Night's Bliss

By Mary Hughes

I could never trust a vampire. Ever. It wasn’t enough that vampires killed my parents and left me for dead. Nope, they also left me with this searing fear of every one of their kind. But when someone I care about grows sick from poison, I have no choice but to infiltrate a Romanian castle filled with pissy, evil vampires in search of the antidote.

And my only saving grace is that for some reason, I can do things other humans can’t.

Unfortunately, I also seem to be the perfect bait for the Vampire King, Kai Elias. More than seven feet of dark, wicked charisma, ancient eyes, and a body that holds more power and raw, animal sexuality than I can resist. But there’s something about Elias that looks painfully, terrifyingly familiar.

Now I am in over my head and my heart. And my only choice is to trust this dark, charismatic creature…or die.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
• Release date: Nov 15, 2021
• ISBN: 9781649372376

Mary Hughes

I write wickedly fun romantic adventures and steamy paranormal romances, stories that crackle with action and love. Challenging, smart alpha men--and women not afraid of a challenge. Oh, do the sparks fly when he meets THE woman guaranteed to infuriate and inflame him most.In real life I'm an author, a spouse and mother, a flutist, a computer geek, and a binge-TV-watcher of The Flash, Elementary, NCIS, and Wynonna Earp.~Mary HughesNewsletter: http://www.maryhughesbooks.com/Newsletter.htmlWebsite http://www.maryhughesbooks.com/Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/mary-hughesBlog http://maryhughesbooks.blogspot.com/Group Blog http://www.lustwithalaugh.com/Facebook http://www.facebook.com/MaryHughesAuthorTwitter http://www.twitter.com/MaryHughesBooks

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https://entangledpublishing.com/books/nights-bliss

To Gregg, as they all are. Partner.

A single person can write a story, but publishing takes a family. This book wouldn’t be in your hands without the supremely talented people at Entangled Publishing, from acquisitions and editing to art, from marketing and publicity to production. Special callout and my very great thanks to my deft and clever editor Alethea Spiridon, and also to publisher Liz Pelletier who had the awesome good taste to like my first ever published book.

Writing may be a single person’s work, but a story can never come alive until it’s read or listened to. The mind and spirit that receives the story is no less important than those that conceived it. My wholehearted appreciation and love to all you readers out there who get the jokes, who see the threads weaving throughout the stories, who have been there from book one in Meiers Corners and are still looking forward to book twelve.

Hang onto your seats. The end of this ride is gonna be wild.

Glossary

Acronyms and foreign words and phrases used in this book

Alal—destroyer (Sumerian)

Blau—blue (German)

Braun—brown (German)

Bun—good (Romanian)

Bujný a Zvuk Magie—Light and Sound Magic (Czech, actually Lush and Sound Magic)

Călău—executioner (Romanian)

Cert—certainly (Romanian)

Cavaler—knight (Romanian)

Coup de grâce—finishing stroke (French)

Da—yes (Romanian)

Damă—lady (Romanian)

Îl faci pe ticălos să plătească—you make the bastard pay (Romanian)

Gelb—yellow (German)

Gemütlichkeit—a spirit of warmth, friendliness, and good cheer (German)

Giru—dear (Old Babylonian)

Gruen/Grün—green (German)

Imobilă—unmovable; immune to vampire compulsion (Romanian)

Ja—yes (German)

Kianga—beloved (Sumerian)

Locotenent al Umbrei—lieutenant of the shadow: Umbra’s lieutenant (Romanian)

Locotenenţi—lieutenants (Romanian)

Lordul Umbrei—Lord of the Shadow (Romanian)

Mano a mano—hand to hand (Spanish)

Monstru—monster (Romanian)

Nein—no (German)

Nomarch—magistrate of a province or nome in ancient Egypt (ancient Egyptian)

Nu—no (Romanian)

Răpitorul—wrecker (Romanian)

Salut—hello (Romanian)

Sclav—serf/thrall/slave (Romanian)

Sclavi—slaves (Romanian)

Servitori—servants (Romanian)

Strigoi—ghost/vampire (Romanian)

TL;DR—Too Long; Didn’t Read

Trădător—traitor (Romanian)

Umbră—shadow (Romanian)

Vă rog—please (Romanian)

Vampir—vampire (Romanian)

Vârcolac—werewolf/vampire (Romanian)

Warten Sie, bitte—wait, please (German)

Wunderbar—wonderful (German)

Wurst und Käse—sausage and cheese (German)

A note on plurals in Sumerian: the noun in Sumerian is part of a noun phrase where the plural marker is added not to the noun itself, but to the whole phrase. For the sake of simplicity in this book, I’ve added a non-standard s to the Sumerian nouns to indicate plural.

