Chapter Seven
KYELLA
“Thank you for grabbing that,” I said to Dakath as he took away the dirty washcloths and pot of boiling water I’d used to clean up and rinse my hair.
It was without a doubt the best I would get on the ship, and it had done the trick to return warmth to my limbs and get the strong stench of the salty brine from the sea off me.
Raising my arm up to my nose, I gave a sniff to make sure.
“Kyella,” Elijah called out, pushing off the wall he’d been all but glued to while I’d cleaned up, intensely watching my every move.
I’d been waiting for him to broach his issue the entire time I washed, and by now my heart was practically in my throat as concern bubbled up over what he was going to say.
“What you did was undeniably incredible, since it worked in our favor, but I can’t get it out of my head that you’re taking such gigantic risks without even consulting us first.”
His words rang true with the thoughts that had already been swirling just on the edge of my mind while cleaning up and reflecting on the insanity that had occurred.
I heaved a deep sigh and nodded as he sat on the bed in front of me and reached out to grab my hand, rubbing his thumb across the top gently.
The alcohol had left his system entirely, all signs of the previously relaxed Elijah gone, and left in its place, the stoic and duty-bound man I’d come to love.
I couldn’t deny that when I’d returned to the ship and the crews of our ship and others cheered for me, I didn’t see anything wrong with what I’d done. It had worked, and that was all that mattered, right? Wrong.
What would have happened if I’d been killed in the fight?
Without a doubt in my soul, I knew that my three vampyres wouldn’t have been able to continue this war with my death at the forefront of their minds.
Who would lead the army in our war and ensure that in light of a win, the wrongs of the Thaician Empire were righted?
While my intentions were pure, I had to take a step back from my emotional reactions and think logically.
“It isn’t that I want to control you, or for you to think that you can’t do anything without telling us,” he continued, trailing off as his eyes rested on the wall behind me. His mouth opened and closed multiple times, like he was struggling to find the right words.
I wanted to tell him I understood, but I didn’t want to interrupt him when he felt he had more he needed to say.
As his piercing green eyes settled upon my own once more, his shoulders sagged forward.
“I just want you to remember that we are all in this together. You don’t need to do things alone anymore.
We have a lot of experience between the three of us, and we can lend an ear and offer advice to come up with a strategy that will produce our desired outcome, all while keeping you as safe as possible. ”
I could tell this was just eating away at him now, and I wanted to soothe his concerns.
Smiling softly and nodding, I cut him off before he could continue.
“I know. You’re right,” I agreed, squeezing his hand in reassurance.
“As the Empress, yes, it is my job to protect these people to the best of my ability. I also owe it to them to be logical, and what I did was based purely on emotional instinct. I knew that I needed to end it and didn’t have long to figure a plan out without the possibility of losing more lives. ”
His head dipped, but not before I saw his eyes misting with tears.
Wait a second. Was…was Elijah crying?
My voice came out breathless as I reached out to tilt his chin back up. “Elijah…”
Dakath and Kolvar were at his side in a minute, standing behind him with supportive hands on his shoulders, squeezing lightly.
His voice was raspy and choked as his eyes met mine.
“I…I know that I must let you be free to be the Empress now, but you can’t forget that you were ours before you were the Empire’s.
It will always be our job to love you and protect you, no matter the path our lives take.
And all I could think of as I watched you on that beast was…
” He trailed off, and a sharp intake of breath permeated his next thought.
“...Was how you thought you had to handle it without us.”
My heart squeezed at his admission but practically shattered at the sight of a lone tear falling from his eye as he asked, “Is it because I had a few drinks? I promise I will never fail you again, Kyella.”
My own eyes began to burn as tears pooled in them, and I launched myself into his lap, wrapping myself around his center and nuzzling my face into his chest. I breathed in his clean scent as I gripped his shirt tightly.
“No,” I choked out. “No, you have never failed me. None of you have ever failed me.”
For him to even question that destroyed me.
They’d saved me when I wasn’t strong enough to do it myself.
They’d supported me while I traversed a new path and gave me the room I needed to grow at the same time.
They’d shown me that there is so much strength in admitting when you aren’t okay and need help.
His warmth engulfed me as he held me tightly, like he was afraid of letting me go.
The bed tipped down on either side of us, and I lifted my head to glance at Dakath and Kolvar. The latter reached out to wipe a few fallen tears from my cheeks as he said, “We’re so proud of you, darling, no matter what.”
Their support, as well as their fear of losing me, wrapped around me like a thick fog and threatened to consume me. All I could think about was how I needed to connect with them and show them that I was here, and I wasn’t going anywhere. That I needed them, always.
Elijah’s arms loosened around me enough for me to pull back and stare up at him before sealing our lips together as more tears fell, tingeing our kiss with the salty moisture.
It was perhaps the most intimate moment I’d ever shared with them, not because we were sharing a moment of physical intimacy, because it felt like for the first time, that all four of our souls were completely on display—no walls, no fear of rejection, no trepidation of something that felt all consuming like this love between us was.
“I’m here,” I whispered against his lips as I kept my eyes closed, soaking in the energy. “I’m okay, and I will always need all three of you. Always.”
His hands slowly trailed down my back to the curve of my ass as his voice dropped an octave. “Promise?” he asked gruffly, voice thick with emotion but straying into one of need.
