2. Karmen

2

KARMEN

N one of my Blood objected but the newer man practically quivered with the effort of restraining himself. A muscle flexed across his cheek, his eyes blazing with dark intensity, but he didn't say a word.

Carefully, I focused on his bond. It still felt like an invasion of privacy to listen in on their thoughts, but Sunzi assured me he, at least, was open to me.

Vlad the Impaler, Voivode of Wallachia. I wasn't even sure what that meant, though it sounded impressive. His sunfire hovered inside him like a giant spear, as thick as his body with a brutally sharp tip. Flames licked through his veins, hot enough to char his bones. He burned to give me more blood. Every drop of blood in his body. He wanted to taste mine again. He especially wanted to discover if he had fangs like mine.

A wry twinge of amusement flowed through his mind, though his lips didn't move.

"What's so funny?" I asked softly.

One eyebrow arched upward, and his mouth softened into a hint of satisfaction, though I wasn't sure why. "Most humans call me the original vampire, Dracula, even though there's no historical evidence linking me to drinking blood or rising from the dead like their ridiculous fables. And now, I find myself wishing I had those fangs of lore."

So he could be like me. Biting me, like I bit him.

A surge of emotion pulsed through me. It took me a moment to identify it. Not fear. Not anxiety. Though my heartbeat quickened just the same.

Desire.

Not for sex. Not yet, at least. But a desire for… more. It felt so incredible to bite them, to feel the pressure of their strong throats against my teeth. To smell their skin against my face. Then the exquisite taste of their blood flowing into me. Powering me up into a supernova.

Through their bonds, I knew it felt just as incredible for them when I fed on them. There wasn't any pain or fear in the process. They gave themselves over to me wholeheartedly. Even if I drained them to the point of death.

They enjoyed feeding me. No, it was more than that. It was pleasurable. Surprisingly intimate. Letting me inside them. Knowing their life force fueled me.

When I first claimed them, I bit myself and gave them my blood, though I'd meant it more like a sacrifice. A desperate plea to the goddess to turn the Soldiers of Light into Blood like Helayna's. Hers weren't Aima either. Did they still have the desire to taste her blood?

Vlad didn't ask to taste me again, even though I felt the flames flickering higher in his bond. Fueled by his hunger. Not for food as the consiliarius had suggested—but for my blood. He wasn't alone in that desire either, because Sunzi's bond burned with the same unspoken desire. I sank through his thoughts with less hesitation than Vlad's, simply because I'd touched him more. He was more familiar to me. Always closer. The first one I reached for in my mind.

His scroll unfurled at my touch, wide open as he'd promised. He quivered on a knife's edge of attention and alertness. Desperate to make sure I wasn't scared a single moment in his presence. Since he was with me always, he didn't want me to ever be afraid or in danger again. If that meant we stayed here, hidden from the world, forever, then so be it. Though I wasn't sure that was possible.

:Anything is possible if you wish it to be so,: he whispered in my mind.

I closed my eyes, letting his words flow through me. Sparking hope I hadn't dared express.

Hope I could really be happy and live the rest of my life in safety. With my Blood at my side.

I leaned forward, pressing my face into his neck. His arms came around me immediately, lightly holding me as if I was a delicate wisp of dandelion fluff that would float away if he moved too quickly. The hot, velvety skin of his throat pressed against my mouth. His pulse strong and steady against my lips. That quickly, I burned as if my blood caught fire. Vicious hunger spiked, and I had my fangs in him before I could remind myself to stop.

Molten sunfire energy blazed in his blood. Burning cinnamon at first, the taste of Cinnabar, his sunfire, but then deeper, the man. Rich coppery blood laced with traces of his past, as if his memory of the man he'd been flickered on my tongue. The formidable power of his mind, capturing strategies effortlessly, watching imaginary battles play out with deadly accuracy before he ever lifted a blade or voiced an order. Parchment and ink, with a leather-wrapped sword laid on top, its long blade wet with blood.

The blood of my enemies. Anybody who threatened me. Hurt me. Dead before I could even ask him to protect me.

Even Eivind the wolf king. Sunzi would see him dead if I allowed it. Simply because he'd failed to help me.

:I don't want him dead.:

Sunzi's bond whispered with the deadly sound of a sword quietly unsheathed. :Then he'd best not even think of ever laying a finger on you. We already warned him once.:

Goyaa?é had shot one of his arrows into Eivind's shoulder, simply because he tried to follow me. I'd never dreamed to have someone like them on my side. Actually protecting me. Helping me. Let alone holding me without pain or fear or dread.

