Wings of Life: An Urban Fantasy Romance (The Last Phoenix Book 5) by Stephanie Mirro

Author:Stephanie Mirro [Mirro, Stephanie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tannhauser Press
Published: 2021-09-29T16:00:00+00:00

15

Tuesday Early Morning

Vincenzo sat like a block of expertly sculpted ice, his dark brown eyes the only part of him moving as he tracked our approach. The queen, on the other hand, couldn’t contain her excitement.

Bianca leaned forward, gripping the arms of her chair. Her red lips parted eagerly. “Is that it?”

Thane unwrapped the bundle and held up the heart box. “As requested.”

A female vampire who’d been standing behind her came down the dais steps and took the box. She deposited it into the queen’s outstretched palms.

Bianca ran a hand over the lid delicately, as if it were a precious pet. “We thought for sure she’d let her daughter die before returning this.”

I raised an eyebrow, hating this woman even more now. “You sent us thinking we’d fail? Why?”

“Very few things bring us pleasure anymore.” Her gaze flicked to mine. Unchecked hatred flashed through her brown eyes. “Watching that witch burn would have been very pleasurable.”

“Sorry to disappoint you,” I said flatly.

The queen set the box on her lap and opened the lid. The sickly sweet scent of rusting metal quickly filled the room. The few vampires in attendance didn’t move, but I caught more than one flared nostril. She had trained her undead fiends well.

Dipping her hands in gently, the queen removed the item from within the box. Fresh blood dripped down her arms as she raised the thing to her face.

That thing turned out to be a beating heart.

How the fuck was it still beating?

Bile rose in the back of my throat, burning its way up. I swallowed hard.

“Our beloved Fortunato has returned to us,” her voice rang out, echoing through the vast room.

My eyebrows crept toward my hairline. I knew vampires could withstand some wounds most others found fatal—except for a stake to the heart, decapitation, or fire, of course—but this? Living without a body? I’d never heard of it.

I leaned toward Thane and whispered, “Did you know they could do that? The whole heart thing?”

He nodded. “Only with the veteres.”

I thought I knew a lot about vampires, but it turned out there was still more to learn. “The what?”

“The original vampiric creations of a necromancer,” he explained quietly. “They’re the strongest of their kind because of the undiluted lineage.”

My jaw dropped open, and I almost forgot to whisper. “A necromancer created vampires? Why?”

He glanced at me and grinned. “Growing up a badass didn’t include studying?”

I snorted softly. “School and studying weren’t exactly my strong suits.”

“Fair point. The necromancer created vampires trying to cure a virus. It worked, a little too well.”

No wonder Maddox had always enjoyed studying the Community. This stuff was fascinating—such a shame I hadn’t paid more attention earlier in life.

“How many of these veteres are there?”

“Still walking?” He thought for a moment. “Maybe three. The practice of saving their hearts when they finished with the world started a few centuries ago. This is one of six.”

“Why the hell do they do it? Why not just die, like, all the way?” I whispered, glancing at the king and queen.

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