by Jack Whitney
Corbin rose to his feet, her leg still hooked around him, his hand now grazing her sensitive vagina slowly.
She swallowed hard and raised a pleased brow at him. “Fuck me, Belwark.”
He obliged swifter than she expected. His length filled her at an instant, and he hugged her thigh against him as he pushed in and out of her, harshly. Her fingertips dug into his body, nails scratching the surface of his skin to reveal the fiery ash of a Belwark’s insides where there should have been blood. The rock behind her scratched her shoulder as he pushed harder and harder, and then finally, he let himself go with an audible groan into her hair. She could see the sweat on his forehead when he pulled out of her and let her leg go.
She pushed her hair off her face and gave him a sultry smile. “Exceeding expectations, Corbin. I think I’ll keep you.”
Aydra’s smug smile didn’t wipe from her face as she allowed her brother’s once Belwark to escort her back through the town and up to the castle. He didn’t leave her side or let the stern look of his face to leave as they walked through the town. Aydra’s skin was sticky with the salt of the beach beneath her blackened vest and leather pants. Her boots were full of sand. She reminded herself to bring an extra set of clothes the next she thought she might go to the beach after an execution.
Sand danced on the black rug through the hallways of the castle upon their reaching it, and not just from her own feet. Corbin continued to escort her at her side in silence.
“Where is he?” she asked him as the great doors of the castle closed behind.
“His study,” Corbin answered.
Aydra took the steps and paraded through the open halls, the waning sun dancing on her skin as she hopped up staircases and wound through the castle. His study was in the eastern corner below the Council room where he had his own secret staircase to the back of it. Two Belwarks stood guard at the door, and both gave her a nod upon reaching it.
“I will announce you,” Corbin said upon stepping in front of her.
She paused and felt her lips twist into a smile at the memory of his taking her against the cliff face. “Very well, Belwark,” she purred.
The doors opened, and Corbin stepped inside.
“Queen Aydra, as requested, Your Majesty,” Corbin said with a bow.
Rhaif turned around from the grand window he was staring out of, and his curly black hair fell over his eyes as he gave Corbin a nod. “Thank you, Corbin,” he said. “You’ll stand guard and then accompany her back to her room and then to the front to greet the Council after I’ve spoken with my sister.”
“No,” Aydra interjected as she strode into the room. “Corbin takes orders from me now.” She turned and gave him a smile over her shoulder. “Thank you for the escort, Corbin. I can handle things from here. Take your leave for the night,” she told him with a wink.
Her brother was glaring at her once she turned back around. She smirked at him, and the doors closed behind her.
Rhaif’s knuckles tightened white against the cup in his hands. “How many more of them will you take from me?” he growled.
“As many as want to come with me,” she mused, throwing herself into his new taut leather armchair behind his desk. She felt her body purr at the feeling of the supple leather beneath her skin. “This is nice. Is it new?”
“Get out of my chair,” he hissed.
She grinned, but stood nonetheless and retired herself to the lounger on the other side of the desk. “What’s up your ass? You’re in a more perturbed mood than usual.”
Rhaif sighed and met her eyes. “It seems the Infi have infiltrated more than one of the Dreamer towns,” he informed her. “Nobles from the other three sent word this morning of their having to deal with the infestation.”
Aydra’s mood shifted and she sat up in the chair. “How many?”
“A total of six were discovered,” he said.
“In addition to the two found here?” she asked.
Rhaif’s fist opened and closed, and he nodded. “So it would seem.” He paused and circled around the desk, leaning against the top of it as he faced her. “I thought with your being head of security, you should know. Also, I was hoping you would have some ideas as to how to vanish such a problem.”
Aydra quieted as she thought about it a moment. “We will speak with the Venari King when he gets here tomorrow,” she said. “Bring it up at the meeting. If he’s allowing the Infi to walk out of his wood, what else is he up to?”
Rhaif met her gaze. “I am glad to know we are on the same page, sister.” He paused and gave her a bold stare, eyes traveling over her body. She hugged her arms over her chest uncomfortably, and then stood from the chair.
“Was there anything else before we go meet the Council’s arrival?”
“These men you concern yourself with,” he started, now stepping around the desk. “Why not choose one of them instead of carrying a trail of them at your feet.”
She felt her head tilt at him, eyes narrowing. “Why should a king be allowed to have his fun with as many different Dreamer women as he likes, but a Queen not be?” she asked. “Do I not deserve the indulgence of a variety of pleasures myself?”
He considered her a moment as he leaned against the desk. “What about Ash? Is he not a favorite?”
“Ash is not always here,” she said. “Not to mention Ash can be a bit… safe.”
The first smirk she’d seen in years on her brother’s face rose onto his lips. “And the Belwarks aren’t?”
She met his smile. “Belwarks are a different breed. Born of the earth. Strength of fire. I love the trail of ash and fire beneath their skin when I scratch it.”
“You know—” he pushed off the desk and came to stand deliberately in front of her, his eyes only a couple inches above hers “—if you wanted fire, all you had to do was ask.”
