Page 39 of Queen Takes Sunfires 2
It was maddening at times, especially when she was afraid, and I couldn’t help assuage that fear. But in time, I hoped she could trust us enough to at least feel safe for the first time in her life.
She took a deep, steadying breath and looked me in the eye. “We should talk about Ra’s heir.”
Nodding, I leaned forward slightly, hands braced firmly on my knees, all my attention focused on her. “I am happy to assist in any way possible, Your Majesty.”
“You saw what some of his spawn did to their mothers…?”
I clenched my jaws a moment to make sure I could speak without anger. “I did.”
“I won’t endure that. So far, I don’t feel any threat or danger from it. Do you?”
I swallowed hard, trying not to show my eagerness. “I have refrained from delving too deeply out of respect for your privacy, Your Majesty.”
Her head tipped slightly. “You said you knew in Heliopolis. How, then?”
“I reached to touch you to see if you had a pulse, and my sunfire extended before I could control it. Through it, I was able to scan through your body, looking for injuries that might cause your death.”
“Does your sunfire have a name?”
Startled, I had to think a moment. “I have never asked it. Why?”
“When I first gave you blood, I connected with a sunfire named Quasar. I wondered if yours had a name, or if they all used the same name since they’re all connected.”
Unlike when I was only a skeleton, my sunfire wasn’t visible in this human form. I could still feel it hovering inside me, as if it was a second skin beneath my outer layer.:Do you have a name?:
I felt a rush of flame inside me that coalesced into a streaking fireball in the sky. As it neared, the flames started to form into feathers. Burning feathers. I smelled a very distinctive roasted spice. Not cinnamon or clove.
“Cinnabar,” my queen whispered. “It prefers a phoenix form, but it didn’t mind the horse shape.”
“How did you know?” Eyes wide with wonder, I shook my head slowly. “It has never been able to communicate in words to me.”
She shrugged, one corner of her mouth quirking. “I just know. When it touched me in Heliopolis, did it burn me?”
“No. My sunfire never burned you. That is how we knew we had a chance of helping you in some way.”
“I am pregnant with a monster’s baby.” Her eyes unfocused, the small smile slipping away from her lips. Her face smoothed out into the familiar and hated distant mask that she had always worn in Heliopolis. Eyes that did not see us, or anything around her, for that matter. “I must decide if I dare carry it to term. Or if I even want to risk it.”
I didn’t answer, choosing to allow her to think in stillness and safety.
“Queens are rare now.” She said it suddenly, as if the thought popped into her head from elsewhere. “Especially solar queens. Ra killed them all.”
“That is no reason to carry his child that you do not want, Your Majesty.”
Slowly, her gaze rose back to mine, her chin lifting as if she gathered her courage. “Would you see what you sense from it? If it will harm me?”
I held myself still a moment, keeping my emotions in check. I didn’t want to frighten her with my eagerness to complete her slightest requests, let alone when that involved touching her.
“Of course, Your Majesty.” I leaned forward, stretching out my hand partway to her. “I believe it will work best if we have a physical connection.”
It pleased me greatly that she didn’t hesitate to give me her hand. Earlier, we had all noticed her shock at Marcus and Goyaalé taking her hand. Even such a small gesture of physical touch had been an adjustment for her.
Closing my eyes, I allowed my will to sink into her. Such a luxurious intimacy. The new bond we had formed allowed me to feel her emotions. Hear her thoughts as my own. She was afraid, but not of me, or of this small touch. Her fear was centered on the fetus she carried. Whether it would become as monstrous as the creatures she had witnessed in Heliopolis.
Sepdet had often bragged that he not only killed his mother, but also devoured his twin in utero. His monstrous hunger had helped him rise quickly in the ranks of Ra’s army. It was no surprise that he saw himself as Ra’s successor now.
The last time my awareness had been inside her, she had seemed dead. Her body had been cold, her energy so low as to be non-existent. Now, sunfire essence pulsed everywhere, filling her with life and magnificent energy. Her spirit burned brightly, a raging sea of solar power to fuel galaxies. I allowed those rivers of energy to carry me ever deeper, listening and feeling for anything amiss. Anything that might darken that blaze or threaten her life.
Deep in her womb, I found the golden spark that I had first witnessed in Heliopolis, though now it was hard to see it compared to the surge of sunfire energy she possessed. I focused on it, letting her see through my senses.
