Me either, I have to agree.

“It is done,” Xane says boldly. “The ritual had to be done and it has drawn us closer, far beyond what anyone could have predicted. We belong together,” he adds, and I frown at him.

What the fuck is he doing? Does he want us both dead and buried in this garden?

She narrows Her eyes at him in undisguised fury. “She belongs to someone else.” She is very defensive of Cole for some reason. I think maybe because he was Her last hope of ever getting me back to my rightful place.

“Maybe so, but Blood Magick won’t be denied, Tiamat. You know how powerful it is.”

“Indeed,” She muses.

“Especially with us,” he presses.

Us? Us, me and him, or us, a Dragon and a Demon?

“I am aware of the connection between our kinds, young Draconis,” She hisses at him, but he doesn’t falter. “Leave me to speak with my daughter,” Mother dismisses him. He hesitates but makes the decision to kiss me and murmurs, “I will be close by.”

I nod briefly, but I’m not worried…much. She is my mother, after all.

She waits for him to go out of earshot and turns back to me. She takes my hands and says, “ValamAtrux.” She purses her lips, “Be wise, my child.”

I wait, expecting more, but there is no more.

“I’m trying,” I say sullenly. “Things just happen.”

“Poor reasoning, my dear. Everyone makes choices. You make bad choices. You are too ruled by your Vampire side. You need to suppress it. Now! Bring your true nature to the forefront. You are a Dragon. You need to start acting like one,” She scolds. Her wrath at me and my bad choices is evident, and I gulp. Well, fuck me if that’s not me just told. Even Constantine doesn’t have the ability to make me feel like a small child being told off anymore.

“How am I supposed to do that?” I ask. “I am a Vampire. I have been one for over a thousand years. I can’t just suppress it on a whim.”

“You can, and you will,” She snaps at me.

“Then tell me how,” I say, getting annoyed. “I am tired of being in the dark and expecting to just know how things work and how to do things and who people are.”

“The only way to learn is by doing,” She says, and I sigh.

“I have to be a Vampire; I have to feed on blood. Even more so now. I can’t change that, and the consequences of abstinence are not pretty.”

“You can change that. Use your Dragon to sustain you. You don’t need the blood, ValamAtrux.”

“Then show me how. I can’t be who you want me to be without a bit of guidance. Show me and I will.”

She thinks it over and eventually seeing that I clearly need all the help I can get, sighs and let’s go of my hands. She holds Hers out, palms down. “Put yours under mine,” She instructs me. I do.

“Dragons feed off energy. Try.”

By doing what? But I know this is all I am going to get from Her, the rest is up to me.

I concentrate, drawing on the spell from the Grimoire for instruction, with a few minor twists to make it a more positive experience. An inky black glow, that is my signature essence, rolls out of my hands and pulls out Her purpley glow, absorbing it, before sinking back into my palms.

I was hungry before, needing blood, but now I feel just fine. Better than fine. Great, even. I smile with pride

She says gruffly, “A bit rough around the edges but at least you can manage it.”

Gee, such praise.

“Who can I do this with?” I ask a necessary question. Wouldn’t do to end up killing or hurting someone I love.

“Anyone. As with blood, the stronger the being, the more you can take.”

Tags: Eve Newton Fantasy
Source: readsnovelonline.net