Forbidden Blood (Vampire Venators Romance Series)

by Heaton, Felicity

  He could only stare as her fingertips began to glow blue. It wasn’t an illusion. His power rose in response to hers and the connection their calling forged between them opened. She was a Venator.

  Not an illusion.

  Kearn brought his gun up and fired before Venator Greystone could move out of the way. She shrieked as the bullet tore through her right upper arm. The blue light faded from her fingertips. He had to injure her arm to stop her from using her power as a Venator against him and to slow her down further. His head was killing him.

  He shot her again and his right arm ached, the power in it activating. Blue light punctured the darkness, chasing it back and revealing Venator Greystone. He dived to one side as she raised her own firearm and rolled out of the path of the bullet. She shifted aim and fired again. Kearn flipped backwards to dodge it and then brought his gun around and shot her right shoulder. She growled and shifted backwards, away from him. She wouldn’t be fast enough to escape him now.

  The stench of her blood filled the air, swamping his senses and making it impossible for him to smell the sweeter scent of Amber’s blood. His head spun as the entirety of his arm became active, the symbols on it glowing brightly. It drained his strength and he couldn’t allow that, but no matter what he did, it wouldn’t deactivate.

  And he knew why.

  The Sovereignty had judged her.

  Venator Greystone moved back, clutching her arm and scowling at him. “You were supposed to be out cold.”

  There was a pout in her voice. He had followed their plan for him to the letter but he didn’t want to play anymore. They had threatened Amber and finally revealed themselves. Now that he knew who he was dealing with, he was going to finish it.

  “I always have been a disappointment.” He brought his arm up. The blue glow dampened his vision but he could still see his target. He could see her trembling and see the fear surfacing in her eyes as she shook her head.

  Her heart beat loud and fast in his ears. She had honestly thought he would be that easy to defeat or capture. Her lust for power had only brought her an early death.

  She growled and her eyes bled into red. “You were supposed to be an easy mark! That human female wasn’t supposed to get in the way.”

  Kearn realised that he had altered Kyran and Venator Greystone’s plan before tonight. The female Venator was supposed to have seduced him, to have lured him in with her flattery and acceptance of him. She had done her best but she wasn’t the one who had become his distraction.

  Amber had been it instead. Only she had made him stronger and had given him reason to fight.

  Kearn slipped his gun back into the holster at his hip and gripped his right wrist with his left hand, steadying his arm. It whispered hungry words to him, encouraging him to kill Venator Greystone. He would, but not yet.

  “What does my brother plan to do?”

  Venator Greystone smiled. “You will find out soon enough, my lord.”

  He frowned and then his eyes widened when he sensed a presence behind him. Just as he turned, Venator Greystone came forwards. He didn’t have a chance to block her. She kicked him hard in the head and the world wavered in front of him, his brother twisting and distorting with it.

  Kyran raised his right hand and, without any trace of emotion in his cold blue eyes, closed it into a fist. A tremendous heavy feeling settled in Kearn’s mind. Kyran was trying to knock him out but he wouldn’t go quietly. He fought it, clearing his head long enough to break free of his brother’s mental grasp, and lunged at Venator Greystone.

  Her scream filled the silence in the gallery as his hand connected with her chest. Bright shining blue threads of power burrowed into her body and she thrashed around, lashing out at him in a desperate attempt to free herself. It was too late. The ribbons turned black and Kearn took his hand away and turned to face Kyran. He sensed her life force fade as she fell into the eternal darkness and then the connection to her severed.

  Kyran raised his hand again, his red eyes boring into Kearn’s, and started to close his fingers. Another heavy dull throb pulsed through his mind but he wouldn’t let it stop him. He needed to get to Amber and make sure that she was alright. Kyran wouldn’t have bitten her because that would change her blood and make it less potent and less valuable, but Kearn needed to see it with his own two eyes. He needed to keep his promise and take away her fear.

