Page 46 of A Game of Queens
I loved all things monstrous. The uglier—and deadlier—the better. He was far from ugly, even by human standards. Tall and proud, with wide shoulders and thick, tree-trunk thighs, he could have served in any queen’s court. After lying in sleep so long, I had no sense of time, but I sensed weight to his presence. As if he was quite old, even for Aima. Certainly nowhere near as old as me, but he had seen plenty of centuries in his lifetime.
Yet he had never served a queen’s line before. With my venom burning in his veins, he had no secrets from me, even if he’d deliberately tried to hide. Though he was much too proud and honorable to even think of holding anything back from me. No queen of his own. Endless despair. Even among his kind, he had always been alone.
An island, lost in a dark ocean far from shore. Like the twins, he had given up all hope of ever serving as Blood. Of ever truly belonging anywhere other than the battlefield. He’d served in every major conflict on this earth since the Fall of Rome. Centuries of battle. Not surprising, given his line. I tasted the blood of Bellona, the goddess of war, in his veins.
“I’m no ordinary queen,” I whispered softly, watching his face and listening to his innermost thoughts.
“I’m unworthy to serve, Great One.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “Isis, She Who Is and Was and Always Will Be, is my sister in service to Gaia. Have you forgotten Hekate after so long?”
“Never. Forgive me, Mother of Venom, but I didn’t know goddesses were still walking the earth in flesh. I thought we had lost all the Daughters of Gaia ages ago.”
“You may call me Hekate. I’ve never cared for rigid rituals and formalities wrapped up in titles and pomp.” I couldn’t help but laugh again at the look of abject horror on his face at the thought of calling me by name. “Come now, Quintus. Surely youdon’t expect to call me Goddess, Daughter of Gaia, Mother of Venom, while you’re inside me?”
5
QUINTUS
Igulped. Aghast. And yet…
I had the taste of her venom in my mouth.
I had tasted a goddess.
I had drunk from the source of life, only one step removed from Mother Earth Herself. Something I had never even dreamed of. No Aima warrior had for generations. We Aima were now so far removed from the Mother that our queens couldn’t even conceive heirs any longer. We were a dying breed. The world had no use for us other than killing.
Evidently this goddess still had use for me.
I had died in her arms, but I still remembered her words. She wished to sire an heir this very night.
A goddess wanted me to give her a queen.
My cock wasn’t the only thing standing at attention. Every hair on my body quivered at the power streaming from her. The air was thick and heavy with her magic. The twins she’d called curled around her, still in their new two-headed form, but the other snakes and scorpions had withdrawn.
Too many emotions crashed through me. Exultation that I’d finally been called to be Blood, to a goddess no less. Terror thatI’d fail to meet such esteemed expectations. Awe for the beast into which I could now shift. Incredible strength hummed in my veins, vicious joy at the thought of chopping enemies with my massive pinchers or stabbing them with my tail so I could watch them die slow, agonizing deaths.
But most of all, desperate thirst. I burned for more. More of my queen-goddess’s blood. Or venom. Better yet, both. It wouldn’t kill me this time, and I craved that bitter, exquisite sensation of poison flowing through my senses.
It was all I could do not to shove my way through the coils of her basilisks to make room between her thighs so I could feast at will. Panting, I dragged my gaze away, forcing myself to focus on our surroundings.
We were in some kind of chamber that looked like it’d been carved out of obsidian. The walls glittered, reflecting the soft glow of dangling strands of lights. I could feel the sheer weight of tons of earth above us, but it was surprisingly bright in this underground chamber, providing me plenty of light to look upon the goddess who’d called me.
In her presence, I couldn’t not gaze upon her. Every cell in my body resonated with awareness of her, burning to please her. Protect her. Aid her in anything she wished. Though what use could a goddess have for an old Roman soldier?
She stared back at me, her eyes dark, bottomless pits. Her body was lush and rounded with full hips and glorious breasts, but she was far from soft. I remembered the feel of her beneath my lips and hands. She didn’t have skin. Not exactly. She didn’t have a flesh-and-bone body. I’d seen her snake-fingers feeding on the twins.
She was goddess incarnate. She could probably make a child out of thin air and moonlight. She didn’t need mundane cum and sweat to make her heir.
Letting out a throaty sigh that made my heart pound, she reclined backward on her basilisks. “Oh, but I do, dear one. I want the cum and sweat very much indeed. Though I could certainly spark a queen from moonlight, it’s not nearly as pleasurable as having a man inside me.”
In a heartbeat, I was on top of her, though I didn’t remember taking a step. Her scent drove me mad. Earthy musk mixed with the scent of pure moonlit magic. Sparkling and yet heavy and warm, going straight to my head as if I’d guzzled an entire keg of ambrosia.
Barely, I had just enough sense to try and pull back a moment. No woman wanted a man to just fall on her and fuck her before making sure she was thoroughly pleasured first. Let alone a queen.
Very much the goddess of snakes, she wound around me, drawing me closer like the ceaseless tide. I had a moment of clarity, my gaze locked to hers, and then I was falling into her eyes, tumbling head over heels. Flying ever faster. I sank to the hilt inside her and shuddered, fighting the instantaneous surge of crazed lust. A goddess. I had to remember. To honor her. Not rut like a mindless beast.
Still falling into her black, shining eyes, I gasped and shuddered again. I’d never had an issue with controlling myself before. But then I’d never fucked a goddess either.
