7. Julian
Julian
Oh boy. Isidoro has lost it. This was so worth it.
Serves you right, motherfucker.
But also, why is he looking at me like this?
Like I’ve done something both unforgivable and impressive.
My body trembles, a bolt of liquid fire shooting through me.
Fuck. I feel a million things at once. Triumph, pride, self-satisfaction, glee.
But as he keeps staring at my face with that manic expression, heat floods me.
He looks wild. His eyes are wide and blood-tinted, glowing in that faint way from when we drank our mixed blood.
His sneer is heart-stopping, a physical thing that tickles where it touches me.
I try to move, to get away from him. But I can’t, my body won’t listen.
I’m paralyzed still, a hostage, rooted in place as he drinks me in and decides my fate.
What will he do? He can’t kill me, the blood oath won’t allow it. Not physically, it isn’t some magical bond that will suddenly turn us into lovers who can’t live without each other. But it’s a vow, a promise to keep each other safe, which neither of us can easily break.
I glance behind him, but Ria, Tommy and Niko are nowhere to be seen. These traitors! They must have gone inside, away from the trouble brewing out here.
Isidoro prowls toward me, half-shadowy speed, half-sashaying as he rids himself of his white gloves.
Goosebumps cover me from head to toe, and yet I’m still frozen.
When he reaches me, he slowly drags his hand up my body, claws extended.
I dare not move, swallowing hard as the deadly tips graze my Adam’s apple.
It’s fine. I’m safe… probably. But just in case, I better remind him.
“Whatever you are thinking, don’t—”
He tilts his head and his eyes snap to me, wine-colored and dark. My cock jumps.
Why does he have to be so hot even when he lost? Why, why, why? And he’s so close! Too close… I want to push him away, but my arms won’t comply. I’m on fire, tingling as my stomach twists in anticipation.
What will he do? We are alone, no one’s here to save me. Or stop him.
His lean fingers coil around my neck. Will he squeeze it harder?
An electric pulse crawls down my spine to my balls.
I make a whiny noise, shivering, expecting something to happen.
Wait… No, no! I must fight him. He’s toying with me!
He’s riling me up on purpose, so I give in and let him get the upper hand again.
Dream on, dickhead. It’s never gonna happen.
Shutting my eyes, I count to ten. Once I’ve reached it, I take a shuddering breath. I’ve got this. We had a deal. We still do. Focus on that. Don’t think about his handsome face or those imploring eyes. I need to make sure he holds his end of the bargain before I tell him the rest.
“So, about Sanguine & Silk… I behaved at the ceremony, and we had a deal—”
He laughs. He honest-to-god throws his head back and laughs. His claws drop from my neck and he steps back, clutching his stomach.
No way. I gape at him, it’s the only thing I can do. I’ve never heard him laugh like this, so openly and without restraint. It engraves itself into my mind, the chiming sound of his amusement, the twinkling in his eyes as he looks at me and shakes his head.
“You are unbelievable. I underestimated you, Julian Corvath. You got me. You tricked me, and there’s little I can do,” he says, awe and a hint of reverence accompanying his words. “That is truly impressive, a feat no one has achieved in centuries.”
The praise and the genuine admiration in his gaze send a thrill down my spine. It touches every vertebra and summons more butterflies inside me. I preen a little, can’t help it.
“Does that mean you’ll give it back to me?” I ask, chastising myself internally not to get swayed just because he complimented me.
He makes a humming sound. “That depends. What can you tell me, now that I know your father is dead, that might convince me not to exile you until the end of time in Mexico?”
My stomach drops to my feet. The memory of that giant and quiet mansion spears me like a sword. No, no, fuck that. I’m not ever going back there on my own. Time to drop bomb number two.
“Well, for starters, my father is dead because he was murdered,” I blurt out.
Isidoro’s smile vanishes like it was never there. I see the gears of his brain spin as they analyze my every word. “What? That’s impossible. The vampire king is near-invincible… especially your father.”
Yes. He was the closest thing to an actual god you’d find. But, clearly, even a god can be killed, wherein lies the problem.
“You’d think so. A lot of time has passed since the days of your bloodline’s reign.
Our species knows how to harness and use the ruby’s powers way better now.
” Not to mention my father made sure no warrior clans remained, no one who could go after him the way he went after Isidoro’s family.
“But he didn’t die of natural causes or some freak accident.
He was killed.” I pause and let the gravity of that statement sink in.
