“It’s up to you, but really not necessary. Angela is armed and is more than capable of dealing with anyone thinking to steal them.”
Dressed in a navy suit and elegant heels, Angela walked in with Nevarre, a large red-velvet case in one hand and a larger black case in her other. I glanced over her, trying to see where she’d hidden the gun, but it wasn’t obvious to my untrained eyes.
:She’s carrying a semi-automatic weapon in the small of her back in the waistband of her skirt.: Guillaume said.
:How do you know?:
His face didn’t move, but I felt him grin in the bond. :I can smell it.:
“If you’ll step behind the curtain, I’ll help you into the gown,” Alice offered. “The corset bodice can be difficult alone.”
“Gina, can you help too? That way you’ll know how to get me into it for dinner tonight.”
“Of course.”
We stepped behind the large dressing curtain and my mouth fell open. A huge selection of underthings were laid out on shelves. All varieties of panties, from thongs to full-coverage briefs. Dozens of different kinds of bras. Garters and stockings. The lower shelves contained glorious shoes of all types, from break-my-neck stilettos to dance-all-night flats.
Wow. I’d seen stuff like this advertised before, but had never really pictured myself wearing it. But yeah, I couldn’t wait to try some of these elegant things on. Even more, I couldn’t wait to see the guys’ reaction to seeing me in such finery. Though I’m sure they’d rather see me in nothing at all.
:You know it,: Rik rumbled.
Alice hung the gown reversed, so she could start loosening the ties. The bodice really was a corset, not just made to look like one. “This particular gown has plenty of support built into it, but a woman can’t have too many pretty things to wear.”
I could barely remember a time where I owned more than one bra at a time, and certainly never anything as fancy as these. Before I could change my mind, I said, “I’ll take them all.”
“Perfect,” Gina said. “That’s what I hoped you’d say.”
While Alice showed her the best way to loosen and tighten the corset, I stripped down to my skin and then pulled on a pair of barely-there white lace panties. Then they carefully dropped the skirt over my head and pulled the bodice down.
I watched in the mirror while they tightened the corset back up.
“She already has a lovely shape, so I wouldn’t recommend tightening it too much. Especially if she’s going to be eating or dancing at all. The boning is incredibly strong and will make it difficult to breathe.”
The corset was heavy and snug, but it felt really good. The midnight purple velvet made my eyes shine like jewels. The skirt fluttered about my legs, floating effortlessly about me.
“I have some light crinoline you can add underneath for more volume if desired.”
Even more volume? “Actually, yeah, I’d like to see what that looks like.”
“Of course. I’ll be right back.”
I twirled in the mirror, loving the way the color flowed from dark to light. Midnight Sonata was a beautiful name and suited the gown perfectly. The play of dark and light reminded me of midnight and moonlight, and I loved the way the colors bled together.
Alice stepped back in and helped me step into a crinoline slip that poofed out the dress even more, but was still light enough to twirl and sway gently when I moved. “Yes. I love it. What do you think, Gina?”
“Agreed. It’s perfect for this occasion. Beautiful and graceful, but not over the top. What do you recommend for shoes?”
Alice stepped closer to the wall, eying the lower shelves of heels and flats. “Is there going to be dancing?”
“I don’t believe so, but there’s a formal procession, so she’ll be on her feet for a while.”
“How well do you walk in heels?”
I grimaced. “I can do short distances, but I’ve never worn them much.”
“Then I recommend something like these.” She offered a pair of purple flats that truly looked like ballet slippers, complete with purple ribbons that would wrap around my ankles. “These are incredibly comfortable, and the unique style and color is sure to draw interest.”
I tried them on, and had to agree. The ties around my ankles were super cute, and the color matched the middle shade of purple perfectly.
Gina stepped back in with the red velvet case. “Now let’s add the jewels and you can twirl for the guys.”
When she popped it open, I gasped. I couldn’t help it. I’d never seen so many jewels in one place in my entire life. I didn’t even know what kind of stones they were. Dark purple, almost as dark as the bodice of the gown, several of them so large they didn’t even look real. Diamonds interlaced throughout the stones, adding to the sparkle.
