Page 12 of Queen Takes Rook
Shara
Power rose inside me, making my nerves and senses come alive. I heard the steady thump of Rik’s heartbeat like a timpani drum and felt the slightest twitch of Guillaume’s skin beneath me. My blood hummed in my veins, a rising symphony of goddess retribution.
Xochitl was mine through her mother’s bond, and no child of mine would ever be harmed.
I tore open my right wrist and the surge of power made me tremble, my head falling back under the rush. The dark beast inside me swelled closer to my skin. Not scales this time, but fur and feathered wings. My jaguar wound its way through my bonds like a cat rubbing against her human’s ankles, and then pushed out of me. Teeth and claws, a jaguar’s hunting instincts, combined with the speed and agility of a hawk.
Yes, this was exactly the shape I needed to hunt a kidnapping eagle.
Guillaume shifted his weight beneath me, broadening his stance. I hadn’t thought about my weight and size in this shape, let alone a horse’s instincts to protect itself from a giant predator.
:Even if your jaguar decides to eat a hunk out of me, this hell horse isn’t going anywhere, my queen.:
Despite my worry, I laughed in the bond.:No eating horses. Though I can’t promise I won’t be tempted to take a nice big bite of you later.:
I spread my wings and gave an experimental flap. I didn’t have time for practicing. All I could do was trust in Isis and let the magic She’d given me do its job. I crouched, gathering my power. Focusing my will. I would leap into the air and fly. I would catch this fucking eagle and rip him to shreds. Xochitl would be safe.
I willed it to be so.
Guillaume lowered his head out of my way. Standing in front of the hell horse, Rik ducked down too like a massive linebacker, his fist braced on the ground. His broad back was higher, giving me a perfect runway.
I exploded forward, leaping onto Rik’s impenetrable stone hide. He pushed up as hard as he could, giving me extra momentum into the air. Power surged inside me, fed by my blood, lifted by my love. I soared upward, my wings catching the air perfectly. I ran—but on air.
:I’m coming,:I told Xochitl through the small bond I’d formed by giving her my blood this morning.:Don’t be afraid, sweetie. I want you to fight and kick and scream. We’re going to make the eagle drop you, and my dragon can catch you.:
Mayte’s bond flashed and burned white-hot in my head as she raced to a Jeep to follow us, her rage and fear so bitter I could taste it in my mouth. :My baby, Shara. He took my baby.:
:And I’m going to get her back.:
Anguish twisted our bond.:She’s so scared. She’s bleeding. She thinks the bird is going to eat her.:
I didn’t want to let my imagination come up with all the horrible scenarios that Ra might have in store for a young, defenseless Aima queen.:Over my dead body.:
:That may be what he intends,:Rik rumbled in my head.:This could be a trap.:
:How?:Mayte whispered, her voice breaking into splinters in my head. :How did he find her? How could he know she even existed? No one but my family knew of her birth until you came, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt you or your Blood wouldn’t have done such a thing.:She gasped, like someone had shoved a knife through her heart.:It has to be one of my people. My family. They betrayed me, so they could betray you.:
I concentrated on my Blood bonds to gauge how far I’d traveled already, and how far ahead the golden eagle was. Leviathan tracked the giant bird from a safe distance. Tlacel had deposited Nevarre to safety on the ground and then surged after me. The rest of my Blood were on foot and following, nowhere near as fast as I could fly, though Guillaume and Itztli were the closest after Tlacel. And Rik. He’d shifted back and rode my hell horse. He wouldn’t be left behind this time because of his rock troll’s ponderous pace.
If this was a trap…
I had to be ready to spring it.
Even if Ra intended to grab two Aima queens with one net, he wouldn’t find me easy prey. Surely, he’d already learned that lesson when he’d tried to snag me out of my own bedroom in Kansas City. But if not, I’d be fucking thrilled to blast him back to wherever he came from.
* * *
TLACEL
After living—no, barely existing—for hundreds of years, waiting to be claimed, my queen had come for me at last.
An incredibly powerful, beautiful, and fascinating queen. Every cell in my body burned to be taken by her. I wanted to prove my loyalty. My willingness to do whatever she required of me.
But the last thing I wanted was to find us tasked with saving my niece. I would rather have faced any danger myself, no matter how dire, than risk harm to a single hair on Xochitl’s head.
I cut through the air effortlessly, a sinuous, feathered shape of legend in the sky. Shara Isador made this possible. Her blood. Her power. I wore the flesh of Quetzalcoatl, Great Feathered Serpent, for her, but even with this magnificent power humming through me, I could barely keep pace with my queen as she streaked after the thieving golden eagle carrying my niece away. A black jaguar with wings. I had never seen such a wonder.
She touched my bond and lightning tore through me.:Where do you think he’s taking her?:
