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CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

FRANKIE

When we walked back into the castle we did not head to the ballroom or the throne room. I had not seen a dining hall or anything of the sort the last time I was here but apparently I assumed they had one. Apparently I assumed Everest only had Mei-Ling and me eat in his room because we were hiding. Surely the vampires gathered somewhere to eat, and I just hadn’t been included in that since I wasn’t one.

But Sweyn led me through the castle at a quick pace, her arm hooked around mine. Several members of her court followed behind us though the sentinels stopped at the front door, with the promise of their own serving after she was done. There was so much more to this castle than I’d seen yet, so I assumed I was about to see a new section when Sweyn led our group down the creepy stone staircase. Except this wasn’t the same stairs by my room, this was a grand staircase worthy of a movie set. Candlelight flickered all around us. At the bottom of the stairs sat grand double wooden doors with a sentinel stationed on each. The sentinels timed opening the doors so perfectly that Sweyn did not have to slow her pace at all.

Which meant I lost that final moment for my brain to realize what was actually about to happen. In hindsight it was glaringly obvious, however in real life it wasn’t until I spotted three dozen humans chained down that I realized the feast was not about food.

I gasped and my feet stopped on their own accord.

Sweyn’s hand slipped out from around my arm as she stepped forward with a giggle. She spun around to face me and held her arms out wide. “Welcome to my chamber, María. Tonight, you feast with mine and you join my court.”

“Bow and thank her,” Everest whispered in my mind.

“ Gracias, mi reina. ” I dropped into a deep bow then stood. I opened my mouth to speak but no words came out.

She threw her head back and cackled. “My tickling is speechless. Have you never seen such a feast?”

I shook my head.

“My Queen, María is new to her fangs.” Everest spoke from so close behind me I felt his breath sweep through my hair. “I doubt she has seen any feast, let alone one as grand as yours.”

“You worry too much, Everest.” She took my face in one hand. “My María is a natural.”

“And you do not worry enough.”

Sweyn rolled her eyes and smirked, but I did not miss the heat in her gaze as she looked up at him. It was harder than I ever imagined it would be to stand between the man that was my husband for three centuries and the monster he was forced to share a bed with since my death in order to survive. It made me sick. It made me want to scream and cry. He did not deserve a life as hard as he’d gotten. It took every ounce of self-control to not reach for him or look to him—-actually, it wasn’t self-control. It was defense. I could not endanger him. I could not bring more pain and stress to his life than I’d already caused. I could not hurt him anymore. That was what kept my hands pressed to my side and my gaze straight ahead.

Sweyn’s chamber was nightmare fuel. It was dark, lit only by candles and no torches. The bed was like two California King’s combined, taking up most of the room. It sat in the middle of the room, raised on a dais, with iron bars running along the two sides and enough room for walking all the way around it. The humans they’d captured in the Land of the Lore were lined up naked on the bed in two rows, their hands and feet bound and chained to the bars.

Oh my God. My breath hitched. I pressed my hand to my stomach.

Sweyn still had my face in her hand, which I somehow had forgotten in my horror of what I saw in front of me. But now she arched her eyebrow. “What is wrong, María? Your heart pounds.”

“ No sé qué hacer ,” I whispered. “ ?Cómo lo hago?”

“She does not know what to do or how,” Everest translated for me.

Sweyn’s eyes took on a delighted sparkle. “Even better. Everest, you are the better teacher. Care to give our tickling some instruction?”

“As you wish, my lady.”

Sweyn bit her bottom lip, her fangs piercing into them. She reached into the bust of her dress and pulled a large red crystal out. Holding it between her fingers, it shimmered like lava. A low, menacing chuckle bubbled up her throat. “What do you think The Coven would say if they knew just what this Fire Stone gave us?”

“I could write them a letter, if you’d like.” Everest chuckled behind me. “Deliver myself even to assure I got their proper reaction.”

I bet you would.

Sweyn just cackled and walked toward the bed. She tossed the stone in her hand and caught it over and over like it was a baseball. When she got to the far side of the room she stopped and turned to face me with the bed of humans between us. Just when I thought she would speak, the ceiling lowered behind her . . . and her throne settled onto the floor. My eyes widened. My pulse quickened. Sweyn smirked and sat on her throne. A tall white staff was propped up on one armrest. She reached up and placed that stone at the top of the staff.

The other members of her court walked into the room, walking in two single-file lines toward the bed. But they stopped before getting in. That was when I looked to the humans. They were all still alive, but their eyes were sort of dazed and hazy. None of them screamed and thrashed to get free. It was like they’d been drugged or hypnotized.

“Let the feast begin,” Sweyn’s voice was deep and rough like she was dying of thirst.

The bedroom doors shut behind us and locked, the clicking of metal echoing.

