“If you were older than twenty-five, I’d call that wisdom,” he said.
King Julius could call it whatever he wanted. I wasn’t a normal twenty-two-year-old because I wasn’t a normal nine-year-old. I wasn’t raised in an everyday world.
“Then again,” he said, voice softening. “Grief does that to us.”
It was eerie how well he could read people—it couldn’t just be me.
“Another question,” he declared, making me jump.
My stomach churned. Ugh, too much pizza.
Dammit.
“You bought my son from me,” the king said, his eyes narrowing. “Why?”
“To be clear, I don’t see what I did as owning him,” I answered. “I see it as ensuring his freedom.”
“You own my son.” He lifted a shoulder. “In my day, we sold people all the time.”
That… really hadn’t changed in Vissimo culture from what I could tell.
But crap.
His question required an answer that could offend him. This was the obstacle that prevented any real relationship forming between us.
“I don’t like the way you treat Kyros like dirt,” I said, opting for the truth.
He grinned, and I ground my teeth.
“Put your claws away,” the king said. “Your past actions warrant that I offer you an explanation.”
What’s happening?
He settled back. “Kyros will struggle with his powers always, Miss Le Spyre. Like humans, his mind is most flexible until a certain age. For humans, that’s twenty-five. For Vissimo, around two hundred and twenty. The biggest battle my son will face in his immortality will be a constant one, a siege. His power is unlike anything I have seen. His strength rivals the stories of the greatest of our kind—mere myths to us now. Since his birth—game aside—that has been a constant concern for his mother and me. Due to that concern, I have pushed him relentlessly from birth—knowing my ability to contain his loss of control had an expiry date. I humiliate him. I hurt him. I dangle the things he wants most just out of his reach. I demand more than perfection from my heir because the world could be left in ruins if he ever loses control.”
My jaw dropped open as I thought back over the interactions with King Julius.
Refusing his permission for the exchanges.
Choking me in front of Kyros.
Flaring his eyes to push my body to the limits, in front of Kyros.
Forcing his son to watch the video of the fight with Theodore over and over again.
He did it out of love and devotion.
Absolute love. He feared having to kill Kyros.
I understood.
“What about when you found out about Sandra Hoyt?” I asked him.
He tipped his head back. “No. Then, I was going to kill you. I’m an alpha, too, so it was good practice. It’s not often my control gets tested anymore.”
Phew.
“Six hundred years and even I am not infallible. But two things stopped me.” His endless blue eyes settled upon me as he straightened. “My son would have lost control if I killed you.”
There was something else? Because that was the only thing I’d considered.
“Secondly, I had an inkling you would still prove worthy.”
I didn’t say anything, unsure how to respond, but my curiosity couldn’t be denied. Who knew when King Julius would want a deep and meaningful again? This was probably a once every decade occurrence. “Why?”
“Your blood and Kyros’s sings, Miss Le Spyre,” the king replied. “I do not know you well. I doubt you know yourself well. I do know my son. A partner worthy of him must be extraordinary indeed.”
I tried not to fidget.
“Kyros could have told you this if you’d asked him, by the way,” Julius said, his lips twitching. “As much as he enjoyed your feistiness each time I humiliated him.”
He did?
I’d felt terrible for him, and he’d liked my response. My eyes narrowed.
“As much as he enjoyed being purchased by you, I’d wager,” the king added. “This is what happens to strong men when a strong woman knows her worth.”
Kyros and I would be having words about the owning thing. I’d freed over two thousand vampires in direct opposition of that concept. “So you’ll need to continue being mean to him,” I said, wrinkling my nose.
“No,” the ancient vampire said, lips quirking again. “I don’t believe so.”
He stood, towering over me.
I clutched the pizza box to hide the sudden shaking of my hands.
“In one-hundred-and-fifty years, I managed to make my son lose control four times in his first three decades of living. Most of those in his very first years. Since knowing you, he has lost control at least three times by my count. I have high hopes that trend will continue, especially,” he tapped my temple, “as you can calm him down also.”
I stared. What? I wasn’t taking over that role! Not happening.
“I couldn’t have planned your trip to Gingers to see Gina better myself,” the king said. “Well done.”
That was one time!
…And then when Gerome compelled me. That wasn’t my fault.
Betraying his family.
Shit. I totally drove Kyros mad.
The thought only made me smile. He was so screwed.
The ruler turned to leave but paused when he reached the path. “True mate of my eldest son.”
“Yeah?” I’d nearly congratulated myself on getting through the conversation alive.
That’d learn me.
“Kyros seems to believe you don’t wish to become Vissimo. With a reminder of what will happen to Kyros at your death, I suggest you reconsider.”
Four months apart had removed a lot of my last doubts. The time was spent processing everything I hadn’t had time to process since entering Live Right.
The concept of fearing what Kyros and I shared was ludicrous to me now. The obstacles between us, insignificant.
I wasn’t human as it was.
Leaving Kyros alone in this life made me feel sick. “I have to be invited.”
