Page 31 of Dark Reckoning
“Not yet, it's in my portion of the grimoire,” Adrian said.
“Mine too,” I added.
Adrian shot a glance at me. “Really? How come you didn't tell me?”
“Damn, baby, time has been moving nonstop the last three days. I discovered it when I was looking for a spell to bind us to Salino without us having to fuck him,” I said.
“Oh, it wasn't a priority at the time, I get it,” Adrian said with a sly smirk, because he'd been the one to tell me that there was no other way around it and he was right. We had to fuck Salino.
Salino made an offhanded gesture. “Well, in any case, you'll need to travel faster until you both learn that skill. Take my helicopter. It's located on the roof.”
“Will the other emperor's helicopter have somewhere to land?” Adrian asked.
“I have two helipads up there,” Salino said.
“Quick question, are you a pleasure feeder now?” I asked, thinking back to his recent feeding.
Salino smiled. “I'm whatever I want to be. I can feed on pleasure, pain, or fear. That is the power of the emperor.”
“Good to know,” I said.
“Do you want to experience what my pleasure bite feels like, Sage?” he asked.
“No, but if you ever bite me without my permission—”
“You are mine. I'll bite you when I want, I don't need your permission. Stop thinking that we're equal, child,” Salino said, then walked away. “I'm only going to have so much patience with that attitude of yours.”
“Stop calling him a child if you want less attitude,” Adrian said.
“It's actually a term of endearment,” Salino said.
“Not the way you say it,” Adrian shot back. And I was happy to see my man standing up for me.
Salino smirked. “I'll say it sweeter, then.”
“How about not at all?” I asked.
He looked at me. “No, because I like calling my children that name. Understand, Sage, I am very protective of vampires I have a personal bond with. You were created by me in an unconventional way, but I still feel very connected to you. I will protect you and nourish you. That is why I don't mind feeding Adrian. So, when I call you 'child', you should think of it as me showing my sentiments toward you. You're mine and the sooner you accept that fact, the easier our interactions will be.”
I understood the meaning behind his words and I just nodded. “Fine. Still, the tone.”
He rolled his eyes. “Very well, my child.” And this time, his tone was without the attitude.
I huffed and looked at my watch. “Listen, in three hours, two members of the Echelon Imperial will be here to take care of that problem you have with the other emperors,” I said.
Salino's eyes widened, and it was probably one of the only times I'd ever seen him genuinely in awe and if I wasn't mistaken... concerned. “You should have led with that.”
I shrugged. “I'm telling you now. It's not like they're at the front door.”
“What are they planning to do?” he asked.
“What you asked,” Adrian said. “To kill the emperors and link all vampires to you.”
“And what does the Echelon Imperial want in return for that favor?” Salino asked.
I shrugged. “He didn't say anything about getting something in return. I think he just wants to do it to protect the power of the Council. Adrian and I are members now, we're all linked. He doesn't want to lose that. Besides, like you said, the Dark God is already free, so the worst of breaking the vampire link has already happened.”
Salino gave me a side-eye glance as if he wasn't fully convinced. “In all of my existence, I've never had any dealing with the Council. To my knowledge, they don't grant favors.”
