by Stacy Reid
As the Borean princess and heir to the throne, Saieke had never expected she would now be living in the realm of shadows and darkness. She had fled her kingdom in hopes of escaping a binding marriage to the king of Nuria. Her flight had forced her into the Darkage, and instead of being ripped to pieces as she had expected, she’d found Drac, her mate, her paradise.
Pleasure drained from her, leaving exhaustion in its wake. Saieke slowly licked her mate’s throat and watched the pinpricks heal as if they never existed. “I am still startled every time I feed on you,” she murmured in the crook of his neck.
She laughed huskily as he moved with her, and it seemed as if he simply appeared with her in the caves under their castle. It was lit with crystals and not the great torches they were used to. The Northern keep was the only castle in the Darkage illuminated by the crystals from Avindar that seemed to hold lightning within them. Negotiations were underway for more crystals to be delivered to the entire kingdom. Drac tipped her, and she dropped with a splash into the deep body of water. Though she laughed, sadness pierced her heart. It has been weeks, and her Queen blades were still not by her side.
I can feel your sadness princess, Drac growled in her mind through the psychic connection that had formed since mating. Another aspect of being with him that was wonderful but still terrifying.
“I am well,” she said with a smile. But you are troubled.
He lifted her and wrapped her legs around his waist and inhaled from her neck.
I am well.
Saieke drew back and met the obsidian darkness of his gaze. They were not cold but filled with heat and memories of their loving. Shadows also lurked, and that was something she was not used to seeing from her love.
“You have received words about my blades?” she asked tentatively, fear cramping her stomach. A soft hiss filled her mind as his demon tasted her fear and rejected it.
After a small hesitation, he cupped her cheeks and sipped at her lips, soothing and loving her at the same time.
They are held in the stronghold dungeon in Mevia. The words were whispered in her mind to lessen the harshness of what was happening.
Fear, acrid and potent, blossomed inside her. Drac pushed love at her through their lei.
Saieke felt the love tunnel through her and strangled the anxiety that swamped her, leaving something akin to peace in its wake. Her loyal Blades, who had risked everything for her, were captives with her enemies—the very enemies that had hunted her when she’d fled her kingdom. They’d hunted her across the Darklands and had almost caused her death within the Darkage itself. Now they had her Queens’s blades. Drac had promised her weeks ago that he would find them. And he had delivered.
“Drac…” Her voice tapered off as she absorbed that they were indeed within Mevia. They had suspected the truth, but she had hoped for another outcome.
“We will get them out, my Princess.” His tone was cold and implacable yet soothing to the horror that tried to rear its head.
“How?”
“Lachlan travels to Mevia.”
Saieke blinked. Lachlan Ravenswood was another enforcer for the dark king. “You sent your peacekeeper into the nest of vipers?” Saieke asked incredulously.
Drac’s low chuckle warmed her insides as nothing else could.
“He will not be suspected, my princess. His beast is buried so completely that even I sometimes doubt that he is a Darkan.”
“Would it not be best to send Tehdra or Tzar?”
“Tehdra is on another mission, and Lachlan is a Mecca, an Archduke, and ruler of the Eastern Keep of our realm. He is far more powerful than Tehdra or Tzar, my princess.”
Saieke saw the shadows flare again only to be abruptly banked. There was a soft hiss in her mind, an ominous ripple of disturbance.
She frowned. “You worry for Tehdra. Where is she, my love?”
The eyes that held hers were cold and remote. “I do not feel fear.”
“King’s Teeth!” she exclaimed and sharply nipped his lips. “I know you are dark and deadly, but you just felt something at the thought of the mission that Tehdra is on. It only shows me that you love her. Where is she?”
Pleasure whipped through Saieke, and she gasped as Drac lifted her and plunged his fangs into her breast. She knew it was a distraction from her probing, and she opened her mouth to protest, but what came out was a moan that echoed her delight and needs.
