Page 63 of Ruby Red Sky

My vision went red and I squeezed my fist. My nails crushed into my palm and the man fell into a pile of dust. Footsteps pounded against granite, and I turned. The guard’s two friends stopped in their tracks and began backing away.

Storming past them, I sent myself back to the upper hallway and to the entrance to the throne room. If Zaynan did anything, he’d probably gone in search of his mother. As it was, I caught his faint scent.

The men stationed before me stood resolute, staring straight forward. I didn’t bother with them and waved the doors open. The rush of wind blew my hair back over my shoulders as I proceeded forward.

The candles flickered in the vast space, overhead, and along the mirrored walls. Streams of sunlight warmed the air along the left side and illuminated Zaynan’s pale face and hair as he fluttered his fingers under one of the beams.

“Zaynan,” I called to him. He glanced at me and resumed staring at his hand.

“You can’t cage me,” he said, not meeting my gaze.

Almost immediately, I realized what had captured his attention. The sunlight was different in the Third compared to all the other Realms. Here, it was purer, clearer, and the colors were different. He was fully admiring the crystalline nature of his fingernails under the untainted light.

“You can’t do whatever you want. We have laws here. It is not a free-for-all like other Realms.”

“Alexander told me about the Second and the Fourth,” he said.

“Have you been?” I circled him, examining his aura and energy. I’d never spent any time with any Fae, though I did have knowledge of some of their ways. Perhaps not all the wisdom necessary to handle what had been dropped in my lap, but enough to know it’d be wise to tread carefully. Particularly after the strength I’d just witnessed.

“Have you been?” I repeated myself when he didn’t answer.

His chest rose and fell with a sigh. “No. It didn’t seem necessary.” He dropped his hands to his sides. “I mean, it sounded interesting, but I had work to do and then I found something, so...” he trailed off.

“What did you find?”

He shook his head. “Nothing, I just had plenty to do. I’m going to go back but first, I want to meet my mom.”

“Mm,” I hummed. It remained to be seen whether his tainted blood would allow him to transition out of here. It was a skill and privilege not afforded many, and I was all too aware that given his potential parentage, he may just very well be able to go wherever he wanted.

“Let’s not keep her waiting. Come.”

He trailed after me and I stopped right before her door. “She may be your mother, but it is expected you will bow before her. Touch the floor.”

Zaynan sneered at me, “Yeah, right.”

The problem of a long-lost son may be sorting itself out much faster than anticipated. I knocked on the door.

Annalise’s favorite slave opened the door, giving Zaynan a look of pure lust when he spotted him. He glared at the slave as we brushed past him.

Our Queen was lounging on a sofa eating dark purple grapes when we entered her sitting room, wearing only a gauzy, see-through skirt and strands of rubies around her neck. The room stank of sex and perfume.

Lowering myself, my forehead touched the floor while Zaynan stood upright snickering at me and Annalise.

“That’s my mom?” He laughed. “What the fuck? That’s not... that can’t be.”

“Lukas, you may rise.” Bare feet appeared before me and I got up. “Zaynan, my love.”

The Queen clasped him straight on, shoving her breasts against him. I swallowed, trying to ignore the confusing mass of Zaynan’s energy. His horror, fascination, and complete disgust wafted through the air in the perfect storm of emotions.

Annalise seemed oblivious, ignoring what she would usually cut someone into tiny, irreparable ribbons over.

I wanted to warn him, interfere somehow. I don’t know when or how it happened, but it seemed I suddenly developed protective feelings for the younger vampire. The best course of action was to see how this all unfolded.

“You’re my mother? You’re not very, uhh... how are you my mom?”

“Lukas, I’m still angry with you. Come, sit down, my beautiful son. We have much to discuss.”

Pouring myself a much-needed glass of wine and blood mix, I watched the two of them sit on the sofa. Zaynan tried to keep as much space as he could, but she scooted closer to him. I settled in one of the armchairs facing the two.