by L B Keen
He physically jerked his head back at her sudden confession, his eyes widening before he narrowed them on her in suspicion. “You will?”
She nodded, letting her lips curl up into a small smile. “I’ve a man that I’ve chosen to marry.”
“Who?” her mother spoke up now, her eyes wide. Her nails dug into the wood of her throne’s armrest. “Who could have convinced you to marry when you have rejected all those before who came forward?”
Meeting her mother’s gaze, she spoke simply, “You know him well. He is a prince due the crown soon—”
“No!” Her mother’s shout drew everyone’s eyes. She stood abruptly. “I beg you, do not do this, Kahlia! Do not let slip the words that you would most regret!”
“It is not I who will regret!” Bird retorted, her eyes chilling as she stared at her mother. “You and I both know which of us will live with regret!”
Her mother frantically shook her head, the hanging decorations from her hair shaking. “I-I only wished to protect you. You would not have known a thing. It—he—will not bring you happiness—”
“You are wrong!” Bird’s denial boomed, her fury at her mother’s betrayal bleeding out. “He will bring me more happiness than your lies could ever have. I will not live my life being manipulated by you or Father, the king!”
Alma stiffened at her calling of his title. Bird met his gaze, hers defiant and sparking with purple. “The night of my disappearance, did you not wonder where I had gone… or do you already know?”
Alma met Osis’ despair-filled eyes before he faced his daughter. “We know only that you went to the Black Prison, and shortly after, there was a rebellion.”
“Which I started,” Bird boasted. “Within a cell, the man I’d grown to hate, the man I wished further than Hades was held there, being tortured and maimed.” She swallowed and closed her eyes in an effort to banish the image. “And he would have continued to be so if I hadn’t learned of a secret, a lie.”
“Don’t!” Osis desperately shouted. Coming from her seat, she rushed down the stairs and confronted Bird. Her eyes wildly searched her expression as she desperately whispered as she took Bird’s cold hand in hers. “Don’t. Let go, daughter… I beg you. I-I will do anything, but I beg you… let go.”
Bird gritted her teeth and leaned forward, her eyes reddening from the tears she withheld. “I will not.” She let the silence punctuate her statement, jerked her hand from her mother’s and stepped around her. Moving forward, she spoke, “If I hadn’t learned that my child was slowly being killed within, I would not have thought to leave.”
Silence echoed out at her announcement, and those who’d been fully aware of the secret all stiffened immediately, while those who’d just realized what the princess had said, started whispering amongst themselves.
Bird lifted her chin and stared her father down. Her beautiful appearance made her seem even more powerful as she did not wilt in the face of whispering and her father’s gaze, though King Alma himself was currently avoiding her gaze, and instead was observing those below.
“I will marry… I will marry the father of my child, Prince Talon of Britain.” Her voice was smooth as she continued talking, knowing she held the upper hand. “He will be the one who shall claim my dowry, as you promised.”
“I-I will give no such thing!” her father roared, his attention now returned to her. “You have disgraced yourself. No daughter of mine would conduct herself in such a way,” he spat.
Hearing this broke the calm that Bird held and she released the lock she held on her bloodline and she watched as all those who were siren react. Their eyes brightening to purple in reaction. Those of other races grappled against the natural urge to obey and fell to their knees. Her father stood strong still, though his expression had tensed.
“You dare to use bloodline here,” her father sputtered before he, too, released his own bloodline. Bird felt gravity fall on her, but she did not fall. Their magic was so strong and thick those around them slowly started to lose air.
Two bright auras shredded at the ground as black fire clashed with purple, each widening at a dangerous rate.
King Alma’s head wrap whipped up and flew from his head, causing his locs to fall. A cut appeared on his cheek, which caused his eyes to narrow.
“The mines are my right!” Bird challenged, her own skirts lifting, her skin, slowly to shift and growing brighter, rose as the purple in her flame became brighter. To punctuate her claim, the floor cracked under the weight of their clashing gifts.
“I am king, and I am your father, you will obey me!” he shouted, lifting his hand, pushing forward.
