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“My mother told me I am controlled chaos.” I kept my tone light, refusing to worry about who the “him” might be as I gave my hand to Julie.

I didn’t know much about Set. Esetta’s former Blood had called him Lord of the Red Lands. But even with a crappy incomplete American education, I knew he was also called the god of chaos.

34

SHARA

Once the humans were finished, I turned my focus to my siblings, beginning with Carys.

“When you were attacked by thralls and separated from me, I found myself wishing our bond was stronger. Would you be open to regularly exchanging blood with me to deepen our bond?”

She gaped at me for a moment and then gave me a vicious scowl. “Why on earth would you think I might refuse? Of course, I would be honored to carry more of your blood. I don’t generally feel any hunger in that regard, but yes, absolutely.”

Winnifred chirped a long string of owl, making Carys nod vigorously.

“Yes, of course, that’s an added boon.” Seeing my confusion, she added, “Your blood will strengthen my gifts as well, my queen. Just don’t infect me with your ravenous hunger, because I have no intention of calling any Blood of my own any time soon.”

As she rose and stepped closer to kneel before me, I couldn’t help but laugh. “No promises, though I suppose you can just feed on me whenever the urge strikes you.” Itztli made a cut on her palm, and I pressed my lips to her skin.

I honestly didn’t remember what she tasted like from before. I’d been so green. So afraid of making a mistake. After the way Guillaume had reacted when the human saleswoman got so close to me with even a few drops of Marne Ceresa’s blood, I was terrified of taking another queen’s blood into my system.

Now I carried dozens of other queens. I couldn’t differentiate between them. At all.

:Because they’re yours,: Guillaume said softly. :My apologies for the early introduction that scarred you, my queen.:

:One smear of my blood on your sword was enough to kill the Dauphine,: I reminded him. :It was wise to be wary.:

:No one has blood like you, Shara fucking Isador.:

I sank deeper into Carys, gently, not bulldozing my way into her mind. Just letting the blood take me where it may. Swift, silent wings fluttered ahead, her owl guiding the way. A silent yet frenetic energy pulsed around me. Like crackling electricity, flipping switches, lights blinking. The quiet hum of large machines all around me. An entire large city’s worth of humming equipment, processing data, storing memory. Her mind was like a massive computer. No, thousands, millions of computers, all working together. Constantly inputting with new data and adjusting her algorithms.

Every book she’d ever read still lingered here in her mind. Every news article and conversation. With perfect and total recall, she could recite any page from any book she’d ever read, and she had inhaled books all her life.

I didn’t dare ask her exactly how old she was, but she was certainly hundreds of years old.

A soft cluck of her owl drew me closer. I bent down, focusing on what Winnifred wanted to show me. One small book of paper, not a computer. The pages were tied together with pink yarn. A child’s scribble covered the top page in crayons, drawn with a heavy hand, but I could easily identify a purple unicorn.

Xochitl? Carys hadn’t even met her before. She hadn’t been my sibling when I went to Mexico City.

Carefully, I flipped the top page over to the next drawing. A large circular walled building of rough stones. Three towers with pink and purple flags. Also unicorns. But inside the circle, the child had scrawled the word “blood.”

“Goodness,” Carys said with a groan, breaking the vision. “You’re even more powerful than I remember, my queen.”

“You too. Your mind’s computer is vast like an entire city.”

“The modern comparison is a data center.” Sniffing with disdain, she allowed Tlacel to help her to her feet and she eased back into her chair. “Though I guarantee my data center doesn’t require anywhere near so much electricity or precious water resources.”

I turned my attention to Gwen, and she immediately rose and stepped closer. Elegant as always with her retro Hollywood glam style, she dropped to her knees and held her hand out to Itztli. He hesitated, looking first to her alpha. “Would you rather draw your queen’s blood, Sir Lancelot?”

“All of us belong to your queen, Itztli. I would trust any Blood in this room to treat my queen as gently as their own.”

“If you knew what this obsidian blade represented—” Itztli began, shaking his head.

“I know, son of the Flayed One,” Lancelot broke in. “But I also know the power of our queen’s love for her Blood.”

“You honor me.” Itztli raised the blade to his mouth and kissed the brutal edge. “May my life honor my queen. Always.” He lifted the knife to me so I could also kiss the cold glass. Only then did he make a small cut on Gwen’s hand so I could feed.

The clash of swords and the thundering beat of horse hooves rumbled through her bond. The legendary queen of Camelot called knights to her side, but only knights she loved. The same as me. Her pure white light blazed from a tower on a hill overlooking a wide plain of gently rolling hills that seemed to shimmer, almost like water. A deep well of pure, sparkling water flowed in her blood, but not water of this earth. Every opalescent drop glistened with magic. Fluttering wings and tinkling chimes on a gentle spring breeze. Air filled with the scent of flowers I couldn’t identify. A profusion of blossoms all the colors of the rainbow gently parted in her mind like curtains to reveal a simple metal cup in the center of a hewn round table. Swords laid on the rough wood, their tips all pointing to the cup.