A Final Paige (Hidden Kingdom Trilogy Book 3)

by L. Rose

  I locked Asher’s hand between my thighs. As Asher fucked me with his fingers, Alex used his magic to buzz against my clit, sending me over the edge with a cry. Thorn groaned. I opened my eyes to see him pumping his hand faster over himself as he leaned up near Asher and then he shot his load onto Asher’s groin.

  Ezra howled as he thrust into Nate a few more times before stilling and gently slipping himself out of Nate. They both dropped to the floor in a heap around each other. Nate slowly shifted back, bones crunching and popping. When he lay there as a man, Ezra gave him one last lick before shifting back also.

  “Next time, I might let you take me,” Ezra teased.

  Nate grunted and gave him the finger. Though, he didn’t seem upset over what happened at all.

  God, I loved my men.

  While Nate, Ezra, and Asher rested, Alex insisted he was fine and suggested I make a call to my family. Of course I took him up on it. Seeing Yasmin glowing as she sat with Eric and Sakura standing behind them like she was their guard, helped ease more tension I didn’t realize I’d been carrying. Then again, of course I was worried about my family, but they reassured me everything was fine back home.

  A few hours later, I was sitting in a living room off the bedroom we’d been supplied when the door opened and Xi walked in. At least he didn’t break the door.

  “How did it go, Xi?” I asked as Thorn handed me a bowl of meat he’d had Alex transport him home for. It was then Asher had ordered Alex to have a rest. “Thank you.” I smiled up at Thorn, which he returned.

  “They are all dead,” Xi announced plainly, almost as if he was bored.

  “Uh, thank you,” I offered. Though, I wasn’t sure thanking someone for killing people was good.

  He hummed under his breath and said no more.

  “Xi, did you find out any new information?”

  His jaw clenched. “No.”

  Ah, he was pissed off. Killing them for nothing had bored him. I would hate to think what he did for fun in Hell.

  “Xi, have something to eat and sit down,” Ezra said from where he sat between my legs. “I’m sure we’ll speak with Cedrick soon, and he’ll let us know what’s going on.”

  “Then we can leave?” Xi questioned. I was sure the heebie-jeebies wasn’t the only thing Xi wanted to get away from. There was something going on with him.

  “We’ve been here one night, Xi. We were planning to spend two nights here anyway,” Asher said. He stood by the wall reading some type of papers, and Nate stood with him with his own handful of papers. They looked important, but I knew if I needed to know anything about something, they would tell me, or I’d kick their ass if I found something out too late.

  “It’s been two nights. It’s past midnight.”

  I waved my hand around, not bothering to answer. If he didn’t understand I wouldn’t leave without seeing and knowing Cedrick was okay, then he’d figure it out, or he’d just have to learn to be patient.

  Before I could even blink, Xi had a sword drawn. His arm extended to the right, the tip of the blade touching Cedrick’s neck.

  “Xi,” I cried as I leaped over Ezra in a panicked frenzy. However, Xi was already withdrawing his sword.

  “Be careful where you pop in without notice,” Xi warned, then walked over to the opposite wall to Asher and Nate to lean against it. He took a rag out of what I guessed was his back pocket and started cleaning a sword.

  Was Lucifer actually punishing me? Did he really think I was too moody for his son so he sent Xi to drive me insane? I believed it could work in the end.

  “Are you okay?” I asked, reaching out to place my hand on Cedrick’s arm. A shiver raked over my body. His scent hit me, and I wanted to lick him, kiss him, and mark him. It felt as if I hadn’t seen him in years.

  He looked down at me with warmth in his eyes. “I am now, my lady.” He glanced to Xi. “I apologize for appearing out of nowhere. I’ll know not to do it again.”

  Xi didn’t look at him but nodded once and kept cleaning his sword.

  “How’s your mom?” I asked, bringing his attention back down to me. Heat hit my cheeks because his eyes were so intense I could almost drown in them.

  Was I this bad with my other men before we’d completed the bond?

