Page 14 of Queen Takes Blood
As I roared up the road toward a gothic-looking mansion in a peaceful country neighborhood outside of Kansas City, I had a moment to wonder if this was the end. If this alpha would be the one to finally kill me with his young, upstart queen. It wouldn’t take much to bring me to my knees.
If this queen had the gift of fire… I couldn’t stop her from turning me into a pile of sooty ash.
My collection’s complete. My Templar sword’s back in my hand where it belongs. At least this way I’ll die with honor.
I strode up the sidewalk, braced to feel the boundary of the queen’s blood circle, but I made it all the way to the front door. Which only infuriated me even more. A queen with no nest? No blood circle to keep her safe? What the fuck was this young cub doing with his vulnerable queen? Did he not know better?
No wonder the goddess had seen fit to send me to this daughter’s side. She needed help, serious help, if this was all the protection that her alpha could offer.
I pounded on the door, my thirst driving me mad. A few flimsy walls were all that prevented me from sinking fang into the queen’s throat. That, and my honor, of course. In all my existence, I’d never approached any queen without her permission—unless Desideria had ordered it.
No queen commanded me now.
Only this blazing thirst dragged me to my new queen’s feet.
A woman opened the door. Not Blood, not even Aima, though her eyes flared wide with recognition. She inclined her head politely and stepped aside. “Welcome to House Isador, Sir Guillaume.”
Isador. That name meant something. It resonated deep inside me. Something pushed up from the depths of my memory, a vague black hood, but when I tried to recall, it dissipated like wisps of smoke. My fangs ached, my throat dry as dust, but I bowed my head. “Thank you, my lady.”
“The queen awaits you in the next room.” She raised her voice slightly. “I have a few ideas for our other human visitor. By your leave, Your Majesty, I’ll make a few calls.”
I’d wager the ivory-handled dagger that she was the Isador consiliarius.
“Of course, thank you, Gina,” the queen said.
My heart stuttered, a fluttering, trembling creature of desperate hope and need. I stepped into the living room, my gaze immediately pulled to the queen. Achingly young and beautiful with long dark hair and eyes like a starry night reflecting the light of the full moon. The big alpha swallowed her up, his arms and thighs cradling her against him. Another, even younger, Blood sat on the floor at her feet, a snarl twisting his face.
They didn’t like me much. Not that I expected otherwise.
If the consiliarius recognized me, then it was likely they knew the Executioner had entered House Isador as well. So no fucking wonder they were frothing at the mouth to eliminate the threat to their queen. If I were at her side…
I’d have never allowed a Blood like me to set one foot inside the door.
Thinking fast, I decided on the most startling and significant gesture that I could make to any queen. I would treat her with the utmost respect as if she sat on the Triune. I dropped to my knees and then prostrated myself before her. “My queen, I come in peace in answer to your call.”
She sucked in a loud breath. “What are you doing? Get up. I don’t require such… Please. You don’t have to do that. Who are you?”
The mystery around this queen deepened. If I wasn’t maddened with thirst, I’m sure that I would have been more appalled at her apparent lack of understanding High Court etiquette. Keeping my gaze on the floor, I lifted my head slightly. “Guillaume de Payne, Your Majesty.”
The young Blood let out a vicious growl, his claws raking the wooden floor.
“Daire,” she warned, quieting him. “What’s wrong?”
As I feared, she knew little of court life, or she would have recognized me by name alone. Though her Blood certainly recognized the threat. “I see my reputation precedes me. As I said, Blood, I come in peace. I come to her call.” I put emphasis on the next part, weighing each word with intent. “No queen commands me.”
Still at ease, she combed her fingers through the youngest Blood’s hair. “What reputation?”
Settling enough to purr, he replied, “He has a reputation for wooing a queen long enough to kill her alpha.”
The queen shoved the younger Blood off her lap and leaped to her feet. Her eyes blazed with fury, her delicate jaw set with determination. Her power rose, filling the air with massive boulders, making it difficult to breathe. She didn’t even bleed, but her power was fucking immense.
Too immense, honestly. An avalanche of raw power that she apparently didn’t even realize she wielded. That kind of power would burn her out, crack open the foundations of the world, and destroy all she held dear if she didn’t learn to control it.
Triune-level power. My impulsive gesture of ultimate homage was entirely earned.
Warfare clamored in my mind. The whisper of drawn steel. Clanging swords. Neighing horses and pounding hooves. Screams of the dying. Rivers of blood. I had been called to serve another Triune queen.
Against another Triune queen.
