Queen Takes Queen: Their Vampire Queen, Book 3 Read online

  Queen Takes Queen

  Their Vampire Queen, Book 3

  Joely Sue Burkhart

  QUEEN TAKES QUEEN

  THEIR VAMPIRE QUEEN, book 3

  Published by

  Joely Sue Burkhart

  A Reverse Harem Vampire Romance

  The Triune’s attention is a deadly thing to attract. The world’s oldest and most powerful vampire queens devise a plan to ensure the fledgling Isador queen is eliminated before she can call enough Blood to protect her.

  But Shara has already drawn formidable and famously powerful Blood to her side: Leviathan, king of the depths. Guillaume de Payne, the headless Templar knight. Wu Tien Xin, the silent invisible assassin. Nevarre, the Morrigan’s own Shadow. And of course, her first two Blood, Alrik and Daire, inexperienced—but extremely powerful in their own right.

  Though well fed on queen’s blood and well loved, six Blood are not enough to stand against the mighty Triune. Shara needs more.

  She needs more Blood. She needs allies.

  What she really needs is a queen of her own.

  Copyright © 2018 Joely Sue Burkhart

  Cover Art by Cover Me Darling

  Formatting: AB Formatting

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in print or electronic form without the express, written permission of the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to any organization, event, or person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Adult Reading Material

  Contents

  Blurb

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  About the Author

  Also by Joely Sue Burkhart

  For my Beloved Sis.

  Thank you to my beta readers, Sherri Meyer, Laura Walker, Melissa Joy Vailes, Alexx Ragan, Rachel Mowry, Jenn VonBerg, Lydia Simone, Francesca Vance, Mads Schofield, Shelbi Gehring, Alyssa Muller, Meagan Cannon West, Amber Lynn Hamblin, Lachaundra LaRue, and Ella Cross

  Special thanks to Stephanie Cunningham for naming Eztli.

  Amber, Ezra thanks you personally.

  1

  Shara

  Lounging in bed was a luxury I’d been denied most of my adult life. When you were on the run, afraid for your life, the last thing you wanted to do was close your eyes. Let alone drop your guard enough to actually sleep soundly. Sleeping made me vulnerable, and alone, I couldn’t afford to be vulnerable. I couldn’t relax one second without worrying I’d end up dead.

  That fear was long gone now. I could lie in bed all hours of the day or night and sleep without a single worry. I didn’t have to keep one eye on the door, or strain my ears to hear a whisper in the hallway. Because I would never be alone again, not with my Blood by my side.

  Before I opened my eyes, I liked to touch each of my six Blood bonds one by one, locating their position. Partly to know who was in bed with me, but also so they would each feel me touch their bond. They’d know I was awake and well, and I’d know they were well.

  Of course as my alpha and my biggest, baddest Blood, Rik probably knew I was awake before I realized it, but I always felt for him first, even though I knew he’d be right there beside me.

  Until he wasn’t.

  He isn’t here.

  I jerked upright, my heart pounding. “Rik?”

  He hollered from the bathroom. “In here, my queen. Sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you.”

  “Even alphas need to take a leak now and then,” Xin said beside me.

  Whew. My heart still pounded, but I lay back down beside him and curled into his side. Even in his human form, Xin smelled like a wolf. Well, that didn’t come anywhere close to a good description. He smelled like a wolf, paused in a clearing in the middle of an ancient forest, beneath a full moon on a cold winter’s night, with frost and snow crystallized on his fur.

  Touching him felt so strange with that image in my head, because his skin was so hot and smooth. I ran my palms over his chest and shoulders, enjoying the play of muscle and sinew beneath his skin. He was one of my leaner Blood, but no less powerful or strong than the others. As my second-oldest Blood—born in 712 AD—he had endured centuries upon centuries in a cold, untouchable service to his queen. To say he was starved for touch was the understatement of the year. All my Blood were starved to a point, but he and Mehen, my oldest Blood, who’d been imprisoned as the mighty dragon, Leviathan, definitely felt the need most severely.

  I pressed closer to Xin, tangling my legs with his and sliding one hand around to his back. My eyes drifted shut and I relaxed into his embrace, just enjoying the feeling of companionship.

  Okay, I was starved for touch too.

  “Tell me something about you,” Xin whispered against my forehead, stroking my back. “Something no one else knows. Something good.”

  It would be impossible for me to tell him a secret when my Blood bonds tied our hearts and minds together. They usually knew what I was thinking before I realized myself. But he would at least be the first to hear the words.

