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Carys, Leonie, and Frank controlled access to the nest, carefully bringing the queens and their Blood through the blood circle one by one. I felt Gina and Kevin in a room just off the ballroom with Julie and Regina, organizing the stacks of contracts to be signed by any of the queens who officially became Isador siblings.

:You can let Harvey begin sending the queens in,: I told Lew.

The giant stone doors silently swung open, allowing the quiet roar of dozens of voices to echo into the ballroom. I didn’t try to listen in as Harvey took names. In fact, I pretended complete disinterest in any of the queens stepping into the large space. Instead, I stroked my purring warcat and watched the visions flowing in Sekh’s mind like a movie. Faces flickering rapidly, years flowing past in a matter of seconds. Until a ping paused the video. The face of the master thrall crossing the queen’s path. Again and again.

:At this rate, we won’t be adding any Isador siblings today,: I grumbled. :I wish Gina hadn’t wasted so much time and paper printing all those contracts.:

:Not everyone will be guilty,: Guillaume said. :Though we don’t have facial images for all of the Dauphine’s former Blood. Only the known thralls.:

:I’m watching for the four attackers from last night as well,: Sekh added. :They weren’t thralls but they may have been involved with some of these queens. It does take time for me to See through so much history.:

:Once I have their blood, I’ll know,: I replied. :But I’d like to have an idea of who might be trustworthy before they make their oaths.:

In the past, that would have worried me. I didn’t want a drop of the Dauphine’s or Marne’s blood inside me or my house. With them both eliminated, the honest to goddess truth was no other queen was as terrifying as either of them. They were dead. I wasn’t arrogant enough to assume no other queen could take me down, especially if I made a foolish, careless mistake, but the power in my blood was stronger than any of these queens.

Taking their blood would give me access to their thoughts. Their houses. Nests. Gifts. Even their goddesses. Especially if I drank enough to form a deep bond. And I fully intended to drink so deep I’d have full access to their minds. I’d burrow so deep into them it’d take a great deal of subterfuge to keep even a simple secret from me. Let alone a lie or betrayal.

My hunger—my capacity—had been a struggle to balance as my power grew. Today, I fully intended to maximize my abilities.

18

SHARA

It seemed to take forever to bring all the siblings through the blood circle, but it probably only took an hour at most. My team was brilliant and efficient. My consiliari wheeled in the prepared documents and set up an on-the-fly signing area below the dais and to my left. Leaving a nice open area in front of the sphinxes for the real business.

In case the sphinxes needed a little help, Mehen had come down from the roof and joined Vore at either corner of the dais, though neither had shifted. Yet.

Leonie and Carys came to stand with me in front of my Blood. Close enough to whisper their thoughts to me as the other queens gathered. Of course we could simply use our bonds, but it added to the ambiance for each of them to casually lean close. Throats open to me. Not that I fed that often on Carys, though maybe I should. It would have been nice to have a deeper bond with her when the thralls attacked.

Since Winnifred was present, the other Isador birds joined me on the dais. Thierry’s smaller blue bird sat on my shoulder. The larger birds gathered on the back of the throne and the tops of columns that didn’t go all the way to the ceiling. Winston and Magnum stood with my consiliari and Regina by the table, leaving Harvey in control of the presentation, since it was “his” house.

As soon as he stepped before me, the low murmuring voices stilled. He wore an elegant black suit with a crisp white shirt beneath it. Instead of a tie, he wore an old-fashioned frothy neckcloth wrapped around his throat, pinned with an enameled red tyet. A deep blood-red rose was pinned over his heart. It looked like one of the roses from my heart tree back in Arkansas.

In fact, all the humans of my household wore a similar red rose.

:Thank you,: I whispered. I wasn’t sure who’d thought to bring roses from my nest, though I suspected it’d been the birds.

Facing me, Harvey bowed low, keeping his gaze down. “Your Majesty, may I present the former House Valois siblings to you?”

“Yes, thank you, Mr. Renardet. Before you present each queen, I have a few words to say.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.” He stepped to one side—wary of the sphinxes but trying not to give their secret away. “Her Majesty, Shara Isador, Triskeles Triune queen, last daughter of the Seven Scorpions of Isis, She Who Was and Is and Always Will Be, welcomes you to Palais de Isador.”

Short and simple, just the way I liked it.

“Welcome, siblings of House Valois. Some of you weren’t present yesterday, so I’m going to repeat my offer—and warning—again. Before we begin taking oaths, you’re free to go. I won’t require any of you to swear fealty to me, because I only accept trustworthy siblings into my house. Carys Tylluan has a special gift from the Mother, which allows us to foresee the likelihood that you will prove to be a poor ally for House Isador.”

I paused, letting silence fill the space.

In her most haughty and grumpy voice, Carys said, “So in other words, if I don’t like what I see in your future, you don’t get to swear to our queen.” Winnifred flapped her wings and squawked in agreement.

I allowed my lips to curve in a slow, not very nice smile. “Some of you may also be aware of an unpleasant discovery we made last night while shopping on Champs-Élysées. If you played any part in allowing thralls to spread in the catacombs beneath this city, you will meet the same fate as your former queen. I will know, and I will eliminate you. You may choose to leave now, and I will let you live as long as you never cross House Isador’s path again.”

I paused again, watching the queens. Some looked around the room, checking in with friends or other siblings. Whispering. Shaking their heads.

Fools.

Was it greed that kept them here? Hoping to double their contracts? Greed for a slice of my power? Perhaps they thought an alliance with a Triskeles Triune queen was worth the risk. Surely after the demonstration I’d made yesterday, they didn’t doubt my ability to exact justice from any and all of them.