Chapter One

Honestly, the spooky castle wasn’t what I expected.

Sure, it was creepy. You can’t have a vampire named The Shadow Lord without a certain creep factor to go along with it. And this floor…

A creak came from above.

On my hands and knees, I paused in scrubbing the pockmarked limestone, installed by the Voivodes in the fifteenth century. It dated the place. Castle Umbra would never sell on MLS without serious upgrades, granite countertops at least. There was plenty of the stuff under the surrounding Carpathian Mountains.

The creak came again, closer this time.

My breath froze in my chest. Carefully, I scanned around me, moving only my eyes.

This spooky castle was home to a nest of vampires—and not your usual thin, pale suckers. The Shadow Lord Umbra trained a cohesive corps of brutally skilled, well-armed, hardened killers. Only a burning need had sent me here, infiltrating the fangy doucheballs.

Find my sweet Greyson’s antidote.

Long story. TL;DR version, I met the best man in the world because said fangy doucheballs had poisoned him, thinking he was the vampire king and wanting to drink his powerful blood.

Yeah. Monsters.

I scrubbed so hard my brush started to smoke. Sitting back on my haunches with a sigh, I threw it into the bucket. I missed Greyson. I missed his sweet smile and kind eyes and quiet strength. I’d infiltrated the castle to find the cure for his poison, but my chest was sore with missing him.

Another creak from the gallery above.

Heart pounding, I rose to my feet, determined to see who’d come.

Unless another human servant had dared the arena without explicit orders, it was one of the castle’s depraved bloodsucker lieutenants. Or their evil master—Lord Umbra, the Shadow Lord himself.

I was in the vampires’ fighting arena, both beautiful and horrifying. A two-story, elegant gallery circled a bloody sand pit. Literally. Six inches of sand. No one liked cleaning the blood, guts, and other vampy bits that inevitably ended up there after training fights. That pit was worse than a cat box with a dozen cats.

A small, pale, oval face popped over the railing. I let out the breath I’d been holding. Ani.

Ana Mihaela Radu was a bright young Romanian girl, an orphan like I’d been, whose eyes were far older than her years.

You can’t be here, Ani, I whispered in Romanian, the local language. Ordinary me had a few unusual abilities, including a gift for language.

I’d whispered, but Ani heard me.

I came to help. Relia, vă rog. Relia was my undercover name, close enough to Rey that I wouldn’t give myself away with a Duh, who’s that? Vă rog meant please.

Like me, she had some unusual abilities. It made it hard for her to make friends. To help the girl feel included, I’d asked her to look out for Greyson’s antidote. But not here. Though the arena wasn’t in use today, vampires roamed the castle at will.

No, Ani—

Please, Relia. She used English, the language she was learning simply to be closer to me.

Dammit. I’d have to give her something to do; the least dangerous thing I could think of. Keep watch for me. Polish the railings to look busy. Stomp the gallery floor once if a vampir comes, then get out of here. Promise, Ani. Promise you’ll leave the moment you give the signal.

She promised, and I went back to my scrubbing. The pit was surrounded by niches formed by the upper gallery, some open, some walled with locked doors. One of which, the bladed weapons room, contained Greyson’s antidote. I’d been searching for a way in for weeks. The lock was a state-of-the-art proximity. Only the suckers had keys. A small window was its only weakness. If I could break the glass, I might be able to squeeze through. Except I didn’t just have to retrieve the antidote—I also had to find a way to smuggle it out under the watchful eyes and sharp noses of the castle’s bloodsuckers.

Which meant I couldn’t afford to be caught.

