“Vega might know,” Rik said. “As Skye’s alpha, she’s the most likely to know what was going on down here. Though she didn’t seem to know about Tanza, so who knows.”
For a moment, I felt another twinge of sympathy for the dead queen. I couldn’t imagine having a secret as massive as a daughter, whom I’d told everyone decades ago had died, hidden in the basement…
While my alpha knew nothing about it.
I couldn’t imagine keeping a secret like that from Rik. Even if I wanted to, and I didn’t, I didn’t think it would be possible. Our bonds were too deep. We’d shared too much blood to keep that kind of secret. That bond had allowed me to save him when he’d sacrificed himself to protect me.
For all of Keisha’s power and her many sibs living in this tower, she must have been very alone. In the end, she’d had no one but Tanza.
“Will you resurrect him?” Rik asked.
He didn’t ask if I could—but if I would.
My power was great enough that I could resurrect a long-lost god. That was a stomach-turning realization. The immense responsibility weighed like a crushing boulder on my heart. If I made a mistake, it wouldn’t hurt only me, but my nine Blood. No, my ten Blood. Llewellyn might have been my mother’s alpha, but he’d taken my blood. He was mine now, whether I wanted him or not.
What if I resurrected this mummy, only to discover that was exactly Ra’s plan all along?
“My queen,” Tlacel said, drawing my attention to him. “I would recommend against resurrecting Huitzilopochtli unless your need is great. What I saw…”
A shudder rocked his shoulders at the memory of what we’d seen on the other side of the portal. I’d mostly been concentrating on Xochitl so I could grab her and pull her back to our world, but I remembered people waiting below us. They’d looked strange, and it made me remember the bits I’d picked up from his brother’s bond. Itztli had said there had been a Blood descended from the Flayed God who liked to strip people’s skin off whole and give it to his queen to wear.
Those “people” waiting to catch us as we fell out of the sky had looked more like empty skins rather than whole bodies. Rays of golden light had glowed where their eyes and mouths should have been.
“It was nothing for hundreds of sacrifices to be made to him during a single festival,” Tlacel continued. “He was the patron god of Tenochtitlan, war, and the sun. The steps of the Templo Mayor dripped red with blood on his holy days. And that was before Ra corrupted him.”
“This is too risky to rush into a decision,” I finally said. Absently, I touched the glistening red snake embedded in my skin. Its head lay over my right breast and the rest of its body curled around my neck. “When I saw Coatlicue on Snake Mountain, She asked me to kill Ra so She could be reunited with her son. Huitzilopochtli will be key to our showdown with Ra, but I don’t know how yet. If I bring him back too soon…” I shook my head. “I know where he is. I wish we knew why or how Keisha Skye kept him locked in her basement. Was he a gift from Ra? Or was she imprisoning him to spite Ra?”
Guillaume grunted sourly. “The only way to know for sure is to wake up the bastard and ask him.”
I turned to Llewellyn. He’d been imprisoned by Keisha too. His eyes had been gouged out, his head covered in a leather hood, and his body bound in chains so heavy that he could barely walk. “Do you know anything about other prisoners Keisha might have?”
He gazed back at me steadily with dark eyes that glittered occasionally, as if a spark flew past a dark window. I’d healed his eyes and restored his power, but I really knew very little about him, other than he’d been my mother’s alpha.
Oh, and the fact that he’d willingly allowed himself to be imprisoned and tortured by her enemy for twenty years so that he’d be in place when I needed him. That told me a great deal about his loyalty and honor.
“Unfortunately, no, my queen. I was kept away from this level and knew nothing about the child or this cell. Though I know a great deal about what went on above stairs.”
I nodded and turned to leave the cell. I wasn’t sure how I felt about him yet. He’d been in the tapestry that I used to check whether an Aima was meant to be my Blood or not. I didn’t doubt my decision to give him my blood, and I certainly never would have left him trapped and crippled by Skye’s people. But was he really supposed to be my Blood? Or would he always be my mother’s? Did it matter? “We should sit down tomorrow and go over everything you can think of.”
