I blew out a sigh. I knew he was right. “Did you ever feed from Keisha Skye directly?”
“Fuck, no. The males who feed from her throat die quickly. You know the truth of that better than anyone, Rik.”
Rik’s arm tightened around me, his big body sliding toward granite. “Things are different in the Isador court.”
“I should goddamn hope so,” Ezra retorted back.
Growling deep in his chest, Rik squared his shoulders and lowered his head. “You won’t be leaving this nest on a whim and wandering around the countryside causing problems.”
“Who says so?”
“Me.” Boulders crashed and tumbled in his voice with that single word.
They stared at each other. Long moments passed by. The trees murmured with excitement as the first of the ants came up into their main root system. I felt ants popping and snapping in the ground, devoured like movie popcorn by the voracious roots. Tendrils grabbing, curling around tiny bodies. Smashing them. Nutrients to feed the earth. Roots snapping into place, entrapping huge pockets of ants in a corral of their design. The trees gobbled them up as quickly as possible, but thousands upon thousands were still marching relentlessly to the surface.
I tried calling up my power, even a small fireball, to gauge how long I could last.
Agony. My ribcage ached like it’d split open, pain slicing through me. I couldn’t hold back a soft cry.
Rik whipped his head to me, already tearing his wrist open to give me blood yet again. That didn’t surprise me, though I tried to tell him not to bother. I’d already fed from him deeply just a few minutes ago, and with an attack imminent, I couldn’t risk him. What did surprise me was the ruckus Ezra made on the outside of my nest.
Roaring, he pounded on the invisible barrier of my blood circle. “Let me in! Daire, you little bastard! Get that furry ass over here and bring me through! She needs me!”
Rik lifted my wrist and gently licked my blood from one of those brutal punctures. :Better? Don’t worry about me, my queen. A few swallows of your blood and I’m good as new.:
The new man roared louder and I felt his pain. My circle did not like him trying to break through. At all. But he wouldn’t stop.
:Let him in,: Rik told Daire with a mental sigh. :Though I’m holding you responsible for him.:
:Then I don’t want him in.: Daire grumbled, though he did head toward the circle. Instead of brushing or pressing against the man to bring him through my blood circle, Daire clamped his jaws around Ezra’s beefy forearm and dragged him through and directly to me, refusing to let him go until he stood before Rik.
Rik didn’t say anything. He held my wrist, tenderly licking my blood from the many wounds the thorns had made, his other arm wrapped around me, his wrist pressed to my mouth. Slumped against him, I watched their interaction, not letting go of Rik’s wrist. Not until he was ready.
They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Ezra was almost as tall as Rik and nearly twice as wide. But this time, I wasn’t worried for Rik’s safety. I knew one hundred percent who my alpha was. And if Ezra wanted to stay…
He’d know too.
Finally, he said gruffly, “Alpha.” Then he looked at me, his eyes softening. “Queen.” He dragged his gaze away, wincing as if it hurt to do so, and gave a look at Guillaume. “Stud.” But when he looked at Daire, he growled. “Pussy cat. You didn’t have to bite me so hard.”
:Wait until Shara bites you,: Daire said in our bond, even though Ezra couldn’t hear it yet. :Nobody warn him.:
I let go of Rik’s wrist. “The ants. They’re close.”
Loud caws and bird sounds had us all jerking our gaze up to the sky. A huge flock of crows and other birds swarmed into the trees, led by my huge raven, Nevarre. :I roused as many birds as I could. They’re grateful for a nighttime feast. Winter’s a lean time.:
“Crow,” Ezra said, slowly turning back to look at me, one brow arched. “Four Blood. Or more?”
“More.” My lips quirked. “But he prefers raven.”
:Wait until Mehen gets to meet Mr. Surly.: Daire cackled in our bond.
Rik shifted into his rock troll, his colossal boulder form slowly rolling out of him. Fully shifted, he made my other Blood look like toys a kid would play with.
Ezra whistled, soft and low, but didn’t say a word.
