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

person of such importance would come to meet us outside personally, rather than some lower member of the family.
    Jeriad apparently shared my surprise, and he voiced it to the formidable-looking jinni. Cyrus replied with a gracious smile that he had sensed the presence of dragons, and that it was right that he should come to greet them personally—since, after all, they did have a history together.
    Although I didn’t trust anything about this jinni, at least we could be sure about one thing—he and his clan clearly still held respect for the dragons and didn’t see them as a threat. And consequently the rest of us were also welcomed in. Derek and I—along with Rose, Caleb, Aiden, the Novalics, Ashley, Landis, Zinnia, Gavin, and other close companions who’d traveled with us—found ourselves descending the jeweled staircase, which led down into a grand entrance hall. The luxury that surrounded us was similar to that of the Nasiri jinn’s abode at the bottom of The Oasis—no expense had been spared, and if it was possible, this place held even more extravagance, at least what we’d seen of it so far. The hall’s floor appeared to be made of solid gold, covered every now and then by rugs so soft they felt like pure cashmere. Gem-studded mirrors adorned the walls and diamond-encrusted chandeliers hung from the ceiling in abundance.
    We moved out of this room and entered a corridor, similarly decorated. It was wide, with grand pillars lining the walls every few feet. There was a scent of burning incense, subtle yet heady.
    Although it shared its luxury with the Nasiris’ abode, the Drizans’ was not an atrium. It was more like a palace, built underground.
    Finally, the jinn stopped outside a tall, open doorway. We entered to find ourselves in some kind of old-fashioned courtroom, lit by beacons of fire. Opposite us was a raised platform upon which sat a silver throne embroidered with crimson silk. Above this throne, hanging from the wall, was another large golden medallion with the symbol of a scorpion—like the one that served as the entrance to the Drizans’ lair. Its shiny surface glimmered in the firelight. Cyrus glided up to the throne and planted himself down on it, eyeing us all from his vantage point.
    “Take seats if you like,” he said, his deep voice booming around the chamber. As soon as he uttered the words, dozens of chairs manifested and lined up on the floor beneath his platform. The dragons—having already shifted back into their humanoid forms in order to fit through the entrance—remained standing, as did the rest of us. It appeared that our nerves didn’t permit any of us to sit.
    “We will stand, but thank you for the offer,” Jeriad replied.
    “As you wish,” Cyrus said. “So, what exactly have you come to tell me?” Cyrus folded his fingers around the arms of his chair. “Our fellow jinn, the Nasiris. You say that they have settled in the human realm?”
    “Indeed,” Jeriad replied coolly. “The Nasiri jinn have formed a bond with a friend of mine. He is a vampire, and they have managed to bond him to them permanently. We seek your help in freeing him and in return, I will inform you of their location and anything else we know about them that could be of use to you.”
    The jinni’s eyes glinted with interest as he raised a hand to his chin and stroked it. “I guessed that Nuriya had fled to the human realm… In fact, some years ago I even sent out a search party looking for her. But they returned unsuccessful. I always wondered where she’d managed to hide out so successfully all this time…” He stood up, his hand still against his chin, and began pacing thoughtfully along his platform.
    “You see, Nuriya and I… we have something of a history together,” Cyrus continued. “Once upon a time, she was my betrothed. Her father, the noble Harith Nasiri, had gifted her to me as a gesture of goodwill between our two dynasties. However, Nuriya was a treacherous woman. She