The War of Two Queens (Blood and Ash 4)

“I would apologize, but…”

“You don’t care. It’s okay. Don’t worry. You’re totally forgiven.” She came forward, her steps far quieter now. My eyes narrowed. “I wouldn’t care either if I was chained to a wall in an underground cell, all alone and—” She crouched before me, the sides of her gown parting to reveal a long, lethal dagger strapped to one thigh and a shorter dagger sheathed to the shaft of her boot. Both blades were black. Shadowstone. She gave the air a dainty sniff. “Stinky. You smell like rot. And not the fun kind that usually accompanies the Craven.” She paused. “Or a night of bad life choices.”

I stared at her.

Her gaze dropped to my bandaged hand. “I think you have an infection.”

I probably did, but was it the hand or the Craven bite? “So?”

“So?” Her eyes widened behind the painted mask, causing the white to stand out starkly. “I thought you Atlantians didn’t suffer from such mortal ailments.”

“Do you expect me to believe that you haven’t been around injured Atlantians before?” I held her stare. “That I’m the first you’ve seen here?”

“You’re not the first, but I don’t normally go near the Queen’s pets.”

My lips peeled back against my fangs. “I may be chained, but I am no pet.”

The wing on the left side of her face rose as she lifted a brow. “I suppose not when you make such growly sounds. If so, you’d be the kind of pet one would need to put down.”

“Is that why you’re here?”

She laughed—and I stiffened. Her laugh. It sounded… “You are so suspicious. That’s not why I’m here,” she said, and I blinked, shaking my head. “Honestly, I’m kind of bored. And I made a promise.” The Handmaiden rose swiftly, glancing at the hip bath. “If you think you’re not in need of a bath, I hate to be the one to tell you, but you are.”

“I have no plans to make use of that.”

“Whatever. It’s your life. Your stench.”

“What kind of promise did you make?”

“An annoying one.” The Handmaiden went to the other side of the hip bath and then lowered herself to her knees. She tapped her fingers over the surface of the water, creating small waves. “Though bathing may help with that wound of yours.”

When I didn’t answer, she tapped the water some more as she eyed me with those pale, barely blue eyes. “Is it because you need to feed?”

Could I feed off Revs? I didn’t know if it would be the equivalent of feeding off a mortal. Hell, I wasn’t sure if they were dead or alive. Or really what the fuck they were.

Her head tilted to the side, sending a mess of hair tumbling over an arm. “I bet that’s it. Your brother gets cranky when he needs to feed.”

Everything in me zeroed in on her. “Where is my brother?”

“Here. There. Probably everywhere instead of where he’s supposed to be.”

My jaw clenched because that sounded like the Malik I knew, but I was beginning to think that the process of becoming a Rev addled the brain and was why the other Handmaidens didn’t speak. What was coming out of her mouth now was pure nonsense. “You must be around him a lot to know when he needs to feed.”

Her head straightened. “Not really.”

“Then that would be a strange thing to notice.”

“I’m just observant.” Those eyes… They were so dull, nearly lifeless. Fucking eerie to look upon for too long. “And I’m also not trying to get him killed, which would happen if I was around him a lot.”

“Are Handmaidens not allowed to spend time with those of the opposite sex?”

She let out a not so delicate snort. “Handmaidens are allowed to fraternize with any members of any sex they see fit.”

“Then is it because your Queen wants Malik all to herself?” My stomach churned.

“She has no interest in him.” Her expression hadn’t changed, but I noticed that she gripped the edges of the tub. Interesting. “Not in a long time.”

I didn’t believe that for one second.

The Handmaiden dipped her arm into the water and began scrubbing at her skin. The odd symbols were quick to disappear. She moved on to the other side.

“Did you know these tunnels and chambers have been here for hundreds and hundreds of years?” Rising from the tub, her fingers dripped water as she walked across the chamber. “They existed when the gods walked among men. Of course, they’ve been expanded, added to, and now travel the length of the city, but these walls…” She placed her palm against the damp stone. “These walls are ancient, and only a few have ever been allowed inside them.”

I knew about the chambers underground beneath the Ascended’s homes, but not any tunnels that traveled the length of the city. “I don’t give a fuck about these walls.”