Silver
silks draped the walls in Samuel’s and my guest quarters. We’d been roomed
together, of course. No doubt Queen Regina was hoping we would immediately
start breeding soldiers. I felt confident that everything would be okay since
Ian was watching the queen’s every move.
“Rest,
Brie.” Samuel yanked off his boots and shirt. “We have six hours until dawn.
It’s going to be chaos when we free these dominas and guide them to freedom.”
“Are
you okay with helping these women?” I twisted my lips to the side. “I know I
kind of volunteered you for that.”
“I’m
the best pathfinder in the city. Who else will do it?” He opened the top of his
pants. My gaze journeyed to those curves of abdominal muscles as I licked my
lips. He targeted me with his eyes. “You don’t have to stand there and just
look. You’re definitely welcome to touch and lick.”
“That’s
it?” I curled my lips up at the edges.
“Well,
I do have to save my strength. There are many dominas that I will be freeing
during daylight.” He stepped closer. “So many to birth with—”
I
hit his stomach. “Not funny.”
“Today,
in my mother’s sleeping quarters, you told me that you were my queen and would
always be with me.” He leaned his head to the side. “Is that true or was that
something you said in the heat of the moment?”
I
sighed. “It’s true.”
“Are
you still leaving me?” he asked. “My two days are up when the sun rises.”
“I’m
staying.”
“Why?”
“There’s
so much going on, clearly I should be here.”
“No.”
He moved toward me. His hard chest touched my breasts. My nipples stiffened
under the heat drifting from his skin. “If you’re staying only for this
predicament with the King, Ian, and me, then leave. I want you safe and far
away from anything that will happen.”
“I’m
staying.” I closed my eyes. “I have to be by your side, no matter what happens.
I can’t just leave you here, and if you don’t stay, then I should go where you
flee.”
“My
queen is worried about my safety?” He devoured my lips. “It feels good to have
someone genuinely worried for my welfare and not seeing my every breath as a
way to be their king and improve their lives.” He touched my chin and lifted my
face. “So you’re staying only to protect me?”
“No.”
“Then
why are you staying?”
“You
know why?” I whispered.
How could he not?
The
longer we spent together, the more I believed my place was with him. I’d wanted
to find myself, discover who Brie was, and in these past days I’d learned that
I was a blood mage. But, most of all, I found out that the man who stood in
front of me would be on my side no matter what, protecting and loving me with
every breath that left his lungs. And deep in my heart, I knew I felt the same
way. I would do anything I could to keep him safe. I loved him and that love
surged through my veins with a fierce rush of certainty. Now that I realized
the people around him were just spies—Leeta, Ty, and possibly Victoria—my place
was next to him, watching his back when he couldn’t.
I love him.
“I
love you too.” He kissed my lips. Lust swirled within my core. His tenna
fragrance wrapped around me like a sheet and blanketed my skin. His black polished
horns drove through the skin on his forehead, stretching out and curling at the
tips.
“Who
are you to me?” His voice deepened to a low tone.
I
opened my eyes. “Your queen.”
“Hmm…I
love hearing you say that.” Samuel guided me onto a massive bed with
cream-and-silver satin pillows. He lay down and I got on top of him, straddling
his muscular waist. His cock became hard under me. That engorged sword pressed
up between my thighs, pleading with me to pull it out and stroke its length. I
stirred and licked my lips. My clitoris immediately grew wet from my arousal.
“Take
off your pants,” he murmured.
“Just
because you’re ripening into a king doesn’t mean you can order me around.” I
winked at him. “Now
you
take off your
pants.”
“My
pants are open. Your leotard is on.” He put his huge hands on my waist and slid
me up and down on the span of his cock. I moaned. My insides warmed and
clenched in response. His fangs erupted from his gums. “Tell me you love me.”
I
opened my mouth in shock. Samuel burst out laughing. His body shook, causing me
to bounce a little. I pressed my breasts into his chest and gently rested my
elbows on his shoulders. “What is so funny? I love you, kind of.”
“Is
that it?” He combed his fingers through my hair.
“What
do you read from my mind, thought invader?” I joked.
A
smile spread across his face. “From what I gather, you’re in love with me. You
would kill for me if necessary.”
I
immediately sat up, feeling naked and exposed. “I don’t know about killing for
you.”
“You
would.” He flipped me over on my back and held himself up above me so that his
weight didn’t bear down on me. “You’re not comfortable with loving me that
much?”
“No.
It’s too soon.”
“Blasted
woman.” He leaned down and kissed me. “I want you right now.”
His
hands slipped along the outline of my hips. I stopped him. “Don’t you think we
should discuss Ty and Leeta spying on you? Or go over our plan again”
A
low growl sounded from his chest as he attacked my neck, kissing and nibbling
it.
“Samuel.”
I hit his chest hard with my hand. He rose from my neck and gazed at me with
hooded eyes.
“I
already knew Ty and Leeta reported my movements to my mother. I followed Ty
once, ten years ago, and watched him. Later I watched Leeta for a month and
finally saw her sneak off.” Samuel returned to tenderly nibbling my neck with
his fangs. Waves of pleasure swam over me.
“Stop
for a minute,” I begged, struggling to catch my breath.
“Can
we talk while I take off your costume?”
“No.
I’ll need it—”
“Not
for what I have planned.” He tossed me a wicked grin.
“The
Quiet King took lots of my blood for two years. What do you think he used it
for?”
“I
need to be deep inside of you.” Samuel yanked at the top of my leotard.
Giggling, I smacked his hand away. He ignored my protests and pulled some more,
stretching the material. “Blood is important to vampires. It makes sense he
would start testing there.”
