Kira’s POVThe hall went dead silent, like someone had sucked all the air out of it. I gulped hard…visibly, my throat bobbing like I’d swallowed a whole damn orange…but I didn’t step back. My spine stayed straight, shoulders squared, even as Leah paced restlessly under my skin, ready to rip free if things went south.King Valerian stared at me for one long beat… then threw his head back and laughed.A deep, rich belly laugh that echoed off the stone walls. His vampire entourage stayed frozen, faces like marble statues. My own elders looked like they’d been slapped with a frozen fish. Thomas’s hand hovered near his side, probably itching for a weapon that wasn’t there.“Oh, come on,” the Vampire King said, still chuckling as he wiped a nonexistent tear from the corner of his eye. “Look at all your faces! So serious. Do you really think I crossed territories just to demand the queen’s blood like some cheap horror story? Relax, little queen. I’m old, not barbaric.”I let out a slow,
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