Bloodlust

24



DECLAN WAS GOING TO DIE.

No—please. Not like this.

I tried to fight him, but it was too late. My arms fell slackly to my sides as his bite paralyzed me. Declan hadn’t been a vampire long enough to learn how to take away the pain, I wasn’t sure if any vampire could now that I’d been claimed by Matthias, so this hurt like hell. Instead, I was numbed by knowing what this meant. Pain was actually the last thing on my mind.

I felt cold, sickening fear as he drank from me. I couldn’t do a damn thing to stop this from happening.

It was too late anyway.

When he released me, we stared at each other in shock. My dark blood was on his lips. He touched it and looked down at his fingertips as the realization of what he’d just done sank in. “F*ck. I’m so sorry, Jill.”

I reached for him. “Declan—no—”

He convulsed in pain and fell hard to the ground on his knees.

I clamped my hand over my mouth to keep from screaming, but the sound still wrenched from my throat. I waited in terror to see him explode into fiery ash and scatter around me as the nanny had only a minute ago.

And there was nothing I could do, nothing I could say, that would change this. The man I loved was going to die and I’d never see him again, never touch him again, never kiss him again, and—

And he was still here.

In horrible pain.

But still here.

I collapsed to the ground next to him and touched his face. It was solid and real and this wasn’t just a hallucination.

Kristoff crossed his arms as he watched us. “Exactly as I thought. Your blood won’t kill him. It may in the future, but so close to his siring, he is still strong enough to resist.”

I struggled to breathe. “What are you talking about?”

“Dhampyrs make very strong vampires. It’s one of the reasons they aren’t normally allowed to be sired. I wasn’t sure just how strong he was. Now I know.”

I was in shock, sickened by what I’d just experienced firsthand. It fought with the relief I felt that Declan was still alive. “So you made him drink my blood as some sort of experiment?”

“Yes, exactly.”

Declan slowly recovered from the heartburn from hell. He pulled me against him into a tight hug.

My arms went around his shoulders. “Declan . . .”

“Shh, Jill.” He whispered in my ear.

He slid something down the front of my dress. It was his knife. It cut me as it pressed against my skin, but I tried not to flinch. He wasn’t trying to stab me with it, just transfer it to me. He was giving me a weapon to protect myself with.

He held my gaze, but didn’t say anything. I didn’t think he was currently capable of making full sentences. The intense pain he’d felt a minute ago was still in his gaze.

“So romantic.” Kristoff shook his head. “Matthias, the woman you’ve claimed seems to belong to another. Doesn’t that bother you?”

“You couldn’t have known that would work,” Matthias said flatly, ignoring the question. “Declan could still have died.”

“But he didn’t. I’ll take that as a sign of good things to come.” He turned. “So, Stephen, as you can see, Jillian is an admirable weapon. Just not when it comes to former dhampyrs.”

“She seems to be.”

“She’ll be impossible to resist for your male and female enemies alike.”

“Actually, all I saw was a weak-minded female and two fledglings whom you had to influence to bite her.”

Frustration slid behind Kristoff’s gaze. “Declan, bring her closer.”

Declan’s face tensed and he rose from the ground, wiping the back of his hand over his mouth to clear away the remainder of my tainted blood. He pulled me to my feet. It had only been two bites—three if I counted the guard from earlier—but it was enough blood loss for me to feel weaker than I had before. I hoped like hell I wouldn’t pass out. I needed my head working right.

Declan pulled me closer to his father and Stephen. Stephen stiffened as I got within six feet of him and hunger branched across his face.

“Yes,” he hissed. “I see what you mean. Her scent is dangerous.”

“It is. She’s dangerous even to me, aren’t you, Jillian?” Kristoff grasped my face and brought me close to him, until only a couple inches separated us. I watched as he fought against his hunger, his lips curling into a tense smile. “It’s a shame that you don’t have the killer instinct to go along with your deadly blood.”

I stared into his face that looked so much like Matthias’s. “You’re wrong about that.”

He raised a pale eyebrow. “Am I?”

I stabbed him in the throat with Declan’s knife, jamming the blade deep enough that I felt it scrape against bone.

