Page 30 of Queen Takes Checkmate
“As you wish, my queen.”
She looked back at Itztli. “The harder he fucks me, the more I'll hurt you.”
Itztli growled like a rabid dog. “Then fuck her hard, knight.”
10
Shara
I'd fed enough that at least my head wasn't trying to float away, but now I felt buzzed, as if I'd thrown back a dozen shots of tequila. So much blood burned in my body, blending together like the finest wines mixed by a world-famous sommelier.
I had a few more Blood to savor, and then I'd be done. I'd be out. The rest of my Blood were still unconscious or weakened. The nagging worry whispered in the back of my mind that they wouldn't be enough.
I needed more. I needed more Blood.
I still had to face Ra. I still had to deal with the Triune.
And while I loved my ten Blood dearly...
I needed more, so I didn't drain them too much.
Itztli groaned roughly, drawing my attention back to him. My fingernails glistened like silver daggers. I wasn't entirely sure how I'd done it. They weren't the winged jaguar's claws, nor the wyvern's. My stomach quivered at the thought there might be some other massive creature ready to crawl out of me.
I didn't want to hurt or kill anyone again. When the cobra had come to me the first time, I'd killed Rik. Sometimes when Daire looked at me, I still felt his horror at what I'd done.
Itztli pressed against my nails and dragged himself back and forth, letting me tear deep furrows into his flesh.
The scent of his blood fanned the fires of my hunger, but I sank my fangs into Tlacel first. The green jungles of his homeland filled me. Lush towering trees, thick undergrowth, large golden eyes flashing in the murk. The elegant swipe of wings as his feathered serpent brushed through my soul. They did everything together. It made me wish I could figure out how to get a fang in each of them at the same time.
“You did,” Itztli rasped, shaking with release.
I rolled my eyes to the side, surprised to feel his pleasure pouring through the bonds. His come splattered me along with his brother's. A hot intoxicating mixture that my skin readily gulped up as eagerly as I drank their blood.
And I was drinking their blood. Both of them. I could taste Itztli’s dark, spicy chocolate and smelled the warm, comforting scent of his black dog. But how...?
“Your fingers.” He shook against me, each spasm of his body driving my fingernails harder into his skin. Deeper. He'd impaled himself on my silvered nails, and I could definitely taste his blood flooding my system.
“How is this possible?” Afraid, I looked wildly for Rik, and found him still out cold, one big arm slung over his head. Daire and Nevarre were tumbled in a heap beside the bed on the floor. Ezra sat on the floor beside them and managed to lift his head a bit, but he moaned and dropped his chin back down to his chest. Xin had fallen on the other side of Tlacel.
My Blood, brought down one by one.
By me.
And now I had this terrible power to grapple with. It wasn't bad enough that I had gigantic fangs that gave even Guillaume pause, but now I also had fuckingstrawsfor fingers?
It was..
I couldn't...
“Shara.” Llewellyn's graveled voice broke through my panic. He cupped my cheek. Had I fed on him already? I couldn't remember. “An early Isador queen had this gift. I'm sure I read about it in the journals somewhere. It's not unexpected that you, as the last living heir, would gain some of these lost abilities. You have a great hunger. Your body is adapting to allow you to feed better and quicker.”
I gulped and almost choked. I didn't even remember that I still had fangs in Tlacel. Despite my shock, I was still drinking from him, and his brother. My thirst wouldn't let them go yet.
“Where is she putting so much fucking blood?” Guillaume asked. “I don't see how she can even hold so much. Not after what Mehen went through tonight.”
“Again, this is only something I read in the journals once. Ages ago, it seems. But I'm sure I read that some queens can transform blood into pure energy and store it. It happens so automatically that you don't even realize you're doing it.”
:Storing it where?:I asked, trying not to freak out. I gave a tug on my alpha's bond, even though he was still unconscious. Maybe he'd wake up quicker if he felt my urgency.