  He ran at his brother and was within striking distance when Kyran swept his hand to one side, using his power to throw Kearn against the wall. He slammed into it and dropped to the floor, plaster raining down on him. His head spun. His brother was too powerful to defeat right now. With so much of Amber’s blood fresh in his veins, Kyran was a god.

  Kearn pushed himself up onto his hands and knees. Kyran laughed. The sound of it grated in his ears and drove him to stand. The power of the Sovereignty whispered insidious things to him and he obeyed them for once. He would give it everything he had. He wouldn’t let his brother defeat him here. He would save Amber.

  Focusing on his arm, he gathered all of his power there, both that of the Sovereignty and his own. With an ungodly roar, he unleashed everything he had in one cataclysmic burst aimed straight at Kyran. The windows exploded outwards, plaster tore off the walls, turning to dust and filling the charged air around him, and Kearn breathed hard, choking and struggling to remain conscious. His arm trembled, weak and numb like the rest of him.

  Had he done it?

  Was Kyran dead?

  CHAPTER 27

  Amber jumped when another huge explosion rocked the building, shaking fragments of plaster from the ceiling. She clutched the edge of the couch, listening hard and afraid that Kyran would defeat Kearn. She was sure it was him out there, battling his brother. She had felt his presence in her blood and a sliver of his feelings, and then Kyran’s dark emotions had clouded her mind and severed her connection to Kearn. Kyran had left after that and then the sound of fighting had grown louder and more violent.

  Cold fingers threatened to squeeze the air from her lungs and grip her heart so tightly it would stop.

  She leaned forwards as everything went still.

  Was it over?

  Amber tried to stand to go to the door but her head spun and she collapsed back onto the couch. If she couldn’t even make it to the door, she would never be able to fight Kyran and escape. She was relying on Kearn now.

  Kearn.

  Her heart ached at the thought of him having to fight his own brother. He loved Kyran and felt responsible for him losing his chance to become the Venator of their family. Discovering that Kyran was behind everything must have hurt him and now he had to fight him. Would he even be able to bring himself to kill Kyran? Couldn’t the Sovereignty give the task to someone else? It was cruel to expect Kearn to take Kyran’s life when he already felt as though he had, and had already hurt his family once.

  The door burst open and she jumped. Kearn walked in, his silver hair stained with blood and a weary look on his face. Her heart leapt into her throat but she swallowed it again, her mind overruling her desire to go to him and telling her that it was Kyran only pretending to be Kearn.

  A bright blue light shone out from Kearn’s side and she realised that it was his arm and that he was dragging someone behind him by their shirt collar. Black hair. Black shirt.

  Kearn dropped him.

  It was Kyran and he was unconscious.

  Kearn had defeated Kyran. Her chest warmed and her heart raced, overruling the voice that told her not to believe what she was seeing. He had defeated his brother and come for her.

  She went to go to Kearn but he held his hand up.

  “Take it easy,” he said and she nodded.

  She could feel his emotions flowing into her, all warmth and relief, and they matched her own, bringing them to the surface along with the fear that had been pressing down on her. Tears rose into her eyes, hot on her lashes, and spilled down her cheeks. There were so many things that she wanted to ask him but instead
she drank in the sight of him. He was hurt, but he was here. He smiled, crossed the room to her, and pulled her into his arms, holding her close to his chest. His heart beat against her ear, familiar in its slow pace, and the connection between them deepened. She pushed away from the voice in her heart, not willing to believe that this was another trick. When Kyran had masqueraded as Kearn, it hadn’t felt like this. This felt real. This was the Kearn that she knew.

  He pressed a kiss to her hair and sighed. “I thought I would be too late. It is over now.”

  Relief filled her but it only lasted as long as it took for him to speak again.

  “You seem weak.” He pulled back, holding her by her shoulders at arm’s length. There was darkness in his green eyes, anger that she felt deep in her blood. “How are you feeling?”

  Amber touched her neck and more tears came when she recalled Kyran feeding from her, pretending that he was Kearn. She had promised herself to him and Kyran had made it clear that he intended to make her his, but now Kearn was here and she was safe at last.

