Vampire Legacy (Book 4 of the Dragon Heat series) (29 page)

There was only one solution—he would have to cure Somenski.

Without wasting any more time, Petran
clouded out
, ensuring everyone saw what he was doing, and then he soared past the guards and whooshed out of the window. He wanted them to see him leaving, he wanted them to come after him. When he heard the seneschal shout the order and vanish into the waterfall, Petran dissipated into a thin mist losing his followers. As soon as the coast was clear again, he floated back into the room, now free of guards.

Landing at Somenski’s bedside, he let his body take shape once again, and lifted the draco into his arms. Somenski opened his eyes and tried to shout, but he was obviously too weak to even do that. Mighty Soartas, the old sod felt colder than Petran’s own body. It was almost painful to carry such a freezing corpse, but Petran stood his ground. Time was running out too fast.

He ran out the window and teleported to where there was no cement or rocks blocking his way.

**********

Less than a second later, he materialized them both at the base of an old volcano. The lights from the Gulf of Naples sparkled down below. The village surrounding the dormant summit looked quiet, almost oblivious of its perpetual threat. Mount Vesuvius was a sacred ground to dragons. If caught here, nothing would keep Petran safe from the wrath of the draconian elders. But he did not care. Not even the aching warmth of the volcano above would stop him from using this last chance to save Somenski, and in turn to save Natalia. He just hoped his crazy idea would work.

Kidnapping Somenski had been only the appetizer of this insane plan. The main course was yet to come. Getting the draco up the hill and into the dormant volcano was going to be an miraculous feat, especially deep enough for the dying man to touch the blazing core.

“Right, old sod,” Petran mumbled as he adjusted Somenski over his shoulder. “You better wake up after this or I swear I will return from Hiad to haunt you until the end of your miserable life.”

He hiked the steep hill, and felt the heat increase with each step he took. Walking was painfully slow, but safer.  This way, he’d be able to gauge if the mountain was too hot for his vampire body. Well, not that it would necessarily matter. He was set to go all the way.

Halfway through, Petran turned around to catch a break. He wished he had time to enjoy the beautiful view. Maybe one day, he’d bring Talia here.

Out of nowhere, the ground shook beneath his feet. Petran froze in place, startled by the sudden movement.

“Bloody Soartas, don’t you dare wake this volcano while I’m here,” he cursed under his breath, then resumed his hike at a faster pace.

The ground trembled again but this time harder. “Retched gates of Hiad,” he yelled, struggling to keep his balance. It was as if the mountain felt the presence of a trespasser and was trying to defend its boundaries.

“To Hiad with this shit!” Petran held Somenski tightly against him and darted up the steep summit, as fast as he could. The further he went, the closer he got to his destiny, and the more the ground shook.

After long minutes fighting against the gods of the mountain, which felt like an hour, he finally reached the top, then dropped the heavy draco onto the ground and plummeted beside him, panting feverously. He’d never take his teleporting abilities for granted ever again.

Pushing off the sooty ground, he looked down into the mouth of the mighty volcano. The lava down below bubbled alive and thick fumes soared up, making him cough. He could feel the deadly heat in his skin, in his veins, and in his bones. Vampires could not withstand the heat. Not only the sun, but scorching temperatures in general were a deadly weapon against his race. And here he was at the mouth of the largest volcano in the world walking toward the blazing lava.

How wonderful.

He crept a few more paces, dragging Somenski with him. “Come on, Somenski! Wake up!”

Nothing.

Other than the shivering and perspiration, which had gotten worse since they left Moldavia, the old sod had not given any other signs of life.

“Damn the Soartas,” Petran cursed under his breath.

He wiped the sweat off his own forehead and looked down into the molting throat of his potential death. The lava bubbled as if sensing him watching, but thankfully did not erupt. Like a seductress who knew her turf, it wanted him to come closer, not the other way around.

And he had to do it. Talia’s life depended on this.

With the last ounces of strength left in his body, he lifted Somenski in his arms, took a few steps back to gain ground, and then darted straight toward the volcano.

As his feet touched the edge, he leaped into the air as high as he could. When he reached the middle of the opening, right above the mountain’s open core, he let go of his friend...and lost his momentum falling into the volcano with him.

