Eighty-Seven

KEIRAN'S POV

The room falls silent, the weight of the moment settling over everything like a thick fog. My gaze doesn’t waver from the King of the Fifth Isle, whose expression twists in revulsion. "You cannot be serious," he mutters, his voice dripping with disbelief. His eyes narrow, disgusted by the very sight of me—of what I’ve done. But I don’t care. This moment is mine, not his. And everything he’s worked for is about to crumble under my feet.

“Are you ready yet?” I ask Xaden through the bond, barely even thinking about it as I feel the tension rise. The king before me is shaking, sweating, his eyes darting around as if searching for some way out.

But Xaden... Xaden’s voice suddenly rings in my head, cutting through the tension. “Not yet, Keiran. It’s not time. I’m still not ready.”

I curse silently, knowing that Xaden is being cautious, as always, but the uncertainty is making everything harder. I can feel the pearl—the essence of my power—just out of reach, sitting somewhere in the depths of this room, hidden from view. Where? I wonder. Where is it?

I glance at Rhodes, who has been silent throughout all of this, his expression unreadable. Then Kallias, his fists clenched at his sides, his anger still simmering beneath the surface. Neither one of them speaks, but they don’t need to. They’re waiting for my orders, waiting for me to make the call. Waiting for the moment when everything will shift.

“This evening,” I say, my voice calm but laced with an authority that cannot be denied, “will mark her ascension to my equal for the throne.”

The words hang heavily in the air, thick with a tension that pulses through the room. The vampires, the kings, all of them, are waiting, their breath held, waiting to see what comes next. I feel their eyes on me like a thousand insects crawling over my skin. It’s a familiar feeling—one that I’ve always thrived on. But I’m not here to bask in their attention. Not now.

“Xaden” I push through the bond, “these courts are about to tear at each other’s throats, please tell me you’re ready now.” 

Xaden’s response is angry, gritted. “Not fucking yet.” 

Fuck. 

I have to do something, I have to buy us more time. 

The King of the Fifth Isle opens his mouth, but before he can finish his sentence, I make my move. His words are meaningless to me, his disgust something I’ve seen countless times before. With a swift flick of my wrist, my fangs flash, and in one motion, I sink them into Remi’s neck.

The moment I bite down, the world shifts. The taste of her blood is fire, a blaze that fills me in ways nothing else has. She trembles beneath me, and I can feel the pulse of her heartbeat, rapid and wild, matching the intensity of my own. It’s sharp—too sharp—this pleasure that races through me. Her blood is intoxicating, a heady rush that makes my mind spin. I pull her closer, tightening my grip on her, my other hand wrapping around her waist as I drink deeply from her neck.

But as I feel her tremble against me, the room around us shifts. The King of the Fifth Isle, his face twisted with disgust, makes a move to leave, to flee from what he clearly sees as an abomination. The coward. But before he can even take a full step, I snap my fingers.

Rhodes and Kallias are on him in an instant. They move in perfect synchronization, their speed almost too fast for the human eye to catch. The King of the Fifth Isle is locked in place, his body frozen by the power that pulses through the room. No one moves. No one dares.

The tension in the air builds until it feels like the very walls of the Midnight Court are trembling beneath the weight of it.

I don’t even look up from Remi as I drink. She’s a mix of pleasure and fear beneath me, and I can feel the heat of her skin, the rhythm of her heartbeat. Everything in me wants more. I need more. But I can’t take too much. Not yet.

I pull back slowly, my fangs still dripping with her blood, and my eyes lock onto the King of the Fifth Isle. His eyes are wide with realization. He’s already pale, but now his face drains completely of color as the full extent of his miscalculation hits him.

He’s crossed a line. And now he will pay.

I step forward, my power surging through the room, the air thick with it. I move slowly, deliberately, every step purposeful. The King of the Fifth Isle tries to speak, but I raise a hand, silencing him instantly.

“I know your armies are docked just outside my city walls,” I say, my voice low and filled with a quiet rage that would send anyone else running. I stop just a few paces from him, my gaze unrelenting. “And I know you have my pearl.”

The words land heavily. I can feel the shift in the room as every vampire, every king, realizes the truth. They had no idea. They didn’t know what they were dealing with.

But I know. I know exactly where my power is. And I will not stop until I have it back.

In the midst of the heavy silence, my mind shifts, and I focus on Remi. Her blood still tingles on my tongue, her heartbeat still pounding in my ears. I glance down at her, her face flushed from the bite, the pleasure lingering in her expression. She looks beautiful like this—vulnerable, and yet, somehow, still strong. She has no idea what she’s become to me, but I can see it in her eyes. There’s a fire there, a flicker of something that tells me she’s ready. Ready to take on whatever I throw at her.

And yet, beneath all of this, a pang of guilt hits me. Guilt, not for what I’ve done—no, not that. But for the way I’ve manipulated her. I promised her so much more. She deserves more than this court, more than this darkness that surrounds us.

I glance down at her, brushing a strand of hair away from her face, and I see it clearly. She’s not like the others. She’s not afraid of me. Not like the others are. And that—that—impresses me more than anything else she could have done.

But when this is over—when I have what’s mine—I’ll take her far away from here. I’ll take her to my estate, somewhere quiet, somewhere beautiful, where the sun will touch her skin, and she won’t have to live in the cold shadows of the Midnight Court. She deserves warmth. She deserves more than a king who cannot step into the light without the help of the very magic he’s lost.

The King of the Fifth Isle stands there, trapped, powerless. He’s watching me, his face pale, his breath shallow. He knows what’s coming, and so does everyone else in this room.

I sigh, the weight of it all pressing on me, but I don’t let it show. Not yet. Not here. I pull back from Remi, my fangs still glistening with her blood. My power still surging.

“You will learn, all of you,” I mutter, my voice a dark whisper. “That no one crosses me and survives.”

And as the weight of my power crashes down on the room once more, murdering the King of Fifth Isle and all his accompanying men, I know this isn’t the end. Not yet.

But when it’s over... when I have my pearl... I’ll take Remi and we’ll leave this place behind. No more shadows. No more cold.

And for once, after my brothers and I have murdered every single one of our enemies tonight, I’ll live in the light.