Her Royal Blood

by Felicity Jordan

  She broke away from the kiss to breathe and used the opportunity to kick her pants off and shove them to the bottom of the bed. Tim’s followed, along with his shirt, and finally, they were naked against each other. Rachel wondered briefly if she should put a sign or something up so that no one walked in on them, but that would require leaving Tim’s side, and that was unacceptable.

  His cock brushed against her stomach. Rachel smiled as she reached for it, cupping her hand around it and rubbing the head in that way she knew got him wild. As she’d expected, Tim gasped and jerked into her touch.

  In another place, Rachel would have taken her time, but she was wary of someone walking into the healing ward at any moment. She probably should have thought this out better, but it was too late for that. Despite her fatigue, her body was demanding Tim and demanding him now. Her thighs clenched at the thought of him filling her.

  Rachel was sure she was soaking the sheets with the wetness from her pussy, something she’d probably be embarrassed about later, but right now, she couldn’t care less.

  “I need you inside me,” she breathed.

  Tim responded by capturing her mouth in a hot, fast kiss. Their mouths remained locked as he moved on top of her. Rachel eagerly wound her legs around his waist, pulling him in. She cried out as he entered her in one swift thrust.

  She was taken by the sudden desire to bite him, to feed from his blood as he took her.

  “Tim.” Her voice was breathless, and she struggled to focus on speaking as he took up a quick rhythm. Rachel’s hips moved automatically with his, and she knew she was moaning way too loudly for someone who didn’t want to be discovered.

  “Rachel?”

  “Can I bite you?”

  He groaned at the thought and nodded, accompanied with a particularly hard thrust that had stars dancing before her eyes. Rachel didn’t wait. She pulled his neck toward her and bit into it, drinking deeply.

  This somehow heightened her pleasure, and apparently Tim’s as well, because mere moments later they were both coming, thrashing desperately against each other as their orgasms took them.

  Rachel lifted her mouth off Tim’s neck, licking away any excess blood. “We have to do that more often.”

  “Agreed,” he said breathlessly, pulling out of her and maneuvering her so that she was lying tucked into his side.

  Rachel drifted off in his arms, reflecting on how lucky she was to have found not one but three perfect guys.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Jexin

  Under Gali’s supervision, Assa recovered quickly. Tim’s blood proved particularly helpful for her. There was research indicating that the blood of a loved one could help speed healing, and Assa’s recovery aligned perfectly with it.

  They continued their lessons once Assa was well enough, and to his delight, she continued to go on dates with him and Refeu in addition to Tim. Though the first one had been a disaster, their second date was wonderful. Jexin felt like he fell more in love with Assa every day. He saw her when he closed his eyes, and she was the last and first thing he thought of every day.

  She took to having him or Refeu join her for the night in her rooms, sleeping with Tim on one side and one of them on the other. It was an arrangement he and his brothers approved of wholeheartedly.

  After several weeks, Assa got tired of rotating and asked Jexin and Refeu to move into her rooms permanently. The bed was replaced with a much larger one, and the three of them slept together, though they still took turns being next to Assa.

  Refeu told them about an arrangement his mother had with some of her mates, where one lay sideways at the top of the bed, letting the queen rest her head on his stomach, while two of her mates lay on either side of her.

  Assa quickly agreed, and the three of them took to it eagerly. All in all, life couldn’t be better. Well, Jexin supposed it would be better when they’d found Assa’s sisters, but he couldn’t find it in him to be even slightly discontent.

  It was Assa who brought up the question that had been weighing on his mind for so long he couldn’t remember what it felt like to be unburdened of it.

  “Jexin, you said you’re looking for my sisters. Have you had any leads?”

  He leaned back against the tree behind him, playing with Assa’s hair as she snuggled into his chest. “Nothing new, but I’m checking in with the teams every day. Now that we know where you grew up, and you’ve told me all you remember, I’m hopeful that we’ll make some progress. I’ve studied the human foster system extensively, and it’s likely that you and your sisters were all adopted or fostered at least relatively close together.”

