Page 11 of Queen Takes Sunfires 2
Her mouth flattened out into a hard slant, while the big man between us let out a low rumble that sounded like distant thunder. “My brother’s afraid of what he doesn’t understand. He’s never had a Blood bond, and it’s nothing like slavery. I love my Blood, and they love me. We’re dedicated to each other. I wouldn’t do anything to harm them, and they’d certainly never hurt me, either.”
“I would die for my queen,” Dörr said in that low, gravely voice that gave me chills. “I would go back to the eternal sleep of stone in the lowest level of Hel before I’d ever harm a single hair on her head.”
His hand on her shoulder. The other Blood dropped down to his knee before her. I had to turn away, pretending to scan the sky as dawn approached. I didn’t want them to see any stray flicker of emotion on my face. Envy, I supposed. I couldn’t comprehend having such a relationship with anyone.
“If the sunfires are at their greatest strength at noon, wouldn’t it be smarter for them to try and attack then?” Helayna asked.
“Anything is possible, but after they appeared at the hospital in the dead of night, I don’t think they’re going to wait for high noon.” The sky brightened slightly, making it both easier and harder to watch for them. In the darkness, they would have glowed. Now, the first sunlight made everything start to shine. My eyes ached with strain already. “Be ready.”
“I don’t think any creature will be bold enough to attack—“ Helayna began, but I whipped my head around, cutting her off.
“I watched them devour my mother, tearing her apart so they could feast on her flesh. You have no idea what they’re capable of. If and when they break through the blood circle, get to the darkest, most secure place you can find. Underground is best. Hopefully, they’ll come after me and leave you alone.”
The third man on her opposite side scowled fiercely. “Who will protect you?”
“No one. If they break through, and I can’t stop them as I did the soldiers, I’ll go with them peacefully.”
Helayna reached over and squeezed my hand. “I won’t let them take you.”
“You must. It’s your only hope. Nothing will stop them.” A mournful howl echoed in the distance, both familiar and terrifying. “They’re here.”
She rose slowly, tightening her grip on me. “Are you sure? That sounds like a dog.”
My heart pounded, anxiety shooting through the roof. The howl rolled across the misty lake, an eerie ghostly cry that raised the hairs on my arms. “Sundogs. They always hunt in pairs. Wait for the second call.”
A higher-pitched howl came from behind us like a shout of glee on the other side of the house. Her Blood pulled her back against his broad chest, shielding her back, while the one who’d been on his knees protected her front. They surrounded her, a wall of muscle and strength.
Releasing her hand, I stepped closer to the rail and clutched the wood fiercely. Dread made my stomach clench. Scenes flashed rapid-fire through my mind. The blazing gold of Heliopolis. The brutal savagery of the Soldiers of Light. The burning agony of a sunfire’s touch. They’d dripped acid-like droplets of molten sun on me. Whipped me with fiery tendrils of lava.
But I would take that all again rather than suffer Ra’s touch one more time.Please, Goddess. Let him be truly dead.
A glowing orb bounced across the lake, burning away the wisps of fog rising from the water. More oblong than round, a blur of all the colors of light. Darker orange and a hint of red changing to blue and then blazing white at its center. I blinked my watery eyes, trying to focus enough to see its head and legs.
Hovering over the gravel area where Eivind had dropped me off, the sundog paused long enough for me to see its shape. Heavy, large head. Thick, muscled shoulders. Blueish flames burned in its eyes and rippled across its body, obscuring its hindquarters completely. Nose high, it floated over the ground, sniffing the air back and forth, weaving its way to the grassy area where I’d taken Helayna’s hands and crossed the circle.
It sat back on its haunches and let out a deep bellow that sent flames cascading up into the air.
Marking my location for its handler.
The other sundog streaked around the back of the house to join its twin, howling and baying flames.
“Goddess,” Helayna breathed out. “That’s a sunfire?”
“No,” I whispered hoarsely. “Though I think they’re from the same place. They’re sundogs.”
To the east, the sky had lightened, though the sun was nowhere near as bright as Ra’s eternal light. In fact, the puny sun of this world started to dim. Something brighter glowed above the sun in the still-dark sky, streaking across the lake. Golden beams pierced the misty fog.
A low sound rolled across the sky, a deep, almost inaudible roar like rushing winds, ocean tides, and thunder combined. The sound a molten ball of gas would make as a solar storm brewed on its surface.
A white-hot circle belched flames across the sky. Something moved in those flames. Living things of solar energy. The seething mass coalesced into separate bodies, all flowing down the golden beams as if they were some kind of fiery highway. Strange looking beasts that looked like horses crossed with something else with horns. Another large thing that looked more like an elephant. I’d never seen the sunfires take on other creatures’ shapes like this.
As they neared the nest, I took an involuntary step back, fighting the urge to flee. Trying not to remember, even though my skin burned as if they were already dripping molten acid on me. Closer, I could see Soldiers of Light with them. Some of the skeletons rode on their animal-like sunfires’ backs, while one sunfire had taken on a form with two sets of flaming wings. Some kind of demon angel? I had no idea.
These soldiers still had their sunfires. They wouldn’t be as easy to drain as the ones at the hotel. I didn’t even know if I could, honestly. If the sunfires attached to me… Got inside me, somehow… I’d probably burst into flame.
The soldiers’ armor glittered in the soft dawn light, casting painful, shining shards into the nest. Helayna actually cried out softly and I smelled something.
Something delicious. Decadent. Promising all the power of the universe. My mouth ached and I pricked my own lip with fangs that suddenly dropped at that scent.
