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I could bend him to my will.
I quickly disregarded the thought. He hated queens so much he’d left Karmen and his newly freed sister with only three Blood to protect them against the might of Heliopolis. Every moment of his forced service to me would be misery—for us both. I’d met him several times and never felt a single pull of attraction.
I wouldn’t love him. I wouldn’t even come to care for him.
He’d be a thorn in my side, constantly chafing at the bond he’d feared all his life. I refused to be those chains he hated.
I turned away, scanning the horizons stretching in all directions. No random red fires caught my attention. No Aima charged toward me, eager and ready to swear their blood to me. If I’d dreamed the last few nights, they weren’t based in power. I hadn’t felt any special tugs, like Okeanos trapped in Marne’s koi pond. Or Leviathan, my mighty dragon imprisoned in a mountain.
If I had unclaimed Blood out in the world, I needed to Call them to my side.
I gathered my power, spreading my arms wide, but something made me hesitate. My nape prickled, a sense of unease crawling down my spine. I had no idea who might be watching for a blaze of power. The last thing I wanted was to alert the Dauphine or Marne Ceresa that I was calling more Blood. If Esetta had truly sent some of her Blood to their houses, how would they manage to escape? They’d taken on new bonds to new queens. If I tried to pull them away, they might end up dead simply to prevent me from having them.
Instead of blasting a Call out into the world, I cupped my hands and lifted them to my mouth. I focused all my intent, my will and growing need, into a small energy sphere between my palms.
Blood that I’ll love.
Blood who need me as much as I need them.
Powerful. Protective. Dedicated. To me alone.
All their love. All their blood. Mine to take. So I might give them mine in exchange.
The ball pulsed with molten moonlight, gleaming like a captured star. Too bright, I decided. I bit my lip, adding drops of blood to the spinning sphere, darkening it to deep, blood red. Deeper yet, threads of darkness and shadow blotting the light.
Blood who are as comfortable in the dark as me. Creatures of darkness and night. Monsters and nightmares.
Your queen Calls. Come to House Isador.
Then I blew a kiss onto the ball and sent it spinning away. Heart pounding, I watched it hover a moment and then it exploded. Dark comets streaked in a multitude of directions, quickly disappearing.
Fucking hell. How many Blood did I just call?
4
SHARA
I must have put more energy into the Call than I’d thought because I woke up hours later in bed. Or maybe I was just that tired again. When I’d first come into my power, I’d had a hard time staying awake any time I used it.
Silky hair wrapped around me like a black velvet cape, the scent of ancient magic thick in my nose. Nevarre. Daire’s purr rumbled the bed like it had a vibrating mattress, the solid heat of his body draped around me.
But I didn’t immediately feel Rik.
Not in bed with me, at least, though he was close. Without opening my eyes, I sensed him sitting in a chair off to the side. His bond was quiet, almost like he was sleeping, but when I opened my eyes, I met his gaze.
“I wanted to let you sleep as long as possible,” he said before I could ask.
So he’d given me my most comforting Blood to ensure I slept like a baby. I combed my fingers through Nevarre’s hair, hugging his head in my arms. Shining ebony, just like his raven’s wings. His mouth pressed against my skin, his lips tasting my pulse.
That quickly, my blood burned like hot streams of lava, cracking the earth open with the force of my lust.
I arched against him, tightening my arm around his neck. Daire shifted behind me, cradling my body against his. His hair tickled my cheek, dark at the base but each strand was dipped in tawny gold, just like his warcat. His hair was longer than when I’d first met him, but nowhere near as long as Nevarre’s. The only other Blood who could compete in the hair category was Vivian. Though Itztli and Tlacel’s hair came down to their waists.
Nevarre’s fangs scraped lightly over the top curve of my breast, making me tremble.
“Yes,” I whispered, tightening my fingers in his hair. He didn’t need my explicit permission to feed. I wasn’t that kind of queen. I loved feeding my Blood. Their fangs in my flesh. My blood spurting into their mouths, feeding their pleasure and their power at the same time. Knowing a part of me was inside them. Satiating them like no other.
It was a hell of a rush. Adding sex at the same time only made it better.
