by A. K. Koonce
My bare skin against the soft blankets reminds me of the details of last night and a smile pulls at my lips as I look up at him. Until I remember the look in his eyes when he avoided kissing me.
My brows pull low and the small shift in my features seems to demand his attention.
“Why didn’t you kiss me?” The words are quiet against my lips.
I hate asking that question, but it terrifies me that he might not trust me the way I’m starting to trust him. What if he’s afraid of love the same way I am? What if it was just sex for him? What if he wants Rime more than he wants me? What if I was bad in bed?
Oh my goddess, what if I was bad in bed? I didn’t really do much of anything. I was just there. Oh no. I was the lazy part of the sandwich. I have to start putting more effort into our threesomes … but really there’s three people for goddess’ sake, someone else can pick up for my slack, right?
“Stop thinking so much. I can literally see the panic of your thoughts.” A smile tilts his full lips as he stares down at the way his fingers are slipping through my hair. “I didn’t kiss you because I realized it would have been our first kiss.”
My mouth parts and an even more fearful thought slams through my mind.
“Low, I didn’t kiss you because I didn’t want the memory of our first kiss to be overshadowed by the fact that my cock was buried in your ass.”
My lips form a perfect O as I try to think of a witty response to that.
Nothing. There isn’t a single intelligent thing I could say in response to his dick being in my ass during our first kiss. I know I’ll think of something clever later. Later when he’s not beaming with a smirk like he knows he’s finally rendered me speechless.
The dragon taint.
“I think you naked in this bed would be a much better first kiss, don’t you?”
He leans over me, his eyes meeting mine from above me. The smallest of breaths slips over my lips before he seals his mouth to mine. One of my hands trails up the stubble of his jaw before pushing through his thick hair. Strong fingers linger against my throat as he tips my head up just slightly before deepening the kiss. My nipples harden, wanting his big hands to travel further. Slow strokes of his tongue feel more sensual at this angle. Gently and unhurriedly, he tastes me.
All I want is to lie here and kiss him forever.
“He’s pretty good at that, aye?” Sinister’s breath fans against my face and I pull away from our consuming kiss to find the demon lying at my side. His closeness startles me and the lazy smile that stretches across his lips tells me that was his intent. One hand props up his head while his long legs cross and he watches Chaos and me like we’re are his favorite pastime.
The hold Chaos has on my neck slowly slips away as he sits up to glare down at my friend. Rime clears his throat and I barely meet his eyes before he turns back to the window.
“He is actually.”
“What?” Sinister arches a dark brow at me while Chaos sits in silence.
“You asked if he was a good kisser. He is.” I nod to the small smile that holds in place against my friend’s features. I can never tell what he’s thinking anymore. I used to know every thought that slipped through his mind just by looking at him. And now he hides those thoughts. My stomach sinks just slightly but I push the feeling aside.
Today is the day. Today is the day we find Agatha. And Bobble. And most of all, Kreedence.
As I sit up, the three men in the room watch my every move, taking in my nudity with too much appraisal. Kain stalks through the open door, his gaze holding hard on mine. The amount of effort he puts into not looking down is admirable. He’s clearly stronger willed than I am. My gaze always drifted to their cocks. But he’s intent in making a point of not looking.
“Morning, Arlow.” His tone is this smooth velvety thing that I feel against my skin and deep inside my lungs as if I can breathe in his words completely.
My palms push against my hips and I tilt my head at him. He never once breaks eye contact. He is truly the alpha. A man among boys. A sly smile tugs at his lips when he finally walks past me, and I’m still applauding him until I look back to find him staring at my ass as he walks away.
The unapologetic smile he gives me makes me roll my eyes.
He was a man among boys for all of thirty seconds.
With a turn of my wrist smooth fabric hugs my skin. The white top ties in a neatly laid bow against the back of my neck while the pale orange of my skirt doesn’t quite cover my stomach. I’m nicely covered up, feeling clean and refreshed for the day. All eyes are still on me. There isn’t that lingering look of lust in the men’s features. Kain looks at me like he’s impressed. Rime’s eyes are that deep blue color that warms my skin. Chaos sits up a bit straighter, his head tipping up with reverence when I meet his gaze.
And Sinister’s gaze clings to the ends of my thin dress. He doesn’t meet my eyes. It’s as if he’s lost in a memory and I know it’s a memory I’ve thought of a thousand times even if I don’t know exactly which one it is.
With the smallest turn of my wrist the dress wafts against my skin. The orange fades away as a deep shade of yellow chases it out.
His fiery eyes meet mine. This confession about his favorite color seems to be a secret between him and me and it makes a smirk catch at the corner of his lips.
It never took much to make him smile but his smiles never meant he was truly amused. Only the creases around his eyes ever made my heart thrum with the achievement of making him happy. Those small lines are there when I look at him now.
For once, it doesn’t feel like five years of emptiness is separating us.
“Guess who finally showed up with the finest slacks in all of Korren.” The Prince’s cheerful words are followed by a squeaking sound that I haven’t heard since last winter.
