A couple of humans passed through the portal. One I recognized as the cop, Harris, Ironheart’s friend. So I wasn’t entirely surprised to see the wolf king next, though I was astonished he was still in one piece, especially while accompanying Karmen. Had she Blooded him? I couldn’t tell by looking at him.
“I’m Dagny, consiliarius for House Sunna,” the other human said. With silvery gray hair and a pleasant smile, she looked like what I assumed a fairytale godmother would look like. Dressed in a simple gray sweater and matching pants, she didn’t look at all like our sharp-witted, brutally efficient Gina. “Our queen may be injured. We thought it best to seek help immediately.”
What could hurt such a powerful queen? Smoak flared even brighter around me. Old scars tightened on my back. Most of them had been given by Sepdet, but there had been other dangerous spawn of Ra that might still be alive. Maybe one of them? “Who?”
Ignoring my question, Dagny marched over like a commander, her eyes steely gray and hard. My estimation of the size of her balls went up exponentially. “I ask for safe passage for all ofHouse Sunna in Her Majesty Karmen Sunna’s name. Do you speak for House Isador?”
My queen’s bond expanded inside me, swelling with Shara’s presence. She was inside me. Looking out of my eyes. Speaking with my mouth. “She does, because I’m here. House Isador welcomes House Sunna and offers our full protection during your stay in my nest. Your enemies are my enemies. As Isis is my witness, no harm shall come to Karmen Sunna or any of her people while inside my nest unless your party draws first blood.”
Glancing back over her shoulder, Dagny gave a nod to the men waiting on the other side. “No queen can lie on such an oath.”
Several more Blood came through, then one I presumed to be Karmen’s alpha, carrying her in his arms, with a lanky Blood covering his back. The scent of blood was thick in the air, but I didn’t see any obvious wounds on their queen. Though she lay limp in her Blood’s arms, not even raising her head.
So much unprotected queen’s blood out in the open made me twitchy with controlled violence, even though she wasn’t my queen.
Picking up on my alarm, Shara said through me, “We need to get you all into the nest as quickly as possible.”
:Daire, Vore, and Itztli, join Xin and Ezra outside the nest to guard their backs,:Rik ordered.:Leviathan, continue to cover them from above. If things go south once they’re inside the blood circle, Guillaume and Sekh are charged with eliminating anyone threatening our queen with any means necessary.:
:Understood,:the General said.:The legion stands at the ready, though it won’t take but a handful to eliminate a few Blood.:
:Don’t forget what they are,:I warned.:The world’s greatest soldiers of all time will?—:
:Break their swords on my stone sphinx,:Sekh cut in.:We’llscatter their bones in the deepest, darkest trench in the ocean and see how quickly their sun queen can resurrect them.:
:I promised them sanctuary,:Shara reminded us.
:Which only means we won’t be the first to draw blood,:Guillaume said.:But no one who wishes you harm will ever be safe as long as the headless knight still walks this earth.:
Feeling my queen draw near, I turned to move closer to her while the rest of the Blood moved into position.
Flanked by Gina and Nevarre with Rik, Sekh, and Guillaume at her back, Shara came to the very edge of the nest.
Gina began the formal introductions. “I’m Gina, consiliarius for House Isador. Queen Shara, last daughter of Isis, welcomes you to House Isador. Once you’re all safe, we’ll be pleased to introduce all of Their Majesties’ Blood to one another.”
Shara held her hands out across the blood circle. “House Isador offers House Sunna sanctuary in my nest, and you may leave at any time.”
Dagny stepped forward and took Gina’s offered hand, but no one else made a move, and without her queen, Dagny refused to cross the blood circle.
The sunfires on Sunna’s Blood conveyed confusion and annoyance at any delay, though they were loath to make a wrong move while their queen was incapacitated. None of her men were Aima. They’d never served a queen before. They wouldn’t know any of the formalities of visiting another queen’s court.
With a nervous smile, Dagny still held Gina’s hand. “Forgive me, I can’t formally introduce Her Majesty’s Blood. I only just met her and haven’t learned their names yet.”
I wasn’t sure which one of the ten men was the Impaler, but I assumed the one carrying Karmen would at least be her alpha. So I focused on him. “No one can cross a queen’s blood circle without someone on the other side touching you and bringing you across. Once you’re inside the nest, you can come and go asneeded until my queen removes her permission for you to enter.”
The portal still shimmered behind him as he contemplated my words. An emergency exit if they needed it, though surely he wouldn’t want to go back to wherever they’d been attacked. Seconds ticked by and still no one moved.
Rik gave me a nudge in the bond.:Our queen waits for no one.:
Evidently, carrying Smoak made me a sunfire ambassador. I rolled my eyes, trying to think of something to say to hurry them up that also wouldn’t piss anyone off. “Your queen doesn’t have to go first. If you want a few Blood to cross over first, that’s fine. Our Blood will pull you through.”
The alpha’s face remained inscrutable, but several Blood moved toward the blood circle.
“I’m Nevarre,” he said, holding both hands out. “Welcome to House Isador.”
Still holding a sword in his right hand, one of Karmen’s Blood wrapped his fingers around Nevarre’s. “I’m simply the Scotsman, and this is Chak Ek’.”
Itztli made a low grunt in the bond.:He’s the Great Star, Venus, a god of the Maya, of equal stature to Tepeyollotl.:
