Page 95 of Queen of Darkness
The only difference would be that now many of the women would come with, instead of being killed on the spot. I didn’t like the idea of rogue vampires wandering around freely, but apparently, that was a fact of life I had to accept. Once things were calmed down within Madrigal and its various power factions, I intended to send Jaxton and the team to Earth, with the mission to bring down every vampire they could who converted a human against their will.
Right now, though, politics were the farthest thing from my mind. I was focused on one thing, and one thing only.
My mother.
As we approached the doors, the nearest guards reached out and pulled them open for us, revealing the misty grayness of a dimensional portal.
“After you,” Aaron gestured with gracious chivalry, “My Queen.”
“Thank you,” I said with a fierce eye roll. “MyConsort.”
Aaron shuddered. “I hate that term.”
I just glared at him.
“Yours is real, though!” he protested. “You are the queen. It’s my duty to call you that.”
“And as the queen, I created the office of the Consort. Which means it’s real now, too. And thereforemy dutyto call you that. At all times. In front of as many people as possible.”
At least one of the guards lining the hallway snickered.
Aaron’s head whipped around, but they were all staring straight ahead, still as statues.
“Oh, knock it off, My Consort,” I repeated in a loud voice. “You’re the one acting like you’ve got a stick up your bum. It’s a nice butt, though.”
Multiple audible chuckles were heard this time.
“You undermine my authority,” Aaron complained.
I looked him straight in the eyes. “Iamthe auth-or-i-tay,” I mimicked, drawing laughter from everyone, including Aaron. “Now, come on, we’ve got places to be.”
Joining hands, we stepped into the gray mist. Behind us, the guards waited for our return, their weapons ready if something else came through the open portal.
Aaron and I stepped out onto the plains of the Direen. Looking around, we oriented ourselves with the giant gates in the distance and began jogging toward them while we waited for Vir to come and transport us to his safe house somewhere under the ground.
“It’s going to be fine,” Aaron assured me. “Trust me.”
“I do trust you,” I said, grabbing his hand again and squeezing it hard. “But you can’t know that. None of us can. This is all new. Nobody has ever spent two decades on these pills. Since we never found out what Elenia did to the maker of them either, we can’t slowly wean her off. She’s going to come off her high in the next few hours and be faced with reality. A reality she won’t recognize.”
“Your mother is strong,” Aaron said. “To do what she did for so long, to protect you. That takes strength. Don’t sell her short.”
He had a valid point there.
Eventually, Vir appeared in front of us. We exchanged pleasantries, but the god could see that my mind was elsewhere, and he wasted no time taking us down to his shelter, where he’d kept my mom since bringing her there for safety.
As usual, we appeared in the middle of the underground chamber on a circular platform with three bridges leading over a stream that circled the arrival platform. Vir pointed to the bridge leading to the sleeping quarters.
“I put her in the bed,” he explained. “Dani and I have been staying in Shuldar and traveling back.”
“Thanks,” I said, hurrying over the arched walkway and around the edge of the stone wall to where the bed was sheltered from view.
Vir hung back and went elsewhere while Aaron paused to give me some time and space. He was within view, so if I needed him, he could see it and be there. But otherwise, he gave my father and me some privacy.
“How is she?” I asked, observing her form.
“She’s fine,” my dad assured me. “Her next dosage was due thirty minutes ago. I would assume that in the next few hours, she’ll start to come around. In whatever manner that means.”
“Yeah,” I said, crouching next to the bed, watching my mother stare aimlessly at the ceiling.
