I shook my head and kept my face against Lord Belshazzar’s shoulder. I wouldn’t say it aloud, but I was still pretty fucking shaken by my almost death by a being as powerful as King Niallan. I stayed right where I was though, against my lover’s warmth and inside his protective hold. I whispered, “No, I searched all over. It’s nowhere here.”
“Motherfucker,” Lord Xenon snarled. His feet stomped on cold bits of our dead king as he paced, the crunch under his feet making me shiver. “What the hell do we do now? You needed him alive, didn’t you, Lord Belshazzar?”
“I did,” Lord Belshazzar responded. “Stop walking, please. It’s bothering the queen.”
The crunch of death stopped, and he questioned, “Do you have another plan in place for finding the Original druid amulet without a living being that’s linked to it?”
“Not right now. I’ll need to review a few texts I have.” Lord Belshazzar sniffed. “If not, we know a druid who can work magic on the dead.”
Lord Cato chuckled—it wasn’t nice. “You mean that bastard Chester? No-last-name Chester? I hate that fucking man.”
“That would be the one.” Lord Belshazzar snaked his hands underneath me, and then stood to his feet with me in his arms. “I’m going to take the queen to my room where she can shower and relax. She’ll obviously be staying with me until this room can be repaired. And have someone cancel her meetings today. Oh, and one of you put that head on ice. I don’t want it decaying too fast.”
Lord Pippin snorted. “Besides the fact it will take weeks to restore this room, how the hell are we supposed to explain this mess to the staff?”
“Just say she had a party in here and it got out of hand,” Lord Otto remarked. “We’ve seen parties end worse than this.”
“And the king’s absence? How do we cover that up?” Lord Pippin questioned further. Then he muttered, “Oh, I know. We’ll just say he went back to Cape Argent for business. That could work for a while. But someone will need to field his emails and such, pretend to be him.”
Lord Cato ground out, “Lord Belshazzar, you need to work this issue out quickly. I would suggest you also clear your schedule and start immediately. We can cover for you in your absence.”
“Thank you. I might be able to get some sleep then.” Lord Belshazzar grunted and walked toward the door. “Call me if you need me.”
I lifted my head before he exited the room, glancing over my lover’s shoulder at each Overlord. “I…um, thank you too. For coming so quickly.”
Silently, they nodded.
We left the room of King Niallan’s death behind.
BEL LOWERED ME TOMY FEET INSIDEhis bathroom. His hands were so gentle as he carefully pulled my top away from my skin and lifted it over my head. He bent down, placed a delicate kiss on my cheek, then tilted his head, and kissed my other cheek. My lover dropped to his knees and used the same careful touch to remove my pajama shorts and panties, careful not to rub the blood-rough material against any of my skin.
Bel leaned forward and kissed right below my belly button. He placed his forehead against my stomach, staring down at the ground, and wrapped his arms around me, holding me close. Even though his body was relaxed, his voice was rough with tension, “If I had thought for even one second he’d try to kill you first, I never would have let him near you. I am…sorry.”
I placed my right hand on top of his head, and asked, “You saidfirst. When did you expect him to try to kill me?”
“I didn’t think it would get there. I put you as number two on his list, right after your father so he could steal the Original vampire amulet beforehand.” His forehead rubbed against my skin as he shook his head, his long hair dangling and tickling my bare thighs. “That bastard.”
I gripped the hair at the back of his head and pulled gently until he was looking up into my eyes. “You have nothing to apologize for, Bel. I’m not mad at you or disappointed in you. I know it’s hard to fathom inside that head of yours, but people don’t always know the answer to a problem. And King Niallan was working on pure emotion today. You can’t always predict that.”
His eyes closed slowly. “He almost killed you.”
“Healmostdid. But it didn’t happen thanks to you. You gave me what I needed to stay alive.” I bent over and kissed his lips gently. “Thank you. Your gift saved my life.”
Bel sighed and opened his eyes. “You’re welcome, Gwen. But you don’t need to thank me. Not for keeping you alive. You wouldn’t have been in that situation if it weren’t for me and my actions a long time ago.”
I didn’t really have an argument for that…since it was pretty much accurate. I kissed his lips again, and grumbled, “Are you going to release me so I can take that shower?”
He chuckled against my mouth and kissed me back with a tenderness that curled my toes, soft, sweet, and caring. My lover murmured, “But I like you naked in my arms. Stay here.”
“You have work to do, my lord. We can roll around naked once you’re done tonight.”
He smacked my ass softly, and his eyes twinkled with affection. “I’ll hold you to that, your majesty.” He stood and turned on the shower for me. “I’ll find you something to wear.”
“Much appreciated.” I smirked and hopped under the steaming hot water. Red blood rushed down my skin with the force of the spray. I tipped my head back and proceeded to wash my hair three full times until the stench of death was gone, and I cleaned my body so hard every inch of me was pinked from the scrubbing.
I dried off and snickered at the too large T-shirt he’d left out for me, along with a pair of his boxer briefs. Not really a look I usually go for, but I put the clothes on quickly enough. I cleared my throat and called out through the open bathroom door, “Do you have an extra toothbrush?”
The sound of his voice came from his sitting area. “I don’t. Use mine if you wish.”