  “Do you really think you’ll find them? After all this time?”

  He smiled down at her. “I was beginning to give up hope, but then I found you. Don’t worry, Assa, I won’t stop searching until they are both safe and home.”

  “I’d like to help, if I can.”

  “You are Assa. You can do whatever you want.”

  “Right. I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to that.”

  “I am. You’re adapting remarkably well, much more so than I would have expected.” It was the truth. Jexin admired how well Assa was doing. Already, she was spending time with Dasek, learning how to deal with many of the things that would be her responsibility when she was named.

  “Well, I have a good teacher.”

  “Refeu teaches you too.”

  “Boring royal stuff. I prefer learning about history than the different customs for greeting each bloodline.”

  Jexin couldn’t disagree with her there. He remembered his own protocol lessons in his youth, lessons he’d done his best to avoid.

  They stayed where they were until the sun went down before reluctantly returning inside. Most vampires tried to keep to a human time schedule so that they could go out into the human world when necessary, and Assa was no different.

  Tim and Refeu were waiting for them in Assa’s rooms, where they had dinner together. There was a strange tension between the two, and Jexin frowned at them.

  Neither said anything until the four of them were seated around the small table in Assa’s quarters.

  Tim got up, apparently trying to be casual, but his body language betrayed him. “I think I’ll run to the kitchen to ask if they can send up more of that sauce from Wednesday.”

  Jexin opened his mouth to remind Tim he could call for a servant to do the errand, but Refeu broke in.

  “Good, I could do with more of that too. Do you remember the way to the kitchen?”

  “Not exactly. Maybe Jexin could show me?”

  It was quite clear that Tim wanted to talk to Jexin alone, and that he’d already talked to Refeu while Assa had been having her lessons.

  “Of course. Come. I wouldn’t want you getting lost and missing dinner.”

  Assa didn’t miss the exchange, but she didn’t seem to mind the obvious ploy for Tim and Jexin to be alone. She loved how well her mates got on and never begrudged them bonding time.

  They walked in silence along three corridors until they were well out of even vampire hearing range. Jexin’s nerves mounted, wondering what it was Tim needed to tell him.

  Tim turned around to face him, twisting his hands together. “I think there’s something wrong.”

  “With Assa? Is she well?”

  “No, it’s not Rachel, she’s fine. I think there’s something wrong with me. I’ve been feeling dizzy and weak lately. And tired; all I seem to want is sleep. I thought it was nothing, that I was just feeling under the weather, but Refeu was with me one time I nearly collapsed. I told him about my symptoms, and he thinks he knows the problem.”

  From what Tim described, Jexin also thought he knew what the problem was, but he hoped he was wrong. “Have you been to see the healers yet?”

  “No, that’s why I wanted to ask your advice. I don’t want to worry Rachel with this. Refeu thinks it may be a complication from the donor process. It’s rare, but it happens. If it is that, she’ll bla
me herself. I became a donor for her. Apparently, it’s a curable condition. I want to get this sorted, and hopefully she won’t need to know about it. I’m just not sure if the healers will agree to keep that information from her.”

  He was right to worry. “The healers wouldn’t ordinarily keep any information from Assa, but if the three of us went to Gali and explained the situation together as her mates, she might be willing to bend the rules. After all, it would be for Assa’s own good. It’s not as simple as you think, though. The condition is curable, but the cure is difficult to get.”

  “I’ll do whatever I need to get it. Rachel needs me to live.”

  “She does. We will see Gali as soon as we have a chance, then.”

  It took a few days to engineer an opportunity for all three of them to be free. Most of the time, at least one of them was with Assa, which was how Jexin preferred it, but they managed to get some time when she was in a meeting with Dasek and some of the leading members of the Cherki court.

  Gali was in the healers’ quarters, as usual. She looked up and frowned at Tim. Even Assa had been asking if he was alright recently; he was getting paler by the day. “Tim? Are you ill?”