Almost immediately, his skin started boiling, his bones cracking, and his eyesight became blurry. And he wasn’t even close to the lava hidden deep down below. Feet after feet, he was falling toward the blazing sea below.

No, no, no!

Talia’s glittering grey eyes came to view, flooding his mind—her plush lips, her soft skin, her mesmerizing smile. She was waiting for him. She needed him to survive.

Petran closed his eyes and forced his mind to take control over his panic. He managed to still his heavy breathing, ignoring his bubbling skin, and his aching limbs. The molten lava was not even ten feet from him when he finally managed to teleport out of the fuming volcano.

Materializing back on the hill, he let his lungs cough out the soot. Blisters covered his skin and his bones felt like charcoal, but he was alive. He lay on his back, and let the healing begin.

All of a sudden, the ground shook again, worse than any time before.

Bloody Apa Dobrý!

His eyes darted back to the scorching summit as an immense eruption exploded into the sky.

Without any strength left to do anything else, Petran lifted his coat over his face in a feeble attempt to protect himself from the molten rock and pulverized pumice falling from the sky. Shards of magma descended onto his fur coat but its thickness proved to be quite resilient, and protected him from further damage.

After a while, the skies quieted down and Petran decided it was safe enough to come out of his makeshift shelter.

A massive green and blue dragon stood towering over him.

Chapter Thirty Three

“You bloody idiot,” Somenski growled from above him. The massive dragon was probably twenty feet tall. His muzzle alone was half of Petran’s body.

“Good to see you well again, neighbor,” Petran stated, trying to sound more relaxed than he felt. But Somenski wasn’t buying it.

“How dare you step onto my race’s sacred grounds with your filthy feet?”

“It is not my fault this is the only active volcano near Moldavia,” Petran replied, pushing off the ground. “You’re welcome, by the way.”

“Welcome?” The dragon puffed out. “You ruined me! You disgraced my daughter, and you plotted against me.” Somenski then swiped his tail out, nearly connecting with Petran’s head.

Even if Petran could take on a centuries-old dragon, he didn’t want to, so he raised his palms up in surrender, and tried to reason with the raging draco.

“Somenski,” he growled between clenched teeth. “Listen to me a moment, and give me the benefit of the doubt.”

“Why should I?”

Another blow swished by just inches from Petran’s left ear. “Because if I wanted you dead, why would I have risked my life to save your fat arse?”

His words seemed to have struck home.

Somenski paused, his incoming tail-attack frozen mid-air.

“I had my best physician in London looking into the Curse,” Petran added quickly, not wanting to lose the frail truce he’d gained. “Your blankets were contaminated with a bacteria which was freezing your cells. It was stopping you from creating heat.”

Somenski narrowed his large, lizard-like eyes at Petran, but did not retort or retaliate.

“The Curse wasn’t blocking you from shifting as we believed,” Petran continued.

“Dragons need heat,” Somenski mumbled. “Without heat, we are nothing. Our powers fade.”

“The non-shifting status was just a side effect, not the cause. The cause was the chilling of your cells,” Petran added carefully.

“So, you figured if you could get my body to heat up, then it would find the strength to kill the attacking Curse.”

Petran nodded.

Somenski stared deep into Petran’s eyes. He suddenly felt as if the dragon was touching his inmã, as if Somenski could reach out and read his soul, literally. Petran had never experienced anything like it before.

“Why?” He glared down at Petran. “Why did you save me? You have much to gain with my death.”

“No, I do not,” Petran countered. “We have a good balance going on between us, Somenski. I give you healthy land on which to grow your crops, and you protect my cargo in your ports. Why would I want to ruin that?”

“For more,” the dragon bellowed. Dark smoke came out of his large nostrils, reminding Petran it would take the dragon just one puff to obliterate him.

“It is not me who wants more,” he retorted. “It is your future son-in-law. He colluded with Yerik and together they managed to contaminate not only your serfs, but also your very own blankets with the illness. That was how you got sick and not Natalia.”

The slits of Somenski’s eyes went thin with rage. “You dare accuse a draconian senator on our sacred ground!”

Oh, bloody Hiad.

Petran jumped out of the way just as the deadly tail crashed where he was standing.

