Page 36 of Queen Takes Blood
He’s close.
I felt him a mile or two away. Little fucker still wouldn’t answer me, even though I kept thumping on his bond, demanding he listen to me.
At fucking last, I crept out of the ring of trees around what I assumed to be the new half-human queen’s nest.
She’s fucking waiting for me.
Jerking to a halt, I stared back at the little group, fighting not to let my gaze lock onto Daire and fuck everyone else. The queen sat on the back of a warhorse while a cat almost as big wound around the horse’s legs. Alrik had always been a big alpha but fuck me, he was the size of a fucking mountain now. The queen’s blood had jacked him up to giant status.
There wasn’t a single doubt in my mind the cat was Daire. He’d always had a sassy, purring personality, just like I hoped I’d be a grizzly. If I ever…
If I ever swear to become a queen’s Blood. Of fucking course.
Stunned, I stood there a moment while the idea exploded in my mind like a nuclear detonation. Daire and Alrik had found a way out of House Skye.
And there’s no fucking reason I can’t take the same fucking route.
All I had to do was swear to this queen, who’d deliberately made her fucking nest in the middle of nowhere. That didn’t seem like something a hoity-toity queen would do.
I’d be close to Daire all the time. I’d see him anytime I wanted. I’d know he was alright. That’s all I really wanted in the end. And if Keisha Skye was fucking worried about this queen’s strength, then hell yeah. Sign me the fuck up. I’d make her even stronger.
If she’s willing to take me.
I straightened my shoulders and put a fucking lock on my tongue. “Your Majesty, I’m—”
“Ezra Skye,” she broke in before I could go through the formalities. “Let’s skip to the threats, yes?”
I fucking hate Skye,I snarled in my mind, trying my best to keep my face smooth. The smell of her blood was on the air, thick and sweet, a taunt I hadn’t expected. “I prefer Ezra Ursula Devana because Skye did me no favors. You’ve only got three Blood. Want another?”
Idiot. Too fast. Too rough. I clenched my jaws, fighting down the surge of cursing that wanted to bubble out of my mouth. Even Daire bristled and he fucking knew me. The real me.
Fucking hell. This’ll never work. I can’t pretend to be something I’m not for long.
“Sure,” the queen nodded. “But not you.”
Huh. I honestly didn’t expect her to reject me so quickly, especially when I was actually fucking trying to be civilized. “Why’s that?”
“You carry Keisha Skye’s blood.”
“So do they,” I retorted, jerking my head in Daire’s direction. “The cat can vouch for me.
Daire fucking hissed and turned his back on me.
“You little fucker,” I growled. “I need help. You’d turn your back on family?”
:You’re in danger, you idiot!:I roared through our bond, but I wasn’t sure that he heard me. He didn’t acknowledge our former connection at all.
And that fucking wrecked me. Not that I’d ever allow him to know.
“What help are you asking for?” She asked.
“You don’t know?” Some fucking queen if she didn’t understand how Aima courts worked. Not that I was much better, but at least I knew that a sib from one house wouldn’t reach out to another queen and offer himself as Blood without his queen’s permission. Not without a damned good reason.
The trees rustled but there wasn’t any hint of wind. I lifted my head, opening my ears, listening for anything amiss. I tried scenting the air but the queen’s blood was too overwhelming. Fuck me but she smelled fucking delicious. Why the fuck was she bleeding so much?
“No, I guess I don’t,” she replied.
“Skye.” I barely bit back the urge to hack a loogie on the ground. “She’s trying to force Devana to support her bid for the Triune, by using me, and indirectly Daire, as hostages.”
