Poisonous Temptation: Division 2 (The Berkano Vampire Collection) Read online

  Poisonous Temptation

  The Berkano Vampire Collection - Division II

  Isadora Brown

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

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  Acknowledgments

  Also by Isadora Brown

  Also by Isadora Brown

  Also by Isadora Brown

  Also by Isadora Brown

  Also by Isadora Brown

  Chapter 1

  Vampire blood nearly splattered Aurelia Stone where she stood.

  Aurelia flinched. She heard her sister, Adela, tsk beside her, and her cheeks turned red. Her first show, and she could not keep herself from reacting to the blood and gore before her. Aurelia could practically feel the eye roll from where she stood, and she closed her eyes and took a breath. When she opened them again, she forced herself to watch the current battle going on between two gladiators.

  Two vampires.

  Aurelia was not used to such brutal acts of violence, even though she was expected to stand guard and protect the human spectators from any unwarranted attacks. No vampire had dared try something so stupid, especially with witches positioned at every entrance, but vampires were unpredictable and sometimes enraged by bloodlust. Control was a necessary factor in keeping compliance in Citta di Paludi, and the humans executed the task viciously.

  The humans had decided that since both witch and vampire were at fault for the Rift, they should be in charge of the Division. They partnered with witches, promising wealth and an alliance as long as they helped protect the human people. Since humans assisted witches with recharging their spiritual abilities, the witches had agreed. The vampires were treated like peasants, working labor-intensive jobs, living in the slums and swamps that made up the city and otherwise falling into line, which completely went against their nature.

  As a further safeguard—another way for humans to maintain control—if vampires stepped out of line for even the smallest offenses, they were tagged with an arrest and forced to fight in the only historical landmark still standing inside the city: the Colosseum. There were no rules on how to kill the vampires, just as long as none left the pit.

  Her flinch caused one of the opponents, a well-known gladiator named Thyos, to stare at her briefly, as if she had distracted him. It was enough to allow his opponent to use his weapon—a jagged stone, part of the rubble that filled parts of the pit, thanks to the destruction the Rift had brought forth—and slash Thyos along his arm.

  “You dimwitted fool,” Adela muttered under her breath.

  Aurelia felt her face turned even redder, but she did not look at her sister. Instead, she watched the battle continue, her eyes lingering on Thyos for longer than she knew was proper.

  It was an abomination for a witch to be in any kind of relationship with a vampire. From a very young age, Aurelia had been taught to look away from vampires until she could master the spell to protect herself from seductive manipulation. She had been taught to fear them, to avoid them, until her powers manifested themselves and she could protect herself. Until then, she would be a burden, unable to go out by herself without someone to accompany her. She had just reached the age of twenty, and there were no new developments with her powers. She was Empty, something unheard of for a product of two full witches.

  This was her first battle. Her mother had hoped it would trigger something.

  It did trigger something, but not what it was supposed to.

  Aurelia had never seen a vampire before, and now that she had, she could not stop staring at him. He was tall and broad, rippling with muscles like the stone statues that had been destroyed during the Rift and were now buried deep under the moss and lilies and swamps. He had short blond hair and sharp blue eyes, his skin pale but not sickly. The small outfit he was forced to wear revealed his broad shoulders and the slopes that ran up and down his arms. His legs were thick and toned, strengthened by running and lifting heavy things. Though he wore a leather breast plate, she could still see how toned he was.

  He was a masterpiece.

  “You’re drooling over a beast, you stupid girl,” Adela snarled, shooting her sister a long look. “Pick your jaw off the floor. You have a job.”

  “You do not find him attractive, Adela?” Aurelia asked, genuinely curious, ignoring her sister’s tone.

  Adela said nothing. Instead, she shook her head, rolling her eyes before refocusing on the battle. Aurelia pressed her lips together and did the same. Had Adela been as calm as she was now the first time she had seen a vampire? Stoic? Not recognizing the beauty that they possessed?

  Aurelia wished she could be like that. She wished she had not been distracted when she was trying to do her job, which was keeping the shields up on the south entrance and the spectators who sat in the south section. Aurelia knew she was only here as a special favor to her mother. Her mother seemed to possess some sort of influence over Emperor Paletyn, the human who ruled over the Citta di Paludi. How that was, Aurelia did not know. She might have assumed her mother used her abilities to influence him, but with two male witches paid specifically to protect the emperor from such corruptions, Aurelia did not think her mother was that capable.