The mating ritual book still sat in my underground office, the chapter on the seventh exchange unread. Fernando and Lauren only detailed the first six exchanges as I never expected more would happen.
The king studied me. “Welcoming my son’s mate, a formidable power in her own right, to join him in immortality and one day rule by his side is my honour. I invite you to join my clan, Basilia Le Spyre, and my family as a Vissimo.” The ruler rested a hand against his heart and inclined his head to me.
My mouth dried.
He did? He was seriously asking me to join his family? For real?
What was I meant to say to that? There was probably a formal response.
“Be sure it is what you want,” King Julius said, not waiting for my fumbling reply. “There’s no going back.”
27
Kyros had demanded a two-day settlement period to my decision in case I got cold feet.
Glad to see winning Ingenium hadn’t robbed him of his business sense.
I’d dragged every detail of the process from him and his siblings after consulting my various books back at the estate. All without losing contact with Kyros for longer than it took to shower—that took skill.
“Basilia? Can I have a word?” the queen asked.
We’d gathered at the king and queen’s mansion for the transition ceremony, and she was dressed in a sheer sarong and nipple pasties with tassels.
“Uh, sure,” I said, squeezing from between Lalitta and Francesca.
Lalitta gave me a little push. Francesca didn’t budge an inch to help. So things were pretty much the same now Ingenium was over.
I followed the queen to a small lounge I’d never been inside. Kyros tended toward practical space. His parents did not. This place was a sprawling maze that made no sense—unless it was a representation of King Julius’s mind.
She tugged me to sit beside he
r. “I wanted to talk about the transition.”
The queen was the perfect counterpart to the king, really—in terms of her perfect nipples and how she balanced him. She popped up sporadically to smooth situations and keep the peace in the family. I’d gained acceptance from her and Angelica right at the start, simply for being the force that reminded Kyros he needed to live, but I hadn’t spent much one-on-one time with her.
“We haven’t had much time getting to know each other,” she said in her sultry voice.
“I was thinking the same. There hasn’t really been time.”
She leaned back. “We’ll have nothing but time after the transition.”
If I survived it. Because that wasn’t assured.
You will, Kyros’s furious thoughts burst into my thoughts.
His fury wasn’t directed at me but the situation. He was tied in more knots over the transition than me.
An alpha’s blood was necessary to trigger the change, but survival depended on the strength of the other six vampires involved. There was surely a connection between the seven blood exchanges in the mating ritual and the seven Vissimo needed to change a human, but no one knew what that connection was. Of course, there was a clan dedicated to solving the mystery.
It would have sucked to be the guinea pig for figuring out the answer, was my opinion on the matter.
The queen took my hand. “I wanted to speak with you about my grandchildren.”
My brain slammed on the brakes. I choked on my own spit. “What grandchildren?”
Oh my god, does Kyros have kids?
None, my beauty. Mother’s scaring her off. Intercept.
Kyros started moving through the house toward us.
“Any children you may have with my eldest son,” she clarified.
I blew out a breath and then realised I shouldn’t relax yet. “I’m twenty-one, Queen Titania. I can’t say that’s on the radar for me yet.”
“Which is why I must talk to you.” Her eyes were so beautiful, like the meadow inside a teardrop. It was no wonder her children were the most perfect creations I’d ever seen.
She blinked, glancing down. “Vissimo don’t reproduce easily. It has taken me three hundred years of copious sex with many men to birth two children.”
Kyros turned on his heel at the mention of copious sex with many men.
I withheld my grin. Just.
The queen sighed. “My point is that you’ll only have one sexual partner because mates are unable to share each other,” the beautiful vampire continued. “I couldn’t rest easy without telling you how unlikely conceiving will be for you. False hope in motherhood is the greatest challenge Vissimo females face. You will have an eternity with my son, yes, but you need to be aware that eternity may not include children.”
My ideal future had always included children. Two or three.
I was twenty-one, but I’d seen the veiled heartache within Vissimo women and men. Angelica was nearly two hundred years old and had never mentioned children. And she had a harem.
Yes, I wanted children with Kyros one day. If they didn’t come, I liked to think I could find joy in my nieces and nephews. Or maybe by helping human children in need. Kyros was enough, and that would always hold true, no matter the heartache I may feel in the future.
“I don’t understand eternity, Queen Titania, so I appreciate that what you’re saying is probably above my comprehension,” I answered. “Children aren’t on my radar yet. If I remain human, Kyros and I are incompatible. There may not be a high chance of conceiving once I’m Vissimo, but that’s more than zero chance.”
“There’s still time to have a child with a human male,” she said quietly.
She was telling me to sleep with another man.
“I wanted to present it as an option,” she added, spotting my shock.
Kyros’s guilt was heavy.
Why do you feel bad? I asked him.
Because a human male could give you children.
Not all the time. What makes you think I’d want children with anyone else?
He thought about that. You wouldn’t. The reply was accompanied by an arrogance that shoved aside every trace of guilt.
I mentally rolled my eyes.
