Page 82 of Queen Takes Triune
:Daniella Thalassa,:Daire added helpfully.
“House Isador answers the Triune’s summons,” Gina said. “Her Majesty, Shara Isador, last daughter of Isis, She who is all that has been and is and shall be, comes before Her Majesty Marne Ceresa as ordered.”
“Your Majesty.” The woman curtseyed. Not too low, but enough to be courteous. “House Ceresa welcomes House Isador to Rome.”
“Thank you, Daniella.”
“Your Blood are welcome to enter with you, but please be aware that Her Majesty’s blood circle prevents you from accessing your power.” She smiled, her manner friendly and not nasty, despite her words. “All of you.”
The sound of grinding rocks filled my head.:That means we won’t be able to shift to defend you if need be.:
:That’s not surprising.:I tried to reassure us both, but my stomach quivered with dread anyway. The idea of stepping into Marne Ceresa’s nest was already alarming. Knowing that I couldn’t access my power…
And my Blood couldn’t shift…
We’d be defenseless.
Gina leaned closer and whispered, “one minute.”
I didn’t have to be told that we’d probably all die if we weren’t inside that fucking circle before time ran out. So what choice did I have?
“The circle is already coded by Her Majesty to allow House Isador to pass,” Daniella said as she stepped aside, gesturing for us to pass through.
I stepped forward into the queen of Rome’s nest.
* * *
GUILLAUME
My life was nothing. Shara must live. I wouldn’t allow a single doubt to cloud my vision or affect my blade.
Though if House Isador died today…
I couldn’t hope to meet the same fate. After dying so many times only to come back… I didn’t believe that Coatlicue would truly allow me to die with my queen. It was a peace that I didn’t deserve.
I’d be trapped here. Withher.
We Blood followed our queen anywhere, even into the bowels of hell. The blood circle closed around us, and for a moment, sheer panic thundered through my mind. My hell horse was gone. I didn’t feel the stallion’s fierce courage or the drumming of his hooves in my blood.
At least we still had our bonds, though they magnified my unease as my brethren felt the same initial rush of panic at our beasts’ loss. Mehen especially took it hard, understandably so. He’d been trapped as Leviathan for thousands of years. Losing the dragon was like losing the majority of his soul.
He clenched his jaws, a muscle ticking in his cheek. His green eyes blazed with malice and he snarled and frothed like a mad dog until Shara soothed him. She offered her left hand and the man plastered himself against her side, squishing her against Rik’s bulk.
:I’m still here,:she whispered in our bonds.:She can’t take you away from me.:
“This way, Your Majesty,” Daniella said, leading the way down a wide cobblestone path. “This road used to be part of the Appian Way. We still receive our water from the Aqua Virgo built during Emperor Augustus’s reign.”
“Amazing,” Shara replied. “Has Her Majesty’s family lived here for a long time?”
“I wouldn’t know,” Daniella answered with a polite shrug. “I’ve only been here a few hundred years. House Ceresa has certainly held this nest for at least four or five times that long.”
She chatted as she led us up the ancient Roman road to the villa. White marble columns framed an immense wrought-iron gate, also decorated in sheaves of wheat. The gates stood open, though my knight’s eyes saw a history of defenses built into the two-story building. A heavy portcullis hung above, ready to drop at a moment’s notice, and a beautiful cutout design on the second story’s balcony wasn’t merely decorative. Archers had once been stationed there, ready to pick off any intruder. Maybe some vats of hot oil too. The Romans had certainly been inventive.
My warrior senses knew there were many eyes watching us. Skilled eyes noting our weapons, planning who’d they attack and eliminate first. I couldn’t see the other queen’s Blood, but she was rumored to have at least one hundred sworn to her.
The grand entrance lead to a paved plaza, with two-story wings forming a rectangle around the gardens. Fountains tinkled among a mix of olive and lemon trees. The air seemed warmer and thicker, reminiscent of a beautiful late-summer afternoon in Tuscany.
A small white cafe table with two wrought-iron chairs sat beside a circular pool lined in dark blue or black tiles. It was oddly dark despite the bright sunlight and blue sky above.