  It wasn’t that long ago, yet it seemed eons ago because so much had happened.

  He smiled. “Better. A lot better. She’s been seen by a healer we trust and is already on the mend.”

  I grinned. “That’s great.” Only my gut bottomed out. It was cruel of me to think it, but knowing she was okay so soon and that Cedrick would be all right, meant we could leave.

  Leave one of my mates.

  Leave one of my men.

  Even when we hadn’t finalized the bond, the thought of leaving him behind gutted me from breastbone down to my lower stomach. It had me pressing a hand against my stomach from the ache inside me.

  “Are you able to tell us what that was down there?” Asher asked.

  “Never felt creeped out as much as I did walking into that room,” Nate commented. He walked to the table to grab an apple. He turned, leaned against the table, and took a bite. He was always eating, well, if he could. He told me it was because shifting took a lot out of him.

  “I would like to explain what we’ve found out. Are you all comfortable here or would you like to speak in the meeting room?”

  “Here’s okay, if it’s all right with you?” I asked, suddenly feeling unsure of what to say, how to stand, or if I was dressed nicely enough. Hell, it felt like I was in high school and the most popular jock was speaking to me. I swore if I giggled at anything he said, I would slap myself.

  Humping his leg was out of the question, right?

  God, that thought seemed familiar. I was sure I’d thought it before for one or all of my other mates.

  Slowly, I removed my hand and put distance between us before I jumped his bones. I went back over to the couch and sat. Ezra moved back to lean against my legs. Thorn sat on my right and Asher to my left.

  “I’ll go get Alex,” Nate said.

  “Thanks,” I said, glancing everywhere but at Cedrick.

  Nate grunted and disappeared into the next room.

  The door to the living room opened and Kiered entered, smiling. I caught Xi straighten from the wall, but other than that, he didn’t look the man’s way or stop from cleaning his blade. Mentally, I rubbed my hands together. I had a feeling Kiered was why Xi wanted to up and run away fast. He was interested in him, or Kiered liked Xi and made it known to the man, and it freaked him out. Then again, it could be mutual feelings and that could also concern Xi, worried it would get between his mission to protect us. It may just need my interfering, but first I would find out how they both felt.

  “Hi, everyone. Did I miss the discussion?”

  “No,” I told him with my own smile. “We’re just waiting for Alex.”

  “Good.” He nodded, and then moved over to the wall beside Xi. From across the room, I could see Xi tense. He shifted to the side, away from Kiered, but Kiered removed that space between them.

  I got a “holy shit” moment when I saw Xi’s lips twitch. I’d never seen him smile except a scary one when he was fighting.

  That confirmed it.

  He liked Kiered.

  Thorn placed his arm around my shoulders and brought me close. “Sweetheart, don’t get involved.”

  I gave Thorn wide eyes and pointed at my chest. “Who, me?”

  He chuckled and kissed my temple. “Yes, you.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I rolled my eyes and smiled.

  The door to the bedroom opened and a fresh-looking Alex walked in with Nate following. Alex moved over to sit on the floor with Ezra, between Thorn’s legs, and Nate sat on the arm of the couch on Asher’s side.

  Cedrick took a chair opposite us. I hated the distance between us. As far as I was concerned, he should have been sitting with all of us.

  He relaxed bac
k and gave me a small smile, as if he knew what I was thinking…. Crap, he probably did. Still, I wouldn’t take it back.

  “Five years ago, my brother and I were out visiting close towns when the palace was attacked. When we arrived home, our father told us our mother, Queen Castilina, died in battle.” His jaw clenched as he glanced to Kiered and then back to the coffee table in front of him. “We believed the story because our father was marvelous at lying. He mourned for months; tears would shine in his eyes whenever he spoke of her. He, with his army, went out in search of the survivors of the dark elves who were said to attack us and killed them all.”

  “It would be easy to believe,” I said, hoping he’d be able to forgive himself.

  He shook his head. “I shouldn’t have. He’d always been a deceitful bastard. I should have made sure myself. I should have done something.”

