Blood Ascendant (Sons of Navarus #7)

by K. M. Scott

  He wasn’t, though. At least not when it came to Sasa. Everything else could go fuck itself for as much as he cared. The Archons and this goddamned war could fade away into nothingness, and he wouldn’t bat an eyelash. Fuck them all.

  But Sasa was different. Maybe it took losing her to see that so clearly, but now that he did, he wouldn’t let a moment go by without enjoying what she brought to his world.

  Tapping him on the arm, she whispered, “What’s wrong? You look like you want to kill someone. Is there something going on here I don’t know about?”

  Clearly, he wasn’t as good at hiding his feelings about what happened even now.

  He shook his head and smiled. “Nothing, love. I can’t think of another place in the world I’d want to be than right here with the dragons, Terek and his family, and you. Maybe this whole war will be cancelled once Ramiel and Theron get together, and we can all live in peace right here. I’m sure the Draco brothers wouldn’t mind. It’s a big castle.”

  Sasa’s dark eyes opened wide, as if even the possibility of that made her excited. “I wish. I’m afraid of what’s coming, so if those two could handle the entire war, I’d be all for that.”

  For a moment, Vasilije considered how possible that outcome may be. Ramiel was nothing less than hell bent on avenging the loss of Noele and had already taken out half of the Archons on the Continent. Not that he blamed him. They deserved nothing less than a stake to the heart, every single one of them.

  And Theron had rage enough to level a city. Without his mother around to tamp down his reckless tendencies, that vampire seemed hell bent himself, but Vasilije had a feeling it wasn’t just to get revenge on those Archon fucks for what they did to Noele.

  His rapid aging was clearly affecting him in ways other than his becoming a man in less than two years. His overconfidence had blown up into dangerous cockiness. He looked like an adult, but in reality, he was little more than a child with enormous power, and that power might get them all killed.

  But Vasilije had seen another side to him that he wasn’t sure the other Sons had yet. Theron’s rapid ascension to leader of the Sons of Navarus seemed to be what the Prophecy of Idolas indicated, but beneath all his anger and bluster seemed to be a vampire who didn’t know where he fit in. While the rest of the Sons saw the group as their family, Theron had shown he had no issue with treating them as useful pawns in a war he saw destined to prove his own value.

  As much as he’d been brought up by Ramiel as his father, Vasilije had a sense there was an unhealthy dose of Thane inside him that could endanger them all just as he had when he betrayed them. He’d paid for that with his life.

  Vasilije just hoped they all wouldn’t pay for Theron’s quest for greatness with their lives.

  “Did you hear me?” a male’s voice asked, tearing the Romanian out of his thoughts about their immediate future.

  He turned to look at Terek and shook his head. “Sorry, no. What’s up?”

  With a smile, he answered, “I don’t usually consider you a deep thinker, but lately you seem to always be lost in thought. Anything you want to share with your old friend?”

  “Nothing other than thinking about what’s coming at us. What did you want?”

  “I thought we should sit down with the dragons and discuss the plan. Kerik said he and his brothers would be available in about an hour and for us to get comfortable while we wait. I’m going to take Ilona and Leta upstairs to the room where they’ll be staying while they’re here, so what do you think of us getting together when the dragons come back? The sooner we’re all on the same page, the better, as far as I’m concerned.”

  Vasilije knew Terek had hoped the war could be put off, but Ramiel’s attacks on the Archons throughout Europe had crushed that pipe dream. He saw by the worry in his friend’s green eyes that he wasn’t as sure as their new leader that this fight would end up as wonderfully as planned. True, Theron had been smart when he assigned each of them to the respective allies, but war had a way of being all too unpredictable and rarely in a good way.

  “That sounds good. I’m going to take Sasa up to her room, so we can meet in the main hall in an hour?”

  “Okay. See you then.”

