Page 26 of Queen Takes Sunfires 2
Heat flared against my cheek and lip, flowing energy and light that warmed my skin. The roof of my mouth throbbed, the instinct to bite and feed rising inside me. So strange, this urge. I had never experienced it before I’d come to this world.
I opened my lips and tried to sink my fangs into his sunfire, but the energy instantly began flowing into my mouth. Liquid fire burned my throat like I gulped from a flaming fountain of lava. It didn't hurt me, even though it sizzled its way into my stomach. So good, that burning warmth, though my fangs still ached with the need to sink into something solid.
Bays and howls echoed through my head. Sundogs on the hunt, racing through the corridors of my mind. They had the faintest trace of a scent and would follow it anywhere. Across dimensions, through gates, worlds without end. Until they found their mark.
Until they foundme.
I saw them sniffing back and forth, following the barest whiff of my scent to the hospital. I shivered, remembering how scared I'd been, even without hearing or seeing them. If I'd known sundogs were on my trail...
One of them paused, hanging upside down on the ceiling's square tiles at the hospital. People rushed back and forth beneath him, oblivious to the danger looming above their heads.
Bristling, he let out a low, fierce growl, a deep rumble that made the hairs rise on my arms. He didn't look at the people below, so the threat wasn't there.
:What is it?:
A searing flash of blue flame rushed past my eyes, and I was suddenly inside him. Strife, the sundog with the mournful eyes. He—we—stared down the darkened hallway. I strained to see through the shadows, to pinpoint the threat. A flash of fire, a hint of gold, something to tell me that it was a sunfire.
I'd seen them at the hospital. Just a hint. That was why I'd fled and found Eivind waiting outside. The darkness thickened, shadows writhing in the narrow space.
Sepdet? I felt Strife's answer, his growl rumbling deeper. Worse than Sepdet. It couldn't be Aurelian, since he didn't have the ability to pass through darkness like Sepdet. It certainly wasn't Ra. Even if the god wasn't dead and had come after me himself, he would have announced himself with raging brilliance. His ego was too massive to remain cloaked in shadows.
The darkness swept closer, filling up the hallway. People avoided it, covering their noses like it was smoke. Though the sundog didn't smell anything like fire. I couldn't place the smell, but the hairs on my nape prickled with warning.
:Snake,:Marcus Antonius whispered in my head.
Lifting my mouth, I lost the vision from the hallway, though I could still see that writhing darkness creeping closer. I'd seen the faint crackle as the sundogs approached, but I'd missed the larger danger entirely. "What would a snake want with me?"
"We hoped that you would know, Your Majesty."
"Earlier, I was talking with Helayna, and I remembered something about Ra fearing a snake. Do you know why?"
He shook his head and so did the others as I glanced at each of them.
"Well..." I blew out a sigh, shaking my head. "I guess I'll figure that out another day."
He still held my hand, though the bones didn't feel so strange now. "How do you feel?"
I couldn't remember anyone or anything touching me without pain. Not since the people at the hospital. It was actually nice, if strange. I appreciated that he didn't move to make any demands of me. When had anyone cared about how I felt or what I wanted?
I didn't even know myself. Listening to my body, I still felt hollow and thin. But I had felt empty for so long... it was probably going to take a few decades for me to feel much at all. As long as it wasn't pain.
"We won't hurt you," one of the other soldiers said suddenly. "Ra was the only one with enough power to force any of us to his will. He no longer has dominion over us."
"Only you have dominion over us now," Marcus Antonius said in a solemn, reverent tone that surprised me. No one had ever deferred to me or my will before.
"This is all very unexpected," I finally replied. "I don't quite know what to do with you. Any of you. Do you go by Marcus? Or Antonius? I don't know what to call any of you. You don't have to be so formal, either. I'm not God's Wife any longer."
"I'll answer to any name you call me. Even dog, if that is your wish, Your Majesty."
I blew out a disgusted sigh. "I'm certainly not going to call you dog. I'm going to call you Marcus."
He inclined his head and brushed the back of my knuckles with his teeth. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
“And you, Sun Tzu. What would you prefer I call you?"
"I was once known as Sunzi to my close family."
Something flared inside me. Almost pain, but it wasn't bad. "I would be honored to call you Sunzi. How about the rest of you? Tell me about yourselves. I'm afraid I don't know anything about you despite your fame."
