Page 24 of Queen Takes Sunfires 2
Chak Ek’ stared at me steadily as an image flickered in my mind. A dark sky, barely lightening in the east. A bright star rising above the horizon, beautiful against the dark sky. Then the sun finally started to rise, and the star faded away as day began.
:I am the Red Star, Venus, the Morning Star, a harbinger of war and catastrophe. I am yours, Your Majesty.:
I held myself very still as his words echoed in my head, playing over and over in an endless loop.I am yours.
They had gotten me out of Heliopolis and then followed me. Not for Ra’s heir, which may or may not survive. Which may or may not be a solar queen.
No. They’d followedme.
They had helped me escape Sepdet.
Could they be my protectors, like the dark alfar protected Helayna? Was that even possible? Could I separate these soldiers from the ones who’d tormented me for so long?
“Also with us are Geronimo, former leader of the Apaches; Leonides, the Lion of Sparta; the Scotsman; Miyamoto Musashi; Vlad the Impaler, Voivode of Wallachia; and lastly, General Hannibal Barca of Carthage.”
From the way he introduced them, they must all be great and famous men in their own right. Yet I had no idea what any of their titles or claims to fame were. Even before I’d been taken to Heliopolis, I had been hidden and sheltered as long as possible from the outside world.
Ra had loved to brag that he only called the very best soldiers to his service. So these men were definitely very skilled at warfare and killing.
Good. I would need every soldier I could get if I had any hope of staying out of Sepdet’s clutches.
“Thank you for getting me out of Heliopolis.”
Each of the soldiers bowed or inclined their heads in some way, though Sun Tzu and Marcus Antonius were the only ones on their knees before me. I wasn’t sure why they hadn’t stood and moved away. Ra had too many faults to count, but even he hadn’t made his famed soldiers kneel before him.
I wasn’t sure what to do. I couldn’t leave Helayna to fight Sepdet alone. She had no idea what he was capable of, and I didn’t think her three Blood would be enough to stop him. It might already be too late to try and help her.
“Time doesn’t flow the same across the infinite dimensions of the universe,” Sun Tzu said. “The other queen is safe until you choose to return. There is no measure of time here.”
I nodded slowly, disconcerted at how easily they picked up on my thoughts thanks to the sunfire essence flowing inside me. Ra had owned and used every inch of my body, but he’d never touched my mind. I’d never shared my thoughts with him. Certainly never my secret innermost thoughts.
Though now I understood better how Helayna and her Blood had communicated silently. I could see its value, especially with the soldier god who couldn’t speak. But it was going to take time for me to see it as a benefit rather than an invasion.
“What now?” I whispered, more for myself than them.
Marcus Antonius reached up and took my hand in his, startling me. My eyes widened. My heartbeat jumped. Sensation coursed up my arm despite the odd feeling of his bones against my palm. “I would very much like it if you fed on my sunfires next.”
11
Karmen
Istared at him a moment, shocked by his words. He actually wanted me to feed on him? Or rather, his sunfire?
Biting the first one had been pure instinct. Rage, fear, pain—I wasn't sure what had driven me to do it. But consciously making the decision to bite... feed... on another... creature...
Something stirred at the thought, raising its head like a hungry beast. My natural instinct, only now allowed to come forward without Ra's complete degradation of my entire being? Or sunfire contamination from the sundog bite? Worsened by the first accidental feeding?
Did it matter?
Survive at all cost. That had always been what kept me functioning no matter what Ra did to me. Stay alive. Survive.
For what? Had my mother foreseen a day that I would be free? A day where Ra would no longer torment me?
A day where I would have protectors? Soldiers who had risked everything to help me escape? They had no idea that Ra would die when they managed to send me here.
Or this could all be an elaborate trap. Perhaps they needed me to consume more of their sunfires to bring me fully under their power.
That thought didn't ring true. Not with the sunfire essence flowing through me. I didn't feel lessened or threatened in any way. In fact, I felt invigorated and stronger than ever.