  Silent a few moments, I tried to think of something not just good, but special. “It’s funny, but when you’re a kid, you think that your life is normal and everyone else is weird, you know? So I thought everybody had terrible nightmares and saw red glaring eyes outside their windows. I thought everyone was scared of the dark because of the monsters. So when I talked about it at school, I got labeled ‘special’ pretty quickly. After a few years, Mom took me out of public school and I stayed home with her. Dad was gone by then, but she really tried hard to make things normal and safe for me. Fun, even. But I didn’t have any friends, and as much as I loved her, I was still lonely, even before she died.”

  He made a low sound against my skin. “I said something good, my queen.”

  “I’m getting there, I promise! I didn’t have a lot of friends, and I hung out mostly with Mom. But all through my life, little things happened that made me feel like I wasn’t alone. That I was watched over. Like I had a guardian angel. Maybe I’d find a flower on the porch, something tropical and hot pink, when we didn’t have anything like it growing on our street. Or a really pretty red leaf in the middle of winter, pressed to the windshield of the car. Or I’d smell something sweet and soothing at night when I was scared, and I’d close my eyes, and it’d feel like someone was there, watching over me. I didn’t know then who it was, but now… I think it was my real mother. Even though she was dead and I had no idea of her existence, she was always with me.”

  I didn’t bother saying her name. Thanks to a geas Esetta Isador had placed upon all Aima, no one living could say or remember her name. I didn’t have that problem, since I’d technically died the first time I came into my power when Rik and Daire found me just a few miles from here.

  My throat ached and my eyes burne
d, but with happy tears. “Even though she knew I had no idea that she even existed, she still made sure I felt her presence. That’s pretty special.”

  Mom would always be Mom, the woman who raised me, who died to keep me safe, even though she was technically my aunt. But now I had Esetta, too. I had her words she’d written to me. Even if no one else could remember her name, I would always remember.

  Thank you, Esetta.

  Something soft brushed my cheek like a feather—though I didn’t see or sense anything.

  “Thank you, my queen,” Xin whispered.

  He didn’t tighten his grip or press against me, but something tugged on my sixth sense in the bond. I sank deeper into his bond, now used to the gray fog that seemed to surround him. Each of my Blood’s bonds felt different in my head, and Xin had always been distant. Not that he tried to deliberately hide from me, not at all. His gift of invisibility wrapped his bond and made him harder for me to sense. His former queen hadn’t wanted any of her Bloods’ emotions to leak into her head, and so he’d learned a long time ago to keep his emotions tightly under wrap. When I first met him, I’d had to jump off a metaphorical skyscraper to find his true self. It was easier now, but I still had to reach to feel him.

  Raw need raged through him so fiercely it made my breath catch on a soft gasp. I already knew he was starved for affection, but this… A gnawing black hole ate through his bond. He needed my blood. He needed to fuck. Preferably at the same time. More, though, he burned to be alone with me. To have me to himself. Like this. Just me and him in bed together. Even if only for a few minutes.

  He’d never had that. None of my Blood had me alone, except maybe Rik. And even then… How often was I completely alone with even him? With six men all dedicated to protecting me and seeing to my every want and need, it was usually crowded around me.

  Especially in my bed.

  “Xin. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  The corner of his eyes crinkled slightly but otherwise his face remained smooth. “Tell you what, my queen?”

  Again, he wasn’t trying to hide or obscure anything. He honestly didn’t know. He was so far removed from his own emotions that he had no idea what I sensed. It was his nature to remain controlled, hidden in plain sight, without complaint, request, or reaction. He was a blade. A weapon I sent to kill my enemies. My food when I wanted it. He had no expectations other than I use his particularly deadly talents.

  And that damned near broke my heart. Because he was so much more to me than that. They all were.

  I cupped his nape and rolled over onto my back, drawing him toward me. On his elbow, he looked down at me, more curious than anything. Still waiting for my command. He wouldn’t act. Not of his own volition.

  So be it.

  I threaded my fingers in his hair and gave a little teasing tug. “Rik’s going to take a walk while you fuck me.”

  XIN

  Her words did not make sense. I stared at her, afraid to breathe or move a single muscle until I understood. A queen never sent her alpha away. An alpha never left his queen’s side. That Rik trusted me to guard her long enough to hit the bathroom was already a boon.

  A Blood was lucky to have even three minutes alone with his queen in a lifetime.

  To have her alone…

  Her blood and her body…

  It was unheard of.

  My last queen had never allowed me to touch even her hand. Her Blood did not feed from her directly. Even among her full court, my physical interactions had been limited to feeding from my sibs. Sexual need was a weakness.

  Something I’d cut out of myself a very long time ago.

  At least so I’d thought.

  “You cannot,” I finally said, each word cutting my throat like broken glass. “Rik would not allow it.”

  Eyes smoldering, she smiled slowly, each incremental curve of her lips an invitation to insanity. Soft, full lips. The delicate tip of her tongue. The flash of white fang descending. “Oh really? I’m your queen. I decide who’s in my bed. And this queen hungers.”