  “Maybe.” He sat reluctantly on the nearest bed. “I’ve been feeling dizzy and exhausted recently.”

  Gali’s posture tightened slightly, but she didn’t otherwise give away her anxiety. “Lie down, then, let me examine you.”

  Jexin and Refeu watched in silence as Gali went through the standard tests. Jexin didn’t understand what all the tests did, but as he watched Gali’s face, his worst fears were confirmed. She sat down next to Tim’s bed; her shoulders slumped.

  “Tim, I’m afraid you have a rare condition. It’s a side effect of the elixir used to make donors, but it happens so seldom that we hardly worry about it. Part of the donor process is changing your body to replace blood more quickly than usual. Sometimes, it goes the opposite way, and your blood stops reproducing altogether. This is what has happened with you.”

  Tim glanced at Jexin’s and Refeu’s dismal expressions before replying cautiously. “Then I can’t be fed on anymore?”

  “I’m afraid it’s much worse than that. You definitely can’t be fed on, but even if you’re never bitten again, everyone’s blood cells die naturally over time. If they can’t replace themselves, you will eventually not have enough blood in your body to sustain you. You will die.”

  Tim’s next words would forever endear him to Jexin. “But what about Rachel?” he whispered. “I can’t leave her.”

  “You won’t.” Jexin gripped Tim’s arm. “We’ll fix this. There is a way to cure the condition. It requires a rare ingredient, but we’ll do whatever we have to in order to get it.”

  Beside him, Refeu was nodding. “I can be ready to leave within the hour. The question is, do we tell Rachel?”

  “No,” Tim said at once. “Wherever we must go, she’ll insist on coming. You know what she’s like. She’ll be the one in danger – the enemies of the Cherki bloodline want her, not any of us. We go, we get what we need, and we come back. What we need to decide is who is going. One of you should stay behind with Rachel.”

  Both Refeu and Jexin spoke at once. “I’m coming with you.”

  Jexin continued. “You are already weak from your condition. You should stay with Assa. We will fetch what you need.”

  Tim hesitated. “Will it be dangerous?”

  There was a reluctant silence. “Yes,” Refeu finally admitted.

  “Then I’m coming.”

  Refeu folded his arms. “I’m not letting you go without me.”

  “I’m not either. We may not have gone through the ceremony, but we are all mates to Assa, brothers. We’re not deserting you, Tim. I will also be ready to go within the hour. You’d best get your things packed before Assa comes out of that meeting.”

  Tim nodded, perhaps realizing that he wasn’t going to convince them otherwise. “If we don’t die on this mission, Rachel will kill us when we get back.”

  Despite the dire circumstances, Jexin smiled.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Refeu

  It felt wrong, going behind Rachel’s back, but Refeu knew that Tim was right. If they told her, Rachel would insist on coming. Not only would she needlessly endanger her own life, but she would make it harder to find what they needed, not on purpose, but because he and Jexin would need to focus on protecting her rather than searching.

  “So, what is this thing we need to find anyway?” Tim fidgeted with the straps on his pack as they walked through the halls. They got a few strange looks, but no one stopped them.

  “It’s a rare herb called afesu. The healers can mix a cure for you, but it’s useless without the afesu.” As part of his training as a prince of the Alabsa bloodline, Refeu had been taught about donors and the possible complications.

  “So why don’t the healers keep a stock of it?”

  “It’s very hard to obtain, and it can’t be grown except in the conditions of its natural environment. We need to travel to a mountain several hours away and traverse the caves to get to it. We can drive part of the way, but we’ll have to hike the rest. It may take several days. The mountain is unstable; many people have died in the caves because of collapses.”

  Tim looked troubled. “You shouldn’t come with me, then. It’s bad enough I might die, I don’t want to put you two at risk too.”

  “You don’t even know what afesu looks like.” Jexin pursed his lips. “You’re lucky Refeu and I are letting you come along at all.” His tone was teasing, and Tim just grinned at him.

