Queen Takes Queen

by Joely Sue Burkhart

  I leaned forward, pinning them each, one after the other, with a hard look. "I won't take kindly to any thoughts of trying to dethrone my alpha. He's my alpha. Period. I will him to be my alpha with every fiber of my being and every ounce of my blood. I love him as my alpha. I won't accept anyone else as my alpha. If anyone tried to harm him with the mistaken idea that I'd be open to replacing him, I'd rip their skin and flesh off their bones and grind their skeletons into fertilizer to feed my trees. Is that understood?"

  "Yes, my queen," the black sun brother said, while the other said, "Alrik Isador is my alpha."

  I stood and stepped closer to them, but neither rose from the floor until I bent down and offered them each a hand. They took my hand and rose to their knees, their eyes locked on me. "When I take your sister as sib, I'll accept you as Blood, on one condition."

  The black sun brother narrowed his gaze on me, pushed well past his normal limits for patience. "Yes?"

  I laughed softly and tugged them to their feet. "You have to remind me of your names again so I can stop calling you black sun and red spiral in my head."

  28

  Shara

  I napped through midday and worked with Gina the rest of the afternoon to finalize the contractual side of a sib relationship with Mayte. I'd thought it was blood only, but evidently there was a whole other financial and legal side to consider. Taking Mayte as my sib meant she was entitled to my protection. To me, that meant she was part of my family and my court, and thus, my legacy. Though we had to define exactly what that entailed.

  As far as I was concerned, it was an easy decision. She had a child. If I had no heir at the time of my death, I told Gina to give my legacy to Xochitl on the condition that she take care of my court as her own. If I did have heirs at the time of my death, Xochitl, and any other children Mayte conceived, would receive an equal portion of the legacy as my own children.

  "Will you want an heir?" Gina asked hesitantly, looking up a moment from the stack of papers she was reviewing for signatures.

  I shrugged uncomfortably. "I don't really know. I've never thought about it."

  Gina turned her attention back to the contracts. "You have plenty of time to decide. But it's a hell of a lot more paperwork once you have a child."

  I huffed out a laugh. "That seals it then. No heirs, ever."

  She knew I was kidding. Mostly.

  Once the paperwork was organized, I had to select yet another dress. I groaned, rolling my eyes. "If I'd known I'd have to wear so many fancy outfits, I never would have come to Mexico."

  "Nonsense. It's a wonderful opportunity to play dress up."

  We finally settled on a sultry black gown that hugged my curves. Though it was floor length, the sides were see through except for bands that criss-crossed up my legs and hips. Daire picked it out, along with some incredible fuck-me red stilettos that didn't seem to go with the dress at all. But who was I to argue with the king of shopping and sandwiches?

  "The order of presentation will be different this time," Gina told me as we headed downstairs to meet with Mayte and Bianca to sign the contracts. "You are going to be their queen, and so you will go first. Then your Blood. Then Mayte, alone. She'll present herself to you in front of her court."

  I took a deep breath. "And I do the deed. At least she knows what to expect when I bite her."

  Gina smirked. "But the rest of her court likely doesn't know."

  Crap. I was going to make Mayte come in front of her entire court. She knew it, and she was still going to go through with it.

  In her place, I wouldn't have minded, because my entire court was my Blood plus Gina, Frank and Winston. The latter two would be kind of embarrassing, I guessed, but nothing like the hundred or so people Mayte protected inside her nest.

  "Then each of her Blood will come before you and you can choose whether to take them or not."

  Ugh. "No way. I'm not taking any of her Blood from her."

  "It's your right as her queen."

  "Not happening."

  Nodding, Gina paused outside a heavy set of doors where one of Mayte's Blood waited. "After that, the rest of her family will be presented to you. You can take her brothers at that time, or wait until later in private. That doesn't need to be done formally. Each sib will also be presented to you."

  "I don't have to taste any of them though, right?"

  "Not unless you want to."

  "And none of them take my blood either."

  "Again, not unless you feel moved to do so."

  The Blood bowed low and pushed the doors open. "My queen, she's ready for you."