I was sure this hadn’t been Declan’s intention in giving it to me. But the opportunity had presented itself, and I’d taken it. After all, I’d never been one to follow the rules.

Kristoff pushed me back from him so hard that I flew across the room, landing hard on my back and smacking my head against the floor. He grappled for the handle of the knife sticking out of his larynx and pulled it out, which produced a spray of blood. I could see the surprise in his furious and pained gaze.

The woman he’d thought lacked the killer instinct just stabbed him in the throat.

It was a start.

With the knife now clutched in his hand he rushed at me, all civility and calm, kingly exterior gone. He was going to kill me and be done with it. Forget using me as a weapon to hand over to his Amarantos buddy. Now he just wanted me dead.

I scrambled back, crablike, on the ground as he approached.

Declan stepped between us and I looked up at him with surprise. His hands were fisted at his sides.

Kristoff coughed and sputtered but didn’t speak. Couldn’t speak. It was the main reason I’d aimed for his throat—so he couldn’t give Declan any more orders. We now had a window of opportunity before his healing kicked in and mended the damage I’d done.

Declan’s shoulders tensed. “You wanted Jill to be a killer for you, but I’m the killer. Of vampires. And despite what you’ve done to me, nothing’s changed.”

He punched Kristoff in his already damaged throat. Kristoff recovered enough to slice the knife into Declan’s shoulder, although I was sure he’d been aiming for his heart. Declan snarled and pulled the knife out, throwing it to the side.

“I can’t kill you,” he growled. “I don’t give a f*ck whose idea everything was to start with, you’re the one with the power at the moment. And you need to be stopped. And there’s only one way I can think of right now.”

He grabbed his father by the front of his shirt and dragged him across the floor. Kristoff fought hard against him—their strengths were nearly equal to each other. Declan didn’t have an easy time of it, but he reached the front door and kicked it open.

“No! Declan, don’t!” I screamed.

He ignored me, instead launching both of them out into the morning sun.

I watched in horror as they disappeared from view before I scrambled up off the floor and staggered across the foyer just as I heard a scream.

It was Kristoff. His eyes were on fire.

I looked frantically for Declan. He stood in the sunlight, his gaze on me. He was squinting and grimacing against the brightness, shielding his face with his hand, but he was unhurt.

I let out a ragged sob of relief. Kristoff said himself that dhampyrs made strong vampires. I thought he’d meant physical strength, but he’d meant in what they could withstand. Sunlight was one of those things. My blood was another.

Kristoff might be immortal, but he could still be burned—it just wouldn’t kill him.

Clamping his right hand over his burnt eyes, Kristoff stumbled back into the house, feeling his way. He fell to his knees just inside. His throat had begun to heal.

“Jade . . .” he managed to say. “Need . . . her blood.”

The red-haired dhampyr was pressed up against the wall a little down the hallway. She was still holding Sara in her arms.

“Jade.” Kristoff’s ruined voice was painful to hear.

“Yes, your majesty?” she replied.

“Blood . . . now.”

She shook her head. “No more blood. I won’t give my blood to anyone else. I don’t like how it makes me feel.”

I gasped and pressed back against Declan, who’d also reentered the house, as Stephen walked swiftly toward us with the knife now in his hand.

“Stephen,” Kristoff struggled to say. “Dhampyr . . . blood. I . . . need to heal . . . my eyes.”

Stephen didn’t reply. Matthias drew closer to us. I was very worried that Stephen would turn and thrust the blade into his chest.

He didn’t.

Matthias looked down at his brother. His eyes might be blackened, but they were still there, unlike Alex’s, which had been burned right out of his head. Kristoff had only been in the sunlight for a few moments.

“Matthias—” I began.

He met my gaze. “It’s okay, Jillian.”

“It’s okay? What are you talking about?” I shook my head, my eyes going to the knife in Stephen’s hand. And I was surprised when he handed this knife to Matthias hilt first. “What’s going on?”

Stephen continued to study Kristoff, who knelt in pain in front of us. “You’ll have to put his clothes on quickly.”

Matthias nodded. “I will.”

“I tried to kill as many of the guards as I could earlier. Anyone left—including the blood servants—won’t know the difference when they next see you.”

