Page 133 of Their Blood Queen

But he doesn’t care about power. He only cares about Scarlett. His eyes glitter as he watches me calm our mate with my tongue.

She prefers tongues.

And she likes us to guide her, so that’s what I choose to do now.

“You are already my Queen,” I tell her before running my tongue over her lower lip. “This is a formality. Everyone will see you for what you already are.”

“It’s barely been over a week for everyone else,” she says as she presses her hand against my chest. If she’s trying to push me away, I don’t obey at first. I nip her tongue in reprimand, and I am pleased by her yip of pain. But I won’t be cruel to my queen. I immediately bite my own tongue, then lave my blood over her wound. She sighs into me, calmed by the aphrodisiac.

“Are you going to crown her as Queen or fuck her in lieu of her coronation?” Cage asks, earning a smile from me.

He’s usually quiet, but I’m pleased he feels confident enough to challenge me.

“We will fuck later,” I promise without specifying who will be doing the fucking. I’ll let him wonder. “It’s time to begin.”

Clapping my hands, Bernard in his Raven form caws and takes flight. We’re in my tower on one of the balcony platforms reserved for public events and speeches.

Today, a throne is centered on the balcony and dark shadows curtain the area, hiding it in darkness. When Bernard passes through, he claws it open and reveals the moonlight.

I would normally make a coronation during the day, but my Strigoi fare better during the night.

It makes the evening particularly spectacular when I gaze out over the Immortal Sector. Each member is holding up a glowing crystal or a candle, making a sea of glittering light.

Multiple screens spark to life on the peripheral walls, displaying the other sectors also watching.

Every eye is turned up and breaths are held as they wait for the introduction of the first Elite City Queen.

It’s a monumental moment for me to take not only one mate, but three. I will rule with them and use Scarlett’s power to better this city and all the villages connected to it.

I haven’t told her what has transpired in her family’s village. Duke Nightingale may have earned enough points to naturally ascend to the Immortal Sector by the mere fact that Alina, one of his Offerings, mated a literal God.

Orcus. The very one I had run into in Helia’s tower.

And two others mated Helia, the Monster City Queen.

Now, his very own daughter will rule at my side.

There will be envy and gossip when it comes to the Nightingale family, but I will protect Scarlett from all of it. I make a mental sweep through every mortal and monster mind in all the Sectors and wait for them to open their minds.

Bernard’s crow form flutters to the long extension of the platform and he swirls in an impressive show of shadows and sparkle as he transforms into a man. He’s fully clothed, thanks to a tonic he had taken earlier, to prevent transforming naked in front of the entire city. That would have certainly dampened the effect of his introduction.

“Elite Citizens!” he says, loud enough for everyone to hear. His voice is magically broadcasted that echoes through every Sector. Eyes flicker upward in reaction on the screens. “This Monsters Night has been an eventful one. Before we begin, let us pray.”

He holds up his hands and bows his head. Every citizen does the same. When he utters the prayer, I feel the Dream Realm shift and move as if an entire land mass has cracked open and given me access to a new stream of fresh water underneath.

“In Cain’s name, we pray,” Bernard says. “Praise our Lord Cain for his mercy, his strength, and his guidance as we enter the Nightingale Era.”

A gasp goes through the crowd, but it was an intentional decision to name this reign with my queen after her family. I want her to understand how important she is and what she means to me.

She might have been born in a village, but she is one of us. She is an Elite.

He ends the prayer with a flourish, then snaps his head up. “Elites! We celebrate tonight with this unprecedented coronation. For the first time in our city’s history, our King has found his mates!” the crowd roars in approval as Bernard smiles.

Scarlett shivers at my side, but I’m proud of her when she straightens her spine. I can taste her thoughts that are swirling with reminders of how important she is to me, and how hard her new Princes have fallen for her. They gave up their world, their Kingdom, their family and friends and everything they’ve ever known to be with her. Nothing else matters.

So why should she worry what a few Elites think of her now?

She’s no coward. She’s the strongest creature I have ever seen.

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