Gratitude made my eyes burn and I tightened my arms around Sunzi, pulling him closer. :I wish that you could feed on me too. If you wanted.:

He quivered in my arms. :I would love to share such a magical thing with you, Your Majesty. But only if you're absolutely sure.:

I turned my head, keeping my mouth on my punctures in his throat but making my neck and shoulder available to him. : Please try.:

Slowly, he tucked his head closer to mine, giving me time to change my mind or pull away. His warm breath fluttered over my cheek and the delicate skin above the collar of the shirt I wore. Only now did I remember that I was still dressed in Eivind's clothes. Ugly gray baggy pants and a faded T-shirt. Comfortable and serviceable but not mine. Irritation flashed through me.

Sensing that flare of emotion, Sunzi started to withdraw, mistaking the cause. I slid my hand up his back and cupped his nape, bringing him back. :I don't want his clothes on my body. Maybe it's my imagination, but they still smell like wolf:

:I didn't say anything since what you wear is none of my concern, though it's absolutely not your imagination.: His breath huffed out softly on my throat. :We can easily remedy such a minor problem, Your Majesty. Though I wouldn't want you to feel a moment of discomfort or embarrassment.:

I'd been naked in their presence plenty of times. But I didn't want to think about why.

Now, here, anything that happened was my choice. Where I went. Who I touched. When I slept. What I wore.

I lifted my head, though I didn't lick my punctures closed on his throat because I fully intended to take more of his blood. I tipped my chin up, meeting his gaze. "Please help me remove the wolf king's clothes."

Something flickered in his eyes that took me a moment to decipher. My request—my trust in him—gratified him. Greatly. "It will be my pleasure, Your Majesty."

SUNZI

With the reek of wolf in my nostrils, all I wanted to do was shred the material away from her body and cover her with my scent. Wipe away all traces of the other man.

Such a strong, aggressive response shook me.

I took great pride in thinking through all actions and responses before ever making my move, but the only thing preventing me from drawing my blade so I could slice the offending clothes off my queen's body was the fear that might darken her gaze if I made any sudden or untoward moves.

I'd rather my undying skeleton crumble to dust than ever cause her a single moment of dread or fear.

Before I could draw the shirt over her head, something blurred and the sound of torn cloth whispered through the chamber. I'd honestly forgotten anyone else was still in the room. The Impaler had absolutely no compunction about slicing the offending clothing off her body. At least the shirt, which was all we needed removed for now anyway.

She jumped a little, her eyes flaring with shock. Glancing over her shoulder, she let out a soft sound I couldn't decipher. "I didn't feel a thing. I didn't even see you move. How'd you do that?"

"You're welcome, Your Majesty." The Impaler gave her a sardonic wink and bowed stiffly from the waist. "I'll be equally as efficient at removing the pants if you care to stand or allow Sun to lift you."

Her head turned back, her eyes lifting to mine. A little wider than usual, her breathing more rapid, but I didn't sense any fear or dread in her bond. In fact, she tipped her shoulders forward to allow the material to slide off her arms and away from her body. Then she gave me a little nod and placed her hands on my shoulders. Without dropping her eyes or ducking her head.

Keeping my eyes on her face, I gripped her beneath her armpits and lifted her several inches off the mattress. Enough for Vlad to slit the waistband and allow the material to glide down her body. She tried to kick free of the pants but the cuffs at her ankles hindered her. Luckily she had two ready and quick Blood hovering nearby who were all too eager to assist her in any way. Antonius took one leg and Vlad the other, pulling the pants free of her body.

Lightly, I set her back before me and removed my hands, keeping my gaze locked to hers. The other two Blood stood at the ready, but none of us made another move. Not without her express order.

She whispered, "What do you see when you look at me?"

"Our queen," I answered immediately.

"The magnificent sun itself," Antonius said.

Vlad didn't answer immediately, drawing her attention to him. A ploy, I was sure, but not that I could fault him in the slightest. "Holy goddess incarnate."

She dropped her gaze slightly, though she still looked at him. His loose white linen shirt gaped at the neck, baring his throat. "You don't see him ? Touching me." Her jaw flexed, her voice sharpening. "Fucking me."

Vlad's fingers twitched back toward the long knife on his hip that he'd used to slice her clothing. "I only see that shit stain when I daydream about fileting and strangling him with his own intestines while he slowly roasts over a sunfire inferno."

A startled gasp escaped her throat. "Did he even have intestines?"

"Through Smoak, the sunfires can show you exactly how he died if you wish it, Your Majesty. I've seen what the Isador queen did to him, and while I'm grateful he's dead, it was a far easier death than any of us would have given him if it'd been within our power to make him mortal."

Her head whipped back to me, as if she wanted to surprise me. Catch me looking at her body rather than her face. Though I would never presume to take such liberties until invited. "What would you have done to him if you could?"

