Page 79 of King of Blood and Sin

Xavian’s eyes lift and meet mine. And he smiles. Not the smile of a friend or a fellow king acknowledging territorial boundaries. The smile of a predator who’s found something worth fighting over. His teeth elongate slightly, the beginning of a transformation he holds in careful check as his skin ripples and darkens.

He drops her, and I’m aware of every inch of her body that meets concrete with unnecessary force.

“Kylian, I just got word you arrived. What a pleasant surprise,” he says. “I thought you preferred the shadows to the sunlight. Yet here you are, skin still smoldering.” His gaze flicks to my burned hands, healing even as he watches. He leans down, gripping her arm, and hauls her to her feet. She whimpers, taking a step toward me, but he jerks her back to his side. “First her and now you? This day is just getting better and better. Strange coincidence, right?”

“It’s not.”

He shakes Alessia slightly then grips her face, staring at her with an expression that makes my heart sputter. “She looks exactly like her mother. I never forget a face,” he says, letting his hand slip from her jaw to her throat. Her hands fly to his wrist, nails digging into his flesh as she struggles for air.

“Release her,” I command, advancing another step. Guards shrink away, cowering against walls, abandoning their posts. They know what happens when kings fight, and if he doesn’t release her, things will get bloody very quickly. They know nothing survives the crossfire.

“So you are here for her,” Xavian replies, his voice honey-smooth. “Finders keepers, blood drinker. She stumbled into my territory. The rules are clear, what walks on demon land belongs to the Demon King.”

Xavian’s expression shifts, understanding darkening his features. His nostrils flare again as he scents the air between us, reading what I’ve only just begun to understand myself.

“How interesting. I didn’t realize the Vampire King had found his bond.”

The word strikes like lightning. Bond. The truth of it sinks into my bones and settles in my blood. The reason I can’t feed from others. The reason her magic affects me so deeply. The reason the sun’s burn heals so quickly with the remnants of her blood in my veins.

Xavian laughs, a sound like stones grinding together. “Oh, this is delightful,” he says, his gaze flicking between us. “You didn’t know, did you? You’ve been so busy playing with your food that you didn’t even recognize what she is.” His grip tightens further, and Alessia gasps, a small, broken sound that tears at something fundamental inside me.

“I know exactly who and what she is,” I snarl.

“And you didn’t think to alert your fellow kings? What happens if I break her before your eyes, vampire? What happens to a king when his bond dies.”

For one heartbeat, the world holds its breath.

Xavian watches me like he’s savoring the moment, like this is a game he didn’t expect but is enjoying far too much. Alessia’s breath stutters in his grip, her fingers clawing uselessly at his wrist. I take another step forward, rage coiling tight inside me.

“You want to break her like our fathers broke the Arcanum?”

Anger crosses Xavian’s features before he masks it, but I saw the way he flinched at the mention of his father.

He releases her, and I move at the same instant she falls.

She doesn’t hit the ground this time. I’m there too quickly, catching her, hauling her against my chest. She crashes into me, fingers fisting in my coat like she’s afraid I’ll vanish if she lets go. Her body is shaking violently, breath coming in sharp, broken gasps as she buries her face against me.

I fold around her without thinking, one arm locking around her back, the other cradling her head, pressing her into the safety of my chest. My chin drops to the top of her head, inhaling her scent, grounding myself in it.