“Any children I’m lucky enough to have will be fathered by Kyros,” I told the queen.
My mate’s purr vibrated down our connection sending a bolt of lust through me that coated my vision in white for several breaths.
The queen dipped her head. “Go into your next life knowing the odds.”
“Thank you, Queen Titania. I hope to.” I smiled.
She turned her head. “Someone has arrived.”
“Probably Gina,” I said. “That means everyone’s here.”
My request for Gina to be one of the seven vampires went down harder than a sack of wet shit.
I won the battle on the basis that Gina was as powerful as Safina, and my survival was therefore better assured.
I liked the Sundulus siblings, but none of them had reached maturity, so most weren’t strong enough to suit Kyros’s standards for my transition. I respected the path Gina chose to walk despite how and who she was raised by. And well… I wanted to bridge the divide between Fyrlia and Sundulus. The Fyrlia clan had merged with Sundulus and that process would go smoother if the opposing royals were seen to be getting along—or making an effort to get along.
I asked Gina two days ago. To my surprise, she gave me an instant yes.
“One last thing, daughter,” the queen said, twisting to grab something behind her.
I sucked in a breath at the endearment.
Daughter.
The word made me tremble inside.
You have parents again, my beauty, Kyros said.
One of his parents was fucking terrifying, but now I’d jumped through Julian’s hoops, I truly believed he’d protect me as ferociously as any of his children.
Like a father should.
And the queen just gave me a sex talk. Or encouraged me to have sex with a stranger and get pregnant… which I guessed was the opposite of a sex talk. Still, she’d talked with me to protect my heart.
I swallowed back the lump in my throat. I did have parents again.
Kyros started walking toward us again, drawn by my urge to cry.
A gift bag was deposited on my lap.
“What’s this?” I asked the queen.
The queen touched my knee, standing. “A welcome to the family present. Join us when you are ready.”
She left the lounge room, and I opened the bag.
Oh my god.
I drew out white lingerie—a bralette with a maze of silk ties, a tiny G-banger, garters, and stockings. I hadn’t had a mother-in-law before, but this seemed like an unusual gift to receive from one.
Kyros entered. He stilled when he saw what I held.
“Put it on,” he growled.
Laughter threatened to burst from my lips. I dropped the garments, resting my head back on the armrest. He placed his hands either side of my head and kissed me upside down.
“You want to see me in that tiny thong?” I asked breathlessly.
I wanted to drink my mate’s blood.
I wanted to claim him for eternity.
To wake beside him always.
Kyros choked, his green gaze blazing down into mine. “Stop thinking about blood or I’ll take you right now. We only have one chance to make you Vissimo.”
“Your mother gave me that lingerie.”
Horror blanketed his face and he reeled away.
I didn’t want to hurt Titania’s feelings by laughing, so I confined my thigh-slapping roar to my head, clutching my stomach when Kyros eyed the white scraps in disgust.
He was effectively turned off.
Placing the gift back in the bag, I stood and wrapped my arms around his neck.
“It’s time?” I nipped his bottom lip, swaying into him and groaning at the contact.
White edged my vision.
His
erection dug into my stomach.
Soon, we’d be able to touch without needing to make arrangements for a three-day thrall. Freedom to be naked with Kyros at every hour of the day.
Yes, please.
His mother had said my chances of conceiving were low.
I had a feeling Kyros and I would enjoy the practice.
He captured my mouth, splaying his hands across my bare upper back and ass. “I can’t think straight when you think like that, Basilia.”
His hands shook against me. I tucked my head under his chin, panting hard.
Are you ready, true mate? he asked, wrapping his arms around me.
I took a full breath, my heart never lighter or happier. I’m ready.
I’d dressed in a simple white silk gown with spaghetti straps. The material covered me from breasts to just below my knees.
I was spread out like Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man on a slab of cold graphite. The seven most powerful vampires I knew loomed over me. Their fangs were out.
The casual observer could mistake this for a virgin sacrifice.
They’d be wrong on two counts.
I frowned at Kyros. I don’t even get a chuckle for that one?
If he could think about anything other than the tiny risk I may not pull through the transition, he would have laughed.
Tough crowd.
Though I only had the urge to because I was borderline hysterical about what happened next. Turned out the decision was the easiest part of this.
Rory stood in line with my right arm. Vladymir was in line with my left. King Julius stood at my head beside Kyros. Gina was stationed at my left leg and Safina at my right one. Laurel was positioned by my stomach after Kyros decreed the males were only allowed to bite my top half.
My mate was torn between glaring at his father, Rory, and Vladymir, but seemed mostly focused on the Viking.
I can always kill him after.
I didn’t laugh at his thought because, truthfully, this would be one of the hardest things my mate would ever do. Now that I had a mate and we’d completed more than four exchanges, it was impossible for me to forge connections to any of the gathered vampires, but Kyros had to allow six other Vissimo to drink my blood and feed me their blood.
Death Game: Supernatural Battle (Vampire Towers Book 3) Page 29