“Guillaume, Daire, our queen’s life is in your hands.” He didn’t say Xin, even though my wolf prowled in a slow circle around us, invisible. He wouldn’t be able to do much against ants either. I thought we could trust Ezra, but I wouldn’t know for sure until I’d had his blood, and then it might be too late. I felt better knowing my assassin Blood was close, an unknown threat Ezra wouldn’t know to guard against.
Cold and silent, Xin hovered just paces away, ready to pounce. He wasn’t thinking about whether or not he’d be able to kill his target. I had no doubts. I knew he’d defend me in a heartbeat, silent or not.
Ezra moved closer, wrapping an arm around me so Rik could leave. My alpha gave him a long look.
“You don’t have to tell me to feed her long and well,” Ezra muttered. “She’ll be fit as a fiddle in no time.”
“They’re here,” I whispered, my stomach quivering. Not with fear, exactly, or even dread. Just… anxiety. I didn’t want my Blood hurt in any way. Three. Against a marauding army of vicious ants.
Rik kissed the top of my head and lumbered toward the center of the grove as quickly as he could. I watched him go, straining to keep my head turned, even though it hurt. Everything hurt. I needed…
Guillaume shifted his weight and I started to slip. Ezra stepped closer, bracing me against him. I knew my hell horse had done it on purpose, a way to distract me from the battle. It still irritated me. I didn’t want to be distracted. I didn’t want…
Ezra’s neck was warm against my cheek. His beard tickled my face. Wiry, but strangely soft, too. Very much like what I expected his bear to feel like. He smelled like warm cinnamon and sweet tobacco, utterly masculine, yet also soft and rich and soothing. Despite his belligerence, I suspected he was a big old marshmallow on the inside. With Daire watching, ready to tease the man about the side effect of my fangs, I took pity on him. “You may want to tear open your wrist for me, like Rik did.”
He nestled me closer against him, making sure his throat was pressed to me. “Nah. I like fangs. Sink ‘em deep, sweetheart.”
:You heard the man,: Daire practically chortled.
I pressed my lips to Ezra’s throat, pressing soft kisses to his skin until I found his biggest vein. I gave him a good long lick to let him brace, and then I sank my fangs into his throat.
His back bowed on a bellow that made Guillaume twitch slightly beneath me, an ancient flight instinct that kicked in despite being a hell horse. Or maybe he had to catch his balance, because Ezra’s knees sagged and he sank against Guillaume’s side. But he didn’t let go of me, and he didn’t let me fall off.
Ezra tasted as good as he smelled, and just as soft and gooey on the inside as I’d imagined. In fact, he tasted like a snickerdoodle cookie. Slightly crispy on the outside with spicy cinnamon and sugar, but soft and fluffy on the inside. I sucked him down, absorbing his bond. He’d led a lonely existence in New York City. He’d never fit in. A mountain man at heart, the city had been a prison for him. He wasn’t alpha, so Skye had no real use for him, and he’d had no friends, even once Daire came to court. Everybody loved Daire. He was playful and fun, the life of the party, amiable and easy to get along with. Where Ezra was crusty and gruff and had no patience for fools or pretenders. He didn’t care what you thought, and he couldn’t give a fuck about your feelings or playing nice.
While it’d cost him dearly, his solitude made it easier for him to slip away, giving him more freedom. Especially when he realized what Skye was up to.
In fact, for all his standoffish ways, he had the uncanny ability to sniff out secrets, always in the right place at the right time to hear the soft whispers
and clandestine meetings. He’d just happened to be sitting on the stoop of the servants’ back-door entrance of an ultra-modern high-rise condo when Keisha Skye had stepped out onto her balcony dozens of stories above to make her threats regarding Christabel Devana’s fosters in her court.
He shifted back upright after the initial shock of my bite forcing him into climax, taking his weight off Guillaume and cuddling me against his big barrel chest. For all his gruff ways, his big hands cradled me like I was a baby bird that had fallen out of my nest. He didn’t take my blood for himself, though he certainly could have. I was still bleeding from so many wounds he could have swiped his fingers across my skin and had his power.
He didn’t know for sure that he’d be a bear as so many Ursula males before him, though he hoped to honor his blood, his queen mother, and most especially, me.