“No,” Bird declared, lifting her own hand. “I obey only my heart, and I will be under no one, not even a king!”
Yadil, who’d been thrown to the ground from the pressure of magic, reached out a hand, grasping the edge of the king’s robes. “P-please, stop… I beg you. Alma, you must stop…” Her hand slowly slipped from his robes as she fell forward.
Her voice couldn’t reach him as King Alma was slowly being swallowed by the power that ran in his veins. His eyes were growing dark in their color and Bird felt the change. A hand landed on her shoulder.
Her mother, who was panting as if she was short on air, said, “He is being consumed by his power,” though she had to pause several times to say this. Lifting a hand, she settled the hand on Bird’s shoulder. “The curse is consuming too much of your energy. With this, I hope you shall forgive me, daughter.” Her hand slipped away as she fainted, hitting the ground hard.
A pain so sharp stabbed Bird in the shoulder, and with it came a rush of air and suddenly, the flame around her sharpened, hardening into the shape of a lotus flower. Her eyes changed as they felt like ice, the color brightening to white as she felt weight expand in her gut.
Lowering her hands, she moved forward, the lotus of power shrinking till it merely outlined her body as she approached her father. Easily parting the black flames, she moved up the steps gracefully and stopping before him, she reached out, pulling him close. She lifted on her toes and pressed her lips against her father’s cheek. “Father… I am safe, and I am happy with my choice.” She pulled back and spoke, “I command thee, King of Katari, Alma, obey.”
Suddenly, the black flames dispersed.
Alma’s lashes flickered as his eyes returned to their dark purple color. The wind stilled and awareness came to his gaze. “K-Kahlia?” Confused, he searched his surroundings, the memories returning. His gaze widening, he jerked his gaze down. Pulling away from Bird, he knelt next to Yadil, his queen. Pressing his two fingers against her neck, he released a sigh of relief. She was breathing.
Others began to shift as they were able to breathe in once again. Bird turned and ran over to her mother, who lay still on the floor. “Mother!” She knelt by her side. Lifting her, she felt relief rush through her when Osis opened her eyes. “Mother!”
“I am all right,” her mother spoke weakly. Lifting a hand, she brushed it over Bird’s cheek. “I should not have forced you to forget.” She shook her head. “I thought my way was the only way for you to gain happiness. I truly believed you would be happy if you could begin again.”
Bird shook her head, refusing to cry. “I am happy. I was happy on the day I found I was no longer alone,” she spoke sincerely.
“Bird!”
The Great Hall doors slammed open, and Talon, followed by Jorin and Dua, rushed in, all three men stopping in wordless shock at the scene before them. People laid here and there, slowly recovering as they were able to breathe once more. King Alma was currently helping his queen, Yadil, to her feet. He paused, calling to Dua. “Summon the royal physicians, and bring with you strong men to carry the people to their chambers.”
Talon, having overcome his shock, rushed over to Bird’s side. Kneeling, he searched her body for a mark before meeting her amused gaze, his ruby gaze desperate. “You are not harmed?”
“No, I am not.”
She tu
rned her gaze back to her mother. “My mother is a little worse for wear, but that is to be expected. She walked into my aura.”
“Aura?” Talon repeated, unsure of what it meant.
“Magic speak, vampire,” Osis snapped, closing her eyes. “I do not expect a walking dead to know of it.”
“Mother,” Bird chided. “He will be my husband. You must be at peace with this.”
Her mother scoffed. “I will choose when I become at peace with it. Till then… he is merely your dead man.”
Once Dua returned with guards and physicians in tow, Bird allowed Talon to lift Osis, and together, they left the Great Hall, the king and his queen closely following behind. While Aryan was carried out by Dua, the crown prince had fallen immediately to the raised heat of their power. Bird would be sure to make fun of this later.
On the way towards her mother’s chambers, she paused when she observed Jorin leaving the chamber carrying Essa. She frowned. Her father would not be happy if he knew the two shared a bond.
