Blood Craving

by Gabrielle Bisset

  “Tell me.”

  She buried her face in the crook of his shoulder and whispered, “It’s bad, Sion. I’m afraid if I tell you, you won’t want to be around me anymore.”

  Sion rolled over to face her. “Why? Because I’m that cold machine everyone thinks I am? I won’t be that with you.”

  In a small voice, she said, “I worry you won’t look at me the same way again.”

  She closed her eyes to hide from him, but he took her face in his hands and said, “Kali, look at me.” She opened her eyes and he saw tears in them. “We’ve all done things we’re ashamed of. I would never judge you for that.”

  “I worry you’ll be disappointed in me like you were when I helped Sasa.”

  The sadness in her expression made him cringe. He hadn’t wanted to hurt her when he said that about what she’d done with Sasa and Thane. “I’m sorry about that. I overreacted. What happened with Thane wasn’t because of Sasa or anything you did.”

  Thane’s loss still made his heart heavy. He may not show it all the time, but losing someone he’d worked with for years had been hard even on him.

  “I promise I didn’t make that mistake because of my problems. I was just trying to help.”

  “I know. You aren’t to blame for Thane’s death.”

  They lay there facing each other and silent for a long time. The reality was that at any moment the same fate might await him, and they both knew it.

  Finally, Kali quietly said, “I don’t want your pity. I’m much stronger than I look and I can handle my demons. You won’t have to take care of me if you and I stay together.”

  Sion smiled at her toughness. “Maybe I want to take care of you.”

  “Well, you won’t have to.”

  “Okay.”

  Kali took a deep breath and began. “I was turned back when there weren’t as many of us. Those times were so different from now. I was a young woman from a wealthy family when my sire turned me. I hadn’t known much of life other than what my parents had provided me—a good education for a female, a loving family, and a life of relative ease.”

  Sion watched her face cloud over and steadied himself to hear the worst of her past.

  “I had a hard time adjusting to life as a vampire. I bet you settled in easily, but for me, it was a very drastic change.”

  “Actually, becoming vampire was a complete change for me. I wasn’t always this icy being.”

  Kali nodded her understanding. “I think the biggest change was that I no longer had the love of my family. My sire was often difficult. Not just with me, but with all his vampires. He’s become far more powerful now, but at that time, he was just a sire looking to take advantage of any chance at influence.”

  She stopped for a moment and forced a smile. “I’m not saying life was all bad. We were all very close and there were times that I can truly say I was happy. I began studying Greek and vampire history as soon as I had the chance, and my sire was supportive of that. I think he liked the idea of having intelligent and educated vampires. I can at least say that for him.”

  “Mine was similar to that, but when I became vampire was a different time. You’re ancient Greece, but I’m Germany during the Second World War,” Sion said in an attempt at being comforting.

  “A very different time from mine. Then he became a Magistrate and things changed.” Kali’s eyes grew wide. “I’ve never told anyone that. There are so many of his vampires who don’t know what he is. I don’t know if I should have said that, but I don’t want there to be secrets between us, Sion.”

  Leaning in, he kissed her gently on the lips. “Your secret is safe with me.”

  Her expression grew dark. “I wouldn’t want you to be hurt because of me. He’s a very powerful vampire who can make someone’s life very difficult, if he chooses to.”

  Sion lifted her chin and looked straight into her eyes. “I won’t let him do that to you, Kali. You’re safe now.”

  A tiny smile spread across her lips. “Aren’t you the one who lectured me about the rights of a sire?”

  Sion thought back to his words that night in Vasilije’s office and remembered every one of them. “I did, but that was different. You aren’t Sasa. It sounds like you have a reason to rebel against your sire.”

  “Our world is very difficult for a vampire with a cruel sire, Sion. Not many think like you do. My sire has the right to dictate my every move, if he chooses, and he often does. If he wants to kill one of his vampires, he can. I’ve seen him kill those I love for the slightest infraction of his rules. What happened with the Bliss was because he forced me to try it. I’ve had problems with addiction in the past, and I couldn’t believe he would do that to me. He punished me terribly the last time he caught me using, but now I guess I’m his guinea pig.”

  Tears welled in her eyes, and she quickly buried her head in his shoulder, sobbing, “I don’t know why he did that. Why would he want me to suffer like that?”

  Sion stroked her back, trying to make her feel better. What he wanted to do was find her sire and drain the fuck out of him. A sire to just a few, he had often been cold and unavailable, but he’d never intentionally hurt them. And his own sire had been kind, even if he had never deserved it.

  What kind of monster was Kali’s sire?

  “Don’t cry. He’s not worth it. I won’t let him hurt you again. I promise.”

  She remained silent for a long time. When she spoke again, she sounded weaker. “I’ll never be free of him, Sion.”

  Cupping her face in his hands, he lifted her head so she was looking at him. “We’ll get through this, Kali. You’re not alone anymore. He’ll need to get through me if he wants to hurt you from now on, and I may not be Terek level with the battle experience, but I’m a Son.”

  “I’m sorry I come with so much trouble. You probably wish you never met me.” Sniffing her tears away, she furrowed her brow.

