Vessel of Destruction (Daizlei Academy Book 4)

by Kel Carpenter

  He pinched the zipper between his forefinger and thumb, slowly dragging it down.

  I lifted my hips silently, urging him forward.

  Cool fingers grasped the edge of my pants, dragging them down but leaving the lace panties in place. Once they were pulled free of my thighs, he flung them away from us, my legs now bare to him.

  Victor placed his hands on my knees and pulled me forward. I slid to the edge of the bed and then stopped.

  He spread my legs wide, settling between them.

  My heart stuttered. My breath grew uneven.

  “What—” I started to ask again.

  “Don’t ask me dumb questions, flower.” I pulled myself up so that I was sitting and able to watch him.

  Victor wrapped his hand around one bare foot and pulled it toward him. My eyebrows drew together, but I said nothing as he kissed the instep, the sensation running through my body like a shock of desire. My breath caught as he gently massaged circles into the path his lips took.

  By the time he reached my calf, my eyes were hooded.

  His lips kissed and licked and nibbled at my sensitive skin. His hands followed, creating a dull ache inside of me before he even reached my thigh.

  Vampires didn’t need to breathe, but he chose to—fanning those sensitive nerve endings as he approached the apex of my thighs.

  His lips skimmed the outside of my panties. He breathed in.

  Then he pulled away, beginning the process again on my other foot.

  It was maddening. Lust filled me, hazing my brain so that all I was, was a reaction. An emotion. A response. He stroked, and I moaned. He licked, and my breath hissed between my teeth. When he drew near the place I wanted him again, his eyes met mine. A slight smirk curled around his lips.

  Beautiful and incredibly cruel. My chest warmed.

  “You asked me what I’m doing,” he said, running his nose up and down the silk fabric that barely covered me. “I’m treating you like a queen, because that’s what I’m going to make you.” His teeth bit the fabric, but not my skin. He pulled once and with a twist of his neck the silk piece ripped free. “My Queen.”

  Then he pressed his lips against me, and I trembled.

  My body shook as he kissed me there. When he licked that sensitive place, my vision became unfocused. That gold tether that spanned between us started to shine. My core wound tight as he continued with his ministrations and my fingers dug into the sheets. They ripped instantly, and I leaned forward, wrapping them in his hair instead.

  He pulled away and blew out a breath of cold air. My thighs shook.

  He leaned in again and sucked once. I detonated.

  An anguished garble slid from my lips as my body tightened around the fingers that were now replacing his mouth, pushing their way in and out of me. Wave after wave of ecstasy washed through me as I ground against him, riding it out. When the last of my pleasure left me, he stood.

  We stared at each other long enough the sun could have rose and set. For this moment, he was all that existed. He and the havoc he wrought on me.

  I knew he was waiting. Despite his cold, calloused ways—he was giving me a choice in this.

  Just as he’d taught me, I chose myself and I chose him.

  I spread my legs wider and a growl of approval escaped him when I reached for his pants. The girl that died would have been embarrassed to be this forward with a man, having never done it.

  But these hands were not white as they once had been. They were stained so red that the color was almost as black as my heart. If I could kill men and women with my bare fingers, I could give and take pleasure with them all the same.

  He’d seen me at my lowest, as a dirty, grubby Made in a cellar.

  He’d seen me at my worst, half-crazed by starvation, but useless all the same when I held onto the idea that someone would save me.

  He’d seen me die, and agonized over it.

  Now he would see me bare myself to him and the winter air as I claimed him while he claimed me.

  I slid my fingers over the edge of his trousers and tugged. They split apart at the seams. I reached for his shirt, pulling on both sides. Buttons popped as it split up the middle.

  My hands dropped to my own sweater. I tugged it over my head, tossing it away. My bra came next, and then it was only us and the all-consuming need that only grew.

  I scooted up the bed and leaned back. Victor didn’t ask me if I was ready.

  My actions showed him I clearly was.

  Victor crawled onto the bed, settling between my spread legs, the tip of him skimming my entrance.

  I met his stare and nodded once as he braced himself over me. His hardness slid inside, not painful in the ways I’d been told it would be.

  Full? Yes.

  Uncomfortable? A bit.

  Needed? Completely.

  I writhed in his grasp, but he held tight, going slowly at first. I planted my arms behind me, using the firmness of the mattress to gain purchase as I dug my heels into the bed and worked my hips against his.

  “Flower, I’m trying to make this easy on you—”

  “Don’t,” I gasped, shoving forward and taking his full length.

  Victor groaned and dropped me to the bed, following me down. His forearms caged either side of my face as he held himself over me, pushing in and out. He stroked that carnal flame he’d created into an inferno. The golden tether of our bond grew impossibly bright. My eyelids started to droop as I fell into it.

  Victor gracefully moved one hand to slide his fingers through my hair and pull sharply without losing pace. “Don’t close your eyes,” he commanded.

  I growled, arching my back off the bed as I fought to keep pace with him. His lips skimmed my neck, the tips of his fangs pressing hard enough I knew what was coming. “I want every part of you,” he breathed.

  “Then don’t ask. Take it.”