“Minue!” The creature’s pale wings flutter until his small claws are wrapped around my index finger. Its long thin tail brushes against my arm. Where the pretty gray feathers end, thin coarse fur begins. Jutting out from beneath his wings are petite little paws. Four legs, two wings, a long winding tail, and an innocent little pink nose.
Goddess I forgot how adorable he was. From the doorway, Marg smirks at his cuteness as well.
Instead of squawking, the creature squeaks with a sound similar to a rodent.
“What the fuck is that?” Chaos’ head tilts back as if he might crawl up farther onto the bed just to put more space between him and the sweet little animal in my hand.
Kain takes a small step back. Rime cocks a brow at me but keeps his place against the window on the opposite side of the room. Suddenly, I feel like the room holds a little bit of tension.
I stroke over Minue’s fur. Small teeth nibble at my fingers, looking for a snack within my hand.
He’s a strange thing, I know he is, but he isn’t hideous. He’s cute. Ish.
I take a step closer to Chaos and the man really does push back until he’s stumbling out of the bed. He stands on the opposite side, leaving the large mattress to separate him from the sweet little beast in my hand.
“Minue quail are a rare breed of bird rodents.” I shrug slightly as I look to Sinister. The demon just shakes his head. He doesn’t seem to understand their fear either.
“A fucking bird rodent? Some goddess out there thought that rats weren’t enough that we should give the little fuckers wings too?” Chaos is heaving breaths out as he glares a hard, astounded look at me.
“You don’t like … mice?
Kain takes a step forward but when I turn to him, he takes that step right back. With a gesture of warning, Kain raises his hands.
“Dragons don’t like darting creatures. Mice, rats, snakes.”
“Fucking snakes.” Chaos shakes his head adamantly as if they just made a grand argument for their case.
“They startle us since we can’t get a good visual on them from our point of view.”
“What do dragons have to do with you three?” Prince Linden
cuts into our irrational conversation with the one question that probably does deserve an answer. He deserves the truth.
Shit.
Rime’s arms fold across his chest as he waits for me to explain myself to the person I’ve never once told the truth to the entire time I’ve known him.
But I’m not that person any more. I’m a better person. I’m stronger now. I have friends who care about me and who will support me no matter what. Even if I get burned at the stake for stealing the kingdom’s money.
At least, they can try to anyway. Good fucking luck burning a witch with mortal fire.
“Linden, I have to tell you something.” There’s a softness in his eyes when I speak. He’s always so patient with me. He’s always been drawn to me.
And I know it’s because of the similarities his mother and I share. Even if he doesn’t realize it.
Or maybe he does…
Marg takes a small step farther into the room but pretends not to listen to a word I say.
“The dragons I sold you are shifters.” My voice is this pathetic little noise that barely scrapes past my lips.
“I’m sorry, what?” His perfectly swept back blond hair shifts as he turns his head this way and that to try to better understand.
“The three dragons that I found… they were dragon shifters and I didn’t know that when I sold them to you, I’m a woman of honor of course, but it does seem that that was a bit of an error on my part but as you and I know, I’m not responsible for incidents no matter how big or how small. Incidents do happen. They happen to the best of us, am I right?” The rambling of my speech comes to a close with a nervous laugh that shakes through me and still the Prince just stares at me blankly.
Disappointment is a literal thing right now. It’s a heavy air that I can feel against the flush of my cheeks.
“Your contract states you’re not responsible for incidents once the product is in the possession of the buyer, Arlow. I have read that little detail more times than I’ve read anything else in my entire life, I assure you.” There’s a sternness to his tone that pulls his pale brows low over his pretty eyes. I’ve never actually seen him angry. This—this stern disappointment—this might be raging anger for him.
“Well—” My hands raise in a ta-da motion as I turn and present to him his product that he has in fact been in possession of for three days now. “I hope you have been enjoying your product, My Prince.”
“What the fuck, Arlow!” His cursing might be justified in this instance, but I’ve never heard such a royal accent snap out such an ugly word. It sounds harsher than I’m used to.
“If I had known they were shifters, I wouldn’t have sold them to you… for that high of a price.” I mumble the last part, but it doesn’t stop the entire room from pressing a hard glare against the side of my face. I physically feel the frustration of the room.
“I—I’m going to need the investment I gave you back.” It takes straining effort for him to say that in such a calm way.
Silence falls into place as I stare up at him, shifting beneath his gaze as I try to find the best possible way to say this to him.
“There was a small incident with the funds.” I press a meager smile against my lips to try to defuse his growing agitation.
“Arlow,” he warns.
“It was an unexpected occurrence that no one could have prevented, Linden.”
“Arlow.” His eyes close slowly as if he can just block out every single interaction we’ve ever had with one another from his mind.
My lips part but I know nothing I say can make this better.
If his father imprisons me, I could still give Minue to… not to any of the dragons because they don’t seem to be the fondest of friends, but Sinister could still take him and maybe the four of them would still find Aggie for me. Would they stick together for me even if I wasn’t in the picture?
