Page 43 of Queen Takes Checkmate
Shara looked over at the sleeping woman in her bed. “Any guesses what she’d like to drive? Or would she rather fly like Nevarre? I need to make sure Gina has time to hunt down everything for our trip home.”
We hadn’t been loud at all, but Vivian raised her head, her stunning eyes flickering with blue flame. “Hummer all the way with military-grade bullet proof glass. That way if we run into trouble, Rik can throw you inside with me.”
“There won’t be—” Shara froze, her eyes going distant and unfocused.
I scrambled off the bed, ready to fight. Rik pressed against her, a formidable wall of stone. Vivian was suddenly on her other side, her hair flying like a banner in her urgency.
Blinking back into focus, Shara whispered, “Trouble. Now.”
And the wall-to-wall windows suddenly shattered.
17
Shara
Iscreamed instinctually, even though Rik and Vivian both shielded me so well that not even a single splinter of glass struck me. It was habit, that old childhood fear. So many nights, I’d lain awake in dread while the monsters tried to break into the house. I’d taken the dark tower room in the attic, simply because there weren’t any windows.
I knew my Blood could handle this threat. Easily. For fuck’s sake, it was only thralls. Even if there were a hundred, I could incinerate them in a heartbeat if I was bleeding. I wasn’t powerless and scared any longer. I was the fucking queen of Isador. Last daughter of Isis.
But there was still a small part of my heart that wanted to throw the covers over my head and curl up in a ball on my bed.
:There’s no need for you to bleed,:Rik growled in my head, his arms locked around me.:Allow us to protect you. This is what we live for.:
:I know.:I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed my face to the hot, bare expanse of his chest, allowing the thunder of his heart to drown out the chittering screeches that made me want to clamp my hands over my ears.
Something tickled in the back of my mind. Despite Daire’s roars and the rush of Blood surrounding me and leaping out the two-story-window to take the battle to the street, I heard something soft and quiet inside my head. Like a squeak. Small, but urgent.
It wasn’t words, so it took me a moment to realize that it was the rat I’d set to guard Huitzilopochtli’s resting place. I sat straight up and met Rik’s hard, furious gaze. “It’s a distraction. There’s something going on at the tower.”
I reached for my new bond with Gwen and touched Gina’s at the same time.:Take our most powerful shifters down to the basement. I’ll guide you to the location. We have intruders in the tower.:
Focusing on the small squeak, I tried to slide deeper into my rat friend’s bond. She had my blood, even if it was a drop. If I was careful…
Goosebumps flared down my arms and I was there, in the basement. I heard the soft whisper of soles on the floor, headed down the hallway. We were high up in the vent, giving me a good vantage point.
Three men approached. She bristled, sharp teeth bared, but I held her quiet, safely hidden in the vent. :Do you have some friends who can help us?:
She squeaked and her—my—nose twitched in agreement. I couldn’t tell how many rats might be close, but I trusted that they’d come and do whatever they could until Gina and Gwen arrived.
“Which one is it?” One of the men whispered.
“I don’t know,” another replied. “The report said there were rooms deep in the basement that we should check. That’s all I know.”
“He’s got to be here somewhere.”
He.My heart thudded heavily.:Rik, they’re after Huitzilopochtli.:
:Fuck,:he growled.:The last thing we need is an Aztec sun god running around the city.:
I felt for Gina and found her waiting on the service elevator, impatiently tapping her toes but still looking incredibly elegant in shoes I would have kicked off hours ago. She was on her phone, likely calling Frank’s team that’d be taking over security of the building. Gwen stepped off the crowded elevator with a couple of people who immediately shifted. A wolf took the lead, using his nose and stealth to track the intruders. Two lions and a tiger prowled after him.
Gwen paused a moment in the hallway and used something hanging from her throat to puncture her wrist. I wasn’t sure what it was, but the rat smelled her blood. I felt her power rising, and a soft, glowing white light filled her. She shone like the full moon.
House Findabair, the White Enchantress.
:What weapons do these men have?:Guillaume asked.
I focused on the men, watching as they checked each door down the hallway, and let that image filter through my bonds.
