“I am. The vampire carried her with a speed I could not match, but in doing, a piece of her hair fell behind. A single strand which I ate. It tasted of youth and potential, a female unblooded, your daughter.” Yeva looked at the lycans standing behind Sabine. “Your wolves testified to the truth. May I have one? I’m hungry.”
“Not yet, dear. Thank you, Yeva. You may go.” Yeva turned, exposing her fleshless back, still red and wet and plumped with organs since she’d ingested a few fishermen with the bad fortune to run into Belyy Zamok yesterday. The nyavka left, and Sabine stared unseeing after her.
How best to handle what she now knew? Paz had been very clear. Either she delivered the vampire to him, or she would pay his soul price. She’d lost Orion and had been waiting for a visit from the Bloode Empire, fearing the worst case that hadn’t come to pass, curiously enough. Which meant that though Kaia had the vryko, she hadn’t been able to break the spell on him.
That meant her sly daughter had the vampire in her clutches. No. Wait. Could she?
The girl had lied so well just now. A hint of nerves though she’d stuck out the tea, and she had to know she traversed a thin line between living and dying.
Sabine didn’t know what to believe. But she did know the Night Bloode hadn’t arrived to take her down. Nor had the Bloode Empire, and if either of those factions knew what she’d done, she’d already be dead.
That meant Orion of the Night Bloode was a still a possibility. She’d gladly trade him to Paz. Yet... Kaia might be coming into power. The girl could say what she wanted, but her twenty-fifth year approached and she remained a virgin. Sabine could sense it. That untapped energy would continue to grow inside Kaia, making her a more than worthy sacrifice than the vampire.
Maybe. What to do? On the one hand, Kaia as a power reflected well on Sabine. On the other, the girl would become a rival. But not if Sabine had a vampire at her beck and call. The perfect answer would be to offer Kaia up to Paz instead of Orion, take the power Paz offered, as well as work her way to becoming his wife. Then offer him Orion as a sacrifice to open the gates to the mortal plane.
That could work, especially if Paz left Orion alive. Then she could chain her vampire for an eternity, using all that glorious bloode in spells and to keep her demon husband happy.
Or she could go with plan A and sacrifice the vampire instead of her daughter. A useful strategy if Kaia proved to be as useless and powerless as she’d been the past twenty-four years.
Only time would tell. Sabine would have to wait and see. Although... a test to prove her daughter’s worth might be interesting. After planning something in time for Kaia’s birthday, Sabine sat back to relax. Such a creative way to spend the day, she thought, and smiled.
I deserve a treat. She crooked her finger at her new servants, loving their internal struggles with the notion of an eternity of helpless servitude. “Boys, time to service your mistress. Come, little doggies. Let’s play.”
Orion had been wracking his brain about what to do with Kaia. The fact she hadn’t answered her phone or talked to her sister after tea with her mother bothered him to the point he couldn’t think about anything other than the fact Kaia might be in danger.
He swam from Mercer Island to her home, a big idiot in the water watching like a stalker. But when he heard a muffled scream and the scent of her blood reached him, he lost all control.
Racing into her house through locked doors and up the stairs into her bedroom, he found three lycans enshrouded in shadow along with a half dozen ghouls trying to drag Kaia away with them.
The ghouls hadn’t bitten her, but the lycans kept nipping at her and laughing, and he caught the scent of brimstone over everything.
Kaia slapped one of the lycans so hard he flew across the room.
Shocked, everyone stopped moving and stared at her while Kaia stared at her own hand in astonishment. Then she spotted him. “Orion! Help me!”
He tossed the ghouls out the window, startled to see them vanish into smoke despite feeling real in his hands. But when he turned to confront the lycans, he paused.
“Welcome back, vryko,” one of them said in Sabine’s voice.
Another snarled and snapped at him, biting so fast before he leapt through the window that Orion missed him leaving. Odd. The other two watched him but didn’t attack.
He clenched his fist at the sudden pain in his hand. A glance showed traces of something black spreading from the bite but stopping halfway up his forearm.
One of the lycans smiled, his eyes empty of anything but darkness. “See you soon,” he promised before he and his companion departed.
Orion started to follow when Kaia went into a convulsion.
“Kaia.” He put her down on the bed, doing his best to hold her steady so she didn’t fall off and bang her head or hurt herself.
The air felt oppressive, a layer of energy spreading throughout the room. The subtle scent of ocean water and a sweet floral essence coated everything and stole the pain from his hand.
He watched as the blackness inside him dissipated. His hand healed, now coated in a bright blue light that slowly vanished.
Kaia arched up once more then sagged to the bed. She didn’t move.
Orion leaned close, not prepared for her to open her eyes and scream.
He winced. “Damn. You okay?”
She grabbed him to her in a hug and burst into tears.
He had no idea what he was saying as he patted her back and comforted her, but it seemed to work. She sank into oblivion once more, but this time she looked at ease.
With no idea what the hell was going on, Orion gathered her in his arms and walked her down the stairs to the ground level, past the back porch to the dock and into the water.
Feeling much better, he swam with her back to the house and walked her in through the pool. He didn’t see anyone on his way inside, fortunately, the rest of them out on missions except for Kraft, who was still messing with the lycan in the basement. But Orion had a feeling Kraft had given up on torturing the wolf since he continued to lose to him at Mortal Kombat 11.
Swiftly returning to his room, Orion locked the door behind him, setting a special vryko lock to keep the nosy fuckers out—namely, Kraft. Then he cleaned both himself and Kaia and settled her under the covers in bed.
She seemed even more beautiful than the last time he’d seen her, something about her different. He frowned, not sure what to think by the fact her skin seemed paler, her hair darker, and when she’d opened her eyes earlier, there had a been a soft blue light in her pupils for the briefest second.
He needed to talk to Macy about it, but agitated at letting Kaia out of his sight, he decided to keep her close instead. Safe. Mine. My prey, he told himself and relaxed. He slipped into a pair of shorts then eased next to her in bed and watched her sleep, her heart beating in time with his.
“So, what are you planning to do about her?” Morpheus asked.
Orion groaned. “Who the hell let you in here?” He glanced around and saw Kaia in his bed. “I’m not dreaming.”
“Are you sure?” Morpheus smiled. “What did Mormo say when you told him I’m waiting for that drink?”
Orion recalled and grinned. “He can’t wait to see you.”
“Really?” Morpheus looked surprised
“No. He turned sheet-white and vanished.”