Page 38 of Queen Takes Sunfires 2
I looked back at Sunzi, more than a little scared. “I’ve never had power before. I’m going to make a lot of mistakes.”
“Trust yourself, Your Majesty. Know yourself. There will be no mistakes. How do you feel?”
I took a deep, long breath, listening to my body. “Incredible. I didn’t realize how much pain I was in, until it was gone. How weak I was, until I had energy.”
“You were very nearly dead before we sent you out of Heliopolis. I feared greatly for your safety and health. We owe a debt of gratitude to the queen who helped you.”
I nodded. “She did help me, but the first person to help was Eivind, her brother. He said he’s a wolf king of Aima blood, like me. Do you know what that is?”
“I do not.” His face and the inflection of his voice didn’t change, but I sensed a tightening inside him. Not concern or wariness, exactly, but an acute alertness. “How did he help you?”
I told him about Eivind calling for help, and then later driving me to his sister’s. I hesitated a moment, not sure if it was important to tell Sunzi the rest or not. But if he were my Blood, like Helayna’s Blood, then he was in me, and I was in him. He would already know, or at least suspect, the rest, and I refused to start lying among the people I was supposed to be able to trust. Though whether I would be able to ever trust beyond a shadow of doubt was up for debate.
“I believe he was supposed to be my Blood. Smelling him, seeing him, near the end, was torture. But he feared me as a queen. I couldn’t trap him like that. So I allowed him to leave.”
The tension I sensed lessened imperceptibly. “Then it’s my understanding that he could not have been Blood, Your Majesty. He would never have left you otherwise.”
Nodding, I sat up more, fluffing the pillow behind me. Such a luxury, to be able to sit and talk with another person without fear crawling through my every moment. “That is what I thought as well. I’m still grateful that he managed to get me out of Chicago before whatever the sundogs sensed caught up to me.”
“Did this wolf king help you against Aurelian?”
I blew out a sigh. “Not exactly. He didn’t believe me until it was too late, and then tried to shoot one of the Legion with a gun. That didn’t even slow him down.”
Sunzi again didn’t move or change his facial expression, but I sensed… disgust. Anger. I listened a moment, trying to tell where that sense had come from. It was definitely that coiled burning rope inside me. I could tell which strand was his from the others.
Ever so lightly, I touched the others one by one, quietly listening. Marcus and Goyaalé waited outside the door, the first leaning against the wall, and the latter squatted at the head of the stairway that led up to this room, watching for anything that might approach. The rest of the men were scattered around the house outside in a loose circle in sight of each other. Keeping watch.
“Is there danger here?” I whispered, focusing back on Sunzi.
“No, Your Majesty.”
“Then why are they all guarding?”
“It’s what we’ve always done. Now, we are privileged to guard you. Nothing will ever harm you again.”
I sat with that statement, trying to convince myself to believe his words. By the slight wrinkle between his eyes, he didn’t appreciate my hesitation. I couldn’t blame him. I certainly meant no disrespect to him or these other men who used to be famous warriors.
But I was also a realist. I had already endured so much pain. My mind couldn’t comprehend an existence where I might truly enjoy safety.
“We will show you,” he whispered softly. “By the Supreme Mother’s grace, we will earn your trust.”
“I’m sorry—“
He made a dismissive gesture with his hand. “Not at all, Your Majesty. You have every reason to distrust every living soul you encounter. But we are yours as no one has ever been before. We have already died, been resurrected to Heliopolis, and now gifted with new bodies once more thanks to your willing sacrifice. If we may die again in service to you, then we will count it the greatest honor of our lifetimes.”
* * *
SUNZI
In the endlesshell of Heliopolis, I had dreamed of the day when we could serve our queen in peace and safety. But I had made a grave mistake in not realizing the effect trauma would have on her.
She woke afraid. Afraid to breathe. Afraid to move. Afraid to think. It would take time to assure her that she was safe. That we would never serve as a reminder in any way to those painful days in Heliopolis.
Even the simple task of open communication was difficult for her at times. She had never had the opportunity to converse, even about trivial topics, to anyone. I guessed that most of her days had been spent in silence and dread, waiting on the order for her to make her way with haste to the god’s chamber.
Here, at least, we had all the time in the universe. She could sleep in peace. If she cared to converse with me or her other Blood, we would gladly sit as long as she cared to share her thoughts with us.
Sweeter than hearing her voice, though, was her hesitant touch in my mind. Until I had been able to make that sacrifice of blood for her, I hadn’t realized what the Blood bond entailed. I hadn’t fully understood that she would be in my thoughts all the time. That I would feel her breathe and think and move as if I was inside her mind and body, always listening.
