid her head down, releasing the sobs trapped in her chest.
How in the hell would she get them out of this?