As I hesitated, a faint stomp came from the gallery floor above. I grabbed bucket and brush and leaped away from the telltale door.

I was busily scrubbing away at a corner vestibule when the suckers appeared. Fanged, blood-red eyes, muscles popping in their black fatigues, red gazes suspicious as hell.

I kept scrubbing to cover the clenching in my gut. Vampires, vampiri, strigoii, vârcolaci. All names for foul creatures that dealt suffering and death to innocent humans. Like parents. Like mine, only I didn’t have Wayne Enterprises and Alfred the butler.

With a growl at me, the pair unlocked a room and went inside.

The bladed weapons room.

My heart kicked into overdrive. I had one shot. If I could slip into that room as they came out, I could get Greyson’s antidote. But Umbra’s vampires were stunningly fast and trained to be aware. There was no way I, a simple human, could get past them undetected.

Unless…

I’m not normal. I know things…can do things…that seem superhuman. Freak talents, so shameful to my mother that, before she died, she made me promise I’d never reveal how strong or fast or smart I could be. I loved her and did everything I could to keep my promise. I did not want to lapse now. But…

For Greyson. I tapped my inner demon.

As the door clicked open, I dashed toward it, a blur even to vampire senses. I hit the opening as they emerged, slipping behind them into the cool of the alcove room.

Racks of swords and stands of pole weapons filled the room—and in the corner stood a cart holding trays of bright blue and red vials. I snatched up one of each and secreted them in my pants pockets. Tiptoeing to the door, I peeked out. They were fighting, intent on each other. I slipped out and dashed to my waiting bucket, where I grabbed my brush and scrubbed at the limestone; to all intents and purposes, I had never left.

Except I had, with nearly as much speed as one of the bloodsuckers themselves. The old guilt hit me, but I couldn’t afford it. I still had to get the vials into town and safely mailed. For Greyson’s sake, I pushed the guilt away. It would be waiting for me when the job was done.

…

His name was Greyson, and he was human.

No, you’re not.

He ignored the inner voice, though it was becoming more insistent as of late.

Concerned whispers came from behind him. His babysitters. The reverence in their hushed tones meant they were talking about Kai Elias again. Their missing leader, the Ancient One. Honored like a king—a super being, the way they talked. Fiendishly smart. Brutally strong. Controlled himself with a will of titanium. Hella protective, especially of innocents. Blisteringly rich, highly enigmatic, and almost omniscient. Ten-thousand-year-old vampire.

Rey hated vampires.

All but one sitter left. The statuesque blonde woman Greyson thought of as the Doctor touched a thermometer to his forehead and tsked. I hoped the poison would have worn off by now.

He gritted his teeth. The poison burned in his veins. Weakened him. Confused him.

You should have healed when you got your ancient bloo—I mean, power back. Nobody ever said the word blood, but they all started it a lot. But I guess it’s more waiting…

Or not. Awareness rippled over Greyson’s skin as a tall, blond man filtered with insouciant grace through the door. The Leader, the one taking charge while Elias was missing. He held up two small tubes, one red, one blue. Got the antidote. And the poison, I guess.

The Doctor turned with a suppressed startle. Which one is the antidote?

Does it matter?

It sure as hell does. Her voice remained soft, but her anger was palpable. I took an oath. First do no harm.

He’s already sick, Alexis. We can’t hurt him worse. The Leader moved toward Greyson.

We sure as hell can. The Doctor moved to cut him off.

The Leader’s hazel eyes bled red with temper as the two glared at each other. A low growl rose from the Leader’s throat, and his fang tips flashed.

Logan … The Doctor shot a cautioning look at Greyson. The growl subsided.

As if he didn’t already know the Leader was a vampire. He might not be this Ancient One, but he hadn’t been born yesterday.

It’s all we have, the Leader said finally. We need him whole, Alexis.

With a reluctant nod, she stepped back.

The Leader held out the red vial. Drink this, Greyson.

Greyson stared at them both in suspicion. The poison burned him still, as potent as the night the thugs had beat him up and stabbed the needle into his arm. And now they wanted to feed him more?

The Doctor shivered. Human, but he still has the death glare down.

Rey sent these, Greyson. The Leader uncapped the red tube. You remember her, don’t you?

