Page 47 of Claimed

“Lady’s choice,” Lucien says, licking his lips.

I stand up, slotting my hand into Lucien’s. “I think we should do it together,” I tell him, and he grins.

So, we kneel in front of Kim and both use our lips, and tongues, and mouths on him while he whispers, “Holy fucking stars. Holy shit, Luna. Fuck, Thornfield. You’re going to make me⁠—”

The moment Lucien looks up at Kim and holds his mouth open for him is the moment he climaxes. I do the same, tongue out, allowing him to feed us both.

Kim is still coming when Lucien kisses me. Our tongues collide, the taste of each other merging with Kim’s offering.

We’re still kissing when Kim rests a hand on each of our shoulders and lowers himself to the floor. “Holy hell,” he breathes. I look at him and kiss him, too. Then he kisses Lucien.

Kim brushes his hand through his hair and shakes his head, laughing. Then he looks at Lucien, gestures to the room around us and says, “Lucien?”

“Yes, Kim?”

“Where the fuck are we?”

23

Nix

The Covenant of Shadows is pulsing.

I have placed it on an altar table in the centre of the crypt, and it is beating like a heart. With every pulse, the shadows in the room lean in, swirl around it, and scatter again – a slow black tide going in and out. The candles shudder. The darkness between them thickens.

It has never done this before, and it is the single most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

Although, it seems I’m the only one who truly appreciates it.

Around the room, my people – not that they are people, exactly – are pressed against the walls, as far from the altar as they can get.

They witnessed our Queen’s magnificent display at my brother’s house; I made sure of it. But instead of being in awe of her, they seem afraid.

Vampires cowering like children who have heard something moving under the bed. Werewolves who’ve been pumped full of FHB are muttering together in the corner, asking whether it’s too late to escape me.

What if he can’t convince her to fight for us? Did you see what she did to the creature? I’ve never seen anything like it. Doesn’t look much like she’s going to be on our side, does it?

Their prattling is endless.

Cerberus won’t come down the stairs, either.

He’s planted at the top of them, hackles up, making a low growling sound I haven’t heard since I found him half-dead outside a slaughterhouse in Kraków.

My beautiful, fearless boy will not put one paw in this room.

But what none of these trembling creatures have grasped is that the book isn’t doing anything. The book is answering because I let it see her.

I held it in my arms while she unleashed her powers, and the book was brought to life. Not fully unlocked, of course. Only she can do that. But it was awakened because it felt her rise.

For the first time in her small sad little life, The Queen of Shadows opened her eyes to what she can do, and her crown has begun calling to her.

I could dance. I could rip some of these creatures to shreds and shower myself in their blood in celebration.

Oh, how I wish my brother were here for this moment instead of on the wrong side of history.

“Bring me a phone,” I bark.

Nobody moves. I turn my head and look at them, and then everybody moves, and Marek is shoved forward by his friends. His hands are shaking. He offers me his phone.