The Consort's Will 《COMPLETE》

Chapter 18

Chapter 18 – Finn

We're silent because we have to be. After Leo's wordless confession, we know our every movement is being watched. We're in an underground snow globe, trapped but transparent. Reyo is in control of it all, pulling our strings and making us dance to his whim.

Leo's trails his finger up the back of my elbow and leans into me. Bogdan stiffens at our closeness. He's learning to pick and choose his battles when it comes to my old lover. This isn't one of them.

"Reyo will summon you," he whispers. "Be prepared."

He gives Bogdan a solemn nod and leaves us, moving down an unfamiliar corridor. The wiggling flames tighten around his silhouette, shedding light to his slight limp and slender frame. Shadows swallow him whole, and Bogdan nudges me to keep walking. We're out in the open here. There's so much that needs to be said, but it's not here. Never out in the open.

"Kelly's going to die."

They're the first words spoken by either of us since we left Kelly's bedside. Bogdan replies with a curt nod and stealthily moves throughout my chamber. His masculine features pinch in concentration as he searches along the ceiling and the wall. For cameras. He's trying to find Reyo's virtual eyes hovering near us.

He stops at the edge of the bed. I follow his gaze to a decorative flower made of smooth metal and iron. In the center is a reflective camera. It's small, no bigger than the size of a dime, and unless I knew what I was looking for, I'd never be able to find it. Bogdan removes his belt and uses the buckle to smash the cylinder switch once, then twice.

"If Mr. Primary is as clever as he poses himself to be, this will be restored quickly," Bogdan mutters, emphasizing Reyo's title like the curse that it is. "We don't have long."

He angles his body towards me and hurriedly speaks his plan.

"When he calls you back to the war room, agree to his terms. Whatever they are. We need you to remain easily accessible, and that shall only be accomplished if Reyo doesn't see you as a threat."

Fear clutches my insides. "He'll use my blood, though. Every vampire they can get their hands on will be destroyed. They'll inject them with the serum and they'll die."

Bogdan's black eyes bore into mine. He knew this was going to happen. He doesn't trust the Secondaries, and I shouldn't have either. Reyo doesn't want to help bring peace. He never did. He simply wants to overthrow the vampires so that the Secondaries can finally rise to power. Once again, humans are the pawn.

"I will devise a plan for our escape," Bogdan continues ignoring my words. "Kelly included. But in order for it to work, you must play your part. And I shall play mine."

"What's yours?"

"My dependency on you," Bogdan says, drawing closer to me. "It will be used against us, unless I can make them believe it's no longer there."

My best friend is days away from dying, Leo is being beaten and used by the Secondaries, and the delicate balance of humankind hangs in the balance of war. Yet in this moment, a small fissure forms at the center of my chest, and it's the only thing that I can feel.

It's in the way he says it that I realize his dependency for me goes beyond our blood blond. He's talking about me. I'm not able to bask in the joyous news; it's taken from me just as quickly as it's given. Bogdan feels something for me, a feat neither of us thought possible. And he's afraid it will be our downfall.

A mix between an argument and a plea travels up my throat and onto my lips, but it never reaches the surface. Bogdan is there before I get a chance, pulling me into his arms and capturing my lips as his. His hands are demanding. Everything about his touch is frantic, needy, and full of weeks of unmet desire.

I harden to his touch. His kiss is rough. His tongue slides against mine, luring me into more. He fights off his growing fangs as long as he can before the hunger builds. My blood is too inviting, and his need for it battles against his sexual desire.

He tears his lips from mine, frustration etched through his features. Shades of black flicker across his irises. The warring emotions are too much. I lean my neck to the side willingly. It might not be the way I want our last moment of intimacy to end, but I know what he needs.

Bogdan slides his arms around my waist and turns me until my back is pressed firmly against his stomach. His hardness presses against my ass. My breath comes out in short, fast spurts as Bogdan rushes through the motions of undressing me. He gently bends me over the bed, though his fingers dominate my skin, keeping me in place.

"Relax, human."

I bring one of my hands down until it wraps around my pulsating shaft. Bogdan's fingers push apart my cheeks, and he slides wet fingers into my puckered hole. He works me, stretching me against his touch. I jerk myself off in time with his touch and close my eyes to get lost to the sensations of pleasure.

Bogdan replaces his fingers with the head of his dick. It's already lubricated and hungry to be inside me. I lick my lips and lean back, encouraging him to keep going. I need him to keep going. Bogdan places his free hand around my throat. His thumb slides along my jugular. A physical warning of the feeding soon to come. His fangs trace a scorching sensation down the back of my neck, and the world fades away from us.

His length pushes inside me, inch by delectable inch. I clench around his fullness, and he hisses out a breath of pleasure. His teeth pierce the tender flesh of my neck. A cry of pain escapes me. Warm blood moves from my veins and into his eager mouth. In this moment, I am his lifeline. He is desperate for me, claiming every inch of my flesh as his. I quicken my pace to meet his, waiting for the blissful transition when the pain morphs into white-hot pleasure.

We're moments away from our world crumbing around us. But in this stolen flash in time, we allow the ecstasy of pleasure to consume us. We live for one another and nothing else, succumbing to the pleasure, and allowing ourselves a selfish moment of lust...powerful enough to give us the strength we need for tomorrow.

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Warm breath treks over the fine hairs of my forearm. It isn't right. It should be cold. I pry my eyes open, adjusting to the dimly lit room. I have no sense of time. My being aches for sunshine and the sense of equilibrium it brings. It's something I realize I took for granted before coming to this hidden world.

Leo is crouched down beside my bed. He props his elbows onto my blanket, forcing it tighter against my ribs. My fingers idly roam over to the side of the bed I already know is empty. Leo watches my slow movements, and he frowns before giving a subtle shake of his head. He knows who I'm looking for, and he knows he's gone.

"Why are you here?" I rasp.

His gaze flickers to the end of the bed. The decorative flower which held one of Reyo's hidden cameras is fixed, polished, and once again watching my every move. Leo's doing? Or that of a Secondary, sent here to replace the lens while also removing Bogdan from my bed?

"Reyo sent me," Leo whispers.

I expected this to happen. Bogdan prepared me for it, and I know what I'm supposed to do. Agree to Reyo's plan, which means becoming the universal blood donor to ensure a working anti-venom.

"War room?" I ask.

I pull myself into a sitting position. The movement strains the tender skin of my neck. Two, small holes burn against my flesh, a physical reminder of Bogdan's feeding. I have so many questions, all of them crumbling with nothing more than an exhale. Now is not the time. No matter who took him or where he is, I take comfort that he has the strength he needs for the next few days.

Leo backs away from me and holds out his hand in silent confirmation. I allow him to lead me from the room and into the deserted hallway. Everything feels like it's moving in slow motion as we walk past the rows of torches, the flames licking against stone walls.

I have a job to do. A Secondary to sway. And a war to stop, even if it has to start in the shadows.