I wasn’t the only one impressed. Alice’s eyes were as stunned as mine. She looked at the jewels and then me, a speculative look flickering across her face. She was wondering if I was famous. An actress, maybe, or some minor royal. I hoped we could trust her. Just because she designed fantastic gowns didn’t mean she wouldn’t secretly take a few pictures of me and sell them to a tabloid. If the Triune came asking for information….
“These have been in the Isador legacy for centuries.” Gina lifted the necklace from the case. “Just waiting for you to pick out a purple dress.”
The necklace was heavy and cold around my neck. Oh. My. Vanity. The jewels looked incredible. Maybe it was my imagination, but the stones seemed to catch the light and spin purple rays into the air around me. The diamonds glittered even more, sparkling like crazy. Attuned to my body, they seemed to glow with my magic simply because they touched my skin.
“Earrings,” Gina lifted them out. “Clip-on, since they’re so heavy.”
Wow, yeah, super heavy. They caught fire and glowed like purple stars beneath my hair. I tucked the long strands back to admire the earrings more.
“That’ll be next,” Gina said mysteriously. “Let’s go see what your men say.”
They already knew what I looked like in the dress. They liked it, a lot, if the bubbling volcano in our bonds was any indication.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped out from the behind the curtain.
Gathered in a ring before me, my Blood went down to their knees as one. “Your Majesty, Shara Isador. Long live our queen.”
RIK
I knew my queen was powerful, beautiful, sexy, confident, gracious, and kind to a fault—as long as you didn’t threaten someone she cared about.
But seeing evidence of her royalty…
It felt like Guillaume’s hell horse had kicked me in the chest with both rear hooves, while Daire had jerked the rug out from under me.
On my knees, I could only stare up at her, and praise every goddess who’d had a hand in creating her in this world, and allowing me to serve at her side.
Gina motioned to someone behind us—another sign of how shell shocked we were by our queen’s magnificence, that another approached without our knowledge. Luckily, it was several women who then swarmed upon Shara with brushes and clips and cosmetics.
“Not too much makeup,” Gina warned. “Emphasize her eyes and lips, but her face should look natural and flawless.”
“Her skin already glows,” one of the women said. “I’ve never seen anything quite like it.”
Because she had never seen a born Aima queen full of power.
They twisted and tucked Shara’s long hair into a loose pile of curls on top of her head that managed to look messy and completely natural, while baring her throat and letting the jewels sparkle.
“Now, the crown,” Gina said.
Shara’s head whipped around. “What crown?”
“You’re the queen of Isador. Of course there’s a crown. Several, in fact. But since you’re the last Isador queen, you’re entitled to wear Isis’s crown.”
Turning a large square case away from her, Angela opened it and Gina reached inside, pulling out a heavy golden crown w
ith sweeping horns holding a red disk in the center.
“I saw Her wearing that,” Shara whispered. “I can’t… I mean, it’s…” She swallowed, her eyes gleaming with unshed tears. “It’s Hers. I’m not…”
“She gave this to Her line,” Gina insisted, holding the crown reverently. “I brought the other crown She also wore, if you’d rather see it. It looks more like a throne. This one…” She hesitated, her eyes hardening, her mouth firming to a hard slant. “I know the red may clash, but it’s the sun. After his attack on you, I thought you’d want to wear the crown that shows the sun is Her glory. Not his.”
Ah, Shara liked that thought. Her chin tipped up and she nodded. Gina stepped behind her and carefully set the crown on her head, adjusting her hair so that the heavy gold was cushioned and balanced on her head.
She already glowed with power and beauty, a goddess incarnate.
But with that crown on her head…
I, Isis, am all that has been and is and shall be.