"I'd ask the sunfires to roast him in the molten heart of their supernova for all eternity until not even a speck of the foulest droplet of gold remained."

Her mouth softened. A soft gleam in her eyes brutally stabbed me in the heart. She tipped her head slightly, watching my reaction. Curving her neck in invitation. "I want you to try feeding like I do."

I stared at the smooth, luminous expanse of her throat and my mouth watered. The soft palate of my mouth ached. A good sign, I hoped, that I would be able to feed as her kind, though I'd been born human thousands of years ago. My nostrils flared as I leaned in, inhaling the scent of her thin, fragile skin. The hot pulse of blood thumping in her vein just below the surface. Ever so lightly, I brushed my lips on her throat, and she trembled, her breath catching. Automatically, I started to pull away, giving her back her space, but she reached up and snagged my hair with both hands.

Pulling me back to the most intimate touch any of us had dared give her. My mouth on her skin. A priceless gift of trust, slicing through me as quickly as the Impaler's blade. The throbbing pain in my mouth increased, a staccato beat in time with my heart. A sweet, white-hot sensation piercing the roof of my mouth. Two holes. Fangs. I could feel them with my tongue, the prick against my own lips.

"Let me see them," she whispered.

I tipped my head back, though she kept her fingers in my hair, holding me inches away. Cracking my mouth open, I felt air flowing over the new fangs, making them throb relentlessly.

She leaned closer toward my mouth as if she would kiss me, and panic pulsed through me. Surely I'd been intimate with others in my original life, though with my queen here, so close, I couldn't remember anyone who might have come before.

The endless sun of Heliopolis had burned all human sensibilities away. Memories. Emotions. Touch. Need. Desire.

Now, a tangled snarl of emotions burned inside me as hot as the molten solar energy of my sunfire. If I failed to control myself?—

She touched the tip of her tongue to one of the new fangs her bond had given me, and a lightning bolt blasted through my face and out the back of my skull. I quivered, my hands convulsing on my thighs. Viciously squeezing. Fighting the urge to seize her. She needs to be able to trust me. Us. If my will cracks, I risk ruining our relationship with her forever. All of us. Cannot break ? —

She made a soft, ragged sound and arched against me. Tucking her face up against my throat, her mouth finding her previous bite. Her tongue lapped over my skin as she licked up the trail of blood. Pleased, hungry little sounds escaped her throat.

Driving me insane.

Her skin beckoned, her warm scent in my nose. Her fiery hair brushing my cheek. Ever so slowly, I pressed the tips of my new fangs against her throat. Penetrating her skin was the most erotic thing I could ever remember doing. Her flesh in my mouth, her vulnerable throat exposed. Her blood seeped onto my tongue. I quivered, colors bursting through my head, a dizzying starburst of taste and sensation that defied all earthly experience.

The fangs retracted slightly, the vicious ache receding. Which allowed her blood to pour into my mouth. A hot, endless flood, burning with all the power of the sun.

I couldn't help but groan, a deep, hoarse sound that rattled my chest. Her arms wrapped around me, squeezing me, her hands tangled in my hair. Her breasts pressed against my chest. I still wore my tunic, but I could feel the hard tips of her nipples. The warmth of her skin. I squeezed my thighs harder, digging my fingers into my own flesh until the muscles cramped with pain. I needed the reminder, the sharp clarity to keep my head.

From the beginning, feeding her had been exquisite. Sunfire, blood, whatever she needed, she'd have. Now, her blood flowed into me, strengthening her bond. Bringing our minds and hearts and bodies closer together. She enjoyed the feel of my mouth on her neck. My teeth in her throat. Pleasure coursed through her veins, an unfamiliar sensation but a boon that she embraced wholeheartedly.

:Hold me. Touch me. Please.:

Immediately, I wrapped my arms around her, sheltering her against my chest. I flattened my palms on her back. My fingers gently learning every ridge and bump of her spine. Within my head, her bond spun like the black hole that had almost destroyed the Ironheart nest, her power a crushing force inexorably pulling me—us—closer.

Antonius. Vlad. They hovered on either side of us. The others stared toward her from wherever they stood. Every cell in their bodies focused on her.

Now that I had the taste of her blood locked in my mind, I couldn't help but pity the wolf king.

He could have had this. He could have fed her his blood and felt this surge of power. He could have tasted her blood and burned with her sunfire energy, shining brighter even than Heliopolis. He could have protected and served this courageous, resilient queen.

Instead, he'd thrown it all away and left her to die in a pile of garbage.

An incomprehensible, idiotic mistake upon which I, Sun Tzu, would capitalize.