  “Take every drop of blood in my body, my queen.”

  Her lashes fluttered down over her gleaming eyes. “I want more than your blood.”

  I swallowed hard. “I will give you anything. Anything you ask. Anything at all.”

  She didn’t elaborate, which made my nerves tighten like a drum. She had a need. I must meet it. Whatever it was. That’s what Blood did. My alpha would expect no less than I give her exactly what she needed. Even better if I could offer it before she must ask.

  But a Blood did not initiate sex with his queen, especially without her alpha.

  Her hand stroked down my chest, her fingers trailing over each ridge and hollow. My abdominal muscles quivered with her advance. A tiny crack in my control.

  The chilled silence of my gift filled my head like impenetrable fog. Still. Calm. Silent. If Rik happened to look at the bed, he wouldn’t be able to see me here with our queen, unless he used her bond to locate me. An unfortunate side effect. I didn’t want to hide—but I had to maintain my ability to serve. I could do nothing about the erection, but I wouldn’t make a sound or demand or request. Never.

  “No,” she whispered against my lips as her hand closed around my cock. “Look at me.”

  I hadn’t realized I’d closed my eyes. Stupid. Another weakness I couldn’t afford. I couldn’t shut my eyes when my queen’s life was in my hands. When I focused on her face, she tugged me firmly by my cock, pulling me on top of her, her thighs opening to cradle me against her.

  Shit. Fuck. Another quiver slipped through the stillness, a twitch that slithered down my spine and made my hips move, dragging my dick through her grip. Wholly involuntary. Wholly unacceptable.

  I pierced my bottom lip with my fangs, letting blood fill my mouth. The small pain distracted me enough so that I didn’t move again. Even when she wiggled beneath me, sliding into position to take me inside her.

  Her thighs came up around my waist and I was almost lost. Almost undone. A crumbled wreck.

  In my mind, I fled to an abandoned temple at the top of the mountain near my birthplace, wrapped in fog and lost in time. I went there as a child, my safe and secret place that no one knew of but me. I ran up the treacherous slopes, my lungs burning, thighs aching, and pushed open the tattered woven mat that served as a door.

  And found Shara lying on silken cushions, pulling me to her like a ceaseless tide.

  “I want your emotion,” she whispered against my mouth. Licking my lips. Demanding I give her the blood she must have smelled, even though I carefully kept any from dripping on her. “I want you open to me. Not locked away, lost in silent fog. I want you here, eye to eye, even if it’s raw and ugly. Share your mind and heart with me.”

  “I cannot,” I whispered, my voice breaking with the overwhelming failure. I would give her anything. My life. My blood. But I couldn’t give her my emotions. I didn’t know how. And even if I did figure out how to unlock that door after centuries…

  I feared it would leave me broken. Unusable. Could her best blade serve as a killer if I became crippled with emotion?

  I couldn’t think. Not with her muscles tightening on my dick. Her mouth on mine, teasing my lips apart so she could taste my blood.

  “Show me,” she whispered, her words a caress that my starved body soaked up like a sponge. “Show me everything. I want it. I need it. I want to know you, Xin. I want to see you. All of you.”

  See me.

  See me huddled in the corner of my hiding place, hugging my knees to my chest with arms too scrawny, legs like sticks, my back a mass of welts. I learned early not to cry or protest or react in any way. A Blood never asked for mercy or complained at cruelty, and I was born to be Blood. While human children would have been learning to read and write, I killed my first thrall. When other human boys my age would have been thinking about girls, I was tested by the best and most powerful alphas within a week’s ride of my home court.

  They’d
sniffed me. Bit me. Tasted my blood. Watched me fight against the other potential Blood candidates.

  But Wu Tien’s alpha woke me in the dead of night and took me through the court to stand outside a dark house.

  “A threat to my queen sleeps within. She wants this threat dead but no one must see or hear you. If you’re successful, she’ll call you as Blood.”

  Most people probably would have asked how many were inside and which one was the target. Which one I should kill.

  But not me.

  The alpha had chosen his words carefully. If no one must see or hear me…

  They would not live to tell the tale.

  I had done my duty. Beautifully quick, silent and deadly. Though I had cried without sound when I killed the youngest. A girl, younger than me. Her eyes had opened a moment before my steel bit into her throat, pupils flaring with terror though she didn’t cry out. I had felt something in her. Something that called to what I was becoming.

  A fledgling queen. Calling a fledgling Blood. Calling me.

  I had always wondered what would have become of me if I’d refused Wu Tien’s order that night. If I had answered the still, quiet call I felt in that child. Before I slit her throat as my new queen ordered. Though I killed many queens through the centuries, I never felt that call again.