A cold that bit into her bones suddenly enveloped them, and Drac’s snarl resounded inside of Saieke.
“Halt your attack, Princess.”
“Stop trying to distract me with pleasure, mate,” she murmured, kissing his chin as she drew back her wind. She controlled both water and wind and had no hesitation when using them on her mate.
With a quick nip at her neck, he answered. “She is on a mission integral to uncovering the plot against Gidon.”
“Why do you fear for her?”
“Her being in Nuria may be akin to waking a sleeping dragon. I have not heard from her.”
“Would something have happened and you are unaware?”
He contemplated her words. “No. In distress, Tehdra would have reached out to me.”
Saieke leaned in, gently smiling, and glided her lips over his.
"Tehdra would never need you and remain silent."
She laughed huskily and withdrew her lips as he sought to take control of their play.
“No you don’t, we must discuss Lachlan.”
Must we? Rasped so sexily against her inner walls, she moaned.
“Is it safe to send Lachlan to Mevia?”
“Do not doubt his strength because he has suppressed his darkness. He holds the title of Mecca of the eastern quadrant for a reason, Princess. He is brutal and vicious even without darkness urging him. His use of blades and taijiu is beyond comprehension.”
So, my guards are in excellent hands?
They are in the most trusted hands.
Saieke’s soft scream echoed in the caves as Drac hoisted her and plunged his fangs high on the inside of her thighs. The rising tide of pleasure drowned her while he held her in his arms and blanked everything but the need to be with her mate.
Nuria—Kingdom of Eternal Fire
Adara—the castle Shelah
“I am trying to locate the battlement arena,” Tehdra said to the warrior who appeared beside her. It was the warrior who had slipped into the dining room, the one who had smelled of darkness and death.
He was handsome, and the fearsome scar that ran across his cheekbones did not detract from his masculine appeal.
Cold, silver eyes met hers. “The battlements?” he queried with a slow rise of his brows.
“I was ordered to present myself to Princess Xian to learn the art of hand combat,” Tehdra said and tried to smile so that she appeared non-threatening. “I made my way. However, it seems I am somewhat lost." It would not do for her to appear at the battlement, even though she knew every room and corner inside the castle walls.
She strove to appear nonchalant as he perused her form. She had requested regular garb from her lady maid. It would not benefit her to appear in hari apparel for her sparring session with the King’s sister. A deep blue caftan molded her curves, it hugged her breasts and flowed loosely from her waist. More importantly, it covered her shoulders and hid her Cerja. Her shoes were not the jewel-studded slippers she had worn for the last couple of days. They were practical and designed with comfort in mind. Lastly, she’d wound her long tresses into a knot at the nape of her neck.
He inclined his head respectfully. “Follow me, my lady.”
“I am not a lady,” she murmured.
A fleeting smile touched his lips. “Then you are much adept in disguise, my lady.”
She laughed softly. “I am a hari for your King, and I submit myself for training at his command.”
He was handsome with skin a deep golden bronze and hair the color of midnight held back in a queue. He had the build of a warrior and walk
ed with the assurance of man confident in his skill and might.
“Ahhh, the hari Tehdra. I’ve heard rumors of the king’s enthrallment with his untrained beauty.”
She glanced at him, almost startled. The rumors of the king’s distraction with her had already started. “Enthrallment?” she said with feigned ignorance.
“Are you not the hari that has been installed in his wing? The first ever. Desire does not rule our king, yet you are the concubine who causes his cock to harden upon seeing her.”
Tehdra blinked at his crudeness, and heat slid in her veins.
“Ahhh, she blushes. I can indeed see the fascination,” came his low, sexy drawl.
He laughed when she held her head straight, her cheeks burning bright.
“You are a sheep surrounded by wolves, hari Tehdra. It does not bode you well to be innocent and appear weak here. You are a refreshment, and I can see why Ajali covets you.”
She felt the intensity of his gaze as his eyes lashed her figure in a slow, intense perusal.