Rey, he whispered, his voice cracking with disuse. A small glow lit inside him. Rey had delivered medicine. She’d gotten this medicine for him.

This time, when the Leader offered him the vial, he simply pointed at the blue. The Leader uncapped it and passed it to him. He took it and drank it off.

The pair hovered over him, expecting…something. As if he were going to suddenly turn into someone—something—else.

Not him. He was an ordinary human. Rey liked him as an ordinary human.

And seeming human will draw out the Adversary.

Greyson ignored the voice, again. He’d had a lot of practice.

Then the antidote entered his veins, which began to buzz and sting as if they were full of bees—and then rage red-hot, branching out as if his blood was on fire. Fury roared through him, boiling and vast, an ocean whipped by a hurricane.

With a hoarse cry, he rose out of his chair, fighting for control. The Doctor patted and fussed over him. It was everything he could do not to tear her head off.

From somewhere deep inside, a mountain’s worth of self-discipline rose to meet the fury. Hot rage and cold control battled like a storm front, each too potent to lose, neither quite able to win.

He settled. Balanced, the perfect eye of the storm, able to call on the immense power instantly, yet in complete command.

Mr. Elias? The Doctor said. After a short wait, she sighed. Would you like some TV, Greyson? She didn’t wait for his response, switching the television on.

The news played. Such violence in the world, such fear. He felt like he should do something about it.

But he’d forgotten what.

Damn it, the Leader muttered. That should have worked. The poison made him feel human, ergo the antidote should have made him remember he’s a vamp—

Don’t say the V-word, Logan. The Doctor sighed again. But I miss Elias.

Elias, again. Rey wouldn’t like him. The male was everything Greyson was not—unapproachable, enigmatic, autocratic. Brilliant. Master of self-control. Suave as hell, but privately guarded. Violent.

Vampire. The very monsters who’d killed Rey’s parents before her eyes when she was a child, leaving Rey herself half-dead.

You’re clinging to Greyson for when Rey comes back. But vampires revolt her. You will revolt her once she learns the truth.

He couldn’t ignore the voice as easily this time. Something wet and hot threaded down his cheek to fall, red, onto the hands clenched in his lap.

Breaking news, came from the television. The talking head touched her ear with a frown. We’re going live to an undisclosed location. She was replaced by a video insert.

A robed man stepped into the picture. His head was covered by a cowl like a monk, faceless but for his cleft chin.

Greyson’s skin tightened. Something buried inside him recognized that cowl, that chin. The Shadow Lord. The adversary playing on a living chessboard, the hand that moved the pieces but never came out into the open.

A loathsome miasma seemed to emanate from the male, a foulness palpable even through the flat television screen. Rey would say the creep factor was high with this one. He smiled briefly, but it faded.

Greetings. The robed man’s baritone voice was clear and sure. A special Salut to the Iowa Alliance—and your esteemed leader, the Ancient One.

The Ancient One. Foreboding filled Greyson at Elias’s epithet.

I am Lord Umbra, the robed man went on. A concerned world citizen. I have long claimed that vampires exist, and now I have proof that they infest the United States of America. Today, I gave the US government several locations that are hotbeds of vampire activity.

The Leader swore. The Doctor murmured, It’s not like we’ve been hiding all that well lately anyway.

Governments of the world! Do something about the plague of bloodsucking abominations before it’s too late, starting with their king, the Ancient One—Kai Elias.

At the name Elias, Greyson began to shake, his blood buzzing with forked electricity, his ears ringing.

Oh, and Elias—I’ve identified your spy in my domain. The Shadow Lord’s gloating was unmistakable. Red hair, luscious figure, a true ‘drop of golden sun’… Ring any bells?

Rey. Greyson clutched the arms of his chair. Loathsome? Foul? This Shadow Lord was evil.

Umbra chuckled as if he’d heard Greyson’s thoughts. She’s safe—for now. Unlike America, we don’t have any terrifying vampires here.

Liar, the Leader rasped.

But there are other dangers. The man’s head tilted, his cowl rising briefly to reveal an even, white smile. She’s the inquisitive sort, isn’t she? As with the proverbial cat, that might prove…problematic.

