Chapter 6
SHARA
Using Thierry’s memory, I envisioned the ancient tree in House Delafosse’s garden. Long, sweeping branches stretched out barely three feet above the ground. Thick with hanging moss, creating a natural living curtain against the outside world.
As if I’d been there myself and could describe every detail, Leonie’s nest filled my mind.
Hundreds-year-old brick cobblestones formed a patio area beneath the ancient oak.
Black wrought iron table and chairs. Bright orange and blue cushions in the seats.
The peach stucco house I’d associated with the Dauphine for months rose in my mind.
Welcoming. Open. To me.
There was no warning tingle of another queen’s blood circle to make us pause.
This blood circle was already mine.
Because it’d been the Dauphine’s. What was hers, now belonged to me. Whether I wanted it or not.
This time, I welcomed ownership of the nest. Though I’d been fully prepared to ask Sekh to bring the circle down.
Xin slipped into the nest, his nose hard at work to identify any possible scents we could track.
The rest of the Blood went in as Rik ordered.
Normal-ish winged Blood in the air, high enough to avoid human sightings if possible.
Leonie’s house was on a well-trafficked street with large houses on either side as well.
We could have waited for darkness, but that would only help disguise the Dauphine’s traps and allow thralls to attack the nest.
Before I touched the nest, I wasn’t sure if the blood circle would even still be up. Hopefully that meant Leonie was still alive.
Sitting on my shoulder as his blue and red bird, Thierry led us to a low stone basement entrance beneath the house.
Ancient bricks slowly crumbled and sank into the soft, wet ground.
The thick oaken door was so heavy it took both Llewellyn and Sekh to force it open.
Rusted hinges groaned and squealed as they pushed the door inward.
Thick muck immediately oozed outward over the uneven paved walkway.
And the smell. Goddess. Worse than death.
“Smells like your toilet, Leviathan,” Sekh said.
Mehen grinned, showing all his teeth. “Not even after a thousand years did my toilet smell so bad. Though it does rival your breath.”
I closed my eyes, trying not to breathe, but goosebumps raced down my arms. Just as thick and foul as the mud, power oozed out from the dark space below the house.
The Dauphine’s power.
Now mine. The power I inherited by killing her.
Built not just on blood but raw, abject, endless suffering.
A queen’s power, warped and leeched from her over years.
Decades. Chained in darkness and filth and misery.
Enduring the madness of burning hunger and helpless rage.
Knowing there was no escape. No end for the torture.
Every agonized breath and scream only added to the brutal power siphoning into the mud and house above for its new queen.
Even past her death, the Dauphine still hoarded unholy power in this mire of torture and madness.
I didn’t even have to draw my blood to feel the power writhing up out of the pits with ecstasy. Reaching for me. Eager to be used by its queen.
My stomach clenched so hard I almost heaved. Rik’s palm rubbed against my back, and he drew me against him. Letting me ground myself in his rock-steady body. His scent of rain soaked stone and distant, rumbling thunder.
“You don’t have to go into the pit to rescue her yourself, my queen. Let us—”
“Yes, I do.” I drew a shuddering breath. “She endured this torture since before I was even born. The least I can do is use the power that trapped her to free and hopefully heal her.”
Though how could anyone hope to heal the mental trauma that she must have endured? Trapped, chained, suffering in darkness. Could this level of torturous madness be soothed with just her freedom?
Gwen took my hand firmly in hers. “We will heal her. Together.”
I gave her a grateful nod. “I hope so.”
:It’s mostly swamp in here.: As his wolf, Xin lightly leaped from one wooden plank to another, traversing the darkness toward the central pit Thierry had shown me.
The deep hole had once been a cistern beneath the old house.
Now it crawled with the Dauphine’s leeches and foul mud.
I wasn’t sure whether I wanted Leonie to still be alive—buried in that filth—or if I’d rather know she was finally dead and beyond suffering.
:The walkways are partially rotted, so watch your step. :
:Any sign of the Dauphine’s Blood?: Rik asked.
:Not yet, but I can’t smell anything but the stench of this place.:
:How about in the house?:
Daire, Ezra, and Itztli moved room by room through the house, senses wide open, searching for anything else alive.
Vivian and Tlacel guarded two of Leonie’s original Blood who stood unstaring, unmoving, empty shells—but still alive.
