Page 45 of To Quench Her Thirst

ADDIE

It wasn’t until Drago went limp beneath her that Addie realized what she’d done. By then The Thirst was sated and her orgasm had brought her some clarity. The red curtain that had dropped over her vision the moment she sank her fangs into her Protector’s vein lifted and she was able to see clearly again.

She pulled her fangs free of Drago’s throat and felt a sharp pain in her mouth.

“Oh!” she gasped and put a hand to her upper row of teeth. The fangs appeared to be gone and her normal canine teeth had come back. What the hell? Maybe the fangs had disappeared because they’d served their purpose?

Addie didn’t know but when she looked down at her Protector, the question flew out of her mind.

Drago was just laying there, his head tilted to the side and his eyes rolled up in his head. There was a smear of blood on his exposed throat—next to it, his normally tan skin looked deathly pale.

Oh my God—he looks pale because I drank so much of his blood! How much did I take?

Addie had no idea. Everything that had happened after she sank her fangs into his throat was just a red blur. At leasther throat no longer ached with dryness, but there was a salty, metallic taste in her mouth and her stomach felt too full. Again she wondered, how much of Drago’s blood had she taken? How much blood could a Kindred warrior lose before he died?

“Drago?” she asked, patting his cheek. “Please, Drago—don’t be dead! Please!”

There was no answer—either the big Kindred was out cold or he was dead because she had killed him by draining him. Addie couldn’t bear to think that could be true.

“No,” she muttered, shaking her head. “No—no, itcan’tbe true! You’re alive, Drago—youhaveto be alive!”

Gripping his jaw, she turned his head so she could look into his face. The big Kindred made no move to stop her. Even worse, there was no resistance in his muscles when she moved him. His head rolled loosely on his neck, like a broken toy.

A toy thatIbroke!Addie thought, feeling sick. Oh God, this couldn’t be happening—itcouldn’t!She began to panic.

“Drago, please—wake up!Wake up!”

She started to feel for a pulse, but an unwelcome voice interrupted her.

“Ah—so I see you successfully Quenched your Thirst.”

“What?” Addie looked around wildly and saw Ls Prissa standing beside the iron chair, smirking at her.

“Isaid, I see that you Quenched your Thirst—and drained your Protector at the same time. Such a shame…” She shook her head, but the look on her wrinkled face was anything but sorry. “Ididtry to warn him that once The Thirst takes the Queen of Night, she cannot be Quenched by only one man.”

“Youdid this!” Addie pointed a shaking finger at her. “You ordered your horrible son to bring me here and then you made me kill the man I love! Youbitch!”

The smug expression on Ls Prissa’s face was exchanged for a stern look of disapproval.

“That’s enough of that, young lady!” she snapped. “I had nothing to do with it—it was the will of Sheelash that brought you here. Now come here and let me see if you’re pregnant with a Choosing Child!”

She gestured to the two guards accompanying her and they dragged Addie off of Drago’s lap and turned her to face the Aged One.

Ls Prissa surveyed the mess all over Addie’s mound and inner thighs and scowled.

“Well, I see your Protector certainlytriedto impregnate you. Such a pity he didn’t succeed. Never mind—it’s possible that some of the seed may take once Sheelash drinks your youth.” She looked thoughtful. “That’s how it happened forme, you know—the seed of my male companion didn’t reach the egg inside me untilaftershe sank her fangs into me. It’s one reason my son, Sambla, has pure, Sheelash White hair.”

“Wait…what?” Addie looked at her uncertainly.

She was having a hard time taking any of this in now that she was sure she’d killed Drago. What did anything matter when the man she loved was dead? But a few of the weird things Ls Prissa was saying eventually sank into her tired and grieving brain.

“Did you say something about Sheelashbitingyou?” she asked at last.

“Naturally—how else could the Goddess of the Web drink my youth?” Ls Prissa raised her wiry gray eyebrows. “You don’t think I’vealwaysbeen this old, do you?” she demanded. “I was young like you—just three years ago! But then I was chosen as the Queen of Night—just like you!” Reaching up, she tore the tiara off of Addie’s head, pulling her hair in the process.

“Ouch!” Addie looked at her mistrustfully and rubbed her scalp. “What are you saying—that you let her bite youon purpose?”

“Of course—it was the ultimate act of devotion, giving my youth to her to let her live another year—to continue her immortality!” Ls Prissa jammed the shiny silver tiara down over her own head and glared at Addie. “Our people have been doing it for generations. Every year a new girl is chosen to be the Queen of Night and the next day she sacrifices her youth so that Sheelash may continue.”

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