The Red Lily (Vampire Blood #2)(74)

He descended, piercing the flesh just above her breast which he'd plumped with a tight squeeze, shooting spine-numbing pain through her back. She closed her eyes, a tear slipping out the side and into her hair as she repeated over and over again the mantra that would keep her whole, if she survived.

Nikolai, Nikolai, Nikolai …

A spark lit inside her chest when she thought of him-fierce and strong-the small flame swirling in a circle as her fear burned into anger, building into a tempest of rage.

"So good," he said on a moan as he lifted up onto all fours and stared down at her. He chuckled. "What? It doesn't feel good? No worries. I'll make it feel good before it's all over. Once I'm full of your blood, we'll move on to your body." He trailed his tongue along his blood-reddened lips. "Fuck, if you don't taste like heaven. No wonder the former lieutenant was guarding you so well. Keeping you all to himself." He trailed a finger down her throat to the hollow between her collarbones then down between her breasts as if exploring his lover. But she wasn't his lover. He chuckled. "You know what's funny? I have the lieutenant's old job over all the royal Legionnaires. And here I am, enjoying his woman." 

The swirling flame in her chest blossomed, sending tendrils throughout her body, reaching through her arms and legs. At first, Sienna thought it an effect of his poisonous elixir, but this internal flame didn't constrict her with fear. Rather the opposite. It felt like a whisper on the wind in Silvane Forest, fanning the wildfire with her growing fury.

"The lieutenant is a traitor, darling. Just like you. Roaming the country to find sad little peasants to join your sad little cause."

His hand roamed down over her ribcage, sliding lower.

"There is only one penalty for traitors to the Varis Crown. And that is death. But the queen has grander plans for you. She must make an example of you for all the people to see."

He gripped the hem of her chemise where it had hiked to her knee and jerked it up to her waist. He rose up on his knees, gazing his fill.

"But until dawn, you are mine. My only restrictions are I cannot kill you. And so I won't." He lowered again to all fours and walked lower down her body, holding her gaze. "But I will slake my thirst." He lifted her leg with a hand at the crook of her knee, then grazed his nose down her inner thigh, inhaling deep. "Oh yes," he said on a groan. "I need a bit more of this honey-blood."

Sienna cringed and closed her eyes, her mind awash with the friendly flames licking inside her body. He clenched a hold on her leg and bit into the fleshy part of her inner thigh with a reverberating growl, sucking deep. His slurping moans rolled into one another.

Sienna pushed outward the fire burning in her gut, letting her rage reverberate through her body, rushing through her blood. Volkov suddenly gagged and pulled away, choking on her blood, which dribbled from his mouth. He screamed and rolled onto the bed.

"Volkov! What happened?" Boris was at his side, pulling him up by the shoulders.

"It burns!" Volkov cried out, gripping and clawing at his throat. "It burns … water."

Boris let him go and poured a glass of water from the pitcher on the table, but Volkov crumbled to the floor in agony. Another vampire jerked the door open and scanned the room to find Volkov on the floor.

"Help me!" commanded Boris. "Let's get him to his room."

"What happened?"

"I don't know." They each took one side and lifted him to his feet. "He just started screaming that it burns."

As they dragged him from the room, Volkov jerked his head in her direction with a wicked glare. "You bitch. What did you do to me?" His voice sounded hoarse and dry.

"You wanted to swallow my fire," she said, still immobile on the bed. "And so you have."

"You'll pay, witch."

They pulled him into the corridor and slammed the door shut, bolting it locked from the outside. Sienna stared at the arched ceiling. The flames within dimmed. She ached from his bites and the toxic elixir he'd poured inside of her. Her body was weak from his poison and his pain, but her spirit was strong.

She didn't know or understand where the flames came from, though their heat felt like the bright sun shining through the black oaks of her forest. Her entire body tingled with the hint of magic.

"Thank you," she whispered though she wasn't sure to whom.

As the minutes ticked by into hours, she repeated the mantra to strengthen her spirit for the punishment-whatever it might be-which would come at dawn.

Nikolai, Nikolai, Nikolai …





Chapter Twenty-One

The one thing Nikolai didn't account for was vampires using gold against vampires. It was the weapon the humans in the Black Lily had amassed to fight their immortal enemy. Why it shocked him that the queen would create her own weapons using the one element that weakened vampires should be no surprise.