9. Karmen

9

KARMEN

I stared at the portal, trying to tell what made it different. It gleamed with sunfire energy but I'd never seen one in the floor before. The portals Sunzi created were like flaming mirrors hanging in midair that opened a doorway to another place.

Gleaming red-gold energy pulsed in a complicated pattern on the wooden floor in what had once been Aunt Lynnea's sitting room. The strands were woven and knotted together in an artistic, beautiful way that captivated my attention.

The Scotsman squatted beside the shining pattern and lightly touched one of the molten solar knots. The whole design flashed brightly enough I closed my eyes for a moment. When I opened them, the separate strands had melted together into a bright layer of liquid gold.

"My portals are a tad finicky," he admitted, looking up at me quickly. His eyes were pale, light blue like a cloudless summer day. "Time is one of the variables I need to put into the rune to open the portal to a location, and it's hard to estimate. Especially from a location that doesn't exist on the human plane, like this house or Heliopolis. It might feel like we've been here a few days, but when we spoke to your consiliarius on the other side, we found that it's been over a month. So I didn't want to close this portal completely for fear you might lose even more time."

"I can't feel the loss of something I never had."

"Then you're extremely lucky in that regard, Your Majesty." His lips quirked with a wry grin. "The first step is a doozy, but the Impaler and Antonius already wait on the other side to catch you. The rest are deployed to guard the entire site."

I raised my gaze to Sunzi's and offered him my hands. He looked so different in modern clothes. Sleek and grim and formidable—until I looked into his eyes. Though I couldn't help but allow my gaze to wander down the full length of his body once more in appreciation. I had such a better idea of what he looked like now. Knowing what he looked like without any clothes made it so much more… intimate. Even fully dressed.

I knew the smooth velvet of his skin against my face. The feel of his body jerking with climax in my arms. His hot, hard cock pulsing in my palm. Even now, I wanted to hold him against me and feel all that intensity rocking our bodies together.

"I'll be right behind you," he swore.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped onto the shimmering golden pool and immediately started to sink. My stomach dropped with anxiety, but Sunzi kept my hands, slowing my fall through the hole in a controlled drop. Holding my breath, I squeezed my eyes shut as the gold flowed up my neck. Honestly, I didn't feel anything physically on my skin other than the prickle of familiar sunfire energy. It wasn't molten gold like the lake Ra used to bathe in.

More at ease, I tipped my face up toward Sunzi, his intense focus locked on me as I sank out of his sight. Though in seconds, I felt hands on my ankles.

:We've got her,: the Impaler said in our bond.

Though Sunzi didn't release my hands. In fact, I was pretty sure he must have laid down on his stomach on the floor, so he could thrust his head through the hole and watch me descend with his own eyes. As Vlad and Marcus eased me down toward the ground on their side, Sunzi slipped through the portal headfirst, released my hands, and popped to his feet in a smooth roll.

We exited in a grassy area near the main entrance of the hotel I recognized. Late afternoon sunlight behind the building cast ominous shadows across the parking lot. It seemed like centuries ago when Eivind brought me here to rest for a few hours. For a moment, I was back in his car, pounding on the glass, trapped, unsure how to work the door to get out. Running for the unknown building as soon as he opened the door.

From the front of the hotel, I couldn't tell there'd been a fire, though as we entered the front door, I could smell a hint of smoke lingering in the air along with the same musty scent. The front desk where the man had leered at me was empty, and there weren't any cars in the parking lot.

Marcus went ahead of us past the desk to where the hallways split from the larger lobby. I paused, staring toward the left. Plastic covered the hallway from ceiling to floor, and the smell of smoke was stronger. "The room we stayed in was at the end of the hall."

"The south wing was completely destroyed," a woman said, drawing my attention to her face. She appeared to be older with salt-and-pepper hair and fine lines around her eyes. She wore a thick gray sweater with a faint white design sprinkled throughout, a slim gray skirt, and black boots. Even her eyes were a silvery gray.

Bowing her head, she bent her knees and folded her hands almost as if she were in prayer.

"Her Imperial Majesty Karmen Sunna, Queen of Heliopolis," Marcus said. "Allow me to introduce your consiliarius, Dagny Sunna."

Blushing and awkward, I wasn't sure what to do or say so I kept it simple. "Hello."

"Your Majesty, I remain your humble servant in all things." When she straightened, tears shimmered in her eyes, making the gray look like wet, dark fog. "Nothing is too trivial or minuscule if I may be of service."

"Thank you for the clothes and the food. We enjoyed it immensely."

"I'm so pleased, Your Majesty. The staff is eager to make your favorite foods, no matter how rare or complicated the dishes may be. If I may, please allow me to lead you to a place we've prepared for you to sit and rest."

Nodding, I followed her toward a circular table set in the center of the lobby. I hadn't really paid attention to the decorations of the place when I was here before, but nothing looked familiar. Even the floor was covered with a plush, elegant rug that cushioned my steps. The table was covered with crisp white linens. Vases of flowers and thick pillar candles ran down the length of the table, with expensive-looking glassware and cutlery. Soft orange-gold light filtered down from a large glass window in the ceiling.

Marcus pulled out a carved wooden chair upholstered in a lush dark-red velvet the color of blood. As I sat and allowed him to scoot me back in, I realized there was only one setting at the table. Only one chair. Even though the table was large enough that half of my Blood could have dined as well as Dagny.

Sunzi stood behind me, Vlad on my left, and Marcus on my right with the sundogs War and Strife sitting on either side of his feet.

Dagny stood on the left side of the table facing us. "Is this suitable, Your Majesty?"

"It's lovely," I said with a hesitant smile. "I don't remember any of this being here before."

"Goddess, no." She laughed softly, shaking her head. "The furniture in this place was an abomination of cheap hotel furnishings from the nineties. But we've made use of the space and brought in enough new equipment that we could prepare a full four-course meal for a party of one hundred people. Though we'd need to bring in more wait staff."

"But… why?"

Her head tipped slightly, her eyes flickering from Vlad and back to me. "For you, Your Majesty. For your comfort. I was told this place was known to you."

"It is, and it's lovely," I repeated quickly. "I'm just not sure why you care to make it nice."

The skin around her eyes crinkled with confusion. "Even if you were only to stay here five minutes, I would do my best to make it as comfortable and elegant for you as possible. You're our queen. You deserve the very best in all things. It's my duty and great pleasure to ensure it's so."

Sunzi laid his hand on my shoulder and lightly squeezed. "If I may speak, Your Majesty?"

"Of course."

"Our queen isn't used to anyone providing anything at all for her comfort. Let alone having the ability to make selections simply for her own pleasure and enjoyment."

Dagny's head bowed slightly, her chin pressing to her chest. "I feared that might be the case, Your Majesty, when I read the record of what happened at your disappearance."

I didn't trust this woman enough yet to tell her a fraction of what I'd endured in Heliopolis, but from her grave expression, I didn't have to. She understood.

"Do you truly care about my comfort?" I asked softly.

Her head snapped up, her eyes flashing to steel. "Absolutely, Your Majesty. Whatever you ask or require, we will make it so."

She didn't know me well enough to understand that my answering smile was rare indeed, but I allowed my face to soften, and hopefully my eyes shone with gratitude and a bit of teasing. "Then let's drop all this formality, yes? I'm Karmen, and I'd love to have you sit down and chat with me, Dagny."

"Oh my." Her face lit up and she clapped her hands. "Yes, of course. That would be lovely, Karmen, my queen."