In perfect unison, every member of her court lunged onto the bed. There was a flash of white fangs before they pierced the skin. The humans gasped and arched their backs. Blood trickled from throats, elbows, and wrists. Aelric and a few other males had their heads between human women’s legs to feed from the veins down there. I did not look any closer to see if there was multitasking happening there, I did not want to know. Not while I had to stand here and watch.

Everest’s fingers wrapped around my wrists then gently tugged me back against his chest. His breath swept through my hair as his fingers lightly traced lines up my arms then over my shoulders. Goosebumps spread across my skin. A soft, sexy little self-satisfied chuckle left his lips which were pressed to my hair. His right hand left my skin and tangled in my hair, his fingers twirling the long black strands then using it to yank me closer to his chest. My back slammed into him. He pulled on my hair, tipping my head back enough for our eyes to meet. Heat filled my face so I knew I had to be blushing even before his gaze swept over my cheeks.

He pressed his lips to my left ear, still holding my head back, then whispered, “ you’re going to have to join them. ”

I breathed in through my nose and nodded just enough for him to see.

“ Close your eyes and listen carefully,” his whisper was now telepathic. “ I’m going to teach you how to feed.”

My eyes flew open.

“ Close them, ” he growled in my ear.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

“ Good girl. ” His left hand slid higher on my shoulder and his fingertips brushed over my collarbone. He carefully pressed two fingertips to my throat then applied pressure. “ Do you feel where I’m touching you here? ”

I nodded.

“ Really memorize this spot, recognize where it is on the body.” He pushed them into my skin harder. “ This is where you are to bite. ”

I took a shaky breath.

“Like this.” He yanked my head back farther and sank his fangs into my throat.

I had to bite down on my cheek to stop myself from moaning. His lips pressed to my skin. I felt the soft tug as he sucked my blood into his mouth. He only drank for a few seconds before he pulled back and licked the wounds closed.

“ Did you follow that or shall I show you again? ” His voice was teasing in my mind.

“ Both, ” I whispered back.

He chuckled and released his hold on my hair.

“My Queen.” One of the males in her court stood from the bed and bowed, gesturing towards the humans. “Their blood is clean and worthy of you.”

She uncrossed her legs and stood. She spoke to her court members, but it was not in English, and I was sure I did not want to know. With eyes blazing a red fire in her eyes she sauntered to the bed then crawled to the middle on all fours. Her gaze lifted to mine. “Come join us, tickling.”

I nodded. Sweyn did not give me time to answer more than that before she sank her fangs into the flesh of a human. I didn’t want to look. I didn’t want to know what was happening here. I definitely did not want to be a part of this feast, but I knew better than to think I was getting out of this.

“ Do you see the throne? ” Everest whispered telepathically. When I nodded, his hands gripped my waist. There was a little pressure and then my magic bag was pulled from my body. “ Easy, love. Are you paying attention? I have a plan. ”

“ Gracias a Dios ,” I whispered back.

“ I am going to lead you around the room to the large red-haired man. Do you see him? On the end? ” When I nodded, he continued to whisper into my mind, “ His blood and body are strong, you will not hurt him. You are going to bite his throat as I showed you because Sweyn will accept nothing less.”

I nodded.

“ Show me you know where to bite. ”

I spun then pushed up on my toes and sank my fangs into his throat, right where he’d told me to. He cursed violently, his skin rumbling beneath my lips. His blood tasted like cinnamon and his skin was salty, he tasted like a soft pretzel from Auntie Annie’s in the mall. My stomach growled and my teeth sank deeper into his skin.

His hand wrapped around my throat and then lifted me off my feet until our eyes were level. Then he growled. “ Not. Me. ”

I bit my bottom lip. “ You taste good. ”

He closed his eyes and dropped me to my feet. A soft, mumbled curse left his lips, but I did not catch the words. Before I could ask, he gripped my waist and spun me back around. “ Focus, Francelina. If you consume too much blood, it will make you sick. You are not a vampire. You must perform. You must make Sweyn think you are draining him while you take no more than four sips. Do you understand?”

I nodded.

“ While you drink, I will get the page from the throne,” even his telepathic thoughts were barely audible now, which was probably a paranoid precaution. “ Once I have it in the bag, I will discreetly excuse us from the room so you may finish the decoy. Then we will return here to make that switch.”

I nodded again. “ Preparado. ”

He squeezed my waist, and it was such an affectionate gesture I had to bite my cheek to stop from giggling and smiling like a swooning love-sick teenager. Even if I was one. With my bag in one hand, he pressed the other to the small of my back and led me across the room and around the far side of the bed so that we stood between it and the throne. Right where we needed to be. My pulse quickened. This could be it. We had the opportunity to actually get this done right now. The adrenaline of that thought gave me the courage to kneel on the edge of the bed with my knees at the human man’s thighs. I leaned forward to brace my hands on either side of his head then lowered my lips to his throat. Once I found the spot Everest had taught me to find, I sank my teeth into his skin.