  “Not that I’m not willing to do this, but isn’t there an easier way? What about a blood transfusion or something?”

  Refeu was already shaking his head. “Believe me, people have tried. Vampires have experimented with both human and vampire medicines to try to cure the condition without afesu. So far, no solution has been found. A blood transfusion is incompatible with your condition; it would only kill you faster. I don’t remember the exact science behind the reaction, but trust me, it wouldn’t work.”

  “I figured so, or Gali would have done it already. I had to check, though. If we don’t all return from this…”

  He didn’t need to finish. If they didn’t all return, Rachel would never be the same again. Refeu only hoped Gali would keep her word not to speak to Rachel about Tim’s condition. They’d managed to persuade her for now, but if Rachel asked her directly, Refeu doubted the healer would lie to her Assa. They could only hope to be far enough away by then that Rachel wouldn’t be able to catch up. Maybe if she didn’t have a hope of coming with them anyway, she would stay at the palace.

  They had almost made it to the gardens when a voice stopped them.

  “Tim, Jexin, Refeu? Where are you going?”

  As one, they turned around to face Rachel. She’d gotten out of the meeting early, and now their plan of sneaking out without her knowing was ruined. Refeu glanced at Tim and Jexin. They all knew that they had to stall Rachel somehow, but that meant one of them would have to stay behind. Worse, that one would have to lie to her.

  Though they exchanged no words, in their brief glance, Tim, Refeu and Jexin understood each other perfectly. Tim would go, because it was his life at stake, his mission. Jexin or Refeu had to go with him. Of the two, Jexin had a better chance of keeping the guard from dragging Tim back on Rachel’s orders, seeing as he was captain of the guard.

  Regret passed quickly over Jexin’s face as he registered the same thing. He slipped his pack off and handed it to Refeu, knowing that the two could use the extra supplies. They clasped arms briefly, and he did the same with Tim before stepping toward Rachel.

  “Assa, we were just about to send a message to you…”

  Refeu didn’t stop to listen to the conversation, but quickly led Tim away. He heard Jexin making something up about bonding time between brothers, and he hoped Rachel would buy it. The two of them almost ran through the garden, knowing that if Jexin did
n’t convince Rachel, they might have guards on them at any second.

  Neither of them spoke until they were out of the gate. Refeu had a car waiting for them and he threw the packs into the back before hurriedly getting into the driver’s seat. Tim followed suit, glancing behind him. “I don’t like this.”

  “I don’t, either, but you know she’ll insist on coming if she knows what we’re really doing. If Jexin can convince her we’re just going camping or something, she’ll be safe.”

  “Yes, but if he can’t, she’ll likely order guards after us, and Jexin won’t be able to stop her. If it comes to it, the guards will obey Rachel’s orders over his, head of the guards or not.”

  Refeu couldn’t deny that. An Assa’s word was law. “If she does find out, I trust Jexin to do everything in his power to make sure she doesn’t come running after us. Besides, she won’t let you die. We need the afesu, that much is the truth.”

  “Yes, but she has plenty of guards to go on a dangerous mission to unstable caves. She won’t condone us doing it.” Tim’s mouth twisted in displeasure at the thought. “I won’t let other people risk their lives for me.”

  It went without saying that Refeu and Jexin were the exception to this. As bonded brothers, mates to Rachel, that they would fight to save each other was a certainty. Refeu knew that if he was the one dying, Tim and Jexin would do the same for him.

  “It might be a long walk or climb through the caves. You must tell me if you’re getting tired or dizzy. We can’t afford to have you get hurt and lose even more blood.”

  “Blood – what about you? Won’t you need to feed?”

  “No, I’m fine, I fed yesterday, and Jexin packed some blood in our supplies. I’ll be fine. He also packed a cordial for you. It won’t replace your blood, but it will give you strength. You must be careful with it, though. It is a temporary measure, and in the long term, it will make you weaker. It’s only a stopgap until we can get you the cure. Only drink it if you can’t go on otherwise.”