Page 49 of Queen Takes Rook
“Magnum, Your Majesty. For the duration of your stay, we’ll be at full staff. All of your clothing orders have been carefully unpacked and are hanging in the master bedroom for your approval.”
The nicest thing about being rich—I could shop without ever stepping foot into a store. Gina had placed a few phone calls, and Alice Wong, the designer I’d met in Dallas, Texas, had shipped several new gowns ahead. With our measurements in hand, Gina had also called several other designers and had probably emptied racks in dozens of stores to make sure I had a wide selection of clothes to choose from, both for myself and my Blood.
All for a few days’ stay so I could catch a Broadway play.
And kill a vampire queen.
We stepped onto an old-fashioned elevator with brass-plated doors and buttons. Rik had already sent three of my Blood up to scout ahead, and now he stepped in close to me, bumping me with his body. He slid a hand around my waist, spreading his fingers out to cover as much of my abdomen as possible. He dipped his head and rubbed his nose in the hollow behind my ear.
Yeah, my period had started yesterday and was going full force today. My alpha couldn’t keep his hands off me.
Itztli and Tlacel stood between me and the new woman. Neither of them looked at me, but I could feel the tension simmering in their bodies. They were fully aware of me and my need.
Mehen’s green eyes tracked my every movement, narrowed with anticipation. If Rik gave him an inch, he’d have me flattened against the wall of the elevator this very moment, audience be damned.
We stepped off the elevator into a marbled foyer, which opened up to a large room with walls made almost entirely of windows, giving spectacular views of Central Park on one side, and the impressive skyline on the other.
I couldn’t help but stare at one particular building only a few blocks away. Keisha Skye’s nest was in the largest residential tower in Manhattan. One-bedroom suites had easily sold for a million dollars before she bought the building twenty-some years ago. There were over one hundred units in the building, many of them two and three bedrooms. I couldn’t even guess enough zeros for the sum she must have paid for the entire building. Let alone the amount of money she must have put into renovations to combine apartments and blow out walls. Rik said the entire top floor had been renovated to combine four penthouses into one, providing her with jaw-dropping views.
Most of the other floors remained apartments, that she’d been filling with sibs.
So many vampires living right here in the heart of Manhattan.
We’d barely stepped off the elevator, when one of the other staff whispered to Magnum, and then came to me with a monogrammed envelope bearing a swirling S.
“Your Majesty.” She bowed even lower than Magnum had and held out the card. “This arrived moments ago for you by courier.”
I smiled wryly. “Just like Marne. They want me to know they’re watching me.”
This envelope didn’t bear a waxed seal. I pulled out the single sheet of thick paper and read it aloud.
“Shara Isador, I formally call upon Triune law and demand recompense for the Blood you’ve stolen from House Skye. You may repay this debt in person at House Skye’s court at your earliest convenience. The Blood known as Leviathan, Wu Tien Xin, and Guillaume de Payne will not be granted access to House Skye. In addition, the presence of Alrik, Daire, and Ezra Skye will be required to gain access to House Skye. I, Keisha Skye, demand satisfaction.”
“Only six Blood.” Daire snorted with disgust. “I fucking hate being called Skye again.”
“That’s more than I expected her to let me take in.” I sighed, looking around at my men, all of them furious, glaring, or in Itztli’s and Guillaume’s cases, testing the sharpness of their blades. “Gina, what Triune law is she referring to?”
My consiliarius was already on the phone with her staff, but she lowered the phone to say, “Blood for Blood, or at least an equal amount of blood they carry.”
“What does that mean?”
“It’s a stretch, because they weren’t her Blood when they left. But she’s claiming their value as Blood from her house. She’s probably also going to claim value for Kendall, since he was Blood, and we did kill him, though you have not gained any benefit from the Skye blood he carried.”
“So, she’s wanting the equal amount of my blood to buy theirs?”
“In effect, yes. It’s meant to be a law that specifies an exchange of Blood between queens to solidify an alliance. She’d intended to give you Kendall. Under this law, she could have demanded an equal Blood from yours in exchange. If this case went to a Triune queen, she’d have to weigh the amount of Skye blood that each of your three Blood now bear, which you would repay in kind, if you weren’t willing to uphold the Blood exchange.”
“You’re not fucking giving her your blood,” Rik retorted, dragging me closer to him. “Not for me. Not for any of us.”
“With any other queen, it could be handled reasonably,” Gina said, shaking her head. “Any queen can call her blood out of anyone she wishes and leave them without a trace of her power. We call it Cleansing, and it’s especially important for ailing queens to do before they die, so their Blood are freed before her death. However, we all know that’s not what she’s after. She doesn’t want her blood back—she wants yours instead. Let me do a little research and study the precedents to come up with the best defense.”
“Does it matter, if I intend to kill her?”
“Yes. She invoked Triune law. Killing her before this debt is resolved could draw the Triune’s punishment. The last thing you want is Marne Ceresa ordering your execution because you broke Triune law and then killed the queen before she could bring the case before the High Court, even if that’s not Keisha’s goal at all.”
I blew out a disgusted sigh. “This is all really a ploy to keep me from walking over and killing her before she can hurt anyone else. In that light, it’s a very smart play.”
“Indeed,” Gina said grimly. “She’s been playing the game since long before you were born, my queen. The whole reason she sent young Aima males out in search of lost queens was to draw them to her and trap them into becoming her sibs. She planned to demand Blood recompense when she allowed them to leave. Why don’t you take a look at the gowns Alice sent while I talk to my team?”
