Page 64 of Queen Takes King
And that’s what he wanted most of all. He wanted to be able to walk on two legs. He wanted to touch another living person. Hug, fuck, kiss, everything. He was starved for affection, the same as Guillaume and Xin, and even Daire and Rik. They’d at least had sibs to touch, but it hadn’t beenenough.
Leviathan tried to scramble back to save himself. But it was toolate.
The ancient blood of an Aima only a step or two away from the god and goddess who’d sired him now flowed in my veins. I lurched up and wrapped my good arm around his neck with all Rik’s troll strength hammering through mymuscles.
The cobra queen’s brutal fangs descended and I sank them deep into his neck. His scales couldn’t keep this queenout.
He surged into the air and shot up the tunnel. Wind tore at me, but I clung to him, my fangs an anchor in hishide.
Flee. Dread. I read his emotions, his mind open to me like a book. He feared me more than anything. More than Ra, the great blazing god of light. More than his queen mother who’d banished him for fear he’d kill her and the rest of herbrood.
He’d raged. He’d bled. He’dfought.
Queens had tried to calm his beast and return him to his human form, but they’dfailed.
Each failure like a sword in hisheart.
I tightened my grip on him, wrapped my legs around his muscled neck, and used our new bond for the firsttime.
:I will not failyou.:
28
Rik
Agony.To stand here and know my queen was in danger. That she was hurt. That she feared for her life. And donothing.
But that’s exactly what shewanted.
And so I would do it. No matter how difficult itwas.
The mountain rumbled like it was a volcano ready to spew any moment. The guide finally gave up on us and hightailed it back down the trail. Our horses screamed and reared, milling about frantically. Guillaume let his and my mount go and they tore off down the steep path. Hopefully they didn’t break a leg on their waydown.
:We’re coming,:Shara said in ourbond.
We. She’d done it. She had theking.
He came boiling up out of the waterfall, a massive dark shape that shot into the sky. Wings beat the air frantically and he soared up into the darkening sky, gone so quickly that I’d barely caught a glimpse of myqueen.
Shara clung to the great beast’s neck, her small form like a child against his bulk. Her bond blazed with strength and I realized she was feeding on him. In fact, she was draining him, like he’d tried to do toher.
Like her cobra had done tome.
I let the rock troll bulge free of my human shape, and the other Blood shifted without my command. “She’s going to try and drain him back to his humanshape.”
:Then how will they fly?:Daireasked.
Guillaume’s warhorse reared and screamed a challenge up at the sky.:Exactly.:
Nose in the air, Xin’s wolf sprinted off into the night, following her scent and herbond.
“Get down the mountain,” I told Gina. “Follow the guide. We’ll catch up as quickly as wecan.”
Using Shara’s bond, I lumbered after Xin as fast as I could. Daire ran at my side, but Guillaume easily galloped ahead. Xin paused every once in a while, a silver flash in the growing murk to guide us. Her bond was still strong, but she felt too far away. Too high. Fuck. If they started to fall from the sky at that height, it’d kill them both. I didn’t want to count on her resurrection power to bring her back from smashed and broken. The thought made me scream with rage and shake a giant fist at thesky.
Not that either of them could seeit.
Holding on to her bond, I felt the dragon’s wings slow. The air was thin and cold. Sohigh.