If I’d still been standing, I would have fallen to my knees. How could any man stand before such power? Daire took it one step more and stretched out on his stomach, neck straining to keep his eyes on her. Guillaume followed suit, and I remembered how he’d lain face down on the floor when he first saw her. Nevarre and Xin went next, easily, but Mehen and Ezra stared at each other a moment, daring the other to go first, and then both lowered to their stomachs at the same time, smoothly, as one.
She looked at me, her eyes wide, her mouth opening to tell me no, it wasn’t necessary to show such submission before her glory. Holding her gaze, I leaned forward, palms on the ground, and lowered myself slowly to the ground.
Her lips quivered. Shaken, as if she’d never really understood her power over us until this very moment, she lifted her arm and tore her wrist open.
Gina gasped. “Don’t get blood on the dress!”
Actually, I thought the dress would look better with her blood splashed down its front. I could see it perfectly: a sleek white gown that hugged her shape, with red dribbled and splashed down the bodice and skirt with our queen’s blood.
Our goddess’s blood.
She came to me first and offered her wrist. I rose enough to cradle her hand to my mouth, licking the blood from her skin.
A few drops hit the marble tile, and Daire scooted closer to lick the floor clean. At her shocked dismay, he started purring. :We can’t leave your blood in public like this. Thralls will tear down the walls of this building to taste even a drop. I certainly don’t mind. I’ll walk behind you and lick up every drop that hits the floor if you’d allow me:
I called Guillaume to her next, and the rest of her Blood one by one in the order they’d dropped to their bellies for her. Mehen and Ezra were last, and I was tempted to make them share her blood at the same time to teach them to get along.
Mehen managed to surprise me. He jerked his head at Ezra. “You go first.”
The big man didn’t wait for him to change his mind and dove in to lock his lips to our queen’s wrist.
Mehen noticed my arched brow and laughed a little sheepishly. “If I go last, I get to lick the wound shut. That’s worth letting the bear go next.”
:Fuck me,: Ezra muttered. :I never thought of that.:
“Um…” Alice swayed slightly, her face pale.
Shara looked at me, her eyes flaring. :I forgot humans were watching.:
“It’s a very old blood oath ceremony, where knights of old swore fealty to their queen,” Gina said briskly. “Could we see the rest of the wardrobe you’ve selected for her?”
The promise of more sales seemed to shake the woman out of her stupor. She turned to her associates and they scurried around to haul in several racks of clothes Shara offered her wrist to Mehen and he took several swallows before sealing the wound with a firm swipe of his tongue.
I pushed to my feet, but hesitated to touch her. A glowing aura of power hung around her, light spinning from the jewels and the crown, but especially her eyes. Adding her blood had only enhanced her otherworldly appearance. No mortal man lifted Isis’s veil or would dare to touch Her. I wasn’t human, but I wasn’t immortal either. Right now, she carried the kind of goddess-level power that would blast a man to kingdom come for even thinking about laying a finger on her magnificence.
Shara laid her hand on my forearm. Her fingers trembled, her bond achingly fragile. Not scared exactly, but overwhelmed by everything happening to her. She needed her rock. She needed me. So I closed my other hand over hers and stepped closer, offering my heat, strength, and protection. Always. And, most especially, my heart.
19
Shara
The rest of the trip to Mexico City passed too quickly for my nerves. It seemed like I blinked and we were all dressed in our new gorgeous clothes and back on the plane. Another blink, and we were in Mexico and changing to another car, this one a long black Hummer, thankfully air conditioned. I didn’t want the makeup sweating off of me before I even met Mayte.
I was going to meet another queen. My nerves were so jittery, I kept accidentally kicking Rik or Daire on either side of me. Even his non-stop purring against my side didn’t help.
“What if I screw this up?” I whispered to no one in particular. “If I forget her name? Or how to greet her? What am I supposed to say again?”
Gina reached across Daire and gave my knee a firm squeeze. “Honestly, it doesn’t matter. Be gracious and polite. She’s performing for you. She wants your aid.”
“But we don’t know that for sure.”
“We do,” Gina said firmly. “There’s no other reason for her to offer her nest to you. She wants your help. Desperately.”
