The Blood King Read Online Free

them. She lay against him quietly. He ignored the soft growl Cormac emitted. It was the same sound he'd released when Cormac's hand had touched Emily's shoulder. A Dardaptoan male protected what was his. Even from his friends.
Rydere deposited the cousin on the couch beside Emily, where they huddled together and conversed in small hand gestures.
Cormac watched his woman, no doubt attempting to learn what she said by reading her mind. Rydere sank onto the chair next to his. "The other Taniss females?"
"Live."
"That's good." Rydere was relieved, he'd not wanted to have to tell her that her family, her friends, were gone at his people's hands. "Where are they?"
"Theo and Aodhan have them in the gardens, I think." Cormac laughed. "Actually, Aodhan's little pet got away from him and found her sister. The women ran to the gardens and now are stuck in there, unable to find the hidden exit. Theo and Aodhan will find them, of course. But I think they are enjoying the hunt."
"Yes, mine got away, too." Rydere felt a sense of pride at that. Clever woman.
"That's why I kept mine tied to my side all night. A man can sleep better that way."
"No wonder her wrists were raw and bloodied." Rydere's words held rebuke. "The women must be cared for. Which means you need to feed her. Can you not feel her hunger, see how listless she is? You've drained her too dry without replenishing enough. It's no wonder she suffers such weakness compared to her cousin."
"Is she not mine to do with as I wish?" Cormac stared at her with an uncaring gaze. But Rydere had seen the quick shift in his expression before he'd blinked. "What are we to do with them?"
"I don't know." Rydere frowned, mind running over the ramifications. "It was one thing to take them and kill them, to make them disappear, but if word got out that they were here among our people against their will...we'd be overrun with mortal authorities."
"I'm not giving her back." Cormac's words were in English and loud enough for Emily to hear. Rydere didn't miss the way she stiffened and leaned in front of her cousin. Cormac finished in the Dardaptoan tongue. "She’s mine and I am keeping her."
"I feel the same. But not only will the Taniss men be looking for them along with the authorities, but the women themselves don't want to be here. Yet I don't want any of us being cruel to them. Converted humans are rare, we must be careful. I'm not sure they have the same lifespan as we."
"And if the Lupoiux learn of their existence? I know yours will be a prime target. Any of the four will." Cormac's fangs were now more prominent. "They will not touch her."
"No. They will not." Rydere considered for a moment. "I'm putting you in charge of their safety and well-being. I want Aodhan to follow the Taniss family, make sure no more threat will come from that quarter."
"Protect our flanks, I get it," Cormac said as the doors opened for Aodhan and Theo, accompanied by the redheaded Taniss women. Rydere watched as the men released them to join their cousins.
"Good. Now in the meantime, I suggest you feed your...what shall we call them? I am not comfortable calling her my slave. And she hates it, as well." Rydere watched her examine each of her cousins, obviously looking for any damages. Something tickled his mind.
"How about Rajni?" Theo asked.
Rydere stilled as Theo’s words sank in. "Is she? Have you seen?"
"Hmmm. Cloudy. She's the general build and impression I got. But things are still uncertain. Hinges entirely on your actions." Theo never got exact visions for those he was closest to, just general impressions. But at six hundred plus years old, he was very skilled at interpreting those impressions. "On decisions you'll make. If you foul it up, you will never have a Rajni."
His Rajni, his mate. The Dahn, queen to his people. A Taniss as queen to the Dardaptoans. He could see the unease written on the other men's faces, and he understood it. But a man only got one Rajni and since he had at least another millennium