“And I am the only one who saw the body before whoever did it stole it.”
“Andras’ body was stolen?”
I nod, replaying the events of that day in mismatched order. I do it on purpose, hunting for something I might have missed. “Yes. I found him in his study and went to get the guards. It only took a couple minutes, but when we returned, poof. The body was gone.”
Isidoro paces over to a bench by the cathedral’s wall, the wood old and peeling. I jog after him.
“This is…”
“Problematic, I know,” I finish for him, plopping onto the bench. “A king is not supposed to be an easy target. Especially my father, as you said it yourself. Yet he was murdered, right there in his own home.”
He sits down gracefully, each movement as if calculated for precision and effortlessness. It’s kind of sexy. Objectively, not subjectively. “When? We combed through all the CCTV for the past year, but there was nothing. No sign anything had been deleted or changed either.”
Oof, they went back a whole year? What a waste of time. “Because it wasn’t. Whoever killed my father did it while avoiding all the cameras and guards. Before you… captured me, I had the whole place scoured, walls, tiles, everything. Couldn’t figure out how someone could’ve broken in.”
Isidoro hums, crossing one leg over the other. He leans forward slightly. “They didn’t. It had to be someone posing as staff.”
“Bingo. Except that what CCTV we did have from the day, and the records of all the people working at the mansion showed no discrepancies.”
For a few minutes, we just sit in silence. The only noise comes from the nature around us, the whispers of leaves and grass, the muffled music the wind carries. There is a flowering bush next to the bench, and I occupy myself by counting its blooms while Isidoro’s mind digests what I’ve told him.
“This Ria. She said her father’s disappearance might be linked to Andras.”
A lump jumps into my throat. Yeah, thank god it was that and not the other thing.
“That’s news to me, too. I didn’t know her father was missing.
” I press my lips into a line and stare pointedly at Isidoro, who doesn’t even blink despite my isolation from the outside world technically being his fault.
He stands abruptly. “Go back inside and tend to the guests, while I talk to Ria. I need to get to the bottom of this.”
I shoot up and grab his arm as he begins to walk. “Now, hold on a minute. You’re not going to just cast me aside. This is my father’s murder we’re talking about. I can help. I need to.”
He stops and whips his head back, his expression disapproving.
It doesn’t swerve me. “This is not just a normal murder, Isidoro. This is… should’ve been impossible. Yet it happened, to my father, who is ten times stronger than any vampire. You included. So, what’s to say you aren’t next?”
My words hit just as I intended them to, deepening the frown on Isidoro’s face.
He lifts his hand, extending the claw on his index finger, then props my chin up with it.
“What’s to say you weren’t the one who murdered your own father?
” His lips quirk up on one side. “You say you are the only one who saw his body, so you could well be the one who killed him, no?”
I clench my hands and nod. “You are right. But, one, I have proof, and two, what good would it do me? I wasn’t ready to be king… I still have so much to learn.”
And now I’ll never get the chance. I train my gaze on Isidoro’s neck, his jugular, his chin, his lips, anywhere but his eyes.
My father was ruthless and smart, he built our clan from warriors to royalty.
He wasn’t perfect, and he shed a lot of blood to get to the top, but that’s usually how these things work.
Isidoro retracts his claw. I swallow in relief. But it’s short-lived, as a heartbeat later, his hand has clasped my neck. He squeezes, just enough to apply pressure but not make it excruciatingly painful, as if he knows I get off on it. I bite down a moan, my heart lurching up into my throat.
His eyes go half-mast, glinting in a devious way. “If you are a good, obedient pet, perhaps I can teach you.”
My cock jolts, fire pulsating in my veins. No way, why does this sound so hot? I glare at him, mirth swimming in those wine eyes of his. Is he crazy? And am I, for considering it even for a second? Me, an obedient pet? Never. It’s not in my nature.
I bare my teeth at him. “Dream on, sweetheart.”
He lets go of me and chuckles. “Go back inside, Julian. Don’t be difficult.”
Oh my god! This bastard is so condescending! “No. You’ll work with me. We’ll figure this out together.”
“I don’t think so.”
I pick up pace and catch up to him at the end of the narrow corridor, just where it opens up into the ordinance hall. “You won’t get anywhere. You’ll keep hitting those dead ends, trust me. Not unless you let me help.” I jab my finger at his chest, blocking his way. “You need me. End of story.”