My language wasn’t usually as salty as Frankie or Idris. The Fisher King found that kind of language crude and would beat Illyna or me if we slipped around him. I just didn’t care anymore and the Fisher King didn’t have a head anymore. I was practically delirious and making up swear words as Frankie sucked my cock.
And then just like that, her mouth was gone. My head snapped up to meet her hazel eyes. She was already climbing on top of me.
“I can’t wait anymore. I need your cock, Galen.”
Sliding into her was totally unreal. Her eyes went into slits when her hips met mine, and she just sat there for a minute. She kept her nails short, but they were just long enough to sting a little when she raked them down my chest.
“Fuck, Galen. Your cock has this curve in it that hits just the right spots.”
I couldn’t help it. She felt so good. She felt like home. I grabbed her hips and started guiding her against my cock. She let out this little growl and started really riding my cock now. I snapped up to a sitting position and cupped my hands around her perky ass to guide her to go faster. I buried my face in her neck and took in the scent of wildflowers. I bit her right back when she bit my chest.
She wasn’t mad at me for biting her. If anything, she seemed to like it. It only made her ride my cock harder. She buried her hands in my long hair and pulled. Did she like her hair pulled too? Was she trying to tell me that? I kept one hand cupping her ass and trailed the other up her back to tangle in her long braids. I gave it a tentative pull.
“Oh, god, Galen. Pull it harder,” she ordered.
So, she liked hair pulling. Noted. I was learning. I liked it when she pulled mine too.
“Pull mine too. And scratch me,” I panted.
Frankie yanked my hair and raked her nails down my back. I was seeing the appeal of the games Frankie played with Daxar. I knew a lot of that game was about control, but every time she pulled my hair or scratched me, it was like every nerve in my body lit up with pleasure.
She dug her nails in my back again, and I felt her teeth sink into my chest. She fluttered around my cock as she came and I totally lost it. My body jerked as I came and I couldn’t control a single thing that came out of my mouth. We both sat on the bed clutching each other as our bodies came down from pleasure.
Frankie finally pulled back and took my face in her hands. “I didn’t think you would want scratching and hair pulling after—”
I just chuckled and kissed her. “I can’t explain it either. I got a little curious. I don’t think I want to do full-on Quadling games and I know that’s your thing with Daxar, but I’d like a little scratching and hair-pulling with you.”
“We can definitely do that. I needed this before they put me on the stand tomorrow because I think that Northern judge intends to be a dick with his questions.”
I pulled her down, so we were snuggling in bed. Daxar, Idris, and Oprix got the hint and joined us in a big cuddle pile.
“This trial will be hard on all of us,” I said. “I’m sure I’ll be called to the stand too. Being the son of the Fisher King and Illyna, I don’t think any of those judges will be very nice to me.”
Idris let out this little growl. “We’ll be here for all of you that get called to question. I’d love to see them try to get fresh with me if they call me with my mother in the audience.”
I had forgotten we were meeting Idris’ mother tomorrow. I had no shining examples of healthy mother-son relationships. From everything I had heard about Idris’ mother, even if she let him live in the West with Frankie, she’d send an army of Flying Monkeys to fuck you up if you hurt him. What a stark contrast to my mother, who just left the room when my father was beating me.
I didn’t know if things would ever be right with my mother, and she’d prove to me she’d loved me the entire time. I didn’t know if she’d prove she could be like Idris’ mother.
If this trial went a certain way, I might never find out.
Chapter 31
Frankie
I
was so relaxed after my night with Galen. I think part of it was having all of my men in the same bed for once. Daxar had always been missing before, and it just felt right to have him with us finally. I knew the trial was happening after breakfast and I normally woke with the sun. We all did, but we all almost slept through someone bringing us breakfast.
We were all naked and had to throw on clothes. I was totally mortified when I realized it wasn’t just breakfast at my door. The queen of the Flying Monkeys was there with several of her mates to eat breakfast with us, and I was sure my shirt was on backwards.