  It was her mother who had attained the emperor’s permission to have Aurelia attend this battle. She was familiar with them only in that she knew what happened. Tagged vampires were vampires who were tracked by the emperor and his government after breaking a law. For vampires, that could be as small as spitting gum on the sidewalk. The emperor’s military constantly patrolled East Babylon, where the vampire population roamed, looking for any new contender to throw in the arena. Vampires who won were free to return to their dwelling without any other punishment, although they were expected to continue to fight should they be called upon for any reason. That, or because they broke the law again.

  “He’s Berkano,” Adela murmured from where she stood, across from Ursula. Her palms were held out, palm up, parallel with her shoulders. It helped carry the spell to the widest amount of people, but Aurelia was familiar with what was required, and Adela could only break in holding her arms out for moments at a time.

  “Thyos Berkano?” she asked. “The name doesn’t sound familiar.”

  “Yes, well, he was one of the warriors who killed witches with his bare hands,” Adela said with a snort. “It’s betrayal to even think he looks like someone you might want to know.”

  Aurelia considered that for a moment. She had studied the Berkano clan a few years back. The lessons had stayed with her because of how dangerous they were known to be—ruthless savages who took what they wanted without a care in the world.

  As she surveyed Thyos, she could not help but understand why he had been a warrior. He had to be at least six-foot four, if not taller. From where sh
e stood, at his entrance, she could see his fangs glistening in the sun. He did not seem affected by the sun the way a lot of vampires were, but she wondered if maybe he just did a better job of hiding it.

  She watched with awe as he used his speed. She could barely keep track of him as he jumped from a pile of rubble over to a rock and then leaped into the air to grab his opponent’s head and attempt to break his neck.

  The other vampire screamed but managed to pull away just in time, causing Thyos to stumble down and hit the dirt beneath them. His strong legs were now covered in dirt, but the vampire did not bother dusting himself off. His blue eyes were focused on his opponent, and he wasn’t going to let up until he was victorious.

  There was something fierce in his eyes, something Aurelia could not look away from. She watched as his speed outwitted his opponent, surprising her. She thought all vampires possessed speed, but perhaps, like witches, they only had certain abilities rather than all of them.

  He moved fiercely and gracefully, rolling like the ocean waves and coming down hard like thunder. He reminded her of a god, one all the faithful talked about. Beautiful. Flawless. Perfect. He was terrifying and glorious.

  Thyos acted as predator, stalking the other vampire who, unfortunately for him, did not possess speed. He, too, had rippling muscles and a terrifying roar, but besides power, he did not seem to have much else.

  This must be one of the newer vampires, Aurelia thought to herself.

  The newer vampires—those changed after the Rift—experienced things that made them seem more human. Witches and even humans were affected by this phenomenon as well. It was known as the Rift Curse. Witches could be born with longer life spans and sensitivity to the light, while vampires hungered for actual human food and desired sex not just for the pleasure but to procreate.

  These vampires were not as powerful as their older counterparts. And in this battle, it was showing.

  Thyos hopped from rubble to rock, anywhere he could in order to trap the new vampire exactly where he wanted him. He reminded Aurelia of a jungle cat, fierce and graceful, every move made with absolute intent and precision.

  She knew what was going to happen next. She had the sense before it actually happened. Adela did not consider her instincts a manifestation of her magical abilities. Rather, they were something that even humans were born possessing.

  “If you didn’t have a gut, I don’t know what you’d be,” she would mutter.

  Perhaps she really was a fool, because something in her gut said that Thyos was more than just this fantastical beast who fought in an arena like the gladiators of olden days. Perhaps she was projecting her own attraction onto him, making him sympathetic, making it okay for her to be attracted to him.

  But he was a vampire. And she was a witch. It would never be okay for her to be attracted to him. It did not matter how beautiful he was. If anyone found out, she could be lashed at best and killed at worst. And not just killed, but tortured, punished, and ridiculed in front of the entire population.

  And so it had been since the Rift, and until something changed, it would continue to be that way.

  Thyos stalked the new vampire. He tried to run, but Thyos stopped him by leaping in his path and grabbing his shoulders with his strong hands.

  Aurelia watched with morbid fascination as Thyos stopped his opponent with his bare hands. The fifty thousand humans who made up the audience stilled. This was the precipice of the battle, the moment they had been waiting for. Instead of exploding with sound, the arena was silent, their eyes focused on the battle before them.

