Page 16 of Queen Takes King
“Ms. Isador doesn’t like to brag,” Gina said. “Her family has a long, proudhistory.”
“I was wondering if you left something in the dressing room.” Catherine edged closer, slowly. Eyes locked on our queen, which told me more than anything that she was a threat. A woman would have been wary of approaching the two large men, but she didn’t even glance at us. “I mean, don’t you think it was odd that only your dressing room wasattacked?”
Shara’s embarrassment returned in the bond and that pissed me off.:She left underwear stained with her blood behind as a lure. That’s how she escaped the thralls alone for five years. Is that what yousmell?:
“I don’t think so. But I suppose I could have, since I changed my clothes. Why? Did you findsomething?”
:Hard to tell with our queen so close. I definitely smell her heat and her blood but I can’t tell if any hint comes from thehuman.:
“Just a scrap.” The woman’s eyes glowed oddly, like Daire’s cat eyes in the night. She took another step and my instincts screamed with urgency. “That’s all theyleft.”
“Theywho?”
“Thralls.”
:Take herout.:
Guillaume moved so smoothly and quickly that even I didn’t see exactly what he did. Only that blood spurted from the woman’s throat. He neatly caught her body and dumped it aside, far from ourqueen.
While her head rolled across thefloor.
7
Shara
Iletout a soft cry and covered my mouth in shock. Blood sprayed me in the face and the saleswoman dropped to the floor. I blinked, frozen, staring at her head. I swear she looked right back at me, as surprised as Iwas.
Guillaume calmly wiped a knife on his jeans. A fucking six or seven inch-long knife. Where the fuck had he pulled that from? And to behead someone with it, so easily, soquickly…
Beheaded. A sound escaped my throat. More a whimper than anything. I dropped my gaze to my lap, avoiding the body. The blood. My new Blood who’d killedher.
Fresh blood stained the prettysweater.
I started to laugh. I couldn’t help it. But it wasn’t a healthy, good laugh. At all. “I guess I won’t wear this afterall.”
Rik lifted me onto his lap. “I’m sorry that we shocked you, my queen. She meant youharm.”
“What kind of harm? How did youknow?”
I wiped my face, smearing blood. Human blood. My stomach knotted, the merciless hunger roaring back tolife.
“No!” Guillaume seized my hand. I looked at him, surprised that I’d been lifting my bloody fingers to my mouth. “Not her blood, my queen. She’s tainted.” He looked at Rik. “Get this foul blood off her and don’t let her taste it. It reeks ofMarne.”
My blood ran cold. Rik swept me up and raced for the stairs, Daire ahead of us. He started a bath while Rik helped me strip off the bloody clothes. Shivering, I tried to understand what was going on. “She was human.Right?”
“Yes.”
“Then how could she reek of Marne Ceresa? The queen ofRome?”
“I don’t know. We’ll ask Guillaume for details once we get youclean.”
I held onto his shoulders as he helped me out of my jeans. “He killed her. A human. In my living room. What are we going to tell thepolice?”
“Don’t worry.” Rik lifted me and gently set me into the water. Daire had made it nice and hot. “All will be taken careof.”
“Do you honestly think we haven’t had to hide a body before?” Daire splashed me as he got in with me. “I’m sure Gina has things well inhand.”
I still shivered, even with the hot water. “Why was I going to taste her blood? A human? I’ve never even looked at a human before. Not likethat.”
