I leaned harder against Rik, pressing my hand over his giant palm on my stomach. Drawing silent strength from his steady presence. She, too, had every right to be off balance and possessive. These two newest bonds were more invasive than my other bonds, though that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.:Of course.:
:Then I wish to be yours too.:
:You are. You’re part of House Isador now.:
:No, Shara, my queen. I mean I wish to be yours, as much as your Blood. Please don’t send me away either.:In her bond, I heard desperate weeping and sobs. Screams. Begging for help. For someone to kill her. To put her out of her misery. Then, near the end, only“Isador. Isador. Isador.”
The lifeline Thierry had given her.
Me.
14
LEONIE
(Bottom of the River by Delta Rae)
Istared at my savior as if she was the last dawn I would see before I crossed the river to Oya’s embrace. I’d never felt such desperation as I did now at the thought of not feeling the constant assuring warmth of Shara’s presence flowing through me. Her spirit brushing mine. Her thoughts echoing in my head.
Not to mention her desire. Her steadfast dedication to those she loved.
I wanted to be allowed to worship her, the same as her monsters.
So young. So casually powerful. As if she didn’t honestly understand or even realize the wealth of explosive strength hovering inside her. She hadn’t hesitated to feed and heal me, despite the cost to her own reserves. Let alone her own flesh.
With great power came immense hunger. I felt the underlying gnawing ache in her bond, a ravenous black hole of need barely touched despite her feeding on several of her Blood. Such hunger I’d never known in all my centuries, even the last yearstrapped beneath my own house and perpetually starved by the Dauphine.
Now freed and walking beside this young queen, my fangs throbbed to feed on her again. Even better if she would bite me too. Again and again. It was all I could do not to press against her and offer her my throat every time she looked at me. She had healed me beyond my wildest expectations, yet I was still starved.
Starved for touch. Safety. Warmth. Hope. Love. Desire.
To be held. To lie in her embrace surrounded by her love and know she would burn the world down to protect me if anyone even thought to entrap me again.
Though perhaps she didn’t desire women the same as her monsters. I resisted the urge to delve through her bond and search her memories. She held the other queen’s bond and mentioned the queen in Mexico, but her cheeks didn’t color when she looked at Gwen. Not like when she looked at me. Though perhaps that was because I couldn’t prevent myself from wallowing in her bond. Listening to her thoughts. Feeling her responses to her Blood and wishing, aching, needing her to feel the same for me.
I didn’t even know her Bloods’ names or exactly how many she had, though from the depths of her power, it wouldn’t surprise me if she had a hundred Blood. Finding my place among them would be challenging. Though the flesh eater walking beside her and the alpha was new.
She’d only held his bond one day. The Blood who could see faces into the past had only shown her one night of the thrall feasting among the humans of New Orleans. Did that mean she’d killed the Dauphine only the day before? I burned to know all the details. Why she’d lost her gift of resurrection. Though I hesitated to burden her with even more questions, when she clearly hadn’t intended to take me with her.
“Oh, Leonie, I’m so sorry.” As we walked outside, Shara helda hand out to me, and I seized her fingers like a lifeline. “You’re not a burden. Far from it. Yesterday, we traveled to Galveston, Texas, where the Skolos Triune planned to meet and hold a quorum. I had a dream from the Mother telling me to go. I knew the Dauphine would be there, but we didn’t know who she was until she almost succeeded in killing me and two other Skolos queens. Jeanne was masquerading as Basilia Gorgos, the third Skolos Triune queen.”
My eyes flared with interest. “The queen you mentioned in Mykonos.”
Shara nodded. “No one knew the Dauphine had eliminated another Triune queen. We don’t even know when it happened yet, though I’m hopeful once I claim her blood circle, Sekh will be able to See the details of her capture.
“When I killed Jeanne, her goddess stripped me of my gift of resurrection, though of course I gained the Dauphine’s powers in exchange. Not going to lie, I fucking hate her powers, but if that’s what helped me regenerate you, then I’m pleased with the exchange. We spent last night in Galveston and went home to my nest in Arkansas early this morning. I rested for a few hours, but Thierry showed me where you were trapped, and we came immediately.”
That was an impressive amount of traveling back and forth across the country in such a short amount of time. “How did you arrive here so quickly?”
She flashed a smile at me as she led us to the very same oak where she’d healed me. Thierry fluttered down from the branches to sit on her shoulder. “I’ll show you. Are we ready?”
The alpha’s voice was so deep his words sounded like boulders crashing together in an earthquake. “Leviathan, Nevarre, and Vivian, pass through first and guard from the air. If you see anything unexpected, notify us immediately before our queen passes through.”
Wait, wait, wait. Vivian. A female name. Among her Blood…
Shara looked at me again, her dark eyes gleaming like a midnight sky filled with a trillion stars.:You’re under no obligation whatsoever, Leonie. You’ll always be safe in my house, regardless of whether you want a closer relationship with me or not. I have several siblings, but the only females I currently share an intimate relationship with are Mayte Zaniyah and Vivian.:
I clenched my jaws, fighting to keep from throwing my head back to whoop with joy.:I want, Shara, my queen.:
