Page 91 of Treasured
When I found Nicolas, he would pay the ultimate price for his betrayal. He was wrong if he thought he could steal my throne from me. No one could take it from me, not even the human I’d invited into my bed. The moment he betrayed me, he signed his death warrant. He would be begging for death by the time I was done with him.
Koleta’s lips tilted up, and she cackled. The sound was like a cawing raven, and it did nothing to endear her to me. “I was hoping you’d say that. Do you have what I asked for?”
I nodded. “All the ingredients are in the storage room.”
“Excellent.” She smiled, showing off her blackened, broken teeth. “I assume you’re not squeamish in the presence of blood?”
I bared my fangs at the witch. “Not at all.” I could use some right about now.
Koleta laughed. “Wonderful. Lead the way.”
If this were any other person daring to speak to me like this, I would have ripped out their throat for their impertinence. But right now, Koleta was my only hope. It would all be worth it if she could do as she claimed and make a token of my strength that would render me unbeatable, ensuring I never lost my throne.
What was a little disrespect in the face of immeasurable power?
Grabbing her arm, I shadowed us through the Void to the hallway outside the storage room I’d commandeered for our efforts.
The vampire guarding the door dipped his head when he saw us. Triboulet was a mere foot soldier in my army, barely a decade past his Making, but he was loyal.
“Everything is as you left it, My Queen,” he said.
“Thank you. We are not to be disturbed.”
“Of course.” Triboulet opened the door, and the witch and I stepped inside.
The first thing I smelled was the stink of an unwashed body. Beneath that, though, was the delicious smell of fear. A naked human male was bound and gagged to a chair in the corner of the room. An open wound ran across his chest, and blood oozed from the laceration, but other than that, he was in fairly good shape.
For now.
A wolfish grin crawled over my face as I turned to the witch. “Will this do? As you can see, I’ve procured the ruby, and this is one of the strongest-willed males my soldiers captured alive.”
The prisoner was a rebel—one of the damned humans fighting in the so-called Freedom Revolution.
Koleta approached the prisoner. “He looks strong enough.” Bending, she inhaled sharply and ran her tongue down his face, tasting him. “His fear is certainly powerful.”
The human moaned, and a puddle grew underneath him as Koleta ran her nails over his skin. She ripped off his gag, biting his lip until blood beaded. She licked it, and a mangled cry slipped from his chapped lips.
The witch turned to me, her eyes gleaming. “He will be a wonderful first sacrifice.”
The prisoner’s eyes widened, and he found his voice, screaming. “No! Please, don’t do this. I will do whatever you want, Queen Marguerite!”
I sneered at him. “What I want is the location of one rebel. I’m sure you know who I’m talking about.”
Blood drained from his face. “I’m sorry, Nicolas is in hiding. But I can tell you—”
“I don’t care about anything else!” Waving a hand, shadows slipped from my palm and wrapped around the rebel’s mouth, silencing him once again. “Let’s get started, shall we?”
A knock came on the door, pulling me out of the past. “Your Majesty!”
Yanking the shard of crystal out of my foot, I watched the skin knit itself together before I grabbed a wrap dress and slid it over my body. Once I was clothed, I went to the door and pulled it open. “What?”
General Triboulet stood tall, his hand raised to knock again. He dropped his fist and dipped into a bow. “Good evening, My Queen.”
I huffed. I didn’t have time for pedantic pleasantries. My ruby was losing its power, and I was exhausted. “Get on with it, Triboulet,” I snapped.
My schedule was full. Between finding my son, killing his wife, and recharging my Blood Ruby, I had little time for anything else.
“I’m afraid…” He paled, and he mumbled something under his breath.