Clash of Kingdoms (Dirty Blood Book 6), page 1
CLASH OF KINGDOMS
DIRTY BLOOD
BOOK 6
PENELOPE BARSETTI
HARTWICK PUBLISHING
Hartwick Publishing
Clash of Kingdoms
Copyright © 2024 by Penelope Barsetti
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
CONTENTS
1. Aurelias
2. Harlow
3. Aurelias
4. Harlow
5. Vine
6. Aurelias
7. Aurelias
8. Harlow
9. Aurelias
10. Vine
11. Harlow
12. Huntley
13. Huntley
14. Harlow
15. Aurelias
16. Harlow
17. Huntley
18. Aurelias
19. Harlow
20. Aurelias
21. Harlow
22. Aurelias
23. Huntley
24. Aurelias
25. Aurelias
26. Harlow
27. Harlow
28. Aurelias
29. Aurelias
30. Harlow
31. Aurelias
32. Harlow
Epilogue
ONE
AURELIAS
When I opened my eyes, it was morning.
Light came through the part in the curtains, not the golden light of Delacroix, but the murky gray kind from the overcast sky. It reminded me of home, so I preferred it over the constant sunshine of Harlow’s home.
I looked at her beside me, the sheets to her shoulder, her naked body tucked underneath and pressed against me. My shoulder was her pillow. Her hand stretched out to my other arm, her hand cupping the bicep. She slept soundly, her breathing like a gentle lullaby.
I pressed a soft kiss to her hairline before I gently rolled her away to hug a pillow instead of me. She was so out of it after our long night that she grabbed on to that right away and continued to sleep without interruption. Her beautiful hair spread out behind her, like my cape in battle.
Duty was the only thing strong enough to get me out of that bed. If I had nowhere else to be, I would wait for her to wake up so I could take her again, so I could feel the fire when our bodies connected.
When I was dressed and armed, I left the bedroom, walked past the guards in the hallway, and then moved up the stairs to the great room, the place where their deliberation and meals took place.
Ivory sat at the table alone, drinking a cup of coffee, wearing a uniform and armor similar to Huntley’s but far less heavy. If she wore something identical to his, she probably wouldn’t be able to stand.
When I approached the table, she didn’t acknowledge me. Emptiness burned in her eyes.
I approached the window and looked out, the landscape cold and dry. Darker clouds were on the horizon and headed this way. It would probably snow sometime today. I could see the trails of smoke coming from all the cottages, everyone trying to stay warm in the chill. I turned back to her, standing behind her so I looked at the back of her head. “Is there anything I can do for you, Your Highness?” It was weird to call anyone that, because I didn’t even refer to my own father that way. I was used to being referred to as such, being revered as one of the deadliest vampires to have ever lived.
She said nothing for a while. “No.”
I looked out the window again for a moment before I approached the table and took a seat on her right. “He’ll return.”
She brought the mug to her lips and took a drink, her eyes still devoid of emotion. “Ever since I met my mother-in-law, she’s been alone. A widow. Taking care of her children even when they had their own children. I never pitied her before, but now I do. To live the rest of your life without your husband to share it with. I don’t think I can bear it…”
“You won’t have to.”
“We survived many wars together, but even with that hardship, I realize I never truly appreciated the peace that came afterward. I took it for granted. I didn’t cherish it nearly as much as I should have.”
My gaze shifted back to the window because looking directly at her felt like an invasion of privacy.
“And now we may never have that again. My husband may never return. And I’ll fail to protect our children and our Kingdoms. And then we’ll all die…or worse.”
“You have my sword,” I said gently. “So you’ll never fail.”
She stared into her coffee.
I could feel her despair. It was potent, stronger than the black coffee she’d just brewed. The dark clouds in the distance now appeared over her head—and she suffocated in the snow that buried her underneath. “We both know that humankind is powerless against these demons.”
Her eyes shifted back to me.
“But you and your husband are exceptional people, and I believe you’ll find a way.”
Her eyes remained on mine, like she could see straight through me.
I never would have fallen in love again if Harlow weren’t the most exceptional woman I’d ever met. And now I knew exactly where she’d gotten the traits that had made me fall headfirst the moment I kissed her. “He’ll return.”
She looked down into her coffee again.
“Let me know how I can be of service to you, Your Highness.”
A gentle smile moved over her lips. “Please don’t call me that. Ivory is fine.”
“Very well,” I said. “How can I be of service to you, Ivory?”
“I’ve moped around since my husband left because his absence is all I can think about. But I know my time is better spent preparing for war. We need to prepare HeartHolme for the influx of citizens about to join us—and we also need to strengthen our fortifications to prepare the field for battle.”
“I agree.”
“I have some ideas.”
“I’m listening.”
