Captured (Vampire King Book 2) (9 page)

“Just
one taste. Please.” He took the finger away. Bits of dust clung to my cleavage.
“I won’t take it from you, even though every instinct within me says I should,
that I must.”

“And
why do you think you should?” I inched back on the bed.

“Because
Samuel won’t be enough when my brother returns. Samuel is still young and
ripening. It will be years before he’s at my brother’s level.”

“Samuel’s
maturing fast,” I countered.

“From
your blood, of course.” Ian’s lips curled into a dusty smile. “But my brother
has fed off of a special queen too. Nai has had a hundred years to ripen with
that blood.”

“Nai?”

“I’m
sorry. I forgot Nai has you all calling him the Quiet King.” Ian chuckled a
little to himself and then his face shifted into a frown. “Nai will kill Samuel
with a swift determination. The only good part about this is that he’ll do it
quick, with as little pain as possible, because it’s his son. It’s only a
matter of time.”

“Samuel
has hidden for so long right under the Quiet King’s nose—”

“Of
course. He hid as a regular vampire, but now Samuel is growing. So many new
things will come and he won’t be able to hide himself anymore. As if that isn’t
enough, Nai will smell him as soon as he steps into the city. It’s a defense
mechanism that lives in all of us kings, to kill another one in our area.”

“You’re
a king?”

“Yes.
Nai and I are twins.”

I
swallowed. “So, will you help Samuel?”

“If
we make an exchange.”

“What
type of exchange?”

“You
give me blood from anywhere—your neck or finger, I don’t care,” he whispered,
“and I’ll protect my nephew and yourself for every day of my life. I’ll do the
things that must be done and the things that Samuel cannot.”

“Such
as?”

“I
listened to you both when you were in the bathtub earlier. You were right about
Charki being the best place for you to hide.” He nodded his head and it wobbled
as if it would fall off his neck. “The mages will protect you and keep you from
the Quiet King. It might be your best bet to stay alive…but Samuel won’t
release you—”

“He
will.”

A
low cackle escaped his withering lips. “His mind and soul will want to release
you because he loves you and he’s a good vampire, but the power coursing
through his veins won’t allow it. If you leave, I have no doubt that he’ll
erupt into a monster, chase you to the borders, and trap you. It will kill him
inside, but he’ll do it.”

I
shook my head. “I don’t believe you. You don’t know him if you think that.”

“I
know what it is to be a prince, little queen.” His lips curled into a smile
that appeared scary on his eyeless face. “I know what it is to have a queen.
There’s nothing that compares to it in life. For a prince, being with his first
queen is addictive and intoxicating, but even worse, it’s a must to be near
her. The first queen’s blood is the only food that nurtures us during the
ripening.”

“I
could deliver my blood to him.”

“A
vial versus the sensation of piercing your warm flesh? A sip from a glass
instead of his fangs on your breast and your taut nipple against his tongue?”
Ian edged toward me. “A vial won’t replace the taste of your sex or the swell
of your cunt as it moistens under his fingers.”

My
breathing increased.

“Samuel
won’t let you go.”

My
hands formed into fists. “I don’t know if I can trust you.”

“Why
not? Have I brought you ill will?”

“Who
is the woman with the same hair and blood as me?”

His
face turned away from mine as he sighed. “You mean who
was
? Remember. I said she was killed.”

“Yes.”
I bit my lip as he twisted away from me completely. “She was your queen?”

He
nodded.

“I’m
sorry.”

“Don’t
be,” he huffed. “You didn’t do it. Plus, it happened long ago. Way before you
or my nephew Samuel was born.”

He
ran his fingers across the bed. “Ten drops is all I require right now, and I’ll
be your protector for all the days of my life. I’ll tell you everything you
want to know about my queen. Give me more blood later and I’ll help you get to
Charki and take care of Samuel while you’re gone.”

“But
you can’t leave the sewer,” I argued. “How could you get me there or protect
me?”

“I’ve
been in these sewer tunnels for over a century. I know many paths to Charki.
Some were closed during the war, but I reopened them.” He turned back to me and
gently grabbed my hand, lifting my thumb to his face. “Ten drops. I pierce your
skin. I won’t even drink. I’ll let the blood fall into my mouth.”

“How
will we leave? And how will you get me away from Samuel if he tries to stop
us?”

“Let
me work out the logistics.”

“How
will you save him?”

“With
your blood restoring my body and power, I’ll fight next to Samuel. Together we
may beat him and remove my brother from power.”

“May?”

“I
didn’t live this long by being over confident. Nai possesses intense power. I
can’t promise you victory, but I’ll swear to try.”

I
considered my options. Ten drops of blood was nothing, especially in comparison
to the vial of blood I’d just given to Ty and Victoria.
But would he only take that?
Ian was right about two things. He
hadn’t harmed me, and he could’ve just taken the blood from me with no problem.

“Go
ahead, but when I say stop, you need to end your drinking.” I put my hand to
his rotting lips. Without further response, he sliced my thumb with one fang
and squeezed until blood surfaced at the wound. I heard a swift intake of
breath.

“Ouch.”
I jerked my hand back, but he held it steady over his mouth, greedily waiting
for the drop to fall. The scent of my blood filled the bedroom and drowned out
the meso berry candle’s aroma. Drops leaked into his open mouth. A groan
emitted from his throat so loud I shuddered.

“Brie?”
Samuel called out from the other end of the door. A few more drops spilled out
of my hand and then Ian dropped my hand.

“Thank
you, little queen.” Ian leaped up to the ceiling. Movement banged from outside
the bedroom. A door slammed and then mine swung open. Samuel stormed in,
sniffing the air.

“Brie!”
Samuel yelled. “What was that noise?”