  “You weren’t the only one tricked, brother. There was nothing any of us could do.” Kiered stepped over and laid a hand on Cedrick’s shoulder as he faced us. “We never thought Father would hurt Mother. She even believed it herself. He was enchanted by her beauty and power. He’d thought the world of her, even though he knew she didn’t love him. He saw her as his treasure because she brought him status. He became king after all, so he easily could turn a blind eye on the love she held for her guards. Her true grooms… mates.”

  Cedrick nodded. “That is why, since she thought she was safe, she sent her mates to guard us on our travels. It was the biggest mistake we all made. Our mother for believing in our father, for sending her mates away. For us and her mates listening to her pleas in the first place and giving in when she said she would die if anything happened to her children, to us.” A tick started in his temple. “She didn’t realize we would become nothing without her in our lives. Her mates were mere shells without their soul with them. They only stayed alive because they promised to care for us.”

  “The one good thing the council has done is get rid of your father,” Asher said, his voice hard and rough.

  Cedrick nodded. “Agreed.”

  “So what actually happened to her?” Ezra asked as he tilted his head to the side and rested his cheek on my knee. I reached out and ran a hand through his hair while I watched Cedrick struggle through this new development. I wished I could take away his heartache somehow.

  Cedrick paled more than his fair skin already was. Kiered did too as he removed his hand from Cedrick’s shoulder and sat on the armrest beside him. Like he knew when they spoke of it, he wouldn’t be able to stand anymore.

  “The machine you saw her hooked up to syphons her power and eventually her life source.”

  My pulse raced. “They were taking her life slowly.”

  “Yes,” he snarled. “Slowly and painfully for five fucking years.”

  “What did they do with what they syphoned?”

  The tick in Cedrick’s temple intensified. He sneered, his upper lip raised as he bit out, “Our father wanted it for himself.” He shook his head. “He injected himself every day. In the beginning, the power he gained was beyond any our kind should have.”

  “How did he get killed if he was so powerful?” Thorn asked. I glanced around at my men. All of them looked sickened by the news, as well as angered.

  “Because Therolidi, his most trusted friend, killed him on behalf of the council. It was also Therolidi who told me the council had planned his death. The people we caught and questioned could have been from Therolidi since they confirmed his story of the council doing it.”

  “He tried double-crossing the council. Hoping you would go after them and not find him out,” Alex commented.

  “I can only guess that was his plan. But I know for certain it was Therolidi who killed our father because Mother heard it all. He murdered him right in front of her, then planted his body elsewhere.”

  “The council knew what your father was doing and got Therolidi to murder him, but didn’t stop Therolidi from doing the same, draining your mother of power and life force. It doesn’t make sense,” Nate commented.

  “Maybe Therolidi was more manageable than their father,” Ezra suggested.

  “It could also mean the council are doing the same, syphoning power and life source from others, and they supplied Therolidi with a taste to be able to kill your father in the first place,” Asher said.

  “You’re correct. While our mother rested, I took two of mother’s guards into the dungeons and we spoke with Rallis, who is now dead.”

  Ezra laughed. “Spoke, you make torture sound so casual.”

  Cedrick shrugged. “Rallis overheard our father speaking of it with Therolidi, how he stumbled upon it happening within the council’s walls when he went to see them six years ago. Of course, when the council found out what our father was doing, they had to put a stop to it instantly. They didn’t want their secrets going further. Therolidi and his friend on the council worked together to kill and then cover up Father’s death. He would have told them of his plan for me, how he wanted to be in control.”

  “They would have let him go and continue as your father was doing because, like Ezra said, he was more manageable than your father. He must be sleeping with Jessica. A lot of men think with their cocks, and this would be a perfect example. He seemed stupid enough to think he’d get away with everything. Even trying to take us out for the bitch,” Nate said with a scowl.

  This was maddening, sickening. I wanted to scream in anger and throw up in fear and anguish knowing what the council were doing with people. But also because of what Cedrick’s mother had been through.

