Drake made his way back to the head of the table and sat down. He held out his hand, gesturing for a glass of strong alcohol. “Lilith, my dear. Pour me wine.”
She still stood beside Flint, eyes wide and clearly disturbed by what she’d seen. He had the distinct pleasure of watching her wipe that emotion off her face in one swift movement. She jolted into action, walking to his side with complete and utter grace.
A goblet of wine was in his outstretched hand within no time. “An empty glass, please.”
Another goblet of wine appeared in her outstretched hand. This one he didn’t take from her.
Drake reached out and grabbed the knife from his place setting. He used the sharp edge to run along his wrist, which he then held over the goblet. Blood dripped from his veins and the room echoed with the soft plops as the goblet filled with his life force. The sound was peaceful, if he could admit such a thing.
When the goblet was full, he drew his wrist away and nodded to her. “Drink, vampire of mine. We defeated an enemy tonight and we celebrate death in the Autumn Court.”
As one, all the other nobles lunged for their goblets. They lifted them in the air and together proclaimed, “To death!”
Drake sipped at his own wine and grinned at the others who eased back into their usual pattern. He pretended he didn’t see Lilith shudder before she drank his blood.
22
She kept herself together for a majority of the evening. The faeries eagerly fell right back into their meeting. Most didn’t even look at the charred body laying on the floor. They’d just watched one of their own die, tragically, right in front of them. And now they were talking about the prosperous growth of the lava pools?
Her knees quaked at the memory of how he’d killed that poor faerie woman. She’d been doing what she thought was right. Clearly, fearing the King of the Flame was for the right reasons.
He wasn’t just housing an elemental inside him. He was the element itself.
Lilith hadn’t realized he could just turn into a pillar of flame. She hadn’t known how many times she’d come close to death just by touching him.
Even worse, the dots on her hands had glowed as he used his power. She could feel him drawing from the environment and how the magic inside her wished to follow his call. He was taking life force from her to do his magic, not just the elements and fire around him.
What did this mean? How did she explain it to him?
Should she?
Her knees shook with the fear of the unknown. This was supposed to just be an easy get in, steal a little old knife, and get out. Now it was so much more than that. It was so much worse.
Drake flicked his fingers for her to come close to his side. She did so without complaint, but now she worried if she didn’t do his bidding, she’d see that terrifying being inside him once again.
The one who had threatened a faerie to burn her soul for all eternity.
“Go get some air,” he murmured. “You’re shaking like a leaf. They’ll notice soon.”
She was shaking? Christ, she hadn’t done that since she was a human.
Lilith straightened and nodded. She woodenly exited out the back where the servants had entered. The first time she’d walked through those doors she had been so confident it didn’t matter what the faeries thought of her. Now?
She wanted to bury her head in the sand and forget this had ever happened. She wanted to run back to her storm drain underneath a bridge and claim all of this was a bad dream.
Let the Primus try to torture her for all the things she’d done to her own brood. Let the other vampires hate her for the rest of their time in the human realm. It was better than an end in fire, burning in agony.
She walked through the kitchens with her head held high but no air in her lungs. She didn’t even let her heart beat until she finally got to a hallway where no one else lingered.
Lilith pressed her back against the wall and slid down to the floor. The corset around her chest whined and the threads at the back threatened to snap. She didn’t care. The pretty gown could be ruined and then that would be a perfect excuse to not go back into the dining room with all its nightmares.
She’d killed people before. Many people. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of humans who were nothing more than food to her. But she’d never killed someone like that before.
Her hands were shaking. She lifted them in front of her eyes and tried to keep them still. She couldn’t return while so obviously affected. The faeries would feast on her weakness like she was a pathetic little snack for them to chew on.
But she couldn’t still her fingers.
The door near her opened and Flint appeared from the shadows. He knelt and reached for her hands.
It was the first time he’d ever shown her any kindness. He squeezed them in his own and held onto her as she fell to pieces.
Flint murmured, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know he’d go so far, or I would have warned you.”
“I didn’t know he could do that,” she whispered. “You know fire is dangerous to a vampire. But I’ve touched him. I let him touch me and he could have turned into that… thing the whole time? He could have killed me with just a touch!”
“But he didn’t. He hasn’t.”
She shook her head. “He could, though. And that changes everything.”
“It can’t change everything. We need you, Lilith. We need you to stop him.” He squeezed her fingers one last time before he released them. “I need you to end this. None of us realized how far gone he was. To change into the element? He’s more than just Drake now. He has the elemental whispering in his ear and that makes all of this so much worse. I need you now more than ever. The world does.”
She couldn’t take that responsibility on. Lilith didn’t want the world to depend on her! A lone vampire had no place in this world, especially no place trying to save all the humans and the creatures who lived in the human realm. Didn’t he see that?
“What do you want me to do?” The words fell from her lips before she could catch them. “I don’t know how to stop him.”
“What if I told you I knew how to kill him?”