  Sion shook his head. “You couldn’t be more wrong. None of this makes me regret meeting you or falling for you. Think of it this way. No relationship is perfect. We’ll get through this and the Archon war and then our biggest problem will likely be that you’ll wish I was more like Terek or even Vasilije.”

  This brought out her beautiful smile once again, and her face lit up. “As much as I like them both, I don’t think I’m right for either of them.”

  He kissed her forehead. “No, you’re right for me. They have their own females already.”

  Sion knew he wasn’t exactly telling the truth. Nico had told him about Vasilije releasing Sasa after what she’d done with Thane, but telling Kali about that now didn’t seem like a great idea. She didn’t need to blame herself for anything more. What Sasa had done was her doing, not Kali’s.

  Taking her in his arms, he held her close, wanting to chase away all those demons he knew lurked inside her. He understood demons. He’d fought his all his life, first as a human and then as vampire, but they were never completely banished.

  He swore from that moment on he would protect Kali from whoever he had to. If that meant going head to head with a magistrate, then so be it. If he could handle dragons, he could handle some old vampire with a sadistic streak.

  *

  Kali knew Sion meant what he said about them being okay no matter what, but others before him had said the same thing and then left. Her sire made sure of that. And she knew that this time wouldn’t be any different. He’d find out about her feelings for him and hunt him down.

  How she wished things could be different! Her sire had promised to take care of her, but his main goal seemed to be to crush under his heel any good she found. Somehow, she needed to find the strength to make this the time he didn’t steal her happiness.

  Resting her chin on Sion’s chest, she looked up at him. “We need to get working. Everyone’s relying on us to unravel more of the prophecy.”

  His expression told her he wasn’t as eager as she was to get back to her books. “I know. I just don’t want to leave this bed.”


  She planted a kiss on his chest. “I don’t want to either, but work calls.”

  Sion wrapped his arms around her, but she slid out of his hold. Turning toward him, she smiled. “Think of it this way. The faster we work, the faster this is all over.”

  He stretched his long legs and laughed. “That’s the idea.”

  The books and papers they needed were spread out in front of them, and Kali had hope that what they found tonight could make a difference. That’s all she’d ever wanted to do, and now after what had happened with Thane, she really needed to believe she could.

  Sion sat dutifully across from her, his face his usual calm façade, but she knew better now. Beneath that cold and stoic outside was a passionate man who had cared enough about her to save her from the depths of despair. As she looked at him now, she couldn’t imagine how she could have missed it for all those months, but she’d made the same mistake everyone else always made.

  She watched him as he attempted to do his part, no doubt secretly frustrated by the seemingly chaotic writings of vampires from years gone by. He was like an iceberg—so much of him hidden—but she liked that.

  “See anything?” she said, half teasing.

  Sion raised his head and gave her one of his rare smiles. “I think you know the answer to that. I defer to your lead with this. Now if you want to know how to design a machine, I’m your man.”

  I’m your man. She liked the sound of that.

  Kali slid the largest book on the table toward her. The History of the Order was mostly filled with information on the elders of their world, but she had a suspicion she might be able to find something of use in there.

  “I think I want to focus on this tonight,” she said across the table. “Something’s been in the back of my mind for a while that I think might be useful.”

  “What are you thinking?”

  “I’m thinking that the Archons either know about the child or will soon, but my guess is that they’ll think that’s the end of it. They’ll go after Theron because it makes sense, but I don’t think he’s the end at all. Don’t get me wrong. He’s important. But one vampire isn’t going to be the way to defeat the Archons. There’s got to be more.”

  “I don’t know, but from what I hear from Nico, he’s pretty strong. Ramiel says he’s a clyten.”

  Kali nodded at the confirmation of her suspicions. “I’m not surprised. And I don’t think that’s the last thing we’re going to hear about him being special. I’d bet he’s got some other powers up his sleeve.”

  “Like?”

  “Well, if I was a betting woman, I’d put some money on being able to read others’ thoughts or some other power involving thought manipulation. This is the child who’s supposed to be integral in defeating the Archons. He’s going to be impressive.”

  Sion arched one eyebrow. “Ramiel’s going to have his hands full.”

  Kali laughed at the thought of Ramiel, that big, bad vampire, having his hands full with a little boy. “First Noele convinced him to settle down, and now he’s a real dad. Talk about life changing.”

  Sion was amused by this too, but Kali’s words echoed in her mind, reminding her that Theron’s father was gone. No matter how much Sion tried to keep from mentioning Thane, he was never far from her mind. How could he be? She knew the night he died that she’d been to blame for the Archon hunters finding him and the destruction of the monastery. She hadn’t meant for any of it to happen, but her sire had demanded to know where she’d been and who she’d been working for.

  Tears filled her eyes as guilt washed over her. No matter what she’d told herself, she knew the truth. She was to blame for Thane’s death.

  Kali worked with Sion for hours, finding possible leads but nothing substantial. Her mind was weighed down with thoughts of Theron never seeing his father, making her heart heavy. But slowly, a tiny flicker in her brain made her think of the one thing that could take the pain away.