“Agreed.”

“This one”—Stephen pushed at Kristoff with the toe of his shoe—“wasn’t outside long enough to do any lasting damage. His eyes will eventually recover even without the dhampyr’s blood.”

Kristoff looked as confused as I felt. “What is this?”

There was disdain in Stephen’s expression. “You thought you were strong after just being awakened, but you really should have taken a couple of weeks before jumping back into things with both feet. Unfortunately you jumped into an ocean with sharks out for your blood.”

Kristoff pulled his hands away from his burnt eyes and I grimaced to see how bad they looked. “I . . . offered you . . . Jillian.”

“I have no use for a woman with poisoned blood. If I need someone assassinated, I’ll send a professional who knows how to use a silver stake. Much less messy or unpredictable.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You don’t?” Matthias said. “Then let me explain. From the moment I sensed an uprising from my subjects, I knew my days as king were numbered. They were fools to believe that you would be any better than I was. I set my plan into motion right back then. If I couldn’t be king, if you were the only one they would accept as their leader, then so be it.”

I felt the cold realization of what he was saying sink in. “You’re going to take his place, aren’t you?”

His gaze moved to me. “That’s right.”

“And you planned this the whole time.”

“I did.” His jaw was tight. “Things have not gone entirely according to plan. I meant to use your blood to weaken him. But in the end, all worked out as it should.”

“A success.” Stephen nodded.

“You were working together.” My head throbbed at the sheer magnitude of Matthias’s plan to reclaim his throne. “And Alex—what about Alex?”

Matthias’s lips thinned. “I spoke to him on the phone a short time ago. It was his idea, knowing Kristoff hated him and that he’d likely think Stephen would be on his side as the new leader of a powerful organization of vampires. But what Kristoff didn’t realize was that Stephen and I have been friends for some time now. A lot can change in thirty years.”

I felt stunned by all of this. “Alex agreed to die. For you.”

Pain slid behind his pale gray gaze. “Yes. And I’ll never forget his sacrifice.”

That was why he’d bitten me knowing what would happen. He was giving his life to help Matthias, someone he cared deeply for despite their challenges.

It had all been a part of Matthias’s master plan. Everything—from not fighting harder against Meyers when he took the key, to claiming me, to Alex’s death, and everything in between. And now he was going to take the place of his identical twin on the throne. He’d be the king again even though everyone would think he was his brother.

It was the ultimate disappearing act.

“Declan—” Kristoff’s throat had begun to heal up so his words held more strength. “I command you to—”

Declan shoved a cloth into his temporarily blind father’s mouth and held his arms tightly behind his back. “That’s enough from you, I think.”

Stephen glanced at Declan. “Help me take him into the other room so Matthias can change into his clothes.”

Declan glanced at me. He looked as troubled as I was with this latest turn of events. But he finally gave a firm nod. “Fine.”

He dragged his father back into the throne room with Matthias and Stephen following after him. That left me in the foyer all alone with a bleeding neck and severe shell shock.

Smiling widely, Jade approached me slowly with Sara cradled in her arms. “I love babies.”

I stared at her for a long moment. “I’m happy for you.”





WHEN MATTHIAS CAME TO FIND ME, I HAD TO TAKE A second look to make sure it wasn’t his brother.

“Shit,” I said under my breath. “Matthias, this is—”

“You’ll have to call me Kristoff from now on. Only a few of my trusted circle will know the truth.”

I rubbed my hand over my forehead. “This is too much for me to wrap my head around.”

“All you need to understand is that everything turned out the way it was supposed to. Kristoff was too much of a threat.”

“A threat who was following your original plans.”

His expression darkened. “I’m not the same as I was long ago. My priorities have shifted.”

“And that makes you the better king.”

“Yes.” He frowned. “You look more upset about all of this than I would have expected. Had you grown fond of Kristoff?”

I laughed and it sounded vaguely hysterical. “No. No fondness here. I’ll assume he has a date with a coffin in the basement?”

“Does that bother you?”

“Not as much as I might have thought.”

