Page 34 of Queen Takes King
Or he might be the one to end mylife.
Even She didn’t know exactly how the cards would unfold. Only that Wu Tien Xin would be at the heart of the deadliest Triunegambit.
It really came down to me. Did I want to make a play for the Triune? Did I want to play the deadliestgame?
Or did I want to find my territory, carve out safety for me and my men, and bolt thedoors?
Was I queen enough to use a blade likehim?
16
Shara
Ididn’t haveto think for very long what my answerwas.
I turned his face aside and sank my fangs into his throat. His blood was like iced vodka, somehow cold and slushy thick and burning pure, though hot from his body. A thick gray fog descended in my mind, cool and dark and comforting. I could hide in this fog. It wrapped me in silence, blocking out the world. All that remained were the four blood bonds winding through mymind.
They glowed in the fog, but didn’t burn it away. Instead, the shadowy murk covered them too, enfolding us all in blessed quiet andpeace.
I lifted my head, dribbling blood on us both. His eyes gleamed like polished ghostly silver. “Myqueen.”
He didn’t ask permission to feed himself. He just waited. Silent. Unknown.Invisible.
Except I could see him so perfectly now. Through the dense fog, he burned with need. His thirst for my blood was matched only by his eagerness to wield his gift against my enemies. He hadn’t tasted royal blood in years. Decades. He’d been sustained by his sibs even while killing in his queen’sname.
I had a feeling that my blood was going to do insane things for hispower.
I drew him up to his feet and offered him mythroat.
He had his fangs in me before I realized it. So fast, so silent, so deadly. Rik wrapped his arms around me, pulling me back against his chest, supporting my weight, while Xinfed.
And he fed. A long time. At least that’s what it seemed like. His fog thickened in my mind. A ghostly, endless ancient forest. Trees whispering, words I could almost understand. The air thick and almost wet with moisture. Silence so heavy it was almost deafening. Something padded closer, barely heard, barely seen, only another whisper in thetrees.
Until he brushed his muzzle against my cheek. A huge ghostly silver wolf with gleaming eyes like chips of ice. He whirled and disappeared into thetrees.
Xin licked my throat, cleaning the blood and closing the wound. I opened my eyes, and for a moment, I saw his wolf flicker in his eyes. Then it was gone too, deep insidehim.
Daire cleared his throat. “Kendall’s gettingimpatient.”
“He can go fuck himself.” My words were slurred and slow, making the corner of Xin’s mouth quirk ever so slightly. I was starting to understand and read his signals. For him, that was blatant amusement. “Rik, help me sit down. I’m probably going to need to eat something more substantial than toastnow.”
The sandwich king immediately headed for the kitchen as Rik picked me up and sat with me between his thighsagain.
Xin only looked at me expectantly, waiting for myorder.
“I want you to hide in plain sight while we talk to him and figure out what play they’retrying.”
He nodded, though the expression in his eyes was flat and empty. I read disappointment in his bond though he didn’t protest or reveal any emotion on his face. He was eager to kill. Eager to slip behind his unwary target and slit his throat. It made me shiver a bit at how callously he regarded the death of another, but he wouldwait.
For myorder.
“If I say your name,” I whispered, waiting until he focused on me. “Then I want you to killhim.”
An icy spark flared in his eyes. “And after he’s dealtwith?”
I didn’t answer right away. Instead, I allowed my gaze to run over him. He was dressed simply in white cotton trousers and a loose gray T-shirt that only hinted at his physique. But the way he moved and held himself told me he was going to be just as magnificently powerful as Daire or G, though not as bulky and cut as Rik. Lean, wicked power, tightly coiled strength. I think I was going to have a very good time learning how to break his calm control. I might even find a way to burn through that cold fog that filledhim.
His mouth actually fell open and his eyes blazed with burning coldfire. “You will use my bodyandshare yourblood?”