  Having complete strangers refer to me as their queen was going to take some getting used to. "Thank you. I'm sorry, I'm terrible with names. Which of her Blood are you?"

  "Luis, my queen."

  I waited while Rik made his orders about how to position my Blood. Guillaume, Xin, and Ezra went before me. Nevarre, Mehen, and Daire took the rear. I gave my hand to Rik and he tucked me close to his side as we walked through the door.

  This time, Mayte had set the meeting in the library. The walls were broken into panels by dark wood with murals painted in each section. Books lined the walls from floor to ceiling. A large round table sat before a fireplace with several heavy wood and leather chairs placed around it. Larger leather chairs were positioned in front of the fireplace and around the room. Mayte stood at the table with Bianca and her alpha, with her grandmother, daughter, and the rest of her Blood behind her, including Tepeyollotl.

  Her brothers stood on my left as I came in, but with a hard look, Guillaume kept them from approaching.

  "Your Majesty, please let me formally introduce you to my grandmother, Tocih Zaniyah."

  The older woman started to curtsy, but I quickly took her hand in both of mine. "I'm honored to meet you, Tocih, but please, let there be no formalities between us."

  The older woman humphed beneath her breath. "The younger generation has no appreciation for formal courts or proprieties any longer."

  I thought she was truly offended for a moment, but then I saw the twinkle in her eyes. "I'm afraid I couldn't care less for proprieties."

  She laughed more openly and patted my hands with her free hand. "Me neither, truth be told. Thank you for helping us protect Valle de Zaniyah and all who live here."

  "It's my pleasure."

  I released her and Mayte stepped closer with Xochitl on her hip. Mayte was dressed in a formal pink princess gown with a huge sweeping train, and her daughter wore a matching dress in purple. With flowers in their hair, they looked like beautiful fairies dancing in a garden of flowers beneath a full moon.

  "Is this the queen, Mama?" Xochitl asked.

  "Yes, my precious. She's come to protect us from the bad queen."

  Xochitl held out her arms to me.

  Stunned, I glanced at Mayte to make sure she was fine with me holding her, and she nodded, smiling, and lifted her to me.

  She touched the jet black and ruby necklace I wore and then gave a playful tug on a curled strand of my hair the hairdresser had pulled free of the braid she'd wound high on my head. "You're pretty."

  "So are you."

  "Are you going to kill the bad queen?"

  I checked Mayte's face again to gauge how much she shielded her daughter and how open I should be. By the hard, fierce look on her face, I decided to tell her child the truth. "Yes, I'm afraid so. None of us will be safe until I do."

  Xochitl wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed her cheek to mine, and I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I would kill anyone who threatened her.

  "Good. She made Mama cry."

  I handed her back to Mayte. "Well, we can't allow that to happen again, can we?"

  "Please, sit, be comfortable." Mayte gestured to the chairs. Rik pulled mine out for me, and Gina passed a leather portfolio folder containing the contract we'd drawn up to Bianca.

  The consiliarius read the summary page, looked up at me, eyes round, mouth hanging ope
n. "This is unprecedented. Are you sure?"

  Taken aback, I looked at Gina for help. She'd drawn it up for me. I trusted her guidance implicitly, and I had a very hard time thinking she'd made a mistake. "Isn't everything in order?"

  "Well, yes, but... But..."

  Mayte was looking a little pale around the mouth. Tepeyollotl pulled a chair out for her and helped her to sit. He looked at me with disgust, as if I’d called his queen a filthy name, and then turned a hard look on my alpha. His tattoos shimmered and moved on his skin, forming into spots. His jaguar. He bared his teeth at Rik and clenched his hands into fists.

  I couldn't blame him for being upset that she was upset...

  But what had we done that was so horrible?

  Bianca passed the folder to Mayte. She scanned the page and then sat back in her chair. Hard. Even paler. When she started to cry, I felt worse than the lowest worm I could imagine.

  "Mama, Mama." Xochitl squeezed her neck and puckered up too. "Don't cry. The pretty queen said you wouldn't cry again."

