Page 35 of Queen Takes Sunfires 2
He could have pressed against my knee, draping his upper body against me. He could have used his hands to drag me closer rather than wrap my hand in warmth. Yet he simply hovered there before me, wobbling slightly as I drained him.
Concerned, I lifted my head enough to withdraw my fangs, though I couldn’t resist licking the puncture marks, cleaning up the blood on his skin.
Hunger still gnawed deep inside me. In fact, my need only worsened the more blood I drank. Horrified, I watched as he slipped sideways and crumpled beside Sunzi, who still lay as if dead.
Marcus took my hand in his, while another man came forward to take Goyaalé’s place.
“Am I killing you?”
Marcus grinned. “Not at all.”
Unsure, I focused on the sunfire essence flowing through me. I didn’t use words directly but sent a wave of concern toward the two downed men.
An image formed in my head. A flaming golden arrow soaring through the night, chasing after a fiery comet. I stood on a hill, watching them fly straight to me. Racing to see who could get to me first. Filled with sheer joy as they scorched through the sky.
Shaking my head slightly, I leaned closer to Marcus. His breath caught on a sigh as my breath fluttered over his skin.
“Yes.” He tipped his head so he could whisper in my ear. “Please, drain me next.”
15
Eivind
Islammed on the brakes, tires screeching and spinning on the gravel. The Mustang swung around in a complete three-sixty before I could regain control.
The lake in front of the Ironheart nest had turned into a boiling cauldron of flames.
Heart pounding, I reached for my sister’s bond.:Are you safe?:
:Yes,:she answered, her words calm despite the hellacious landscape outside our childhood home.:The blood circle holds.:
I started to open the car door, but a gleaming tendril of fiery gold stretched from the lake toward me. The car shifted, gravel crunching under the wheels. The backend swung toward the lake as if some kind of gravitational force had latched on to its bumper.
If I ended up in that lake…
I wasn’t coming out again.
Throwing the car back into gear, I floored it, aiming for the green swatch of yard inside the circle. The Mustang shook, the engine roaring as I gave it more gas, trying to break free of whatever had caught me. Tires spun deeper, cutting ruts into the road, but finally caught and slingshot the car off the road.
A chill tingled over my skin as I careened into the nest. I turned the engine off and stepped out of the car, turning to see what the hell had claimed the lake. Red flames flickered and swarmed across the surface, but they had substance. Almost like molten rock or reddish gold. It was hard to tell, but it looked like the water was almost completely evaporated. Along the shore, the trees’ branches were scorched and black.
“It’s sunfires,” Helayna said. “They took her.”
I whirled toward her and strode up to the porch. “How?”
“Come inside, and I’ll tell you what I know. I don’t know how much they can overhear out here, if our words or thoughts cross the circle.”
Smart. Nodding, I followed her back into the house. She went down to the basement, and my stomach clenched. Of course, she’d want to go down to the dungeon. It was the most secure place in the house. Which was exactly why our mother had created it.
And why my father had been chained there.
I hated every log and stone in the cabin. It took all my will to make my feet take those steps down into darkness. My wolf’s nose picked up the tar-like scent of her Blood, even though I couldn’t see them. If I’d been in my animal form, my ruff would have been standing straight up, my teeth bared. I didn’t like that smell. At all.
I didn’t know much about them, other than they’d saved her. For that, they’d earned my eternal gratitude. But they still made me uneasy. My wolf’s nose never led me astray, and it hated that sharp, acrid odor.
“She said we’d be safer in complete darkness.” Helayna’s voice helped me pinpoint her location despite the stench of her Blood. Naturally they were close to her, as if they’d need to protect her from me. “I’ve called the Triune. We should have assistance shortly.”
Fucking great. As if queens weren’t bad enough, of course she’d bring in the biggest, baddest queens on the planet. But if they could help Karmen, I’d bite my tongue rather than rip their throats out. At least until she was safe. “What happened?”