  Even though Terek flashed a smile, Vasilije saw how worried Ilona looked standing just behind him with Leta in her arms. A born vampire like her mother, the child wasn’t a baby anymore. Thankfully for her adoptive parents, she wasn’t growing as fast as her brother, but she had her own challenges as a young girl left practically orphaned at such a young age. Although Ilona had never said anything, he knew she wished Terek could just turn his back on the Sons and this entire war and stay with her and their child for the rest of their lives.

  Little Leta had already basically lost her first parents. She didn’t need to lose a second set of them in her lifetime. But that was exactly what might lay in her future because of the war with the Archons.

  He didn’t envy any of them for what they were going through.

  “Let’s go relax for a few minutes before you have to leave for the meeting, okay?” Sasa whispered as she tugged him by the arm toward the stairs.

  “I’m all for relaxing, as you well know, but I’m not going to that meeting alone. You’re going to be right there by my side.”

  She stopped on the third step and stared at him in confusion. “What? Why? I’m not able to fight in this war, Vasilije.”

  Cradling her face, he bent down to kiss her softly on the lips. “I’m not letting a minute go by without having you at my side as long as I can. No, you won’t be fighting, so you’ll be safe here while I am, but until then, I want you close to me. I don’t want any regrets this time.”

  He expected her to question what he meant by that, but she didn’t, thankfully. He didn’t want to discuss the past anymore. Back there was littered with mistakes he couldn’t change, but he never intended on making them again, that was for sure.

  Plus, the plain truth was that he enjoyed having Sasa with him concerning Sons matters. As an empath, she read others far better than he ever could, and even though he knew a lot of what they had to discuss at this meeting in an hour might upset her, she was tough and could handle it.

  Squeezing his hand tightly as he pushed the door to her room open, she gasped when she looked in. He’d gotten used to the castle’s accommodations since he’d been a guest of the dragons’ for so many years, but he had to admit the place did pack a punch, especially when it came to the bedrooms.

  She released his hand and rushed into the center of the bedroom to spin around with her arms at her side. All smiles, she cooed, “This is the biggest bedroom I’ve ever seen! It’s even bigger than the one back at the monastery, and I thought that was huge. They could move another bed in here and I could have Ilona and Leta stay with me it’s so big.”

  With a quick glance, he judged another bed could fit, along with a child’s bed, if necessary. “If that’s what you want, we can ask Kerik if it’s okay. I’m sure he’ll be fine with it.”

  Sasa stopped twirling and sat down on the edge of the bed. “I know I should be somber because all hell is about to break loose, but this just made me so happy. I bet you think it’s silly, but I feel like if I don’t find some kind of happiness in all of this, I’m going to spend the entire time you’re gone crying.”

  He lifted her chin with his finger and smiled down at her, loving how genuinely happy she’d been for that short time. “We don’t need any more somber. We have more of that than we need. I’m happy you like it here. You’ll be safe. It’s a little drafty and the castle can make you feel like you’re getting lost in it sometimes, but you’ll be protected here. The Dracos will put their enchantments on it so no one will be able to get to you, Ilona, or Leta. I promise.”

  Her smile faded, and she asked, “What about you? Will they be able to put their enchantments on you so you’ll be safe when the battle starts?”

  Since lying to her had never worked in the past, Vasilije took a deep bre
ath and tried to find the words to make the truth sound better than it actually was. Sitting down next to her on the bed, he took her hand in his and brought it to his lips in a kiss.

  “War is never safe, but I’m far less worried about Terek and me than I am about Saint. Those werewolves are going to have a hard time fighting the witches’ spells. They aren’t elemental beings like the dragons, so that hocus pocus nonsense the witches dish out will work on them.”

  That didn’t come out as positive as he’d intended, but it was the truth. He saw by the worry etching itself into her expression that she’d understood exactly what he’d said, though.

  “Do you think Saint and Solenne are going to be okay?”