His hands ran the length of her wrists up her arms to her throat, and the amusement she’d filled herself with only moments before evacuated from her core. She started to step back, but her neck was suddenly seized in his hands, and he crudely pressed his lips to hers.
She pushed on his chest, breaking her lips free, and uttered a quick, “Rhaif, no—”, but to no avail. He grasped her curly hair between his fingers and yanked her roots down. Before she could move, he whipped her around between himself and the desk, and she wriggled against his grip.
“Rhaif—Rhaif, stop!”
She managed to shove him hard, and he tripped backwards over the rug under his feet, almost falling into the couch. Her heart was pounding in her chest. He’d bit her lip harshly, and she could feel the faint trickle of blood threatening to fall down her chin. His eyes were wild and narrow as he stared at her, obviously bewildered that she’d actually hit him.
She blinked and made herself move. “The Council will be here soon,” she managed as she pushed off the desk. “I must be getting ready.”
CHAPTER TWO
SHE WAS LATE.
Later than she’d anticipated.
But the sun basking on her skin had been exactly what she needed that morning after her peace being taken from her so abruptly the day before.
A moment to be herself. A moment of peace before the horror of the Council she knew she would have to endure that night. A break from the daily quells of being Queen of Promise.
She’d allowed the Belwark guard, Corbin, to accompany her instead of Lex on that morning. She’d allowed him the indulgence of continued pleasure from the day before. The water had glistened on his dark skin as he took her roughly against the cliff walls, and then again when he’d splayed her legs open on the sand like a snack. She could feel the marks on her shoulder blades and on her butt from the rock defacing her skin.
“Queen Aydra!” came a woman’s voice as she ran down the hall. “My Queen—you’re late,” the Dreamer woman, Willow, was saying.
Aydra shoved her bracelet off her arm and began stripping in the hall as she walked with little care to who might be coming down it. “I
am aware, Willow.”
“Your brother sent for you—”
Aydra tossed her tunic over her head and into the Dreamer’s outstretched arms. One of the Belwarks walked by then, to which she gave him a small smile as he looked her figure over. “I’m aware,” she repeated, winking at the Belwark and continuing to walk down the hall. “Please inform my brother I’ll be but a few minutes late. He can start without me.” She pulled her linen pants off, nearly tripping on the legs, and she tossed them in Willow’s arms. “Is my dress ready?” she asked.
“I left it on your bed,” Willow answered.
Aydra pulled the clip out of her hair as they ascended the last set of stairs, and she gave her messy hair a fluff, allowing it to wave in the air behind her. She wasn’t surprised when she saw the young prince, Dorian, coming down from his own bedroom
“Whoa— No one told me we were streaking before banquet,” he said as she passed him, his widened round blue eyes searing through her. “Nice suit, sister,” the dark haired teen said with a wink at Aydra.
Aydra attempted and failed at a look of disgust towards him, and ended up biting back a knowing smile on her lips. “Grow up, Dorian,” she said as she smacked the back of his head. “You’re disgusting.”
“Fearless and annoying would better suit me, I think,” he grinned.
“The favored family traits,” she called back to him.
She turned her attention back to Willow as they reached the top of the steps. “Please go to the Chamber and let my brother know of what I asked. I will be there momentarily.”
Willow stopped and gave her a nod outside her bedroom door. “Yes, my Queen.”
Her door slammed behind her when she entered. Her feet flapped on the floor as she crossed the grand stone room to her four-poster bed. The black linens draped around the top and wound around the wide wooden posts. The dress laying on her bed made her lips purse.
Leave it to her brother to pick out the dress she hated the most for her to wear.
Powder blue. Frilly. Conservative.
Aydra flung it out of her window and went to her wardrobe.
Color. Color. Color.
No.
She was feeling confident that day. Her dark golden freckles were radiating on her skin. She could see them popping off her cheeks when she looked in the mirror. The pure steel color of her upwards turned wide eyes reminded her of the rocks the castle was made from.
Black.
The long black lace dress stared at her from the back of the wardrobe. The dress that pissed her brother off the most, and the one that she felt most confident in.
The black raven flew past her window.
She pulled the form-fitting black lace up over her muscular thighs and the curvature of her hips. It fit around her waist and she pushed her arms through before bringing it up and over her breasts. Sections of the black rose lace pattern draped over her breasts and up to her collarbone, but the sleeves were off the shoulder and hugged her limbs. The beige underlay of the dress appeared nude on her pale skin. The bottom flared out just below her knees, and the train behind it extended a few feet. She reached for her heels under the bed and kicked the fabric out to put her feet in them. The tulle skirt she belted around her waist only wrapped around the back of her waist like a cape. She gave it a fluff behind her.
Her golden tree limbed crown sat on her desk. She pushed her raw tourmaline ring on her ring finger and pushed her fingers through her stark ginger hair. The elbow-length curls cascaded down her back. She stared at the crown again before placing it on her head.
This should piss him off.
She left her room a moment later and was not surprised when she found Lex waiting outside her door. Lex’s brows raised upon seeing her.
“Wow,” she mused, looking Aydra over deliberately. “Someone is looking to royally piss off the king.”
