Page 136 of The Queen’s Shadow

“How many lashes do you think you deserve, for insulting your Queen?” I asked him. I wanted him to prescribe his own punishment. I wanted him to know that he had asked for every snap of the whip as it came down on his beautiful back.

“You are not my Queen.” He replied. He sounded…annoyed. The insolence! I snapped the whip next to me again in frustration, and he winced once more. I liked that he didn’t know when the first blow would come. The anticipation of the unknown was its own potent brand of torture.

“What is going on here? I thought the show didn’t start until later.” A drawling voice rolled through the echoing colosseum, and I turned to see Trenton Blackwood enter the ring, followed by nearly fifty other magick folk. I smiled at them.

It seemed Blackwood’s mission to overthrow The Board had been successful.

“Trenton, I see you brought home some new friends.” I purred and he gave me one of his more dazzling smiles.

He dropped to his knee before me, in a low bow. “For you my Queen, I would bring back the moon.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere, Blackwood.” I purred, turning away from my Shadow to give Trenton the attention he had earned. “Rise.” I ordered, and he stood up from where he knelt. I had come close enough that I could feel the fire of his aura brush against me. I reached forward, curling my finger in his dark hair and tilting his face down so I could look into his eyes.

“The archives?”

“Gone.” He confirmed, and a twist of elation snaked through my insides. The archives were gone, and so was Raven’s chance at discovering a way to disarm The Flute.

“You have pleased me.” I whispered, and his eyes widened slightly, before a smirk curled across his lips. He boldly slid a hand around my waist, pulling me closer into him, and I felt where he had grown hard. I pulled his hair harder between my fingers, but he leaned into the pain. My heart leapt in my chest.

I was going to enjoy playing with this one.

“I would love an opportunity to show you just how much pleasure I could bring you, your majesty.” His voice was like smooth chocolate as his breath brushed my ear. Pleasantly surprised at his forwardness, I ran a thumb over his lips in reward.

I would ride this wizard until he popped between my thighs like a bottle of champagne. I allowed him to see the promise in my eyes as he pulled back slightly. He glanced to where Amon still knelt, shirtless in the sand with his hands pressed against the whipping post. Gesturing to his prone form, Trenton smirked at me.

“Don’t stop the show on my account.” He turned to the magick folk who had followed him in. “Let this be an example of what happens to those who dare defy our Queen.” With that, he ushered the newcomers into the empty stands, and I bit back a smile.

I had been skeptical, when Kieran had suggested that we recruit Trenton to assist in overthrowing The Board. However, once again, Kieran had proven to be correct. He always had a vision for a new governing body of magick folk that operated under my rule. The Syndicate, we had named it. Trenton Blackwood had exceeded expectations in his mission, and I was beginning to think he might exceed expectations in the bedroom as well.

He would do, as a replacement for my Shadow until I had found a way to sever him from the mating bond that prevented me from truly owning him. Until then, I supposed Amon’s pain would need to be enough to satiate me.

“Did you hear that Shadow? We have an audience.” Unsurprisingly, he didn’t respond. “Allow me to repeat my earlier question. How many lashings do you think you deserve?”

Again, silence. I ground my teeth together. The day Kieran figured out how to force speech would be a day worth celebrating.

“Fine, don’t answer me. Perhaps we should ask our new friends.” I smiled, turning to face the small crowd of magick folk, who were watching from the stands.

“How many lashings do you think my Shadow deserves?”

“Well, I would say that depends on the offense.” Trenton drawled, leaning back, and crossing an ankle over his knee. I smirked at him.

“It seems he would prefer the affections of the False Queen over mine.” I made a show of pouting, as I circled my Shadow’s kneeling form until I stood before him. I could see his face. He stared resolutely into the sand, refusing to meet my eyes. “He rejected me. Can you believe that?” I asked, turning back to face Trenton and the small crowd of magick folk. Trenton’s eyes flashed, and he shook his head in disbelief.

“I can’t imagine how he could refuse someone as beautiful as you, my Queen.” Trenton tutted. “He clearly doesn’t deserve your affections. I am more than happy to step in if you are looking for someone to warm your bed tonight.”

“As much as your boldness amuses me, Trenton, that does not answer my question. How many lashings do you think my Shadow deserves for denying me what I am owed?”

Amon raised his green eyes slowly from the ground to meet mine. Hatred burned in them and though he could not reach me through the slavery bond, I could feel the well of power that rushed against his metaphysical chains. The depth of his darkness took my breath away. He was unlike any other daemon that walked this plane, and I would make him mine. I had always loved collecting dangerous things.

I tore my gaze away from Amon’s and raised an eyebrow at Trenton expectantly.

“Well?”

His eyes crinkled, and a brutal smile twisted across the young, devilishly handsome wizard’s face.

“For an insult as grave as that, I would say one hundred lashes might be enough to drive the lesson home.”

I felt heat curl between my hips at his words. He was so deliciously cruel. I wondered if it made his heart sing to watch people suffer too. Forcing myself to turn from Blackwood’s heated gaze, I knelt down before Amon and tilted his head up to face me. He pursed his lips into a hard line, a small piece of silver hair falling into his too-green eyes.