  His fangs cut through my flesh and the scent of sweet wine filled the air. He moaned against me, and my pleasure heightened. That pressure was building again but its peak was elusive.

  I needed more.

  Using my own strength, I flipped us and straddled his waist. He sat up, bringing us chest to chest. My hands wrapped around his silky strands, pulling them taut and tilting his head back. My blood wet on his lips, I kissed him, savagely grinding my body against his own.

  He grasped my hips, guiding them for what I needed but I didn’t know how to find. The climax drew near again. A moan was already building in my throat as I sank my fangs into his bottom lip and sucked hard.

  He groaned, uttering my name like a prayer as the bound flared. My core tightened as the tension shattered. Golden light blinded me entirely as it snapped in place around us.

  A noose and a lifeline. An unbreakable tether.

  I was his and he was mine.

  Several seconds of silence spanned between us. Our breaths were heavy, and the wind roared. Shadows played under my skin as my power danced in my pleasure with me, but didn’t harm him.

  He scooted back to lay against the pillows, bringing me with him. Bodies still connected, I laid my head on his chest.

  “I love you, Lily.”

  It was the first time he’d said those words and I believed him. In his own way, he did love me. “I know,” I whispered back without saying it in return.

  When my eyes closed, it was still darkness I dreamed.

  Beautiful, glorious, darkness.

  And death.

  I woke with a start. My throat was scratchy as sandpaper. Cold wind whipped my face. I groaned, rolling over. My joints were stiff from sleeping on a rock. I didn’t have to look at the lake to know that Livina’s gift was gone. Light shone from the west telling me that most of the day had come and gone.

  “You’re awake.”

  I jumped. “What the—”

  “Relax,” Alexandra said, rolling her eyes. She sat on the rock next to mine, where Livina had been the night before. She wore jeans and a thick sweater. Her fingers were
displayed in front of her and a tiny fire rolled along them, moving with the wind. She sighed and the flame blinked out, a wisp of smoke going up before being blown away. “Dream of anything interesting?”

  A subtle way of asking what was going on with Lily.

  “If I could unsee it, I would,” I groaned, rolling my shoulders to work the knots out.

  “I’m going to assume Aaron is still alive given your state,” she said without looking at me.

  “Yeah,” I answered on a sigh. “He’s alive. Surprisingly whole, all things considered.”

  “Don’t do that,” she said.

  “Do what?”

  “Think.” I blinked, but she continued. “She’s killed hundreds of people. There’s no coming back from that.”

  “I’ve killed thousands.” The hard look she gave me said it all.

  “You killed thousands on accident. She walked into the residence with an army and the intention to kill. The Alpha is dead because of her. Scarlett and Liam are dead because of her. Mothers and fathers and children and babies are dead because of her—”

  “I get it. You don’t need to—”

  “But I do,” she interrupted. “I know you. As much as you say you will do it, you’ll try to find any way out. I don’t like this any more than you. Honestly, I don’t even know what to think. All I know is that my sister died at Daizlei, and what she is now” —she paused, swallowing hard— “whatever this is now, it’s not her. It’s a monster, and it needs to be put down.”

  She didn’t even understand how close to the Witches version of the truth she’d just come. She didn’t know about Cirian or Valda or Livina or the history that brought us here. She didn’t know that Lily wasn’t the only problem.

  She didn’t know the ancients demanded her too. Demanded me.

  “She can’t be killed.”

  “Does she bleed?” Alexandra asked.

  “Yes, but—”

  “Then it can be killed.” The way she struggled even referring to her as more than an it was quite telling.

  “She heals herself before she dies,” I argued. “I could stab her in the heart and she’ll pull it out and stab me back. How do you kill someone like that?”

  “The same way you did the first time.”

  I blinked. “Say that again.”

  “Say what?” she asked derisively.

  “Repeat what you just said.”

  She turned, looking at me like I was crazy. “You kill her the same way you did the first time.”

  I looked up over the water, and for the first time, I felt hope. The sun was setting and with it the final day was upon us.

  I jumped to my feet and turned my back on the lake.

  “Where on earth are you going?” she called over her shoulder.

  “To make a plan,” I yelled back.

  My heart sprinted with me as I raced through the forest and back to the residence. I was onto something big. I could feel it in my bones.

  Chapter 25

  “Hey,” Blair called out across the foyer. “We’ve been looking for you everywhere. Where have you been—”

  “No time,” I panted. “I’m calling a meeting. Round up everyone you can to meet me in the second-floor conference room.” Her mouth opened then closed. She nodded once and walked away, off to find the others. I took the second to get my head together. This was it. I could feel it.

  The Crone said nothing was impossible. The pieces were there; I just had to figure out how they were supposed to go together.

  I started for the conference room. Not paying much attention to who was coming and going around me.

  Three deaths by my hand.

  That was the price . . . and Lily already died once.

  Which only left two.

  If I could figure out a way to stop her from healing herself—my shoulder knocked into someone. “Excuse me,” I muttered, already trying to continue on. Fingers wrapped around my bicep and I paused, looking back at the girl I’d bumped. Her golden eyes drilled into me.

