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Full Chapter Bonds of The Vampire King Blood Fire Saga 7 1St Edition Bella Klaus PDF
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BONDS OF THE VAMPIRE KING
BELLA KLAUS
CONT ENT S
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
B
efore I could pull my magic back into my chakras and shift
into my regular form, Kresnik pumped me with so much
power that I cried out. This time it was hotter, more
determined, more potent.
My fiery plumage expanded, and I grew several inches in height
and girth until we stood at eye level.
“Much better,” he drawled. “Now you’re a mount better suited to
a being of my stature.”
Without bothering to turn into an ifrit, he grabbed beneath my
beak with his bare hands, not even wincing as his immortal flesh
burned, and turned my head toward the east, where a streak of
purple and green hung above the high-rise buildings of Canary
Wharf like a concentration of aurora borealis.
A shudder ran down my spine. Before, Kresnik had the soul of a
Greek god trapped in the body of a mortal. He was the real thing,
now, and could regenerate.
“This is where we’re headed,” he snarled. “My people and I have
spent days opening this rift into the Realm of the Gods, and it’s the
first time I’ve entered it with a physical body.”
“Huh?” I squawked.
“I warn you not to struggle during the flight. The nature of magic
has changed over the eons, and I can’t guarantee your survival if
we don’t concentrate.” He punctuated those words with a
threatening shake of my beak.
I clenched my jaw, wanting to claw at his new body until his
bones snapped. With the amount of his magic flowing through my
flames, I couldn’t even caw at him to bugger off.
My heart sank into the pit of my belly. I had no choice but to
wait until something else distracted him before trying to escape.
Kresnik swung a leg over my back, mounting me like he’d
already broken my spirit and I wasn’t a creature that would burn
him to ash if given the chance. Wrapping one hand around my neck
with a grip that threatened to cut off my air, he smacked me hard
on the side, even though the action was unnecessary.
I could understand the spoken word, and even if I wanted to
ignore him, I was completely under the control of the new power
coursing through my flames.
My body launched itself off the edge of the portico, and my
wings spread. We flew over the rubble covering Trafalgar Square,
over the demolished fountains, the lions, and even the statue of
Charles I across the road.
Not a single enforcer stopped us, and nobody shot up into the
sky. The air didn’t even thicken as we passed the border of the
square and flew over Charing Cross.
“Wonderful,” Kresnik drawled out loud. “You see how the
Supernatural Council trembles behind the wards of Logris. They sent
weaklings to apprehend us, and they’ve all perished.”
“Did you kill Valentine?” I asked, hoping that the new surge of
power had reconnected our minds.
I stared down at the landmarks we passed—Victoria
Embankment, the Royal Festival Hall, the Oxo Tower, the
Millennium Bridge—all of them reminded me of places I’d dined with
either Valentine or Beatrice.
A scream caught in my throat. Something had happened to
Valentine as he’d followed us over Hyde Park, and Beatrice… I had
to focus on what was happening right now.
“Hello?” I shouted into my head. “Can you hear me?”
When he snorted, I took that response as a yes.
We passed London Bridge, Tower Bridge, the Tower of London,
before rising over Wapping toward Limehouse, where the glowing
rift drifted over the patch of river that bordered Canary Wharf. I
supposed this was why he had fought alone. His people were too
busy carving through realms and readying Kresnik for his grand
departure.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked.
Kresnik yawned in my ear.
Annoyance made my flames flicker, and the pulse between my
ears pounded loud enough to drown out the roar of the wind. The
least he could do after stealing my free will was to boast about his
grand plans like any decent villain.
“What’s wrong?” I snapped. “Do you think you’re too high and
mighty to answer now that you have an immortal body?”
Pain washed through my meridians like acid, making me scream.
“Keep your thoughts to yourself, Hemera, and I might let you
live once you’ve completed your task,” he snarled into our bond.
“I thought you wanted to steal my magic.”
The hand gripping my neck tightened. “My magic. And if there
was a way we could bring you ungrateful children into the world
without your free will, believe me, we would have done it.”
I tried once more to pull my magic back in, but Kresnik’s fury
bled through my meridians with a force greater than my willpower.
Bitterness burned the back of my throat. “But you needed us
intelligent and aware to train our power so we could develop that
magic for you to steal.”
