Chapter 38
SHARA
Karmen didn’t stir beneath my fingers, and her skin felt cool and damp.
Wet and heavy with blood, her dress clung to her lower body.
I certainly was no physician, but I could guess what was wrong.
Power rippled in my veins, begging to be used, but even if I’d known exactly what to do to help her, it felt wrong to do anything while she was unaware. Even to help.
Besides, she might wake up scared and fighting, confused at having strangers around her. The more I could keep her very justified fear at bay, the better.
I needed a small, comfortable space, preferably dark. When I’d been scared in the beginning, I hated any kind of windows in my room. :Let’s use the small library office,: I told everyone.
:It’s not big enough for very many Blood,: Rik warned. :Neither hers nor yours.:
“Please follow us up to the house,” I said aloud to Karmen’s alpha. “Guillaume will handle introductions among the rest of our Blood. How many would you like to accompany you inside?”
I pointedly didn’t acknowledge the fact that her other Blood still had bare steel in their hands, as if braced for attack.
Nevarre led the way, with Sekh close behind the other alpha.
Rik walked beside me, and the two consiliari had their heads together, talking rapidly.
Detective Harris stuck to Dagny’s side, eyes wide, missing nothing, but he wisely kept his mouth shut.
“One for each of your Blood inside the structure,” her alpha replied.
Immediately, two of her men matched up to Nevarre and Sekh as we headed for the house.
I wasn’t sure which of the famous warriors accompanied us, but I wasn’t worried.
So far, I had no reason to suspect her alpha wasn’t a man of his word.
In fact, with Guillaume’s stellar example of a warrior’s honor, I expected no issues whatsoever.
So the sounds of a scuffle had me jerking to a halt and whirling around in surprise. Though of course it wasn’t any of my Blood causing an issue.
The wolf king bellowed curses, swinging wildly at Xin, though he easily evaded the man’s attack. “Show yourself, motherfucker!”
“Please do not hold Ironheart’s attack as a mark against House Sunna, Your Majesty,” Dagny said. “We have no control over his actions.”
Ah. I understood the issue now. I had only welcomed House Sunna to the nest. “He’s not one of yours?”
“Fuck no,” one of the Sunna Blood retorted. The one who declared himself a king, though I couldn’t immediately recall his name.
:Kuros,: Sekh said. :You might recognize his name as Cyrus the Great, King of Persia.:
:I’m afraid I don’t know much about human history.: Aloud, I said, “Xin, leave it.”
Still as his silver wolf, Xin immediately loped to my side and dropped to his haunches, his tongue lolling in a very amused wolfy smile.
Eivind glared at me, his fists clenched at his sides, his shoulders bulging with frustration. “I’m not an it. I’m Ei—”
I cut him off. “I know who you are. You’re not a part of House Sunna. Why should I trust you to enter my nest while they have sanctuary? I can’t vouch for someone I don’t command.”
I meant that to be the end of the conversation, especially after the troubling dream I’d had of a possible sunfire wolf.
Xin nudged my thigh with his nose. :I can shadow him inside the nest. If you make him swear an oath like the knight did in the beginning, then I will eliminate him if he breaks his word before he even knows I’m there. :
:Are you sure he’s worth the trouble?:
Xin’s ears twitched. :It’s no trouble to me, my queen, as long as you’re willing to give him one last try.:
:I don’t know why he’s here,: I admitted. :If Karmen has intentions of claiming him as Blood, then I don’t want to send him away. She may need his blood to return to full power. But after our dream, I fear he may also mean her harm.:
:Then allow me to guard him. I’ll kill him between one breath and the next if he even thinks of harming anyone.:
I turned my attention back to Eivind, giving him a hard, considering look.
“If you’re willing to swear an oath on your blood to harm no one inside my nest, whether Aima or human, directly or indirectly, now or anytime in the future, then Xin offers to shadow you inside the nest. Though I should warn you, Wolf King.
You won’t know my silver wolf is at your throat until it’s too late.
One move that he doesn’t like, and you’re dead. ”
Eivind’s shoulders squared, his hands fisted at his sides, his upper body bulging.
His golden eyes rolled, his jaws tight. Fighting to contain himself?
Or trying to attack—but failing? I wasn’t sure.
I didn’t see sunfires flickering around him, so I wasn’t sure if he was the creature from the dream or not.
I had no idea if it was me he feared so much, or Karmen. I’d met him twice already and allowed him to walk away free. I’d even see him in the dreamscape, howling and lonely for his queen.
His queen. Not me. He wasn’t my Blood to take.
Finally, he bit his wrist delicately—as if he feared I would fall on him like a pack of ravenous wolves as soon as I smelled his blood.
He stepped closer to my blood circle, each step heavy and slow, dragging his feet with dread.
“I, Eivind Ironheart, swear to harm no one inside Shara Isador’s nest.”
It had to be me he feared so much. Karmen was already out of sight.
It annoyed the shit out of me—because it embarrassed me. Yeah, I’ve been fucking ravenous in the past. Desperate for another Blood to come to my Call.
But he acted as if a single drop of an unclaimed Aima’s blood would turn me into a crazed beast, tearing him limb from limb in my haste to feed. No matter how miserable I might be, I’d never force someone to take my bond. Not in a million fucking years.
Besides, adding Vore and Sekh had toned down the punishing hunger. I still fed. A lot. But an innocent bystander wasn’t in danger of being ravaged.
:He has no idea what he’s missing out on.: Rik’s voice rumbled through my head. :You can tear me limb from limb anytime, anyplace, my queen.:
:Same.: Xin shifted back to his human form and stood directly behind Eivind. The man had no idea, I was sure. He was too terrified of me to notice the threat at his back. :Sign me up for that feast too, my queen.:
“Human or otherwise,” I repeated, keeping my voice smooth despite the sting to my pride. “Now or in the future.”