Bastard. The Doctor’s low curse accompanied the Shadow Lord’s picture fading to black.

The man known as Greyson sat, a block of ice, in his chair. Clinging to his identity for when Rey returned.

Rey wasn’t returning.

Umbra had threatened her. Greyson’s fingers bit into the padded arms so hard that chunks of padding broke off.

Rey needed him.

But that wasn’t true. Rey didn’t need Greyson. For all that he loved her, he was no match for the vile male who’d threatened her. Gentle, lovable, befuddled Greyson’s love wasn’t enough. Greyson wasn’t enough.

Brilliant, violent, vampire lord Kai Elias, though… He could battle the treacherous Shadow Lord and hope to win.

No. Despair gripped him. Rey hated bloodsuckers. She’d hate Elias. Yet without him… Only Elias could save her life.

Rey, he whispered, heartsick with loss, even as his blood pounded in his ears. No, no, no…

What’s wrong with him? the Leader said sharply. Concern rode the Doctor’s face.

Locked in his fear and grief, Greyson couldn’t reassure them. Without Greyson, there was no hope of a relationship with Rey.

Without Elias, there will be no Rey at all.

His brain surged with bright power. Jagged, terrible energies filled his body, his blood. Threatened to tear him apart.

Rey, he screamed.

His minders fell back a step.

The male who was Greyson roared his rage and fear and defiance as the terrible power overwhelmed him, blew him apart—

Clamped down by his dormant, dominant personality.

He breathed in, a bushel of air in a moment, and rose above the surging, seething emotions with techniques practiced so long and hard they were ingrained and snapped into place. Mastering the energy, he banished it to the background with a mental wave.

No, he said clearly in a bass so low the floorboards shook.

The Doctor jerked back. The Leader straightened in shock. He stood, fluidly rising to his full height. Both sucked in breaths at that.

No time to comfort them now. Logan, he commanded. Call the airfield. Make my private jet ready. I’ll fly myself.

The blond male jolted, his hazel eyes wide. Y-yes, my lord. He paused. Mr. Elias…?

Yes, he said. I’m back.

Chapter Two

I am worried, Relia. Andreea, a big-boned woman with her hair in a thick gray bun, stirred a kettle on the industrial stove. The savory aroma of stewing beef and hearty vegetables filled the air. She was the cook/ housekeeper/ woman who kept the castle humans sane.

Why? I stole a nibble of topping from the fruit crumble that would be dessert.

Why else? The wretched girl. She rapped the spoon against the pot harder than it needed to clean it and threw it aside.

Her anger covered worry. Ani was so desperate to please, she sometimes didn’t think. Was sometimes too fast, too strong.

Like I had been before my mother’s shamed Oh, Rey, taught me otherwise. Ani was one of the reasons I was still at the castle after sending off the antidote.

What’s the problem now?

Wringing a dishtowel between her hands, Andreea glanced at the pair of kitchen girls preparing food and leaned closer to me. The master’s interest in Ani grows.

This was not good news. The Shadow Lord had dungeons, and we’d all heard of the horrors that took place there. I murmured, She has her bug-out bag?

All of us had one. We were called vampiri servitori. Servitori translated to servants—but we were really sclavi. Slaves.

If Umbra or another fangy asswipe took too much interest in a sclav, we knew to go to Andreea, the castle’s Harriet Tubman. That was the other reason I’d stayed, to help.

Da. I will send her away, then.

A gasp came from the darkened hallway leading to the castle proper, where a pale oval face glimmered in the shadows. Ani. The girl spun and ran away.

Ani, wait! I dashed to the doorway.

Two big silver-badged shadow lieutenants swept in silently to intercept Ani. Each seized one of her thin arms, lifting the girl between them until her feet beat air.

They switched direction in that instant, alien way they sometimes had.

Don’t! I leaped after them…straight into a cloud of angry testosterone and rotting blood.

The reek hit me, a rush of struggling in their crushing grip, forced to watch as they ripped out my father’s throat and slaughtered my mother, their leader watching with too-bright eyes.

I stumbled to a halt, panting, pulse whooshing in my ears.