She was impressive as far as Flying Monkeys went. Idris told me she didn’t enjoy shifting into a woman, so I was looking at her monkey. Her wingspan had to be even bigger than Kazax, and she wore a crown of flowers instead of gold. She ignored all of us and went straight to Idris. Idris was huge when he was shifted into a man, but he looked tiny next to her.
“It’s so good to see you, Idris, but it’s unbecoming of a prince to sleep in when there is a duty to be done. All of Oz is watching this trial. If you get called to the stand, I expect you up there like a proper Flying Monkey. We aren’t playing our hand and revealing our secret until we see how this trial plays out.”
“Yes, Ma’am. Mother, I’d like you to meet my mate, Francesca.”
I normally wasn’t scared of anyone, but when the queen of the Flying Monkeys trained her gaze on me, I was definitely intimidated. All she had to do was say the word, and Idris was out of my life. Her stern gaze raked me from head to toe, assessing me for weaknesses. I knew that look. It was the look I gave anyone before I sparred with them.
Her face finally softened, and she smiled at me. She pulled me into a huge hug.
“You may call me Ivia, love. Idris has been raving about you since you were children. I see what all the fuss has been about. I can feel the hum of your magic, and it’s very pleasant to be around. I can see why it would attract a prince of the Flying Monkeys. You’ll make strong grandchildren with my son. Introduce me to your other mates. They need to be as strong as you and Idris.”
I normally would have put a verbal beat down on anyone who said that to me, but with Ivia, it was different. I politely introduced her to all my men and didn’t say a single thing while she assessed them.
Oprix didn’t lower his gaze while she took him in. “I like this one. This one is the steadfast, sweet one of the mix. And he looks like a warrior too. You have good taste in Winkies. If I had to pick a Winkie lover, I’d pick one like him.”
Only the queen of the Flying Monkeys could compliment my boyfriend while making him sound like a cut of meat at the market too. Oprix just bowed his head.
“Thank you, your majesty. I’ll try to do my part for Frankie.”
Ivia just snorted. “Please. None of those human titles. Call me Ivia like everyone else does. You have my permission. If you don’t have my permission, you just don’t speak to me.”
She moved on to Daxar next. Her gaze stayed on him a little longer than Oprix before she smiled. I knew they had already met, but she kept looking from him to me.
“I too know the appeal of taking a lover that is older than you. This one commands respect. He’ll make a strong partner when you are restored as Sentinel in the West.”
Daxar gave a curt not. “I’ll assist Francesca with anything she needs once Oz is restored.”
“I will hold you to that, Quadling. Francesca will be family soon, and we protect our own. When Francesca joins our family, if your new queen repeals some of your more ridiculous laws, you may become part of my family by extension. I expect all of you to treat Francesca the way the Flying Monkeys treat their females.”
Daxar just gave her this roguish smile. “All of us will treat Francesca like a queen, no matter what her species is.”
Ivia just grunted and moved on to Galen. Unlike the other men, she hardly stared at him at all and got right up in his face.
“I saved you
for last on purpose. You’re very interesting. You radiate power, some of it not from this realm. A madman raised you, but I don’t sense an evil bone in your body. In fact, I feel a lot of love coming from you. I can only imagine what kind of father that man was. How did you end up the way you are?”
As much as I didn’t want to piss off Ivia, I felt this huge protective wave rush over me. I knew I would feel that any time anyone tried to throw Galen’s parents in his face. If he got called to the stand, someone would have to restrain me if they tried to say he was anything like his father. Ivia was technically nice to him. She said he had a lot of love in him, which I already knew. Why did he have to explain that to her?
Galen boldly met her eyes. “I know the logic is that if you grow up around hate and evil, you turn into an evil person, but that’s not true. You can grow up around that and vow to be different. Growing up around someone like the Fisher King and sharing his blood doesn’t make my siblings evil or me.”
Ivia just laughed and planted a kiss on his forehead. “I wasn’t saying that it did, beautiful boy. That there are three of you is unheard of. That all three of you found each other, formed a family, and came together to beat him is practically a miracle. You are a wonder, dear boy, and I can’t wait to meet your siblings.”