“It will be my pleasure, my queen.”
I waited until all my Blood filed out and turned my attention to the door. “Do you think we need to set a guard? Or find a way to put these chains back in place?”
Something rustled up above us. Guillaume’s blade glinted. Rik tightened his grip on me, ready to shove me behind him or sweep me up into his arms. Xin and Itztli both crouched with vicious snarls.
Little eyes flashed in the vent near the ceiling. It was askew enough that a small rodent pushed through and scurried down the wall.
Mehen growled. “I fucking hate rats. I ate way too many while I was imprisoned. They taste like shit. Literally.”
An idea sparked as I watched the rat come closer. It ran along a faint ledge in the stonework and then sat, facing me, as if awaiting its orders.
“Are rats considered creatures of the dark?”
“Sure,” Mehen replied. “That’s why they could cross over to my prison lair. Bats, crows, snakes, spiders. Anything humans are normally frightened of, and for good reason.”
Maybe that was why the crow had wanted a strand of my hair to line her nest. I’d assumed she was friendly because of Nevarre’s raven, but maybe she’d responded to my father’s power instead. “Anyone speak rat?”
“Fuck, no. I ate them. I didn’t talk to them. Well, I talked, but they never replied back.” Mehen grimaced, shaking his head. “I got a little crazy toward the end. I would have talked to anything or anyone just to not hear the intolerable silence any longer.”
My grouchy dragon needed lots of affection and companionship after his long imprisonment. His pain wouldn’t be wiped away in a matter of days or weeks, no matter how much I loved him.
His eyes flared and he swallowed hard. He’d heard my thoughts, though I hadn’t meant to broadcast so loudly to him, or any of the Blood, not deliberately. Another side effect of our deep bonds, and one that I fully embraced, even if it accidentally exposed my deepest, most secret thoughts. Mehen didn’t say another word, but he stepped closer and put his palm on the small of my back.
I turned my attention back to the rat. “Do you understand me?”
It squeaked and nodded, whiskers working with excitement. She. I was sure of it. Even with the hallway light on, I could feel the flows of dark power around me. Those streamers carried a sense of what they flowed past, everything from a mummy locked in this cell to a rat eager to serve a queen who understood and would value her services.
“Can you watch this cell and alert me if anyone tries to enter or leave the room?”
She nodded and squeaked again, a complicated response in rat speak that I couldn’t follow. I listened to the dark power, trying to gain a sense of what she said, but all it told me was her intent. She wanted to serve me. Her excitement flavored the power like a punch of spice despite her diminutive size. She looked at me, her nose twitching, and I felt a sense of waiting from her. Hope. Expectation.
Of course. She wanted some kind of payment, or at least an exchange. The raven had wanted a strand of my hair. I wasn’t sure what offering the rat would want, but I figured my blood was the universal currency. She would gain power from my blood, and it would give her a bond to me. Though I couldn’t see myself tasting her blood so I could understand what she was saying.
I held my index finger out to her. She shivered, her whiskers working rapidly. Her eyes closed, and I was afraid I’d made a mistake. Perhaps I’d insulted her with an offer of blood. Rats weren’t vampiric in nature.
But then she grasp
ed my finger in her little paws and rubbed her face against the tip of my finger. Relieved I hadn’t insulted her, I stroked the top of her head with my finger.
She turned her head slightly and bit the tip of my finger. She had sharp little teeth that had no problems puncturing my skin. She lapped delicately at the wound and then released me. I stroked my fingers down her back, enjoying the softness of her fur. “Thank you for helping me.”
She squeaked and scurried back up to the vent, taking up position in the darkness there.
As we walked back down the hallway toward the elevator, Mehen snagged my hand and scowled at my injured finger. It was only a little bite and I didn’t think we could carry infections, at least not like humans.
He finally grunted. “I almost regret eating so many of her kind.” Then he swiped his tongue over the wound and took the tip of my finger into his mouth so he could suck. Thoroughly.
