Page 49 of Queen Takes King
“G. Rik. Guys. Wake up. Tell me I’m notdreaming.”
:We’re coming.:Xin and Daire both flared brighter in my mind. I felt them racing toward me, Daire closer, coming up the stairs. But it still didn’t feel real. Until the skeleton laid its bony fingers on my ankle. That felt pretty fucking real. In fact, it hurt like abitch.
“Rik!” I shrieked. The damned thing locked a vise around my ankle and wouldn’t let go, even when I kicked it in the head. “Rik!”
He moved slightly, as if trying to come awake, but slumped back down heavily. Drugged. Spelled. Something was keeping him from moving. I refused to consider that they might be permanently incapacitated. Or I’d just give up rightnow.
Magic leaped in my blood, strength and power ready to rock and roll, but I wasn’t sure what to try, especially against something that didn’t even have a body. I didn’t want to burn down the house with us in it so a fireball didn’t sound like the brightest idea. I went for Rik’s troll strength and slammed my foot into the skeleton again. Bone shattered. And it still dragged me off the bed. I hit my head on the floor so hard that it dazed me a moment. I grabbed at the leg of the bed, hooking my arm around it to holdon.
The skeleton jerked on my leg so hard something popped or tore, I wasn’t sure which. Pain burned up my calf and into my knee. Which pissed me off. Fuck it all to hell. If I had to burn the house down, so beit.
I willed fire to engulf the skeleton. So hot that even its armor would melt and bend. I felt the sear on my flesh. I heard an unholy screech. But it still wouldn’t let go of myankle.
Daire’s warcat exploded through the door, casting deadly splinters of wood everywhere. He seized the skeleton’s arm in his jaws and crunched through the bone, tearing its whole arm off. The skeleton drew a gleaming gold and silver sword with its other hand and stabbed Daire in the chest. He roared, I screamed, and finally, Rik and G scrambled up, dazed, but alive, just as another skeleton crawled through thewindow.
My tower bedroom had felt plenty big. Until a warcat, a rock troll, and a hell horse started tearing a bunch of skeletons apart. Xin’s silver wolf crouched over the top of me, shielding me with his body. I wrapped my arms around his neck and tried to stand, so I could get out of the way, but my leg wouldn’t hold my weight. He dragged me over to the wall and pressed against me.:Can you shut theportal?:
I focused on the gleaming window. Five skeletons had crawled through. All armored and fighting with swords. They were actually very good, too. I could smell my guys’ blood. All of them but Xin. Another skeleton started through. A couple of more, and we’d be seriouslyoutnumbered.
I tried envisioning the portal smaller, but I strained until sweat beaded on my forehead and nothing happened. It was like the harder I pushed, the firmer the window stood. From the side, it looked silvery, kind of like a flat bubble hovering in space. I crawled a few steps to the side so I could see the back better, and it definitely looked like a bubble, gleaming and slightlyrounded.
Bracing myself, I tapped on my period blood. Power surged through me like a million-volt generator came on line. I pushed that energy like a lightning bolt to prick that bubble. Something exploded all right. Light blazed like we’d blown up the sun. My eyeballs burned, seared and tender. I blinked, and I was looking up at the ceiling. Xin rolled over beside me, blood leaking from his ears and eyes. He touched his muzzle to my cheek, and I could feel his pain. All of their pain. They were all down. All hurt, bleeding, damaged. I forced myself upright, slowly, holding my head. Pain splintered through my skull, whether from the explosion or when I’d hit the floor, I wasn’tsure.
Bones littered the room. It looked like a graveyard had been torn apart by an earthquake and coffins had just emptied out all over my bedroom. Rik’s rock troll pushed up to his knees, one hand braced on the floor, his head hanging low. Daire was sprawled and twisted half under the bed. He was the one I was most worried about after taking a sword in the chest. I couldn’t see G, but he was on the other side of Rik and the bed. Banged up, but okay, at least his bond felt the most solid and least pain. It’d take a hell of lot to kill the headlessknight.
I crawled over to Daire and laid a hand over the gaping wound in his chest. He was still alive, but weak. The sword had punctured a lung. His breathing sounded too wet and heavy. Though he still managed to lick mycheek.
:Don’t cry, my queen. We’re allalive.:
I didn’t realize I was crying. “Can you feed? Will that helpyou?”
Rik pushed up, lurched a step, and finally made it to us. “Your blood will alwayshelp.”
:I can’t shift, and if I bite her like this, it will hurther.:
G came to me, a small knife in his hand. Silently, I offered my wrist and he made a quick cut. I let my blood drip directly onto the horrible wound in Daire’s chest, and then offered him my wrist. Rather than lick, he took my whole arm in his mouth, cradling my wrist so gently that he didn’t even break my skin, and let my blood flow down histhroat.
I held my other wrist out to Rik. He hesitated a moment, bowing hishead.
“We failed you, my queen.Ifailed you. You should feed Daire and Xin first since they were quickest to youraid.”
“You’re alpha. We need you up quicker than them. And you didn’t fail me. You kept trying to wake up, but you couldn’t. Something was keeping you from helpingme.”
“You know who it was.” G’s mouth turned down in a grim slant. “So how is she supposed to hold you accountable for not respondingquicker?”
Rik grunted an acknowledgment and cradled my left wrist. He bent over my arm, but looked up at me, meeting my gaze. “I still feel like I failed you, though Guillaume’s right. We’re all lucky to bealive.”
“Who was it?” He bit into my wrist and my eyelids fluttered. Time seemed to still. Eons passed in between my heart beats. All that mattered was my blood. In them. In them all. I looked at Guillaume, a silent request. No, order. I willed him to come to me, now, andfeed.
He walked around behind me and took me in his arms. I relaxed into him, letting him hold me up, as he sank his fangs into mythroat.
Xin’s wolf crept closer, head down, though not because he wasinjured.
“Can youshift?”
:Not yet, myqueen.:
“G, I need you to bite me again so Xin can feedtoo.”
