Free Long Live the Queen (The Immortal Empire) by Kate Locke Page A

the younger goblins to run up to my house and collect clean clothes, then I ran water into one of the large copper tubs in the large Roman-tiled bath, added some fragrant oil, and helped Alexis out of her gore-soaked clothes. I threw them on the fire in the hearth nearby. It hissed as it consumed the fabric, smoking dark and thick for a few moments. I could almost imagine the flames cursing me for feeding them such disgusting filth.
    She didn’t need help getting into the tub, but she did need a little encouragement.
    “It’s called a bath,” I informed her. “It makes you clean and it feels good.”
    Alexis slid a dubious look in my direction. “It’s wet. And hot. It stinks of flowers.”
    It did not stink. “Well, yeah. It’s a bath. Look, it’s only water.”
    Suddenly her face brightened. “Water?” She threw herself into the tub, creating a tsunami I only just managed to avoid with a quick duck and dive. Good thing the tiled floor here sloped gently towards a centre drain. Alexis breached the surface with a delighted squeal.
    I scrubbed her back with a sponge and soap that smelled of jasmine. Her skin looked different wet, almost like… velvet. Actually, it was exactly like velvet. I ran my hand against the nap in amazement.
    She had
fur
. It was very, very short and the exact same shade of ivory as my skin. Astonishing. There also wasn’t a mark on it. That didn’t mean much. I had to assume that she healed just as fast if not faster than me or any aristo, so they might have beaten her on a regular basis for all I knew. That didn’t fit with her personality, however.
    “Ali, the people who… looked after you, did they treat you well?” I asked as I shampooed her hair.
    She shrugged. “I suppose. Not like you. I enjoy this bath thing. No one’s bathed me before.”
    Disgusting. Poor mite.
    She giggled. “Then again, I’m only three weeks old.”
    I dropped the bottle of shampoo on my foot. Bloody hell. How had they done this? Wolves, vampires, even goblins had average gestational periods that were similar in duration to humans, though a little shorter. None of us gave birth to a creature that reached maturity in three weeks. Unless…
    Goblin babies were very much like puppies when born, and within a few weeks were walking, running and behaving like toddlers.
    I didn’t know how the lab had managed to engineer her, or for what purpose, but at least I had a slightly better understanding of her. No wonder she had such little impulse control; she was basically a toddler. I’d just treat her like some of the little ones I’d known during my time at Courtesan House, only with a bit more caution considering she could rip out my spleen and have it for tea.
    “You’re very young,” I commented when I remembered myself.
    “How old are you?”
    “I’ll be three and twenty next month.” I hadn’t realised it was so close already.
    She tilted her head back and grinned up at me. “You’re old.”
    “I am not!” I smiled along with my mock outrage, just to make certain she knew I was joking. Albert’s fangs, what was I going to do with her? Cross my fingers and hope for the best? I couldn’t keep her down here for ever. I also couldn’t let her leave, not when she looked so much like me and had a habit of eating motorists.
    I couldn’t set her free on the world and I couldn’t allow the world to unleash itself on her. Neither would be prepared for the assault.
    And there was the fact that she had hurt Vex. I should despise her for that, but I couldn’t, any more than I would blame a frightened dog for biting.
    But I wouldn’t want to bring the pooch home with me, would I? All right, perhaps I would, in order to save it, but I didn’t kid myself into believing I could save Alexis.
    Still, I had to try.
    Could I stop her if she decided to go? I’d only known about being a goblin for a few months, and I still had yet to realisejust what I was capable of. I was strong – very strong – and