I didn’t try to hold back the low moan of approval that made his eyes glint like faceted emeralds.
“I had to make sure the wound was clean.”
“Yeah, sure,” Rik growled without any real heat. “I think you were just thirsting for some rat spit.”
For once, Mehen actually laughed. “I’d drink rat piss if my queen’s blood was mixed into it.”
I shuddered at the thought, but the rest of my Blood said, “Agreed.”
3
Shara
When the elevator doors opened, Gina stood waiting for me with a no-nonsense look that told me we wouldn’t be leaving Skye Tower for the evening anytime soon.
“We have a situation.”
Sighing, I nodded but didn’t ask Rik to put me down. If I had to do some queen-level shit, I was going to conserve my energy as much as possible.
“Rosalind Valois has reached out to me and indicated that she will take over House Skye since she was Keisha’s sib.”
“Like hell she will.”
“She could take the issue to the Triune, though I think that was a bluff on her part. Her sib relationship with Keisha was weakly defined, to my understanding, at least. They both put forward the claim that the other queen was subordinate, but naturally, that’s impossible in a true sib relationship.”
My lips quirked as a thought came to me. “Tell her if she’d like to push the sib relationship, she’s welcome to come to House Isador and accept me as her queen. I’d be thrilled to make her my sib in Keisha’s place, since she’s no longer with us.”
Gina laughed. “Now that will be a pleasure to tell her. We do want to be sure and put forward a strong, united front. That means you need a fairly strong sib established here as quickly as possible to hold the territory for you.”
“Do you have a few candidates?”
She nodded. “I’ve interviewed all the queen sibs that remained after Keisha’s demise. Most are fairly weak as far as I can tell, though you’ll be a much better judge of their strength. There are a few that have the power and stature that I’d like you to meet and evaluate yourself.”
“Will I be able to tell how strong they are? Even before I take their blood?”
Gina nodded. “It takes a little experience, but for me, it’s like a weight in the air. A weak queen is like a grain of sand. Annoying, and it might sting a little if the wind blows hard enough, but ultimately, not dangerous. Others are more like pebbles or slightly larger stones. Truly strong queens can make it difficult to breathe if they wish. It’s like they clog the air with their power, making it unbreathable for mortals.”
“I don’t do that, do I?”
She smiled and patted my arm. “Not deliberately.”
Guillaume grunted beneath his breath. “You’re strong enough to make the air weigh like a solid wall of concrete and granite if you wished.”
Another facet of my power of which I’d been completely oblivious. “When I’m making it hard for you to breathe, I want you to tell me. That way I can be more conscious of what I’m doing and broadcasting. I don’t want other queens to know how strong I am, unless it’s deliberate.”
Gina inclined her head. “Of course, my queen. That’s a smart strategy.”
“Should I select a sib before we leave for the night?”
She nodded apologetically. “That would be best, if you can manage it. That way she can be hard at work for you while you rest. Plus, taking a formal sib will give you even more power to draw from, so you can spare your own reserves more.”
I grimaced, but nodded. “I was thinking fondly of bed and Blood but I suppose I can wait a bit longer. I wish I had some clean clothes that weren’t quite so ostentatious. This dress served its purpose, but the lace is scratchy as hell.”
“Winston is waiting in a private room with some clothes you can choose from.”
“Thank the goddess. Bless you both.”
Stationed in a small room off the formal presentation hall, Winston had brought me several less-formal dresses, a couple of pant suits, and yes, even jeans to choose from. Of course, I chose the latter along with a soft, fluffy sweater. The hell with formalities. If I had to sit through sib interviews, then by goddess, I’d be comfortable. But maybe I wouldn’t have to spend much time on this…
I tugged on Llewellyn’s bond and he immediately stepped inside with me, Rik, and Nevarre. “My queen.”
The scent of his blood made my fangs throb and descend. I hadn’t intended to ask him to feed me, but now that I smelled his blood, that was all I could think about. He held out his bleeding wrist, a tidy cut, rather than punctures or tears, telling me it was likely Guillaume’s handiwork.
