Page 71 of Their Blood Queen

Then the three bloodlines went their separate ways. For many, the story ends there.

But as I examine the female before me, I notice her eyes aren’t blue like I had assumed.

They’re silver, and the irises are fractured like broken shards of glass.

“They aren’t myths,” she insists. “But a Sigil is rare enough that I can understand why you might think so. And one is born only during a time of great need. King Nos has been trying to awaken a Sigil for centuries by using any human lineage to the last Sigil, who just so happens to be my distant relative. That’s why I live here. I’m one of his experiments.”

Now I have more questions than answers. “Does King Nos have a habit of sharing all his plans with his experiments?” I don’t slip my s as badly this time, having regressed my monster features in favor of my mortal ones.

This girl is no threat.

But she is interesting. I can guess why Sabre kept her kind a secret from me.

He was embarrassed by his father’s desperate attempts.

And he didn’t believe her story. Just like he didn’t believe he had heard a compatible mate’s scream rip through the dream plane just the other day.

The girl scoffs as she adjusts the torch to her other hand. The light no doubt reveals my nakedness. There’s no point in wearing clothing when I’m in my true form, but she keeps her gaze on mine. She doesn’t seem at all sexually attracted to me, which is just as well. I have no interest in playing with one of King Nos’s experiments that Sabre also happened not to tell me about.

“He can’t hide anything from us,” she casually explains. “We might not be awakened Sigils, but we still have some of the innate power that comes from being potentials, especially with the training we’ve gone through. Such as seeing the truth behind a person’s motives. And?—”

“We?” I ask, cutting her off.

Her cheeks flush as if she hadn’t intended to reveal that there are more like her under King Nos’s thumb. “You’re missing the point. Just pick up the book so I can go back to my wing.” She eyes the cobwebs and wrinkles her nose. “I don’t like the archives. The halls change every few minutes, and you’ll be lost here forever until someone else finds you. So when you’ve read whatever it is you’re supposed to read, I’ll show you the way out. Only someone like me can, unless you have enough magic to find the exit yourself.”

I flex my fingers, irritated that I didn’t know about that safety mechanism when it came to the archives.

But it makes sense.

Rescued by a girl. Sabre will never let me hear the end of this if he finds out about it.

Kneeling, I pick up the book and open it. The pages are like papyrus dipped in liquid metal. I only see an obscure reflection of myself. The longer I stare at it, I notice that tiny cracks seem to form across the page.

Two other spots appear as the liquid metal moves and changes. Two silhouettes, one next to me that takes on the shape of a Strigoi with large fangs.

Sabre?

Then there’s another male at the top, who seems to have two faces overlapping onto one another.

One looks like a pompously rich man.

There’s a shadow that overlays his image, one that towers over him like a dark cloud with red eyes. Long horns emerge, making me wonder what kind of creature that could be and what it has to do with Sabre, me, or the lost soul of a Sigil who created this book.

Then a blood diamond appears in the middle of the page, connecting all three of us.

When I reach out to touch it, I flinch back at a sharp stab of pain. Blood pools on the tip of my finger even though I’m fairly certain I hadn’t touched the page.

The book slams shut and then vanishes.

“Well, that was rude,” I say, glancing up at the girl, who is watching me expectantly. “Any idea what the hell that meant?” I ask before popping my bloodied finger into my mouth.

She shrugs. “Whatever message she had for you is for you alone. Now, if you don’t want to be stuck in here forever, I suggest you come with me,” she says, then marches off down a hall I didn’t remember seeing a moment before.

I frown but follow her.

It frustrates me that I’ve already decided to keep this from Sabre, but I have no doubt about it now.

That scream I heard had been real.