Kian nodded nervously and pushed back from the table, his brow glistening with perspiration. “I’ve honored our agreement”—Cara snickered, and Kian’s eyes narrowed as he shot her a glare. “I hope you’ll still uphold your end. I can move into Alpha Castle tonight.”
Kalama watched him stand, and then she glanced at the ceiling.
“Yes, we promised you the king’s castle and our eternal gratitude,” Kalama agreed, facing Kian. “And we sealed our pact with blood, so there’s no way to break it without one of us dying.”
Kian cleared his throat, and his head bobbed. “That’s right.”
“Eternal gratitude lasts forever—as our queen has lasted since the dawn of days.” Kalama looked at the woman sleeping in the muumuu. Swirls of tattoos danced across her translucent skin as she snored lightly.
Then Kalama looked at Reese and Cara. “Let’s show the mage how grateful we are for his assistance.”
The air changed then. Kian’s expression showed that he knew it as well as I knew it. His eyes widened, and he turned—as though to dart for the door, but Reese seized his collar. In less than a heartbeat, Kian shucked his robe, shrugging out of the grip of the powerful blood mage, and the blue garment fell to the floor.
Reece may’ve momentarily lost his grip on the high mage, but he lunged forward and grabbed Kian by the neck. Again, the high mage pulled away, and bright red gashes appeared where the vampire’s claws had gouged through his skin.
Cara slid over the table and, together with Reese, the vampires backed Kian into a corner.
“Don’t hurt me,” Kian begged. He was far outnumbered, and his gaze darted between the blood mages. “I’ll go. I’ll just go, and you never have to see me again.”
Kalama didn’t even look at him. “That was never in our agreement.” She raised her gaze to the end of the table and called, “Mother, time to feed.”
“No!” Kian screamed as the two mages pinned his face to the table. A pipe broke somewhere in the wall, and I could hear the water gush as Kian tried to use his element. He thrashed against their hold as a blast of water ripped through the wall and slammed into Cara. The blood mage growled but continued to hold his feet as Reese held Kian’s wrists. Kian bucked, and his head thumped against the wood.
The old woman lifted her head slowly, like a snake rising from the ground, and sniffed the air. Then, like an animal, she crawled up onto the table on all fours, her black claw-like nails clicking against the solid surface.
Holy mother of all things horrifying. I gulped, wanting to look away, but I couldn’t. Grandma muumuu had turned into a monster.
“No, please!” Kian screamed, his face painted with horror as he looked at the queen crawling toward him.
Her back was to us now, so I couldn’t see what she did, but the scene held me slack-jawed and riveted—unable to process as she moved lightning-fast down the table where she pounced on his neck like a cat on a mouse.
She landed at his waist, straddling him as though he were a lover. She lowered her head and latched onto his neck…
What the what?
Time seemed to slow as she sucked. First, Kian stopped thrashing, and then his body went limp. His skin paled then turned gray as it started to shrivel…
Gross.
In seconds that felt like an eternity, Kian went from a robust, living man to a mere husk. His papery skin stretched over his bones like the queen had sucked every living cell within him dry. And then she drove her claws into his ribcage … and after a sharp twist of her wrist, she pulled something out … Kian’s heart? With a terrifying shriek, she closed her fist, and a cloud of dust plumed in the air.
Even though I wasn’t in my body, I felt sick—like I would somehow ghost-throw up. “Oh my mage,” I gasped, glancing away.
I had no idea if my exclamation was the cause or if we were just really unlucky, but just then, Reese turned toward the door, and his eyes widened. “Spirits!”
Wait … my eyes fell to the spirit crystal in his hand.
Damn!
The queen’s head jerked toward the door, and she hissed.
If I’d been in my body, I would’ve fainted.
Her eyes were black, and her tattoos crawled under her skin like snakes. She had fangs—legit fangs—that protruded out of her mouth, and her bloodstained lips pulled back in a vicious snarl.
No one would mistake her muumuu for some nice old lady vibes now. This monster was feral and lethal.
Cara released Kian’s shoulders and darted around the table with Kalama on her heels. She stared wildly in our direction, but it was obvious she couldn’t see spirits as her gaze skimmed right over us.