Shaking her head, she continued to follow Talon. She would speak to Essa at a later time about it.
Chapter Twelve
Talon sat in the king’s private study. The man had summoned him two days after the events of he and Bird’s battle, though many had not been able to watch it to its culmination. Bird hadn’t spoken long on it, merely that she and her father argued and eventually, she’d been forced to stop him. She didn’t seem interested in speaking at length of what had been said, and what had occurred.
Currently, King Alma had his fingers at a steeple and was merely observing him over them. Before, with a sigh, he lifted a piece of folded parchment to Vasir. The man took the letter and walked it over to Talon, who took it reluctantly. “This is?”
“The deed to the mines I’ve promised as my daughter’s dowry,” Alma said simply, lowering his hands. He leaned back in his chair. “It is to be as I promised. The one who won my daughter’s favor and gained her hand would get the mines.”
Flipping the letter back and forth in his hand, Talon spoke, his brow furrowed. “Are you sure, King? It would be at my behest to warn you that I did not approach Kahlia with honor and am not owed the prize for marrying. It would do better in her hands.”
“No.” Alma lifted a hand, giving a shake of his head. “It will be as I said it would be, and my daughter will be taking with her a wealth of silver and gold that could buy three countries over.” After confessing this, Alma smirked. “You, dear prince… only get the mines.”
Talon couldn’t help but share in the man’s humor. After all… he didn’t know many men who’d have stood for such trickery.
“Also…” Alma’s expression darkened. “I have sinned against her, and it is only right that I correct my actions by giving what is owed.” Letting out a sharp sigh, he stood and reached out an arm. “My daughter is yours now, to marry and to protect. Are you up for the task? She’s a gahiji at heart.”
Talon stood. Walking forward, he claimed Alma’s hand and gave a hearty shake before nodding. “And I will, King. I will marry and protect her, and I like mine wild.”
The two men released their hold of each other’s forearms, releasing a hearty laughter.
“You cannot!” Bird shouted as they were both hidden in the alcove of the hallway that led out to the stables. Bird had been kidnapped right before the exit by Essa. “You are fiancé to the night court!”
“Shh,” Essa hushed her, her irritation clear. “I know, I need no reminding, but I love him and wish to be with him.”
“Love?” Bird scoffed, shaking her head. “You are not thinking clearly. You would be banished, disowned. Your mother and father would be disgraced.”
“So, you are allowed to do as you please, but I am not?!” Essa demanded, her eyes flashing angrily. “You are allowed to free a prince from prison and I am to sit quietly and sew?!”
“That is not what I meant and you know it,” Bird retorted. Softening her tone, she continued, “I am merely expressing that it is only passion that has you acting… well, desperate.”
“I am not desperate. Jorin loves me and I him.”
Closing her eyes, Bird silently wondered why she had not expected this. She’d prayed, no, hoped that the shared gazes and moments she’d caught Jorin giving Essa had merely been her over thinking. Within four days, they now believed themselves in love.
She shook her head. Love wasn’t something that occurred in days; it… it took longer.
“Essa, just—”
“No! I will not wait,” Essa snapped. She turned quickly and left Bird slack-jawed and bereft of words in the alcove.
Talon, who’d been headed to check on Bird, barely moved in time to not be run over by an angry-faced Essa. Surprised, he found himself watching an approaching Bird, who was shaking her head in silent amusement. “What is wrong with your cousin?”
“She believes herself in love with Jorin,” was Bird’s simple reply. She has known the man only four days, if that.
Nodding, Talon came to her side, resting a hand on her waist. “And this worries you?”
She nodded, her expression troubled. “I do wish her to be happy, but the marriage has been declared, contracts signed. She is not as free to do as she wishes as I was.”
“And still do,” Talon added, smiling when she shot him an annoyed look.
She scoffed, dropping her annoyance, muttering under her breath. “If I were truly able to do as I wish, you would not tip-toe around me as you do.”
