by A. Bulthuis
"He means Autora doesn't he?" Crete asked in a hushed tone. Rharonis nodded at Crete who flexed his jaw and swallowed. "Aw hell, you've got to be fucking kidding me. She had better be alright. They do anything to her they will certainly have a weapon cause she will eat them alive." Pulling his phone from his pocket Rharonis flipped thru his contacts and called the one male he hoped to never have to again. When the voice on the other end answered Roni switched over to his royal persona and spoke low so his voice didn't carry over, not even to Crete’s ears. Shutting his phone with a sigh he looked to his fallen commander and spoke a small incantation sending his spirit free and his body to disintegrate into ash.
"To go to the council now would be what they would expect. My contact is meeting me at my hidden home. There's a much bigger plot than just kidnapping your sister. What I'm grateful for is that they did not know my intentions towards her. I only told a reserve few of what I planned to ask her. If they knew I'm afraid we'd already be too late to save her from the fate I fear they are trying to accomplish. We've done what we can for him now. Come on let’s get going."
Shouldering the resentment that was building up inside him Roni carried on. He squared his shoulders and looked up at Crete as they exited out of the airport. It was certainly obvious they were going to need to make some allies out of the local lairs as well as scope out how far the corruption had seeped. At least half the council had come from Palturn's recommendations. Hell he had been the chief advisor to his father. If Palturn had chosen those that were on his side then there would be no council. They were coming after the crown.
His home away from the castle was a quaint wine covered cottage buried in the back of a grove of redbud trees with a decent sized hill overshadowing it. The stones making up the walls were thick and varied in color. It was very warm in the winter and cool in the summer. He couldn't have chosen a better hide away. It had been abandoned and in disrepair when he had found it on one of his flights. He spent five years doing the repairs himself. It was going to be a beautiful home for children to run around in and grow up. Beautiful dark haired babies crawling and flying over this enchanting land.
The two of them landed in a small clearing just as a small pop sounded in front of them, a lithe figure standing at the entrance to Rharonis's home. Chuckling Roni shifted and clapped the man’s shoulder.
"Amras you sneaky fuck, you certainly know how to make an entrance." A deep lyrical chuckle stirred the air between them as the other man returned the gesture making Roni wince a little. The man’s figure belied his actual strength. His grin was a little feral as he looked over his king. He took notice of the dark circles under his eyes and the weight settled along the straining muscles in his neck. "And you my liege look like shit. Let's depart into the house where you can ply me with a bit of brandy and the mess you've gotten yourself into now." Turning all three of them make their way into the warm rustic antechamber bright sunlight streaming thru the green foliage covering the windows. Heading to the study off from the main hall Roni pulled down a decanter of amber liquid and poured three snifters worth handing each man a glass. "To the crown and its continuation, may its lines be ever fruitful." Amras toasted heartily swallowing the burning drink in one gulp. The other two raised theirs before knocking them back, the sound of clinking glasses settling as Amras studied the two dragons.
"Alright you two start talking. You wouldn't have called me if it weren't life or death." Tugging at the tip of his long ear he settled into a cushioned high backed chair across from a cold fireplace. With a flick of his fingers a raging fire blossomed amongst the once cold embers. To Rharonis it was no surprise but Crete couldn't hold back a small gasp. He'd been trying to guess at what the man was. Now he knew for sure. He was fae and a tricky one at that because he was free.
"In this matter it's your expertise that I require. I trusted you for other reasons and now I need your trust again and your secrecy. Fuck the fate of shifters and fae worldwide rest on this." The fae arched a brow with curiosity. “You’ve got my interest peaked now. What has got you in such a state or should I say whom?" Roni glanced at him with mild annoyance and Crete scoffed at how bold the man was. This guy had some balls. “Do I have your word or not?" Roni stared him down until Amras nodded and held out his hand to continue. “It has come to my attention that rogues have infiltrated the council. One of my advisors is a traitor and has over ruled at least half the council. How he did it under my nose makes me feel like an utter idiot. He attacked my suite at the headquarters and had tried sealing my death but only managed killing my guards and the captain of my security. I was away visiting Crete and his family. I wanted a first-hand account of Crete’s sister's assignment. Why they sent a secretary to do the job of the military we now know why. She found a group of rogues who are being supported and supplied by Palturn and his rogue council. They were the ones who sent her. Unimaginable. I asked her to be my mate and the queen of dragons worldwide. She doesn't have any idea of what she is capable of."