  The anger within her increased. It burned like rage through her veins, igniting her own feelings and rousing them. She was angry too. She wanted Kyran to pay for what he had done to her but she didn’t want Kearn to have to suffer sentencing him.

  She cupped his cheek. His skin was cool beneath her fingers and he leaned into her touch. She sighed at the sight of all the cuts and the blood on him. He had already fought his brother for her, and she couldn’t thank him enough. She was sure that if he hadn’t come to her tonight that it would have been too late for her and too late for them. She would have belonged to Kyran.

  “I’m tired,” she said and the anger in his eyes became concern, but the feeling inside her didn’t change. He took her hand from his face and held it tightly. “I feel so weak.”

  Red tinted the edges of his green irises. His other hand shifted to her face and his eyes slowly changed. Her gaze fell to his lips as he spoke and she saw flashes of fangs.

  “I cannot lose you,” he said in a strained voice and lowered the hand on her face to her neck.

  She sensed his intent in her blood and fear seized her again.

  “Is it that bad?” Her voice trembled and her eyebrows furrowed. Was becoming like Kearn her only option for survival? She didn’t think Kyran had taken that much of her blood. She just felt a little tired and she was sure that after a good day’s rest she would be fine again.

  Kearn nodded.

  His thumb pressed into the underside of her chin and he tilted her head back. Her heart pounded. Her blood chilled. It didn’t feel right. His body pressed into hers, his other arm slid around her waist, and he dipped his mouth towards her neck, his lips parting to reveal his fangs. It didn’t feel at all as she had expected.

  She felt anxious, not excited. Something deep within her cried out for her to escape and filled her with panic, fear, and anger.

  Kyran murmured where he lay sprawled out on the floor. Her gaze fell to him.

  Her anger increased when his eyes snapped open and she realised that it wasn’t her feeling. It was his.

  He was on his feet before she could blink, his hand gripping Kearn’s shoulder and tearing him away from her. She stumbled backwards and fell onto the couch as he tossed Kearn across the room, sending him smashing into the wall. Kearn fell to the floor just as her backside hit the couch seat.

  Amber stared up at Kyran, her hands pressing into the padded seat either side of her knees. Her heart lodged in her throat and fluttered there.

  Kyran frowned at her, and then down at himself, looking at his hands, and then turned to face Kearn. She couldn’t watch as they clashed. She curled up and closed her eyes, afraid of seeing the fight. The sound of it alone was terrifying.

  “Run,” Kearn said and she wanted to, only she wasn’t strong enough. She could barely walk.

  “Stay right there,” Kyran shouted and she looked at him. “Do not believe a word he says. That is not me!”

  Amber stared at them both, catching glimpses of their faces as they fought, punching and kicking, moving so quickly it was hard for her to keep up. She didn’t know what to do or who to believe. Conflict reigned in her blood. She watched them, trying to figure everything out.

  “This is an illusion, Amber, and you know it is,” Kyran said and she shook her head. She wouldn’t believe him. He was a liar and he had hurt her.

  “Run, Amber, get out of here. Leave us alone,” Kearn said and looked at her, his eyes pleading her as much as her blood was. She pressed her hand to her chest and then gasped when Kyran punched him, sending him crashing to the ground. He was on his feet again in an instant, growling and throwing himself at his brother.

  “Do not listen to him, Amber! Listen to your blood.” Kyran threw Kearn across the room again, shattering the plaster on the far wall.

  Amber did. She focused on her blood just as she had been practicing and tried to open a connection to the real Kearn. It was hard to tell who was who even in her blood. She wasn’t any good at this. She couldn’t tell, couldn’t get the myriad of feelings in it straight.

  Kearn threw himself at Kyran, knocking him down and pinning him to the ground. She couldn’t watch as he hit him, knocking his head back and forth, bloodying it with a quick succession of punches.

  Her heart ached.

  Panic filled her.

  What if she was wrong? What if Kearn really was Kyran and Kyran really was Kearn? She had to do something. She had to find out the truth.

