“Nice scar,” another man said, waiting for Vlad to let go of my hand. “Leonides of Sparta.”
He bore the same kind of thick, angry scar around his throat that told a similar tale as mine, though his entire body was laced with additional scars. I allowed a slight smile to flicker on my lips as I shook his hand. “My queen healed the rest.”
He arched a brow. “Then I have hope my queen will do the same for mine.”
“Goyaalé.” The man didn’t offer his hand but nodded politely. He carried a bow and quiver slung over his shoulder and no steel that I could see.
I nodded, matching his depth. “I’m sorry, I’m not familiar with your name as a warrior.”
“I’m Bedonkohe Apache. The Mexicans and Americans called me Geronimo.”
“Ah, yes. You led wars against both countries with only a small band of warriors at your side. Most impressive.”
The last man didn’t carry a weapon that I could see, though I doubted any of them could accurately guess how many blades I had hidden on my body despite their claims to fame. “Hannibal Barca.”
“Rome’s most feared enemy,” I replied softly. “And one of the greatest wartime strategists of all time.”
“Hannibal’s at the gates.” His upper lip curled slightly in a wry, self-deprecating grin. “Though this war we fight follows no known strategies I understand.”
“Perhaps we can help with that. As I said earlier, most Blood never fought in a war. Serving as a queen’s Blood is more than just keeping her safe, though of course, that’s the primary concern. Are you eating well?”
They did the silent looking around at each other again. Barely, I suppressed a sigh.:Do you know what they’re asking each other?:I asked Vivian.
She gave me an affronted look.:I’m not eavesdropping through Smoak.:
:But…?:
:They’re too embarrassed to ask for fear of looking foolish. Most of them are fucking ancient, you know? But they feel as ignorant as newborn babies.:
Aloud, I said, “A common misconception among new Blood is that we’re meant to be the queen’s bodyguards, but it’s more than that. A well-fed queen is strong enough to defend everybody in her nest, and I mean blood, not food. She can and should eat regular human food as well, but her magic needs your blood. So the single most important thing you can do for your queen is give her your blood as often as she can take it. As much as she can hold. I’m guessing it’s been centuries for most of you since you even had a physical human body, so be sure you’re fueling it with food and lots of it.”
Vlad looked from me to Vivian, his gaze narrowed and heavy as if reading our body language through his sunfire and then verifying it with Smoak. “We didn’t eat any food at all until recently, and we’ve been able to feed her.” He hesitated, his eyes tightening ever so slightly, as if to say,“so far.”Perhaps not as often as he would like.
I allowed surprise to lift my eyebrows, and I slowly shook my head. “You need to eat. It’s crucial to replenish your own blood stores quickly for her.”
“Though maybe Karmen’s hunger isn’t as great as our queen’s,” Vivian added. “She’s starving all the fucking time. Has she drained you to unconsciousness yet?”
Vlad stiffened like someone had goosed him with his own spear, though his face remained implacable. “That’s possible?”
“Our queen has drained all of us in a single night until no one’s even left standing,” Vivian admitted. “The first night I came to her, I was able to walk into her house without any otherBlood noticing because they were all unconscious. Though since she’s added the last few Blood, it’s been a lot better.”
:Not that anyone was fucking complaining,:Leviathan retorted.:She can fucking drain me dry for all I fucking care.:
Kuros turned red in the face. “How the fuck were we supposed to eat human food when nothing even exists on the other side of the portal except—” He grunted and clamped his lips shut.
Evidently one of the other Sunna Blood told him not to spill any of their queen’s secrets.
“Let’s go up to the house, and I’ll show you how the Isador kitchen works. Hopefully you can build or acquire what you need. If I’m not on duty, I’m eating.”
Vivian and Daire fell in step with me, and we led the way up to the main house.
“Is that all you do?” Vlad asked.
Vivian gave him a skeptical side-eye look, but evidently she couldn’t read his expression either despite having prior experience with him. “Blood really don’t need anything else. We don’t need to sleep, though—” Her eyes flared wide and she stumbled a little. She snorted under her breath. “Oh. Yeah. Um about that… Every queen is different. Some queens don’t need or want that at all.”
I didn’t have to have a sunfire to know what she meant. Opening the back door to the kitchen, I held the door and waved for her to go on ahead. “Some queens feed on sex just as much as blood. It depends on their lineage and the gifts they inherited from their queen.”
Vlad hesitated at the door, searching my eyes with a solemn weight that wiped the knowing smirk off my lips. “Is this the first and only queen you served?”
