Page 23 of Taken By the Blood God

“To cut my arm so the blood drips into the cup and then you can drink it,” she answered, her tone snarky and sharp.

I almost shuddered at her suggestion. “No, absolutely not. That is not how I drink blood.” It would cool too quickly and become unpalatable.

“Then, how do you drink?—”

When she saw me staring at her neck, she winced. “Seriously?”

“Your wrist will work just as well,” I replied with a shrug.

“If you don’t need a knife, I’m assuming you have another way to get the blood.”

I smiled at her and focused on letting my fangs descend.

For once, Minerva was rendered speechless. She stared at me, her mouth open and her eyes wide.

“Are you a vampire?” she asked.

I shook my head. “No. But we both know magic likes to adapt. As I increased in power and took more blood offerings, I grew these. My power seemed to know what I needed to ascend, and it was provided.”

“Okay, so how do we do this?” she asked.

I pushed myself into a sitting position and gestured to the space next to me on the mattress.

“Have a seat and give me your hand.”

Chapter

Eleven

Minerva

What was one more bad decision? I’d been making them every day since this blood god had come home with me.

I perched on the edge of the bed next to him, careful to keep space between us.

Talant held out his hand, his bronze eyes steady as they met mine. My muscles coiled, but I put my hand in his, resting my fingertips against his palm, barely the whisper of a touch. The logical part of my mind was screaming at me not to do this, but my magic insisted this was necessary. No, not necessary. Right. This was right.

His fingers were gentle as they closed around mine. His thumb swept over the inside of my wrist, running a light line from one side to the other. The simple touch shouldn’t have been enough to make my entire body shiver, but it did.

I expected Talant to say something arrogant or flirtatious, but he only looked at me with his light brown eyes, the golden hue shot through the flecks of a red so dark it was the color of garnet. His jaw was hard, and his nostrils flared as he stared at my face. I wondered if I looked as nervous as I felt.

“Will it hurt?” I asked.

His expression softened. “No. I promise it won’t hurt. It will only take a few moments. When I’m done, the wound will heal over on its own.”

I looked down at where his hand cradled my fingers, noticing how dark his olive skin looked against mine.

“Good to know,” I murmured.

“Are you sure about this, little witch?”

I lifted my eyes to his before I answered. “Not really, but I said I would help you free your brother, so I’m making the decision to give you what you need.”

“I—”

“Talant, will this regenerate your power?” I asked, interrupting him with a point-blank question.

His mouth snapped shut before he whispered, “Yes.”

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