“I won’t forget that,” she said, drawing me out of my thoughts. “More so, I want to meet your new…husband.”
I swallowed hard, but nodded. “Soon,” I said, hoping like hell I was telling the truth. There were so many new customs I had to learn, a whole new history to unravel in the traditions of vampire royalty so I could behave properly as their new…queen. God, that word still shook the very depths of my soul. How could I possibly rule a society of vampires when I wasn’t one of them? Who could possibly take anything I said seriously when I didn’t have the first clue about what it was like to be like them, live like them. Sure, I loved and was mated to one, but that didn’t mean I could claim I understood their experiences without fail.
One thing at a time.
First, take care of my human life. Valor, my thesis.
Second, learn everything I can to be the best queen I could be.
Third—
My stomach rumbled, so loud that Valor nearly choked on her coffee. “Hungry much?” She asked, her eyes trailing over my face. “You do look a little pale,” she said, then glanced toward the glass container displaying a variety of pastry treats. “Want me to grab you an éclair?”
Those were normally my favorite indulgence, but my stomach turned acidic at the thought. “No, thank you,” I said. “I’d rather have a meal.” A steak sounded perfect.
Valor nodded, pushing back from her chair. “I need to get cleaned up and head to the office, anyway.” She wrapped me in another hug, squeezing me so tight I nearly choked. “Please stay safe. And don’t take so long to see me again. Promise?”
She released me, and I laughed. “I’ll do my best,” I said, not wanting to promise something I couldn’t deliver on. I had no idea what my schedule would be like now…
Now that I was queen.
I shook my head, waving to Valor as she drove off in the cab she’d hailed.
Queen.
Such a foreign term, but one I was determined to wear as best as I possibly could.
After dinner.
“Can I get you another portion, Highness?” Serge asked from where he stood at my right. Avi sat across from me, her blue eyes wide, that perfect brow furrowed as she watched me slide my last bite of steak around the plate, using the meat to sop up all the bloody juices. I popped it in my mouth, practically moaning around the flavor.
“Could you?” I asked after I’d swallowed. I’d devoured the filet, but I was still starving. Maybe it was the new nocturnal schedule I’d shifted to, or the hours upon hours of wild, consuming, passionate sex I’d been having. It wasn’t like I had any experience outside Alek. Maybe new relationships always created this…hunger.
“Of course, my queen.” Serge bowed and disappeared from sight.
“What?” I asked Avi, who hadn’t stopped staring at me, a sense of dread in her eyes. She pulled out her phone, typed a fast text, then returned focus to me. “Avi?” I asked again, dread settling in my stomach.
Hawke’s sharp gaze shifted from his stoic, guarding position where he leaned against the wall on the other side of the room. He studied Avianna, something flickering behind his eyes as his gaze narrowed. “Princess?” His voice, so rarely heard in my presence, was like a blade. He pressed off the wall, as if to shake the words from Avi.
Heat licked up my spine seconds later, and a warm shiver danced over my skin. “Alek,” I said, practically purring at his sudden appearance. Hawke reclaimed his position, his gaze falling to a dagger he’d pulled from the sleeve of his leather jacket. “I thought you were with Lachlan—”
“You’re craving rare meat?” Alek sank to his knees before me, his hand on my cheek.
“Well, tonight, yes,” I said, tilting my head at the bizarreness of the question.
His eyes flashed to Avi’s for just a second. Then he looked up at me. “You said you were light-sensitive last week,” he said, more to himself than to me. “Has anything else been different?” he asked, and my heart started pounding against my chest. That old familiar instinct bristling like ice crystals along my skin. “Tastes, to be specific.”
“My favorite coffee drink tasted like spoiled milk when I saw Valor—”
“Oh, my,” Avi gasped. “Could it be possible, Alek?”
My breath caught in my lungs as I looked between the two. “What? What is it—”
“Fuck,” Hawke hissed with a voice like steel.
“Stay with Avianna,” Alek ordered, and Avi crossed her arms over her chest.
“I don’t need a babysitter—”
“I’m no babysitter,” Hawke cut her off, his eyes on her. He’d gone deathly still, that blade gleaming in his hand. Even Avi trembled at the sight of Alek’s most ruthless assassin, but her sapphire gaze remained hard and defiant as she glared at him.
“No arguments,” Alek snapped, and the two other vampires broke their death-glare-down.
A low growl rumbled from Alek’s chest, and I felt his anxiety like a blast of cold wind on the back of my neck. He gathered my hands in his, then tugged on me gently. I stood as he did, eyes locked on his. “What’s going on, Alek? Why is everyone freaking out about a steak?”
“Close your eyes,” he said, almost a whisper.
“Alek—”
“Trust me,” he said, his eyes pleading.
I closed my eyes, sinking into his warm embrace as he wrapped his arms around me. I clung to him as the ground shifted beneath our feet, that feeling of weightlessness caressing my body like floating in a warm pool. A second later, my feet touched solid ground.
“Your Highnesses,” a masculine yet calm voice said from my left.
I popped my eyes open, not at all able to hide the shock from my face. We were in a new room, one I had yet to see in the estate. And bowing to us was another gorgeous male vampire, dressed casually in a pair of black sweats and a white T-shirt. He looked like half the guys on campus, but his eyes? They seemed to possess a well of wisdom, ancient and deep.
“Julian,” Alek said, nodding slightly. A show of respect, I noted. This Julian was this historian Alek had spoken of before. I’d been dying to meet him—
“What can I do for you?” he asked, cutting into my thoughts.
Alek shifted me in his arms, holding me close to his side as if I might disappear any second. “She’s light-sensitive,” he said, and Julian’s eyes narrowed. “Tastes are shifting. She asked for two rare steaks this evening—”
“Ohmygod,” I cut him off. “Are you trying to imply that I’m pregnant?” Holy hell, were we about to pull a goddamn Twilight situation over here?
“No, of course, not,” Julian said calmly, soothing my nerves as he walked toward me. His eyes scanned every inch of my face, my body—not in a sexual way, Alek would’ve ripped him apart regardless of status—but in a studying way. He inhaled deeply, then blinked a few times before looking at Alek.
“It’s not possible, is it?” Alek asked, his voice sounding more vulnerable than I’d ever heard it.
“You know I believe anything is possible until proven otherwise.” Julian considered for a few long heartbeats. “I need a moment with my books,” he said, then whirled away faster than my eyes could follow.