Fatal Cravings: Immortal Keeper Vampire Paranormal Romance Series, Daniella Starre [classic books for 11 year olds .TXT] 📗

I had no tears to shed for myself.

After all, I had caused this.

Time passed. Between the stench and the sickening blood coating the cell doors—the victim who had been housed in the cell before me?—I wasn’t hungry.

Footsteps sounded, heavy. A human approached, if I had to guess.

“Time for you to eat.”

He pressed a button, and two of the cell rods lifted just enough for him to shove the thin tray through.

The food looked disgusting and smelled just as bad.

The guard left.

Yeah, there was no way I was eating that.

More time passed. I didn’t know how long. Whenever my fingers brushed against the necklace, a sense of calmness washed over me, but Maxwell was nowhere to be found. Where was he?

More importantly, where was Viktor?

No, even more importantly, what was Viktor up to?

I had been planted as bait for Viktor, but I had a terrible suspicion that Viktor was using me as bait as well.

When the guard returned, he lowered his head. “You need to eat.”

I snorted. “You eat it.”

“If you don’t…”

“What do you care?” I snapped.

“You’re the one who killed his son.”

I snorted again. “Vampires can’t have sons.”

“Not his biological son, but his heir just the same. Viktor has amassed a great deal of wealth and influence, and if you can’t—”

“I don’t care to hear whatever rhetoric you’re going to spew at me.” I shook my head. “I’ll starve before I eat that.”

“You might hate Viktor, but he took me in. I had no one. I was living on the streets, chasing down rats to eat,” the guard said.

"Ah, yes, so now you're his grunt man, doing his dirty work. Aren't you special?"

“You won’t feel so damn special soon enough,” the guard said with a sneer. “You might be a Chosen, and you might be a vampire’s wife, but you’re going to help to draw out your vampire husband.”

I sucked in a breath. My fears were confirmed.

“Maxwell is going down,” the guard continued. “He’ll face off against Viktor in a duel to the death, and everyone knows which vampire will win. The one who is out for blood because of blood spilled by a human.”

10

“Viktor—”

The guard reached through the bars and slapped me hard.

“You aren’t worthy enough to say his name!”

I grabbed his wrist, but he pulled his arm back.

“If you don’t want to eat, don’t eat, but that won’t matter. Either way, you’ll end up dead,” the guard said. “Before Maxwell dies, after… That will be Viktor’s decision, but it looks like it might have to be before. After all, Maxwell hasn’t shown up yet. He must not give a rat’s ass about you after all.”

I glowered at the guard. He looked like a rat himself, with his beady little eyes and hooked nose that wiggled about the angrier he got.

“I—”

“I don’t want to hear it.” The guard stomped away.

“Viktor won’t kill Maxwell!” I shouted. “He won’t kill anyone!”

But the guard didn’t return, and maybe I shouldn’t have let him get to me like that, but I couldn’t help being worried. The guard thought Maxwell should have come by now. He hadn’t.

Why not?

Obviously, Viktor hadn't gotten to him, so there was that, but Maxwell was an old vampire. He most likely had more than one rival, more than one enemy.

And more than one lover.

What if a scorned lover had taken exception to the fact that he had married me? A vampire might not be too keen on his marrying a human. There were many vampires who thought humans were food only and weren’t meant to be played with.

Was that all I was to Maxwell—a plaything?

No. No, that was just the guard getting into my head. Maxwell loved me. I knew he did.

My fingers brushed against the necklace, but for once, it brought me no comfort. Being one of the Chosen hadn’t protected me. Neither had been Maxwell’s wife. I was locked up, left to root until a vampire decided to use me to lure out my husband, his enemy.

Right where I wanted to be.

Only I wanted to face Viktor myself. I didn’t want Maxwell to have to rescue me.

All along, I hoped to be the one to end Viktor. Not just for revenge.

But to ensure Maxwell wasn’t another person to die because of me.

A rush of wind caused my hair to flutter and cover my face. I yanked it back and stared at the woman standing on the other sides of the jail cell.

Unlike the guard who had worn black pants and a dark blue shirt as his uniform, this vampire wore a beautiful dress, reminding me of the vampires who had attended the ball/reception.

But she was not here to praise me and congratulate me about the wedding. She hadn’t been there.

No, she wasn’t Team Maxwell.

She was Team Viktor.

I backed away from the bars toward the other corner.

She reached toward me. No, not toward me, but the bars. With no effort at all, she bent the metal easily and stepped through the opening she had created.

The vampire stalked toward me and then paused, tilting her head to the side.

“You are nothing. You’re pathetic and… You’re unworthy of my time. How was it that you managed to kill Magnus?”

Her voice had a lovely quality to it, beautiful, as if she were a singer. There was no power to her words, just a simple question. I baffled her.

“I…”

“You killed my love.”

Well, shit.

The vampire grabbed me and lifted me into the air, her hand on my throat. She squeezed, her nails digging into me.

“I’ve been begging Viktor to allow me to kill you. Alas, that he won’t allow, but torture…” She grinned recklessly, wildly. The vampire was deranged. I had no doubt at all that she would go too far with her antics and kill me.

In her mind, I deserved it. I killed her lover.

I hadn’t thought about that. I had only reacted. Magnus was going to kill me, so I killed him instead.

I never thought it would