Idris finally decided to make his voice heard. “Uh, mother? Galen’s sister Dorothy is mated to the queen of Oz. If you try to come at her like a queen, she’ll come right back at you. She spent most of her life thinking she was a Gillikin peasant boy named Tip. She’ll probably flat out punch you in the face if you say something she doesn’t like to Dorothy.”
Ivia threw back her head and laughed, like she found the idea of Ozma breaking her nose and starting a war with the Flying Monkeys was hilarious.
“A warrior queen. That is just what Oz needs right now. I want to meet this Ozma. Galen, I hear your sister Esiro is formidable, and if the North will have her, intends to take the Sentinel post.”
“She does. Locasta wasn’t kind to Esiro at all, but she wants to fix the North. She wants to see Locasta pay for what she did.”
“And she has every right. I want to meet all of you that helped bring down the Fisher King.”
“Shall we eat?” I asked.
The trial was set to happen after everyone ate breakfast, and we could sit here chatting all day about Galen’s parents. I liked Idris’ mother, even if she kind of treated my boyfriends a little like meat. I had a feeling that was just her personality. Idris did the same thing sometimes. He had no filter, and that’s what I loved about him. I could always count on Idris to say what everyone else was thinking and would never say.
Ivia’s mates hadn’t spoken this entire time. Did they need permission? Idris certainly didn’t. They pulled out her chair for her and made sure she had everything she needed before they joined us at the table. Ivia looked uncomfortable at the table, and I could understand why. These chairs weren’t meant for Flying Monkeys and she was having issues arranging her wings. She could have shifted into a woman and borrowed some clothes and been more comfortable, but she didn’t and I wasn’t about to suggest that. Idris enjoyed strutting around half-naked as a man, but he was very proud of his monkey too.
“So, Francesca, I hear you will be questioned today,” Ivia said.
“I’ve got my theories why they want Saffron and me up there. I think they want to put our mothers on trial, but they can’t, so they are making us answer for everything Oz thinks they did. This is what Saffron and I want, though. They can fling whatever they want at us and they will get the truth. If this is what we have to do to clear our mother’s names and break that forgetting curse, they can fling their nastiness at us and we’ll answer their questions calmly.”
“Where is the Sentinel of the East?” Ivia demanded.
“Trying to sleep in,” Saffron said, stumbling into the dining area.
Saffron liked her sleep and sometimes skipped breakfast to get it. If she had known the queen of the Flying Monkeys was sitting with us, she wouldn’t have announced herself so rudely, and her blue hair wouldn’t be sticking up everywhere.
Saffron took one look at the table and realized who was sitting with us.
“Oh shit. I’m sorry, your majesty,” she said, falling to one knee.
“Up, young Sentinel,” Ivia ordered. “The Flying Monkeys don’t do such customs. No bowing and curtseying, and no titles. If you’re allowed to call me by my name, then you may speak to me directly. Most of the Flying Monkeys can and do talk to me about anything and everything, unless they’ve offended me, and I’ve revoked that privilege. The Flying Monkeys are not a prudish bunch, so it takes a lot to offend me and lose that right. Please, join us and call me Ivia.”
“I should brush my hair and change my clothes,” Saffron said, trying to smooth down her wild locks.
“Nonsense. Two of these men are half-naked and Francesca has her shirt on backwards. It doesn’t matter what you’re wearing or what your hair looks like. That is a silly human matter. Flying Monkeys don’t worry about that kind of thing.”
I tried to stifle my snort. Flying Monkeys did worry about that kind of thing. It didn’t matter if Idris was a man or monkey, he could be vain sometimes. He loved to preen and show off. The one thing I learned spending time around the Flying Monkeys was that they liked to measure their wingspan and compare it with other Flying Monkeys when they got a little drunk. Idris liked to flex his muscles when he was human too. Ivia could talk all day about how vanity wasn’t a Flying Monkey thing, but I think everyone in this room knew better, including Ivia.