  It hit her like a freight train and her head snapped around to face them.

  “Tell me something only you know, Kearn,” she said and then realised that she really hadn’t thought her plan through. What would Kearn know that Kyran didn’t, but that she would actually know herself?

  Kyran forced Kearn across the room, throwing him with nothing more than a wave of his hands, and got to his feet.

  He turned to her, his blue eyes shining with regret.

  “I killed my pregnant fiancée… and the child was Kyran’s.”

  Those words fell like lead on the room, causing immediate silence. A sense of anger and disbelief filled her blood. She looked at Kearn. The expression of sheer horror on his face was enough to confirm that it was his feelings, and that he hadn’t known.

  Amber immediately reached for Kyran and was in his arms the moment their fingers touched. He held her close, cradling her against his chest, and ran out of the room. The lights in the hall outside came on, illuminating a wide gallery. Cold wet air blasted in through the broken windows, tousling the torn curtains, and most of the plaster on the walls was either missing or fractured. He leapt over a buckled and broken patch of the wooden floor and kept running. Was this the result of the explosions she had heard?

  “We have to get you out of here,” he said and she hoped that she had made the right decision. It felt wrong to be in Kyran’s arms. If she was mistaken, she had just signed her own death sentence. “I cannot risk fighting him alone, and with you here. I do not intend to break my promise to protect you.”

  The lights came on in a large room they passed through and Amber realised that it was his power doing it. Just as he had unlocked her door without a key, he could make the lights come on without having to flip the switch. As they reached a grand set of stairs and the foyer of the house, Kyran’s face began to change. The blue in his eyes faded to green, and his hair lengthened and turned silver.

  Amber threw her arms around Kearn’s neck and held on to him, tears running down her cheeks. She closed her eyes and didn’t let go. She would never let go.

  “Where are we going?” she breathed against his neck. He smelt like Kearn.

  “To my family’s estate. They will protect you while I take care of Kyran.” He paused and then held her tighter against him. He was trembling. “I almost lost you. I cannot… I will not risk that happening again. I need you, Amber.”

  She knew in her heart what he meant by those three words.

  He was
going to bite her.

  Before, she had been afraid of stepping into his world, but she wasn’t now. When she had realised that Kyran would make her into a vampire purely to spite Kearn, she had also realised how much she wanted to be Kearn’s forever.

  She wanted it more than anything.

  She had only known him a short while but she couldn’t imagine her life without him, and she didn’t want to spend only a few short years with him as a human. She wanted to spend centuries with him as a vampire. Kyran was wrong about Kearn. He wouldn’t treat her like other Nobles treated humans. He would dote on her, dedicating himself to her and loving her forever.

  The cold damp night air broke over her, drizzle saturating her hair and clothes. Kearn’s car was bright in the low light, parked near the Bentley that Kyran had forced her into. How far was it to the estate and whose house was this?

  She looked over her shoulder at the mansion. It was dark on the outside but lights on the inside marked the path of escape they had taken. She traced it back to where they ended. Kyran was still alive. He would come after them.

  There was a commotion from the other end of the building.

  “We must leave,” Kearn said. “The Huntingdon family will be out for blood. My brother played a dangerous game by holding them hostage.”

  “Will they kill him?” Amber whispered, too tired to raise her voice any louder. Kearn set her down in the passenger seat of his Audi and buckled her in.

  “No. Earl Huntingdon and the countess will forgive him. Kyran will convince them to join him in his fight for power. Lesser Nobles such as the Huntingdons and the Greystones are easily swayed.”

  “Greystone? Like the female Venator?”

  He nodded, closed her door, rounded the car and got into the driver’s side.

  “She was in league with Kyran.” Kearn started the car and reversed fast, spinning it around, and then drove away.

  Amber looked back over her shoulder at the house.

  “Was?” She frowned at the black Bentley. It couldn’t have been. Now that she was thinking about it, the driver had looked a little like the female Venator.