Page 56 of Queen Takes Blood
For her. I didn’t even know all that she intended to do, not fully. Only that she planned to sacrifice everything. Her power. Her very life. So she could have a daughter. An Isador heir. The one thing I had failed to give her.
Finally, the last Blood left her side. My second-in-command, Thierry hesitated at the door, gripped my arm briefly, his eyes grim, and then left me alone with her.
Turning her head toward me, she wrecked me with a single look. Agony pooled in her gleaming midnight eyes but she didn’t weep. Not this queen.
I fell on my knees beside her and buried my face in her lap. She stroked her fingers over my head and face, lightly brushing her fingertips over my eyes and lips, the pulse hammering in my throat.
“I made arrangements for each of them with clear instructions. Not one of my beloved will turn thrall once I’m gone.”
When a queen died unexpectedly, her Blood often went insane without her and turned to killing and feeding on humans. Thralls were the movie vampires that humans feared, twisted creatures bent on killing, desperate to find a queen.
I lifted my head, locking my furious, anguished gaze with hers. “What would you have your alpha do, my beloved queen?”
She gave me a sad, twisted smile. “You’ll hate me before this is over.”
“No. I hateher, this daughter you’re determined to have. This daughter who’ll kill you.”
“Oh, Lew, don’t think that way. She’s not killing me. She doesn’t even exist yet. I’m gladly sacrificing my life so that she might live.”
I still didn’t understand. Why would she be so willing to destroy the house she’d worked to strengthen for centuries and abandon us after we’d dedicated our lives to her? Only to give it all up and walk away. “But why? Why must we loseyouforher?”
She turned her head slightly, her gaze on some future I couldn’t see, even with my eyes that could record everything I saw like a modern-day video recorder.
“I had a vision, a dream from Isis. She showed me two paths. Not just two ways that I might have a daughter of my own, but also what my child would be able to accomplish. On one path, I would see her born and raise her myself. House Isador would continue as we always have. Our queendom slowly diminishing, not in wealth, but in blood. She—we—would have a wonderful life, though all Aima houses would continue the slow decline into oblivion.”
“And the other path?”
“She would take not only House Isador, but also the Triune. She would rule the world, strengthened by immense power made possible by the greatest sacrifice a mother can make for her daughter. House Isador would soar in prominence, and she’d bring strong, vibrant Aima blood back to the world. We would have an immense impact on the future for generations to come, rather than slowly withering into nothing.”
Goddess. To hear her say it aloud turned my heart into stone-cold iron. “So you chose fame over us.” Overme.
Turning back to me, she stared without a word though her chin rose slightly. Absolutely nothing slipped through her bond. Not a single flicker of emotion or command, even though she could have ordered me to cease breathing, slit my own throat, or run on foot all the way to Rome stark naked and throw myself at Marne Ceresa’s feet.
But I knew my queen better than anyone, and the flash of sapphire blue lightening her dark eyes betrayed her hurt. I bowed my head. “Forgive me, my queen.”
Lightly, her fingers stroked over my hair. “A queen must make hard choices for the house and the future of the world. Would I rather live in happiness with my beloved Blood and my daughter? Of course. You know my heart, Lew. The cost is high. So terribly high. But that’s what makes this sacrifice all the greater. That’s what will power my intention and magic into the life of my daughter. She’ll be a force to be reckoned with. Even the Triune will tremble as she rises. And yes, it’s with immense pride and joy that I know my sacrifice makes this possible. Not just for us, for House Isador, but for the Great One who will walk on this earth once more through Her chosen avatar.”
She tipped my face back up to hers, and the power gleaming in her eyes clutched my heart in razor talons.
“You know the plan I have set forth, Llewellyn Isador. But if you’d rather have peace, I will give it to you. You will never suffer what lies ahead, but neither will you live to serve another Isador queen.”
A coward’s way out. If she could live with this pain—and die with grace to fulfill her goddess’ plans—then I could do no less. “I will always serve House Isador. I am ready and willing to carry out my queen’s bidding, no matter what it is.”
Her shining eyes softened, letting me see how much my words both pleased—and wrecked—her. “Then this message is for my daughter, Shara Isador, the daughter yet to come. The Great One has dreamed of you for millennia. She has great hopes and plans for you, sweet child. She has waited with perfect patience for the right time and queen willing to sacrifice everything in order to give you life. For the right queen to give you shelter away from the courts so that you can determine your own path free of the rigid traditions Aima hold so dear. The very same traditions that have crippled us.
“Don’t be afraid to break free of these traditions, Daughter. Isis wants you to tear down the walls and rebuild the courts in Her image. Inyourimage. For Isis walks and breathes in you. Long live the greatest Aima queen yet to come and ever to be, Shara Isador.”
Hoarsely, I replied, “Long live House Isador.”
Her serene queenly mask slipped enough that she clutched my face in her hands and pressed her forehead to mine. “I can’t see how long you must wait for her to free you. I only know that shewillcome. Skye Tower must fall, and you’ll be instrumental in her success from that moment forward.” Her breath caught in her throat, a soft sigh of pain and regret that for any other woman would have been a wail of agony. “The cost, Lew. I wish that I could spare you what is to come.”
“I will pay any cost, my very life, to see your dreams achieved. Even if I’m the last Blood standing, House Skye will beg for mercy when Isador is done with them.”
Even her hair clung to me. Thick silken tresses slipped over her shoulder to caress my neck and tickle my face. Closing my eyes, I breathed in deeply, holding her scent inside me. Etching her in my soul. Red sandalwood and dragon’s blood incense sprinkled with blue lotus petals. Blowing desert sands, a secret oasis glistening beneath a full moon in the shadow of a pyramid.
Letting out a shuddering breath, I gave her everything that burned in my gryphon. Pride, strength, rage, regret, hunger, and most of all, my love. “Use me as you see fit, my queen. What would you have me do?”
Her eyes flashed to clear, sharp blue, a midnight sky torn open with lightning that didn’t fade. “I ask that you go to House Skye and offer yourself to Keisha. Do whatever is necessary to convince her to take you. Endure whatever torture and pain she commits for the sake of House Isador’s future heir and queen. Watch and wait for her. Be my daughter’s eyes in the darkness and help her topple Skye Tower once and for all.”