The collar around her throat burned. She stuck a finger underneath it and tilted her head back for Flint to see it. “You know what this is. I can’t lift a finger against him even if I tried. So unless you know how to take this collar off my neck, then you’re back at square one, buddy.”
Flint eyed her before he stood. “Follow me, vampiress. Do you think I didn’t remember the collar? I was the one who told him to shackle you.”
She couldn’t believe the words he was saying. Drake was far too thorough to allow anyone to thwart him this easily. Still, she stood up and shook out her skirts. “Lead on, Flint. I’m curious enough to ask what tricks you have up your sleeve.”
The head of staff said nothing else. He turned around, and she noticed the lava in his head had dimmed. Dulled. All the light inside it was almost dying. Like betraying the king would cause his death.
Every step felt like she was betraying Drake to an even worse level. Like by following Flint, she was turning down a path that would destroy everything they had built. Everything they might build in the future.
She couldn’t think like that. This was a king of the faeries. He had been through centuries of betrayal in his life and it boiled down to whether she trusted him to do the right thing or destroy the human realm.
They’d never talked about it before. And she wouldn’t stick a blade through his ribs without confirming Flint was right and that Drake’s plan was to destroy everything that was human.
Flint took her to a back room in the fortress. It was filled with stacks upon stacks of books. Loose leaves of paper floated in the air as the door opened, like a gust of wind had brushed them off their shelves.
“What is this place?” she asked. It didn’t seem like Drake would have a library considering all the fire.
“These are my private quarters.”
“Wow.”
She reached for a book and picked it up. A History of Faerie Magicks. “So this is where the head of staff rests his head. You know, most of the other faeries are convinced you don’t sleep.”
“Do you want to talk about what I do in my spare time, or do you want that thing off your neck?”
She shut up.
“That’s what I thought.”
He turned around with a skeleton key in his hand. Most had some kind of ornate handle, but this one was just a plain stick of metal with a pronged end. “I stole this from the trophy room a long time ago. He’s forgotten about it by now, or he wouldn’t be using the collar again.”
Flint motioned for her to move closer. She did so without hesitation, then tilted her head back. “Get it off then.”
He unlocked the collar with a simple twist of his wrist. The heavy metal fell from her throat and into his waiting hand with a solid thud.
Just like that, she was free. And she still had more than enough power to just teleport away from this place. She’d never tried teleporting between dimensions, but something inside her said she could make it. All she had to do was think of her safe little bridge and let her power loose. Then she’d be there. Exactly where she wanted to be.
Lilith thought about it. She really did. All this could end so quickly.
But Flint stared at her with hope in his eyes and her collar in his hands. He’d stuck his neck out for her in the hopes she could repay him somehow. No one had ever done that for her before. And even though she thought he was kind of an asshole, standoffish, and didn’t appreciate a hard worker... He was still a person who had seen something more than just a vampire in her.
So she took a deep breath, steadied herself, and remained where she was.
“Okay,” she said. “We can’t return without me wearing my collar. He’ll notice.”
Flint nodded. Something in the set of his jaw made her wonder if he’d thought she would teleport away. It was the logical choice for her, and she still felt like a fool for being here.
He turned around, rummaged through his things, and pulled an object out with a subtle grunt. “Here. It’s a decoy. Don’t let him touch it. He’ll know it doesn’t have his magic in it anymore.”
The collar in his hand looked identical to the one she’d been wearing.
But when she touched it, no magic ran through the metal. It was just a regular old metal collar, silver, heavy, but it wouldn’t stop her from doing anything to the king.
Lilith nodded and fastened it around her neck. “So what’s the plan then? I can’t just kill him with my bare hands, you know. He’ll burn me to a crisp before I even get a chance.”
“I’m not saying it isn’t a risk, but I don’t think he’ll be expecting you to hurt him. He still thinks the collar is preventing you from even thinking about doing such a thing.” Flint rubbed the back of his neck and drops of lava fell onto the floor. “So the plan is that you try to kill him with your bare hands. Yeah.”
“That’s a stupid plan.”
“I’m aware, but it’s the best option we have.”
No, it wasn’t, he just hadn’t thought of the only other option. Lilith replied, “You stole the key from the trophy room without him knowing?”
“I did. A long time ago.”
“Then steal the knife and leave it in his room before we get back.” She swallowed hard. “I have a feeling that cursed object is the only one that can pierce his flesh. Either way, it’s better than using my claws.”
Flint hissed out a low breath, but nodded. “I’ll see if I can make it happen. No promises.”
“Yes promises, Flint. I won’t do this without that knife.”
“Then you’ll have it.”
She fingered the collar around her neck and sighed. This wouldn’t work. He’d see right through her and then where would she be?
“You’re doing the right thing,” Flint added. “I know it doesn’t feel like a pleasurable experience right now because you’ve only just met him. But you didn’t know him before all this. I did. Drake was a good man. He’s not anymore.”