Would they travel to the coast of Minden and tell my parents that I never did learn from my mistakes, but I was a good person nonetheless? Kind of.
My parents …
“What if I repaid you in another way?”
“Excuse me?” Chaos’ voice slips into the conversation as if I just said something he actually cares about.
Oh, eww. No. I’ve got to work on my phrasing.
“Not like that, K.” I barely pass him a look before I turn my attention back to the fuming Prince before me. “What if I repaid you in ships?”
The deep emerald color of his eyes narrows on me as he considers my words.
“You can get me ships?”
“A whole fucking fleet of them.” My chin tips up with confidence for the first time since we started this conversation.
“Arlow’s family is the best master ship builders in the entire kingdom.”
My head tilts at the demon attempting to help me. Sinister’s so full of shit. He has no idea if my father is a good shipwright.
But he is.
“They’re called shipwrights, Sin.”
“Exactly.” He gives me a wink from his lazy little spot on the bed. He’s still lounging. Just watching the world around him. Enjoying my little shit show.
“How many could you get my naval force with the money I gave you?”
I’d have to actually work with my father. Work side by side as I used to when I was a young girl. But I could get the Prince just what he needs.
“More than what you paid for, I promise. Besides—” I turn and look back at Chaos, Kain and Rime. “—you don’t want these fucktiles.” I can’t help the affection that’s in my voice.
Because they’re mine. They’re my fucktiles. Even if they don’t realize I’ve claimed them. Small smiles ghost their lips and I’m still looking back at them when the Prince speaks again.
“How do I know you’ll come back once you leave here?”
It’s a logical question. He’s smart to ask it and honestly no matter what I say, why would he believe me? For a moment I just look at him: his perfectly trimmed beard, the fine press of his suit, the shining badges lining his jacket. He matches the sleek details of the room. He fits here.
And I never did.
And yet, he was my friend anyway. Something bigger than us both brought us together. His mother drew us together. Mage magic is alluring even if Linden doesn’t realize it and maybe he just wanted to be close to that feeling again for the first time in decades.
“The sparrow. Send your sparrow with me and you’ll know where I am.”
A line pulls between his brows.
“I don’t even know what that means, Arlow.”
“The bird in your attic is a spying sparrow. He’s enchanted to show you every detail you’d ever wish to know within his glossy eyes. I’ll take him with me, but that bird will always come back to this place. It’s his home.”
His lips part as he stares down on me for several seconds.
“How do you know that, Arlow?”
My lips purse together, refusing to tell him the worst secret of all about myself. It’s something my mother ingrained in my mind as a small child. Never show your true self, Arlow. My head shakes slowly back and forth, and I don’t know why but the look makes him come closer to me. On slow steps he walks forward until there’s just a few inches of space between us. Anxiety claws through my chest at his closeness.
If he kisses me, Chaos will kill him. He made the promise once before and I don’t doubt him for a moment.
A small smile forms against his lips but he never closes the space between us. He lets a bout of silence drag on for so long I start to wonder what’s turning through the Prince of Minden’s royal little mind.
“I—I know you’re with Kain.” At the sound of his words, my brows raise impossibly high. “You don’t have to deny it.” His next words seem hard for him to say but he does say them. “He’s a charming man.”
Laughter shakes through my chest but I cover it with a snorting cough. It’s an unattractive sound but it’s the best I can do. My eyes meet the br
ooding shifter’s for only a moment and he blinks at me as I try to contain my laughter at his expense.
Charming is the very last word I would use to describe him. Demanding maybe. Stiff maybe. Sweet occasionally. Sometimes.
Okay, he’s fucking charming.
“He’s a good choice.” The Prince nods.
I nod.
I forget to point out that I haven’t made any choices among the plethora of men in my life. Considering how terrible I am at making choices it’s probably for the best.
“Thank you, Linden. You’re a good friend.” And I mean that. There was a time I wanted to run far, far away from anyone who tried to get close to me. And despite my best efforts, these men are my friends anyway.
Agatha was right; maybe I am blessed by the goddess.
Twenty
How do You Know
Wind chills my skin as we stand outside the kingdom gates. The wording about the Solstice Queen is still intact while the rest of the sign has crumbled away. An asshole dragon damaged the little sign a while back. It makes me smile that her name sits like a memorial plaque in front of her home. Even if it wasn’t intentional.
Minue’s mouth opens just enough for a small squeak to escape. The quiet noise makes Chaos scowl at the innocent creature.
“So how does this work?” Kain turns to me, his attention held on the quail as if it might peck his eyes out with his soft snout if he makes eye contact for too long.
“Minue just needs the scent of what we’re looking for. It’s been a few days now and hopefully the trail is still easy for him to find.” I shift through the small satchel before holding out Aggie’s favorite little skull up for the animal to see. Minue gazes at the porcelain looking bone. Whiskers shift as he sniffs hard, his mouth opens to reveal small white teeth. Its pink nose brushes the curving shape, this way and that. I can’t help but notice how Rime’s lip curls as we wait in silence.
