Page 12 of Queen Takes King
I gave G a warning look. “Braceyourself.”
Then I closed my eyes and called the blood in the room tome.
Each drop hit me like an explosion that grew with intensity. I tried to hold it all in, but it was like trying to catch and contain a hurricane with a butterfly net. The power surged through our bonds and jumped into theBlood.
“Holy fuck,” Daire panted, head hangingdown.
Rik was squeezing me so hard I wheezed for breath. The new guy was face down on the floor. Groaning, he looked up at me. “The last time a queen was able to make me come so hard, without even touching me was when I spent Christmas at Angers with Eleanor ofAquitaine.”
“Sorry.”
He grinned, pushed up off the floor, and offered me a hand. “A woman should never apologize for making a man come. Let alone a queen to herBlood.”
I took his hand and allowed him to help me up. He didn’t let me go, though he didn’t pull me to him, either. He just looked at me with those dark, solemn eyes. I couldn’t imagine all the things he’d seen. “Shara,” I saidfirmly.
He inclined his head. “Shara. Myqueen.”
I rolled my eyes. “You can come in,Gina.”
He bent down and snagged my knife off the floor. He snapped it closed and offered it to me. “If you need more blades, I have plenty tospare.”
At least he didn’t ridicule my little blade. I shoved it in my pocket. This knife might be puny, but it’d saved me on more than oneoccasion.
Daire jerked his head toward the stairs. “Come with me, Guillaume. I’ll show you where you canchange.”
“I need to grab a bag out of the car first.” G lifted my hand toward his mouth. “By your leave, myqueen.”
I nodded and he kissed my knuckles before heading to the door. I ran my gaze over him. He looked good in jeans for being a centuries-old knight. And how many blades could he possibly have concealed on him? The jeans were tight enough I didn’t think he’d have anything more than a pocket knife like mine stashed onhim.
He opened the door for Gina and looked back over his shoulder at me, the first hint of lightness in his eyes and a bit of a smile easing the harsh lines of his face. “Ten, Shara, myqueen.”
Ten knives? Fuck. I was going to have to see it to believeit.
“I usually carry more but I was in a bit of a hurry last night when I left the hotel. My lady,” he said to Gina as she steppedinside.
“Sir Guillaume, welcome.” Waiting until he was outside, she stepped into the living room and lowered her voice. “Be careful, Shara. He’s a fantastic catch to be sure, but I know you’d be devastated if anything happened toAlrik.”
Rik grunted. “We know his reputation, but he’s willing to give his oath that he won’t harm any of herBlood.”
“What do you mean by he’s a fantastic catch?” I asked, sitting back down on the leather couch. I tried to do it gracefully, but my knees quivered and I sat a little too hard andfast.
:Bring something for Shara to eat and drink. She’s weak.: Rik ordered Daire in our bond. Though he glared at me, because I knew he wanted to cut open a vein and give me more bloodtoo.
“Oh, dear, we could gossip for days about the legend of Guillaume. First and foremost, Marne Ceresa has tried to lure him to her service for nearly a hundred years, ever since his former queen died, which is a whole other mysterious story. Once he was freed from those shackles, he swore he wouldn’t be bound again. I’m definitely surprised you were able to call him to your side as Blood, and Marne will be downright pissed. She made it known long ago that no queen was to feed him, so he’d be forced to come to her, ordie.”
Great. The oldest living queen was going to be livid because I took the Blood she’d wanted forherself.
Guillaume came back in with a duffel bag, bowed deeply to me, and then joined Daire in the kitchen. “He hasn’t had a queen for a hundred years? How is that even possible? I thought Blood became thralls when their queendied.”
“As I understand it, Desideria meant to have all her Blood killed withher.”
I gasped softly, and reached out to squeeze Rik’s hand, pulling him closer tome.
“She would rather have all her Blood dead than serve another queen, especially Guillaume, whom she’d used for centuries as her own personal executioner to consolidate her power to lead the Triune. She ordered him to behead her own Blood one by one, until only he was left, and then she started to drink him todeath.”
I shivered, remembering how Daire had told me I wouldn’t be able to hold enough blood in my stomach to hurt him. “That’spossible?”
“It is, but it can take days depending on how strong the Blood is. She drank from him repeatedly but refused to allow him to feed. Refused him food or water. But somehow he survived and shedidn’t.”
