“No. No!”

Yes, Aden thought, and I helped him. I woke Vlad. I weakened him. Would Victoria hate him when she realized that?

“Now, take heart, princess. He fought like the king he was and nearly bested me. But in the end, I won. And as his conqueror,” Dmitri said, smugger than ever, “I claim all that is his. His people. His daughter—who was always intended to be my bride. I. Am. King. I am now in control of you. A new era has begun!”

Victoria gave a violent shake of her head.

“Shall I prove it?” Dmitri clapped his hands and two vampires emerged from the side of the house, carrying a bejeweled lounge. Atop it lay a body blackened by soot, features indistinguishable. There were three rings on the left hand, all similar to Victoria’s, and an intricate crown atop the hairless head.

“No,” Victoria gasped. “Father.”

Shouts of fury rose up, but only a few, to Aden’s surprise. Most of the vampires clapped and cheered.

“I always admired your father,” Dmitri said, “but as any worthy warrior, I admired power more. I saw my opportunity and I struck. I like to think Vlad would have understood. And one day, when you have forgotten all about your human scum, you will even thank me. You need a strong hand to guide you, Victoria, and Vlad was not providing it.”

“You…You…” Nothing else would seem to fit past her grinding teeth. She was angry, yes, and perhaps in shock. How soon until despair hit her and she crumbled?

“Take them, all but the boy,” Dmitri said, and the guards sprang forward. Before Aden could react, Victoria was ripped from his side. Riley, Mary Ann and everyone else who had protested were grabbed, too. There were simply too many soldiers, overwhelming his friends.

Still. He leapt into the fray. Each of them fought with every ounce of strength they possessed. Fought and fought well, and for a moment it appeared that they would win. But no one managed to escape. Not even when Riley morphed into a wolf, biting and clawing. He simply couldn’t cut through that hardened vampire skin.

Aden used his daggers, but again, they simply wouldn’t cut that skin. He didn’t care. Determination was a fire in his blood, burning hot and true. The night would not end in defeat. Not for him, and not for his friends. He wouldn’t let it.

He was panting as he turned to Dmitri. “Let’s settle this. You and me. Here and now. Winner takes all.”

Dmitri grinned slowly as Victoria shouted a denial. Her guards held her immobile or she would have returned to Aden’s side, he was sure. “I was hoping you would say that, human.”

Before Aden could blink, the vampire was on him. Limbs tangled as they propelled toward the table, knocking it and Ozzie’s body to the ground in a loud crash. Aden lost his hold on one of the knives. They rolled, the vampire pinning him down and going for his throat. Thank God for the armor, for it stopped those razor-sharp teeth from hitting their mark.

Arms free, Aden jabbed the remaining dagger into Dmitri’s eye. The action was unexpected, and therefore no attempt was made to stop him. His opponent screeched an unholy sound, blood pouring, glittering and fizzing, and Aden cringed, his eardrums probably bleeding, as well. Some of that blood dripped into his mouth and he spit it out automatically. Some managed to trickle down his throat, anyway. And it burned, oh, did it burn.

Reaching out blindly, Dmitri raked his claws over Aden’s face. Skin and tissue opened, blood poured, and he released a howl. The vampires around them breathed deeply, collectively, probably savoring both his human blood and Dmitri’s vampire blood, and inched closer for a taste.

The blood he’d swallowed, even the minute amount it must have been, must have been working through him, because those wounds soon stopped hurting. But before he could rise, attack, Dmitri was back on top of him, the dagger gone and out of reach, teeth biting at his face, biting at his armor, searching for the weak points. Aden worked his legs between their bodies and pushed. Weak as Dmitri now was, the vampire flew backwards.

Aden stood, lunged. Sensing him, Dmitri swung out his arm, claws moving beneath the armor and into his side. Sinking past skin, into that blistered muscle and bone. Hissing, Aden fell. Spotted the discarded dagger and grabbed it. On his feet a moment later, he dodged to the left and plowed it into Dmitri’s ear. There was another unholy screech, this one nearly causing his head to explode.

Dmitri jerked, flailed, clawing at Aden’s grip. Soon there was no skin left on Aden’s hand, but Dmitri never stilled; he kept fighting, kept flailing. Aden had to end this. Soon. How did one kill a vampire? As Victoria had once told him, the well-known stake through the heart thing wouldn’t work because a stake couldn’t penetrate their skin. Only the je la nune was able—the je la nune! he thought. Yes.

“Victoria!” he shouted.