Suddenly, there was a very hard cock resting beneath me, rubbing deliciously against my naked core. I brought extra clothes with me, but I’d opted for one of Kolvar’s huge shirts that draped to my knees when I wore it.
On instinct, my hips rolled, putting tantalizing pressure against my clit, and sent sparks of pleasure shooting through my core.
“I promise,” I vowed huskily as I opened my eyes to see his own burning with an intoxicating mixture of love and desire.
As his hands squeezed my ass, I couldn’t help but let my hips roll once more, his hands guiding me into a steady rhythm.
“We will always ensure you are protected,” Elijah swore. “Your body and your heart, Kyella.”
A second later, I was weightless, flying toward the top of the massive bed. A huff came out of me as I landed amongst the pillows. Pushing up to my elbows, I saw all three of them lined up at the foot of the bed, eyeing me like I was the last meal they might ever have.
There was something intimidating about the depth of our feelings for each other.
Our connection was instantaneous ever since our eyes met in Malakai’s throne room, and I was a goner even then.
Feeling overpowering emotions for one stranger was scary, feeling that way for three was damn near overwhelming.
But I was so fucking thankful every day that none of us had run away from it, despite having no idea if it would end in heartbreak.
They converged on me at once, as if they could read each other's minds in the way they seamlessly worked together. While I loved that they always put my pleasure before their own, I felt an overwhelming need to devour them.
Putting on a burst of speed as they surrounded me, I flipped to sitting on my knees as I licked my lips. “I want to please you all,” I admitted before dragging my bottom lip between my teeth a bit nervously and nibbling.
While I’d shared plenty of intimate moments with each of them, there was still something intimidating about having them all at once. I was always concerned about not dividing up my attention and body evenly between them all. The last thing I wanted was any of them feeling left out or less desired.
After my admission, they quickly discarded their clothes and stood waiting for me to make a move, stroking their hard cocks as they did. Toying with the hem of my shirt, I came to a decision for what I wanted out of this moment. Lifting it over my head, I discarded it onto the floor.
I had been trying to work up the nerve to ask for something from my men, and it felt like there was no better time than the present.
“I want all of you in me at once,” I announced, confidence filling me with my request and pussy clenching at the thought of it.
“Darling, we don’t want to hurt you,” Kolvar answered, drawing my attention away from their cocks and to his face.
Crawling on my hands and knees to the left side of the bed where they stood, I dropped to my elbows, leaving my ass on display in the air. Looking up at him from beneath my lashes as I reached out for his cock and stroked it, I smirked.
“I can decide what I can take,” I argued back before taking the tip of his cock into my mouth and swirling my tongue ever so lightly around it.
He grunted as his hips flexed, trying to push himself deeper into my mouth, but I pulled back, toying with his tip more. Sucking lightly, I increased the pace of my hand at the base of his cock, and I felt fingers trailing lightly over my ass.
“If that’s truly something you want, Ky, we need to get you ready for it,” Dakath purred from behind me as his fingers trailed to dip into my core, making me moan around Kolvar’s cock.
With how wet I was, his fingers slid easily in, and I couldn’t help but rock back each time he plunged them into me, matching his pace perfectly. My eyes rolled back as he curled the tips of his fingers, hitting that spot within me that had my walls contracting as a new flood of wetness coated me.
I couldn’t help but gasp around the cock in my mouth as he pulled his fingers out and swirled my slickness around my asshole and began to lightly tease me with one finger.
When I felt the swell of his first knuckle push through the tight ring of muscle, I tensed up slightly.
The end of the bed dipped as Elijah climbed onto it with me, approaching my right side quickly. His hand delved between my thighs to play with my clit, giving me the exact pleasure I needed to relax and let Dakath sink into me completely.
The deep timbre of Elijah’s voice made my stomach flutter as he said, “We can’t ensure that it will be completely painless—at least at first—but we will make sure you’re dripping with desire and begging to be filled thoroughly, love.”
Kolvar’s hips thrust forward at that statement, and he bottomed out in my throat, making me gag slightly as I adjusted. Moving my hand to cup his balls, I bobbed my head back and forth, letting my throat relax as he groaned his pleasure.
“I need to add another finger, Ky,” Dakath warned, and my stomach fluttered with anticipation. “If you want to take one of our cocks into you, I need to stretch you a bit so you can adjust more easily.”
I couldn’t answer with a cock shoved down my throat, so I hummed in response. The vibrations must have felt great to Kolvar because he cursed, “Fuck, that felt way too fucking good. If you keep doing that, I won’t last.”
As the tip of Dakath’s second finger began to press in, I couldn’t help but tense again despite telling myself to relax. Elijah instinctively increased the pressure and speed on my clit and Dakath was quick to remember how much I loved dirty talk.
“I can’t stop thinking about how fucking beautiful you’re going to look with a cock in your ass and pussy at the same time, Ky,” he groaned out, and I felt the bed moving near him in a rhythm that suggested he was stroking his cock with his free hand.
“There will just be the thinnest barrier between the two. It will make it feel like cocks are rubbing against each other inside of you.”
I hadn’t even thought about that, but the image forming in my head was fucking sinful and exactly what I wanted.