by Bella Klaus
He cupped my cheek with a warm hand and brought his lips down on mine with a gentle kiss that conveyed every ounce of his love. His lips were soft and caressing, just as they had been when we’d first courted, but the arm pulling me into his chest was firm and demanding.
Part of me wondered how he intended to make love to me while encased in leather armor, and the other part was too distracted by Valentine’s lips sliding over mine to concern myself about anything but his heart-fluttering kiss.
My lips parted with a soft moan, and Valentine’s tongue stroked mine in a caress that made my nerves tingle. Heat gathered in my core, and moisture flooded my folds. I pressed myself against his broad chest, making him groan and deepen the kiss.
“I love you, Mera Griffin,” he murmured.
White light flooded the room, and the daybed trembled. I flinched, glancing from side to side, my heart pounding. Everything in the room shook as though we were in the midst of an earthquake.
“What’s that?” I scrambled off his lap and stared at the window. Snowflakes drifted down from a brilliant white sky. “I thought the weather in Logris was always mild, no matter what’s happening outside.”
“The humans have gotten through the weather protection wards,” he replied.
“That’s bad?” I asked, even though the answer to that question was obvious.
Valentine clenched his teeth and snarled. “It’s only the first level, but another attack of this magnitude will result in wide scale supernatural retaliation.”
My stomach plummeted, and I took another glance at the falling snow. “We’ve got to stop Kresnik before he gets all those humans killed.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Valentine helped me into my armor, which turned out to be more complicated than it had appeared while on the model. The green leather garment consisted of laces and straps and pulleys that needed to be in place before the magic activated.
With each fastening he secured, his fingers glided over my flesh, sending tingles down my spine that made me hunger for more of his touch.
I shot a hateful glare at the brilliant white sky through my dressing room window. If it hadn’t been for the deluded humans attacking the wards of Logris, Valentine and I could be making love.
His soft lips pressed on the sensitive flesh of my neck. “When this is over, we’ll spend an entire weekend celebrating our victory.”
“That’s if neither of us are too injured to move,” I muttered.
Valentine stopped putting my armor together and placed his hands on my shoulders. He stared down at me with hard eyes, his lips forming a tight line.
My brows drew together. “Did I say something wrong?”
“A being who can survive an explosion and a crash-landing from the Realm of the Gods cannot sustain injuries.”
A breath caught in the back of my throat, and my teeth worried at my bottom lip. Why was Valentine talking like this? It almost sounded like he was trying to convince himself that I would survive the upcoming battle. “I know that.”
“Do you?” he asked.
“I’m just not in the habit of overconfidence,” I said. “Kresnik is older than us, has access to more power, and is completely insane. Both of us have survived the impossible, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be careful.”
Valentine nodded and released his grip on my shoulders. “As long as you’re entering this battle with the right attitude.”
“You’re worried about me?”
The way he shook his head told me he was having second thoughts about not keeping me locked up in a tower or in a cell next to Prince Draconius. I stared into Valentine’s eyes, waiting for him to say something else, but he just smiled.
“After you disappeared, I swore that when you returned I would never stifle your development. You’ve grown so much since I found you in London, and most of that has come from learning from your mistakes.”
“It almost sounds like you believe in me,” I said with a smile.
Valentine gazed down at me with gleaming eyes and a satisfied grin. “If you’d been standing beside me both times I saw you put yourself back together, you would never doubt yourself again.”
The warmth in his voice filled my heart to bursting, but it was too early to feel any sense of impending victory. Even with Poseidon’s spear, Hades’ blood, the reaper scythe, and our snake bile, it was going to take every ounce of our strength to beat Kresnik.
“Alright.” I leaned forward and placed a kiss on his lips. “We’re going to get through this battle and be well enough to celebrate for an entire weekend. Then we’ll plan our wedding.”
His gaze darted to the side, and the corners of his lips curved into a sheepish smile.
“What?” I asked.
“Sleeping was impossible during your month away. To keep busy, I already made arrangements with vendors and service providers, but you’re free to change whatever you like.”
I pulled Valentine down for another kiss. “You have the best taste, and I’m sure whatever you chose will be spectacular. Now, help me activate this armor, so we can kill Kresnik and get to the celebrating.”
As soon as Valentine completed the last few fastenings, the armor’s magic clicked into place. It was witch magic, a gentle undulation that reminded me of being submerged in a warm bath or swaddled in a blanket and cast adrift across clouds of blissful sleep.
The leather strips that made up the arms and legs molded around my limbs, creating an even more snug fit. I inhaled and exhaled shallow breaths, wondering how far this armor would squeeze my body and if I’d ever be able to move in so much of the stiff fabric.
“Move your limbs,” Valentine said.
I raised my arms, rotating them in wide circles. “Like this?”
He nodded. “Legs, too.”
I jogged on the spot then bent from side to side. The leather softened and warmed, taking on the consistency of molten rubber before it suddenly cooled to body temperature.
“What’s happening with it now?” I asked.
Valentine walked me to the other side of the dressing room and stood me in front of a mirror. My flame-red hair made a sharp contrast with the alabaster of my skin, the vivid blue of my eyes, and the vibrant green leather.
