Page 37 of Filthy Rich Vampires: For Eternity

He might as well have.

I didn’t bother to hold back. Shifting on my feet, I caught the male by the throat and hoisted him in the air. Around us, others, even his companions, scrambled back as I lifted him off his feet.

“My loyalty is to Le Regine and our new Queen,” I hissed at him. “Where does yours lie?”

I already knew. Although I hoped it wouldn’t be the case. Thea wasn’t one of us in the eyes of vampires, nor was she a witch to the familiars. If they had wondered what magic ran in her veins, they would soon know. The oldest vampires present, those the age of my parents, would remember sirens—and what had been done to them.

How many of them could spot a succubus?

And that was why I was here. It was why I’d gone searching for the garments I now wore.

If the court would come to know Thea as a compassionate ruler, I would show the opposite side of the coin. I would be her punisher. I would keep them in line. And until they learned to love and respect her, they would fear me.

“Apologies,” he said, half the word inaudible as he struggled to breathe.

“Sir,” I prompted him.

“Sir.” His eyes were bulging now, his face turning purple.

Strangling him wouldn’t kill him. Popping his sorry head from his shoulders would. But neither would send as clear of a message as his apology.

I dropped him to the floor. He crumpled there, but I didn’t move.

“On your knees,” I ordered him.

He was younger than I’d first thought. A couple hundred years old. That explained his utter stupidity. It didn’t forgive it.

Trembling, he rose to his knees. “Please.”

I ignored him and turned to Thea. Her face remained composed, coolly disinterested in the scene playing before her. But inside me, I felt my heart racing, felt the panic edging into her blood.

“Do you wish me to punish him, Your Majesty?” I asked.

There was a pause before she lifted her chin. “No. Let him go.”

“As you desire.” I inclined my head to her before turning back to glare at the reckless vampire. “You should be relieved your new Queen is more charitable than I am.” I leaned in, lowering my voice so that only those closest to us could hear me as I added, “I should have ripped your throat out and asked her forgiveness later.”

His face paled as he shrank away from me.

I didn’t bother to look back at him.

The eyes of the court tracked me as I continued to her throne, but I ignored them and bowed before her.

“I have come to swear my allegiance to you.”

I think you did that several times last night.

Aloud, she said, “You’re the first to do that.”

It was a loaded statement—one meant to catch the attention of everyone present.

“Then it is an honor,” I said loudly enough for everyone gathered to hear. I knelt before her. “I offer you my body to protect you. I offer you my heart to cherish you. I offer you my blood to sustain you.”

Behind us, there was a collective gasp. For those who thought her a mere mortal, the fact that she fed from me was going to be a shock. I grinned at her, knowing none of them could see me.

My eyes darted to Mariana, who was watching us with detached amusement. Then they looked at Zina, who remained stone-faced and silent.

“I accept,” Thea said, pausing to rein in the tremble in her voice. “But your place is at my side, mate.”

---