  There was no way Sion was going to let her head out into the Prague night without him, but she had to find a way to get something that would make her forget. Her mind raced through excuses and ideas until finally something came to her.

  Standing from their work table, she walked behind him and put her arms around his neck, whispering in his ear, “What do you say we go out tonight? There are still a few hours before dawn. It would be a nice change, don’t you think?”

  He turned his head and kissed her sweetly on the lips. “If that would make you happy, I think we can spare a few minutes, if you think we’re done here.”

  Excitement spiked in her, but she worked to keep her calm. “Just a few minutes. We deserve a little off time, don’t we?”

  “Sure.”

  She had no idea if he suspected anything, but it didn’t matter. If she could just have a little to make her mind slow down and push the thoughts that haunted her off to the side, even for a short time, she could handle things. She wasn’t going to let it take over her life like it had before. It might even help her work better.

  Knowing exactly where to go, Kali led Sion to a tiny bar only a few blocks from where he’d found her and they enjoyed a few beers. What he didn’t know is that the one time she’d gone to the ladies room she called the man who’d gotten her Bliss when she arrived in Prague. Hidden in a seedy bathroom, she whispered the terrible words into her phone and the deal was done.

  He met her near the bathroom minutes later, and then she had what she desperately craved. In the farthest stall, she leaned against the dirty white partition and lifted the glass vial up to her lips. The liquid slid down her throat, burning as it made its way to her stomach and bloodstream. She only took enough to take the pain away and let her find some peace, at least for a little while.

  As she walked back to join Sion, the Bliss began to take effect. Now all she’d feel is happy with the man she loved. That’s all she’d ever wanted, and if it took a sip or two of some drug to make it happen, she couldn’t see how anyone could begrudge her that.

  Everyone deserved to be happy. Even someone like her.

  Eight

  Marc Verrater checked the time on his watch. 12:01 A few floors above him, the Archon quarterly meeting had just begun. But he wouldn’t be attending this time. He had better things to do this night. Rifling through the top drawer of his desk, he searched for another vial of the drug he could truly call his work of art. Bliss, as Consera insisted on calling it, was truly a stroke of genius.

  His stroke of genius.

  Since synthesizing the unique components of Solenne’s blood that created the incredible effect in him, the doctors had been replaced by the production line, which Consera had given Marc total control over. One of the perks of being the head of manufacturing was the limitless supply of the substance, and he took every opportunity to enjoy the advantage.

  Every night was his to take pleasure in now, thanks to Bliss.

  He especially needed it to deal with the loss of Solenne. He still had no idea how she escaped, but he had a sneaking suspicion that fucking bitch Emily had something to do with it. Since that night when he’d found the basement empty, she’d been skulking around like a guilty animal. He hadn’t bothered to ask her because that would mean talking to her, something he preferred not to do.

  Better to relax and enjoy the world his gift gave him.

  Finally, he found a vial of the precious liquid out of sight deep in the back of the bottom drawer. He’d been forced to hide his stash to ensure no one else found it. The stuff was too valuable to risk having the likes of Emily getting her greedy little mitts on it. Lifting it to his lips, he sucked down every drop of Bliss and waited for the effect to set in.

  This was what life as a vampire had been missing. All those years he’d suffered through nights filled with concern and regret were all gone now. With his Bliss, a vampire like him could now enjoy life. No more hassles. No more worries. Just happiness, the way it was meant to be for their kind.

  The drug’s effect s
lid over his body, dancing through his veins and warming his skin. The room swam in front of him, blurred ribbons of white and black wrapping around him as the Bliss gave up its most precious gift.

  Oblivion.

  Marc leaned back against his leather chair and licked his lips. This was what he looked forward to each night. The moment when the Bliss took away all the bad and left him with only thoughts of Solenne. The memory of her body giving in to his as he fucked her in that basement room just blocks away from his sterile Archon existence never failed to make his cock rock hard, and he slid his hand down his stomach to cup his crotch.

  Closing his eyes, he replayed that moment when he’d given in and taken her. She’d been his before, but that night had been different. He knew she’d been pretending to want him, fearful if she hadn’t he’d have killed her. He wouldn’t have.

  Never.

  She was Solenne, the woman who tormented him, haunted him, made him mad with desire. To kill her would be to kill the only being in the world who gave him any relief from his miserable existence as a vampire.

  No, Solenne was the only one never to be harmed.

  He’d felt her fear and fed off it. Women were always afraid of him, and while it certainly didn’t dampen his arousal, it was never enough. They should fear him. He was an Archon. He could crush them with little effort and absolutely no remorse.

  But Solenne was different. Her fear made their time together exquisite.

  The memory still crackled with excitement now as he let it play out in his mind. Her beautiful blue-green eyes staring up at him pleading with him for safety had thrilled him more than he thought possible. For the first time in his existence as a vampire, he’d answered that fearful look with the tiny shred of tenderness that still lived inside him instead of his usual unrelenting cruelty. When he slid his hand around her neck, he didn’t press his fingers against the muscles until she cried out in pain, like she’d feared. To do so would be to defile who she was to him.

  No, Solenne was to be cherished unlike all others.