  If the little girl started to cry, too, then I was walking out of here without looking back.

  Mayte hugged her and kissed the top of her head. "This is a good cry, precious. I'm just... shocked. I can't..." She closed her eyes and squeezed her daughter tighter. "Everything's going to be all right now. Everything. I promise."

  Rik squeezed my shoulder. :I think she expected you to take everything.:

  A small sound of surprise escaped my throat, and Mayte looked up at me.

  "You don't even realize what you've done, do you? No. I can tell by the look on your face. At most, I hoped that you would allow me to keep my nest and continue to provide for my court as Zaniyah has done for hundreds of years. But I never really thought it possible."

  "Why would I take your home? I have a home. I have a nest. I don't want yours."

  "It's your right to demand anything of me now. Anything at all. Do you think Keisha Skye would have allowed us to stay here as an independent court? A nest of power separate from her stronghold in New York City? Of course not."

  I was starting to be offended myself. Her shock, her tears. Why had she asked for my help if she truly thought I'd take her home from her? "I thought we'd already established that I'm not Keisha Skye. So why is he glaring at me like he's going to eat me for lunch?"

  Mayte took Tepeyollotl’s hand and tugged him down beside her. "She's not only letting us keep everything, but she named Xochitl an Isador heir."

  "What does that mean?"

  Gina passed a heavy golden pen to Bianca. "It means that if my queen never has an heir of her own, your daughter will inherit the entire Isador legacy."

  "I don't care about gold," the man grunted. "I only care that my family is safe and happy. For a moment, I thought we were going to have a chance to see how well Isador's alpha fought in hand to hand combat."

  "And you're allowing this as the Isador consiliarius?" Bianca asked Gina.

  My eyebrows arched but I bit my tongue. Gina laughed, shaking her head. "My queen does as she will, but yes, I do support her in this decision. My queen would never take another queen's home or legacy. I knew better than to even suggest such a thing when we were writing up this agreement."

  "I lived most of my life without access to the legacy. I could live without it now if I had to."

  Rik squeezed my shoulder harder and his voice rumbled through me. "Not happening, my queen. You deserve every luxury and benefit the legacy will provide to you."

  Bianca and Mayte signed the contract, then Gina, and then me. It was done. Mayte beamed as Tepeyollotl bounced their laughing daughter on his knee, but all I could think of was what would happen to her...

  To them all...

  If I failed.

  29

  Shara

  I took one look at the ornate throne they'd set up for me during the formal procession, and I balked. Hard. That was Zaniyah's throne with jaguars painstakingly carved into the burnished wood. Why on earth would I want to sit in her throne? Why would I want a throne at all?

  After some arguing and insisting, they finally agreed to put one of the comfortable large leather chairs from the library beside the throne. It was big enough for Rik to sit with me and not be pretentious. This whole formal ceremony was already too pretentious for my taste, and if I had to sit for hours while Zaniyah's court was presented to me, then by goddess I was going to be comfortable.

  Standing at the door while Bianca readied everyone in the plaza, I tried not to show how tired I was. How hungry. I hadn't fed yet today, and I hadn't fed my Blood either. They didn't need my blood every single day, but as much as they—we—enjoyed it, I preferred to give them all at least a taste. We needed to be strong at all times, in case Skye attacked, and now I had even more people to protect. I had more at risk than ever.

  "You have more to gain now too," Rik whispered softly at my side.

  I sighed and leaned my head against his shoulder. With Guillaume and Ezra standing in front of us, I felt hidden enough to drop my guard, just a little. "Right now it doesn't feel like it. It feels like Zaniyah has basically sold all their problems to me and I got screwed without a single drop of lube."

  He rubbed his mouth softly against my forehead. "It seems like that now, because you haven't received the benefit of this arrangement yet."

  A scuffle behind us alerted me to the approach of Mayte's brothers. Evidently they wanted to get closer... And, naturally, my Blood objected. Strenuously.