He
slipped his hands into my panties. “Blasted! You’re as wet as an ocean. Spread
your legs apart.”
“Was
that an order?” I whispered.
“Please,”
he whimpered.
“I
will only if you promise to search the Quiet King’s bedroom with me later. We
have at least several hours until dawn and we’re on the highest level of the
castle.”
Samuel
sat up, frowning. “I don’t like where this is going.”
“The
Quiet King’s bedroom is on this level. All dominas get a tour of the castle
when we first come. I know where it’s at and—”
“No
way.” Samuel glared. “It’s too dangerous. There are probably guards there.”
“I
doubt guards are protecting his bedroom while he’s gone. Especially with there
being not too many guards around,” I insisted. “We could go in and search
around for answers.”
“And
what do you expect to find? Important results lying around, or even better, the
Quiet King’s journal?” Samuel laughed.
I
slipped off the bed. “I’m going to see. It’s the only time we’ll have a
chance—”
“You’re
not going.” Samuel appeared in front of me in seconds.
“And
are you going to stop me?” I adjusted my leotard.
“Yes.”
“Just
come with me to check out his office and then I will spend the remainder of our
time until dawn showing you how much I appreciated your help.”
“How?”
He raised his eyebrows.
“With
my mouth and,” I trailed my fingers over my hard nipples all the way down to my
thighs, “and anywhere else you would like to bite or fill me with your cock.”
His
horns, inch-by-inch, disappeared back into his head. “Then we should hurry.”
I
stepped around him and opened the door.
A
guard in a brown uniform gripping a wood sword faced me. “As Queen Regina’s
guests, you will remain in your quarters until she orders otherwise.”
The
guard entered our room. “Do we have an understanding?”
Samuel
came to my side and glanced at me. “I see there will never be a dull moment
with you, my queen.”
Chapter Fourteen
Samuel’s
hand shot to the guard’s neck. His claws ripped into the man’s skin. I jumped.
Blood dripped around the claws and exploded everywhere as Samuel took the
guard’s head off.
“Trust
me. I’m hoping for dull moments soon.” I wiped blood from my face with the back
of my arm, stepped out of the hallway, and spotted a guard to our right, in
front of another door. “Excuse me, could you come here, please?”
The
guard looked around and then stomped my way. “What do you want and why aren’t
you in your room? Where’s Ving?”
By
the time the guard’s foot stepped in front of me, Samuel’s claws connected to
Ving’s partner’s neck.
“Are
you sure you know where the King’s room is?” Samuel asked as he lifted the
guard’s body and threw him into our guest quarters.
“Yes.”
I grabbed his hand. We ran down several empty hallways. Apparently, the guards
were just for our guest quarters. Queen Regina probably still considered Ty,
Victoria, and Leeta loyal to her. Minutes later, I pointed to a huge black iron
door at the end of the hallway. “It’s down here. Do you still have that magic
key that you used in Zumaya?”
“Yes.”
Samuel’s hands went into his pockets. “I always bring it with me.”
When
Samuel took me to my home in Zumaya, he was able to open up my front door with
no problem. He’d told me that he once helped an old black mage escape the Quiet
King’s dungeon. The mage had made him three keys that could open any door not
locked by magic.
Samuel
pulled out a long black key. The key twisted with no problem. The iron door
squeaked open.
When dominas tour the castle
, Samuel said in my mind,
is the King’s room the grand conclusion to
the tour?
Actually, we never got to go
inside. The tour guide just pointed to his door.
I stepped into the dimly lit
room. There were no windows. No lit candles were in the room either, but
something large and pale blue glowed far off in the corner. I sniffed and
smelled mold and something decaying as if food had been left out for years. We
kept the door wide open.
Samuel’s
hand went to my arm. “Let me go ahead. I don’t like the fact that something could
jump out and hurt you.”
“Okay.”
“I
think I see a candle over here.” He rushed off somewhere to the side, easily
seeing in the dark. Not knowing what else to do, I slowly tiptoed toward the
massive blue thing at least twenty feet in front of me. Something snapped on my
right. Then the room illuminated around me. I turned to see Samuel holding a
candle and flinging the unlit match to the floor.
“This
room is as big as three rooms put together,” he announced.
It
was massive, but there was nothing on the walls or floor. Shock hit me. Almost
everything seemed bare. Even the tiny tables, where I now assumed Samuel found
the candle and matches, only had a few candles and matches, nothing else. The
bed wasn’t even big. I was sure that it could only fit the Quiet King and no
one else. A tattered brown quilt covered it.
“Holy
Ambi, what is that?” Samuel’s eyes opened wide as he looked in the direction of
the large blue glowing object. He rushed toward it and I trailed behind him.
The image became clearer, forcing me to stop moving and just stand there,
frozen in shock.
The
gleaming object was a woman, a dead one to be exact. Her red hair flowed all
the way to the floor as she sat on a huge diamond throne, outlined in blue gems
that emitted a haunting glow. I covered my mouth and nose from the rotting
flesh smell radiating from the corpse. Several black spiders crawled along her
face. Webs had been built near her eyes and hair, but the spiders hadn’t been
there for long. If they had, surely her whole body would be coated in webs.
Tubes dug into her neck and arms and vibrated with red liquid.
“He’s
pumping something into her corpse.” I followed the line of the tube all the way
down to the floor. They stopped at a bottle full of even more liquid.
Samuel
inhaled. “It smells like your blood.”
“And
this is Phinova, the Quiet King’s first wife,” I said in a low voice.