Eivind swore, his words quivering as the magic wound through him, anchored by his blood and mine. I nodded, and Xin laid a hand on his shoulder, guiding him through the blood circle. :One twitch, Xin.:
He flashed a wide grin of anticipation. :It’s an honor to serve, Your Majesty.:
RIK
I didn’t know her alpha’s age. It honestly didn’t matter. However many years he’d served in Heliopolis had not prepared him to serve an Aima queen. Let alone as her alpha.
I was used to being considered the “young” alpha, but in experience as Blood—and even more importantly, understanding—I had this man beaten hands down.
He didn’t avoid meeting my gaze—but when we did look at each other, there was no alpha push from him.
I suspected that he simply didn’t care about alpha posturing, which I could appreciate.
However, he didn’t object to a tiny room in unknown territory with no exit route other than the door from which we entered, with Sekh and Nevarre at the ready.
Sure, he had two other Blood with them, but I’d take the general over all of Sunna’s Blood at once any day.
Even if he didn’t bring any of the legion through, no sword, tooth, or claw could penetrate his stone exterior, and his size alone would make him a formidable opponent.
But Karmen’s alpha couldn’t know any of that.
He literally didn’t know anything about us, including our queen.
He couldn’t know the immense power at her disposal.
Let alone the incredible depth of her heart.
The truth of her word. Even if he assumed Aima queens couldn’t lie, he surely wouldn’t trust another queen blindly.
If they’d gone to House Ceresa for help…
Or perhaps he did understand, because he’d come to us, even though the Sunna consiliarius could have contacted any queen for assistance. Surely Sunna had other queens they’d once been allied with, before Karmen had been stolen away to Heliopolis.
For any Blood to bring his indisposed and vulnerable queen into new, foreign territory without knowing whether he could trust us or not would be a nearly impossible feat.
The man was no fool. He kept his queen close in his arms, sitting where Shara indicated, rather than relinquishing Karmen to lie in comfort on the sofa cushions.
Other than the subtle flex of his jaws, I read no sign of discomfort or tension in his demeanor.
“Gina, my consiliarius, is checking to see how close Dr. Borcht is,” Shara said. “Though we’re in direct communication with her so we can prepare her for assistance. Is Karmen injured?”
“No,” the alpha said, with no explanation.
Shara turned her attention to the human consiliarius. “But you were attacked by Heliopolis?”
Dagny’s hands trembled in her lap, betraying either her nerves at being in another queen’s nest, or simply a delayed reaction of shock. “Yes, though I’m afraid I can’t remember very many details.”
“Anything you remember may be helpful.”
“We were meeting for the first time at the hotel your consiliarius, Kevin, helped us locate as a place Her Majesty knew but would still be neutral and safe.” Dagny let out a harsh bark of laughter, shaking her head jerkily.
“I failed her, not once but twice. Detective Harris arrived unexpectedly, and Eivind Ironheart followed him.
We were handling their interruption when the attack came.
“At first, it was just a deep, golden ray of sunlight shining down on the table from the skylight. It was beautiful. But then, I couldn’t move.
Something… I must have been knocked out cold.
There was some kind of explosion, and the next thing I knew, Detective Harris was helping me up.
My ears rang. Everything felt… odd. Stretched out.
Then it sort of snapped back into place.
The table where our queen had been dining was destroyed.
She was down, on the floor, surrounded by a few of her Blood.
At first, I thought the worst. Especially when I saw the pool of blood on the floor. ”
Shara focused on the other alpha. “What did you see?”
His fingers convulsed, involuntarily pulling Karmen closer against him.
He blinked slowly, closing his eyes as if remembering.
“The same ray of sunlight, then a brutal flash of light. I couldn’t move, no matter how hard I tried.
Her words came slowly, as if from a great distance, stretched and distorted through our bond.
I couldn’t hear anything else, but I saw everything. A portal into Heliopolis opened.”
Golden flame rippled through his eyes like a flash of fury. “There I saw High Lord Amun, Greatest of Seers, and Alexander Argead, a Soldier of Light you might know as Alexander the Great, King of Macedonia. He didn’t have a sunfire but Soldiers of Light still walk the streets of Heliopolis.”
I read the subtle shift in his shoulders, the grinding of his jaw. Likely shouts of fury in another Blood, but he was a man of quiet control. Guilt and shame darkened the flames in his eyes. Shame I’d felt all too well before.
I’d seen Xin rip out the Seer’s throat in Heliopolis. Evidently it hadn’t been a fatal blow.
“The same thing happened to us in Kansas City before our queen had a blood circle of protection.” I allowed the memory to flicker over my face, letting him see my emotions.
“I lay beside my queen in her bed, unable to move a muscle, while she screamed my name. As long as she lives, Great Mother let it be a very long time, I’ll never forget the sound of her cries while being completely unable to lift a finger to help her.
Luckily her other Blood were outside the house and able to race to her defense. ”
He inclined his head in a slight nod. “Two others of Her Majesty’s Blood were outside of the room and thus not affected by the spell. We won’t make such a mistake again. Are they able to open a portal inside the queen’s blood circle?”
“No,” Shara replied. “My circle is nearly indestructible.”
His eyes tightened ever so slightly, catching the word nearly. Though he didn’t ask for an explanation.
“I find it useful to keep Her Majesty’s Blood separated into several groups so we have a variety of layers of defense and attack. Some always outside the nest, others patrolling the perimeter, some in other areas of the house, and yet more outside her door at any time. Can any of you fly?”
He contemplated for several long moments before answering, “Possibly. Kuros’ sunfire does have wings.” Then he met my gaze straight on and allowed his lips to twitch into a smile. “They have to be useful for something, right? The man’s intolerable otherwise.”