I lifted my bleeding wrist to his mouth and he still hesitated. “You’ve been hurt, my queen.”
I couldn’t send him my thoughts, not without giving him my blood first, but I wasn’t letting go of his throat. I pressed my wrist harder to his mouth, insisting. The pressure felt good on the wound, helping stop some of the blood flow.
He swallowed and pulled me back in time to his childhood mountain. Tall pine, thick carpet of needles, snow on the air, his breath frosting in his beard, heavy fur boots and coat, muffling his steps and giving him that broad bear look. Then he was a giant grizzly, standing on his hind legs, big paws draped around me, holding me up. His fur pressed against my face, soft and thick, still smelling of cinnamon and a hint of tobacco, but now with added pines and mountain air and the deep, wild Ukrainian forest of his homeland.
:Thank you, my queen.:
:Thank you, my bear.:
10
Mehen
I would never admit it under the most dire torture, but I had finally found peace with losing control of my beast.
I coasted in slow, silent circles around the perimeter of our nest, watching for any sign of invasion. Though how she thought I could blast millions of ants without harming the trees, I wasn’t sure. Hopefully I didn’t turn them into a bunch of glowing torches accidentally. Though I would continue to bitch about losing the ability to shift whenever I wanted, it was actually quite freeing. I didn’t have to worry about who I’d slaughter now. My queen would use me to slaughter her enemies as she saw fit, and she’d make sure she leashed me before I could harm those she didn’t want roasted or torn apart.
Simple.
She pointed. I would blast with fire and rend limb from limb. Perhaps she’d send me after Skye directly now that Xin felt like he couldn’t assassinate her. The thought made smoke puff out of my nose. A giant dragon flying over the sprawling hub of New York City. It could totally happen.
Nevarre made a gods-awful screech and dived toward the ground, hopping around like flames scorched his tail feathers. Bullseye.
I focused on that spot. :Got it.:
He hopped up into a nearby tree, its limbs heavy with all kinds of birds. More crows, a dozen owls, several hawks and a million or so little ones. I had no idea what kind they were. As long as they were hungry and fast, I didn’t give a fuck what they were.
I couldn’t see much. Even in broad daylight, my vision wasn’t as sharp as the crow’s would be. I hunted by my nose. But what the fuck did fucking ants smell like? Dirt? Fucking bugs.
Through our queen’s bond, Nevarre shared a sort of underground map with me. The new trees above ground that Shara had grown with her blood were already impressive, but the underground network of roots was astounding. A sensitive lacy web of roots covered the entire nest now and reached at least thirty or forty feet deep. I felt the horde coming up out of the ground like an oil geyser. In fact, they smelled like some kind of chemical that reminded me of raw petroleum.
That, I could definitely track if they tried to change course at the last moment once they realized we were ready for them.
:Are they commanded directly by Skye?: I asked Nevarre. :Can she change the plan when she sees us ready and waiting?:
:Unknown.:
I drew great gusts of air into my lungs, powering up my internal bellows. I wanted liquid fire, hot molten rock level heat. Crispy critters. No chance for escape.
The smell intensified. The birds all leaned closer to the ground, focused intently, ready to feast. I waited until the stench of petroleum was strong in my nostrils and the ground started to move. Then I let my hottest fire blast, lighting up the ground like an inferno with controlled, long, blasts. I wouldn’t singe the trees my queen had suffered so much to grow. My fire trickled to smoke and I shot back up into the sky, hauling in air for another strike. The birds descended immediately, swooping in to pick at the crispy ants and the live ones still kicking.
Goddess. The ground was crawling with them. Bugs. Wings. It was definitely the stuff of nightmares. The burned ants smelled more like roasted popcorn now.
I sensed movement several feet off to the side. Nevarre’s underground map flared in my head, showing the dark mass trying to slide through roots to a new safer exit point. Heavy-duty snappers were trying to cut through roots, but it was taking time, and the roots were doing a damned fine job of lassoing ants and crushing them. Fuck. Never in a million years would I have imagined going to battle with fucking trees and random birds. I blasted the ground again, making it steam and smoke, hopefully killing them before they could even emerge, or at worst, keep them down with the vicious roots.
