Page 70 of Queen Takes Checkmate
Tlacel explained to Huitzilopochtli, and the grim man actually smiled. “You have an immense thirst as well? In my height, I reveled in the blood of sacrifice.”
“She fucking drinks it,” Ezra said.
Huitzilopochtli’s eyes gleamed with interest. “Citla drank from me and said my blood gave her great power and pleasure. Is it the same for you?”
“It is,” I said, trying not to sound embarrassed. I wasn’t. It was just strange discussing my thirst for blood with a relative stranger.
He licked his lips, his eyelashes fluttering. “I still taste you. That’s how you woke me.”
“Yes.”
He averted his face. I wasn’t sure why, until I noticed the way he gripped his thighs. Hunger. While I’d given him enough blood to raise him from the dead, that would have only been a tantalizing taste for a man of his appetite.
“You have a question,” he said suddenly, turning back to face me. “Ask, lady. I know all things that deal in blood.”
I thought a moment, and then nodded. Yeah. I did have a question. I gestured to my Blood gathered around. “When I drink, I can drink from them all. Where do I put that much blood? Where is the power stored?”
For once, Huitzilopochtli didn’t seem alarmed at how many I could drain at once. “If I may see you feed, I can better answer your question.”
Tlacel lifted his head. “Feed on me, my queen. I beg you.”
He tipped his head to the side, baring his throat. My fangs throbbed, but I didn’t want to indulge in pleasure, not with this stranger watching. Mayte’s father. Though I wouldn’t tell him that until I knew for sure that we could trust him.
Instead, I pressed one of the silver nails to Tlacel’s throat and carefully punctured his skin down into the vein throbbing so invitingly. I locked my mouth to the small wound before removing my nail, so the blood spurted directly into my mouth.
The taste of him made my eyes roll back in my head. Rich green growth of a wild, untouched jungle. The green-blue feathers of Quetzalcoatl flowed through me, a soft whisper of magic deep inside me.
“He says to focus on the flow of blood,” Tlacel whispered. “Feel it slide down your throat. Watch where it goes. Ask it to show you its secrets.”
I closed my eyes, trying to do as he said. It was hard, because I wanted to focus on the taste of him, the surge of power flooding my system. And yes, my desire. I wanted to push him down on the floor and mount him while his blood poured down my throat.
Down into my stomach. I felt it there, heating my blood. Stirring my lust. Deeper. My core, as if the blood was no longer in my digestive tract at all.
:Your root chakra,:Guillaume said. :That makes sense. Blood and desire are tied together for most queens.:
I focused deep in my lower abdomen, pushing through the layers of arousal and need that tried to distract me.
And suddenly I slid into Daire. I was inside him. Flowing through him like an energy current.
“He says,” Tlacel gasped. “Root to root. You pass the energy to your surrogates. We store it.”
I didn’t try to control the flow, but watched as my energy crackled up Daire’s spine. He seemed to absorb it without even noticing, though he felt me sliding around in him now. I sucked harder on Tlacel’s throat, taking more blood.
I felt it this time, flowing down my throat, my stomach, down through my root chakra to Daire’s, and back up his spine. It was like his bones were giant batteries, gathering my power.
Lifting my head, I met Huitzilopochtli’s gaze. “Are they all surrogates? They all hold my power?”
Tlacel repeated my question and the god nodded. “The more surrogates you have, the more power you can store. That’s why they’re all so big and strong. You power them. You build them to house more energy. Their frames can take the load because of your stores built inside them. When you need the power, it will snap back to you immediately.”
I sat back, stunned. I didn’t have massive reserves inside me. My reserves were in my Blood. I’d been pumping them up with my power this entire time. After the last huge feeding…
I touched each of my Blood. Now that I knew what to look for, I found my power humming inside them, stored along their bones. Mostly around their spine. Root to root.
An idea sprouted. A way I could appear weak and defenseless, to gain access to Heliopolis without alarming Ra. But still have access to my power stores, thanks to my Blood.
“Are you willing to join me in one last fight to destroy the Lord of Sun?”
Huitzilopochtli stood, his chin inching up proudly, shoulders wide and eyes blazing. “One last battle, lady, aye. Hummingbird flies on your left to defeat our common foe.”
