Chapter 8
Waking up with Hydris cuddling me, one of his flowers pressed to my nose, and delicate spring sunshine bathing the bed was one of the best moments of my life.
Like, I honestly recognized that it was that significant.
I would’ve kept us right there and just like that if someone hadn’t knocked on the door and said it was check-out time.
Instead, we took turns at the wash basin and dressed before going down for breakfast.
Last night, I’d gone and gotten us bowls of thick beef stew and the most amazing bread I’d ever tasted.
This morning, we were given plates piled high with bacon, sausage, eggs, more of that bread, and butter that I was pretty sure had been churned just hours ago.
I’d been a city boy all my life, but this kind of country living was seriously spoiling me.
Interestingly, though plenty of folks looked, no one outright gawked or came over to say anything to their prince.
I could tell they knew who he was, but they kept their distance.
Most of the looks were curious and not hostile, so I didn’t think anyone here was upset with him like they’d been at the barrier.
Part of me wanted them to fawn over him. To want to touch him, get his autograph, or just be seen by him. I wanted him to have fans.
“Hey,” I said quietly, “before we leave, go tell the innkeeper something nice.”
Hydris paused before taking another drink of the citrusy beer that was, apparently, what you drank over breakfast in the tavern of an inn. “Something nice?”
“Yeah. Like it’s the best inn you’ve ever been to.”
“It’s the only inn I’ve ever been to.”
“Really?”
He nodded over his mug.
“Babe, you need to get out more. See your court. Meet the people.”
He set his mug down and sighed. “Find out what Mannix has really been doing.”
I pointed at him. “Exactly. But first, go complement these nice people.”
I could tell that he really didn’t want to by the way his wings fluttered and how he couldn’t seem to figure out what to do with his hands.
But he went over to the big man behind the bar who’d gotten us settled last night and the woman standing beside him.
I couldn’t hear what Hydris said, but the gruff expression on the man’s face smoothed out, and the woman blushed and smiled like Hydris was making her day.
He handed over some coins, and then came back to our table, his cheeks pink now, too.
“That was excellent.” I stood up, ready to leave.
He tried to tuck a little purple violet behind his ear, but it refused to stay put. “They were very appreciative.”
I bet they were. Maybe they’d tell their friends what an awesome guy the prince was. Get him some good press, so to speak. Make it a little harder to reconcile their sweet prince with the policies the palace was making. Get them thinking about who was actually doing what.
We went out to the stable and found that the kid out there had bathed Mason and braided his mane and tail, ribbons everywhere. I was pretty sure he held his head a bit higher because he was such a lovely boy.
While we waited for Mason to get hitched up to the wagon full of grass, Hydris stood just in front of me, his flower crown right there.
Despite how we’d rolled around in bed all night, not a single petal was crumpled.
Even the big pink one that I’d been nose deep in just a couple hours ago looked pristine.
“How are these not crushed?” I asked as I brushed my fingertips over some of them.
Hydris shrugged. “They only wither when I make them go away.”
I cupped his cheek. “No more of that.”
“No more.” He grinned and another little white flower grew out of his hair.
I so wanted to kiss him, but the kid returned with Mason all ready to head out. We climbed up onto the seat, and Mason jauntily trotted us out of the village. This time, we took a real road back to the main one instead of cutting across a field and were on our way.
At some point, I realized that Hydris wasn’t just snuggled against me, he’d fallen asleep with my arm curled around him. I didn’t mind in the least, enjoying the warm weight of him. And when he woke up and blinked at me, cheeks pink and eyes at half-mast, I finally got to kiss him.
“Let’s stop for a break,” he suggested while rubbing his eyes.
“Yeah, okay.”
Mason was happy to stand under a tree sporting tiny green leaves and pale pink flowers so he could chomp on new spring grass.
I’d thought we would be back before lunch so hadn’t gotten anything to bring with us, and honestly, that breakfast had been hearty enough to stick with me anyway.
I was looking for the flask of water when Hydris called, “Bridge, could you come here a moment?”
“Something wrong?” I asked as I rounded the tree only to stop short. “Oh. Hi.”
Hydris stood there against the tree with his pants open and dick in his hand. “I was having a very wicked dream.”
“I guess so, yeah.”
“Would you mind helping me?”
I didn’t have to be asked twice. I pressed him back against the tree and got on my knees. Sparing a glance at the road, I realized someone could maybe guess what was happening back here, but they probably wouldn’t be able to see us around the horse, cart, and tree.
I flashed Hydris a grin and said, “This is the first time I’ve had sex outside.”
“Oh, is—ahhh!”
Hydris had a beautiful cock, but it wasn’t so long that I couldn’t deep throat it in one swallow.
I had him panting and pulling at my hair in no time.
He was not quiet, letting out breathy moans, throaty ones, and desperate little whimpers.