He stood up and walked back and forth agitated. His hair sticking up at different angles after running his fingers thru it. Amras had never seen the king, his friend, look this distraught before, not even when his father had passed away leaving the crown to his youngest offspring. "I didn't think you'd ever take that step. At least not on your own. Figured one day the council would choose for you. I'm intrigued. I'm at your disposal Mon frère. What would you have me do?"
Roni approached his longtime friend and gripped his shoulder. "We need your expertise in infiltrating and hacking. They could have taken her anywhere. We need to know where and what they plan on doing with her. There's not a possibility that they have kept this all quiet to the rest of the clans. Do you have any brethren you trust to join you in this?" Amras brow crinkled as he thought about it. "A brethren no but a sister possibly. I warn you though. She's not allied with the dragons of this world. But she's one hell of a warrior. I'll contact her if I have your word that she works with me and I be her liaison. She doesn't trust earth dwellers." Roni's grip slackened as he contemplated this. "And you trust her with what we've told you? Knowing she couldn't care either way how us dragons land?" Crete looked at the fae skeptically, leaning forward in his chair with the glass tumbler now empty hanging loosely in his hand.
Amras turned his head towards the man and speared him with a calculating gaze. "I trust her far more than I ever would trust a shifter. Other than our king." he spared a glance to Rharonis and continued on. “My contacts don't come by their title easily. She's more of a warrior than I've seen from most dragons and fae alike." Even Roni bristled at the slight insult.
"If you two are done sizing each other up now there's bigger shit we need to deal with." Crete flushed slightly with embarrassment as Amras just smirked but backed down.
"How soon can you make contact with this woman?"
"I'll head out now and send her a message. I should be able to get word back within a couple of hours. I'll contact you immediately."
"You have a day. Either she will be in or not, but we can't wait any longer." Amras stood from his chair and bowed. "I'll return shortly." After disappearing, Crete turned to his king and looked at him closely. "Do you honestly trust that man and his 'contact'?" "At this point he's the sneakiest cleverest man I know. He and his contact are our only chance of finding your sister untarnished." Mumbling under his breath his heart clenching, 'your sister and the love of my life'.
Chapter 13
The length of the smooth stoned hall seemed to double as the echoes of the mini processional bounced back at them. To his perverted mind Palturn strutted with his 'future queen' in submissive tow as if he had already dethroned Rharonis, visions in his mind of the cocky bastard crushed beneath his feet and this lusty woman pawing at his side wanting him for his cunningness. A faint sheen of sweat formed across his upper lip just thinking about his rewards for all his ideas and schemes. Staying beside the old man when his last breath cooled on his lips knowing just how close he
was now that the chaos of the shifter reign fell to an inexperienced playboy. With a throaty chuckle his pace quickened as he wanted to get this formality out of the way. He knew she was pure and memorized her blood line. He just wanted the pleasure of confirming it for himself. He shivered like a teenager at his first glance of a dirty magazine.
Autora shivered in her own way as she stared at her pudgy captors back, seeing and sensing the disgusting things going on his mind. She wanted to trip the cockiness right out of him and add a kick to the groin for his perversion. If only she could un-snare herself from the faes magick. It made her itch but she also knew she made the elf uncomfortable too. Underneath her quiet following she worked on exuding some of her feral power, the small trickle only a paltry amount of the actual power she was pushing against the restraints. The tidal wave being held back by Quelyn's magick making her head spin in pain before she backed off. Her own sheen of sweat broke across her brow. If it weren't for the magick she would have slumped over in exhaustion but instead she trudged forward and growled in frustration.