She wished she agreed with him. All this would be so much easier if Drake was just an evil man with bad intentions.
He wasn’t though. Drake was a good man with good intentions, he just didn’t know how to go about this life without destroying things. He was fire, after all. He burned everything he touched.
She turned to leave. “Look, I’ll do what I can. That’s all I can promise.”
“And that’s all I can ask.”
She left Flint standing in his bedroom with all the hope of his world on her shoulders. She didn’t even know if Drake would try to destroy the human realm. Why would he? He had everything he needed right here.
Before she did anything, she needed to ask Drake some questions. Namely, what in the world was going on with the elemental inside him and whether this rumor mill of planning was true. If it was, then she’d do the right thing. But if there was even the slightest hope he might be swayed down a different path... Well, she would do whatever it took to help him.
Lilith kept her mind on a hopeful future even as she joined him with all the other faerie nobles. She stood beside him, strong, confident, praying he wasn’t the monster everyone thought he was.
23
Lilith held it together until the nobles started filtering out of the room. She kept her eyes forward. Behaved herself. She didn’t even snap at the mouthy faerie who still wanted to know everything about her.
For anyone looking into the situation, she was a good little vampire pet. Drake likely even thought he’d finally tamed her, although that was an impossible feat.
The reality was that she was trying to keep herself from falling apart. The man she thought she knew could be a completely unfamiliar person than the one she thought she knew. And that was disappointing.
No, more than disappointing. It felt like the end of the world, and she knew how dramatic that was.
Lilith had spent her entire life taking care of herself and no one else. She didn’t want to know what this man’s nefarious plans were. She didn’t want to feel guilty if she failed because the world as she knew it would end. Her life had been simple. Easy. Now it was difficult and complicated.
She blamed him for that.
The last faerie noble left the room with a bow to Drake and a nod to her. As though she were someone important in this court. Suddenly. Nothing made sense any more. She wasn’t anyone but a vampire who had tried to do the impossible and failed.
Drake leaned back in his chair and sighed. The posture of a king changed as he slouched, then folded in on himself. “I hate dinners like this.”
She held her breath, stilling at the realization he’d never talked to her about something like this before. About his feelings or what being a king was even like.
Should she encourage him to speak? Was this her opportunity to see whether his plans were to kill all of humanity or not?
Lilith pulled out the chair closest to him and sank into it. “They seem like a handful.”
“A handful?” He chuckled. “Most are missing a few handfuls of a mind, but they do their best. Once they were the greatest faerie nobles I could have chosen. Now, I fear they’re losing their touch.”
Feet aching from standing all night, she leaned back in her own chair and tried to relax a bit. “They’re better than dealing with humans.”
“Don’t I know it. Filthy lot, all of them.” Drake leaned forward and reached underneath the table, gesturing. “Give me your feet.”
“What? Why?” Did he have some kind of weird foot fetish? She’d never experienced anyone who had one of those.
“Because you’ve been standing all night, and I can’t imagine your feet feel great.” He waggled his fingers. “Give them here.”
What was she supposed to do? Deny him? Her feet did hurt. She was just shocked he’d even think of them.
Lilith lifted one of her feet into his lap. He took off her shoe and let it fall to the
floor, then dug his thumb into the center of her foot. Obviously he’d done this before because good lord it was perfect.
She let her head drop back onto the chair and sighed. “Thank you, that is a lot better.”
“I thought it might be.”
This was... nice. It was better than she’d expected with him. The last noble meeting had sent him into a whirlwind of anger and rage. Right now, he didn’t seem angry or even upset. Instead, all he wanted to do was unwind with her in the meeting room where he had once been angry.
Her eyes drifted shut. She could imagine living like this. Her providing him with whatever comfort he needed after a hard day. Him giving her the opportunity to be taken care of. By someone. By anyone.
Every thud of her heart twisted her into deeper knots. What if this wasn’t real? What if all of this was just another ploy because he wasn’t the man she thought he was? If he could destroy an entire realm simply because he didn’t like humans... she didn’t know who he was.
Lilith was so wrapped up in her concerns, she didn’t hear him shift forward until his hands slid underneath her dress.
Warm, rough palms scraped up her calves, digging into the tense muscles and easing them. She could feel his warm breath through the silk of her dress just above her knee. “You’re so tense, Lilith. Care to share why?”
No, she didn’t want to tell him why. She didn’t want to ruin this moment by bringing up the death of a billion humans who had done nothing to him. Nor did she want to admit she’d considered him to be capable of such a horrible act.
His lips pressed against her knee. “I know what happened tonight may have frightened you.”
The perfect excuse. She could blame all this on the sight of him in that flaming visage.
She opened her eyes and tilted her head to look down at him. “You know what fire can do to a vampire.”
Drake’s dark eyes were full of remorse and sadness. That errant lock of hair flopped over his forehead and made her want to push it back, to touch him, to stroke his skin and ease the ache inside him.
King of the Flame Page 16