“I look like a comic book superhero,” I murmured.
The armor molded around my every contour, from my neck down to my fingers and toes. I raised an arm, studying the carvings on the leather, which were mostly decorative, but in between the swirls were glyphs and runes.
“I don’t know much about comics, but you look like the perfect warrior,” Valentine said. “Devastatingly beautiful and deadly.”
“All I need now is a cloak,” I said with a chuckle.
Valentine stepped away and returned with the reaper cloak. “You’re going to need this to remain invisible to the humans and their recording devices.”
“Thanks.” I turned around, letting him place the garment on my shoulders. “Now I feel ready for battle.”
We stepped out of the dressing room and into the upstairs hallway of Valentine’s suite, our footsteps echoing on the marble floor. Valentine’s large hand rested on the small of my back, anchoring me to reality.
My heart pounded a steady beat—not fast or panicked, but it also wasn’t relaxed. It was hard to believe that in less than an hour, we would face Kresnik again for a battle that would decide our fates.
“Nervous?” he asked.
“Only because I want to get this right,” I said. “I’m not scared of him or his minions.”
He pressed a kiss on my temple. “With the weapons you’ve gathered, Kresnik will be just as vulnerable as any other supernatural.”
“You’ll use the trident?” I asked as we reached the top of the stairs.
“I wouldn’t trust the Demon King with it. Even if he can teleport, he still can’t move as quickly as a vampire.”
“And we might never get it back,” I muttered.
“True.”
&nbs
p; “What about the snake venom?” I asked.
“Caiman will use it for our firestone weapons.”
We reached the bottom of the stairs and continued down the hallway to the door that led to the rest of the palace. At this time of night, the wall lamps should have provided soft illumination, but white light streamed in from the tall windows that overlooked the palace gardens.
The air shifted, bringing with it the scent of ozone, and even more light streamed in from the windows. A magical force on the edge of my consciousness made my ears ring.
I glanced over my shoulder for the source of the disturbance but found nothing except a hallway and doors. Whatever was happening was taking place miles away from the palace. “Why is it getting brighter?”
“The wards of Logris are defending themselves from attack.” Valentine pushed open the door, and we continued down the palace’s main building, passing the doors to the rooms where he received subjects, to his office, and to the offices of some of his staff.
After a final set of doors, we reached the main entrance hall, where Caiman stood in an armored version of his butler uniform. Next to him were footmen holding stands of firestone weapons, including longswords, broadswords, short swords, and daggers.
Mercenaries lined up behind the butler, as did a few vampires I recognized both from the palace and from Valentine’s property company. All of them wore leather armor of varying degrees of antiquity, including one man whose garments looked medieval.
Valentine inhaled a sharp breath through his nostrils. “What is the meaning of this?”
Caiman inclined his head. “Your Majesty, a number of your subjects wish to fight at your side.”
Maitland stepped forward and cleared his throat. “A number of strange occurrences have taken place across Lamia these past two months. We didn’t understand at the time but now realize that you were trying to shield us from Kresnik.”
I gazed up at Valentine, who surveyed his subjects. Beneath his stoic mask were clues to how he really felt. He blinked more rapidly than usual, his Adam’s apple bobbed, and his breaths quickened.
Valentine hadn’t expected the help of his subjects in the war against Kresnik. That was why he had hired mercenaries at his own expense instead of drafting volunteers. That was Valentine: always giving and never asking for anything in return.
Perhaps now that so much was out in the open, from his imprisonment to his assassination to his miraculous survival, the vampires of Lamia finally understood how much their king sacrificed to guarantee their lives of comfort.
I slipped my fingers between Valentine’s and gave his hand an encouraging squeeze. He glanced down, meeting my eyes with a shimmering gaze that told me he wasn’t sure how to handle this outpouring of confidence and support.
“It would be our greatest honor to fight at your side,” Maitland said, and the other vampires in the entrance hall nodded with murmurs of agreement.
Warmth filled my heart until it felt like it would burst, for the man who had given me everything, including his life, for the king who cared so deeply for his subjects, and for the older brother who never wanted to burden his siblings. I gave him an encouraging nod and smile, silently urging him to say yes.
Valentine cleared his throat. “I’m touched by your words.” He paused, surveying the armored vampires, all holding weapons of firestone. “It would be my greatest pride to lead my subjects into battle and rid all worlds of the scourge that is Kresnik.”
The vampires burst into enthusiastic applause and parted to create a walkway toward the door, where Kain stood with Sylvester, Ferdinand, Constantine, and Lazarus.
I gulped. Lazarus?
My gaze darted to the crowd to Lazarus’ right, looking for Beatrice, who stood out among a group of younger vampires also dressed in armor. Our gazes met, and she rushed forward with the widest smile.
Time stilled for several heartbeats as I took in the sight of my best friend.
She was a vision. Thick, flowing hair that shone like polished mahogany, tanned skin radiant with health, and eyes that reflected the chandelier light like tiger’s eye crystals. Her tailored ivory dress clung to her curves and brought out the warmth in her skin tone.
Beatrice wasn’t just young and beautiful again, she glowed.