Quelyn struggled not to laugh. His boss certainly had a fight before him. He could feel the power she was trying to punch thru his wall. She even got close but ended up succumbing to exhaustion. Her magick though was off the charts. If it wasn't for the millennia’s he had on her, she would have knocked him on his ass. The world was not ready for this kind of power. In one aspect Palturn was right, she was going to be the shifters salvation, but the more fearsome thought was she could be their destruction. The fae community had to know. They had stood idly by and watched as even the strongest race had started imploding on itself with petty bickering. He couldn't stop what Palturn wanted to do with the woman for which it strangely haunted him, but he forced it aside and thought ahead to what needed to be done. Involving other fae meant one thing. God he hated contacting that fae.
Amras Tasadur
The processional stopped as Palturn opened a solitary black door, the sound of it seamlessly opening up with a menacing hiss. The opening maw of darkness made Tori gulp in fear for the first time. Not even Roni's proposal had her wishing she was more of a wimp so she could wet herself. Although knowing dirtying herself would only give him an excuse to bathe her. She trembled in disgust. Working her jaw back and forth she kept from fidgeting only by sheer will power.
Palturn turned and opened his arms wide giving her what he thought was a loving lustful smile. But to her and Quelyn it was creepy as it made his beady eyes twinkle dangerously. Quelyn could feel Tori's trepidation and gave her a little shove towards Palturn’s open arms. Of course to the dragon’s eyes she leapt to his arms eagerly.
"I'm so pleased my dear to see you excitedly accepting your role. I promise to make the rest of your life a wealth of passion and worship. You will enjoy this night for it's the beginning of all to come." He leaned in and whispered into her ear, the tip of his tongue flicking against her lobe biting it between his teeth, "and come you shall, over and over again, my name on your soft lips." he pulled back and winked trailing his meaty thumb along her lower lip. Quelyn had to force her mouth to stay shut so she wouldn't bite the dragons thumb off. She may not have been able to move but the abject horror in her eyes spoke volumes. Palturn’s eyes were too glazed over with desire to notice as he wrapped his arm around her waist and squeezed his fingertips into her hips.
Turning back toward the open door he tugged her along beside him, once passing into the room he turned over his shoulder and spoke to Quelyn. "After I shut this door lock it with magick and then remove her bindings. I want her frisky for me not frozen." Quelyn made to protest knowing that she would probably end up blowing up as soon as he released her, but it was Palturn’s funeral for wanting to deal with her raw, so he nodded and waited as the door swung shut in front of him. Hearing the lock click he added a layer of magick around it and simultaneously released the power around Tori. A loud resounding thud hit the door followed by a male curse.
Quelyn chuckled and walked down the hall a little phone in hand, his fingers flying over the keys as his ears stayed pricked to the sounds of furniture breaking and screams of outrage reverberate from under the doorway. The phone in his hands vibrated pulling his focus to the response. The words on the screen causing him to pause. 'She's the kings mate' what had Palturn done! Quelyn rushed back to the door and released his magick, the eerie silence coming from the room making his pulse quicken. Amidst broken shards of glass, wood impaled into walls and to some people’s amusement white down feathers from the bed flitted thru the air, a large groan came from underneath a large oak desk. But what caught his attention was the feral crouched figure of Autora, naked from the waist up with a bruised bite mark across the top of one pale breast, a large gash above her right brow softly oozing thick blood down over her cheek, staring right back at him
He held up his hands showing her he meant no harm, but he also didn't step any closer. The turbulent gleam to her eyes slowly faded and she released a shuddered breath before calmly passing out in a delicate heap on the floor. It would be almost comical if she wasn't in so much danger. He could see though how the shifter king was taken with her. Walking thru the debris he bent down beside her and grabbed a torn blanket to cover her chest before scooping her up into his arms. Palturn’s groans still came from under the table but he wasn't a threat at this point. Back out in the hall he magicked the door again to keep just Palturn in so that he could rendezvous with Amras. Even in slumber the magick pulsing off her skin tingled his palms.
