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Basilia’s eyes seemed to glow eerie green in the bioluminescence. “To pass judgment, you only need a quorum.”
“Judgment for what, exactly?” I asked slowly.
She shrugged. “Ask Undina. It’s her quorum. She called us to the table.”
“I will compel you.” Undina’s voice rolled with the power of the stormy sea. “The Speaker has the power.”
“You can try,” Basilia replied with a shrug. “Though I don’t think you’re strong enough, even united with Kijin.”
“Your blood circle is first because you’re the weakest,” Undina retorted.
“Not any longer.” A small smile curved Basilia’s lips. “Much can change over the span of decades. For instance, look at how much power Shara’s gained, and so very quickly. It’s quite impressive. But that’s exactly why we’re here, is it not?”
After hundreds of years, who knew what new power Basilia may have inherited from a dead queen’s legacy? A new Blood?
She certainly had more Blood than the other two queens from what I’d seen. Maybe she’d gained so much power she could claim Undina’s place as Speaker. Though that would require Basilia to take her seat first so her blood could be measured.
My head throbbed with pressure, my bones vibrating with urgency. Time was running out.
I need to change the game. Make my play. Before it’s too late.
:Shara,: Sekh growled, his bond thundering with his sphinx’s roar. :I can break the circles.:
:Not yet. I have an idea.:
Basilia didn’t want to take her seat.
Fine.
Gathering my courage, I took a deep breath, threw myself toward the table.
And dropped into the vacant Skolos seat.
50
SHARA
I couldn’t say the words out loud, but I’d already made my offering at the door.
The blob swallowed me whole. It didn’t care that I wasn’t Skolos. Only that I offered my blood to the table. I didn’t feel a prick to draw my blood—but my hand still bled. It felt like slow motion as I pressed my palms to the table, forcing my arms to move through the cold substance around me. It truly did feel like being inside a jellyfish, floating in gelatin.
As soon as my palm pressed to the gleaming surface, I felt a hard, sinking dip in my energy. Like when I’d first given Sekh blood, a massive faucet turned on somewhere, only instead of filling a massive tub, it started to empty.
Out of me.
I reached for my bonds, wanting the comfort of Rik’s steady presence. My rock.
But my bonds were gone.
There was only me. Pouring into the Skolos table like a monsoon.
So much blood.
All my blood.
My awareness of my body faded. I didn’t feel cold any longer. I couldn’t feel the strange, tacky sensation on my skin as the blob shifted around me. But I could feel the other two queens at the table. No, it was more than that.
They were me. I was them.
