Tales of the Thasali Harem Box Set

by Danielle Summers

  “I did not sell him to this man, your highness,” Lord Ezda protested. “There were two of them!”

  “Those were my brothers, your highness,” Zav cut in. He bowed again, though his expression had turned grim. “They made a gift of Charis to me. I, in turn, gave him his freedom in exchange for the outstanding loyalty he showed me in my travels.”

  “We will speak later,” Vidnar said to Ezda, his voice trembling with an unspoken threat. Turning, he gave Charis a curt nod. “I am glad you are well and prospered away from the harem. You must be on your way, though, for I am busy just now. I hope you will enjoy your newfound freedom. No doubt you have earned it.”

  With that, he whirled around and left the room, his long robe fluttering behind him. His servants followed close behind him, but Lord Ezda remained and fixed Zav and Charis with an icy look.

  “Go now,” Ezda snapped. “Both of you. Do not come back if you value your well-being.”

  “But…” Charis began, only to have Zav clamp a hand over his arm.

  “We will take our leave,” Zav said in a calm, respectful voice. “We thank you for giving us this audience.”

  In no time, the two of them were on the street with guards looming behind them to make sure they did not turn around and dash back in. The heavy palace doors slammed shut behind them.

  *~*~*

  “I cannot believe it.” Charis was close to sobbing as the two of them perched on the back of the wagon, their legs dangling over the side. Zav had gone to his private stash and hauled out a large jug of something that was quickly making him very drunk, though it did little to ease his pain. “All along, it was Vidnar himself who wanted me gone. I thought it was his mother, or his brothers…or even some of the palace ministers…”

  “I wouldn’t dwell too much on it,” Zav said, shaking his head. “Who knows what goes through the minds of royals.”

  “I was a burden to him. Though he always denied it, deep down he wanted to live the life his mother had planned for him. I made it inconvenient.”

  “They always choose their own kind,” Zav said. “They are not like us. They live in a different world—one of wealth, power, and selfishness.”

  “I’m lucky they didn’t have me killed.”

  “Indeed. Though I suspect Vidnar and the Matriarch would not have minded if it had come to that.”

  Charis wiped his tears away and took another swig of the liquor. It burned his throat and made his eyes water all over again. “I was nothing but a plaything to him. One he tired of. He didn’t even want to look at me any longer.”

  Zav tugged the jug away. “I would say you’ve had enough of this. Perhaps you should lie down for a while. You’ll probably be dizzy when you stand up again.”

  “I’m fine.” Charis struggled to his feet and found that Zav had been right after all. He stumbled around a bit until he tripped against the edge of Zav’s bed. Zav caught him and lowered him to the mattress.

  “It probably seems as though you’ve fallen into a long, dark tunnel,” he said, keeping a grip on Charis’ arm. “And it’s not just from the drink. You’ll find your way out, though. I know that for a fact.”

  “You’ve always been so kind to me,” Charis said, leaning his head on Zav’s shoulder. “I think you just might be the only real friend I ever had.”

  “I will always be your friend,” Zav said, his manner suddenly serious. “Please believe that, even if everything else seems false right now. I am not. I never could be.”

  “I do believe you.” Charis looked up into those sad, dark eyes. He tipped his head a little, even though it made his senses swim, and touched his lips to Zav’s.

  “I would like to be more than a friend, as you well know,” Zav went on when they inevitably tugged apart. “Even if I am a poor substitute for a prince, I hope you will consider my offer.”

  “A poor substitute?” Charis blinked, not sure he had heard correctly. “Do you mean in the same way I am a poor substitute for Siphu?”

  “Never! You are your own man. When I see you, I do not think of Siphu at all. You know I would have no one else but you. Ever.”

  “No? What if he came back and asked you to love him again?”

  “Then I would pretend not to know him. Really, it is as if I never did. I can hardly recall his face. Yours is the only one in my eyes…in my heart.”