“But what if I insult her accidentally?”
“As long as you don’t feed on one of her Blood without her permission, you won’t insult her.”
That made me shudder and press harder against Rik. He had his arm around my shoulders, so he pulled me in closer so I was practically on his lap, with Daire draped mostly on top of me. “I don’t want to feed on any of her people. That won’t be a problem.” Guillaume made a low noise, drawing my attention to him. “What?”
“Not to confuse the matter, or worsen your anxiety, but she may very well offer one of her court to you as a sign of good faith. If she offers one of her Blood, or one of her direct family, it would be an insult to refuse.”
My mouth hung open for a moment. “I’m not feeding on anyone but my Blood. Period.”
“But if she wants to swear to you, and you accept, you must taste her blood. She’ll offer formal throat to you.”
I swallowed hard, trying to settle my stomach. It felt like Nevarre’s raven crashed around deep in my stomach with all his friends. Deep down, I knew that I’d have to feed on her. I just hadn’t pictured exactly how that would work in my head. I had a feeling it wouldn’t be a few swallows, like when I’d given Gina some of my blood to bind her to me as my human servant.
“Before her entire court,” Mehen added, not so helpfully, because I groaned and buried my face in my hands. Rik growled at him. “What? It’s an honor that her court must witness. They need to see their queen on her knees before you. Her throat bared to you. How you take her will determine how they view you going forward. If you’re timid, they’ll assume you’re weak. If you treat her badly or roughly, they may be angry, but many of them will be afraid to cross you for fear of what you’d do to them. It’s a chance for you to teach them a lesson, without touching anyone but their queen.”
Guillaume grunted. “We Aima like to read significance into every little touch or gesture.”
“Which is why I’m so fucking scared I’m going to make a mistake.”
“You’re incapable of making a mistake,” Rik said firmly, giving my shoulders a good squeeze. He gave each Blood a firm glare for good measure. “Stay true to yourself and act as your heart directs you, and all will be well. Your goddess walks in you. She won’t allow you to make any mistakes.”
&nb
sp; We rode in silence for a few minutes and suddenly, I felt my first queen’s nearness. Or rather, her nest.
The air resonated, humming with energy. As we drove closer, the ringing echoed in my ears, making my fangs ache. It wasn’t unpleasant—but I had the sense that she could make it hurt very much if she wanted to. The car slowed and finally stopped. The air quivered with so much energy I knew exactly where the blood circle lay.
“We must walk into the nest,” Gina said. “Let’s see who she sent to greet us and bring us through. That’ll tell us a lot about how this meeting will go.”
With the car still running, someone approached and opened the car door on my right. Rik sent quick orders through the bond. :Mehen, then Guillaume, Nevarre, Daire, Ezra, Xin, stay visible. Don’t give them a reason to doubt our intentions. Form lines on either side of the road. We’ll walk to the boundary with our queen inside.:
Mehen met my gaze, his emerald eyes flashing with excitement. “Will you free my beast? In case I need to fly you out?”
:He makes a good point,: Rik admitted. :If you’re under attack, I’d rather you not have to stop and worry about freeing his dragon. I want him to shift and get you out as quickly as possible.:
I pulled back the shining leash of magic from Leviathan’s neck and Mehen shivered, his dragon bulging outward a moment with a shadow of wings and gleaming claws, before settling down into his body. “Don’t kill anyone. Unless, you know, we have to.”
He inclined his head with a sardonic wink as he climbed out of the car. “I’ll do my best. But no promises if the bear pisses me off.”
One by one, the rest of my Blood stepped out of the car. Gina gave my hand one last squeeze. “It’s going to be fine. We’re with you every step of the way.”
Then it was just Rik and me left in the car. He lifted my hand to his mouth and kissed my knuckles. “I’ll never allow anyone to harm you.”
“I know.” I took a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, and then slowly released it. “I’m not worried about me. I’m afraid I’ll offend someone, and we’ll be trapped inside.”
Queen Takes Queen Page 15