  “The more I hear about the council, the more I want to face them and kill them. This can’t keep happening,” I said. Ezra let out a sound, and I quickly released his hair. I hadn’t even realized I’d gripped it so tightly. “Sorry,” I muttered.

  He turned his head and smiled big, then winked. “We can try rough play another time, mi corazón.”

  My face heated. An unexpected laugh fell from my lips before I could stop it, but I quickly cut if off. It wasn’t the time for fun and games, though Ezra always did help settle a darker atmosphere into a lighter one.

  “Anyway,” I started and playfully shoved at his head, causing him to chuckle, “this must be why the council is taking other powerful members of the communities.”

  “I agree, love,” Asher said. “At least we know they’ll have advanced strength and power.”

  Worry creased my brows and churned my stomach. “Will we have enough power to fight them?”

  “From what our mother has said, the weaker the subject, the weaker the dose. It depends on who they have and how long they’ve had them for.”

  “Since we don’t know, we have to consider the worst. However, I believe we’ll be strong enough to take them on. Are you still willing to give us some men to fight with us?” Thorn asked.

  Cedrick nodded. He glanced up at Kiered, who smiled and nodded. Cedrick looked back to us and met my gaze. “There’s one other matter with having Mother back at the palace.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “I am no longer king.”

  My heart spiked. My mind spun. Could that mean…? I didn’t want to jump to any conclusions; I didn’t want to get my hopes up.

  “W-What does that mean for you?”

  “With the power I received from Father after his death, I was able to transfer it to Mother since it was rightfully hers anyway.”

  “Did it hurt? How was that possible?” Alex wondered. He was always after answers over many things. Ezra ruffled his hair, and Alex blushed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.”

  “I do not mind.” Cedrick smiled. “It didn’t hurt as much as what Paige experienced when I pulled her from her mind. Mother and I had to reestablish the mind link a mother has with her children when they’re born, and I transferred it that way. It had been suffocated with how she was locked away, cut off from the world, from us all, spelled so we couldn’t trace her energy. I would have passed by that room if it hadn’t
been for you, Paige. It could have been too late. But with the new power boost from myself, it helped rejuvenate her quicker than anything else could have.”

  “I wasn’t even sure how I knew, really. I just didn’t want to leave before seeing in that room,” I told him with a shrug, playing it off like it was nothing because he was eyeing me like it was everything. I wanted to crawl into his lap and see what he would do with me just from the way he was looking at me.

  “It was everything,” he said softly.

  “It was,” Kiered added. “Mother would love to meet with you soon if you would visit with her before leaving?”

  Smiling up at him, I nodded. “I would love to meet her.”

  “I’ll take you to her as soon as we’re done speaking here,” Cedrick said, bringing my attention back to him. I nodded, and he smiled in return.

  “Will your mother be able to handle being queen so soon after? Is she strong enough to keep your darker brethren in check?” Asher asked.

  “She is,” Kiered said. “With the power transfer from Cedrick, she would be able to take on an attack if needed. Especially since she is also reestablishing the bonds with her mates as we speak.”

  My face ignited. Yet I tasted regret because Cedrick and I couldn’t do the same… at least, I didn’t think we could. But he wasn’t king anymore. Did it mean he didn’t have responsibilities, or would he still have them alongside his mother?

  “It means, my beautiful, that I am able to stay by your side no matter where you are.”

  My eyes widened. I scooted forward on the couch and felt Ezra look back at me with uncertainty. “Are you serious?”

  His smile was the biggest I’d seen from him. “Yes. Very serious.”

  “You’re mine? As in my mate, my husband. You’ll be with me everywhere? At my castle? At my home?”

  “Correct, and you’re mine also.”

  My body flamed, my nipples hardened, my heart raced, and my clit throbbed. I wanted him, and now, so nothing could come between us again.

  “I have a feeling we need to leave the room,” Kiered said, his voice light with humor. “He’s just told her he’s able to become her mate fully with Mother ruling the court.”