Aydra smirked and fell in step with her down the hall. “He deserves it after yesterday.”
“I told you we could make it clean,” Lex said, arms pushed behind her back. “Very quiet. I doubt many would be upset.”
Aydra almost laughed. “You sound like the raven.”
“Knew there was something I liked about that creature,” Lex grinned.
“Take a gander at which one he had Willow leave on the bed.”
Lex chuckled under her breath. “The pink one?”
“Powder blue,” Aydra told her.
“Oof,” Lex mused with a squint of disgust. “I can’t wait to see the look on his face when you walk in.”
The white stone hallways mocked Aydra as they strode down them. She fumbled with the sleeves of her dress, trying to pull them down enough to wrap the string around her ring fingers. She twisted her ring upon seeing the great portrait of herself and her brother at the end of the hall. The painters had drawn it onto the white rock, just as they had the last three kings and queens.
Lex paused a moment in front of it. “They didn’t do you justice, my Queen,” she affirmed.
“They rarely do the Queens justice,” Aydra agreed. “Makes me wonder if we were meant to only ever be an accessory on his arm.”
“Perhaps Arbina should have thought about that before creating you,” Lex said with a raise of her brow.
Aydra almost laughed. “Come. We are later than usual, I think.”
“I’m positive we are.”
They finally reached the double doors of the Chamber a few flights of stairs later, and the pair paused in front of it. Aydra twisted the ring on her finger once more and allowed a shiver to run down her spine. The Belwarks on either side of the door stared at her. She cracked her neck and gave them a nod.
The doors opened, and the great room went silent. Corbin stepped inside before her and started to announce she and Lex, but Aydra pressed her hand on his chest and pushed him to the side.
“I think they know who to expect this many minutes past the hour by now,” she uttered. She raised a brow at the staring faces around her, and every member quickly rose to their feet—all except one.
“Sister!” her brother, Rhaif, announced upon rising from his own chair. She could see the annoyance written in his dark eyes as he crossed the room towards her, his dark burnet cloak billowing behind him, the noise of his shoes echoing off the floor. He’d pushed his navy black hair back to one side, allowing his curly bangs the liberty to fall over his left hazel eye, the golden crown on his head standing out against the dark of his hair. One look over him and she knew she was not the only one who had gone swimming that morning. His natural golden skin glistened in the firelight.
“My dear sister—” he clasped her face tightly in his hands and brought her towards him, kissing her cheek in a manner than made her cringe “—what are you wearing?” he suddenly hissed in her ear. “I left you—”
“Did you have fun on the beach today, brother?” she mused, ignoring him as she acknowledged a few of the Nobles in the room with smiles and small fluttering waves of her fingers. “Your skin is positively glowing.”
He wrenched her arm down from her insistent waving and glared over her, his gaze daring to tear through her to her core. “You embarrass us before our people,” he whispered.
Her nostrils flared as she finally met his gaze. “Why? Because I choose to embrace who I am instead of hiding it?”
“And you—” he turned his attention to Lex as though Aydra had not spoken “—you encourage it!”
“You mean do I encourage my Queen not to shove her desires down into her core and instead wear it as she should be allowed to? Yes. I do encourage it,” Lex replied, her stature towering over the king’s.
One of the men at the table cleared their throat, and Rhaif turned back around and gave the Council member a smile. “Ah. Back to where we were, of course.” He linked his arm around Aydra’s shoulder and squeezed it as he led her to the table. “Sister, join us,” he said as he pulled out the chair beside him.
She took her seat, and without meaning to, met the eyes o
f the one person who had not stood up upon her arrival. The man sitting directly across from her at the other end of the twenty person table.
Venari King and Alpha, Draven Greenwood.
King of Noctuans, born beneath the cursed fated tree: Duarb Fatum Infinari.
Ruler of the southern realms.
Her enemy King.
The man whom the Chronicles say’s giver had once tried to ensnare Aydra’s own giver, Arbina Promregis Amaris, into a slave relationship. The man who’s only reason for even being at that table and invited to their kingdom was because of a deal struck between previous kings, King Stephan of the Promised and the Venari King Bailnor a hundred years earlier. A deal that said the Venari King would never have to kneel before the Promised throne so long as he kept to his own realm and swore to protect the south while the Promised kept to their own in the northwest.
Their races’ trust in one another had never recovered even after such a deal was struck, and the enemy hatred between them stirred at the surface of the room during every meeting.
Draven stared mockingly at her beneath the black and ivory boned crown sitting over his thick shoulder-length walnut and light brown streaked hair. He leaned back in his chair, his leg thrown lazily up over the side of the arms of the chair as though he were lounging in his own home. His hooded sage eyes were cold as they stared back at her, as though he were perturbed by the fact that she’d been late and thus extended the time in which it would take to get this meeting over with.
Aydra zoned out as her brother began discussing the crops coming in from the Village of Dreams. Her gaze darted around the room, until finally landing on the young prince and princess standing at the back of the room. She gave her sister a wink and a small smile, to which the princess chuckled under her breath.