“Since they come from underneath the ground…what if we covered the field with stone? The same stone we use to create our streets. I realize that’s labor-intensive and a waste of resources, but it may prevent them from rising and getting too close to the wall.”
I nodded in agreement, impressed by the suggestion. “That’s a good idea.”
“Our ground is much denser and colder, so I hope that’s enough to prevent them from coming altogether. Delacroix is full of fertile soil and sand, much easier to penetrate than the hard earth we have here.”
“That’s true.”
“Perhaps they’ll only be able to rise farther south, and we’ll have some warning they’re coming.”
She really was Huntley’s equal. “That means we should prepare an attack farther south as well.”
“But all those soldiers will die…”
“Then we do something with the dragons. Have them drop boulders the way Harlow did in Delacroix.”
She nodded in agreement. “I can have the miners harvest the largest stones they can find. Put them in a location for the dragons.”
“Good idea,” I said as I rose to my feet. “I’ll speak with General Macabre, and we’ll begin preparations.”
“Thank you, Aurelias.”
I turned away to get to work.
“Aurelias?”
I turned back to her, waiting for further orders.
“I’m sorry my husband was so unkind to you.”
I wasn’t resentful then, and I wasn’t resentful now. “If I had a daughter, I would have done the same thing.”
It grew dark earlier here than it did in Delacroix, so the daylight was gone quicker than I wished. The temperature dropped further, and that’s when I felt the cold pierce my gloves and numb my knuckles. I returned to the castle after a long day spent working with General Macabre and the men who owed me no loyalty. It was hard to believe I was there to help humans, when all I’d done before was kill them. My father and I had intended to defeat the Ethereal then take the kingdom of men for ourselves, to subjugate them to be what they were meant to be—food and labor.
Before I stepped into the bedchambers, I knew Harlow was inside. I’d known she was inside when I was down the hallway. Her mind was like a low-burning fire, her heat felt in every corner of the room—except, in her case, her mind was felt in every corner of the world.
I stepped inside and found her sitting on the couch in front of the fire, wearing a nightdress because I’d been gone from dawn till dusk. She’d showered and combed her hair, and in that white dress, she looked fucking stunning.
Her eyes found mine, and there was the identical flash of desire that I felt. She always felt it when she saw me, whether I was buck naked or fully armed. My appearance provoked the same longing that hers did for me. Whenever we were in a room together, it was a blaze of fire.
I turned away to undress, to remove all the pieces of armor and the weapons that weighed down my body. But even then, I was uncomfortable after a long day working at the wall, giving orders and watching men practically run off to fulfill them because they were terrified I would bite them. “I’m going to shower.” I knew she wanted me, but she would have to wait.
“Hurry.”
I clenched my eyes as I walked away, feeling a rush of light-headedness because my dick got so hard so fast. A shi
I took a quick shower, my dick hard the entire time, letting the heat warm my skin and release the dirt and sweat. I did a quick towel-dry before I walked back into the room and froze when I spotted her on the bed.
Naked.
Sitting on the bed with her perfect tits exposed. Her long hair down along her arms. Confidence burning in her eyes, along with desire. Her arousal was so intense that I could actually feel the wetness between her legs without touching her. “I told you to hurry.”
Holy fuck. I moved onto the bed and quickly got on top of her, her head hitting the pillow, all the sheets and covers kicked to the side so it was just the two of us on the mattress. Her soft thighs gripped my hips, and her palms moved up my chest as she tilted her head back to receive my kiss.
I wanted to kiss her hard, but it came out soft, because every time I touched her, my heart ached. Everything was different now. The moment I’d given in to my weakness and said those three little words, my life had changed. I could have lied to myself forever—but I couldn’t lie to her.
So now everything was slow and purposeful. Instead of fucking her until those sparkling tears streaked down her cheeks, I wanted to touch her heart with mine, wanted to savor every kiss and every touch, to make every moment feel like an eternity.
Her fingers moved into my damp hair, and she kissed me, squeezing me anxiously with her thighs, desperate to feel me inside her.
I guided myself into her, and my tip instantly felt just how soaked she was, like she’d been thinking about me long before I’d walked through the door. I pushed inside, the tight fit easy when she was wet like this. I sank all the way, losing my breath for a second because it felt so damn good.
Her mouth ravaged mine as she started to rock her hips with me, her nails slicing down my back.
I moved with her, our quiet breaths accompanied by the sound of the crackling fire. It’d been so long since I’d done this with someone I cared about that I’d forgotten how it felt, how vulnerable it forced me to be. I couldn’t hide behind my anger or my coldness. It was all there for her to see. It was also easier to keep control over my body, because whenever we fucked, I just wanted to come the entire time. But when we made love…it was different. My mind and body didn’t want it to end. Wanted it to last forever.
She came right away, moaning against my lips, her hand gripping my ass and tugging me hard inside her.