  In all honesty, he had no idea. Vasilije wouldn’t have been happy to hear Theron say he had to fight with the weres, but that had more to do with his sour feelings about what that damn Hadrian had done in Rome than anything else.

  “Saint’s tough, and Solenne is a descendant of Idolas, who was the child of two gods. That has to count for something.”

  Sasa rested her head on Vasilije’s shoulder and sighed. “I hope they come out of this safe and sound. I hope all of us do. Then I just want to live a peaceful life somewhere just the two of us. Maybe we can go back to Romania.”

  “Or maybe New Orleans,” he said quietly. “I liked that place. As long as we can avoid the voodoo ladies, I think we’d be okay.”

  For a moment, he wasn’t sure Sasa had heard what he said because she didn’t say a word or even move. He listened for the sound of her breathing and heard it, though, so he waited for her response.

  And when it came a few seconds later, he couldn’t help but smile and be genuinely happy.

  She turned to face him with a look of pure shock. Never before had he suggested the two of them return to New Orleans before this, so her surprise was understandable. But he hoped beneath that would be a reaction far happier.

  “Did you just say maybe we could go back to New Orleans?”

  Nodding, he shrugged. “It was just a thought. We don’t have to, if you don’t want to.”

  That’s all it took. She threw herself against him, wrapping her arms around his neck, and began crying. “Oh, Vasilije, I’d love that! I know how much you love being here, but I miss where I grew up.”

  “Well, then it’s settled. After this war is finished, we’ll go to New Orleans.”

  She sat back and wiped her tear-stained cheeks. “We can get one of those old mansions if you want. You seem to like big homes, and they’re huge. Maybe it will come with ancient trees that have Spanish moss hanging off them. Oh, it’s going to be so great!”

  “It will be great. Just the two of us, Sasa.”

  His news thrilled her more than he imagined it would, and she jumped up from the bed. Pacing across the floor, she began planning their life after the Archon War right there in front of him. “First, we’ll get one of those big houses. I remember when I was a little girl growing up I always wanted one of them. Mama and I never could afford anything bigger than the tiny places we lived in, but now I’ll finally have a home in New Orleans like I’ve always wanted. Can we get one in the Garden District? They have the most beautiful homes there, Vasilije. I know you’ve gotten used to living away from humans, but can we?”

  She stopped in front of him and gave him a look with her big brown eyes wide open, like she was pleading for him to say yes. How could he give her any other answer when this house of hers made her so happy?

  He reached out and took her hands in his to pull her to him. “Yes. Whatever you want, it’s yours.”

  With a gentle smile, she corrected him. “You mean it will be ours.”

  As he leaned in to kiss her, he whispered against her lips, “Ours. Vasilije and Sasa’s big house in the Big Easy.”

  Sasa closed her eyes and smiled as he pressed his mouth to hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and softly trailed her fingers across his shoulders, making his body come alive. In a few hours, this time they had together would be the sweet memory he’d carry into battle, but for now, it was the most important moments in his entire existence.

  “I love you, Sasa.”

  Opening her eyes, she looked at him and sighed. “And I love you, Vasilije.”

  With a wave of his hand, she stood in front of him naked and more beautiful than any other woman on Earth. She giggled and began to unbutton his shirt.

  “Someday, I’m going to get the hang of that trick and use it on you,” she said sweetly as she carefully made her way down his chest, button after button.

  “No need, love,” he said, and with a second wave of his hand his clothes disappeared too.

  Her gaze roamed over his torso as a wicked glint in her eyes appeared. “I still want to learn it. I think it might come in handy with you some night.”

  Vasilije moved his hands over her body, worshipping every precious inch of her as he kissed the soft spot just under her ear where he first drank from her. Against her skin, he said, “As if there would be any night that I wouldn’t willingly remove my clothes for you.”

  She pulled him into her, holding his head against her neck as he leaned back onto the bed and then pulled her on top of him. No matter what his future held in only a few hours, at that moment with the woman he loved staring down at him with a mixture of desire and love in her eyes, he couldn’t imagine ever being more content.

