Phuong frowned at him. “What?”
“You’re the throneless queen of the Yore. You don’t have a kingdom.” He laughed softly. “It explains how you draw the eye so simply and unintentionally. You make men want you, to serve you, to please you. That’s your natural ability. It’s your game. You make the rules.”
“I’m not playing any games.”
“Oh, but you are. Or you wouldn’t be carrying the children of the Thrones.”
Phuong gasped while Olivier and Gahariet kept their cool.
“You aimed higher on the social ladder than a mere black market auction house owner. I’m fine with it. We all deserve to get what we want. You would have been…a crown jewel, if you will, but you’re more trouble than you’re really worth in the long run. I can’t wait until people find out what you are. This whole city will explode.”
Olivier banged his fist on Marc’s desk.
“Give us her blood.”
Marc looked at him.
“I’ll give it to you if you tell me why you really want it.”
Olivier lost it, pouncing over the desk. But Marc was a dragon, too, and he half shifted. Olivier shifted, too, and tried to pull Marc’s vial from his neck.
Finally, after a few minutes of struggling, he broke the chain and threw the vial at Gahariet. He fell on top of Marc’s body as the two of them crashed to the ground. Olivier was larger than Marc, and soon he had pinned Marc to the ground.
But the scuffle was loud. The door to Marc’s office opened, showing an immediately outraged Lucien.
“What’s going on here?”
Marc lifted his hand to stop his brother. Lucien pulled Olivier off of Marc.
He wiped blood from the corner of his mouth. His eyes glowed with just a little bit of flame as he said, “Thank you for coming tonight. The price for the treasure that you’ve gained tonight will cost you in the long run. I hope you’re ready to pay the price.”
Phuong didn’t like the sound of that at all.
60
Kitchen Love
Phuong
Phuong was lost in thought and quiet as a mouse on the way back to the castle, just like her brother. There wasn’t much to say. She was mostly free of Marc now that they had successfully gotten her blood back. But he had said that he would take a huge price.
She knew that he would make trouble when she attempted to resurrect the Yore empire…which had no land at all. She was certain of it.
Marc hadn’t fallen in love with her, just simple lust. But he hated the idea of losing her to the twins, and his personality couldn’t stand being robbed.
Her mates had respected the distance that she had set, and she wondered if she should push them away even further. She needed to connect with her subjects with Xuan and Hoa by her side. If she could make the right connections, maybe she could do something.
Olivier helped her out of the levi-car, but she pulled her hand out of his as soon as she got on solid ground.
She wasn’t going to invite them into her bedroom tonight.
Gahariet came up behind her and gave her the vial of blood that had caused so much trouble.
Olivier said, “I’m going to get clean.”
“Me too.”
The twins went inside of the castle, leaving Phuong and Xuan outside.