Page 57 of Queen Takes Rook
“This day gets better and better.”
Next, I looked to Itztli, Tlacel, and Nevarre. “You’ll be outsiders to this court. They won’t know what to expect from you. Whatever you feel led to do in the moment is fine by me, but remember, I like my monsters bloody and sexy as hell.”
Tlacel’s eyes flared. “You have no specific direction for us?”
Itztli fingered the black blade on his hip. “We can do whatever we wish? Within reason?”
I nodded. “Whatever you wish, as long as it doesn’t get me into trouble with the Triune later. If you pick a fight, wander off like Ezra, or make friends like Daire—whatever it is that you want to sell to Skye, do it, and do it well with my full permission. As long as you don’t fuck or feed on another person outside my Blood. That’s the only thing I ask you not to do.”
Nevarre shifted slightly and I heard the rustle of feathers in my head. “As if we would ever even touch anyone but you, my queen.”
Purring, Daire rubbed up against me. “Quoth the Raven, ‘Nevermore.’”
Nevarre slung his long hair back over his shoulder in a careless, elegant motion that drew my gaze like a moth to a flame. “Now you’ve done it, cat. I challenge you. When we return to our queen’s nest, I expect you to meet me on the green.”
Naturally, I had to linger on his knees bared by the kilt. I’d never known a man to have sexy knees before.
Daire rumbled louder, trying to draw my attention back to him. “What the fuck does that mean?”
“You’ll see.” Nevarre smiled at me, his eyes sharp and eager. “Can we admit that you’re a jealous queen?”
“Of course, because I am. Omission is fine. Letting someone make a stupid assumption without correction, fine. But don’t outright lie.”
“Understood, my queen,” the twins said in unison.
“What are we supposed to do?” For once, my headless knight grumped like Leviathan. “Stuck out here in the fucking car.”
“Be pissed. If anyone comes out to mess with you, tear shit up and make a scene.”
“Goddess, let them come,” Mehen growled. “I’m dying to show New York what a dragon looks like in the sky. Speaking of which, how do we get you out if things go badly? If she warded the building all the way to the top, I won’t be able to get to you and fly you to safety.”
“You don’t,” I whispered softly. I shivered under the intense, pissed scrutiny of my nine Blood. “I don’t walk away from this. Either we win, and Skye dies, or she wins, and I die.”
Rik squeezed me harder against him. “Then we all die. Understood? No one walks out of here if our queen doesn’t make it.”
Mehen flashed green eyes at Guillaume. “Do you think the headless knight can survive being eaten by Leviathan?”
“Do you think Leviathan can survive being gutted from the inside out?” Guillaume replied casually.
Mehen laughed softly, quiet puffs of breath very much like a dragon blowing plumes of smoke. “I guess we’ll never know, because our queen is going to kick their asses.”
Tears burned my eyes, but I smiled at each of them and stroked their bonds with pure magic. “The Great One has gifted me with the finest warriors of all time. How can we possibly lose?”
23
Daire
When we’d left Skye Tower a year ago, I’d sworn to never come back. Not for myself, but for Rik. I’d always known he’d be an alpha to be reckoned with, but with Shara’s blood pumping through his veins, he was a fucking giant that made all of Keisha’s previous males look like teddy bears.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t fucking terrified to watch him step back into this hellhole. Let alone with our queen on his arm.
Oh, my fucking goddess, Shara looked incredible. She was the most powerful, motherfucking blow-your-mind queen I’d ever seen in my life, and I’d grown up with some powerful women around me. Ezra’s formidable mother would make any male Aima twitchy, and our queen had kept her and her other sibs well in hand. Shara eclipsed them all. She’d give even Marne Ceresa a run for her money, and I’d swear off purring altogether if our goddesses didn’t intend to put Shara on the Triune.
Assuming we survived this fight.
With any other queen, I’d laugh and joke about how quickly we’d be flying back to Eureka Springs, victorious and high on new blood our queen had claimed for House Isador, but Keisha Skye was not a queen to trifle with. She wasn’t stable—which made her unpredictable. She couldn’t be reasoned with. There was no alliance or compromise to be formed here.
It was kill or be killed, and though my head knew Shara could beat this queen with one hand tied behind her back, I couldn’t help but worry.
