Page 50 of Queen Takes Queen
She looked at me, her eyes wide, her mouth opening to tell me no, it wasn’t necessary to show such submission before her glory. Holding her gaze, I leaned forward, palms on the ground, and lowered myself slowly to theground.
Her lips quivered. Shaken, as if she’d never really understood her power over us until this very moment, she lifted her arm and tore her wristopen.
Gina gasped. “Don’t get blood on thedress!”
Actually, I thought the dress would look better with her blood splashed down its front. I could see it perfectly: a sleek white gown that hugged her shape, with red dribbled and splashed down the bodice and skirt with our queen’sblood.
Our goddess’sblood.
She came to me first and offered her wrist. I rose enough to cradle her hand to my mouth, licking the blood from herskin.
A few drops hit the marble tile, and Daire scooted closer to lick the floor clean. At her shocked dismay, he started purring.:We can’t leave your blood in public like this. Thralls will tear down the walls of this building to taste even a drop. I certainly don’t mind. I’ll walk behind you and lick up every drop that hits the floor if you’d allowme:
I called Guillaume to her next, and the rest of her Blood one by one in the order they’d dropped to their bellies for her. Mehen and Ezra were last, and I was tempted to make them share her blood at the same time to teach them to getalong.
Mehen managed to surprise me. He jerked his head at Ezra. “You gofirst.”
The big man didn’t wait for him to change his mind and dove in to lock his lips to our queen’swrist.
Mehen noticed my arched brow and laughed a little sheepishly. “If I go last, I get to lick the wound shut. That’s worth letting the bear gonext.”
:Fuck me,:Ezra muttered.:I never thought ofthat.:
“Um…” Alice swayed slightly, her facepale.
Shara looked at me, her eyes flaring.:I forgot humans werewatching.:
“It’s a very old blood oath ceremony, where knights of old swore fealty to their queen,” Gina said briskly. “Could we see the rest of the wardrobe you’ve selected forher?”
The promise of more sales seemed to shake the woman out of her stupor. She turned to her associates and they scurried around to haul in several racks of clothes Shara offered her wrist to Mehen and he took several swallows before sealing the wound with a firm swipe of histongue.
I pushed to my feet, but hesitated to touch her. A glowing aura of power hung around her, light spinning from the jewels and the crown, but especially her eyes. Adding her blood had only enhanced her otherworldly appearance. No mortal man lifted Isis’s veil or would dare to touch Her. I wasn’t human, but I wasn’t immortal either. Right now, she carried the kind of goddess-level power that would blast a man to kingdom come for even thinking about laying a finger on hermagnificence.
Shara laid her hand on my forearm. Her fingers trembled, her bond achingly fragile. Not scared exactly, but overwhelmed by everything happening to her. She needed her rock. She needed me. So I closed my other hand over hers and stepped closer, offering my heat, strength, and protection. Always. And, most especially, myheart.
19
Shara
The restof the trip to Mexico City passed too quickly for my nerves. It seemed like I blinked and we were all dressed in our new gorgeous clothes and back on the plane. Another blink, and we were in Mexico and changing to another car, this one a long black Hummer, thankfully air conditioned. I didn’t want the makeup sweating off of me before I even metMayte.
I was going to meet another queen. My nerves were so jittery, I kept accidentally kicking Rik or Daire on either side of me. Even his non-stop purring against my side didn’thelp.
“What if I screw this up?” I whispered to no one in particular. “If I forget her name? Or how to greet her? What am I supposed to sayagain?”
Gina reached across Daire and gave my knee a firm squeeze. “Honestly, it doesn’t matter. Be gracious and polite. She’s performing for you. She wantsyouraid.”
“But we don’t know that forsure.”
“We do,” Gina said firmly. “There’s no other reason for her to offer her nest to you. She wants your help.Desperately.”
“But what if I insult heraccidentally?”
“As long as you don’t feed on one of her Blood without her permission, you won’t insulther.”
That made me shudder and press harder against Rik. He had his arm around my shoulders, so he pulled me in closer so I was practically on his lap, with Daire draped mostly on top of me. “I don’t want to feed on any of her people. That won’t be a problem.” Guillaume made a low noise, drawing my attention to him. “What?”
“Not to confuse the matter, or worsen your anxiety, but she may very well offer one of her court to you as a sign of good faith. If she offers one of her Blood, or one of her direct family, it would be an insult torefuse.”
