Page 1 of Queen Takes More
1
Queen Takes It Out On Me
Special thanks to Cheyenne Boatman for the
perfect tribute song
(Set after Queen Takes Triune)
DAIRE
“Evidently, you don’t trust me at all.”
Her words made me flinch. My purr died in my chest. I risked a quick glance at my queen’s face, and yeah, she was pissed.
But worse…
She was fuckinghurt.
Her eyes gleamed with tears, and her bond weighed heavy inside me like cold, hard lead.
She hadn’t been quite right since the Dauphine sent her mother’s zombie to the nest. Goddess, who wouldn’t have been shaken by that? She’d had to deal with the body and release Selena’s spirit. It must have been like losing and burying her all over again, though she hadn’t been able to attend her mother’s funeral. She’d fled Kansas City after her mother’s murder and never looked back.
We’d barely been back from Rome a few hours. She hadn’t even gone upstairs to sleep yet, too wired after the encounter with Marne Ceresa.
I pressed harder against Shara’s knees, but I couldn’t purr. It was stuck deep in my chest, trapped like a wild thing that hammered inside me.
Any other time, she would have dropped her hand to my head and played with my hair. She would have smiled at my antics and jokes. I could have winked at her, flashed my dimples, and all would be forgiven. “Forgive me—”
“I don’t want to hear it,” she broke in.
Of course she knew that it wasn’t a sincere apology. How could it be, when I had no idea what I’d done?
“I’ve done everything for you. I’ve bled. I’ve risked my life over and over. I walked into Heliopolis and let the sun god lay his creepy hands on me, so I could get close enough to him to use the red serpent. I drained Keisha Skye in her own court, simply because I had to protect you and Rik. I’d never let her claim one of you.”
With each sentence, her words came faster, pouring out of her in a flood, as if she’d been holding back for too long.
“Worse, I had to go to Rome and endure Marne’s polite-as-fuck insults. I stood in the midst of her power, completely helpless. I couldn’t touch my own power. I couldn’t call down fire to punish her. I couldn’t doanything. Because the last thing I’d ever do is risk you. If another arrow or spear was shot into one of you… I would have lost everything, because I would have razed Rome to save you. Any one of you. And then Marne would have had us all legally executed and no one would have been able to lift a finger to stop her.”
She paused a moment, taking a deep breath. “Don’t you fucking think Iwantedto kill her? It certainly would have been easier. She hurt Rik, and I wanted her dead. It was all I could do not to call on my power and strike her down. Even if I’d killed her, we would have lost, because our goddesses don’t wantanyof Their Triune queens to die. They need all three Triunes whole and strong, even if that means Marne and the Dauphine still live. I didn’t know why. I still don’t. I just know it was important and it had to be done. No matter the cost to my pride. I’d sit there and drink an ocean of tea and green snot in a bowl, if that meant I could save you and please the Great One at the same time.”
I writhed helplessly against her knees, unable to bear the lash of her words.
“So for you to doubt me like this…”
Her voice broke and tears burned my eyes. I clutched her knees, leaning hard against her. Trying to soothe her with my body. “I don’t doubt you, my queen. I’d never—”
“You do,” she retorted. “You doubt me.Me.Or you would have come to me with this issue long before.”
I couldn’t bear her disappointment. It was horrible. I would rather she tell Rik to drag me outside by my hair and let his rock troll pound me into the ground than let her down.
I looked up at my alpha, but his face was devoid of even one iota of sympathy. Mouth tight and harsh, he didn’t have to yell at me. His silence said it all.
The rest of her Blood were equally silent, their bonds ranging from grim acceptance to outright glee. Fucking Mehen was thinking really hard about popping a bag of popcorn.
I scowled at him and opened my mouth, but Shara cut me off, holding up her index finger. “You nearly made inappropriate jokes in front of a Triune queen, when you’re supposed to be my gifted diplomat.”
I winced, shame darkening my face. That had been especially stupid. Marne was already determined to find any reason at all to punish my queen, and I’d nearly put us at a disadvantage. And for what? A joke?