Saffron didn’t want to offend the queen any more than I did, so she fixed a plate and joined us at the table. She’d barely started sipping her juice when Ivia shot a question at her that not even I was expecting.
“Tell me, Saffron. Do you intend to mate with a Flying Monkey too? I have several you can meet.”
Saffron spit her juice clear across the table. I’m sure some of it got on Ivia. I loved Saffron to death, and she accepted my relationships and Ozma’s, but I knew Saffron had found Emarus and she wasn’t even going to entertain the possibility of another man. And that was fine with everyone in this room. We wanted everyone in Oz to accept our relationship and not tell us we had to die for it, but we weren’t telling everyone they had to be like us.
“I have a Quadling boyfriend. He says he intends to move to the East with me when this is over. I think I’ll be happy with just one boyfriend. Glinda just has one. I don’t have to have a bunch like Frankie does, do I?”
Ivia just threw back her head and laughed because Saffron was totally freaking out, thinking Ivia was forcing her to take a Flying Monkey mate. I already knew she wasn’t. She just phrased it in a way that set Saffron on edge.
“No, my dear girl. I’m not telling you who to love, and I would never force one of my Flying Monkeys to mate with anyone who didn’t love them and they didn’t love back. It would have just made a lovely alliance and more hybrid children if you and one of my Flying Monkeys found love. But you are happy with one Quadling, so I am happy you found love. Have all of you that were touched by the Fisher King found love? This makes me happy.”
“My sister Esiro hasn’t found someone yet, but I think she wants to deal with all of this before she does. She didn’t exactly have many chances before. Locasta wouldn’t let her out of her sight.”
Ivia raised her juice. “Esiro has time to find her happy ending, and if she would like me to introduce her to some Flying Monkey warriors, I would be happy to.”
Was there something Ivia wasn’t telling us? She seemed to really want to hook more Sentinels up with Flying Monkeys. Idris noticed too.
“Mother, what is going on? You used to be against us mixing. You always told me it would never work between Francesca and me.”
“Ah, yes, but you know I love babies. Last night, I met with Zusim and Glinda and got to meet their children. Aren’t they precious? I had my trepidation about sending Zusim away,
but you know I never forbid true love. It shows in their children. They are perfect in every way. Elore was quite happy to meet a queen, and I think she has a little crush on you, Idris. She kept telling me all about the prince she had met already and how you play with her.”
I think we all got dreamy looks on our faces when we thought of Elore and Khuzin. I just imagined Elore’s reaction when she got to meet a real queen. She’d met Ozma plenty of times but Ozma hadn’t really taken her place on the throne just yet and Ivia was more like her. If Elore’s meeting with Ivia went anything like the first time she met Idris, Elore was probably just as forward and just as adorable.
“Aren’t they amazing?” Idris sighed.
“Khuzin is shy, and Glinda says he prefers being read to, but little Elore is queen material if she was of the right bloodline. She’ll make a fine warrior and her magic hums unlike anything I’ve been around.”
Someone was pounding on the door again. I was done eating, so I jumped up to answer. It was one of the Northern guards.
“The trial is starting in twenty minutes. The field is packed, but we reserved seats in the front for all of you and the Flying Monkeys. The crowd started gathering at dawn, and they are already restless. You need to get down there now because if we start even a minute late, there may be a riot.”
I clapped my hands when I shut the door after promising we’d be down as soon as possible.
“Okay, we’ve got a restless crowd that might start eating each other if the trial starts a minute late. So, brush your hair, brush your teeth, and get presentable because this is the deciding factor if we fixed Oz defeating the Fisher King.”
Ivia got up and gave me another hug. “I’ve asked to testify, Francesca. The Flying Monkeys remember everything, and Locasta was trying to hurt us too. I’ve been told they are trying to get me in today. I’m supposed to be the last one. I have information that can help break this forgetting curse too. I also have information about how Azami did nothing but try to help the Flying Monkeys.”
Oz Has Spoken: A Reverse Harem Academy Romance (Emerald City Academy Book 3) Page 16