Affronted, Talon straightened. “I have not, as you say, tip-toed, around you. I simply wish for us to be sure that no harm shall come to our child.” He punctuated this by laying a hand on her rounded belly. It had not grown large yet, but it was obvious, if one looked closely, that she was with child. “I am still dealing with the idea of being a father.”
Bird softly smiled and rested a hand over his. “Well, Father Talon, the child is safe, and I am sorely missing a man in my bed.”
Hearing this, Talon’s eyes brightened and he jerked her closer, causing her to release a laugh. “Then I should answer this hunger, correct?”
He turned, grabbing her hand and forced her to race after him. It did not take long for them to arrive to her chambers.
Talon slammed the door behind them, as Bird pulled away from him. He watched her as she let her scarf fall to the ground. Unbuckling her necklace, she allowed that to join the scarf and soon, he was following a trail of her clothing as she moved closer to the bed. Before soon, she stood before him completely nude.
His eyes fed on the sight of her erected nipples. The hard nubs appeared like chocolate and her slim, yet curvy figure begged for his touch. His teeth ached as much as his member, its hardening making itself clear in his clothes.
She smirked at him. “Will you not be stripping, Vampire?”
He smiled. Moving boldly forward, he reached out his hand and let his hand caress her warm skin. The thrum of her blood pounding through her body called to him, as her breathing enticed him. Every rise and fall of her chest drew him closer. Leaning forward, he breathed her in. Her scent mixed with the heat of the desert, and her womanly place, was more seductive than ambrosia.
Reaching up, he took her jaw in his hold, forcing her to look at him. He reached below with his other hand reaching between her legs. He withdrew liquid-coated fingers and immediately brought them to his lips.
She watched with lowered lashes, her breathing hitching as he tasted her essence on his skin. She tasted like his. Removing his fingers, he captured her lips in a desperate kiss.
How long had it been since he’d fed himself upon the sexual desire of a human? How long had it felt like he could breathe as he tasted and coaxed moan after moan from her? They slowly faced each other fully, and moving forward, he backed her towards the bed.
Pausing when her legs bumped the bed, he reached down, pulling his shirt free as Bird worked the laces loose and jerked his pants down, revealing his heavy member to her hungry eyes.
Slowly, she leaned forward, pressing her lips to his smooth skin, her hands roaming over his back and pressing into the bend of his stomach muscles. Her pulse raced as she licked the salt from his skin.
Talon released his hold as his eyes brightened, shining red. He reached down, bending slightly, lifting her before turning.
Bird’s breath caught at his sudden movement, and she again choked on her air when he lowered her with one thrust upon him. Both lost all reason as they tried to regain control.
It’d been so long since they’d held each other skin to skin. Talon’s teeth scraped along her throat, pulling a cry from her as he flexed within her. Desperate for relief, she panted in his ear, begging in her sweet voice, “M-move, Talon… please. I need…” She gasped once he thrust up, and she continued to moan and writhe against him as their movements lost grace and became rough and animalistic.
Bird was slowly growing lost in the rhythm, her body shuttering as alien sensations held her bound to his body. Her nails dug into his back as her legs tightened around his waist. Her waist rolled against his as their grunts and moans of pleasure echoed out in her bedroom.
She pressed her eyes closed, only to snap them open when Talon barked. “Open them!”
All she could see was a sea of red and fire. “Look at me! See me! I am the one who does this to you, no other!”
His movement grew rougher and Bird cried out as her first orgasm rolled through her but Talon did not slow. Instead, he turned them so that she lay on her back with his hands holding her wider. “No other, no other…” He muttered his words like a prayer against her skin.
Bird reached down, her hands lifting his face so that his eyes met hers and she smiled, her eyes bright. “No other.”
With a groan, Talon lunged forward, his teeth piercing her throat and Bird’s body lurched as pain swiftly turned to pleasure. She grasped at his shoulders, her mouth open in a silent scream. Her body tightening around him like a glove forced Talon to rear back. As she pulled every drop of life from him, both were as if frozen, mouth wide and eyes closed in wonder, before with a soft groan, Talon fell forward, letting his head rest against her heart, the beating consoling him.
