The Red Queen Read Online Free

last long if they didn’t find her a cure in time.
    Widely awake now, Lucienne took in her open-style bedroom. The tone of the room stayed rich white—a vanity set, a rug with silver lilies, and flowery curtains. All valuable, breakable things had been evacuated. Kian had also taken great care to have the crew remove the chandelier of crystals from the ceiling, fearing it would fall on her next time she went berserk. He banned mirrors after she smashed one with her bare hand in a rage .
    The team replaced her treasured Chinese Shui-mo painting Nymph of the Luo River, which told of a doomed romance between a goddess and a mortal prince, with calendar photos of snowy forests.
    Her people were protecting her property from her.
    With a sigh, Lucienne threw off the quilt and swung her legs out of the bed. A relief settled over her as she found she was in a white sleeping gown.
    She headed to the bathroom to take a two-minute shower. A bath had become a luxury. The last thing she wanted was to be caught in a transition from sane to crazy in the nude.
    After her quick shower, she put on a white shirt and jeans with wide belt and jogged toward the sun room for breakfast. Duncan and another guard escorted her.
    The smell of coffee, bacon, and French toast floated down the hallway. Her mouth watering, Lucienne quickened her pace, but then paused before reaching the glass door to the sun room.
    The air crackled with electricity. The Lure had arrived before her. Lucienne took a moment to brace herself. Ash wasn’t the only one inside. Vladimir must be waiting for her as well. Neither of them would let the other be alone with her.
    She hadn’t seen Vladimir since her episode yesterday. He’d gone for a shower and hadn’t returned after that. He deserved a break from her.
    She evened her breath and approached the door. Recognizing her heat signature, it slid open. Lucienne sauntered in.
    A flood of sunshine poured through the spaces between the red maple leaves dangling over the glass roof. Vladimir and Ashburn, positioned as far away from each other as possible, took the two seats facing the door.
    Ashburn sensed her coming before Vladimir did. He sat there expectantly, hands on a steamy teacup. “Lucia,” he said, his bored, annoyed expression vaporizing at the sight of her. “You can sit beside me.”
    Vladimir, who was adding spoons of sugar into his mug of coffee on the counter, turned to her at once. “No freaking’ way,” he said. “She sits with me.”
    Lucienne stifled a sigh. This never got old, but at least they evolved a little. Vladimir didn’t demand Ashburn get lost. He knew she needed Ash, though he stubbornly assumed it was a temporary thing— that she needed Ash to improve her health, and then he’d be gone.
    Before Ashburn retorted, Lucienne cut in, “Let’s start the day with getting along, shall we?”  She chose a middle seat on the opposite side of the boys. “And good morning—” Her bright greeting choked in her throat as she saw what had become of Vladimir’s face.
    It was bruised and swollen with two cuts on his left cheek. His lower lip was nastily split. That was why he hadn’t showed up last night. He must have looked worse.
    Vladimir never lost a one-on-one duel. The men had ganged up on him again. Lucienne’s eyes hardened. Her Czech boyfriend had become the most hated man in Sphinxes. The first week after they’d returned from the war, he’d constantly engaged himself in a fight whenever he left her residence. When she’d asked how he’d gotten his bruises, he’d always found some excuse.
    She was a warrior herself. She understood pride. She couldn’t interfere in his struggles with her soldiers. Vlad couldn’t take it if the men despised him—and they would if she stepped in. She’d given him and the men time to sort out their differences, but she underestimated the scale of her warriors’ fury. So he’d come back damaged. This, she decided, must end. If she continued to