Page 96 of Their Blood Queen
“Cage,” Sabre grounds out, his voice gravelly and hoarse as he turns onto his stomach and crawls toward me. “Did you put up a wall?”
I nod. “I did, but we need blood if that’s going to last more than a few minutes.”
“Hmm,” he agrees, then hisses when he tries to move. “I’m in no shape to hunt,” he says, glancing up at the empty street. “Please tell me you heard those screams, Cage. I lied before. When you asked me if I had heard her, I said I didn’t hear anything.”
“I know,” I say as I rest my head against the ground and stare up into the dotted sky. The constellations are all wrong.
Or they’re right.
“Do you know what a Sigil is?” I ask him.
He goes quiet for a moment. “I suppose that’s one of my family secrets you found.” He blows out a breath. “My father has been trying to breed one for years. I always thought he was an idiot.”
“He is an idiot,” I agree, then flick my tongue over my lips, still unable to shake the taste of sweet peaches and cream. “But he might have been onto something. He was just looking in the wrong place.”
Sabre’s red eyes brightly flash a few times before they go black. “We’d have to let our walls down to find her, but I can hardly move like this.” His nostrils flare at the same time I scent mortal blood. We both glance down the dark street.
He rakes his claws over the ground, leaving deep gouges in the stone. He remains in his humanoid form, but his body is on high alert, ready to strike.
Power fluctuates all around us, making me dizzy with the rush of so many powerful beings all in one place.
This must be Monsters Night.
We both struggle to our feet when a woman approaches us. It’s the first person we’ve encountered in this new world, but she’s not our Sigil. I can tell when she comes close enough for me to spot a brand on her neck.
And she doesn’t smell at all like peaches.
She’s human. I can taste her mortality, but she’s still magically protected. There’s an icy, dark power that wraps around her like a shroud, daring anyone to tempt the veil of death she carries.
“Hello,” she says brightly as she rolls back her shoulders and clasps her hands in front of her pantsuit. She looks like she’s dressed up to go to an attorney’s office, but her attitude matches that of a preppy college girl.
Odd combination.
She flashes white teeth as she grins and takes her time perusing Sabre, then me. “You two must be the monsters I’m looking for.”
“Monsters,” Sabre repeats dryly as he drags out the word with a snarl. “Why don’t you just call us abominations while you’re at it? We’re used to it.”
The female’s perky demeanor doesn’t change, but there’s a tic in her jaw. “Oh, um. I didn’t mean to offend…” She clears her throat, then pulls her purse around from her hip and digs out a letter. “I’m an official Emissary of Monster City, and Queen Helia would like me to extend this invitation?—”
Sabre moves faster than I would have expected him capable of, given the drain we just experienced. He snatches the letter from the female’s hand and rips it open with one claw. Unfurling it, he frowns as his eyes skim the contents, then he reads one of the lines aloud.
“Welcome to my city, and please make yourselves at home. After you enjoy the festivities of Monsters Night, you are invited to my main tower to stay in a guest suite, where you will be supplied any sustenance you require. In exchange, you will meet with me in a week to review the terms of our alliance with you and your world.”
“She sounds bossy,” I complain.
“Hmm,” he agrees, then reads one more line. “If Emissary Sheila has located you, then my instincts were right.” He flicks his predatory gaze up to the female. “What does that mean?”
I’m impressed that the little mouse doesn’t squeak and run when faced with a beast like Sabre. He’s itching to find our Sigil just as badly as I am.
Funny how everything changed in the span of a few breaths.
I don’t have to ask if he still intends to return to our dimension. We’re going to be staying.
Our Sigil is here.
There is no going back.
The female flashes us another annoyingly perky smile. “All your questions will be answered when you meet with the Queen in a week’s time. Until then, I assume you’re hungry?” She pulls two vials from her purse, then holds them out to us.