She knew what he wanted, jerked her arm free and tossed him her ring. There was only a little bit of the liquid left inside, but he managed to slide the blade from Dmitri.

“This all you got?” Aden taunted. “I thought you were strong. I thought you were—”

As he’d wanted, Dmitri backhanded him and he went flying. Even though he’d expected it, though, it still hurt, nearly dislocating his jaw. He didn’t get up, just waited, allowing the liquid from Victoria’s ring to drip onto the metal. He didn’t have to wait long. The enraged vampire flew at him, close, so close…Aden merely raised the knife and allowed Dmitri’s weight and momentum to do the rest.

The vampire’s skin instantly melted, the silver piercing his heart.

There were more screams as Dmitri bucked against him, screams so pain-filled, so agonizing, Aden cringed deep in his soul. Then the screams faded and the body stopped flopping.

As the surrounding vampires gasped in horror, Aden removed the head before the body could rise and fell back, panting, sweating, bleeding. The gasps changed to groans, then to murmurs of disbelief and anger. Then there was only stunned silence.

“Aden,” Victoria called, struggling for freedom.

“Let her go,” he told the guards, not even having the strength to glance over at them. Wouldn’t have mattered, anyway. He was so dizzy he was losing vision with every second that passed.

A moment later, he was the one who was stunned. They obeyed without protest, and Victoria rushed to his side, her face hovering above his. She used one of her still-wet nails to cut her wrist and held it to his mouth. This time, he didn’t even think about refusing. Without her healing blood, he would fall, crash, vulnerable to those around him, leaving his friends equally vulnerable.

Her blood was hotter than before as it joined Dmitri’s, burning through him, consuming him, killing him, helping him rise from the ashes of his former self, new and strong. In a few hours, he would see the world from Victoria’s eyes. What about Dmitri’s? Now that the vampire was dead, there would likely be nothing to see.

Guess he would have to wait and find out. There were more important things to worry about right now.

“I’m sorry about your dad,” he told Victoria, reaching up and thumbing her soft cheek. The dizziness was fading and he could see how pale she was. Paler than normal.

“Thank you.” She was trembling, though not as much as before the battle. “But it’s you I was most concerned about. Dmitri is—was—a vampire warrior and you, well, are not. I’m just glad you’re okay. I thought I had lost you.”

A movement behind her caught his eye. The vampires were now bowing in his direction.

He frowned and whispered, “Uh, Victoria. What are they doing?”

She glanced over at them and grimaced. “With the death of my father, Dmitri was indeed king. But you just killed Dmitri, which means…”

“No way.” Strong now, he pulled himself into a crouch and shook his head. “Absolutely no way.”

“Yes way. My king.” Riley knelt and bowed his head, just like the others. Only Mary Ann remained standing. She was clutching her middle and eyeing the vampires with distaste. “We now live to serve you.”

Ridiculous. “Get up, Riley, and stop acting that way. Go free Tucker.”

“Yes, my king,” Riley said, rushing off to do as he’d been told. This was too weird. Riley was obeying even though he hated Tucker. Aden should have been pleased. Anyone else would have been, he was sure. Instead, he found himself shouting.

“Stop that!” He didn’t want his friends treating him any differently, and he certainly didn’t want to control the fate of these people. People he didn’t know, a race he knew little about.

“Aden,” Victoria said.

His attention returned to her and he cupped her face in his hands. “Be honest with me. Are you okay? I never would have wished a parent’s death on you, even if it meant losing you.”

“I know you wouldn’t have,” she said softly. “I wasn’t close with my father, but I did respect him and I will mourn his passing. But throughout my long years, I have seen death after death. Lost loved one after loved one. I know my sadness will pass.” She brushed a strand of hair from his temples. “The only thing I could not live without is you. And now, you can free my mother from her confinement. You can summon her, bring her here.” Each new word brought a wider smile.

The only thing I could not live without is you. Words he would cherish. As for her mother, absolutely. He wasn’t a king, for God’s sake, but he would do whatever was necessary to reunite mother and daughter. Guess that was a new hobby of his.

He stood, dragging Victoria up with him, then winced and grabbed his side. Clearly, not all of his injuries had healed.

She frowned, instantly concerned. “What’s wrong?”

“I was cut and didn’t know it.”

Frown deepening, she helped him out of his armor. Meanwhile, the vampires remained on their knees. Waiting for his command to rise? He wasn’t about to issue one, not that he believed they would listen to him. Him, king? Please. Until he learned more about them, and how they would treat Victoria—she’d brought him, Dmitri’s killer, to the party, after all—he was keeping his distance.