Page 99 of The Flame King's Queen

“The lich will be aware that it has mere days, weeks, before it dissipates, and so it will be desperately seeking a host. A powerful one that can protect it. As soon as it does, it will seek revenge on those who have harmed it.”

My heart sinks. That means Zabriel, me, Stesha, Zenevieve, and everyone else who was at the ruined hut. “Then you’re in danger. All three of you, and your mysterious friend.”

He pats my hand. “Don’t worry about us, Queen Isavelle. You must protect yourself and your husband. And on that note, come with me. I will prepare something for you.”

That night,I lay naked in Zabriel’s arms, the warm night air wafting in around us. For the moment, Sylvi is sleeping peacefully in her cradle at the foot of the bed, but she’ll be hungry soon.

Zabriel is tracing lazy fingers up my back, and he feels the unfamiliar chain around my neck. “What’s that?”

I touch the bead around my throat. “It’s a summoning charm. Master Gaun gave it to me. If the lich suddenly appears in the castle to murder us for killing its host, holding this bead and speaking a certain word will call the archive’s warlocks to me.”

They made it plain that they would hurl themselves in the lich’s path to save my life and everyone else in the castle. I tried to refuse the necklace, telling them that I don’t want anyone to live with such a fate hanging over their heads. Master Gaun took my hands and spoke to me quietly.

“After all we have done in our terrible lives, you must allow us the chance to make up for it, even if it means our deaths. We might be afraid, weak, perhaps nearly useless, but we are ready to die for the sake of you who freed us. It would be an honor that, in our darkest days, we never believed could be possible.”

I relay this to Zabriel, and he gazes at the ceiling, deep in thought. “They were three of the warlocks who helped me finish off Emmeric. Who was the fourth?”

I shake my head. “I don’t know. Sometimes I forget that Master Gaun and the others were witchfinders and that they hurt people for years and years. I have forgiven them, but I do not believe they forgive themselves. I think they believe they’re cowards.”

Zabriel brushes his lips over my brow. “I saw no cowards the day I killed Emmeric.”

“Neither did I.”

“I have warned Stesha that the lich will probably seek revenge on whoever attacked it in the past, and that includes Zenevieve. He was distracted, but he promised that he wouldn’t let anything happen to Zenevieve.”

“Why was he distracted?”

“Nilak is soon to lay a clutch of eggs.”

I gasp in delight. “She is? That’s wonderful news. Who is her mate?”

“She doesn’t have one, so she must have had a dalliance with a dragon who she deems merely passable.”

I laugh as I picture the proud white dragon. “Only the best for Nilak.”

I’m smiling, but I feel a tingle in the back of my mind. Fear. Now that the lich is no longer tethered to Emmeric, it could do anything, be anywhere. If there’s no sign of it within a month, will I feel relieved knowing that it’s possible the lich may have dissolved into nothingness, or will I anticipate it around every corner, wearing a new and terrifying face?

All I do know is that for the moment, our little family is safe. From now on, I won’t take a single moment with them for granted.

Sylvi stirs in her cradle, and I get out of bed and pick her up. Zabriel sits up against the pillows, and I feed our baby within the warmth of his strong arms.

“I love you, my queen,” he murmurs, pressing kisses to my neck as Sylvi suckles. “My heart beats for you. My knot hardens for you.”

My head tips back so that he may kiss more of my throat. We haven’t been intimate since she was born, and there’s a tingle low in my abdomen as his deep voice murmurs in my ear and his teeth nip my flesh.

When Sylvi is done feeding, I take her into the next room to Santha and Posette, and then return to my mate. With the closed door behind me, I give him a mischievous smile.

“Sha’lenla?”

I get on the bed on my hands and knees and make my way up his body to press a kiss to his lips. “I’ve missed you.”

He smiles as he realizes what I mean. “I’ve missed you, too.”

Zabriel stays where he is, propped up against the pillows with an enormous telltale bulge beneath his robe. I unfasten it, and stroke my fingers lovingly up and down his cock. His eyes close and his mouth falls open, revealing his teeth, and I long to feel them in my flesh. Those teeth, this knot, made me his mate and his queen, but his heart is what made me love him.

I can feel my slick between my thighs and an urgent clenching in my core. I straddle Zabriel’s thighs and sink slowly down on his length, moving carefully in case I’m still tender. I sigh in relief and pleasure as feeling Zabriel filling every inch of me is as good as ever.

“I want to bear you so many children,” I whisper with my arms wrapped around his neck. “I need to spend days in my nest with you while you knot me over and over again.”

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