CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Astrid
Believe it or not, we find the Vampire King sitting on his throne, not a care in the world. He’s kept his best guards at the door, ones who weren’t good enough to stop us all, and as we step inside, his red eyes flash as fear takes over his face. The light-haired vampire who brought us the bread and water stands next to him. Is he another prince?
“You took my mate,” Rave says to him, his voice is layered with warning. He holds my hand, not willing to let me go, even as his shadows gather around him, ready for violence. “And now you need to pay for that.”
“I want my queen back,” the king snarls, magic building at his fingertips.
“Let me,” I murmur, using my healing magic to destroy him from the inside out, sucking the life out of him before he makes his attack. Everyone around me stares in shock and horror.
But I don’t care.
Let them see who I truly am.
“Holy fates,” I hear Pandora whisper, but I block everyone out and focus on the task at hand.
Revenge.
The Vampire King all but explodes, his blood and insides splattering his obnoxious throne. The vampire next to him screams and throws a knife at me. Rave catches it midflight and throws it to the floor.
“A king for a king,” Rave declares.
And for a moment, I wonder if he wanted that kill as revenge for his father’s death.
But then he looks over at me, proud and triumphant. I also don’t miss the heat in his eyes. Apparently, me being bloodthirsty turns him on. Good to know.
His shadows go after the other vampire, snapping his neck, all while his eyes are still locked on me. Heat pools in my lower belly. A knowing glint lights his eyes until they narrow on my neck.
He frowns, suspicion lacing his tone. “What the fuck is that?”
My fingers touch the bite wound left behind from Bane’s feeding, and he removes my hand to touch it with his own.
His eyes then flash to Bane, the room suffocating in darkness. “I’m going to fucking kill you.”
“No, you aren’t,” I snap, standing in front of him. “Stop it, Rave.” The darkness clears. “It was my choice. And now is not the time. We need to get out of here.”
“I’ll find Drake and tell him what’s happened,” Soren announces, breaking up the tension. “Bane, you go and find Rion’s mate. There was no one else in those dungeons with you two, but they must have more nearby.”
“Let’s get out of here, everyone,” I call out, and Nico grabs onto Sinda to zip out first, followed by Axe, who takes August with him.
The rest of us vanish on our own.
We end up in our bedroom, and Rave is seething, pacing up and down, magic surging around him.
“He drank from you,” he snarls like an animal. Sighing, I head into the bathroom and fill up the tub. Rave follows me inside and watches me with angry, narrowed eyes. “And you just let him?”
“He was hungry, Rave. And weak. How was that going to help us? I didn’t want to see him starve—”
“You were only gone one fucking night! He couldn’t wait that long?” he growls, but even fuming, he gently helps me remove my dirty clothes from my body.
“We didn’t know it would only be one night,” I say gently, stepping into the tub and laying back. “And he had lost a lot of blood, so he was drained.”
“The thought of him with his lips on your neck, drinking your blood, makes me want to fucking bury him. The only thing stopping me is because I fucking owe him,” he rages, kneeling in front of the tub and pushing my hair off my neck to stare at the bite marks, just to torture himself.
It shouldn’t be so satisfying to watch him try to control his temper, but somehow, I’m a little amused.
“Did you like it when he did it? I know how fucking good it feels…”
My amusement instantly vanishes. “And how do you know that?”
“I’ve fucked vampires before, and…” he trails off, finally reading the room. “It was a long time ago, okay? And don’t turn this around on me. You’re the one letting Bane basically give you a fucking orgasm.”
“I didn’t come,” I promise him, reaching out and touching his face. He calms, taking a deep breath.
To have such a lethal, powerful fae melt at the touch of my hands is a privilege I’ll never take for granted.
“Anyone else makes you come, I will fucking lose it,” he promises me in return. “I don’t care who they are. They will be six feet under.”
I know that shouldn’t be so hot, but it is.
“I would have done it for anyone I care about, Rave. It didn’t mean anything,” I say, sighing when he kisses over the mark. He runs his teeth over it as if wiping it away and marking it with his own. Finally, he sucks on my neck, leaving a mark over it— territorial bastard.
“Bane said that my blood tasted different,” I also add, frowning. “Something he’s never tasted before. He said maybe it’s the succubus blood.”
He kisses down my throat. “Your blood is fucking perfect, and I don’t want to hear his name coming out of your mouth while I fuck you.”
His fingers trail down my body until they slide over my clit. “Do you know how scared I was when I came back and you were gone?”
“You found me.”
“I did. I will always find you.” He slides a finger inside me. “Always so wet for me.”
Stripping off his clothes, he joins me in the bath, pulling me to straddle him. I ride him deliciously slow and deep until we both come together.
And then he takes care of me. He washes my hair and massages my shoulders while I close my eyes and enjoy every second of it. And then he takes me to bed and fucks me again.
Why did I ever run away from this?
It feels like a lifetime ago now, but right here, with this male, is where I want to be.
Sometimes, fate knows best.