Page 58 of Queen Takes King
“That sounds great,” I said, drawing his gaze to me. “But how do I establish the nestagain?”
He took my hand and kissed my knuckles. “Easy. All you have to do isbleed.”
“Then why didn’t the house in Kansas City work as a nest? I think I bled all over thatplace.”
Chuckling softly, Gina covered hermouth.
Yeah, she’d seen enough to have an idea of how bloody some of our lovemaking had been, but really, she didn’t have a clue. Like that night in the tub. I don’t remember how many times we changed the water because it was too bloody. We all wanted to taste each other, sure. But that didn’t mean we wanted to sit in cold, bloodywater.
“Intention,” Guillaume said. “Your intention sets the magic and invests part of yourself into the nest. There was no need to do that in Kansas City, since you intended to leave. You wouldn’t want to leave part of your soul, your magic, unattended, left behind and unguarded. While you could have dismantled a nest and reestablished it again, it takes much moreeffort.”
Just the thought of leaving behind some part of me made me queasy. I could only imagine how hard the monsters would work to break through the defenses in order to devour what I’d left behind. They’d destroyed that dressing room for a few drops of blood on a pair of underwear. “I really wish we had time to set the nest now before we go on this crazymission.”
“It’syourcrazy mission,” Daire said, flipping tawny hair over his shoulder. Yes, it was that long now. I think it’d grown six inches sinceyesterday.
“It’s still crazy. I don’t know what I'm going to do once we get there. Let alonehowwe’re gettingthere.”
Gina patted my knee. “I’ve got that part covered. A local guide is making a hefty bonus to take us to the mountain on Christmas Eve. Because of the holiday, we should have the area to ourselves. He said we may have to hike the last mile or so, though he’d try to hire enough horses for our party. Will your knee hold upokay?”
“I think so. As long as we don’t actually have to climb much. We don’t have to go up. I have to find a waydown. He’s inside and under, through a waterfall. That’s all I know. I’m hoping I’ll feel him once we getthere.”
I listened inside my head, waiting for the click of his claws, the pant of his breath, but I found only silence. I hoped that meant he’d retreated to his prison, and not that he wasdead.
Gina proved herself once again to be an excellent consiliarius. Cars were waiting for us at the small private airport, and a guide met us on the dirt road to Roraima. He’d managed to find enough horses for everyone, saving my knee anystress.
The guide looked at me, Gina, and Dr. Borcht, and then the sun hanging low in the sky. “Are you sure you want to go this late in the day? It’ll be dark before I can get you back to yourcars.”
“Yes,” I said at the same time as Gina, confusing him even more to who was incharge.
I’d never ridden a horse before, and riding up the foothills at dusk might not be the best time to learn. In the end, Guillaume lifted me up on Rik’s horse. I could have figured out the basics and the horse seemed tame enough, but I didn’t want to waste any time. Every minute they spent trying to tell me which rein did what was another minute Leviathan might have died. How stupid would it be to know that I could have freed him if I’d swallowed my pride and ridden with one of my Blood? Though I would like to learn to ridesomeday.
Rik pressed his mouth against my ear. “It will be ourpleasure.”
Daire snickered as he trotted past. “Maybe Guillaume should just shift and let you ridehim.”
Guillaume rode easily beside us. “Our queen can ride me anytime she wants, shifted ornot.”
My cheeks burned and our poor guide looked at each of us like we were crazy. Hopefully he didn’t understand all that, but his English had beenexcellent.
The mountain loomed on the horizon, its top wrapped in clouds. Sheer cliffs towered above us as we neared the foothills. I couldn’t imagine climbing something that steep, though evidently, people did all the time. The view from the top must be incredible, if the clouds and fog weren’t toothick.
The guide stopped, turning his mount to face us. He glanced at each of us and finally settled his gaze on Gina, who’d arranged everything. “There are two approaches, depending on which side of the mountain you would like tosee.”
Rik nudged his horse forward and the others moved out of the way so we could get closer to the split trail. “Which way, myqueen?”
I closed my eyes, listening with my whole body. Trying to sense a pull. Some hint of where Leviathan was. I didn’t feel anything myself, but the horse whickered softly and turned its head toward the leftpath.
“Is there a waterfall thatway?”
“Yes,” the guide replied. “The closest one is not far. The other path has a waterfall too but it’s at least a two hour ride to getthere.”
“Then let’s go this way. I know I need to see awaterfall.”
With a nod, he guided his mount past us to the left and we followed closely. The rest of our party trailed along behind. The further we rode, my urgency increased. I wanted to yell and race up the trail, even though I had no idea where we were going. Or how hard it’d be to ride at such a break-neckspeed.
My scalp prickled, nerves screeching. Even my heart seemed to pound heavier, harder. Telling me to hurry. I still couldn’t feel Leviathan. At all. Were we already toolate?
“Can we go a little faster?” I finallysaid.