She glanced at him from the corner of her eyes. Innocent and weak. It was not intentional that he saw her as such, but it would benefit her deception. Her skin was so pale that any heat she felt from the thought of Ajali made her blush. Innocent and weak. She could kill this man before he released his flames to tangle with her, but she would utilize it to her means if possible. First, distrust needed to be abated.
“You refer to your king as Ajali?”
“I am Gavyn, a High Duke from the house of Westk’arr. I am one of the king's blades and his friend.”
“So, you are a warrior in his army?”
“I do not belong to his army. I am one of his blades.”
She did not understand, but she did not press. In the Darkage, they were given rank because of their predatory might and skill, not for noble blood and wealth that could be traced for millennia. And once you were given a title, you were a warrior, a part of the king’s army.
They came upon the battlement, and Princess Xian was already present. She had two swords in her hands that she held with ease. The battle arena was a wide, open, massive space. The walls boasted more weapons than Tehdra had ever seen in one room. Swords of all sizes and shapes, various battle axes and daggers adorned the walls. As she approached, the princess threw a sword to Tehdra. She lunged and caught the blade. Her hands slid to the hilt, and she tightened her grip. Her façade of being untrained should be easier to execute since they were training with swords. She had never held a sword before now.
“Xian!” A harsh snap from Gavyn.
Tehdra looked down to see blood seeping from a nasty cut in her hand where the blade had sliced deep. She gripped the sword and shifted her thumb that had slipped below the hilt.
“I am well,” she said and glanced at Gavyn. “This is my first time holding a sword, and I did not grip it properly.”
“Your first time?” Xian asked while observing her intently.
Tehdra suspected what the princess had been looking for and why she’d thrown the sword at her—searching for reflexes that would have betrayed Tehdra.
“Forgive me,” Xian said her distress genuine. “I was not aware that you were so untutored.”
Tehdra smiled inside. “Please think nothing of it, the blade barely nicked me.”
The princess nodded. “Then let us begin.”
Tehdra walked towards her with the unfamiliar weight in her hands. She relaxed her muscles and concentrated all efforts on not moving with the shadows. The princess showed her the rudiments of how to hold the sword, parry, and thrust, and how to attack and defend; then they danced together for what seemed like forever. Tehdra had seen the shift in Xian—distrust to respect and tentative trust.
Hours later, Tehdra ached in a good way. The sound of clapping reached her, and she glanced at Gavyn. Respect gleamed in Gavyn’s eyes, and Tehdra dipped in a mocking, shallow curtsey.
A loud crash resounded from the other side of the battlement. Lady Sascha had arrived after Tehdra had started training, and for several minutes had observed with a contemptuous sneer. Now, Lady Sascha danced with the sword as she dueled with two partners. She was beautiful, her movements fluid and swift.
The princess touched Tehdra’s shoulder. “Lady Sascha is enraged that you are on the King’s wing. Ignore her and whatever she may do.”
Tehdra suppressed her surprise. This was the first time the princess had engaged her outside of showing her the form to hold with her sword. “I am not rattled by the Countess’ anger.”
Xian nodded in approval. “You are a fast pupil. You did well today, and your chakra strength is amazing. I will inform kalija of your potential.”
Tehdra smiled graciously at the praise. “Thank you for your time, Princess Xian. Sword-mastery is indeed your domain.”
She grinned, executed a quick bow, and walked swiftly from the arena. The session had been intense and brutal. Xian had been relentless; her weapon had been a natural extension of her body. Before today, Tehdra had never wielded a sword. Blades, yes, but not a sword. Close combat weapons were her trade. She believed in being up close and personal when taking a life. She did not need to fake her imperfect form or her jerky movements as she’d tried to master the lunge and retreat dance.
“It seems the princess admires your endurance,” a soft voice murmured.
Gavyn stood directly in front of Tehdra.
“Why are you still here?”
“Why indeed,” he drawled.
