Freed (Vampire King Book 3) by Kenya Wright

into
madness. The last thing I needed to do was go insane within the wagon.
    More
time passed. And then footsteps sounded and locks clicked. I shoved my claws
out, ready to rip my imprisoner’s arms out of his or her body.
    “King?”
Brie peeked her head in.
    I
retracted my claws. “Did you do this?”
    She
bit her lip. “Yes.”
    “Why?”
I snarled.
    “I
needed to go over to the mage and talk without you or Ian scaring them and
inciting a war.”
    I
drank her nude image. “You walked over there like that?”
    “I
needed them to see my symbols and realize that I didn’t bring weapons with me.”
    Anger
hit me. I made sure not to show her how mad I was. In the end I didn’t like
anyone seeing her naked, even though the truth of the reality was that many
people had already seen her when Ian opened the wagon door and exposed our
lovemaking.
    “Tote!”
I left the wagon and helped Brie out. Once she stepped on the ground, I
wrenched off my shirt and wrapped it around her. She grinned.
    Naughty queen. I’ll take care of
that when you’re under me again. It appears the only time I have control of you
is when I’m inside you, and I’m not sure of myself even then. “Yes, sir.” Tote arrived at my side with shaking hands. He must’ve been scared
of my wrath. There was no need for him to worry. I, myself, was slowly learning
the queen was in charge.
    “Get
her a robe.”
    “Yes,
sir.” He bowed.
    “Brie,
it’s time to call them off!” Ian called from several feet away. Guards
surrounded him and pointed their swords near his back and chest. My sister and
Leeta stood in front with daggers targeted toward his head.
    “You
trapped Ian, too?” I asked Brie.
    “Of
course,” Brie said as Tote arrived with the beautiful crimson robe she’d worn
earlier.
     
    *
* * *
     
    The
mage removed the line of troops from the area, but no one witnessed where they
went. A mile away, only two mages remained—a woman wrapped in a beaded gown and
a fat man decorated in wolf skin. Brie explained the man was called Yen and the
woman Saykoy. They were Tribe Flame and Rock’s chiefs.
    The
fact that the chiefs stayed there without their members demonstrated to me that
they believed they could overpower us. They were wrong. The king within me rose
to the surface as if to sniff the air. I inhaled them—rich mint and the smoky fragrance
of a fire. Their power flooded the land. I felt it as soon as we stepped over
the borderline. The air was thick. It pushed against my skin, clogged my nose
for a few seconds, and buzzed across my flesh. It took several seconds for me
to adjust.
    There’s old power here.
      Brie and I rode on a striped horse toward the
two mage. Wagons trailed behind us full of our people. Ian refused to ride a
horse. Instead, he sat inside his wagon with his dead queen. His whispering
floated from the wagon’s walls.
    “Who’s
in there with him?” I glanced over my shoulder at Brie.
    “His
queen.”
    “Are
you joking?”
    She
rested her head on my back. “I wish I was, but no. I heard him talking to her
during the day. He refused to talk about it when I asked him later.”
    “And
this is the vampire you think should deal with the tribal chiefs?”
    “Ian
understands their customs and is familiar with vampire-mage politics. I’m sure
he had the opportunity to witness it with his father. And even better, he was
king himself for a period of time.”
    “This
talking to a corpse worries me,” I said. “He’s crazy.”
    “Don’t
say that.”
    “He
is.”
    “We’ve
all done things in these past days that many would consider insane.”
    I
gritted my teeth as the vision of me forcing my fangs into Brie’s neck
returned. “You’re right.”
    “Let
me handle Ian. I’m going to sit him down tonight and make him talk to me about
it.” She sighed. “Maybe he’s so heartbroken and lonely from her death that he
can’t help himself from talking to her body.”
    Which is insane.
    “Then
there is another