“What
noise?” I battled to not gaze up at the ceiling and see if Ian was still there.
“You must be hearing things. It was nothing. You can go back. I’m fine.”

“I
can smell your blood in here. What happened?” Samuel prowled my way. Black
claws pushed out of his fingertips. “I heard a noise from within here. It
sounded like a man moaning.”

“It
was nothing.”

Don’t think about it. Don’t think
about it. Don’t think about it.

“Don’t
think about what?” Samuel leaped on the bed. The movement made me fall back.
Pillows bounced around me. He climbed my way until he hovered over me. His
nostrils flared as he breathed me in. “What don’t you want to think about?”

“May
Ambi damn you! Get out of my head.”

He
sniffed again. “Someone else was here!”

The
level of his voice rose to scary. He had never yelled at me like this before.

“First,
you have to calm down.” I put my shaking hands to his chest. His skin’s
temperature warmed to boiling hot. Swallowing down my trembling fright, I
cleared my throat. “I can explain everything to you, but you have to calm
down.”

“Someone
else was here and in this bed!” His eyes lit up like the two moons, so bright I
gasped. He emitted a wild growl that caused the bed to rock. “Dust? I smell
lots of dust. It’s on your chest, and your blood, I can smell it all over the
room. Why?”

“I
won’t tell you until you calm down.” My voice cracked.

“I
think you’ll tell me regardless.” His voice shifted from a loud yell to a low
tone that was dark with a murderous edge. Two black lines sprouted from his
forehead and then continued to push through the skin. My breath caught in my
throat as those two lines traveled out of his forehead. They grew and
thickened. I’d never witnessed anything like this in my life. And when the
lines stopped moving, two long black horns at least a foot long remained. They
had sharp points, curved backward at the tips and reminded me of a wild ram’s
horns, but deadlier.

“Samuel?”

“Who
was here?” His voice was unfamiliar. The mass of his arms enlarged into twice
the size they normally were. The muscles ballooned and swelled. “Queen?”

“Y-you
bully me with this new size and then call me your queen?”

He
lowered himself over me until his face was only an inch away from mine. “This
form that you see isn’t for you. It’s for your lover. The one that’s been
making love to you tonight and drinking your blood.”

My
mouth opened in shock for a second and then a delirious laugh captured me. I
just couldn’t help it. Maybe it was Samuel’s horrific image before me that
pushed me into the realm of insanity or maybe it was due to the preposterous
notion that I would ever think to sneak a lover into Samuel’s bed and have sex
with this person as Samuel slept next door.

“You
laugh at me?”

“I
have no lover.” I grinned. “I find it crazy that you think I would disrespect
you like that.”

“But
someone was in my bed with you.”

“Not
really.”

“Explain.”

“He
sat on the bed next to me.” I shoved at Samuel’s chest to get him to move away.
“Nothing happened.”

“Who
is he? Ty?” Samuel’s skin rippled with power.

I
frowned and lifted my hand to touch his right horn. “Please relax.”

“And
then will you tell me?”

“Yes.”

He
closed his eyes and exhaled as my finger slid up the smooth texture of his
horns. It reminded me of polished mahogany—so rich with dark color and shiny
like they were brand new. A humming noise vibrated from his chest as I stroked
the other horn.

“How
long have you had these horns?”

“This
is the first time they’ve appeared. I’ve always felt something hard around my
forehead,” he confessed. “But I’m shocked that I have horns too, I’m just too
mad right now to be in awe.”

“You
have no reason to be mad. Nothing happened.” I slid my finger over the curve of
his horn. “Why do you think the horns came just now?”

“I
think my rage speeds up my maturity.” Moving his horns away from my fingers, he
opened his eyes. “Was Ty sitting in this bed with you?”

“No.
It was Ian,” I muttered under my breath.

Samuel’s
body shook. Two sharp fangs peeked from his top lip.

“Are
you going to bite me now?” I smirked.

“No,
but I would kill Ian if it weren’t for that stupid spell.” Samuel’s eyes blazed
with rage. “Instead, I’ll make him wish he was dead. Why did he come?”

“You’re
going to be upset.” I returned to caressing his horn.

He
purred again, paused, and moved the horn away. “Stop distracting me.”

“Promise
me you won’t hurt him. If you do, I’ll leave early.”

The
right side of his lip rose as he sneered. “I can make that promise.”

“We
made an exchange,” I admitted. The sound of ripping sheets greeted my ears as
Samuel tore the blanket apart.

“He
vowed to protect me.” I covered his hands with mine to stop him from tearing
the material anymore. “And he’s going to tell me about my blood. His first
queen had red hair and blood like mine.”

“And
what did you give him?”

“What
he asked for. My blood.”

“You
mean my blood.” He narrowed his eyes at me. Silence passed between us. If Ian
hadn’t told me about a prince’s reactions to their first queen, I would have
argued with Samuel right then. Instead, I decided to calm myself down.

“Understand
this.” I brushed my finger against his right horn and relished in its smooth
texture. “I am not your property no matter how many times you call me queen or
even how many times I moan I’m your queen when we have sex.”

Samuel
bared his fangs at me, but didn’t say a word.

“But,
understand that I would never disrespect or try to hurt you.” I wrapped my
hands around both his horns and gripped them. He trembled. A low moan left his
lips. I slid my hand up to the tip of his horn and then inch-by-inch slipped
them back down, enjoying his reaction. “I don’t plan on taking any new lovers.
In fact, I think you spoiled me for any other, vampire or human. There may
never be anyone else.”

“He’s
tasted your blood.” Samuel closed his eyes. “I don’t like it.”

“It’s
my blood to give to whomever I want.”