  Sasa rolled her hips, taking him into her, and as he sank into the depths of her body, he let himself revel in the simple feel of fucking her. He held her hard at her hips to set the pace of their lovemaking, and as always, she frowned down at him because she wanted to set her own pace.

  He may have changed in many ways for her in the recent months, but he was as he’d always been when it came to sex. Not that he thought she really wanted him to change. For all that pouting she did, the moaning that came shortly after the pout disappeared each time he fucked her the way he wanted to told him she wouldn’t want him to be anything but what he’d always been in those moments when he was inside her.

  “Mmmm…you’re driving me crazy,” she said sweetly in that pleading way that let him know she loved how he made her feel.

  “We have time. There’s no need to hurry.”

  As he watched her ride his cock, he knew he hadn’t spoken the truth there. They didn’t have time anymore. Tonight may be their last night together for a while. Or forever. There were no guarantees.

  Knowing this, he rolled her over onto her back and silently promised her if this was the last time they’d ever be together, she’d always know he wanted no one other than her in the moment when it counted the most.

  He cradled her face and kissed her long and deep while his cock filled her completely. He took her breath away, but she did the same to him, leaving him desperate for more of her. Rearing his hips back, he began fucking her in earnest, needing her release as much as he needed his own.

  Sasa clung to him, her nails tearing his back and shoulders as the two of them raced toward that place they could only find in one another. He felt the first squeeze of her cunt around his cock telling him she reached it before he had. But his body had become so in tune with hers that it would only take feeling her come to push him over the edge.

  Arching her back, she moaned his name in his ear and then she came apart beneath him, just as he felt the first twitch of his release. With one last thrust into her cunt, he flooded her body with all he had and groaned in sweet relief.

  Vasilije didn’t know how long they lay there in each other’s arms, their bodies joined in the most intimate way possible. If he had his choice, he’d never leave that very bed and the only female who had bewitched him in all his years as a vampire.

  “Promise me you’ll stay safe and come back to me.”

  Her voice was small and shaky, and each word felt like someone squeezing his heart. He swore he never wanted to lie to her now that they had this second chance together, but at that moment, he couldn’t bear to force t
he truth into what they’d shared.

  “I promise, Sasa. I promise.”

  It was only a partial lie. He hoped someday when he confessed the truth to her as they sat in that big house in New Orleans that she’d forgive him.

  Chapter Six

  For the past five minutes, Terek had watched Ilona press her lips onto Leta’s little belly and blow raspberries against her skin, and he honestly couldn’t imagine anything else in the entire world more enjoyable. The little girl giggled so sweetly, completely unaware that the world she’d been born into was about to set itself on fire. Ilona seemed utterly able to push away that reality too, and as he watched the pure happiness the two of them shared, he wished he possessed the ability to ignore the truth of what lay ahead of them all in the near future.

  “Who’s a beautiful little girl?” Ilona cooed before blowing on Leta’s skin again. Lifting her head, she smiled and repeated the question. “Who’s my beautiful baby girl?”

  That Leta wasn’t their daughter had gradually become a fact neither one of them brought up anymore. Terek had thought they needed to keep that in mind to avoid the pain of having to give her back when Ramiel returned to be her father again, but that hadn’t happened and slowly Leta became part of their family so much that Terek had a hard time remembering what life was like without her.

  Turning her head, Ilona smiled at him. “She’s so beautiful. Sometimes I find myself just staring at her when I didn’t even realize I was doing it. This little doll is a dream come true.”

  Now that the war had officially begun and Terek knew he had to leave to fight against the Archons and their allies, he wondered what their life would be like when peace returned to their world. He hadn’t realized it before, but now that every night could be his last, he felt the need to live his life more fully than ever before. No more worrying about what might happen when it came time to give Leta back. No more wishing he could give Ilona what she so wanted.