Page 57 of The Queen

My body tensed and clenched and squirmed as I swallowed him down to the very last drop. My muscles squeezed tight around the intrusion into every slick hole. The sensation was overwhelming and left me gasping. Shadow’s weight was a heavy comfort, covering my back as he remained locked inside me, and my lips popped off Grey’s softening shaft.

In a hoarse voice, Grey muttered, “I could feel almost all of that.”

“What do you mean, you can feel it? Feel what?” Lex asked, rolling Shadow and me to the side while we waited for their knots to unlock.

I rolled easily, my body limp and sated. Shadow had a harder time, grunting until he settled behind me, stacked like a pair of spoons. I was stuffed full and utterly relaxed. Lex held me to his chest, breathing me in. Shadow kissed along the curve of my shoulder, suspiciously close to Grey’s bite.

There was no discomfort or even tenderness from the wound that should surely be there. I lifted my hand to trace the skin, which was barely raised, let alone raw and bloody. The residue of the sticky blood was there, but no injury that I could feel. Only the slightest crescent ridge met my fingertips.

“I can feel sensations… Her pleasure, and pain. A figment of what she must have been feeling. Like how one might describe a phantom limb,” Grey replied, but stopped short as a thud impacted the wall. Every eye in the room swung to the bank of monitors. A single screen had an image displayed. It was showing the hall outside of Ghost’s quarters.

Edeth stood in a sleek silver gown, like a starship bound for war in all its ostentatious glory. Her cheeks darkened with color and her lungs were full of orders. She screamed at the guards that were standing helplessly, cringing beside the sealed door. They couldn’t get in even if they’d wanted to. Looking at the fear on their faces, they might have wished they could, if only any of them had a working code.

I rubbed my eyes with the heels of my hands, trying to drive the vision away, but when I looked back at the screen, she was still there. “Why is Edeth here in the middle of the night?” My voice sounded like a croak after the punishment it’d been through.

It was Ghost who answered. “Fuck. It’s almost dawn. We’re late.”

I joined with the chorus of groans. Sticky skin peeled away and softening knots were pulled free of my aching body.

The coronation. It was time.

We must have taken longer than I realized, or it was later into the night than I had thought when we started. I needed to be up, dressed, and ready to swear an oath as the suns rose.

I was in no condition to be in public like this. Pheromones coated my skin, along with the thick scent of all my mates, and sex. It would serve Edeth right if I walked into my coronation covered in sweat and dripping cum, but I owed the tradition some respect.

“Someone, deal with her. Please.” I couldn’t cope with the screaming this early. I shuffled out of the nest and into the bathing room. A quick shower would help to remove the worst of the night’s activities.

As I passed the mirror on the way to the small bath stall, a glint of metal caught my eye and I spun around to face the image. Just above my collarbone, where my shoulder met my neck, was a shiny golden crescent. As I moved under the light, the thin scar shifted from slick black to metallic gold. I didn’t have time to contemplate why it differed from the green and gold one Grey had right now. I had a coronation to attend.

The smudges of blood surrounding the bite mark reminded me of why this day was so important. And as I watched it swirl down the drain, I hoped it wasn’t an omen of my future here.

Our lives may depend on it.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Saphyra

Edeth’s angry shouts died down, and then fell silent, about halfway through my shower. By the time I was out, scent neutralized and blood free, she was gone.

Violet stood in the corner of Ghost’s bedchamber, her eyes fixed on the floor, avoiding the half-dressed men waiting for a turn in the bathing room. Poor thing, such a tragedy being uncomfortable with the minimally clothed alphas parading around the room. I appreciated that she averted her gaze from my mates. She probably thought I’d be jealous. She might have been right not so long ago, but with the completion of one of my bonds, I was feeling confident.

I cleared my throat, getting the maid’s attention, and she glanced up to see me making my way into the room in a cloth wrap.

She dropped into a curtsey. “I was told to assist with your preparations for the coronation. Quickly. If you would, please?” She motioned to a seat where a portable mirror was waiting.

I didn’t know what preparations needed to be done, but I sat. From my position, I watched the men vanish in and out of the bathing room to finish showering and dressing while Violet combed out my hair and dried it with a small warming contraption. It fell in silky, golden waves around my shoulders, but when she pulled it back away from my neck to put it in a braid, she gasped and jumped as if she’d been burned.

I spun in my chair to check on her, but she stared at me, lips parted in shock.

“Are you all right? What’s wrong?” I asked, concern ringing in my voice.

She lifted a finger, pushing my hair away from my face to get a better look. “You’re… you… Your Majesty. Your neck.”

“Oh, that. Don’t worry about that. It doesn’t hurt at all.” It should’ve stopped bleeding by now.

The men paused to watch the maid struggling with the reality of my newly acquired mate mark. Varying expressions from concern to smug satisfaction were plastered across their faces.

“Everyone, stop staring. We’re already running late. Hurry up.” I settled back into my seat, hoping we could finish with the preparations quickly. Edeth’s anger was often misplaced. But if I missed my own coronation, she wouldn’t be the only one having a fit. I had a feeling I’d need my crown to finish what was still to be done.

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