Freed (Vampire King Book 3) (6 page)

Ian. I’m trapped in this corpse.
I’m imprisoned in here!

I
fell to my knees, covered my face, and rocked. “Get it together, man. Get it
together. She can’t be alive.”

I am alive!

“Shut
up!” I roared. “Dark spirits!”

You said you would never let harm
come to me. You said only the sun and moon gods could stop you.

I
had and I meant it. But this couldn’t be Phinova. What magic was this? How
could she still be alive and live so long?

Magic is complicated and unknowing.
Phinova’s voice slithered into my skull.
You didn’t die in the sewers due to my spell, did you?

“No.
Samuel tried to kill me many times, but I always regenerated somehow and
lived.” I rubbed my eyes. “Phinova?”

Yes.

Dear Ambi and Ressi together. I’ve
lost my mind.

No.
A
smile laced her voice.
Your thoughts are
clear and strong. Come to me, Ian. Take me somewhere safe.

Against
all logic, I rose. “And where shall we go?”

Wherever blood mages are. Their
blood keeps me alive.

“And
if you don’t get it?”

Then I slowly sink into myself and…

“And?”

We shall not talk of those things.
They would give you nightmares and kill you to know how much I’ve suffered.

I
returned to the room. “And what happened here, Phinova?”

A young vampire prince became king
tonight. They tortured his queen. He ripened, broke free, killed all but a few,
and escaped.

“It
must be Samuel you’re talking about.”
Dear
Ambi, I’m talking to a corpse.

I am alive.
Phinova’s
voice stabbed at me.

I
wiped away webs and spiders from her face. “Was Samuel’s queen hurt?”

I’m not sure. One woman said that
she lived.

“Then
I know where he ran off with her.” I lifted her up into my arms and raced out
of there. A few dominas peeked out from shadowed corners and shrieked when they
spotted Phinova’s corpse in my arms. I didn’t see any royal guards. It seemed
that all had fled or died tonight.

“Nai
will return to this chaos, ready to bring war to whoever ruined it.”

Do not worry, my love.
Phinova’s
voice vibrated through my head.
Nai can
be controlled. He listens to me and has been for a century. When he fills my
body with mage blood, it sinks into me, preserving me, and then Nai drinks from
my neck as we make love.

Cringing
while still running off to the sewers, I gazed down at the corpse so fresh and
full of life, but dead just the same. “Maybe that has been the problem all
along.”

What do you mean, my love?
Her voice played like a smooth musical instrument, gentle and soothing.

“Nai
has ruled the territory like a crazed man. Maybe it’s because he gets his
orders from…you? Dear Ambi. You’re dead and he’s making love to you. He’s
madder than I thought.”

I’m alive. It isn’t wrong.
Phinova
chuckled in my head and I wanted to pause right there and kiss those lips to
see if they would move.

Ambi, help me.
My
arms trembled as I carried her.
This is
wrong.

This is only wrong if you think so.
Just like when you, Nai, and I would make love, you always worried it was
wrong. But was it, loyal Ian?

“After
all these years, I still don’t know.”

Chapter Five

~Samuel

Brie
slept. I stood in front of the bed, naked, hard, and dripping soapy water.

Her
dream performed a play in my mind. Ambi and Ressi hovered over Brie as she
kneeled in the sky before them. All three floated above planets. The gods
blinked in and out of form, never truly in a solid image, but more like
transparent wisps of mists, magic, and color. I’d never seen anything like it
before. They resembled something of great power. Even through her dreams, I
could feel their influence vibrating against my skin.

Ambi
gleamed white and bright like the moon. The only other color was the dark blue in
his eyelids and the blackness of his horns that curled back like mine and
boasted sharp points at the end. His mouth moved as he talked to Brie in a language
I could not understand. With each foreign word, fiery stars flowed out of his
lips.

What is he saying to her?

As
soon as I thought the words, Ressi turned to me. I froze. Terror pulsed with
the rapid beating of my nervous heart.
Calm
down. This is only a dream.
She formed her burning lips into a smile and
continued to watch me as Ambi talked to Brie. Strands of flames swayed back and
forth around
Ressi’s
head. Amber skin covered her.
Bright symbols marked her flesh and looked just like the ones Brie now wore on
her body. Ressi nodded at me and directed her attention to Brie.

A
booming came from the door.

“Samuel!”
Leeta yelled, “we have a problem.”

Women
screaming burst from the other side of the door.

The
dream vanished. Brie rolled over and faced me, rubbing her eyes. The fear from
Ressi’s
peculiar look aimed at me in the dream had not gone
away. In fact, the fear heightened to dread as Brie’s face shifted from relaxed
to disgusted. Our gazes met. Through my eyes I tried to show her how sorry I
was, how much I’d regretted forcing the claim. Her revolted expression
transformed to a glare. I stepped back.

“Samuel!”
Leeta knocked at the door again.

“Yes!”

“I
need to talk to you now. We have a problem.”

Problem?

I
doubted it. No one knew the way to my sewers but Ty, Victoria, Leeta, and me.
Being that Ty and Victoria were dead, I didn’t figure anybody else would dive
into the area for a surprise attack. The Quiet King may find out about my
destruction to his castle and freeing of dominas by tomorrow’s dusk. Many
guards had fled. The sound of horses stomping away could be heard all night. I
was confident one of those horses carried a messenger to my father. I’d have
two days to battle him and was no longer scared. Since maturing into my king’s
form, the idea of killing another king tasted sweet on my tongue. Weeks ago I
would have pissed myself at the thought. Now I welcomed it.