  “Then you know how I feel now about Prince Vidnar. The truth is…the moment I saw him again, I knew I could never go back to the way I was then. Perhaps I could not have put it into words…at least before I tasted the drink…but I think now that I really came back here to say goodbye. Not just to Vidnar…but to the person I was.”

  “Do you mean it?” This time Zav himself looked like he was about to cry. “Are you sure it is not just the drink saying those words?”

  “I am the one saying them,” Charis assured him, fighting off another rush of dizziness. “The drink only gave me the courage to say what has been in my heart for some time.”

  “It has been in my mine, too.” Lifting his hands to Charis’ shoulders, Zav drew him in for a kiss, this one much slower and deeper than any they had shared before. Soon they were stretched out on the bed together, their clothing on the floor beside them.

  Zav’s body made Charis drool—he was so lean and taut, with a light dusting of hair on his chest and crotch, with a long, thick cock and small, down-covered balls. His skin looked as soft and edible as some creamy concoction spread over a sweetcake, his nipples blunt and dark as ripened berries. As he tongued those rigid bumps, Charis’ whole body convulsed with the desire to feel Zav’s teeth—along with other parts of himself— sinking into the depths of his own body.

  A little hesitantly, Zav moved closer, his erection snapping up in front of him. Breathing hard, Charis reached out, grabbed his wrist, and pulled him on top. He lifted his hips and ground his crotch into Zav’s. Zav gasped when their rigid cocks brushed against each other.

  “Let me,” Charis said breathlessly. He didn’t have to explain further. “I know how to please a man.”

  “Everything you do pleases me,” Zav whispered.

  “Just wait,” Charis promised with a small smile.

  With that, he went to work, giving himself willingly and fully…but as Zav’s equal, not as his servant or concubine.

  This was nothing like the times he’d spent with Vidnar. Never had he enjoyed kissing his way down a man’s body so much. Never had he savored every lick and flicker of his tongue against a hard cock. Yet he wanted more, and Zav seemed to sense that. Their thoughts were always so in tune with one another, like twin strains of a song being played simultaneously on two different instruments. It didn’t take long for Zav to roll Charis onto his stomach and slide on top of him. Zav’s muscular legs gripped Charis’ tightly and made him feel safe.

  Reaching over to the nightstand, he picked up a small bottle of oil. When he tilted it, some of the warm liquid splashed onto Charis’ thighs and trickled down between his ass-cheeks. This oil was nothing like the special potions the prince had acquired—it performed no magic on his body, nor did it enhance the sensations in any but the most natural way. Yet, Charis mused, nothing had ever felt better or made him want to krask so badly.

  Soon Charis moaned when he felt the thrust of a hard shaft inside his body. He groaned with pleasure and began to pump his hips up and down. Charis knew how to take charge without seeming to, letting his well-primed muscles draw Zav in so he wouldn’t have to push his way inside. They found their rhythm quickly. Charis hoped it would never end, but all too soon he heard Zav suck in a breath and release his seed in a hot, quick torrent.

  An invisible fire raged between them, melting their heaving, sweat-slicked bodies until it really did seem they had melted together. Their damp flesh pulled, flexed, and squeezed as they became one. The experience was the most exhilarating sensation Charis had ever known. For a moment he feared he might actually turn inside out with pleasure.

  Then, like any f
lame, the one roaring between them crested and burned out, turning to embers that warmed them peacefully and led them toward a contented sleep.

  “Did I fulfill my promise?” Charis asked in a teasing voice. “Did I please you?”

  “Oh…yes, yes,” Zav replied in a voice that shook with a kind of wonder. “It was wonderful.”

  “I’m glad. I wanted to make you happy.”

  They fell silent for a while. Charis hoped Zav wasn’t comparing himself to Vidnar, but his next question made him think that might have been the case.

  “Will you miss the palace life?” Zav asked, holding Charis close against his bare chest. Charis enjoyed hearing his heart beat behind those blunt brown nipples. He couldn’t resist tonguing them a little and making Zav laugh.

