26. Puck
Chapter 26
Puck
W hen I emerge from Titania’s chambers, dawn brightens the sky—even the Baleful Hunt slumbers within me. Today, I did not force the chambers weeded. I stood there and watched them choke her, only to remember that nature gives her power. Eventually, the scent of chalk and smoke caused the Keepers to force me out.
I claim a paltry hour of sleep before the page boy wakes me for the day ahead.
The pretty, young male attending me bustles about my chamber, setting down the breakfast tray and laying out my outfit for the day. I admire his delicate beauty for a moment—the sweep of glossy black hair over his forehead, the blush painted on his cheeks, the berry stain on his lips.
His mouth and tight ass provide the perfect relief while my beloved slumbers, and I am denied yet another night without release. I stroke myself beneath the thick blanket and moan as pleasure teases me. But I am late as it is.
Groaning at denying myself, I toss the blankets off and slide my legs over the edge of the bed. The boy rushes to my side and kneels. As he glides a slipper onto my foot, I fail to resist the magnetic pull of his silken hair and slide my fingers through. He gasps as my fist clenches, and I yank down, drawing his face up. Those berry-stained lips part, but the thick swaths of black brows shadowing his wide eyes make my heart flutter.
I see multicolored eyebrows flinging from the ladies-in-waiting and landing like slugs. They will rue the day they called me an imposter. I tug down my waistband and release my aching member. The page boy’s lips part to receive me.
“You aim too low,” the dragon quips in my mind. “Aim higher.”
“Sir?”
“Shut up and let me—” I aim higher, rub my tip on his silken brows, and groan. Feels so good. So much softer than the queen’s inner walls. “Suck my balls,” I gasp and pump my length. Like a good little page boy, he does as he’s told. The more his saliva wets me, the more I slip and glide along his soft, velvety face. Each time my tip hits his brows, I am closer to climax. When he grips my behind and rubs his face along my length like a cat, I come hard. Thick squirts of sticky white paint his luscious brows, and I groan triumphantly. Everything pales in comparison to this moment. Never has my queen wrung such pleasure from deep within my soul.
I tip his chin up and gently smear my release, styling his brows into wispy shapes, wondering why this simple act fills me with such satisfaction.
“It is power,” the dragon answers in my mind. “You were not born to serve. You were born to dominate.”
“Changed your tune, now?” I mock.
“Pardon?” the boy asks.
“Not you,” I quip.
“Perhaps.” The Hunt’s claws pluck at my mind. “Perhaps you showed me last night what you’re made of. Perhaps I now see great things are ripe for our taking . . . if we work together.”
I allow the page boy to dress me, but as he moves to wipe his brows, I scold him.
“Leave it,” I bark, then soften my tone when he startles. “I wish to be reminded of how well you serve me when I see you today. You may clean the rest of yourself, though.” I grimace at the sand on my legs. “And me. You’ve left dirt everywhere.”
Five minutes later, I am dressed and walking outside the palace to meet with the Court of Dreams Shadow. Something heavy has lifted from my shoulders.
“Alfred,” I greet. “What news from last night?”
Already in his exhibitor uniform, his appearance is pristine and prepared for the day. He gives a slight, reverent bow. The young man reminds me of myself. He has ambition, strength, and a clever mind. When his eyes meet mine again, I catch a flicker of anxiety.
“Did the charm work?” I flick the latest addition I’ve gifted him to his Chaser chain. Having had enough of the secrecy surrounding that feline bitch’s establishment, I took it upon myself to find a workaround. Titania’s private library has many interesting resources with old faerie magics. The more I find, the more I feel I don’t need her assistance.
“It worked.” He scowls. “I remember everything. Not that I think it will matter after last night.”
“Why?” I gesture for us to start walking toward the Nexus.
“Burn After Reading has closed. Permanently.”
I stop. “What? Why?”
The loss gnaws at me. Without it, the delicate balance I’ve maintained threatens to crumble. As we walk, I notice whispers behind cupped hands and darting glances from staff. Are they plotting against me?
“They fear your power,” the dragon hisses. “Show them why.”
I clench my fists, resisting the urge to lash out. Not yet. Soon.
The Shadow sighs and rubs his face. “I don’t know. I asked around, but no one had an answer.”
“Then how do you know?”
His gaze darkens as it swings to the dark spires of Shadowfall Keep peeking over the Ivory Palace walls. “I overheard one of them mention it.”
“Them?”
“The Knights.”
“Ah, yes.” Of course. I knew that. “And did you see the Knight Enforcer? The one called Styx?”
“Yes.” He frowns. “He and their . . . Shadow started a brawl, but I failed to glimpse signs of a Nightmare form. Are you sure they’re?—”
“You doubt me, Shadow?”
“No, sir.” His gaze turns inward as it lingers on the dark keep’s spires.
“He’s holding something back,” the Baleful Hunt remarks. “He cannot be trusted.”
“You think no one can be trusted.”
“Often, I am right.”
“Is there something else?” I ask my Shadow. “About last night?”
He hesitates, then says, “If there is no B.A.R., how will we earn charms?”
He has a point. While that establishment was a thorn in my side, without it, Radiants have no way of stacking the odds in their favor to win the tournament. I am sure I will hear about it from the Shining Host. I glare at the overcast sky and continue stalking through the courtyard. The snow has lessened overnight, and the soggy ground has ruined my shoes.
I muse, “The Folk are already fractious with this strangely warmer weather. The mood is sour, and the Solstice Ball is in two nights’ time. It should be a time for revelry, not rotten sentiments. Ask Glen to prepare a special trick. Something to wow even the most cunning of Folk.”
We need something big to shake things up. My mind races with possibilities, each more outlandish than the last. Perhaps Ignarius had a point. Public executions? Forced humiliations? The old me would have balked at such ideas, but now . . . now they seem almost reasonable.
“Yes,” the dragon purrs. “Now you’re thinking like a true ruler.”
When nothing is to occupy their minds, the Folk—from the tiny to the tall—grow curious, antagonistic, and entitled. They will come out of the woodwork against Titania’s edicts and ruin the carefully constructed decorum of control.
“Perhaps a little rivalry,” Alfred suggests. “Some challenges with charms offered to the winners?”
I rub my jaw, a smile stretching my lips. Burn After Reading was the perfect place to conduct dealings that went against Titania’s rigid Old Code. But if I can bring this practice out into the open, perhaps offering the exchange of charms and favors within the existing tournament structure, I will be seen as a benevolent leader on all sides.
I stop by a fountain before we leave the grounds. “A series of challenges and a leaderboard. We will announce it at the Winter Solstice Ball.”
“That makes sense,” he replies thoughtfully. “Revelry and rivalry. I like it.”
“Of course, it makes sense,” I reply flatly. “I came up with it.”
I catch sight of my reflection in the fountain. For a moment, I swear I see granite scales pushing beneath my skin, my eyes glowing with an otherworldly light. I blink, and it’s gone. But the hunger for power, for control, remains.