“Samuel?”
Leeta banged again.

“We’re
coming, Leeta.” Brie sat up. Her luscious breasts jiggled. I grunted. Her rosy
pink nipples hardened from the sound.

“You
don’t plan on opening the door naked, do you?”

Rolling
her eyes, she folded a sheet around her and headed to the door. “Why don’t you
focus on covering yourself?”

His cock looks over a foot in size.
She snuck a glance.
I peered further
in her head and saw what she saw. My image in her mind.

It would cause Leeta to scream.
She shuddered.

“And
do you want to scream when you see it?” Blood rushed to my dick, readying it
for her. I longed to lay her down on my bed and push it inside her moist flesh.
It rose at the thought and pointed to her.

“No,
I don’t want to scream.”

“What
do you want to do?”

“Nothing
at all.” She bit her lip and waited by the door with her hand on the knob. “Put
some clothes on.”

I
closed the distance between us and pressed my dick against the curve of her
succulent ass. “No. We can talk to Leeta through the door.”

“Get
away from me.” She slipped away.

I
seized her waist to stop her. “I’m so sorry.”

“You
don’t get to touch me anymore.”

I
held my growl in. The deep animal sound lodged in my throat. My fangs exploded
out of my mouth, but luckily her back was still to me, so she couldn’t see.

She
cracked the door open. “What’s wrong, Leeta?”

“You
look better and you’re up,” Leeta said.

“What
do you want?” I asked through clenched teeth. My dick begged to be closer to
Brie, to have me rub the throbbing tip against her. I imagined kneeling down
behind her, parting her buttocks with my hands, and licking that sweet cunt
from behind. Hot flesh would surround my tongue. Her arousal would pour down
around me and I’d lap it up along with that special bud between her thighs.

“Ian
is our friend.” Brie shrugged. “If he says he was trapped in a room with
dominas, I believe him.”

“But
he’s demanding to see you.” Leeta’s voice rushed out in a strained tone.

“Ian?
What about Ian?” Claws ripped through my fingertips.

“Did
you not hear a word?” Brie glanced over her shoulder. Her gaze snapped to my
hand as I caressed the head of my dick.
When
did I grab it? I don’t remember touching myself.

“I
didn’t hear anything.” I released myself.

“Get
sex off of your mind.”

The
muscle in my jaw twitched. My groin heated. For an odd reason, the more she
fought me, the more I yearned to fuck her.

“I’m
fine.”

“Tell
the guards to stop pointing their swords at Ian and let him into our room,”
Brie said.

Part
of me was thrilled she said
our room.
The other part plummeted into rage at the thought of Ian, another vampire king,
so close to her.

Why did she want him inside here?
Is she planning on trying to replace me or make me jealous? I’ll kill him right
as he steps over the threshold. I’ll spray his blood all over the room. And
then I’ll take her right there, on top of his body, so she will know never to
push me too far.

“I
don’t think that’s a good idea, Brie,” Leeta whispered.

Brie
let out an exasperated breath. “Why not?”

“He’s
carrying a dead woman in her hands. The corpse from the Quiet King’s bedroom.”

“His
first queen.” Brie twisted her lips to the side. “Don’t worry about that. Let
him in.”

The
door closed. Brie turned to me and adjusted the sheet so it covered more of
her. “Why do you have your claws out?”

Because you’re about to flaunt your
lover in front of me.

I
retracted the claws and stalked around her. My hooves banged against the floor.
“Who is he to you, queen?”

Panic
spread across her face, but she remained where she stood and formed her hands
into fists.
I picked a feisty one. She’ll
never stand down, even when she’s supposed to. I’ll have to teach her.

“Ian
is only Ian to me.” Her bottom lip quivered. “Nothing else. Why don’t you go
into the bathroom and put a towel on or—”

Within
seconds, I picked her up, slung her on the bed, and got on top of her. “And
what will you do with him when I’m gone?”

A
sharp point pierced my stomach. The bite of her dagger burned into my flesh. I
cried in pain.
When did she grab it?
Where did it come from? She’s so fast now.
She got to that dagger too
quickly.

“Get
off of me and I’ll remove it.” She pushed the dagger deeper into me. Dark blood
spilled out. I bellowed. The door crashed open behind me.

“Holy
Ambi!” Ian yelled. “What are you both doing?”

My
breathing raced. My heart staggered. A tear spilled out of my eye and dropped
onto her cheek. “I’m sorry.”

She
closed her eyes. “Climb off of me and I’ll remove it.”

Why did I get on her like this? Why
did I…?

Movement
erupted behind me. Ian placed his hands on my shoulders and helped me back
enough where the dagger didn’t cause more damage.
 

“Let
go of the dagger, Brie,” Ian ordered.

“Not
until he’s off the bed.”

I
gritted my teeth and climbed away. The dagger glided out of my stomach. Inside
my core, veins stitched back together. Blood singed. The wound, little by
little, healed. I knew I’d be fully recovered by next dusk.

“Don’t
ever grab me like that again.” Brie wiped the wooden blade off on the sheet she
wore with shivering hands and scooted farther to the end of the bed. I’d given
her that dagger over two weeks before to learn how to protect herself from
vampires.

How ironic that she had to use it
on me.

I
turned to Ian, full of embarrassment and shame. Until, that is, I spotted the
corpse he clutched in his arms. When Ian grabbed and pulled me away, he must
have put her down, but once he released me, he must have quickly returned her
to his hold.

“Why
are you in that form?” Ian stared at my hooves.