Page 107 of A Bond Beyond Blood

“Oh, I’m well aware of the goings on of vampire politics.FiveLords”—I snorted at that—“how horribly self-important of you.Lords?Really?”I rolled my eyes as I continued, “Butyou, Winnie, you’ve been just as rotten as I expected, convincing humans to vote and work against their own interests.Aren’t you a clever little beast?”I curled my lip and snapped my tongue in disgust.“Deplorable, really.I raised you better than that.”

I sighed as my gaze drifted toward the fireplace again, and memories of the man I’d found in that shipyard all those centuries ago filled my mind.Broken not just physically but emotionally, deserted and alone after everyone he’d known and loved had been taken by the sickness, he’d been on the brink of succumbing to either sickness, starvation, or grief when I saved his life.

Selflessly, I’d breathed new life into him with the gift of my blood, sired a vampire when I’d never had any intention to do so.

The only one of his kind, the only one of thisline.

“Oh, how you’ve disappointed me.”Shaking my head, I pushed the memories aside.Dwelling on the past was pointless when the vampire beside me now had planned a coup to take me down.

Ah, the coup.His festering hate for humankind.

“We never could agree on that, could we?”I asked without turning away from the fire.“That humans have every right to live freely, just as we do.”I sighed.“You really do leave me with little choice, old friend.”With a sigh, I straightened my shoulders, pushed the old disappointment aside, and braced myself to proceed.Kingship truly was a terribly messy thing at times.

Heavy is the head, and all that.

“Get on your knees for your king, traitor.”

Winston’s body jerked as he was forced to go against his desires and slip down from the chair, kneeling before me like the king that I was.Am.

I tilted my head as I looked down at his wavy black hair, perfectly styled on his head as always, then I shoved my fingers into it and tugged, forcing him to look up at me.

Motion to my left caught my attention as one of his brave little soldiers charged toward me, but I held Winston’s head with one hand and batted away the foolish vampire soldier with the other.He slammed against the far wall and fell to the floor.

“Fall in line,”I growled.“All of you.”Returning my attention to Winston, I said, “Your hunger for power will be your demise.”

He snarled, baring his fangs at me, and I chuckled as I wagged my finger at him.

“Such a naughty vampire you are, Winnie.I think I’ll collect those cuspids when this is all over.”

He closed his mouth but his fangs still protruded angrily against his bottom lip and the whites of his eyes had gone completely crimson.

“How many have you already enslaved?”I asked.

“All of them,” he growled.“They just don’t know it yet.”

I hummed as I nodded.Just as I suspected.Under the attractive guise of cooperation and cohabitation, the only outcome of this treaty would be the eventual annihilation of the human race—although it wouldn’t be bydeath, but byservitude.

“They are afood source, Elias,” Winston growled, “nothing more.”

Well, we certainly disagreed on that, didn’t we?

“You’ll have to take down the entire council, the people we’ve positioned,” he sputtered, “humans—”

Unfazed by his ramblings, I tugged his head back until he gagged from the bending press of his windpipe.“Hush now, Winnie.”

Decades had passed since I last had this argument with the former head of my guard—and I was still just as bored with it as I was back then.With a sigh, I snapped my fingers.“Right, then.I see time has only strengthened your ill-formed opinion on our human brethren.Pity, that.I had hoped we might have a happy reunion and come to an amicable agreement—”

“You’re weak,” he snarled.“You’ve never been fit to reign!”

I raised my brow in mock affront.“Such bold words from the one kneeling at my very feet.”With every word my tone grew deeper until I’d growled the last word right into his face.

The whoosh of displaced air caught my attention a split second before something pierced my shoulder and pain spread like poison through my chest and down my arm.My fangs extended and I breathed deeply through my nose, retracting them almost as quickly as they’d appeared.

“We are nothing without civility, am I right?”I asked Winston.

His eyes were wide, mouth still sputtering for air as his head remained bent backward at an awkward angle.With a deep breath, I smiled as I rose to my full height once more, then focused on the spear sticking out of my shoulder.“Well.”Looking down at Winnie, I commanded, “Remain still,” then I released him and chuckled when he didn’t even right his head so that he could better breathe.Oh, I had missed the power of my own voice.

Bracing myself, I yanked the weapon from my shoulder and dropped it to the floor, scanning the eyes of Winston’s guards until I found—

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