In our bond, Shara felt stronger, a flood of fresh energy surging through us all. Holy fuck, a new Blood. :Find their queen.:
The trees responded so loudly in her head that we all felt it.
Queen. Here. Danger.
One tiny ant among the horde. The trees marked her, though she looked no different as far as I could tell. She was still below ground and pushing hard toward Shara, well-insulated and surrounded by her soldiers. While the birds were busy feasting on the ants escaping to the surface, Nevarre tracked the queen ant, scratching at the ground, digging with his beak, trying to find a way down to her.
I circled back around and checked the main group of ants. The ground still teemed with bugs and birds, but the birds had them well in hand, cawing and tweeting at each other in a bedlam of excitement. They’d probably never eaten so many bugs at once.
Nevarre felt me sweeping back toward the queen’s group and flew up out of the way, making room so I could blast the ground again. I got the top layer of her soldiers. But not the queen. Some of the group swept closer to a tree, sensing that I wouldn’t burn it. The oak had a split in its side, an ancient rotted hole that had probably made a great squirrel or raccoon nest. The ants swarmed up into that crevice, shielded from fire. Old and dry and rotted, the tree looked like a big pile of kindling. Of all the other trees in the grove, it didn’t stir as the ants crossed its roots.
I thought it was dead, and so did the ants. Until the crevice snapped shut like a giant mouth, trapping thousands of ants in the hollowed center.
The ground rumbled, drawing my attention back to the group of ants making a beeline toward our queen. Shifted into the rock troll, Rik pounded the ground with massive fists, shoving layers of dirt and rock tight, smashing ants by the hundreds.
Yet the queen marched on.
Dragons didn’t sweat, but I didn’t like how close this thing was getting to Shara. Rik didn’t either. He tore at the ground, heaving up giant pieces of sod and roots. Trying to expose the queen where either Nevarre or I could get to her.
:Blast this area again.: Rik ordered me. :Your fire won’t hurt me.:
I wasn’t so sure, but did as he told me, bathing the entire area with fire. Flames licked the ground and up his calves as he stomped and thumped the ground. Ants scrambled up his stony body, snapping uselessly at giant boulders. It looked like some kind of apocalyptic scene, with a giant monster slapping at his body and the ground, killing the ones fire didn’t consume.
“Where’s the queen?” Rik roared al
oud. “Find her.”
The trees lost track of her. That told me she had to be above the surface. Sweeping low over the ground, I scanned the heaving carpet of ants. Many were smoking or damaged, legs twitching uselessly as Rik plowed through them. But no queen.
We were dangerously close to where Shara waited now. Too close for me to risk burning her or one of the guarding Blood.
I landed, joining Rik in smashing with my huge feet as many as I could.
With a low rumbling roar, a gigantic grizzly lumbered over and started scooping up pawfuls of ants and eating them. Xin’s wolf materialized and he hopped and smashed ants beneath his paws, making the bear sit up and twitch his ears a moment, before scooping up another pile of ants to munch. Daire joined him, but the disgusted twist of his warcat’s mouth proclaimed that ants were not to his personal taste.
Guillaume swung around to face the approaching threat, carefully so she didn’t slip, though she was stronger and steadier now. Head low, the hell horse scanned the ground.
“She’s not dead,” Shara warned. “I can feel her close.”
:There.: Nevarre cawed and dove straight down to the ground just feet away from our queen.
I couldn’t even see what the fuck he was after. Urgency hammered through our bond. Rik scrambled toward her, his fists slamming into the ground in rapid succession, but he was too far away. Smoke puffed with each breath I took, but I didn’t dare stream fire at her. She might be able to stand unharmed in my flame, but I wouldn’t know until it was too late.
The hell horse lifted one platter-sized hoof and slammed it down on the ground with a satisfying crunch. :Done.:
I landed, chuckling out puffs of smoke. We came to her, automatically forming an arc of protection before our queen, mounted on a hell horse, and surrounded by a dragon, rock troll, warcat, wolf, raven, and now, another fucking furball.
Queen Takes Queen: Their Vampire Queen, Book 3 Page 8