“Somenski, listen to me, look at the facts,” Petran shouted, as he dodged yet another attack. “Who would really profit from your death?”

The tail struck on the left, Petran jumped to the right.

“Who owes you a small fortune in unpaid maritime fees?” Petran rolled backwards as the tail landed a few feet before him.

“Kalaur is not smart enough to have set this plot in motion,” Somenski retorted.

Stupid lizard.

“Enough!” Petran yelled at the beast, finally losing his temper. To his surprise, the dragon complied. “This is ludicrous. You are not mad at me because of Kalaur’s ridiculous claims. You know they are bollocks!” Petran exhaled a tired breath. “You are mad at me because of Talia.”

Somenski’s lips lifted into a growled, but he did not retaliate at Petran.

“Yes, I betrayed your friendship the moment I laid eyes on her a couple of months ago, and I do not expect you to forgive me for courting her. But this is my mistake, Somenski, Natalia has no blame for what happened.”

“No blame?” Somenski bellowed. “She let you mark her!”

Petran winced at the accusation. If only he had contained his desire and not bit her. He had tried to fight his thirst but having her warm body writhing under him, her moans of pleasure filling the room, and her peaked breasts brushing against his skin…it had all been too much for his weak resolve. He could not resist plunging his fangs deep inside her as his cock did the same to her wet core. Not that he would ever share that piece of information with the raging dragon in front of him.

“Somenski,” Petran said looking straight into the dragon’s eyes. “How can a young girl, barely out of school, be any match for me, a centuries-old vampire?”

Somenski exhaled an angry puff again. “She should have known better.”

“Blame me for what happened, not her,” Petran insisted. “I seduced her. I pressured her to terminate the betrothal. I sneaked into her room. She had no way of defending herself from my advances. Please, my friend, your anger is with me, not her. Punish me, not her.”

For the first time this night, his neighbor stopped and regarded Petran without accusation in his gaze. “What are you saying, vampire?”

Petran released along breath. “I am saying, take your daughter back. She does not deserve death because of her involvement with me. She needs you, Somenski. She is in prison. Kalaur is keeping her in the dungeons at the Castle of Kings, and who knows what he’s been doing to her.”

“And you want me to undo your doing,” his neighbor added. It was not a question.

“I don’t want you to fix my mistakes. Unfortunately, I’ll have to live with the pain I caused her. All I want you to do is break the wall you created around your heart and see that she loves you more than anything in this world. She would have risked her own life to save you if she were here.”

Once again, Somenski did not reply. He just stared at Petran, regarding him with narrowed eyes. Then suddenly, the dragon simply flapped his wings and flew up into the air, landing several feet away on the edge of the now quiet volcano.

He stood there, gazing down at the calming summit of his sacred volcano as if in deep thought. After a few agonizing moments of silence, he murmured, “You did go through Hiad to cure me.”

Petran didn’t respond, understanding the statement had been more of an out-loud thought than a query.

“I have one more question to ask you,” the dragon added. “But know this, Natalia’s salvation lies within your answer.”

Petran lifted his chin up and replied, “I’ll answer anything you want to know.”

“Very well, then.” The dragon nodded acknowledging his vow. “Do you love her?”

Petran’s gut clenched with surprise.

He had expected anything from the dragon lord, but not that. His tongue caught, his mouth went dry, and his heart started pumping hard within his chest but in his mind, only one answer resounded.
Yes.

Bloody Soartas, yes.

As a rush of excitement coursed through his veins with the acknowledgement, a strange sense of shame overcame him. It was disgraceful for him to admit to having fallen in love. Not only because it was a despicable sentiment which only fools allowed themselves to believe in but because he, the centuries-old King of Vampires, had fallen into the trap without even seeing it coming. 

He understood it now how all those years he had been looking for something he did not understand. The emptiness of living a life without passion, without falling in love had eaten him alive. He had blocked his heart from feeling anything remotely close to the drumming he felt now, the strange pull he felt every time Natalia entered the room. Talia was strong willed, defiant, and stubborn. His other lovers had been caring, yes, but somewhat compliant,
too compliant
. They hadn’t challenged him in any manner. They had never showed him a new perspective, a new way of looking at the world. So, after the passion of sexual desire ebbed, he had been left feeling nothing, not even compassion for his lovers, and broke it off.

