Chapter 32 #2
Austyn fell quiet and I frowned, sensing the toll this was taking on her. Magdor had stolen her father away from her, and it looked like she had stolen more than that too. There was something darker about her demeanour these days that made me want to go on a bloody rampage.
Austyn suddenly spun around and dropped her robe, revealing a set of lilac lingerie which was so sheer it was nearly transparent.
My throat thickened and my cock swelled as I stared at her without blinking, my eyes scraping along the perfect sheen of her skin to the peaks of her nipples through the scraps of lace cupping her breasts.
My hunger for her sharpened like a razor’s edge and I found my throat raw with it.
My fingers itched to claim her, the monster in me purred, urging me forward and in a moment of utter madness some part of me was tempted to go to her.
I forced my eyes up to her face and a whirlpool of amber stared back at me as I fell into the sea of her eyes.
It was like the heart of the kingdom lived in there and I was hit with a longing to claim it for my own.
All of it. I’d conquer the whole fucking world just to destroy anyone who told me I couldn’t have her.
No.
I ducked my head, cursing myself as I clamped my eyes shut and conjured up a memory of being whipped by Captain Marik, every strike earned in this moment just as it had been back then.
The scars on my back tingled and I felt the echo of them as if they were bleeding again now, the hot burn of each strike followed by the pain that bloomed like hell-born flowers along my flesh.
They were my strength, a mark of my loyalty to the Lunarelles, and they helped push away my illicit thoughts.
“Pink or yellow?” Zira changed the subject.
“Pink,” Austyn decided, and they fell into a conversation about dresses.
I clenched my jaw, hurrying back to the balcony and dragging myself over the railing.
I tried to remain in the punishment of my past, but I was lost to the clutches of those eyes again. My heart was beating harder than it ever had before and the imprint of her hourglass curves was making me harder than I’d ever been in my life.
I blinked firmly to try and force her body from my memory, but it remained there, her flawless skin branded in my head, my instincts so hungry for it that I had to squeeze the base of my cock through my britches to relieve some of the pressure building in it.
Great. Now I’m nothing but a pervert. Where's my fucking honour now?
Probably somewhere way down in the depths of hell waiting for my tainted soul to join it.
I pressed my back to the closest wall, swiping a palm down my face and angling my thoughts to what I'd learned.
If Austyn was right and Magdor was smuggling potions into the palace, that meant there was evidence no-doubt lying around in her quarters somewhere.
Evidence of her breaking the law and using dark magic.
Evidence that the emperor was under her control because of some atrocious elixir, and the punishment for that was unspeakable.
This was good, even though I’d committed a cardinal sin to attain this knowledge. What was another to add to my collection? I was already a damned man, though I’d still try to die as the most honourable one I could when the time came.
A shout caught my ear and I moved along the balcony, rounding a corner off to the west side of the palace and spotting a huge man with black curly hair training in a pit of sand.
His dark skin glinted with sweat under the glaring sun, his tunic discarded at the edge of the square while he fought with a guard, tackling him to the ground and throwing fierce punches into his gut.
A maid stepped out from an awning erected beside it, clapping in praise. “Lord Kalaviv, your lunch will go stale in this heat.”
My heart quickened as the lord rose from the bloody body of his guard and I took in the cut of him, from the confidence in his stride to the determination in his gaze. This was the man who was facing Drake tomorrow and it didn’t look like he’d be easily beat.
He cracked his neck, dragging the fallen man upright by the hand. “Again,” he snarled.
“But-” the maid called but he waved her off.
“I’ll stop when I say I’ll stop,” he said, rolling his shoulders as another of his guards stepped forward to fight him.
I chewed the inside of my cheek as I watched him bring another man to his knees in a matter of minutes.
When the sand was speckled with blood, I turned and headed back to our chambers at a fast pace, a knot tightening in my gut as I realised that I was sending Drake up against a lord who’d clearly had a lifetime’s worth of training.
Drake could make up some points with his technique, but he had little etiquette, so winning this fight was crucial to stop him from being put at an early disadvantage.
I needed more time, but the clock was already ticking.
When I made it back to our quarters, I marched towards Drake’s bedroom and Kyra leapt to her feet in front of the doors.