  Thyos chose not to kill the weaker vampire right off, even though he could have. Instead, he gripped his shoulders so tightly that the opponent howled in pain. Aurelia could not be sure, but when she saw ribbons of red shoot out from the other vampire’s shoulders, her stomach started to roil. Thyos literally ripped the skin from his opponent’s shoulders.

  She knew the newer vampire was done from that moment on. There was no hope for him. She thought he knew that as well, but if he did, he gave no indication of it. Instead, he continued to fight, even with his arms weak, barely able to lift over his head or even level with his shoulders. But still, he persisted. Aurelia admired him for choosing to not give up, to literally fight to the death.

  She wondered if Thyos felt that way during battle, if he ever admired his opponent. It was hard to tell what he thought; his face was stone, rubble, marble. Everything that was unmovable and completely still. Everything that made him look terrifying and glorious, the perfect thing to paint on the ceiling of a chapel or a temple or anything where an onlooker could fully appreciate the art.

  Thyos pushed down on the shoulder injury, forcing his opponent to his knees. She was in awe that he was not screaming in pain. Even more surprising, it seemed that vampires were composed of the same blood, muscles, and bone that humans were made of. That witches were made of. They had separate abilities, perhaps even different uses for their bodies, but they were essentially the same.

  Once the opponent was on his knees, Thyos stalked behind him. He looked out at the crowd. Instead of urging the crowd, feeding into their happiness and eagerness, he appeared as though he was glaring. As if to say, ‘This unnecessary death is because of you.’

  And then he broke the vampire’s neck by grabbed his head and twisting it. Aurelia could hear the snap from where she stood, and she flinched again.

  This battle was not as gory as she had expected it to be. It did not seem as though Thyos was pleased about his obligatory role in this production.

  Aurelia could not blame him. She watched with unblinking eyes as Thyos turned and began to head toward the entrance, toward Aurelia and Adela.

  “You stupid fool,” Adela snapped at her sister. “Close your mouth and get ready. We need to cleanse him before he leaves and wash away any lingering spells. Maybe you might learn something.” She snorted and muttered, “Doubt it.”

  Aurelia ignored her sister’s latest bait. She was staring at Thyos as he came closer. She could not pull away her eyes if she tried.

  Chapter 2

  Thyos was not one to get injured, especially not during battle. He had been alive since the Rift and was much older and more experienced than the Recents, those vampires changed afterward. He had seen what had happened, watched the transformation with his own eyes. The crackle of a storm overhead when the destruction began haunted him to this day. He did not know why he kept that piece of shit cabin among the swamps that had taken over the Division. Perhaps it was because this brittle tension between the three factions that made up the Division was bound to break. And when that occurred, Thyos did not want to be in the middle of it.

  He picked no sides, not even his own kind. He did not like anything, and, as such, he kept to himself as much as possible, avoiding any contact including companionship. The only time he chose to engage in social interaction was when he went to a local brothel down the street, where he could pay for both blood and pleasure simultaneously. Though he preferred to eat at least twice, he was trying to discipline himself and kept away from the brothel until evening for his first and only meal.

  While the vampire slaves, who Emperor Palytin kept as a harem of vampire fuck toys, cleaned his injury and placed a special ointment on his skin to quicken the healing process, he furrowed his brow at what had caused him to get injured in the first place.

  A girl. A stupid girl who flinched because of blood splatter.

  Was she not supposed to be a witch? Did she not understand that as a witch entrusted as a guard during battle, she was required to stay focused, to be as steady and as cool as a rock?

  He could not get a good look at her, but he saw her eyes, wide and hazel. They were a good color he had never quite seen before. Captivating…

  He could not allow himself to think about that.

  A witch was still a witch.

  Vampires considered them temptresses, vixens who took advantage of a vampire’s desire to attain what he could not ha
ve and played on those emotions, using them to their advantage. While Thyos had the intelligence to know that the Rift was not solely caused by witches, he did not see them in any positive light. They were too much trouble than he liked dealing with and powerful enough to control vampires like him. They were the buffers that protected the humans from the vampires. The humans gave the witches wealth and looked at them like guardian angels, while vampires were regarded as beasts, worth less than a pet dog.

  This witch seemed ignorant of this world. It was as though she had just stepped into reality for the first time. Judging by the off-white toga dress she wore, as was custom for the female guards, she came from a richer part of town. Her doe-eyes revealed just how young she was. Young. Inexperienced. Ignorant.

  He was a fool to be distracted by her.

  Granted, she was beautiful, if ignorance made one beautiful, he thought to himself before frowning.