  “I’ve been looking for you,” Keyla started. The rest of it was lost on me.

  Like a flash of lightning the idea struck.

  I stood there staring at her as one by one the shards of information I’d gleaned slid into place. Like pieces of a puzzle, I knew broad details about them. It was only once it clicked that I saw the bigger picture, and my answer to fate’s call.

  “You’re the key,” I whispered, almost dumbfounded. Keyla frowned.

  “Are you okay? Did you hear what I—”

  “I’m fine,” I answered on instinct, pulling myself from my stupor. “What were you saying?”

  Keyla chuffed, shifting back and forth. “I was saying”—she started, with only a hint of her usual attitude—“that with my father dead and my brother . . . gone . . .” She struggled with what to call it, and I didn’t blame her. “I’m the last of the line. I’m young and can’t fight as good as you guys—though I am damn good with a mace—”

  “Keyla, can you get to the question? I’m assuming there is one.”

  She sighed, taking a deep breath. “I want to be in on the planning. I want to be there when it happens. He’s my brother, and I want to help save him.”

  I stared at her and all I could think was that Ash would kill me. If he knew what I was planning, he’d tell me to leave him. To let him die.

  That wasn’t an option.

  No matter the risks, I was getting him back and ending this once and for all.

  “Come on.” I grabbed her hand and pulled her with me down the hall. She blinked and opened her mouth, then closed it, clearly having expected there to be more resistance. She started walking beside me, keeping pace.

  “So, what’s the plan?” she asked, adding a little pep to her step. “Are we dropping into Vilicky Novgorod and going to slink around the High—”

  I opened the door to the conference room with a flick of my wrist and motioned for Keyla to go first. She gave me a sheepish smile and stepped inside. I followed behind her, pleased everyone was already here.

  “I want to return to planning,” I started.

  “What’s she doing here?” Amber glowered. “Keyla’s in mourning right now. She shouldn’t be—”

  “You are too,” Keyla shot back. The glare in Amber’s eye deepened as she looked between the two of us.

  “Why did you bring Aaron’s sister to the war meeting?” she asked me, ignoring Keyla now. The mention of my signasti was a blow to the chest, but I grit my teeth and kept my temper in check.

  “I’ve figured it out.”

  “Figured what out?”

  “How to win this.” No one said anything, but they waited with bated breath.

  “What does she have to do with this?” Amber jutted her chin toward Keyla.

  “Everything,” I replied softly.

  That really got their attention and even Keyla stood straighter, preening under the compliment. Johanna exhaled heavily and leaned forward, resting her hands on the mahogany wood surface. “I think it’s best you start explaining then.”

  I nodded.

  “I’ve told you guys time and again that Lily is the one we need to focus on—”

  “We’ve already been over this,” Amber snapped, cutting in.

  “Yes,” I said in a hard tone. “Except now I know how to kill her—and more importantly, I know how to keep her from killing all of us.”

  Amber lifted an eyebrow, prompting me forward. “This better be good.”

  “Before she died, she could heal. If she stole energy from someone else, she could heal herself. When she became Made, that power amplified. She healed herself from death—and even from Vampirism, in a way.” On the other side of the table, Alexandra stared at me intently. “She couldn’t be killed because there was no way around her power.” I looked at Keyla, the latent Shifter born to a forfeit. “Now there is.”

  “You’ve got to be smoking something if you think I’m going to let you take Keyla into battle,” A
mber growled.

  “We don’t have another choice,” I snapped back. “Lily can’t die, and without canceling out her powers, she’ll kill everyone in minutes.”

  “Minutes?” Oliver asked. I nodded.

  “Her power doesn’t just include those that touch her anymore. It’s like a cloud of death that spreads out and kills any who touch it. No one, except possibly me, will even be able to get near her.”

  “Whether or not Keyla’s power is useful, I don’t know how you could ever consider bringing her into battle when—”

  “Because I don’t have another choice!” I shouted at her. Amber’s jaw hung for a fraction of a second before snapping shut. “You think I want to kill my own sister to begin with? It almost killed me the first time I did and that was an accident. Now she has Ash and is hell-bent on unleashing Vampires on the world. I don’t have a goddamn choice here anymore, Amber.” She had the good sense to look away. “Without taking her power out of play, this is all for nothing. We can gather as many people as we want. We can call on the Shifters and the Supes and the Fae and the Witches—and she will kill them all. I love Keyla just as much as you, but she’s the only one with an ability to stifle others, and she’s strong enough to even cancel out my power. We need her there or this is it.”

  Let it be known that I was not the motivational type. I didn’t come up with rousing speeches. Helping others emotionally was never my forte, even with my own sisters. I was the girl that got shit done. Unfriendly and antisocial as I may be, I was the one that found a way. And this? This was our only way.

  I could feel it in my bones, as deep and true as my bond with Ash.

  “I think she’s right,” Alexandra said, being the first one to break the silence. “If Lily is strong enough to kill that many Shifters in minutes, then she’s strong enough that throwing sheer numbers at her won’t do anything but fuel her more.”