Page 49 of Their Blood Queen

The prayers have opened a portal between my mind and Scarlett’s vicinity. I can see her mother through her eyes, as well as the sickness that clings to the Duchess. It’s a memory of what I had seen, so everything is even fuzzier than it had been a few days ago.

Her sickness is strange and seems to cling to the Duchess with black tendrils that stretch over her eyes. I touch them but find them hard as iron. She’s too far gone right now for me to assist very much.

I still feel powerless in this moment. Without physically being there, or understanding the strange sickness, all I can do is help the Duchess’s body absorb the anti-aging tonic that Scarlett drops onto her lips. I don’t know where my little star has acquired such an expensive elixir, but I could hazard a guess.

Her new suitor is trying to win her over.

Perhaps two can play at that game if gifts are the way to Scarlett’s heart. I can offer more than a mere mortal can.

And even the elixir that mortal has provided doesn’t seem to be enough. At least, not the two drops Scarlett has given.

She needs another dose, I realize with a strange shudder of panic as the Duchess’s body sucks up the magic and seems to cry out for more. I don’t want Scarlett to suffer more nightmares than she already does.

I encourage the panic that wafts over Scarlett’s mind. She needs to understand the dire situation. She can save her mother. But she needs to do it. I can only assist, given the right medium.

Relief washes through me as she places two more drops on her mother’s lips. I’m able to bleed away the rest of the black tendrils over her mother’s eyes, and they finally open.

Scarlett rewards me with a prayer, not giving credit to the elixir at all.

“Thank you, Cain.”

I slip out of the dream and settle back into the present. But I keep my eyes closed to appreciate the fleeting sensations.

There had been such desperation, then gratitude, that I had felt the fullness of satisfaction from a true meal for the first time in many years.

If ever.

She had talked with her mother after that, from what I gathered through the wisps I was able to overhear from the Dream Realm. And whatever her mother had said to her had set Scarlett against me.

Or against dreams in particular. Because she’s completely shut me out since.

I open my eyes and find that my lunch appointment has arrived. Killian waits patiently in the doorway to one of my sunny meeting spaces designed for both dining and official work.

Killian is a friend, so it’s a little bit of both today. Although, he’ll be the one eating, and I’ll be the one working.

Feeling moody and irritated, I tap my fingernails over a table while Killian takes his seat across from me. I’ve managed to keep my beast from peeking through these past few days, but he’s painfully scratching underneath the surface, threatening to come out. Simply revisiting the memory of Scarlett’s prayers isn’t cutting it.

We wait, I tell him, because Scarlett needs her space right now. In fact, today is the day she will join the Rinhold residence for the first time.

I debate attending the fête now. I’m not entirely confident my beast won’t claw his way right through my skin and devour anyone who even looks at her.

“You’re not looking so good, Cain,” Killian casually observes as he accepts a water from one of the human servants.

He makes a good show of seeming at ease, but I know he’s indulging in the sensation of being on land for this long. It’s all he’ll indulge in, though, given his choice of beverage. He could have any of my aged wines or golden whiskeys, but he always sticks to water and foods native to his world. He’s lived on a ship most of his life and came here in search of a mate, like most monsters do. That’s his purpose, and he has a beautiful single-minded drive to fulfill it.

His dark hair shines with health, and his vibrant blue eyes catch the sunlight, revealing specks of gold. His true form is almost as frightening as mine, one of layered muscles, burning tribal scars, a forked tongue, and claws. He’s as much a creature of nightmares as I am, in his own way, and that has earned my respect over the years.

He takes a sip of his water as he watches me, not looking away like other monsters might. He’s arrogantly brave and always ready to challenge authority, but that’s what I like about him.

It’s why I asked for him today. I need someone who’ll challenge my beast, not bow to it.

“Still just sticking to water?” I ask, nodding to his beverage. He shrugs, sending more of those dark locks tumbling over his shoulders. He’s wearing a warrior’s fitted garb that strains with his movements. A sash winds about his waist, and he flicks it over his hip as he leans back. “I shouldn’t get used to the fancy stuff. Maybe I’ll get lucky this Monsters Night and have cause to celebrate.”

“Hmm,” I reply, giving him a sound of agreement. “I wish you fortune this year, then, good friend.”

I could use some fortune myself, I think but don’t say aloud. I didn’t bring Killian here to commiserate. Still, there’s more than enough for me to handle before Monsters Night—and during as well. It’s the busiest time of the year for all of us, and the most tumultuous. I have to set everything in motion to run smoothly for twelve hours without me while I chain myself to my tower.

A precaution that I imagine will be needed this year.

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