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Not hope that I would save him.
Hope he could help me before the end.
I remembered looking at Mom’s horrified eyes in her dead corpse. The knowledge and awareness of her soul trapped in a dead, decaying body. The horror of feeling death wrapped around her spirit, holding her captive, forcing her painstakingly to me on foot, mile by mile, while her corpse literally fell apart.
How much worse would it have been if her body had still been alive even as it rotted around her? Nerve endings still carrying messages of urgent pain to the brain. Failing organs still trying to work. Starved, wasting muscles forced to move. Bones crumbling even while carrying his weight.
So much fucking pain.
Yet his only thought was to serve Isador even while his body rotted around him.
One last time.
“I have to try,” I said softly.
Guillaume dropped to one knee beside me, gently taking my left hand in both of his. “Shara.”
I met his gaze, knowing what he would say, but I would hear it. Even when it wounded me.
“She knows exactly how best to twist the knife in your heart. She knows how much you must miss your mother. How a lost, young queen would cling to anything containing even a hint of her dear mother she’d never been allowed to know. I can see no greater trap to bring Shara fucking Isador down than deliberately manipulating the tenderness of your magnificent heart.”
“I know.” Tears spilled from my eyes. I gave him a tremulous smile, squeezing his hand. “But I like knowing I’m the kind of queen who’d burn down the world to save someone she loves. Even if I die in the process.”
Bowing his head, he lifted my hand to his mouth and kissed my knuckles. “Then I’m eager to burn with you, Your Majesty.”
“Magnum, if you’re concerned for your safety, go into the room where I was born and lock the door. I’ll be there within the hour.”
Keeping our clasped hands off screen, I curled my thumb against my palm and pierced my skin. Power swelled inside me as I looked at Thierry. Even on the small screen, the taint of death billowed around him. Something black seemed to crawl beneath his skin that only my power could sense. Worms? Some kind of bug?
I clenched my teeth, steeling my nerves and focusing my intent. “Thierry Isador, you will harm no one in my house, or Llewellyn will seal your fate as soon as we arrive.”
Thierry dropped to his knees, head bowed, his arms curled around himself. His shoulders heaved with ragged, groaning sobs.
I looked up at Winston. “Hang up, please.”
I waited while he tucked the phone away. Then he pulled out a handkerchief and lightly dabbed at his eyes. “How can we help, Your Majesty?”
“Does Frank have a security team at the house?”
Nodding with a wry smile, Gina held her phone up. “I got an immediate text from Frank that we had an intruder. I told them to hold while I discuss with you.”
“Good. I’d like to minimize the human casualties if Thierry loses control, so tell them to head over to the tower. Call Gwen and Kevin and let them know we’re coming to the city but don’t tell them the specifics of our visit. Only it’s urgent and discretion is required. We’ll probably need a couple of cars to get everyone to the house.”
Gina immediately stepped into the other room, phone to her ear. Closing my eyes, I touched my Blood bonds, feeling where everyone was. Sekh, Ezra, and Xin were all in the woods outside of the nest, each alone, already returning as quickly as possible. Mehen and Vivian were in the sky, slowly circling the nest. Everyone else had drawn closer to me in case I had an order for them.
I opened my eyes and Winston offered me a steaming cup of tea. With a grateful smile, I took the cup. “Thank you so much for always knowing exactly what I need. Do you still have that gun?”
My dapper British butler gave me a sinister smile. “I do indeed, Your Majesty.”
23
RIK
I don’t fucking like it. Not one fucking bit.
But I didn’t say a word as my queen prepared to spring the Dauphine’s trap. Because that’s exactly what it had to be.
A fucking death trap.