  “No more than you will miss traveling once we save enough for a downpayment on your villa.” Charis said. “Tomorrow we will leave here forever. Lord Ezda is right. We must never return here.”

  “You would not mind that?”

  “No. I think we have a great deal more traveling to do, anyhow. We have to find the perfect villa. One by the sea, perhaps. You promised you would show me the waves.”

  “I did, didn’t I? Well, I intend to keep that promise. That and many others.” Zav sighed with contentment. “Maybe I spoke unwisely at Masylion’s party. Maybe the old gods do watch out for us sometimes.”

  Charis murmured in agreement as Zav leaned down and kissed his forehead. Then he stroked Charis’ hair until the need for sleep grew too strong to resist. They clung to one another as darkness fell around them like a soft, comforting blanket.

  Exhausted, Charis welcomed the sweetness of oblivion. But he also looked forward to waking up into a new, exciting, and hopefully very long life with the man he truly loved.

  ###

  Blue Waters Run Deep

  Tales of the Thasali Harem 3

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Epilogue

  Chapter One

  Auditions

  Now he would make a nice piece for bed tonight.

  The young man who had caught the attention of Amyar, seventh son of the Thasali royal family, had a lean build and hair an unusual yet gorgeous shade of red. Amyar had initially only come to the harem compound to see his former tutor Haerek Chadan. Sitting in on the auditions, featuring a parade of stunning young men from the royal harem, for the upcoming annual Feast of Angry Angels concert was an unexpected bonus.

  The concert rotated among the royal families of the planet Oranto, and this year would be hosted by the Thasali royal household. It wouldn’t be as big a party as the Matriarch’s jubilee celebrations of a year ago, but the heads of other royal households would be there. It would be followed by an elaborate banquet. Although it was meant to be a purely social occasion, politics always made an appearance. Amyar wondered if the Matriarch, his mother, had been eager to host this year because of the threat of unrest in Tanshar, one of the Thasali territorial possessions.

  “What do you think of him, my prince?” Mekko leaned close to Amyar. Their knees touched.

  The prince shifted in his chair to move his knee away. Mekko, the harem’s music master, had always been nervy, even with members of the royal family. Amyar wondered if Mekko had ever attempted to be so forward with one of his older, and therefore more powerful, brothers. Out of the corner of his eye, Amyar saw Chadan glance at Mekko with distaste. Amyar smiled inwardly.

  Still overprotective.

  “He sings and plays well, Mekko,” said Amyar. “I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

  “My prince,” Mekko said, “you know that’s not what I meant.”

  “I do, but there are few with whom I’d share such a confidence.” Amyar regarded Mekko with amusement, wondering how the brash music master would respond. He wasn’t the heir to the throne, but he was still due the deference anyone of royal blood would expect.

  Mekko bowed his head slightly, seemingly chastened by Amyar’s rebuke, and shifted his attention back to the red-headed young man. The music master had a habit of becoming overly familiar with the royals. It was only his brilliance as a musician and teacher that kept him employed in the harem.

  Truth was, Amyar, who sat between Mekko and Chadan, hadn’t listened all that carefully to the young man. He seemed a serious sort. He was shorter than many of the other young men but had broad shoulders along with a muscular chest and abdomen, covered with fine pale red hairs. He had a strong presence. Amyar assumed the young man could perform even the simplest music and people would pay attention to him. He knew Chadan and Mekko were great teachers, so anyone they chose to perform in the concert would be the best.

  Pulling his mane of long dark hair flecked with gray back away from his face, Chadan said, “The boy was raw when he came here, but Mekko has done well molding and seasoning him. How he found the time to do it with all his other … activities, I don’t know.”

  Mekko laughed. “My dedication to the boys and the harem is boundless, Haerek. You know that.”

  “Your dedication can go too far sometimes,” Chadan said.

