“PuppetKing and Queen…?” Ruin pushes.
“As long as they are never killed, harmed, or pressured to take another into their nest.”
It’s the best that I can manage.
Ruin’s eyes twinkle, and he grins. “They will be treated like the kingdom’s grieving jewels, while the Void Cult manages the boring day to day political work. We have found an excellent balance and order here. No one will forget your name for this.”
“I’m not doing this to be remembered.” I look away from him.
“You know,” Ruin gives me a sly look, “there is another way. You must bond with, rut, and feast on your Omega on the night of the Blood Moon. The ritual must be completed. But the secret only the Void Cult has long held is that the Alpha has a cruel choice. Is he prepared to sacrifice the blood of what is most precious to him?”
My brow furrows. “My life, I understand.”
“That’s one option. The other is for you to break our deepest laws and instincts and offer up the blood of your bonded Omega.”
My blood chills. “Say anything about using my Omega’s blood rather than mine again, and you will be lying next to Nebet in a pool of your own blood.”
Ruin swallows, backing away.
I turn my head away from him, troubled.
It isn’t a choice.
I am dying for Freya. I would never trade her life for my own.
At least I will have a wedding, one rut with Freya, and one more feast on Dove’s blood, before I sacrifice myself for them.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Blue Lotus Pools,Blood Kingdom
Freya
I turnmy face up to the bright afternoon sun, soaking in its warmth after so long trapped in the cold dark of the nighttime court.
I wrinkle my nose at the sweet, honey-like fragrance from the blue lotuses, which float on the surface of the pools that circle the small courtyard behind the royal wing of the palace.
The lotuses’ cool, blue petals pale to shimmering white at their tips, as if holding onto the moon. Bees hover lazily around their golden cores.
The palace is quiet.
The cool corridors are empty that led here, although Shadow and Devil still padded next to Daire and me as bodyguards.
Now, the demonic lions are curled in the archway in the shade.
Most Shadow Vampires and their Blood Lovers sleep deeply after their wild nights of dancing, feasting, and rutting during the day.
It feels like this palace belongs to Daire and me alone.
This world is ours now.
The question is what we do with it.
Next to me, Daire’s white wings are stretched out wide, as he spins with his long neck thrown back. His face is turned up to the sun, as if both in dance and prayer.
He looks like a lotus flower who needs the sun on his face to open — to be reborn.
His lips are busted, his jaw is swollen, and his throat is ringed with bruises.