She waited for a response, but he provided none. Was he to be her shadow for the day?
“Be careful of Lady Sascha. It does not bode well that it seems that you have planted yourself in the king’s affection.”
“I do not have the king’s affection,” Tehdra said.
“I suppose you would not call it that,” he said, his tone rough but smooth with an enticing undertone of sensuality.
“No, if I remember correctly King Ajali said my purpose is to fuck him to repletion whenever he commands.”
Gavyn laughed, admiration lighting in his eyes. “I would urge you to heed my warnings.”
“I am a simple hari, why would I need to be careful? There are three hundred haris in the King’s harem, do they all have to be careful with Lady Sascha?” Tehdra asked, genuinely curious. She had no time for jealousy; she would probably be driven to snap the countess’ neck from the shadows.
“You are a hari, yes, but you are without power. As a countess, Lady Sascha has the potential to be my king’s kala. The house of Assia is rich and powerful and as old as the house of Haddin. Your presence in the king’s bed and wing threatens to her ambitions.”
“Kala?”
“His Queen.”
She subdued her flinch. Lady Sascha desired to be Ajali’s queen.
Tehdra looked at Gavyn as she wiped the sweat from her brow and contemplated his words. “Why are you telling me this?”
“I would hate to see my king’s new favorite harmed. Take heed of the training provided by the princess. There may come a day you need it. The countess may allow her anger to cloud her sensible judgment.”
She tried to dismiss his warnings as frivolous. She rotated her shoulders to work the kinks from them. “Warning noted, Gavyn of the house of Westk’arr.”
A piercing scream resonated in the arena.
“Stupid chit,” Gavyn snapped under his breath as he flashed away.
She heard a rush of murmuring and looked in the sky to see Xian struggling to control a massive wraith.
It dipped and rolled trying to unseat her from its back. It roared and plunged, but she hung on as she tried to tame it into submission. Another wraith swooped in, Gavyn its rider. He grabbed Xian from the wraith, seated her in front of him, and flew away. The wraith, now freed of its weight, shrieked in triumph, and soared towards the mountains of Nuria.
Tehdra slipped from the battlements and shadow-stepped in the direction that Gavyn flew with Xian. Tehdra halted as he landed the wraith. Her fi
ngers itched to be on the back of one under the banner of darkness.
Xian, now laughing, slid off the wraith. “Did you see me on Azriel?”
Tehdra made to leave, but the thunder on Gavyn’s face made her pause in the shadows and observed.
“You could have been killed!” he bellowed. “You have not comprehended the stupidity of your actions.”
Xian eyes flashed with anger, quick and bright. “You forget yourself, blade,” she growled softly. "Do not presume to overstep your boundary because you belong to Ajali's blades."
Her tone held contempt and defiance.
Tehdra blinked. Gavyn flashed so fast she didn’t see him move. He appeared before Xian, and his hands spanned her throat. A growl of feminine affront rose in the princess’ throat, but before she could blaze at him, his lips swooped in and conquered hers. The kiss was raw, dominant, and filled with heat. Xian hesitated only for a few seconds, then wrapped her hands around his neck and kissed him back with fervor. The kissed changed from one of anger to one of seduction. Then, with a sharp wrench, he flung her from him.
“Hell!”
Xian flinched from the regret that coated his tone.
He swung back in the saddle, and with a powerful flex of his thighs, the wraith shot into the sky and away from the city.
Xian raised shaking hands to her lips. Tehdra could see the shock in the princess’ eyes, along with yearning.
Interesting. Tehdra filed away the knowledge of their attachment. She stalked in the shadows to the king’s wing, moving from room to room trying to detect any suspicious presence. She then went to the inner sanctum that housed the natural, underground spring.
Water gurgled and bubbled among trees and shrubs. Rugs and tapestries graced the room, with gold and gems inlaid in almost every divan and brocade. She stripped and submerged into the warm pool of water, sighing in pleasure as it heated her muscles.
