Page 30 of Queen Takes Knights
“America is still a young country compared to Isis’s kingdom. Most American queens are younger than the queens of the Old World, and thus, weaker. They don’t last long without allying with older, stronger queens. Keisha became Rosalind’s lover for that reason, though they’ll both argue the other is her queen-sib. Everyone leaves Leonie alone because it’s New Orleans and vampires are good for business, but last I heard, the Texas queen had fled back to Mexico.”
“If she has enough Blood…”
I leaned toward him, challenging him with a direct stare. He bristled, as any alpha would, but I wanted him to fight. For me, for her, for us. “Why did you want to leave New York City and look for our own queen, against all hope?”
“You know why.”
I tipped my head toward Shara without breaking eye contact with him. “Shedoesn’t.”
He stared at me, eyes narrowed, and I tensed, braced for war. No alpha appreciated a blatant challenge—especially in front of his mate and queen. His shoulders squared, his chest and arms bulging as he instinctively tried to intimidate me into backing down. Even when she looked back and forth between us, her brow furrowed with worry.
“Because,” he finally sighed and allowed his shoulders to relax. “There have been rumors.”
I slowly exhaled, relieved that he’d conceded. I’d rather use our energy to please our queen than beat the shit out of each other. “Rumors that some lesser queens have gone into hiding in order to stay under the Triune’s radar, and America is great for hiding. We wereallowedto roam around the countryside and see if we could find anyone in need of protection.”
“And you found me,” Shara said. “Wait, allowed? By who?”
Ah, my queen did not like the thought that another had commanded us. “Our queen at the time. Keisha Skye.”
“The New York queen.”
I nodded. “She allowed us to leave with the hope that we’d find a harried, scared minor queen and bring her back into the fold.Herfold, naturally. We wanted to leave to find our own queen, and if she was strong enough, never return. No one expected us to find a lost Isador heir who could someday rival even Marne Ceresa in power.”
Her eyes widened. “I’m that strong? Or will be?”
“Absolutely. If you take more Blood. If you allow them to take sibs under you. Even better if someone like Leonie would consider becoming your ally.” I held Shara’s gaze, letting her see the truth in my words and the decades of court experience I’d honed. I’d known from the beginning I would never be an alpha. I needed other ways to protect my queen, if I ever was so lucky to find one, and so dedicated myself to court politics. “If you do nothing, you’ll be absorbed into another more powerful queen’s territory.”
“Or killed,” Rik said reluctantly. “All of us.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Shara
Great. Just great. The more I learned about the Triune and the other queens, the less I wanted to be a part of it. Which made sense. My own mother had given up her power and fled court to live in exile.
“You don’t have to make any decisions right now,” Alrik said, reaching over to lightly touch my arm. “It’s impossible to know at this point. We have no idea how many Blood will come to you, or how many lost or rogue queens may be secreted away. Goddess knows we had no idea we’d find you in Arkansas of all places.”
“It’s just…” I struggled to find the words to say what I was feeling.
“It’s a roller coaster.” For once, Daire seemed somber, his eyes dark and solemn rather than dancing with amusement or mischief. “You were alone. Then we found you. And your whole world changed.”
“Yeah.” I blew out a sigh. “Don’t get me wrong—I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
“We blew your mind last night.”
There was his wicked smirk, and yeah, they had totally blown my mind. Remembering made my inner muscles clench. “Maybe I should blow your minds tonight.”
Alrik pushed his chair away from the table, evidently taking that as a signal that we should begin right away. Not that I had a problem with that. At all. Though I didn’t stand, even as Daire joined his friend. They stood, alert, eager, yet also… compliant. It was so strange. I had no idea that two such heavily muscled, powerful, strong attractive men could be so… so…
I couldn’t even think of the word. Submissive wasn’t the right word. They did wait for my command, but it wasn’t like theyneededmy command. They were just patiently waiting for me to decide when and how.
“Or for you to signal to one of us that we should take over.” Alrik’s voice had gone smoky and low, making my nipples harden.
I picked up my wine glass and stood, slowly, enjoying the way they watched me. “Can someone grab the bottle? I’ve never had wine before and I like it.”
Alrik grabbed the bottle before Daire could, so he grabbed the men’s glasses and stepped back into the kitchen to get another bottle. “Anything else, my queen? Chocolates? Strawberries? I think I saw some fresh ones in the fridge.”
“Maybe later.”
