Page 10 of Their Blood Queen

“Yes, Your Majesty,” he whispers, then folds himself onto the floor in prostration before rising and exiting the room, never turning his back to her.

They train them well in Monster City.

But Helia doesn’t seem to be her whimsical self, as much as she’s trying to hide it.

Something’s wrong.

“I’ve felt off these past few years,” she admits with her gaze still watching the space where Jason had once been. “My playthings don’t amuse me anymore. Perhaps I’ve outgrown them.”

I don’t mention the obvious.

Perhaps her mate has finally been born.

It’s too cruel to tease her with the prospect that her suffering might be over, that her mate might be out there.

But I find myself feeling hopeful that at least one of us will make it through this Monsters Night alive.

I set my glass down and cross my arms. Out of sheer force of will, lights flicker out in the city so I can see her better. I frown, realizing some lights are going out inside Elite homes, so I keep those on.

I just need to see Helia better, not thrust my city into a state of panic.

Of course, I could transition our discussion to one of the mirrors in my estate, but I prefer to keep a watchful eye on the city while we talk.

She’s calmed the spikes from her forearms, lowering them to gentle nubs, but the armored scales on her body remain. She stands, forcing me to look up at her as she stretches to her full height.

I’m in awe of her beast.

And afraid that she’s becoming just like me.

A monster with no control and no remorse.

“Perhaps you should adopt your human form for a while,” I suggest. If there is a mate out there for her, he’ll be less intimidated by her more forgiving human form—it’s more forgiving in both behavior and appearance.

Her thin brow furrows as her tail flicks around her feet. “And become divided like you, Cain? You chain yourself up every Monsters Night to prevent yourself from losing control of your other half. We all deal with the struggle of our situation differently. You handle the hunger your way; I’ll handle mine how I see fit.”

I don’t rebuke her, because she’s not wrong.

There’s a price to my method, one that’s making me slowly go insane.

Neither of us says it, but we’re both thinking it.

We need to find ourselves mates.

“Did you know there’s a new world joining us for Monsters Night?” Helia asks, deflecting to the true purpose of our meeting.

I raise a brow, that piece of information grabbing my interest. “What kind of world?” I ask, finding it odd that she didn’t call it a new realm. There are so many that we couldn’t possibly have documented them all yet. My desk is full of biometric and cultural summaries of new monsters to help me guide the Elite City families in their genetic endeavors. With every new alliance Helia forms, thanks to the mates my humans provide, the closer we come to solving an age-old problem for our kind.

Stability.

Safety.

Peace.

My beast growls inside my soul, snapping at the asinine idea that we’ll ever find peace.

Eat, he seems to say. Fuck. Devour. Live to see another blood-spotted day.

Helia grins while she settles onto her chaise lounge, this time sitting as she crosses her legs. Her tail drapes over her knee, providing some modesty.