He chuckled. “Did Valentine tell you that? You’d never come to
such a conclusion by yourself. I’ve looked into your mind, and a
lustful little creature like you can’t think beyond where she’s getting
her next cock.”
The flames of my cheeks grew hotter, and my throat burned with
outrage. Kresnik was referring to the time he’d searched my mind
and found memories of my first blowjob.
My feathers ruffled. “Those images were a trap set by Valentine
to distract anyone who tried to invade my mind.”
“Of course, it was,” he said with a snicker. “And I didn’t witness
you gobbling at him beneath a glass table.”
An annoyed breath hissed through my beak. Why was I letting
this asshole distract me from what really mattered—stopping him
from entering the Realm of the Gods to carry out the task he’d killed
Aurora for failing?
Kresnik didn’t just want his immortal body. He’d been searching
for the eagle who had consumed his liver.
“Do gods all keep their divinities in their internal organs?” I
asked.
“Who told you that?” he snapped. “Hades, I suppose?”
A retort tumbled to the forefront of my brain, but I pushed it
away. Squeezing my eyes shut I focused on pulling my magic back
into my body, only for Kresnik’s power to shove it back down my
limbs. My flames flared, and molten agony shot through my
meridians.
“Stop,” I cried into our bond.
“I told you what would happen if you tried to interfere,” he
snarled into my ear. “When we reach our destination, I will punish
you to within an inch of your sanity.”
The air surrounding us stilled, and a bolt of something whizzed
overhead, landing in Kresnik with a hiss. Some of the magic
controlling my body loosened, and I turned to find Kresnik trying to
pull a javelin of firestone from his chest. I banked to the left, trying
to shift him off my back, but he clung onto me with his muscular
thighs.
“Stop this insolence, or I will make you suffer an eternity of
pain,” he roared.
A growl rumbled in my chest. The bloody bastard already
threatened to rob me of my sanity. I had nothing to lose.
Kresnik and I barrel-rolled through the air with me trying to buck
him off and Kresnik fighting to stay on my back.
“Miss Griffin,” Hades shouted from a distance. “Remain still.”
Righting myself, I stretched out my wings so that we glided back
toward the Tower of London. Kresnik slammed his palm into the
base of my neck, but more javelins raced through the air before he
could force his magic into me.
They landed in Kresnik with several wet thuds, sending out
sprays of blood that sizzled in my flames. I swept low, keeping my
wings perfectly straight so the invisible attackers could get a better
shot.
Multicolored light filled the edges of my vision. I glanced over
my shoulder to find the aurora borealis racing toward us. My beak
parted to let out a shocked squawk. Whoever was controlling the
rift’s dimensional magic was determined for Kresnik to reach the
Realm of the Gods.
“These attacks are futile.” Kresnik gurgled. “In this body, I’m
impervious to harm.”
Magic slammed into us from above, filling my vision with vivid
purples and greens that burned my eyes and a magic that felt like
Kresnik’s. It was both cold and angular and vicious, feeling like it
would pluck the feathers off my bones. Cold panic raced through my
insides, and my heart somersaulted to the back of my throat.
If I ever survived this, I’d be in the Realm of the Gods,
completely at Kresnik’s mercy, and with no-one to help me stop him
from retrieving his divinity.
Kresnik wrapped his arms around my neck. “Fly, damn you. Flap
those worthless wings, or you’ll die.”
The magic tearing at me was too powerful, too heavy, too
determined. With one almighty heave, it pushed me off course.
I landed hard on my side, my head bouncing against a rocky
surface. My body shattered, and before I could register any pain, my
consciousness winked out like a snuffed candle.
D
arkness descended on the cave, like Epimetheus’
proclamation of war against his brother had made the clouds
outside thicken. He stood behind the shard of light in the
chamber’s ceiling, seeming taller, more skeletal, and infinitely more
menacing than before.
Fury burned in his amber eyes, and he bared brilliant white teeth
that contrasted with his grubby beard.
Against every instinct in my body, I edged closer to Kresnik, who
stepped in front of me, forming a barrier between Epimetheus and
me.
