Blood Ties Bundle: Blood Ties Book One: The Turning / Blood Ties Book Two: Possession / Blood Ties Book Three: Ashes to Ashes / Blood Ties Book Four: All Souls' Night. Jennifer Armintrout

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СКАЧАТЬ eyes opened and I was once again in Cyrus’s body, looking into his past.

      The images were disjointed. They flickered like a broken projector, some frames repeated over and over again. One by one they slipped into place, and the hazy, dizzy feeling in my head lifted.

      Cyrus sat at a long table in a candlelit dining room. The air was hot and sticky, and stale cigar smoke made his eyes water. He wasn’t seated at a place of prominence. Instead, he was grouped with a few wealthy-looking men and women.

      Cyrus turned his head to gaze at the woman next to him, and just beyond her there was a man in a military uniform that was definitely not American.

      A deep, accented voice cut through the chatter. “Ladies and gentlemen, before our guests of honor arrive, I’d like to thank you all for coming.”

      Cyrus turned his head toward the voice. A tall, thin man stood at the head of the table. His white hair was braided into plaits so long they nearly touched the floor in front of him. Though he appeared much more frail and withered than when I’d first seen him, the straight nose and cruel eyes were unmistakable. It was Cyrus’s father.

      The Soul Eater.

      When the older vampire’s gaze fell on his son, something that resembled love warmed his eyes. It passed all too soon, replaced by the calculating, predatory glare he gave everyone assembled.

      “I also wish to remind you all of the rules. Only one of our guests tonight is the main course.” He chuckled at his joke, and the other vampires in the room laughed politely. “The other is for me. You’ll be able to tell, as they are clearly marked.”

      Cyrus’s attention turned to the large double doors at the end of the dining hall. Two servants pulled them open. Framed in the cavernous wooden doorway stood Nathan and the woman I’d seen in the photograph from his closet. Nathan looked nearly the same as he did now, with the exception of his hair, which was shorter, and the healthy golden tone of his skin.

      The woman at his side had lost all the youthful good looks I’d seen in the picture. Her cheeks were gaunt and dark circles ringed her eyes. She leaned on Nathan’s arm for support.

      Cyrus focused on the pendant she wore. It was a golden dragon coiled around an extraordinarily large diamond.

      The doors slammed shut behind them and there was an ominous clang as a large bolt slid into place.

      “Bon appétit,” the old vampire said wickedly.

      The faces of those seated at the table transformed. Their change was reflected in the horror on Nathan’s face and the weak acceptance on the woman’s. He stepped in front of her, as if to shield her, but the party guests descended on them, pulling them to the floor.

      Cyrus stayed in his seat, and jumped when his father’s hand touched his shoulder. “One day, we’ll be finished with all of this,” the Soul Eater hissed in his ear.

      “Yes, Father,” Cyrus replied, his throat dry. “One day, we’ll rule.”

      Then he moved toward Nathan.

      I wanted to manifest into some form I could control, so I could lash out at the Soul Eater and stop what was about to take place. But I knew what I saw wasn’t really happening. It was a part of the past, already over and unchangeable.

      A pain in my head threatened to tear me apart. My vision clouded, but I clearly heard Nathan’s screams of anguish and terror as my senses tried to join me in the present. I saw twisted limbs, mangled torsos and flames, as though the earth had been consumed in them. Rivers of blood flowed through my mind.

      I was back in my body, and Cyrus groaned as he spilled inside me. It was ice-cold.

      I was going to be sick. With all my strength, I pushed him off me and rolled to the side of the bed. Blood, mine and his, was smeared all over the sheets. I squeezed my eyes shut to block out the sight. “What is your father?”

      The sheets rustled behind me. I suppose Cyrus sat up. “I’ve told you.”

      “But you haven’t told me, really.” I wasn’t sure if the chill creeping up my back was from the cold radiating from his skin or the drafty room. “What does it mean, that one day he’ll rule?”

      He heaved a sigh and flopped audibly against the pillows. “It’s all very complicated. I’d rather sleep than talk about this.”

      “Sometimes in life, we have to do things we don’t want to.” I sat up so I could face him. “Why don’t you just tell me?”

      Cyrus obviously wasn’t happy with my postcoital pillow talk, but I wasn’t about to back down. He considered what I’d said for a moment, as if trying to gauge whether I was joking or not, then gave another exasperated sigh. “If you really want to know.”

      “I do.” I hugged my knees to my chest, suddenly aware of how vulnerable I was to him.

      “For years, my father has been searching for a way to recover his power. It’s a very secret quest, and even I’m not privy to the rituals and texts he’s reviewing.” There was a note of bitterness in Cyrus’s voice.

      “Then how does he get them?” One day of consciousness per year didn’t seem like a lot of time to scour the libraries.

      Cyrus let out a resentful laugh. “He has an assistant who does most of the reading for him. I don’t know who it is, but he’s assured me it’s someone he can trust.”

      I wasn’t about to delve into Cyrus’s father issues, so I let the comment slide. “You told me your father was a peasant before he became a vampire. What power did he have that he needs to recover?”

      “It’s not power he actually possessed. It’s the power he believes has been reserved for him. It’s locked away, waiting for him. He merely needs the key.” With an elegant shrug, he leaned on one elbow, a sinful smile curving his lips. He reached to gently stroke my arm. “But we can discuss this later.”

      I shifted away from him angrily. “We can discuss it now. What exactly is the Soul Eater trying to do?” But I’d pushed him too far. The easy dialogue between Cyrus and I dried up immediately, as though someone had dammed the flow of words.

      He settled back and closed his eyes. “I’m tired. If all you’re going to do is bother me with incessant questions, you may leave.”

      “I’m not going anywhere!” I realized how shrill my voice sounded, but I didn’t care. “Tell me what’s going on!”

      “You want to know what my father is planning?” Cyrus sat up and leaned toward me, his face now mere inches from mine. “When the time is right, and all the pieces fall into place, the Soul Eater will rise to become the most powerful vampire this world has ever seen. Humans will be cattle to feed my father’s minions. Any vampire who opposes him will be consumed. He will rule the world, and the world will perish.”

      The religious fervor with which he spoke chilled me to the bone. When I spoke, I could barely force a whisper from my clamped throat. “You would help him do this?”

      “Carrie, you knew who I was when you walked through the front door.” Cyrus looked almost wounded. “You can’t hate me for it.”

      “No,” СКАЧАТЬ