He had set out on this quest planning to make Lady Natalia fall in love with him. Little had he known the Soartas had a completely different plan for him.

Petran took another deep breath, then lowered his eyes and nodded affirmatively. “Yes, I love her.”

Somenski snorted. “How bloody ironic.”

“Tell me about it,” Petran said with a bitter chuckle, surprised to be finding humor in this mess at all. “The Soartas played me really bad this time.”

He heard Somenski inhale heavily, and found himself doing the same. Now all cards were on the table, Petran had nothing else to bargain with. If the draco decided to kill him and leave Talia to rot in prison, he would do so and there was nothing Petran could do about it.

“All right,” the dragon finally said. “I will free Natalia and take her home.”

Merciful Soartas! Petran opened his mouth to thank the draco but was cut off immediately.

“With one condition.”

Petran froze in place. The darkness in Somenski’s voice could only be the prelude to a nefarious request. But once again, Petran’s mind was made up. He would do anything to keep Talia safe. “Anything.”

“You must never see her again.”

Petran closed his eyes and let the darkness sink in.

**********

The palms of her hands frayed on the hard marble floor as the guard shoved her harshly into the Throne Room. Even though every part of her body ached from the sleepless nights in the rat-infested prison, she would not give Kalaur the satisfaction of seeing how she suffered.

Swallowing back a grunt, Talia pushed off the floor and stood up regally, or rather as regally as her chained wrists and dirty dress would allow.

It had been only two nights since the tragedy at the Closing Ball, and Kalaur had already claimed the castle for himself, easily crushing any attempts at popular revolt. Without leadership, the rebels had crumbled. Rumors of a female draconian with golden eyes had reached Talia in prison. The guards had gossiped about the female draco who had tried to storm the Castle of Kings, but was crushed at the entrance. Talia just hoped Z was all right. She knew they had not caught her friend, for she was still the only guest at the Dungeon Hotel.

Seated on the castle’s throne at the far end of the room, her former future-husband looked very refreshed, almost glowing. The large chamber once decorated with ancient tapestries bearing the motto,
Prosperity can only be found in Peace
, now bore horrid murals depicting Kalaur in different battle scenes. The lord was self-boasting and delusional, to say the least. To the left of the throne, his shadow of a brother stood. And to his left…Talia’s heart cracked once again when she saw Ivan Milek standing right next to Kalaur. The traitor looked all fresh, wearing an expensive silk jacket and matching coat.

A wave of rage shook Talia’s every limb. By Apa Dobrý, the bastard had truly sold his inmã to Hiad.

“You have no right to keep me prisoner, Kalaur,” she uttered. “The law is clear on this. I deserve to wait for my trial as a free citizen.”

Kalaur’s ugly chuckle echoed in the room. “Yes, former bride of mine, the law is clear, and applies to citizens, as in
male
dragons, not women. You are a woman. You belong to your father the same way the sheep in his pens do. And since he has disowned you in my territory…well, that makes you mine now.”

“The bitch spent so much time shagging vampires, she has forgotten which country she’s in,” Balaur added chuckling, and Ivan promptly joined him.

Talia locked her jaw tight, and her fists turned into balls itching to retaliate but she decided to ignore the offense. Unfortunately, Kalaur was right. The draconian laws applied only to citizens, and women were not considered as such. When she was under her father’s protection, no one dared to touch her but now, it was a completely different matter.

“I demand to see him,” Talia said.

“See whom?” Kalaur sneered back.

“My father.”

Another laugh resounded in the room, louder than the previous one. “Lord Somenski is long gone, Natalia. He returned to his castle with his tail tucked under his wobbly legs after the humiliation you brought down upon his name.”

A frown wrinkled her brow. “My father would have never left without talking to me.” He wouldn’t have, would he?

“Get this into your thick skull, woman,” Ivan spat out. “You are a disgrace to our race. No one wants anything to do with you, not your father, not even your blood sucking lover.”

Talia glared at her former leader, trying to contain the bile, which rose up her throat. “How could you do this? How could you betray your people like this, selling out your very own friends?”

Ivan glared back at her. Pure hatred oozed from his icy stare. “I could ask you the same, vampire whore.”