Page 19 of Queen Takes Queen
The tree itself towered well above our heads. The only way to get her was to climb up a prickly trunk of braided rose branches fusedtogether.
“I’m lighter.” Nevarre paced beneath the tree, looking for the best way up. “Throw me up as far as you can and I’ll lower her toyou.”
He found a good spot to squeeze through, a thick branch nearly ten feet above my head. I took up position below it and he scrambled up my body. The other Blood joined us, bleeding from scratches on their arms and faces, as though the branches had fought them hard. Mehen grabbed one of Nevarre’s arms and Guillaume the other, steadying him until he could stand on myshoulders.
“It’d be a hell of a lot easier if you’d shift and fly up to her,” Mehen grumbled beneath hisbreath.
“I find myself in your unenviable position,” Nevarre replied in a voice as hard and cold as chipped ice. “We alldo.”
“You can’t shift? Fuck.” Mehen blinked, then scowled back at all of us glaring at him. “How the fuck was I supposed to know? I can’t ever shift withouther.”
“Don’t you think I’d be up there with her, shielding her from the thorns with solid rock if I could?” I retorted, fighting back the urge to punch the arrogant bastard. I wouldn’t need the rock troll to flattenhim.
My patience was gone. My control dried up in the blistering heat of rage that pulsed like hot sludge inside me. But I wasn’t angry at Mehen, not exactly. I was angry at whichever goddess had made my queenscream.
“The price—” Guillaume started to say but I cut him off with a fiercegrowl.
“I know. I don’t have to like it.” I worked my hands beneath Nevarre’s feet, waiting until he steadied himself in my grip. “Ready?”
“Throw me as high as youcan.”
I took all my rage at her pain, my irritation with Mehen, and my own frustration and helplessness, and shoved my arms up as hard as I could with a roar. I’d fucking throw Nevarre to the moon if that meant we could end herpain.
He grabbed hold of the branch above and yelped, but didn’t let go despite thethorns.
“Get her the fuck out ofthere!”
NEVARRE
At least thethorns helped me hold on to the branches despite the blood slickening mypalms.
I didn’t allow myself to think. I just climbed as quickly as I could, straight to the top of the tree. It had to be nearly thirty feet high, even taller than the one my mother had grown. Which meant Shara had bled so much she must be near death. My mother had been weak for days after growing the heart tree, even with ten healthy Blood to feed her back to full health. My queen only had six, and she faced an external threat from Skye, and an unknown queen,Zaniyah.
We had to get her back up to full strength quickly. Or everything she’d managed to restore would be bulldozed one way or the other all overagain.
I poked my head up out of the canopy, ignoring the scrape across my forehead, though the blood dripping in my eye wasannoying.
I’d seen my mother’s trial. I thought I wasprepared.
But the sight of my queen, trapped and bound with massive spiked thorns driven through her flesh, made my stomach heave. Looking at her, I didn’t know where to start. Vines as thick as my wrist wrapped around her arms, legs, and waist, as if the torturous tree was determined to hug every inch of her into its branches. Thorns dug into her flesh, piercing completely through her wrists. But theworst…
A giant thorn had pushed through her back and punctured through her chest, poking up between her breasts. It had to have gone through herheart.
“Get her down!” Rik bellowed up atme.
My hands shook. I didn’t know where to start. I didn’t want to hurt her more than she was already suffering. Pulling those thorns out ofher…
Goddess. I don’t think I can dothis.
Shara made a low sound and her eyes opened. Blood dripped from her eyes, nose and ears, but she smiled. She fucking smiled. At me. “Nevarre.”
Blood dripped down her chin, her fangs distended painfully long. Her bond roiled with too much pain for me to sense her hunger, but as drained as she was, she must beravenous.
She tried to lift her head, but her hair was tangled in vines too. She gasped with pain and Rik roared something again, though luckily I couldn’t make out hiswords.
“Band-Aid approach,” she whispered, meeting mygaze.
Rip it all off at once, quick and smooth. My stomach pitched queasily, but I nodded. “We have to get them uncurledfirst.”
