The Dark City Chronicles ⁓ Book Three
The apocalypse looms ever closer! Steamy romance, heart-stopping action, seductive vampires, magic that defies nature, sprinkles of dark-humor, and, as always, the everlasting bonds of friendship.
Hannah's strug...
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Breathing became difficult.
Kiernan backed up until his shoulders struck the pillar of the bed. "Mercalli," he growled through clenched teeth.
"Yes, my love?"
Kiernan didn't recognize his own growling voice, that of a stranger, with centuries of pain shifting into breath-stealing fury. "If you ever truly loved me—felt anything for me." He lost his mind. "Give me fucking your counsel!"
"He won't leave his castle," Mercalli answered, so close his violet gaze was luminous in the clinging shadows.
If the pillar weren't against his lower back, Kiernan would have tumbled onto the messy bed with how hard he pressed against the wood.
"Destroy anyone loyal to him in the city." In seconds, Mercalli crowded him, his gaze dark and his rich voice darker. "Match his brutality and then exceed it. Gabriel rules through fear. Simple. Make them fear you instead."
"I won't become you," Kiernan whispered, aware of the foolishness of his words once they left his mouth.
He needed to conjure Mercalli's ruthlessness if he wanted to beat Gabriel. The vampire lord's sadism always reached above that of his enemies. That was the Mercalli's power. He would bathe himself in blood, kill innocents, and slaughter without remorse.
Mercalli would walk through hell if it would destroy his opponents.
"If you win this war, you'll lead a coven," Mercalli said. "There will be those who come for your head and, worse, those who will try to use you for political gain. How will you keep your power?"
"I'll give my seat to someone else."
"Who?"
"The boy."
"You would have him suffer the weight of that power?"
Kiernan felt faint. "I'll find someone."
"And if you're wrong, and that person whom you chose decides the boy is a threat to their position?" Mercalli frowned. "He has Kimberk blood, and even if the law has changed, influence has not. Loyalty to Gabriel will remain and, thus, his bloodline."
"I'll protect him."
"We both know the only way you can keep him safe is by taking Gabriel's place." Mercalli's fingertips skimmed Kiernan's throat, grazing his pulse point and making him shiver. "You'll try to rule generously, with mercy, but after a decade—a century—you'll be dripping in blood. And you'll have become who you're so afraid of."
Mercalli leaned closer, and his breath against Kiernan's neck was felt as a shudder, branding, just like his touch.
"I told you once," Mercalli said softly, "that I was the only one who would love you. You're seeing that truth now. Aren't you?"
He was, and it made him want to vomit. "If you love me..."
"I don't know what else you want me to say," Mercalli huffed. "You must kill Gabriel. Put his head on a pike and parade his body through the streets. I would tell you to kill his son and use his death to draw Gabriel from hiding, but I'm sure you would be opposed."
