Ruler [Blood Magic, Book 3]

Chapter 26: There Is No If

Keel was barely through the door when he said, "I'm not sure this was the best idea."

I turned in surprise, wondering what he was talking about, and came face to face with the pitch-black eyes of Nosferatu hunger.

"It's hard to be near you all day, to smell you and have your blood on me, and not..." His words trailed off, he was talking to my throat. "If it's distracting to me, it must be distracting to the others, and we need cohesion not-" A low growl consumed the rest of his words.

This is why it it's impossible not to fear him, I thought. This is being Nosferatu and it will always be being Nosferatu - and caged by the bond.

One of us was going to have to take control of this situation or our supernatural natures would do it for us. Hungry Nosferatu were irrational Nosferatu and I hadn't seen Keel take any sustenance all day, short of a few quick sips to top up the shield. When the rest of his entourage broke for lunch, he'd remained with me in private conference; we'd discussed the rising security concerns in the wake of the latest assassination attempt and the not-entirely-effective alarm system I'd deployed. Neither of us had eaten. I was pretty hungry too, but compound schedules had gotten me used to one meal a day, and it was not yet that time.

I broke eye contact and walked past him to the door of the royal chambers, which I shoved shut. When it thudded into place, I slid the lock closed. Click. I didn't rush and I didn't check behind me to see what Keel was doing. At any time he could have reached out, grabbed me and taken what he wanted, but he remained where he was. I wasn't sure if it signalled remarkable self-control or curiosity about what I was up to.

When I turned back to face him, the shadows in his sockets had deepened and the bones beneath his skin cut sharp angles across his features. If the bond and my absence had somehow arrested the transition process, my return had unleashed it. The changes were slow, subtle and I didn't always notice them, but the hunger accentuated everything. Keel hadn't become, he was still becoming, still transitioning.

The king who stood before me was as monstrous as he'd ever been, and yet not, because back before when the Keel-who-would-be reared his ugly Nosferatu head, the hunger and rage and instinctual hate were the things in control. This Keel held the reins on that monster. That didn't mean he wasn't dangerous, but we'd come to a place where he valued me compliant more than any other way. For now at least.

Sweeping my hair aside, I delivered the expected offering to my king. He took it and the two of us fell back against the door as his fangs slid into my neck. I braced myself for the wave of pleasure, but it fell short of its usual blinding explosion. The bond thrilled and trilled, but from Keel all I felt was concern and apprehension.

When he'd had his fill, he released me, wiped his mouth and turned away. His unease lingered in my head, a dull, throbbing, stress headache. I reached up and massaged circles into my temples. 

"It's only the first day, Your Majesty," I said, "and you may have aggravated things by not eating."

"And what should I eat? My security personnel?" Sharp words. A slip of the armor.

But now I understood better, part of his frustration lay in my changing role. He could subsist without my blood when I wasn't in close proximity, but when I was... he didn't want to do without.

"Probably not in public, and maybe not when we're working. But you are still my king, and that is something you may demand of me."

When he didn't say anything, I asked, "What do you eat when I'm not around? Is it still that girl I saw-" I stopped, not sure I wanted to go there when he was already in a foul mood.