  Mekko did not respond, although his smile never dimmed. He tried to catch Amyar’s eye, but the prince would not look directly at him. Mekko returned his attention to the young man in front of them. Mekko motioned for him to take his leave.

  The young man left the stage, and Amyar looked around. Although it had been several years since Chadan had been his tutor, it was clear that Chadan’s exasperation with Mekko was as strong as ever.

  Amyar nodded to Costa, one of his older brothers, who had walked in and sat down on the other side of Mekko. There were two more boys after the charismatic redhead to end the auditions. Amyar knew Costa wasn’t interested in anything related to the concert. Music had never been his thing. Information and politics were more his style, and he did not disappoint.

  “Guess what’s happened?” Costa said, a conspiratorial grin on his face.

  “Just tell me.” Amyar didn’t like being made to guess or play the games Costa liked to play.

  Costa pouted in a mocking sort of way. “As usual, you’re no fun, little brother.” He looked around to make sure none of the harem boys who were bustling out of the room could hear him.

  Amyar was mildly entertained by his brother’s furtiveness, but he refrained from teasing him about it. Costa was prickly and occasionally vengeful.

  “Those Tansharian clowns have voted for independence,” Costa revealed at last.

  Amyar frowned. “How can they do that? Tanshar belongs to us.”

  “Of course it does. It’s just a tactic, but it opens up some possibilities for us. Maybe now we can use this act of disobedience to bring them to heel once and for all.” Costa sat back, looking very satisfied. “No one rebels against Thasali without paying a high price.”

  Costa was only a year older than Amyar. They had always been close, but lately Amyar had been shocked by Costa’s ambition. Amyar had always known that, as a younger son of the Matriarch, he wouldn’t inherit the power and wealth that his eldest brother, Baboye, would. He and his other brothers would certainly be wealthy. There’d be money, of course, and the Matriarch would give them royal assets, like land, as she saw fit. As long as they were princes, they’d never be poor. Costa had never
shown much interest in politics before, so Amyar was surprised that he’d been following what had been going on in Tanshar so closely.

  Amyar knew the most important thing about Tanshar that all the Thasali royals knew: that Tanshar’s huge freshwater lakes provided water to Resedna, the Thasali capital city, and the rest of their holdings. Other than that, he only had the vaguest knowledge of what was going on out there. He knew so little else about Tanshar that it might as well exist on the other side of Oranto or some other planet in the galaxy. He’d heard whispers about a rebellion. They wouldn’t be the first region to attempt to do so, but, like any other Thasali royal, he couldn’t understand why the Tansharians would want to rebel or what they hoped to gain by doing so.

  “Independence? Is that what they really want?” Amyar asked.

  Costa nodded and pounded his fist against his thigh. “They won’t know what to do with it if they get it, which they won’t. But who cares? We have the means to crush them into dust. They’ll back down once they understand that.”

  A startling, though not unwelcome, thought came to Amyar. He wanted to go to Tanshar and see for himself what was going on there. He wanted to be part of the action. He wanted to make history. Lately, Amyar had felt a pull to leave the palace compound. It wasn’t a new feeling. Previously, he’d pushed the feeling away because he knew the chances of getting out of the palace on his own were slim. A royal was almost never alone. Ever since he could remember, he’d had governesses, tutors, and other palace staff all around him, ready to take care of his every need and protect him from any threat. But now was the right time. He was an adult. He could take care of himself if he wanted to. It was time for him to see the world that he and his family ruled along with other royal houses. He didn’t want to push that feeling away anymore. It felt thrilling. It was time, he thought, to push against the strictures placed on him. He excused himself and hurried to the palace library to learn all he could about Tanshar.

  Chapter Two

  Blow Up

  Rouden knew that the vote for independence could be only one part of the Tanshar rebels’ strategy to get the attention of the Thasali royals. They needed the sympathy of those living in Resedna if they were ever truly to be free.