I loved that because I could close my eyes and concentrate on every naughty thing I was doing to him without missing his reactions.
At one point, I stuck my hand into his trousers to fondle his sac and discovered a few flowers growing in his bright blue hairs. I pulled back to look, opened his pants more, and discovered he had a whole garden of little blooms in there and stretching up his treasure trail, too.
“Oh, goodness,” he said when he saw himself. “I’m sorry. Just let me—”
I grabbed his hands to press them against the tree. “Don’t you dare make them go away.”
“But—”
“No. These are mine.” I nuzzled into them and breathed in their sweet scent and his arousal. “Everyone else gets the ones on your head, but these are mine alone.”
It only occurred to me what I’d said when I looked up and saw the surprise on his face. Yep, that was me wanting exclusivity. I was not a casual kind of guy and there was the proof.
“Okay,” he whispered. “Those are only yours.”
I smiled up at him, relieved and so pleased that he agreed. And then I got back to blowing him, humming my pleasure when soft petals touched my face as I got him off. After he came down my throat with a powerful yell, I kissed each tiny flower. He chuckled at me, but I didn’t mind.
“Your turn,” he said and helped me stand up.
I fully thought he’d blow me now, but instead, he took off his trousers and got that little purple jar out before laying down on his back in the grass. I dropped to my knees all over again, my cock throbbing. “But you’ve just come,” I had to say.
“And I will again.” He chuckled and handed the jar to me. “That’s mostly for you. Then you can t-take me. Please.”
Still shy and hesitating, but he was taking control.
Lust swamped me as I got my cock out and slicked myself up while staring down at the beautiful man biting his bottom lip and getting hard just from watching me.
He practically sighed when I eased inside him, and I bellowed in pleasure to be wrapped in his tight, hot body once again.
There was absolutely no finesse in how I was fucking him. “I can’t… I need…”
But he nodded. “Just fuck me.”
Oh, god, yeah! I could tell when I started pegging his prostate with every thrust because he started wailing and writhing on the grass, his cock stiff and leaking already.
The sight of him lost to his pleasure, the sounds he kept making, and the feel of him gripping me so tightly had me coming in no time.
He was right there with me and even pulled me down on top of him to moan in my ear.
Long minutes passed before I eased away from him and sat back only to pause in absolute wonder when I saw that he was outlined in flowers.
Big, small, one that vined along his hip—there were flowers peeping out of the grass all around him.
They were the softest colors, and the pink ones matched the blush on his cheeks.
Hydris laughed when he saw them and sat up, but I noticed that the ones that had been around his head and shoulders started to die right away. “Oh, no,” I whispered as I realized any that he didn’t touch were withering.
“I used to be able to do this every time I took a step outside,” he said as he petted a flower by his knee. “I could make paths of flowers all around the palace, and they’d last the whole season. But since the curse, as soon as I stop touching them, they all die.”
The flower he’d been petting withered and slumped into the grass the moment he took his touch away by standing up. All of them were dead now. I actually felt the hot sting of tears and had to sniff them away. That was one of the saddest things I’d ever seen.
I cleared my throat. “We need to break the curse.”
He stood up and went to get his trousers. “I wish I knew how.”
“Does anyone have a guess? Surely, after three years, someone who knows about magic has a theory at least.”
We paused to wipe off with his handkerchief, which he then stuffed into the pouch with the little jar of lube.
“Well,” he said as he dressed, “the current thinking is that my brothers and I need to learn or grow or something that makes us change. We are our courts, after all. But they’re also saying my father did this instead of it being done to him, so I don’t know what to think.”
I had a guess. “How long has Mannix been in charge?”
“Um, five years, I think. Why?”
“Did your father ever talk to you about taking control back from Mannix?”
His eyes went wide as he stared at me. “We… We had a fight just before the curse hit,” he whispered. “But I didn’t… I didn’t know!” His eyes filled with tears as he waved his hand toward the barrier, the lake, the people who didn’t like him.
“Now you do.” I cupped his sad face and smiled encouragingly. “Maybe you’ve been growing this whole time, hmm? You just needed someone in your corner, right? Cheering you on.”
His eyes all glassy and bright, he smiled just enough back at me. “Others have tried. I see that now. Lady Naunet. Lord Ottokar. But I couldn’t…”
“Well, then, you’ve got a whole squad of people who want to help. We’ll all support you. It’s not like we’ll have to use swords and cannons to get Mannix out, right?” Fuck me, I hoped we wouldn’t have to do that. “So, you can absolutely do this.”
“What if it’s not enough?”
“Then maybe it’s another step in a process that we’ll figure out as we go.”
“Together.”
“Hell yes.” I gave him a kiss and turned us toward the road. “Now get your cute ass in that cart and let’s go home.”
We still had a lot of work to do.