Fireworks exploded in my heart, across my chest, and before my eyes. Valentine had told me she was better, but that had been a massive understatement. I broke free from his side, leaving him to stride toward his family, and rushed to Beatrice with my arms wide.
I wrapped my arms around her shoulders, wishing that the leather encasing my body wasn’t such an impenetrable barrier. Beatrice smelled of summer picnics in Wimbledon Common when we’d sip Pimm’s and lemonade in meadows of wildflowers.
“Mera,” she whispered. “When Lazarus told me you were missing, it felt like I’d lost everything.”
“I’m sorry to have added to your problems,” I murmured into her hair. “Where I went, time moved differently.”
She drew back and shook her head. “You’re back now, and that’s all that matters.”
“How was the cruise?” I blurted.
“Unbelievable,” she said with a tearful laugh. “Have you ever been on the Sargon yacht?”
I nodded. “Which one?”
We both burst into giggles.
Beatrice’s gaze swept down my armor and up again, settling on my hair. “You look absolutely gorgeous.”
“Never mind me,” I replied with a giddy laugh, studying Beatrice’s face. She hadn’t just regained her youth—I’d never seen someone so happy.
Perhaps it was all the places Lazarus was taking her. Perhaps it was the love of Lazarus himself, but she was sunnier, more exuberant, and just… more of every positive feature that made her Beatrice.
“Look at you,” I murmured, my voice breathy with awe. “You’re young again.”
She flashed me a dazzling grin. “It’s all thanks to Valentine and Lazarus. You should have seen them in action. It was Die Hard meets Pan’s Labyrinth but with two equally gorgeous vampire heroes.”
I shook my head, still not believing my eyes. The last time I saw Beatrice, she had been on the brink of death. “How did they restore your youth?”
Beatrice exhaled a long and happy sigh. “With great difficulty, and at immense risk to themselves. It was a painful process, but I can’t regret a single thing. Not when it means Lazarus and I can be together.”
Questions tumbled through my mind, forming a jumble that made it impossible for me to decide what to ask. My gaze darted to the left, where Valentine wrapped his arms around Kain in a fatherly hug.
Something nibbled at the back of my mind. There was more to Beatrice than simply being content, but I couldn’t put my finger on what I found so unsettling. I stared into her dark eyes, opening my senses to her, and felt a sparkle of magic.
“You’re not human anymore.” The words tumbled from my lips.
“You can tell that from my dazzling smile?” she asked.
“If you can see me wearing this reaper cloak, then it means you’re also a supernatural. What happened with the faerie?”
“When Lazarus and Valentine finally forced them to return what they took, they must have added a little extra.” Beatrice raised her shoulders and grinned.
My eyes bulged. “You’re a faerie now?”
She shook her head. “We haven’t fully explored my powers, and we won’t until we’ve finished our cruise.”
I nodded.
Beatrice flung her arms around my neck. “If it wasn’t for that awful speed-dating meetup, I would never have made such a fabulous friend who led me to the love of my life.”
Squirming, I rubbed the back of my neck. “You and Lazarus clicked without my help.”
“If it wasn’t for him taking me hostage to draw you out of hiding, we would never have met,” she said with a smile.
“When you put it like that…” I let my sentence trail off. After everything Lazarus had done for
Beatrice, it was hard to resent him for threatening her life, especially when it had just been a bluff to lure me out of hiding.
Valentine placed a hand on my shoulder. “It’s time.”
I tore my gaze away from Beatrice to find Lazarus and Kain standing at his sides.
“I’m glad you returned from the Realm of the Gods,” said Lazarus. “My brother was a wreck without you.”
“Thanks for taking care of Beatrice,” I said with a smile.
Kain scooped me up into a tight hug. “Good luck, Mera. If Kresnik or his zombies give you any trouble, burn them to Hell.”
I wrapped my arms around his middle and squeezed back. “That’s the plan.”
As the young man drew back, Valentine placed his hand on the small of my back. “According to the live stream on BBC Score, Kresnik has taken up residence in Hampton Court Palace.”
My mind conjured up an image of Kresnik dressed like a Tudor king in a flat cap, embroidered doublet, a codpiece, and hose. Shudders ran down my spine, and I shook off the visual.
“At least we won’t need to travel far,” I muttered under my breath.
The palace’s double doors opened to claps and cheers from outside. We stepped out to find the courtyard crammed with people waving banners and flags. It looked like the entire population of Lamia had left their homes to gather in the palace grounds. The crowd spilled out onto the lawn and down the driveway, all the way to the gates. In the middle of the throng stood a red double-decker bus with the number 666.
Valentine and I stiffened, exchanging shocked glances.
This scene of enthusiastic vampires was decidedly unusual—they weren’t normally demonstrative. I found them reserved and aristocratic, even those who weren’t connected to nobility. Seeing the residents of Lamia braving the turmoil taking place beyond the wards to offer support to their king was overwhelming.
The brilliant white sky shone even brighter than before, making Logris appear to be encased in a giant dome that drenched the supernatural city with light. The only way I could describe the phenomenon was as the opposite of an eclipse, but with illumination coming from a source as silvery as the moon.