Bloodspell (The Cruentus Curse, #1)(107)

Within seconds, Lucian had re-aligned it and it healed into place even as he dived growling, his sharp nails slicing Christian's exposed chest. The wounds healed as expected and Christian swung around to counter his bloody attack, but Lucian was backing away slowly, watching him with an incredulous expression, his nostrils flaring. His eyes flicked from Victoria's still form to Christian in disbelief.

Confused, Christian looked down at his chest and touched the thin lines of blood that had welled along where Lucian had scratched him, a telltale blackly-red color smearing on his fingertip. He smelled it too, different now but still the same underlying cloying heady scent.

Lucian's incredulous expression had transformed to one of accusation and then his face hardened into a mask of freezing rage. Christian hesitated in shock as his vampire instincts responded to the sight of the blood that was his but not his. The hesitation cost him dearly as Lucian spun with inhuman speed and snatched Victoria's body to his.

He held her in front of him, his fingers around her slim neck as her head lolled unconscious to the side.

"You liar!" he snarled. "You took her blood, I can smell it in you."

"Lucian, don't!" Christian said. "I didn't take it. She gave it to me but she altered it first—" He couldn't finish because Lucian had started laughing uncontrollably, the sound harsh and terrible in the silence.

"Come on, Christian, face it," he said. "She's going to die and I am going to take her blood, same as you. We both wanted it from the minute we saw her, you just got to her first." His smile was cruel.

Christian could see Lucian's terrible teeth lengthening even more as his face contorted into a terrifying grimace, leaning over Victoria's exposed throat, his eyes never leaving Christian's. Christian half lunged and Lucian shook his head in warning, dropping his mouth an inch closer to her neck.

"Don't fight it, Christian," he said. "I want you to enjoy this."

In that moment, something burst within Christian. He didn't recognize it but it flooded his stomach and his heart with wild energy. It raced unhinged along his limbs tingling like tiny bolts of electricity responding to an unspoken command and pooling purposefully and then flowing back out again. Christian swallowed hard as the pulsing power took complete ownership of his limbs, and he felt a shiver of fear for what was happening, so devastatingly silent inside of him. Was this what Victoria talked about when she spoke about the energy of the blood?

It couldn't be ...

Cruentus protectum, it whispered in her voice. Defend the blood.

In a moment of sudden clarity, Christian realized what he had to do. One glance at Lucian, a hair's breadth away from Victoria's neck, and he made his decision. He let his walls fall.

Christian flinched as the strange magic slid into his consciousness. Its touch was curiously familiar. It felt like Victoria, the silent part of her that stared at him, shyly wondrous when she thought he wasn't looking, the quiet bit of her that tucked her hair behind her ears self-consciously whenever she saw him looking at her, and the calm side of her that lay curled up trustingly every night she fell asleep in his vampire arms.

He would trust it, and trust her, just like she'd always trusted him. He didn't fight it when it captured his conscious mind, wild with intent.

Blood magic.

Lucian's elongated fangs were at the skin of Victoria's neck when Christian stared at him, their silver eyes locking, only Christian's weren't silver any more ... they were the silvery black of a moonlit sky, and Lucian's eyes widened in bewilderment.

"Confuto," Christian's lips said, only it wasn't his voice, it was a whisper soft musical sound that took shape in his mouth. And Lucian obediently froze, staring at him in astonishment. "Libero," the voice continued, and Victoria's body floated gently down to the ground where she softly stirred but did not awaken. Lucian's eyes widened even more until he couldn't even bear to look at his brother. And still the voice continued in its musical softness, "Curo!" Lucian stared at Christian completely at a loss for words, he couldn't even move.

Release me, Christian! Lucian thought to him angrily, and then he paused. How is this even possible, you can't do magic! You're a vampire! And what the hell is wrong with your eyes?

It's the blood ... it's in my head, everywhere. Christian's voice was full of wonder but strangely calm. His mental voice sounded like his usual tone even though the voice that had come out of his mouth had distinctly not been his.

The blood? Lucian's response was skeptical.

Her blood in me, it's protecting her. From you.

That's impossible! Blood is not alive, it can't think for itself!

There are many things that are possible in this world, brother. And Le Sang Noir is one of the greatest of them. And as if he couldn't control himself, he continued his voice wondrous. You wouldn't believe the energy, the magic. It's so alive!

Lucian's eyes were unimpressed, imprisoned as he was by Christian's incantation in the first place. But the awe in Christian's voice brought back the feelings of righteous anger that Christian had taken the gift of Le Sang Noir while he himself had been deprived of it.

What happens next? Lucian asked flatly.

Christian didn't respond. He'd completely surrendered to the power of Le Sang Noir. The blood surged in his mind like a live being. This blood curse had a strength and power that seemed to thrive on sacrifice. He didn't even want to imagine what allowing the little bit that was inside of him to kill Lucian would do. Protecting Victoria had been the sole reason he had allowed it into his mind, it was something he had inexplicably understood, but now that she was safe, a vague sense of unease curled up his spine.