Page 87 of Queen Takes Triune
While she’d done a fantastic job of aligning House Isador with some firepower, we didn’t hold a candle to House Ceresa and never would.
:Oh?:Shara’s bond felt tight, like a violin string drawn so tightly that it sang.:You don’t think I can take her on?:
:Of course you could,:I softened my grip on her shoulders and used my low, tender rumble to ease some of the strain in her mind.:But you wouldn’t want to pay the cost. It’s a dangerous gamble and we might all die in such a war. Could you count it a victory if you lost even one of us to defeat her?:
“Before you decide, you should know that I’ve taken steps to ensure all of your Blood will die at my command.”
Shara pushed slowly to her feet, her shoulders trembling beneath my hands. “What? How?”
Marne lifted her cup and sipped her tea casually. As if she hadn’t just threatened to murder us all. “Archers. On the second story balcony.”
“Son of a bitch,” Guillaume muttered.
Marne smiled brightly at him, as if only just now remembering that the great Guillaume de Payne was in her presence. “Oh, don’t worry, sir knight. I’ve got special plans for you too.”
Ideas exploded in my mind one by one… only to die as certainly as we would. I couldn’t shift. None of us could.
Shara couldn’t access her power.
So yeah. Archers could strike us down and she’d be forced to watch us bleed out. Unable to heal us. Unable to resurrect us, if Marne kept our bodies inside her circle.
And she fucking would. Because she was a fucking bitch like that.
Some fucking alpha I was. I couldn’t do anything to help my queen. Nothing at all, but stand here and fucking die.
Shara pulled away from me and paced back and forth beside the table. Every once in a while, she reached up unconsciously toward her ears as if trying to block out a sound or voice.
I focused harder on her bond, pushing away my own dread. I searched her body, looking for any attack or foreign element that would be causing her pain or interfering with her magic, but I couldn’t sense anything.
:Xin, do you smell or hear anything strange?:
:Nothing, alpha.:
:I don’t hear it,:Itztli said in our bond.:But I feel it. There’s a vibration inside her.:
:Like the dragon sonar?:Mehen asked.:Maybe Tiamat is fucking with her.:
:Shut up, all of you,:Shara retorted.:Or goddess help me, I’ll shut down your bonds. I can’t fucking think with this noise!:
“You hesitate,” Marne said, sadly shaking her head. “I guess I need to teach you a lesson.”
“No!”
Too late. I felt the heavy thud in my left shoulder before I heard the whooshing sound of an arrow slicing through the air. I grunted at the impact, but a single arrow wouldn’t incapacitate me, even if it was a heavy six-foot-long spear rather than an arrow.
It was merely a warning.
“Rik!” Shara started to rush toward me, but I jerked my hands up to stop her. Well, my right arm cooperated. My left hung limply at my side.
“I’m fine, my queen. Tend to your business.” Silently in our bond, I said,:The last thing we need is a stray arrow hitting you. Keep your distance, from all of us.:
Her eyes flashed with rage, her magic lighting her blood up like a bonfire.:I will do anything to protect you.:
:I know, my queen. I love you more than life itself. I trust you implicitly. Do whatever you need to do. Without question, it’ll be the right thing. Your goddess has always guided your heart.:
:Take her fucking offer. It’s the only thing to do,:Guillaume ground out.:As surely as you chopped my head off in Heliopolis to win, you must accept one of her Blood. It’s the only way out of this mess and she knows it.:
“I made an oath,” Shara finally said aloud, slowly turning to face Marne. “I swore to only take Blood that I love.”
