Page 13 of Queen Takes More
After a harrowing journey to Egypt, our queen had enjoyed several quiet months at home in her nest. Eureka Springs, Arkansas might be a strange place for a powerful vampire queen to call home, but her nest had become a magical place that welcomed her. From the grove of impossibly ancient trees that encircled her home, to the bubbling hot spring large enough to accommodate as many Blood as she cared to call, the nest changed the very terrain of the earth to please her.
We each would do anything to make her smile.
We walked down a steep street lined with small, unique shops decorated with pumpkins, straw bales, and wreaths of Indian corn and leaves. Eureka Springs had been carved out of the treacherous cracks between the Ozark mountains, with buildings practically stacked on top of each other. Many were built deeply into the grottos and hollows in the steep cliffs. Though the title of “historic” Eureka Springs made most of us Blood shake our heads with amusement. Itztli and I had been born long before this area had ever been populated, and we weren’t even the eldest Blood.
Our queen drew some curious glances from the humans wandering the streets. We were all dressed in jeans and T-shirts, even our queen, but they must have thought she was a celebrity with so many bodyguards. Itztli gave a long, hard look at a man walking up the sidewalk toward us. He blinked and immediately crossed the street, watching warily over his shoulder to be sure we weren’t coming after him.
“If you want trick-or-treaters to come out to the manor, we could have a Halloween party and invite the whole city,” Daire said. “You wouldn’t even need to decorate much. Just have us all shifted and roaming the grounds. It’d scare the shit out of everybody.”
Mehen let out a disgusted grunt. “Human children are bloody annoying, and they don’t even make a very good mouthful.”
Shara laughed. “Since you can’t go around eating children, I suppose there won’t be any Halloween party at the manor.”
I touched my twin’s bond.:Do you think we could find some calaveras? We could celebrate Día de Muertos instead. Or Mayte could send a sib to us with supplies.:
:I think our queen would appreciate the chance to celebrate the lives of her ancestors,:Itztli replied.:I saw some sugar skulls a few shops back on the opposite side.:
I lightly touched Rik’s bond.:Alpha…:
:Go,: Rik said immediately, showing us exactly how entangled our Blood bonds were with one another.:Find what you need, and meet us back at the car in an hour.:
Itztli and I immediately crossed the street and headed back up the hill. I heard Shara ask, “Where are they going?”
Rik tucked her arm around his and led her to the next shop. “They want to put together a surprise for you.”
Our queen had enough power to blast the sun god to the underworld and drain the queen of New York City to her death, but she didn’t demand answers from us. She wouldn’t want to spoil our surprise.
Which was only one of the many reasons we loved her more than life itself.
SHARA
It took a surprising amount of determination to ignore my twins’ bonds and allow them to keep their secrets. I was always aware of my Blood, even when they were quieter and more reserved. Even Xin, who could be invisible from everyone but me, was a constant, tangible weight in my mind. At a moment’s notice, I could touch his bond and sense his ghostly wolf prowling the nest.
Itztli and Tlacel were two of the quieter Blood. Though they’d been with me since the New Year, I still didn’t know them as deeply as my other Blood. Rik and Daire had been with me from the beginning. They were always by my side, especially my alpha. Guillaume and Mehen, as the oldest, were nearby and ready for me to consult them on a tricky Triune situation or another house. Ezra and Vivian were too belligerent to ever be overlooked or forgotten.
Llewellyn was almost as old as Guillaume and had the benefit of knowing my mother before her death. Naturally, I spent a great deal of time with him, asking about his memories of Esetta Isador, the queen who’d sacrificed everything, including her life and her Blood, to have me.
Nevarre was another quiet Blood, but I depended on him heavily to guard from the sky. He’d also called the crow queen to my nest, and now hundreds of birds came and went from my trees, carrying secrets and stolen gifts from all over the world to share their knowledge with us.
But the twins didn’t feel as if they’d made a significant contribution to me yet, though I completely disagreed. Itztli had sacrificed himself to help me grow the heart tree for his sister’s nest. Tlacel had been instrumental in helping me understand Huitzilopochtli when I’d first awakened him. Plus, I just loved them. I loved Itztli’s incredible sense of smell when he shifted into his black dog. His absolute trust in me, even when he wanted and needed me to hurt him. He’d seen me kill before, and yet came to me willingly, depending on me to fulfill his darker needs.
Tlacel always reminded me of the lush jungle, and he’d been the one to pull me back from the portal when we’d almost lost his niece, Xochitl. I’d be dead without them. So how could they doubt my love for them?
“They don’t doubt you or your love,” Rik said, his voice a low, rumbling landslide of boulders. “They saw an opportunity to do something unique for you, and they wish to make you smile. That’s all.”
Halloween came and went without any surprise, so I wasn’t sure what they might be planning. And no, we didn’t have a single trick-or-treater, much to Mehen’s disappointment.
At dusk on November 1st, I came down for dinner to find all the lights off downstairs. Candles formed a glowing path toward the back of the house. A fire burned in the fireplace, but it didn’t smell like normal wood. Something spicy and fragrant filled the air. Dozens of candles gleamed on the mantel, tables, and shelves all around the room.
Rik let go of my hand and stepped back, leaving me in the center of the room. Though I wasn’t alone. I could feel my Blood all around me, even in the darkness.
Itztli stepped out of the shadows by the fireplace. His face was painted bone white with dark circles around his eyes and mouth, giving him a ghoulish look. Though as he came closer, I could see bright flowers painted on his forehead and cheeks. Tlacel approached from the other side of the room, drawing my attention to him. He’d painted his face, too. They were both naked, their chests streaked with white and black paint that resembled bones.
“Today’s the first day of Día de Muertos,” Itztli said. “The Day of the Dead. We have prepared an altar for your ancestors, if you’d like to see it.”
I took his hand and he drew me over to a table beneath the window. Candles gleamed on the polished wood, illuminating vases of golden flowers. Sugar skulls painted with brilliant splashes of color were mixed in with the flowers. Hanging on the wall was an ornate oval picture frame that stole my breath.
My mother. Esetta Isador.