“Are you sure?”
Llewellyn’s eyes flared and the sparks tumbling through his dark eyes quickened like a meteor shower. “Forgive me, my queen, if you doubted my determination to serve you in any way you wish. I would have gladly fed you earlier once I was freed, but you had other more pressing needs to address.”
“It’s just… Um…”
He looked to Rik, his brow furrowed. “Is there a problem, alpha?”
Rik’s lips quirked. “Our queen revels in her Blood in all ways.”
Llewellyn nodded, his brow still creased. “If I understand, that’s far from a problem. I’m eager to serve again. The promise of an Isador queen’s return was the only thing that kept me from embracing the darkness and turning thrall so I could slaughter at will.”
“You were her mother’s Blood. Even more, you were her alpha.”
“Ah.” Llewellyn met my gaze. “What would you like to know about her, my queen?”
A thousand questions fluttered in my mind. I wanted to know everything about my mother. How long had she tried to have me? When had she first decided to set her plan in motion? When had she gone to my father? But the most important question at the moment… “If you were hers… I don’t know how I’d feel if you were mine, too.”
His eyes widened again, and he looked back to Rik for help. “But I’m already yours, my queen. I’ve had your blood.”
“She means in bed.”
“You don’t want to fuck me because I fucked your mother?”
Now it was my turn to blink as he slowly came toward me, his eyes spinning like endless falling stars.
“What if I told you I fucked your aunt too? But I’ve never fucked anyone else, because I can only fuck Isador queens. It’s encoded in the blood that pumps in my veins. I’ve never lain with any woman who wasn’t an Isador queen, and I won’t. Ever. I can’t.”
He stopped in front of me, too close to be polite, but not touching me.
“Keisha and her Blood wanted to use me. They tried everything they could think of to arouse me, but gryphons mate for life, and I’m mated to House Isador. Keisha had to settle for having her males fuck me a few times, but they quickly tired of such sport when they couldn’t arouse even my fear, let alone my desire.”
He lifted his bleeding wrist, but only to tuck a strand of my hair back from my cheek. “Male gryphons have always been rare. We’re bred to serve any of the female
s in the family. I understand if that offends you, my queen. I will still gladly serve in any way you wish, though I will regret never touching an Isador queen again.”
My brain was still floundering at the thought of him fucking Mom—the woman who’d raised me—as well as the woman who’d birthed me, but I couldn’t deny the appeal of his blood. My hunger raged, all too eager to taste him. Even if he’d gone to my mother and aunt too. I cupped his wrist and drew the wound to my mouth. He watched me with those falling star eyes as I tasted his blood.
The rush of feathers and wings swept through me. He smelled more like Daire than Nevarre. Cat. Or, rather, lion, in this case. He bent down, folding himself around me despite his towering height. He didn’t have Rik’s bulk, but topped him by several inches. I’d never met anyone so tall. His blood tasted like fiery sparks, his rage a blazing fire that would never be banked. He would have gleefully torn apart every single Skye sib, tossing bloody chunks out the high-rise windows until the streets of New York City were littered with the dead.
My fangs ached, and I had to concentrate on not sinking them deeply into his wrist. There was no need to bite him, other than my hunger’s desire to claim him as mine. Make him remember the feel of Isador fangs.
:She could make me come just thinking about her fangs,: he whispered in my mind. :I can only hope and pray that the Great One saw fit to pass that gift on to you as well, my queen.:
In answer, I sank my fangs into him. He shuddered against me, and in our new bond, his gryphon shrieked. Pleasure surged through him, sweeping me along like a tiny stick in a ravaging flood. He hadn’t come in well over twenty years. Resisting that soaring release was impossible. I clung to him as we both shuddered, and I drank from him through every spasm.
Panting, he clutched me against his chest and kept his wrist pressed to my mouth much longer than I probably should have fed. He’d been tortured and denied for decades. He’d probably need me to feed him more often over the next few weeks, especially if I kept him drained like this.
Queen Takes Checkmate (Their Vampire Queen Book 5) Page 3