With a tiny push, I’d be inside them, seeing through their eyes.
Making them move or even speak like puppet dolls.
I didn’t think there was any way I could use the Dauphine’s power to bring them back to the Blood Leonie knew. Though I didn’t want to kill them and destroy their bodies until she had a chance to see them herself. So she’d understand why I’d ordered her Blood killed.
:Not yet,: Itztli reported. :Though the stench has spread up here as well, so my nose alone won’t be able to detect an intruder.:
“If I may provide a suggestion?” Guillaume asked, waiting for Rik’s nod.
“Allow me and a couple of Gwen’s knights to guard outside where we can see any of the Dauphine’s swordsmen coming.
But also take Sir Lancelot into the darkness with our queens, in case any of her Blood lies in wait at the pit. ”
“Agreed,” Rik said. “We need to keep our swords spread out as much as possible.”
Lancelot lifted his sword in a salute. “High praise that you trust me with your queen’s defense, Sir Guillaume.”
G lightly tapped the tip of his sword to the other knight’s with a wry twist of his lips. “I’m counting on General Sekh’s impenetrable stone hide as much as your sword, sir knight. Though the larger, heavier Blood might be at a disadvantage in the mud if forced to shift.”
“Unfortunate but true,” Sekh replied, shaking his head. “If I shifted in that crawlspace, I’d bring the whole house down on top of us.”
“If we may provide a suggestion as well?” Okeanos asked.
Though when everyone turned to look at him, his eyes flared.
One of my shyest Blood, he hesitated until I smiled and reached out my other hand for him.
He came nearer to take my hand with Vore behind him.
“Our beasts are better equipped to move through mud and swamp. I’ll be large enough our queen won’t even need to touch the ground, and Vore’s thinner legs will be more mobile. ”
“I like it,” G said approvingly. “Alpha?”
Rik’s big hands flexed on my shoulders, and he let out a grumbling growl. “I admit my rock troll would also be useless in cramped quarters and unknown depths of mud. Though I hate to let you out of my sight for a moment, my queen.”
“Then I’m doubly honored to accompany our queens,” Sir Lancelot said. “Alpha to alpha, no harm will come to either of our queens while I yet live.”
“I’ll keep the bonds wide open,” I assured Rik. “I’d like to preserve Leonie’s house as much as possible until she can decide whether she wants to remain here or establish a new nest without such dark memories. Vore, can your beast fit into the basement without damaging the upper level?”
He gave me a simple nod, though his eyes remained tight.
Once he shifted to his ushi-oni, he feared he wouldn’t be able to shift back.
I’d given him a bite of my flesh to help him fully shift out of his beast last time.
For hundreds of years, he’d been muzzled and chained to keep from eating everyone around him.
Even his own family. His sister. No one was safe.
:You are safe with me,: I reminded him.
He drew a deep inhale. :Though I still hold your flesh inside me, my queen, I hunger. The ushi-oni will be even more ravenous after a small taste of your flesh and blood.:
I let my bond weigh heavier, my will and intent like the iron chains he’d depended on before. :Your beast obeys its queen, and I will ensure its needs are met without harming the innocent.:
He inclined his head. :Thank you, my queen. The ushi-oni emerges at your command.:
:Shift, my Blood. I need your help to save our friend.:
The ushi-oni unfolded out of him, swelling larger and wider.
Sweeping black horns of a massive bull. Thick shoulders, neck, and chest to carry such heavy horns.
The lower part of his rounded spider body glistened like black obsidian.
Plus six angular legs marked with jagged spines as sharp as any knife.
Sir Lancelot let out a low whistle of appreciation. “Are you sure you’ll be able to fit into the—”
His words died off as Vore ducked and swung his head to slide the first broad horn through the doorway.
Twisting his body and flattening his legs out, he scuttled sideways through the doorway into the darkness beyond, his legs slicing through the mud so easily there wasn’t any popping or sucking sounds as he moved.
I released Gwen’s hand. “You’re welcome to wait here—”
“Nonsense,” she said tartly. “A little mud never hurt me. I’ll try to stick to the walkway and have Lance carry me if needed, but I’d rather keep his sword arm free in case we’re attacked.”
Lancelot stepped through first and then turned to take her hand. Releasing her power, she glowed with soft pearly light. The White Enchantress, the legendary once and future Queen of Camelot, stepped into the grim cellar without hesitation.