  "Oh yes, here comes the benefit of that arrangement now." My tone sounded harsh even to my ears. "Let's see how many more fights and arguments we can have about who gets to do what first."

  "They're not going to be a problem." Rik didn't say anything to them directly, but I felt him turn his head and look at the twins. His rock troll swelled in his bond, his muscles sliding toward granite. "I won't allow them to annoy you."

  "Promise?"

  "You know it."

  Bianca opened the doors and curtsied to me. "Your Majesty, thank you for your patience. We're ready to begin the procession when you are."

  "I'm ready." I bit back the impatient words I wanted to say. “I've been ready for nearly half an hour now."

  She turned to the plaza and raised her voice. "Our queen, Shara Isador, and her alpha, Alrik Hyrrokkin Isador."

  We stepped outside and everyone started clapping and cheering. The crowd was much happier this time around. Word must have spread about my deal with Mayte. These poor people. They must have thought I'd come to rip their homes out from beneath them. No wonder their reception had been so reserved that first night, even though I'd come at Mayte's invitation.

  Rik held my arm as we walked down the aisle, and the cheers became deafening. I'd never heard so many people cheering so loudly before—let alone for me. Embarrassed, now, that I'd been so impatient, I stepped onto the dais and turned in front of the chair I'd asked for. I waited while Rik sat down behind me. Then his hands closed around my waist and he pulled me in between his thighs, cradling me against him.

  The crowd fell silent a moment, and then the whispers started. Evidently they weren't used to such displays from their queen. It made me smile, because oh boy, were they in for a shock when I received Mayte's oath.

  Bianca called out my Blood's names one by one, and they came to me, crowded close this time, because I didn't fucking care what the spectators thought now. Daire and Nevarre both dropped to the floor in front of the dais and leaned back to wrap an arm around each of my calves.

  Finally, Bianca called out Mayte's name. Her people rose again, turning to face her and applauding as she approached me, alone, head high. She came to me with a smile on her face, her eyes shining with hope and relief and gratitude. I couldn't help but picture how things would have gone down if Keisha Skye had managed to gain entrance to her nest. There would be no smiles. No cheers. I didn't even want to try and imagine what would have happened to Xochitl. The thought of her sweet baby girl being harmed fucking
wrecked me.

  Pausing before me, Mayte turned to her people and held her hands up for them to quiet. "Today, Zaniyah and Isador came to a sibling agreement to the benefit of both of our houses. Tonight, you serve as my witnesses that I come to this agreement willing and gladly of my own free will. From this day forward, House Zaniyah is sworn to House Isador. My blood is given to our new queen to seal this deal. May Coatlicue strike me down if I ever think to betray my bond to Isador."

  She turned to face me. With practiced elegance, she lifted the full sweeping skirt of her gown and dropped to her knees. A golden crown gleamed on her head. I’d have to get a closer look to be sure, but it looked like human hands and skulls entwined with snakes. "I, Mayte Zaniyah, daughter of Coatlicue, Teteoh Innan, Mother of the Gods, swear my blood and all my house to Shara Isador, daughter of Isis. I offer my blood to my queen to strengthen our alliance and increase her power. In exchange, I beg Isador's protection for my people."

  I held out my hand out to her, and she rose and came closer, dropping back to her knees between Daire and Nevarre.

  Holding my gaze, she tipped her head to the side, offering her throat to me.

  My pulse thumped like a tympani drum in my skull. My fangs descended, more than eager to taste her. To claim her.

  Her people watched breathlessly, waiting to see how I would handle their beloved queen. Images flickered through my mind. Mayte crying. Xochitl screaming. Tepeyollotl and Eztli bleeding, fighting, but unable to save their beloved queen.

  I could save her. As long as I could protect myself too.

  Leaning closer, I breathed in her scent, my lips brushing the soft line of her throat. She quivered against my knees, leaning harder into me. She wasn't scared or worried, even though I'd warned her about my bite.

  Opening my mouth, I sank my fangs deeply into her throat. She cried out and her back arched, straining, her hands flailing to the side. I cradled her head, supporting her as she shook against me.