Blood & Honey #1

*Chapter Thirteen*

** On the gif, please insert Tristan in Klaus's place and Kalista in Caroline's. The emotion is spot on for this chapter.

The bad part about reacting on instinct is that my instincts aren't suited for dealing with spoiled princesses. Kalista cries out, hissing in pain as I yank her up by her hair before her fangs can pierce Kinley's frail human skin.

I bite into my wrist. The only way to sway a fledgling that has gotten the scent of fresh blood is to lull them with your own. The older a vampire is, the more enticing our blood is to our kind. Vampire blood also has aphrodisiac qualities.

Kalista greedily sucks at my free flowing-blood with a desperation that matches a hungry infant feeding from their mother's breast. A moan of bliss slips past her lips as she sinks her teeth into me to keep the wound open. I heal fast, and she hasn't had enough to satisfy her thirst. It's Kinley or me. I can outlast a fledgling's thirst. Kinley can't.

Kalista tears herself away from me, her eyes blazing with a high she's never before felt. The next moment happens all at once. She lunges for me, possessed by the carnal desires my blood instilled in her, and then she's on the ground, neck broke.

Oops.

"Tristan!" Sabrina shouts, coming over to where I am trying to revive the princess from her unmoving slumber.

My attention gets pulled to the sharp intake of air Kinley takes as she sits up like she's just been brought back to life by electric shock paddles. She looks disoriented for a few seconds before her gaze lands on the three vampires near her. Her eyes widen. She tries to stand to run yet she hasn't the strength. She falls to the ground and backpedals, scrambling away from Sabrina, a waking Kalista, and me.

She stops when her back hits something. Her neck cranes up to see what is hindering her retreat. I swear the ghost of her soul jumps out of her when she sees Dorian is "the what" she ran into.

Dorian drops to the balls of his feet, exuding all the charm he's infamously known for. "Why, hello there."

You can practically hear the freezing chill that shoots through Kinley and cracks her spine, shattering it into hundreds of pieces.

Kinley manages to get to her feet and dashes in the only direction available to her that is vampire free—toward the kitchen. Dorian heads her off before she gets there.

"What is the human doing here? I told you to take care of her or turn her in. Bringing her here is neither of those things," Serena says, agitated as she has spent countless hours searching for me with Dorian.

The perks of being an older vampire. If I don't want to be found, I can suppress my energy to keep from being located.

Kalista returns to the realm of consciousness, sitting up with a glazed-over look in her eyes. "What happened?" She rubs the back of her neck. It will be stiff for a couple of minutes before it loosens up after self-healing from when I broke it.

"Tell me, Tristan. What did you do to this poor creature? I could smell her fear from three blocks away." Dorian gives Kinley a wide berth as he circles her, assessing the prey I have brought into our home.

Kinley isn't prey though.

"That is a question you should be asking someone else, not me." I leave my sisters to care for Kalista, edging closer to Dorian and Kinley. I need to be ready to intervene in case Dorian thinks he is going to help himself to the human whose scent and fear are tingeing his eyes dark with hunger.

Dorian stops behind Kinley, her attention now on me as I have moved closer to both of them. "You found her this way?"

"Yes. Almost three weeks ago. She knew what I was with one look," I reply.