Ah well. I’d fed too long, ingested too much of the Aellein queen’s magic. Still, even in her downward spiral toward madness, she kept her beauty. Her need for youth and grandeur remained her last tether to sanity.
“Next time finish her so I don’t have to witness such waste.” Lexa looked peeved, her pale eyes glimmering like stars in the shadows. “I have a feeling we’ll be seeing the Light Bringers soon.”
“But of course, sister mine,” I said with a lightness I was far from feeling. Though I longed to finally kill Arim, I couldn’t quite extinguish my fear of the notorious sorcerer. “I look forward to dealing with them all, especially with you by my side.”
She walked away in silence.
Fair enough. No need to utter false platitudes. I knew Lexa well enough not to trust her. Sure, she’d told me what Sin Garu had been doing, but not until the last possible moment, when it seemed my brother had lost his way.
Her allegiance shifted with the wind, floating one way then another. The key to Lexa was knowing what made her tick. Unfortunately, I didn’t know anymore. Once, I’d commanded her obedience to the letter. But now I didn’t know where she went when she left our stronghold in Malern.
I would have asked my brother, but I hesitated to give Sin the impression I wasn’t as in control as I ought to be.
I still held sway over the queen, though. I toyed with her, sending her a command she readily obeyed. Lidra played with herself for any passerby to see. I couldn’t tell how much of her hedonistic side came from me and how much she’d had before I’d bitten her.
Lidra had always been a bitch in heat, but perhaps not an exhibitionist.
No matter. She would debase herself now whenever I told her to. A sexual puppet dancing on the strings I held. I had to chuckle.
Until I saw Lexa shake her head then glare back at me before she disappeared into the woods. Disapproved, did she?
One thing I knew about my uptight sister—she had a history with Arim, one that I intended to use to my advantage should the fucking sorcerer finally show his face.
Lidra brought herself to orgasm then started again, her appetite for pleasure insatiable since becoming a blood drinker. I understood the hunger, knowing it all too well myself.
I nodded to several of my wraiths standing in the shadows. They left and returned with a hapless Aellei, an immature Der still sparkling with the bloom of youth. The young warrior stared with helpless fascination at his writhing queen.
It didn’t take much persuading to get him to drop his drawers and lay supine on the ground. She mounted him and squirmed over his dick, riding like a winged horse in flight. Up and down, the flap of her magic riding the Dark currents around them.
I waited for my favorite part of the act to unfold. Just as the warrior ejaculated into his queen, Lidra leaned down and took a bite out of his neck. A sloppy blood drinker, Lidra ate as much flesh as she drew blood, a disgusting combination that drew delighted laughter from the wraiths watching.
Her lover flailed but was no match for her empowered strength. We all watched as she ate him piece by piece, until only his rib bones, spine, and skull remained. Lidra’s bloated belly stretched, distorted with the flesh she’d consumed.
The wraiths looked from her to me, and I flicked my fingers, giving them the go-ahead.
Once Lidra staggered away from the corpse, they fell upon him until nothing remained.
My enjoyment with Lidra grew tedious while I waited for Alandra to be brought to me. I wandered toward the Aellei’s dungeon, an ostentatious display of how prettied up a dungeon should never be.
Just as I approached the entrance, the doors opened to reveal Alandra le Aelle guarded by half a dozen Der warriors. Zartic led the way.
His eyes widened when they met mine, and the captain stopped and bowed. His men hurried to do the same.
Pleased, I nodded. “Captain, were you perchance escorting the princess to see me?”
Zartic nodded, his gaze still downward. “Yes, my lord.”
“Then it seems I’ve saved you a trip. Take a few of your men and clean up the queen. The council should be gathering soon, and we want our magnificent lady to look her best.”
Zartic’s lips pressed tight, but he said nothing and left to complete a task meant for a lesser ranked Aellei. Well, wouldn’t the Der captain be in for a surprise. I smiled wickedly.
Normally, her majesty’s ladies took care of the queen, but in Lidra’s current state, she’d see the help as no more than dessert. At least Zartic knew to keep his mouth shut, and he’d treat his former lover with care enough to preserve her illusive dignity.
“And speaking of queens.” I stared at Alandra, who was studying me as intently. Dark’s Own Heart, she was stunning, a paler version of Lidra but one more lively, radiant with a winsome grace and deep-rooted sensuality.
“Balen Van Norsen, I presume?”
I wondered how soft her lips would feel around my cock, if she would milk me as hard and as often as her aunt had before I drank her blood.
