CHAPTER 58 - BLAKE

The door to the chamber closed with a thud. Viktor stood at the far end of the room, his back to me.

I approached him with caution, well aware that nothing good had ever come from one of our meetings.

"You've been busy," Viktor said, without turning. "Do you even understand what it is you've just done?"

I clenched my jaw. "Getting rid of Regan was the right decision. She made us look like fools. She made us look weak."

"She made you look weak," my uncle countered. "She made you look like a fool."

"She was a blight on House Drakharrow," I said stubbornly. "She took advantage of your kindness, thinking you would allow her to defy me publicly."

"Ah, so that is what you believe." Viktor rubbed his chin. "Lord Pansera is furious. But it's no matter. I have other plans that House Pansera may be worked into."

"I have no doubt about that, Uncle. You always do," I said coolly, determined to stroke his ego.

Viktor turned to face me. There was something else in his eyes tonight. Something dark, something hungry.

"Marcus came to me with surprising news." He closed the distance between us, stopping inches away. "Am I to understand you've solidified your bond with the dragon rider?"

I forced myself to keep my expression neutral. It wouldn't do to look too eager, too pleased with myself.

It also wouldn't do to tell the full truth.

"I have," I lied, my voice steady. "I've fed from her. As I'd already made her drink of me, our bond is now complete."

For a moment, Viktor said nothing, his cold red eyes scanning my face as if searching for any hint of deceit.

Could he tell? Could he see? I wouldn't have risked it if I thought it would be so obvious.

I stood tall, refusing to crack.

I met Viktor's gaze and then I saw it. Just for a moment, but it was enough. Hunger. Lust. But more than that. The fury in those red eyes.

Viktor hadn't expected me to be able to bond with Pendragon. He'd planned for me to fail, planned for Regan to rebel against the triad, for everything to spiral out of control.

And in the ensuing chaos, Viktor would have stepped in and taken Pendragon for himself.

Just as he'd wanted to do but hadn't dared to do that first day in the Black Keep.

He knew more about her than he was letting on. He always had.

"You're a bold man," Viktor said, his voice smooth. "I always knew you had it in you."

"Thank you," I said stiffly, trying to accept the praise I knew to be a lie. "She was a rich gift, as you said. I owe you for it."

"You do. Just as she still owes me her life. Neither of you should forget that." Viktor's hand shot out, gripping my shoulder painfully. "Be careful, Blake. A bonded blightborn mate is a valuable thing. You cannot feed from another now." He smiled slightly. "But then, that's what you've always wanted, isn't it?"

"I don't know what you mean," I said carefully.

He pushed me backwards and I staggered, nearly falling from the force.

"You've never been quite like us, have you, Blake? Not like your brother, Marcus, with his endless appetites."

"If you mean I don't enjoy murdering blightborns for sport, then no, I'm nothing like Marcus," I said coldly. "I take pride in that."

"The shadow of your father," my uncle mused. I knew it wasn't meant as a compliment. "But don't forget that everything you have, everything you are, is because of me. I made you, Blake. You know it. Your mother knows it. I can unmake you just as easily."

I thought of Aenia, of Pendragon. Of my mother's retreat into the Sanctum. I said nothing.

I couldn't afford to play this game fully. Not yet.

"You're only as strong as I allow you to be," Viktor said, still watching me closely. "Don't forget that."

I nodded stiffly. "I won't let you down."

I started to turn away, then decided to risk a change of subject. "Before I go, I wondered if you received the list of selected First Years I had sent over. Selection Day is tomorrow."

"Another school year, over so soon," my uncle said. "What happy, carefree times you all must have in these old halls. And what a year it has been. Yes, I received it. The list was acceptable. You know I trust your judgment." He smiled thinly.

"Thank you, Uncle."

I hoped Pendragon would be happy with my choices. I'd made some of them with her in mind.

"There will need to be a formal celebration, of course," my uncle said, as I turned to go. "We must welcome your bride into our family."

"I'd thought, perhaps over the summer..."

He nodded, waving a hand dismissively. "We'll arrange it. I look forward to spending more time with Miss Pendragon. A fascinating woman, I'm sure. Well, she must be, to have made you so infatuated to the exclusion of all others."

"She is," I said stiffly. And my uncle wouldn't be getting near her if I could help it. I'd done all of this to protect her. But suddenly I wondered if I'd simply dragged her further into the dragon's den.

Would she have been safer with Kage?

I shook the thought away. Never.

I left the room, my mind in tumult as I strode through the academy corridors towards the House Drakharrow tower.

The weight of the lie I'd told my uncle clung to me. The consequences of what I'd done only began to hit me as the cool spring air hit my skin, blowing in off the sea.

I'd told Viktor that I'd already fed from Pendragon.

Feeding from a blightborn mate was not something to be undertaken lightly. Once I'd done so, I would only be able to feed from her. My bond with her would be exclusive.

I'd ended our triad. We were now a pair. Regan was gone, expelled. There would be no returning to that arrangement, no forging of a new triad.

There was only one inevitable next step if I wanted to protect Pendragon from my uncle.

I had to feed from her and soon.

The lie wouldn't hold unless it became truth.

I'd do it the next night, after Selection Day was over.

My throat was suddenly dry as I thought of it. The idea of finally tasting her blood. I'd waited so long for this moment, for the chance to claim her fully. Blood, body, and soul. To taste her, to take her. To fully possess her in every way I could.

The mere thought of her blood stirred a hunger deep inside me. One I'd been repressing since I'd first found her that day.

I'd fed to survive, fed to live. But this would be different. I could almost taste the sweetness in my mouth. I imagined the way the red liquid would flow from her veins, stirring my senses. She would taste like she smelled. No, better. Unimaginably better. I knew it.

A whiff of guilt crept over me. Would she mind? Would she surrender herself to me like I needed her to?

I pushed my doubts aside. I could explain it to her in a way she'd have to accept. She already wanted me. I knew that. I'd make her understand this was good for both of us. Necessary for survival.

Tomorrow night I'd take what was mine. There was no turning back now.