Jakob rounded the corner of his desk.
“Don’t answer it,” Henrik mumbled.
He ignored him. “What?” Jakob answered. Henrik rolled his eyes. A lotta good being king did him. “What? Put him through.” His brother held out the hand piece. “Kael MacQuillan for you.”
Henrik crossed the room, a strange foreboding crawling into his belly. Or maybe that was just the akevitt. First light marked the end of a vampire’s day, which made it an odd time for his royal counterpart in Northern Ireland to call. Unless somewhere in their world the shit was hitting the fan.
He pressed the receiver to his ear. “Kael, it’s Henrik. How are you, brother?” he said in English.
“I’m well. Sorry to disturb you at this hour.”
“I am always available to you. Are you well? Shayla? Everything okay at Dunluce?” Kael had mated with one of the Proffered three years before.
“Aye. Thank you. My family is well. It’s not my news I’ve called to share.” Anticipation hardened into a rock in his gut. “Yingjie Fei is dead, along with half his inner circle of warriors.”
Henrik sank into his chair. The Warrior King of the Eastern Vampires dead? “How?”
“Soul Eaters,” Kael spat.
Henrik nodded. He read the intelligence reports religiously. The war had been escalating all over Eurasia for the past two years. “Jesus. He wasn’t prepared for succession, either.”
“No. China’s a mess. Which is why I’m spreading the word on their behalf.”
“I appreciate the call, Kael. I just wish it brought better news.”
“Me, too, old friend. Me, too.”
They said their goodbyes and Henrik returned the receiver to its cradle. He cut his gaze to Jakob. “Fei’s dead.” He scrubbed his hands over his face. “Sonofabitch.”
His brother braced his hands on the edge of the desk, his head hanging. And among his grief for their fallen brethren, Henrik knew without question what else Jakob was thinking, what else weighed so heavily on his shoulders.
Now there were six. Just six vampire kings and warrior forces to fight a worldwide battle against a reckless enemy in an ancient and escalating war. Who knew how long it would take China to reestablish order and authority?
Six.
And, if Henrik died—which was a total certainty except for the when—there would be five.
Five.
An absolutely impossible situation—for the vampires and the humans, too.
Anger and regret flooded through him. He knew what he had to do, and he wouldn’t make Jakob be the one to say it. “Gather the warriors in the council room. They need to be briefed. I’ll meet you there.” He made for the door and battened down all his emotional hatches. This had to be done. It was bigger than either of them, now. “I need to inform Miss Sorensen there’s been a change in plans.”
Chapter 9
Kaira sat in the chair, chin resting on her knees, and stared at the huge iron bed that dominated the center of the chamber to which Henrik had earlier moved her.
Right after he’d finished informing her she wasn’t free to go after all.
That he would be feeding from her, and that, for a vampire, feeding usually entailed sex. So Jakob would remain in the room with them to keep it just about the blood. Unless she desired the sex, too.
Oh, if she wanted, she could drink from his vein in return. It could possibly cure her leukemia.
He’d been precisely that dry and mechanical about it, barely evincing an emotion on his face or looking her in the eye.
Afterward she’d had the chance to shower and change, though she’d put on an old, familiar outfit from the bag Jakob had retrieved from her hotel, not the white silk robe that had been laid out on the bed.
Hours later, there she sat, butterflies keeping her stomach in a constant state of flip-flop and anticipation of his return unleashing alternating waves of fear and desire. At least her fever and aches had abated.
She shook her head. He was going to feed from her. His mouth against her skin, his hard chest against her breasts, his hands holding her tight. Twice before, he’d drunk from her. Both times, she’d become aroused. And the memory of the incredible orgasm she’d had—just from kissing and touching, no less—made her core clench and tingle.
Overwhelmed didn’t begin to cover it. If it was just his feeding or just curing her leukemia or just losing her virginity that was up for discussion here, she might be able to deal. Okay, that probably wasn’t true either. Any of those, on their own, would still be a lot to consider. All together? She dropped her forehead against her knees.