Blood pooled in my mouth.

It tasted so violently bitter like metal that my gag reflex immediately raged and all of the blood in my mouth poured out of my mouth and down the man’s neck. But I did not stop. I had to do this. I took a deep breath through my nose and sucked on the wound I’d made on his skin. The blood did not taste any better. My stomach was rolling so hard I felt the acids forcing everything back up my throat. I paused drinking without taking my lips off his skin so Sweyn might think I was still drinking. Everest’s instructions to perform echoed in my mind. I just prayed I was succeeding.

“ María, ” Sweyn purred.

I licked the man’s wound then lifted my head and met Sweyn’s red gaze. “ Mi reina? ”

She hooked her finger and wagged her eyebrows. “Come join me.”

I crawled across the humans to the center of the bed. When I got to her, she reached up with one hand and cupped my face. She gave me a fangy grin then pressed her lips to mine. My eyes widened. Play it cool, Frankie.

When she pulled back her grin was wicked. “He tastes good, doesn’t he?”

She means Everest and we both know it. I nodded. I will rip your flesh from your bones with my bare fingers for every touch he’s had to endure from you.

She dropped my face then reached down and grabbed a very particular body part of the human male beneath us. “Taste this one.”

My eyes widened. I looked down and my breath caught in my throat. The man had his eyes closed but there was a smile on his face. On his skin, there were fang bites up and down him. I wanted to glance back at Everest and get his permission, to know this was okay, but I realized I didn’t have a choice. Sweyn had put me on the spot, and I had to answer it. If I looked back to him now, she would, too, and that could get him caught red handed. I needed to give him the distraction to do what he needed to.

I licked my lips and blinked up at her. “ Muéstrame? ” I pointed to the man’s body then to her mouth. “ Por favor? ”

She gave me a flirty wink then lowered her mouth to the man. He moaned and threw his head back. Knots formed in my stomach. That nausea I was barely holding in was slipping. My body began to tremble.

Sweyn lifted and gestured for me to try.

I would be forever scarred by this moment, but God help me . . . I did it. I could have sworn I heard Everest gasp, but I was probably imagining that. He had too much control to react out loud. Sweyn giggled beside me then leaned down and sank her fangs into him beneath me. I closed my eyes and thought about home. Thought about why I was doing this and who I was fighting for. There were things I was willing to do to make sure I got my happily ever after.

“Stop, ” Everest ordered in my mind.

A small part of me relished his jealousy though I was not sure why. But I couldn’t think about it. I had to stay in the zone, had to keep my head in the game so he could get the page from the throne. With every swallow of this man’s blood my body grew hotter and tighter. My muscles began to cramp.

“ Francelina, STOP. You’ve had too much blood ? —”

I gasped and lifted my head — and darkness found me.

“ Francelina, wake up. ”

My eyes flew open only to roll back closed. I groaned. Fingertips pressed into my neck like someone was holding my head up. A hand slid across my stomach then squeezed my waist. The smell of cinnamon washed over me, seeping into my veins. Pleasure ripped through my body. I gasped and arched my back, my eyes opening to find white hair draped over my face. There was pressure on my skin right on the side of my throat. My mind was slowly clearing. I reached up to my neck to see what was on me when my hands landed on a jawline I knew instantly. My pulse quickened.

“ Everest, ” I whispered but it was soft to even my ears.

“ Easy, I’m here, ” his voice was strong in my mind, helping to clear even more of the fuzziness. “ You consumed too much blood. I am removing it. ”

I dropped my hands to his shoulders and gripped the soft velvet of his coat. It took a few moments, or hell it could’ve been an hour for all I knew, but my mind finally cleared. That feeling of lead weight pinning my body down was gone. My skin no longer felt stretched too tight.

Everest lifted his head and our eyes met. His blue and white gaze was thick with worry as he scanned my face. “ How do you feel now? ” he whispered.

I smiled. “ Never better. ” The words left my lips in Spanish and I flinched. I’d already forgotten about that. Perhaps my mind hadn’t fully cleared.

The air pulsed with sharp electric tingles. It reminded me of — Coven magic. That’s Coven magic. I sat up straight, pushing Everest back a little. My eyes widened. I stared up at him and mouthed, feel that?

He scowled then flinched. His eyes widened.

The doors to Sweyn’s room burst open so hard they ripped right off their hinges and crashed to the ground. People rushed inside. I gripped Everest’s arms and held my breath, waiting to see my Coven but I did not recognize a single one of their faces. I did, however, recognize the black Roman numerals Marked on their left forearms.

And then Tennessee stepped into the room.