Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 67437 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67437 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
I looked to my left and right, but still didn’t see him.
Then suddenly, his fingers slipped along my neck, causing me to shiver.
I jumped up looking over my shoulder.
There he stood. His long leather coat flowed behind him as if riding the power radiating from his body.
Moonlight glittered on that diamond-spiked crown.
Seraphine, I think that you are healing my vocal cords.
I parted my lips.
Soon I will no longer be the Quiet King. He smirked. They will have to call me something else.
Too terrified of being so close to him, I edged away from my chair and slipped to the side.
That smirk remained on his face as he watched me put space between him. I knew he was simply being nice and that the space did not provide any real protection. If he wanted to be close to me, I could not deny him.
An elfkin appeared from the forest’s shadows and placed the grimoire on the table in front of me.
I looked down at it. “That is the book from the cage.”
It is.
“You said it belongs to your queen.”
It does. He stepped around the chair, but didn’t come closer to me. Still this allowed him to have a clear path to blur over. This is the Crimson Codex of the Ebon Vein. It is an ancient tome of blood magic, steeped in lore and shrouded in a history as dark and intricate as the spells it holds.
I put my view back on it. “This. . .could teach me blood magic?”
It can, and it will. We will use this to help you learn.
I directed my view back to him. “You want to teach me how to be better at blood magic?”
I do.
I edged back. “Why?”
I want my second queen to be just as strong as my first.
I took another step back. “I-I am not your queen.”
A dark growl left him. His expression went stern. That sentence is a very dangerous one to say to me, Seraphine. Never say it again.
I put my hands in the air and took another step back. “I am sorry. I’m not trying to be insulting.”
I could see his stance transform into one of a predator, ready to strike.
Your presence not only healed me. It ignited a fire within my soul. A hunger. I have struggled with this option, but tonight I know for sure that you must be my queen.
My heart beat wildly. “Do I not have any say in the matter of if I am going to be your queen or not?”
You are mine. That is it. Black claws pushed from his fingertips.
I widened my eyes. “Don’t hurt me.”
I won’t. He frowned. You still fear me?
“I do. You are the very embodiment of evil and darkness.”
His expression cracked into a smile. Am I now?
“Yes.”
Then, you must embrace the darkness.
Shaking my head, I gazed over my shoulder at the three vampires and stared at them. “I have embraced enough darkness in my life.”
His finger slipped along my chin.
Is he in front of me?!
I stifled a scream and turned back to him.
He was so fast and silent. It horrified me on so many levels.
Those copper eyes shimmered in the moons’ light. I have darkness within, but it is your light that illuminates my path.
Towering over me and looking hauntingly gorgeous, it was a battle to not touch him back.
I inched away.
That wicked smirk remained on his face as he lowered his hand to his side. I yearn for redemption, and with you by my side, I just may get it.
“Redemption?” I shook my head and edged away some more. “You have done too much in this world to get that.”
Then forget my redemption. Let me prove my devotion to you.
He raised his other hand.
I quirked my brows.
He snapped his fingers.
The grimoire rose from the table and floated next to us.
I blinked. “How were you able to control it?”
Because the spells were written in blood.
I reached my power out to touch the book and confirmed that fact. It was almost as if the book was alive. “You’re right, but. . .”
He leaned his head to the side and lowered his hand. Yes, Seraphine?
The book remained hovering in the air.
“But, how are you able to control blood? You are a vampire.”
It is because of my first queen.
“How could she give you that power.”
When another king tried to kill her, we had our blood bond open and as she began to slip away, her power rushed into me.
I tried to comprehend what he was saying. “So then. . .she died, giving you her essence?”
She did not die.
“Then, how could you get her essence—her power—if she is still alive?”
I do not know.
Something didn’t make sense. What was he not saying? Or better yet, what did he not completely understand?
He walked off toward the trees where the three vampires hung.
The book floated after him.