Page 16 of Queen Takes Triune
His true hoard.
And the only thing that he hoarded…
Was me.
I came so hard that for a moment I worried that I’d shoved my wicked nails to the knuckles into his ass. His back bowed, straining against me. His ass flexed in my hands. In our bond, it felt like I’d shoved my hands up into his lower back. A giant fist burned against his spine, threatening to tear him apart.
I turned my head and sank my fangs into the firm muscle over his heart.
He exploded, bucking against me, a snarling, vicious dragon in full rut. I drank him down, fangs and nails locked in his body, a part of him as he was a part of me. Every drop of blood eased the stretched feeling inside, pulling me back and firming my power. My will.
I had faced the monster of my childhood, the queen of New York City, and the god of light, and won. Nothing could keep me weak or defeated for long, not with such magnificent Blood to fuel my desire and power. Love might be my biggest weakness, but it was also my greatest strength. I loved with the intensity of an off-the-scale hurricane and the fiery fury of Mount Vesuvius.
And I would kill to keep that love safe.
I loved Gwen like a sister, and I’d fight to the death to be sure any woman wasn’t trapped into a loveless relationship with a man. She’d been fighting against her curse with Arthur for centuries and losing.
This time, the queen of Camelot had Isis’s daughter on her side. The Once and Future King had met his match.
6
Shara
Beneath the sweeping branches of my grove, green grass grew thick and lush. It might only be February, but winter had no hold on my nest.
I smiled at Nevarre and linked my arm with his. The rest of my Blood trailed behind, though Rik remained close on my heels. Gripping my hair, the rat sat on my shoulder, tucked up against my neck.
My raven Blood looked especially incredible today with the green-and-black plaid of his kilt draped over his shoulder and belted around his waist. With the old-fashioned fluttery linen shirt beneath, he looked like he’d walked off the set ofOutlander. “Let’s try this again.”
We’d been on our way to the grove earlier, when we’d been interrupted by an unexpected visitor. My young adopted Isador heir, Xochitl Zaniyah, had discovered the secret passageway inside the dark hole marring the trunk of my heart tree that connected my nest to my sibling’s. She’d popped out with her young friend, and then her mother and father had come to retrieve her.
Mayte had stayed for a most enjoyable interlude with me and my phoenix at the grotto.
Already the confrontation with Arthur Pendragon seemed far in the past. A deep feeding with Mehen and Rik had settled the weakness I’d first felt. Enjoying a sensual feeding with my women had only increased my sense of pleasure and peace.
I loved them all so very, very much. Just touching one of them made me feel better. Looking at them made my heart sing with joy. They gave me so much, selflessly offering their blood and their bodies, anything to make me happy. Just breathing the same air as my beloved Blood and sibling made me stronger.
Breathing the warm, spring-like air inside my grove, in the dead of winter… Magical.
The branches were so full of birds that I could barely see the leaves. Mostly large crows, but there were all kinds of birds, including a few emerald green and red quetzals from Zaniyah lands. The squawks and chirps stilled as I neared the heart tree.
Rose petals drifted down to the ground like fragrant droplets of blood. Blooms covered the thorny branches, filling the air with the fragrant perfume of rose and spicy musk. It reminded me of the incense that had burned in Isis’s pyramid the first time I’d been called to visit Her.
Dozens of crows dropped from the branches to hop alongside me on the ground. One landed on Nevarre’s shoulder, but none of them came to me. Head cocked, the crow made several soft guttural sounds not quite a caw, as if whispering to my Blood.
“She says the crow queen is sitting on her eggs, but she’ll come to you at once if you desire,” Nevarre explained. “Or she invites you to come to her nest.”
I scanned the tree, involuntarily shivering a little as I remembered dying on its branches. Vicious thorns protruded from the limbs. One especially large thorn had staked me through the heart. I didn’t immediately see a nest.
The crow fluttered down off Nevarre’s shoulder to land on the rocks lining the steamy grotto. She cawed louder, making sure I was watching, and then flew into the dark cave-like hole in the side of the trunk.
Interesting. I’d thought the crow queen had nested here inside my grove. Where had she gone, if all these other birds were here? I turned to Rik. “How many Blood do you think should go with us?”
“Depends on whether the rest can pass through if you’re in danger. We carry your blood so I’m assuming you won’t need to touch each of us to bring us through, but we won’t know for sure until we test it. I’d recommend at least Nevarre and one other, my queen.”
“Xin, would you like to go?”
My most quiet, reserved Blood immediately stepped closer, flashing a rare smile. “Surely you know if that’s a ridiculous question, my queen. Of course. Should I go as the wolf?”