Kresnik raised his palms. “Brother, wait—”
“Silence,” Epimetheus roared. “I have been alone in this realm
for eons with nobody but monsters for company. Do you know how
long it took me to make alliances? Uncle Python was the only beast
I considered a friend.”
“Surely, he will rise again.” Kresnik almost sounded reasonable.
“You killed him.” Epimetheus’ voice broke. “And for that, you will
perish.”
As the air thickened with those ominous words, the pulse in my
throat fluttered, trying to beat its way through my skin. Would
Kresnik really fight his twin? Epimetheus seemed even more insane
than his brother.
Kresnik sighed. “There’s no need for violence. If it’s
companionship you want, I can—”
“You?” The other god threw his head back and laughed. “Do not
think for one second that I haven’t seen your life unfold in the Pool
of Delphi. You know nothing but murder and betrayal.”
Something cracked under my foot, and I glanced down at the
rocky ground to find that a few scales had lost from Python during
his struggle against Kresnik. They were glossy and golden-brown
with glinting edges that looked sharp enough to cut even leather.
While Kresnik tried to reason with his brother, I picked up a scale
the size of my hand and held it behind my back.
Epimetheus spread his arms wide. “Hark, I command the winds
to seal your doom—”
“Stop this nonsense,” Kresnik growled.
The air thickened, slowing my movement. I placed a hand over
my mouth. If this lunatic didn’t stop ranting, his magic would get us
all killed.
“Creatures of the air and feather and claw, come forth and feast.
Feast on the liver of your foe.”
Screeches echoed through the chamber, accompanied by dark
shadows of unearthly size forming within the shaft of dimming light.
They mingled and twisted and coalesced into the outline of a
massive bird.
Every hair on my body stood on end, and the lining of my
stomach trembled in anticipation of another monster. I held my
breath, waiting for danger to descend. Based on Epimetheus’ chant,
I was guessing he’d just summoned an eagle.
“Brother.” Kresnik’s voice shook. “What are you doing?”
The shadow floated down and spread across the chamber’s
ground beside Epimetheus. Just as I finally exhaled, thinking that
the god wanted to frighten his brother with a shadow, a golden
eagle rose from the ground.
It stood six-feet tall, with brown feathers that appeared coppery
in the shaft of light. The eagle stared at Kresnik with a humanlike
intelligence, tilting its head to the side and parting its curved beak.
“Someone else returned from the dead, Brother.” Epimetheus
patted the eagle on the shoulder. “Do you recognize Aetos? He
doubled in size after eating Heracles. I expect he’ll develop speech
after consuming you.”
The eagle screeched.
“No,” Kresnik whispered. Sweat soaked the back of his tunic, and
he stumbled backward toward the pool. “Don’t do this, Brother.
Send it back.”
I side-stepped, almost feeling sorry for the guy for having to face
the same kind of creature that had feasted on him for thirty-
thousand years. A twinge of pain in my heart reminded me that
Kresnik was just as sadistic as those who had condemned him to an
eternity of torture and didn’t deserve my pity.
The eagle expanded its wings, seeming even more menacing
than it had appeared in the vision Kresnik had shared with me that
time he’d attacked me in Beatrice’s living room.
I edged along the poolside, distancing myself from Kresnik,
whose gaze was fixed on the bird’s unblinking gold eyes.
Palpitations reverberated across my body, making me tremble to
the marrow. If the monstrous bird was going to eat anyone’s liver,
a) it wasn’t going to be mine, and b) I wasn’t going to hang around
to watch.
Kresnik stepped onto a boulder that bordered the pool, looking
like he was about to launch himself backward into the water, but
the eagle lurched forward, catching him by the tunic.
My heart jumped into the back of my throat, blocking a scream.
“That’s it, Aetos.” Epimetheus rubbed his filthy hands together.
“Punish my wretched brother. Avenge Python!”
My gaze shot up the shaft of light. It was time to get out of this
cave and find my way home.
Pushing my magic out of my chakras, and down my meridians, I
tried to shift, but Kresnik’s blood-curdling scream turned my insides
to stone, drawing my attention to the carnage by the pool.
Swallowing hard, I tried again, making sure to turn away from what
sounded like the most horrific torture.
Wiry arms wrapped around my middle, and a bony body pressed
into my side. “Going somewhere, sweet female?”
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