I ended our kiss to watch, watch her hit her high and get stars in her eyes. The tears came a second later, beautiful diamonds that reflected the firelight before they fell down her cheeks.
I caught each of them with my lips and kissed her, wanting her to taste the salt of her desire. Sweat drenched my body and the muscles in my body ached, but I couldn’t feel either of those things when I was locked in this embrace.
We hadn’t spoken since our conversation by the fire, when I’d explained to her exactly why this would end. Instead of getting angry with me for not sacrificing my immortality, she calmly accepted it and then dragged me to bed, asking me to make love to her…as if that would make us both forget.
There was no hesitation before I spoke, the walls of my restraint crumbled. I’d dedicated my life to this woman, but now I dedicated my heart. “I love you, baby.” I fisted her hair and kissed her hard, falling deeper into the cocoon we made together. “I love you so fucking much.”
She squeezed my hips as she dug her hand into my hair. She said it breathlessly, her nails sharp on my flesh, her hips anxious to take more of me. “I love you too.”
I lay with her, her thigh hiked over my hip, her lips swollen from my kiss, her eyes heavy with exhaustion. Her hair stuck to her neck because of the sweat, even though I’d done all the work. No complaints.
Her fingers played with my jawline, feeling the coarse hair of my stubble, moving against the growth so she could feel the sharpness against her fingertips. She liked to touch me, always had her hands on me whenever we were in the same room together.
I watched her stare at my jawline, looking at her stunning blue eyes. I’d never appreciated a woman’s eye color before, but hers…I could look at them forever. Their depths were endless. Her kindness had its own light. And her soul…I could see that too. I could see what she couldn’t see in me.
“You were gone all day.” Her hand moved to my chest.
“I did some things for your mother.”
She nodded slightly.
“What did you do?”
“I never left the room.” Her eyes weren’t on mine as she said that, like she wanted to hide from me.
I knew she was depressed for a lot of reasons. She feared her father wouldn’t return, and she knew we would never be more than what we were right now. Combined, it was enough to keep her in bed all day. Her mother had been at the table this morning, but it was clear she didn’t want to be there, that her life was on hold until her husband returned.
“It was just one of those days, you know.”
The last time I’d had a day like that was a long time ago, and it had been more than a couple of days.
Her eyes eventually came back to me. “It feels like the first time I actually get to be with you.” Her blue eyes were emotional, shining with her love for me. “I get to sleep with you. You come home to me at the end of a long day. It’s nice.”
It was nice. I’d never been so happy and so sad simultaneously.
She continued to rub my hard chest. “Can I ask you something?”
I knew what her question was because I could feel it, feel the curiosity that had never waned. “Just because I love you and we’re in domestic bliss doesn’t mean I ever want to discuss what you’re about to ask me. Don’t take it personally—and don’t ask me again.”
She had no reaction, but inside, I could feel her jerk away. “May I ask why?”
I restrained my anger because the last time I’d failed to do so, she’d stormed out into the cold and cried…and that made me feel like shit. She was in my arms that very moment, our lives at peace, and the last thing I wanted to do was ruin that. “Because it hurts.”
Her eyes softened, and then her heart clenched. “How long ago was this?”
“Five hundred and thirteen years ago.”
Surprise moved onto her face. She couldn’t understand time the way I could. To her, that may as well have been forever. For me, it felt like a couple of decades. “And it still hurts…?”
I could feel her unease, feel the roar of jealousy that my heart had ever belonged to another. I knew I would feel the same way, that Ethan’s unrequited obsession was enough to piss me off. But I wouldn’t lie to her. “It’ll always hurt.”
She paused, my words causing her pain in several different ways. “So…you were married?”
“No.”
“Were you—”
“I’m here with you, baby. Leave my past where it belongs—in the past.”
Her eyes flicked away.
“Don’t pull away from me.” My hand grabbed her chin and forced her stare back on me. “I want you here with me—always.” I kissed her, kissed her hard on the mouth, showing her the depth of my love because my words weren’t enough. I might have loved another woman in my life, but she’d been gone a long time, and now my heart was occupied by a single woman, a single name.
Her kiss was hesitant in the beginning, but it turned fiery within seconds, her hand in my hair, her thigh squeezing my side.
I rolled her onto her back and buried myself inside her like I hadn’t already made love to her twice. But that was how much I wanted this woman—always.
A knock sounded on the door.
It was the middle of the night. The fire was almost extinguished. The candles had burned out. I’d been dead asleep a second ago, but I was on my feet with my sword in my hand instantly.
Harlow jerked up and gave a quiet yelp in surprise.
“What is it?” I said through the closed door.
“Riders approach the gate,” the guard said. “Queen Rolfe has been notified.”
“How many?” I asked.
“Four.”
I quickly dressed and donned my armor and weapons.