I’d waited here by the front door silently for the last ten minutes, trying to make sense of everything I’d just witnessed and been through. I was still searching for answers. Maybe there weren’t any. All I knew was that Kristoff’s plans had been indefinitely put on hold. While Matthias wasn’t perfect and he’d made some serious mistakes and poor judgment calls over the years, he was the only one I wanted to be leading the vampires currently in existence. If that was enough to keep the majority of them well behaved and out of sight, then it was good enough for me.

Matthias stayed out of the sliver of sunlight in the mostly shadowed foyer. “I won’t tear out my brother’s heart as he did to me. When he falls unconscious from lack of blood hopefully this time he’ll stay that way.”

I paced to the door, looking out at the ocean through the small shuttered window next to it. “If he could read your mind, why didn’t he see any of this coming?”

He smiled, and I could see the tips of his sharp fangs. “He only saw what I wanted him to. I’ve been preparing myself a long time for this possibility. My mind is strong, stronger than I let on, and I could shield many things from him and not have him realize I was doing it.”

I bit my bottom lip. “I guess I should feel privileged that you chose me to be a pawn in such a huge game of chess.”

He touched my chin to raise my gaze to his. “You’re not a pawn. If this was really a chessboard, you’d be the queen.”

I blinked. “I don’t want to be the queen.”

He was quiet for a moment. “Then you need to leave, Jillian. Take your nieces and don’t return. Your life is away from here. But if you ever change your mind, you’ll know where to find me.”

“The bond holds between us, even though the drama is over.”

He backed away from me to lean against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. “I’m sure there will be plenty of drama in the future—especially if my ruse is ever discovered. But I think I have plenty of time.”

I looked at him, from his dark blond hair to the stolen outfit he now wore. “You really think you can impersonate him?”

He looked down at himself. “We’re identical.”

“I can tell the difference.”

He raised a pale brow. “I don’t doubt it.”

“Your majesty!” A male voice called from the other end of the foyer. It was Meyers. “I heard a disturbance earlier, but it looks as if everything’s under control now. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Yes. Come here.” Matthias’s voice was steady.

Meyers did as he was asked and glanced around. “Where is everyone?”

“Gone.”

“Gone?” He looked confused. “Gone where?”

“Same place you’re going.” Matthias reached out, grabbed Meyers’s head, and twisted it sharply. I heard the crack as his neck broke. He fell to the ground in a heap. Matthias looked at my shocked expression and shrugged. “I did warn him I’d kill him for betraying me. Why wait?”

I looked down at the dead man, surprised I didn’t feel any twinge of regret that I’d witnessed another murder. Either I was becoming seriously desensitized or he’d totally deserved that. Probably a bit of both. “Remind me not to get on your bad side.”

“That would be very difficult.” His gaze moved to his right and he watched as Declan approached us. “Time for you to go, Jillian.”

My throat felt thick. The prospect of leaving Matthias was harder than I thought it would be, even knowing everything I now did about him. He was a deceptive, power-hungry, vengeful vampire. But there was so much more to him than that, and I felt it strongly in our bond. There was as much good in Matthias as there was bad. I knew Sara would be safe in her father’s care, there was no question in my mind about that.

Declan stopped a couple feet away from me. “Jill?”

I looked at him, more relief flowing through me that he was alive after drinking my blood. I’d been so afraid that was the end. “We need to take Meg and Julie back to my sister.”

“We can do that.” He turned to face Matthias. “Is there a problem here?”

Matthias looked at the former dhampyr for a long, drawn-out moment. “No problem. Take the children. I promise no one will try to stop you.”

“What about Jade?”

“She’s under my care now. No one will abuse her again. And I think—despite her shortcomings—that she could make an excellent nanny for Sara.”

Declan let out a hoarse laugh. “You might be right about that.”

“As you leave here, try to keep one very important thing in mind.”

“What’s that?”

He smiled. “Jillian’s a very dangerous woman.”

“Trust me, I’m well aware.”

Noah staggered into the foyer, holding his head between his hands. “What the hell happened?” He looked at Matthias and his eyes widened. “Oh, shit. I mean—Kristoff, your majesty, what can I do to assist you?”

The vampire king studied his most recent fledgling with amusement. “I’m not Kristoff.”

Noah glanced at me. “I knew that. I totally knew that.”