Leave her alone! Andreea shouted, lumbering past me, her voice harsh like the growl of a mama bear. She is just a girl.

This whole thing was profoundly wrong. Ani was being taken by silver badges? They were Umbra’s personal guard, killers trained in every depravity. Overkill to apprehend one girl child, even one with enhanced abilities.

Andreea, wait! I tried to pull her back.

She shook me off. Bulling into the vampires, she tried to wrestle the girl from them. Sucker Two cuffed her, threw her over his shoulder, and carted her away. Sucker One dragged Ani behind.

I dashed after the vampires to the arena.

Sucker Two dumped Andreea onto the floor of an open vestibule immediately below the upstairs entrance. She swore groggily at the silver badges. The sucker slapped her once, twice. I ran up and stooped to help her just in time to intercept a third slap…with my face.

The vamp thought this was the funniest thing he’d seen all week.

As I palmed my stinging cheek, Andreea clambered to her feet.

Sucker One shoved Ani at us, surprising me. The cook gathered the girl into her arms as I stepped in front of them, lifting my own chin. What do you want us for?

He is coming. The vampire grinned. You will help us capture him.

Behind Suckers One and Two, the arena began to fill up with vampires. A pair of suckers entered, dragging Cristian between them. Another pair had Pavel.

I swallowed bile. Both men were immune to vampire compulsion, a death sentence in the Shadow Lord’s castle. We’d thought Umbra hadn’t known. The suckers threw the men into our little huddle. More sclavi were herded into the arena.

Someone shouted, He comes!

Take, rasped Sucker Two. Sheathed weapons were shoved at the three of us, into our hands.

Nu! A booming voice, a rich but cold baritone. Not that one for her.

That icy voice; everyone in this castle knew it. The Shadow Lord.

He appeared before me, all swirling cape and cowl. Rey Kean, take this. He shoved a plain sheath into my hands.

It took me a moment to realize the words were in English, and that he’d used my real name. Shock dumped into my system, followed by a second jolt. The wrapped handle protruding from the sheath was familiar. My sister’s dagger.

My sister was a vampire hunter, safely back in the States, but Umbra’s reach was long. I snarled, If you’ve done anything to her—

You’ll do what? The cowl lifted slightly, revealing a slice of white smile. She is fine, my dear. This is one of her killing blades, however.

My sister had used a serum on her blades that dissolved vamps. The shadow goons thought it was the blades themselves.

Then thanks. I drew it and slashed at him.

He spun Vamp Two in front of him as a shield. The dagger bit deep into one arm. The vampire paled. A greenish tinge bled up under his skin. He swallowed hard. Lumps formed and moved beneath his flesh, and he crumpled over with dry heaves. Moments later, he began shaking as if he were coming apart…and then he did, in a spray of gelatinous goo.

I stared in horror.

Thank you for the demonstration, Rey Kean. When the time comes, you’ll know what to do with that little dagger. My only advice—be on the winning side. Or your allies—his cowl turned toward where Andreea huddled over Ani—will suffer.

I swallowed bile and sheathed the damned dagger.

Make this look good. Umbra stepped back, and, in that gently regretful way he had, said, Men, fight alongside your betters. Attack!

We began to fight for our lives.

…

We’ll come with you, sir, Logan Steel said, relief plain on his face.

On the cusp of leaving, Elias turned. All his Alliance associates and allies would have been happy to help him, but he didn’t want to commit them until he knew more fully what they were up against.

Thank you, Logan, he said gravely. But you need to stay to prepare for what’s coming. I’ve laid in some contingencies, but we still don’t know for certain what Umbra’s after.

What our enemies are always after, Steel growled. Money, power. Blood.

Perhaps, Elias said. Logan. I rely on you to keep our people safe.

The blond male straightened imperceptibly at that. Yes, sir.

Elias left, driven to get to Rey. Focused on her, he didn’t stop for anything, not even weapons. He carried the most important—his wits and vampire powers—and, in this day and age, his credit cards and phone. He jumped into his sleek plane, a Steel Security jet with enough future-tech to fly faster and farther than anything in the air, perfectly aware Umbra would think him woefully under-prepared.

Time to lay in a few new contingency