Page 11 of Queen Takes Darkness: Helayna
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Helayna
They considered themselves horrible nightmare creatures, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. I’d never met more caring and considerate men. At least, I didn’t think I had. I couldn’t remember my life before the snake. But their extreme gratitude and gentleness despite their size and power told me all I needed to know.
They’d saved me at great risk not just to themselves but the entire world. That they were astonished that I didn’t run screaming into the night at the mere fact of their existence made me want to pull them all close and hug them.
So that was exactly what I did.
I hooked my arm around Dörr’s thick neck and held out my hand to Svar. He wrapped thick fingers around my hand as carefully as if I were made of delicate glass. I tugged him closer so that the three of them knelt shoulder to shoulder.
They were so damned big. Even on their knees, their heads topped mine.
“To feed her, you need to fully transform.” Dörr’s voice rumbled like an earthquake. “She can’t penetrate gargoyle hide.”
I listened to the fragile new bond in my head, sorting through his emotions and thoughts as unobtrusively as possible. As the eldest, he’d taken care of them for as long as he could remember. He’d been alone before that. Such a lonely, endless existence. They’d rather sleep for thousands of years than be awake in this place.
After only a few minutes outside the snake, I couldn’t agree more. I still couldn’t see anything more than vague shadows of black and slightly darker black. The air was chill and damp. Even in this place of supposed safety, there wasn’t any shelter, at least none that I could see. The air felt just as cold. There wasn’t anything soft to rest on. No light. No fire.
“What did I taste like?” Dörr asked hesitantly. “Was it terrible?”
I thought a moment and then smiled. “Take the delicate sweetness from every night-blooming flower and compress it into warm, thick honey. That is what you tasted like.”
I didn’t have to see his face in the darkness to know that he stared at me, mouth hanging open with surprise. His bond splintered with icy shock. He didn’t even know what flowers or honey were. Not really. But he’d fully expected me to tell him he’d tasted awful.
He didn’t believe me. I leaned harder against him, smearing the slickness of his alfar essence on me. “There’s nothing like the sweet, delicate scent of flowers that bloom in the light of the moon. I’ve tasted honey before, and I’m telling you that’s what you tasted like. You healed the damage that passing through the snake caused me and returned my strength. Actually…”
I sank through my body, assessing my strength. Despite the cold, I felt good. Strong. I could feel a spark in my blood that I didn’t think had been there before.
It was so strange to rememberwhatI was… but notwho. I knew I was an Aima vampire queen. I felt the rightness of that in my blood. I couldn’t deny my fangs, or the enjoyment I’d experienced drinking from Dörr.
I knew enough to understand that this was only the beginning. For whatever reason, I’d never had Blood of my own before. I’d never felt this kind of power rising inside me. Maybe it was this place. If I was truly descended from the goddess Hel…
And this was Her realm…
I was here for a reason, and it had nothing to do with Loki’s grand plan of starting Ragnarök.
“They have transformed, my queen,” Dörr whispered.
I loved that he didn’t make any assumptions or demands of me, yet he also understood my limitations in this place. I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. I certainly couldn’t tell that the other two had transformed from their stone to alfar forms. Though now that he’d told me, I could feel the same slick oil feel on my palm from Svar.
I released Dörr and blindly reached out to where I thought Myrk was in the middle. He snagged my hand, his fingers shorter and rougher than Dörr’s. I stepped closer until I felt the slight warmth rising from Myrk’s chest. I gently ran my fingers over his face, trying to picture him in my mind.
Dörr’s features were heavier and more defined. Myrk’s face was more slender with a less pronounced brow. He wasn’t as wide or tall, either, though I estimated that he’d stand at least seven feet tall.
Goddess. I’d never imagined such Blood would answer my call.
“Do you have a preference for where I should bite you?”
He snorted. At least I assumed the sound of earth splitting apart was a snort of derision. “Anywhere, my queen.”
I ran my hand down the strong column of his neck. Leaning closer, I tried to use my senses to feel a vein I should aim for, but as they’d said, they didn’t carry blood. I didn’t sense a pulse beneath the surface. When I sank my fangs into his throat, his essence filled my mouth as if I’d torn open his aorta.
Spices burst on my tongue. Pepper and roasted chilies, laced with something else that was strong and rich. Another swallow, and I identified black coffee made so strong that it would cling to the spoon.
His essence swept through me, and this time, I felt something shift inside me. As if a floodgate opened and a switch flipped on.
I didn’t have any injuries to heal, no bones to mend, so it was easier to sense the flaring of my magic.
