Page 87 of Queen Takes Checkmate
That thought didn’t help in the slightest.
Rock crumbled to dust beneath my grip.
Yet I waited.
My queen’s bond slammed into me so hard that she knocked my rock troll over on his back. I stared up at the brutal sun and fried my eyeballs, but I didn’t care.
:Rik!:
I shoved up and leaped toward her like a deadly rock slide.:Go! Get her out!:
Her Blood responded immediately. A fireball shot out of the sky, followed by a dark, massive dragon, a shrieking gryphon, and a giant crow.
They flew past the temple, guided by her bond, and disappeared through a wispy veil.
Goddess. It felt so good to have her bonds in my head again.
Itztli’s black dog reached the temple first, followed by his brother. Tlacel wheeled over the temple and sent me an image of a body on the ground.
Guillaume.
Panting, the rest of us finally reached the scene. The knight sprawled on his back, mostly naked, except for a golden chainmail vest he’d picked up somewhere. Blood pooled around him and his throat gaped open in a horrible, vicious wound that bared the white of his spine.
It took me a moment to realize the flesh was knitting back together. He wasn’t slowly dying from a neck wound—but rather slowly growing his head back to his body. His eyes met mine, his hand flopping beside him. Reaching.
For a weapon. Even in death, he was ready to kill for our queen.
I picked up one of the swords and pressed it into his palm. “Join us when you can.”
:We need the lighter Blood,:Mehen roared in our bond.:We can’t fit through the door. A handful of skeletons guard the pyramid, but we’ll have them finished before you get here.:
The twins were already racing that direction with Daire on their heels. Ezra and I hurried after them, though my mind was locked on Shara.
I pushed into her bond, invading her mental space, but I couldn’t help it. I needed to feel her. I needed to access her health and ensure she wasn’t too badly injured. She could have locked me out, but thank the goddess, she let me in.
She was naked, had a few scrapes and cuts, and burns in half a dozen places, but she was otherwise unharmed. A golden giant loomed over her, head tipped back as liquid sunlight poured out of him. A red snake clung to his face.
Good. She’d done it.
I refused to think about the cost.
I will pay it. In a heartbeat. Please, just let me hold her one more time.
Yelling in his language, Huitzilopochtli raced toward Ra and launched a heavy turquoise spear. It struck him directly in the chest.
The golden stream slowed, and Ra lowered his head. It took me a moment to realize he was laughing.
“You fool. Your Fire Serpent lost all its power when I took your immortality.” He pried the spear out of his body and tossed it aside like it was a toy. Then he reached up and jerked away the serpent dangling from his eye. “And you, witch. Did you honestly think a snake could end me, whenshefailed exactly the same way?”
He seized her in both hands and held her out in front of him. My queen began to scream as liquid gold poured over her head.
Shara
Blistering agony. Liquid fire. My flesh melted. I screamed and fought mindlessly a moment, before remembering what I was.
Who I was.
I was more than this screaming, flailing creature. Let him roast me alive. Goddess help me, I’d take him with me.
