Page 67 of Queen Takes Triune
Her power hummed in my bones like I’d been struck by lightning. She called her blood to return to her. Since every drop of blood in my body belonged to her, it felt like my skin was going to dissolve to make way for all the power surging toward her.
Thumps and growls and screeches filled the room as our beasts roared to life at her call.
The king of the deep swelled inside me with a fierce bellow of exhilaration. I would have shifted and demolished this entire fucking house without her quick command.
:No dragons in the house.:
Quivering, I endured Leviathan’s thrashing and howling for what seemed like an eternity. When I finally managed to blink and focus on the room, the rest of her Blood were still fighting their own beasts. Ezra was even furrier and thicker than usual, though Vivian only had a sheen of sweat on her skin from her phoenix’s glowing nimbus.
“Fucking hell.” Ezra pulled the tattered shirt off and threw it on the floor in disgust. “That was one of my favorites too.”
“I can’t tell any difference.” Daire snickered. “It already looked like a rag.”
“Sorry, everyone.” Shaking her head, Shara laughed softly. “I forgot to warn you, and I guess I bled more than I expected tonight.”
Guillaume let out a grunt that still sounded more horse than man, though he hadn’t shifted that I could tell. “Or you’re just that much more fucking powerful when you’re pissed.”
“Could be,” she said lightly.
As if her bond wasn’t still a raging thunder-blizzard threatening to bury New Orleans neck-deep in snow.
Rik was still so hulking big that the chair creaked and groaned as he sat down and drew her in between his thighs. Gina adjusted a small camera focused on her so that the telecommuters could still see her.
“The nest was attacked tonight,” Shara began. “By the Dauphine.”
Kevin’s mouth fell open and the two assistants on the other screen gasped. But no one questioned her. If our queen said it was the mysterious Triune queen, then it was so.
“I’m sorry I left New York so unexpectedly. We didn’t have time to swear you in, Kevin. But I’d like to do so before Gwen takes care of her business so that you can manage the tower in her absence. If you don’t mind some woo-woo travel, I’ll explain to Gwen how the tree works. You’ll need to know anyway so you can make your plans.”
The young man grinned. “I’m always up for some woo-woo travel, my queen. I’ll gladly come to you as you wish.”
“If you carry my blood, you can use the portal inside the tree to travel to me or anywhere in the world, as long as there’s a portal on the other end. I’m not one-hundred percent sure how that works yet. They’ve always been trees for me, but they may be something else for you, Gwen.”
“Do I need to draw blood first?” she asked.
“No. Just set your intention. You carry my blood, so it should work. When you’re ready, try it out and bring Kevin through to Eureka Springs. You’ll need to touch him to bring him through.”
“We’ll try now.”
They both disappeared from their screen, so Gina turned it off. “Angela, pull up everything we know about both New Orleans and Rome.”
“The queens or only the cities?”
“Both. I’d like maps of known Aima holdings in both cities.”
“How about travel plans and flight times?” The other assistant asked.
“Not yet,” Gina replied. “I’m going to turn your screen off for now, but stay close. I’ll call you back when more of our queen’s plans are ready to execute.”
I couldn’t remember the assistant’s name, and the tedious details bored me. Leviathan still rolled inside me, riled up and ready for action. He wanted to feast. Too bad I couldn’t just shift and fly south. I’d level Delafosse’s entire city in a matter of minutes and fill my belly at the same time.
“In the old days, that might have worked,” Guillaume said beside me. “I would have gone in and exterminated the entire nest. Xin could slip in and simply kill the queen and be done. Our queen doesn’t work that way.”
I grunted sourly as Leviathan heaved a giant plume of disgusted smoke. “More’s the pity.”
“Why not put your dragon to better use?”
I arched a brow at him. “You have a suggestion?”
