Page 38 of Queen Takes Triune
Gina lifted her gaze to mine, her brow furrowed. “Yes, I did so automatically. I’m sorry, my queen. I should have made the process clear to you in case you didn’t want any Triune attention brought to you.”
I smiled, shaking my head. “No, don’t apologize for doing a great job. I’m trusting you to handle all of the Triune law since I don’t have a clue. I want my relationship with Zaniyah to be public, so she has recourse if anything happens to me. Gwen and Carys too.”
Relieved, Gina quirked her lips. “And the other queens you bonded in New York City?”
I rolled my eyes. “Them too, though honestly I can’t even remember their names at this point.” Gina returned to scanning her computer screen, her fingers moving quickly as she flipped through several pages. I had to admit that I was intrigued. When I thought of ancient thousand-year-old vampire queens, I never imagined they’d communicate through websites or email or whatever it was that Gina was referencing.
“It’s actually a database, and…” she muttered something beneath her breath and frowned at the screen. “Absolutely nothing is coming back for House Delafosse other than the original recognition of their blood ties to House Valois. That’s extremely odd. Wait. Oh, fuck.”
I jerked upright, ready to grab Guillaume’s sword myself at her exclamation. I don’t think I’d ever heard Gina curse before. “What?”
“I never noticed it before, but guess who created the Triune database?” Wide-eyed, Gina picked up her phone. “A certain Kevin Bloom. Let me call him and see if he still has access to the back-end data. Maybe there’s some kind of security in place that’s keeping me from finding the information we need.”
She dialed his number and flipped on speaker phone so I could hear.
Kevin answered on the first ring. “Ms. Talbott, how can I help you?”
“I’m here with our queen—”
“Your Majesty, how can I be of service?”
I could tell from his high-pitched voice that he was excited. Had Gwen hinted to him that I was going to call and ask him to be my second consiliarius?
:No,:she retorted in my head, surprising me. I didn’t realize she was still connected to me.:I’d never do such a thing.:Then she added hastily,:I’m sorry for eavesdropping, Your Majesty. I wasn’t sure if you’d need anything else, and you didn’t shut down my bond.:
Anxiety tightened my bond with her. She truly worried that I’d be angry that she’d been on the other end of the line, listening in, even though it was my fault for forgetting to hang up.:Thanks for staying available, Gwen. We’re trying to track down some information and need Kevin’s assistance. He sounded like a kid getting ready to open his birthday presents, so I assumed he might already know.:
She laughed softly.:He’s always that excited.:
“I have an important question to ask you, and Gina also needs some information to help me to pinpoint a theory.” I caught Gina’s gaze, and she nodded, telling me to go first. “Kevin, I’d like to make a formal offer for you to become my second consiliarius, on one condition.”
“Yes?” His voice trembled. Gwen sent me an image of the young man clutching his phone in a fierce grip, his eyes wide.
“Would you be willing to take a small amount of my blood? This would allow me access to—”
“Yes,” he blurted. “Yes. It’s an honor. I’d be delighted, my queen.”
Shaking my head slightly, I continued the warning despite his agreement. “It would give me access to your mind and location. I try very hard to be respectful of Gina’s privacy, but I’ve been grateful for the ability to find her and send her a silent communication.”
“Most of the older queens require it from all their human servants,” he replied. “Consiliari even more so. I totally understand and would have suggested it if you hadn’t asked. Grandad certainly carries Marne Ceresa’s blood, and she uses it often to keep him apprised of her orders despite the distance between them.”
“If you’re sure—”
“One-hundred percent,” he said again immediately.
“Then I’m coming to New York in a few days to assist Gwen, and we can formalize everything at that time.”
“Yes, yes, that’d be fine. Hold on a second, Your Majesty.”
Something muffled the phone, but I could still hear his enthusiastic whoop. Gwen sent me another image of Kevin hopping and dancing around the room, grinning from ear to ear.
“Pardon me, Your Majesty.” He managed to sound much more subdued when he returned to the phone. “I look forward to serving you in any way possible.”
“I’ll send over an example contract for you to take a look at,” Gina said.
“And I’d like you to write up any specific requests you have,” I told him firmly. “You’ve seen the other sibling contracts we negotiated so you know what kind of fairness I expect.”
“Of course, my queen. How else can I be of assistance?”