Chapter 14
Moving thru the void Quelyn landed with his gift on the outskirts of an elaborate caving system. The darkness coming from them was more than lack of light. It was alive, a breathing thinking kind of darkness. Emerging from its entrance stood Amras and the palest elf he had ever seen. White hair pulled back in small braids to flow off her shoulder followed down to seep purple coverings, sharp white bones surrounded her wrists and bicep. The tribal markings littered over her skin briefly touched on his memory as he met them halfway. Amras looked the same, his usual elusive cockiness pressing out like a shield. The other though seemed fierce but yet skittish at the same time. She was fae if her ears were any indication but unlike any he had seen in his long life.
"Amras." Quelyn bowed his head and nodded politely in acknowledgement of his guest.
"Quelyn I'm amazed how fast you showed up with our little charge. I didn't know you had it in you old man." Slapping Quelyn on the shoulder Amras held out his arms to take the girl from him. Quelyn instinctively pulled her closer to his chest. He knew the wealth this girl was going to be but did Amras. The fae, even amongst his own people, didn't have the best reputation. "Your message said that she is the king’s mate. Why is he not here to collect her himself?" Quelyn stood his ground and watched as a muscle ticked in the rogue faes cheek, the other woman arching a brow in surprise at his actions.
"The king is waiting for her right now. No one other than us know that she is his mate you fool. You wouldn't have been able to rescue her alive if the council knew."
"You think I rescued her for that reason. Wow even our mighty liege doesn't possess the real knowledge of this girl. Can you not feel it radiating off her even in her rested state? Or have you been rogue for too long? None the less I will not just hand her over to you. Contact Rharonis. If it is he that wants her then he will show." Quelyn braced his feet apart and stood his ground as he adjusted Tori in his arms. Amras let out a frustrated growl and turned to consult the smaller fae warrioress. Quelyn watched the pair closely before feeling the delicate weight in his arms stirring. A pair of silver eyes peeked at him owlishly before flicking back and forth over his shoulders and across his face. Quelyn made a small shushing noise to comfort her and keep her from revealing she was awake to Amras.
She whimpered slightly still a bit out of it only recognizing the man who had held her body still until he had thrust her into that nightmarish scene. Replays of it rolled behind her eyes bringing forth her anger and abject hor
ror. The power she arced around her threw everyone back to the ground as she landed in a heap on the ground struggling to her feet. Following in her actions the other three stood to their feet and stared at her in wonder and more than a little fear. Her skin rippled before them even as Amras was placing a call to Rharonis that would pull him and anyone near him straight to their location. On the second ring Rharonis answered and cried in surprise as him and Crete were pulled thru the void to land tumbled across the ground. They separated from each other to the sight of Autoras extremely angry dragon. The three fae were back up against the caverns entrance. The darkness behind them seemed to pull the three into its embrace like a protective cloak. Roni and Crete stared in awe as neither of them had ever seen her fully shifted. As Crete took steps back, Roni stepped forward keening in a softer draconic voice appealing to her beast. Tori’s full head swiveled toward the male approaching her. His scent trailing to her nose was familiar, it’s comforting strength calming her beast. Ambling towards him she pressed the tip of her nostrils into his waiting palm. Crooning deep from her chest, its melodic tones soothing everyone around them.
"Tori, my beautiful powerful woman, return to me. You’re frightening everyone sexy." Gently he rubbed the smooth scales across her snout giving her a reassuring smile. He opened his arms wide for her as he watched her shrink slowly into an exhausted young woman, her arms wrapping around his shoulders before she fell to the ground. Pulling her against his body he sighed and kissed the top of her head, inhaling her and holding her tighter. His lips brushing across her cheek as he cupped her face in his hands bringing her gaze to his. “I’m never letting you out of my sight again. You are always getting into trouble beautiful. I kind of want my mate around don't you?" He chuckled softly and placed a tender kiss on her lips to stop her protest. She was too weak, and truth be told didn't want to fight the pull she had for him. She tightened her grip around his neck and deepened the kiss. Feeling her submit to him without an argument stunned Rharonis but he didn't let it pass him by. He scooped her legs to wrap around his waist and slid the edge of his tongue along her lower lip.