“No snakes or enemies anywhere, sullen man,” she said proudly. “Did you have a nice walk? You look a bit angrier than when you left. Do you enjoy being angry? Can someone be happy when they’re angry? I hope they can, or else that means you’re hardly ever happy.”
“I’m not angry, I just need to speak with Drake,” I said, trying to sidestep her but she darted into my way again.
“Oh, did I get the angry emotion mixed up with the happy one then? So you’re always happy?
” She frowned at me scrutinisingly then shook her head.
“No, that can’t be right otherwise your mouth would be in the upright position not the downward one.
So you’re definitely angry, sullen man. What happened? ”
“Kyra, I don’t have time for this,” I insisted, but still she didn’t move and as I didn’t want to invoke the ire of a magical being, I didn’t make any more forceful demands of her. “Please. I must speak with him.”
“But Master is sleeping,” she said. “And I really would like to hear about your walk. I heard one of the servants saying there’s an orchard here where the apples grow as big as your head – is that true?
I’m not sure I could eat that much apple, but I’d love to try.
Will you take me there when Master wakes up? ”
“I don’t have time for this,” I insisted, and her face fell as I crushed her hope in my fist and she nodded sadly, side stepping to let me by.
Guilt worked its way into my chest, and I hesitated as I took hold of the handle and looked to her, an apology forming on my lips and a promise to take her there when I had time.
But then I remembered she was made of magic and perhaps this dejected look was just a ruse to lure me in so that I might be manipulated to her cause in future.
Although, I had to accept I that hadn’t seen anything cruel or monstrous about her yet.
I cleared my throat, pushing the doors open and finding Drake spread eagled on his bed, face up and butt fucking naked with absolutely no shame about him.
He cursed loudly, jerking awake and grabbing a blade so fast that I didn’t even see where he’d gotten it from as he pointed it at me, baring his teeth in challenge as sweat gleamed on his tattooed chest. His eyes were wild beyond the point that I would have expected as merely a reaction to the interruption, and I frowned as I tried to figure out what had put that haunted, feral look upon his usually relaxed features.
Kyra padded into the chamber after me and I turned in an attempt to shield her from the sight of his naked body, but it was too late.
“Oh, it's very small. Or very big? It's bigger than mine was. Remember mine?” she gasped, staring unashamedly at Drake’s body as he relaxed a little at recognising us, tossing the blade down on the sheets beside him and making no attempt whatsoever to cover his body.
“Yes, I remember.” An amused smile twisted my lips, and I was surprised by who put it there.
Drake ran a hand over his face, seeming unsettled over something beyond seeing the two of us in his chambers before he dropped his hand again, glaring at us both and hiding whatever darkness had been haunting him as he grabbed some britches and tugged them on.
“It's big, Kyra. Get your sizes right,” he muttered, but with less bite to his tone than I’d have expected, like the effort of engaging in such simple conversation was too much for him.
“Would you like it to be smaller? It must weigh you down,” Kyra said brightly, and Drake's scowl quickly turned to smugness.
“Nah, little goddess, I’m good with how big it is – and so are the women I share it with,” he replied, his voice taking on a flirtatious tone which had Kyra running her eyes over his bare chest as she muttered something to herself which I didn’t quite catch.
“You need to train,” I said, wanting to move on from the subject of Drake’s cock.
“What kind of training?” Drake questioned, raking his fingers through his inky hair, and pushing it out of his eyes.
“Fighting,” I replied, earning myself a feral grin from him.
Drake followed me into the large central chamber bare-chested and looking more like his old self.
He raised the dagger he’d aimed at me from the bed, and I had to stop myself from questioning when he’d grabbed it again.
The man’s sleight of hand was uncanny, and I had to acknowledge that his Affinities must have been something special to allow him to pull off such quick and subtle moves.
Though he claimed to have so many of them that it was hard for me to tell which he truly possessed, and which were just bullshit pretences like that sex Affinity nonsense I refused to indulge in believing in for a single second.
“No weapons,” I said, snatching the blade from him and tossing it onto the cushions.
“So you’re looking for me to beat your arse with my bare fists then?” he questioned cockily and my blood heated at the challenge in his tone.