Read Online A Vial of Life (A Shade of Vampire #21) by Bella Forrest - Free Book Online Page A

who might put in a good word for us and persuade her to let Ben go. I had been so anxious to accept Jeriad’s proposal, since there was nothing else on the table, that I hadn’t stopped to consider what exactly this would involve.
    “Let’s just hope we’re reunited with Ben soon,” Rose murmured to my right. She held my hand and squeezed it.
    Ten minutes later, it appeared that the Drizans had emptied every single chamber. They piled out of the apartments and gathered around the Nasiris being held captive on the ground. Some of the younger Drizan jinn dipped down to poke and taunt the Nasiri cruelly. I had half a mind to snap at them to stop, but I knew that wouldn’t help.
    “Now we’re just waiting for Cyrus,” Derek muttered.
    “They’re coming.” Aiden pointed toward the staircase nearest to us.
    The towering form of Cyrus descended the stairs, carrying Nuriya in his arms. He’d tied her with the same strange rope the other jinn had been bound by. Her cries of anguish on seeing her family lined up along the wall were muffled by a gag in her mouth. She coughed and choked.
    Cyrus laid Nuriya down on the ground in front of the rest of the Nasiri jinn, and, to my surprise, removed her gag. Perhaps he enjoyed the sound of her sobbing.
    I tried to avoid looking at the queen, seeing as there was nothing I could think of to alleviate her suffering or prevent the Drizans’ path of vengeance. To my dismay, she addressed me directly, forcing me to look up.
    “Benjamin’s birth mother,” she gasped, as though she didn’t know my name. “You don’t understand. My darling Ben is in grave danger. He needs us. If you let the Drizans have their way with us, your son will be lost to you forever. Bahir is with him now protecting him, but he will sense my pain and leave Ben. If that happens, oh! I can’t bear to think of it! He’ll be left stranded and—”
    “Enough!” Cyrus snapped. He stuffed the gag back in her mouth.
    The blood drained from my face. “What?” I choked, staring down at Nuriya. “What do you mean, Ben’s in danger? Where is he? What happened to him?”
    I stumbled forward, ignoring the angered expression on Cyrus’s face as I reached down to pull the gag from Nuriya’s mouth. But, bizarrely, as much as I tugged, it was stuck fast. I turned to Cyrus with pleading eyes.
    “I need to hear what this jinni has to say about my son,” I breathed. “Please, remove the gag.”
    Cyrus’ eyes smoldered as he looked from me to Nuriya. Then he turned on Jeriad, whose face remained stoic as he witnessed the scene. Cyrus’ jaw twitched as he stooped down and pulled out the gag.
    Nuriya coughed and spluttered, tears streaming down her cheeks.
    I bent down to her level and touched her shoulder. It felt surprisingly solid for such an ethereal creature, and I gripped it hard.
    “Where is Benjamin? He’ll be left stranded where? Are you saying that he’s not here in The Oasis?”
    Nuriya bit down on her trembling lip and nodded. “He’s not here. After you left, an oracle informed us of something terrible about Benjamin.” She swallowed hard. “The Elders intend to make him their slave for eternity. They want him for themselves—they have since he was a newborn. An Elder imprinted on him when he was an infant and formed a bond that would connect the two of them for as long as Benjamin’s heart remained beating. Ben is currently in the supernatural dimension with Aisha, my niece, and Bahir, my partner, trying to find a way to get rid of the bond that the Elder formed with him. The Elder is calling Benjamin back to Cruor, and since he drank so much human blood recently, the spirit has become strong enough to take control of Ben’s body like never before. I don’t know exactly where they are now in the supernatural world, but Bahir is inside Ben, battling the Elder to keep his mind from being taken over. If I continue to be harassed, Bahir will sense my disturbance and come for me. He might be on