“Oszin, kid, you should’ve warned us,” Dad said, but he was grinning. Oh yeah, the money worked with Dad. “It’s our honor that you find our son worthy, Your Majesty.”
“More than worthy. Sometimes I need someone from home more than anything,” Himika said, taking their hands in hers as I felt relieved at how well this was going, except that Sorek suddenly tried to yank my father’s face off.
* * *
The election was marked by a party; in the dragon kingdom there was nothing that wasn’t marked by a party, anyway. We had guests from far and wide, not just Peri but also Niko and Gilbert.
“Just the two of you?” Himika asked. “I guess it’s too soon for Phoebe to travel.”
“Yeah, she’s doing fine but it’s a long trip. And Forrest is way too excited to leave her,” Niko said. Phoebe had just had her second daughter that looked just like Forrest’s sisters, according to everyone in his family. “Abel and Rin are just tied up with too much business.”
“I understand, although Rin better come visit me soon.”
“I wish he’d come. He would have kept this one busy.”
“Oh, shut up. I don’t need to be kept busy. You won’t see me again now that we’re here.” Gilbert and Niko kept up a constant bickering but I noticed that they hung out together a lot as the night went on anyway.
“Himika! Hara!” Raia was glowing, with Merrick close by. “And is that Sorek? Wow, the kids are growing up so fast.”
“No one has ever said ‘the kids are growing up so slow’,” I said.
Himika snorted. “How are things going with you? Where is Emi? You don’t write many letters.”
“We found the other human guardian,” Merrick said. “She’s back home with him and my family. She doesn’t feel ready to see the dragon kingdom yet. She’s had bad claustrophobia ever since.”
“I understand,” Himika said.
“Merrick is still working for Abel and I’ve been training our first human female palace guards!” Raia said. “We’re going to start with having handmaidens who also have defensive skills, just like we do here, to give Phoebe extra protection without having a bunch of dudes around all the time.”
“Well, enjoy the food; if you’re a human, be wary of anything that looks like an eyeball, and…we’ll see what happens tonight,” Himika said. She seemed a little nervous underneath all the festivities.
The last to vote were the inner court of the palace and then the royal family; we cast our votes in a private booth and as we were queuing, Seron said, “Aurek, I’m making one last decree as the king by blood.”
“Oh?”
“Let’s have a consolation prize. Whoever wins doesn’t touch Himika tonight, but serves the wine for the rest of us.”
“Seron, that is so naughty for you,” Aurek said. “Okay, I like it.”
“Hey, don’t I get any say in this?” Himika said.
“No,” they both said.
“You’re the queen either way,” Seron said. “This is how we’ll make up for any lingering jealousy.”
“Oh, all right. I guess I have no way of losing. But I have a decree as well. We won’t talk about who we voted for. None of us.”
“Fine by me,” Seron said.
“Your Majesties.” The woman running the proceedings bowed, and one by one we stepped behind the curtain to write down a name. Where the fate of my people was once in the hands of the king, today the fate of the king was in the hands of the people.
Chapter Forty-Five
Himika
“For Ezeru, King of the Rock Dragons, nineteen votes. For Minister Avo, thirty-three votes.” Names and numbers were being carved onto a huge slab of crystal that hung from the ceiling as the results were announced. It was very late by the time the commission was ready to announce. On any normal night I would’ve been struggling to stay awake. We had put Sorek and Vorja to bed hours ago, while Ora was conked out on Ezeru’s shoulder.
“For Champion Oszin of Gaermon, thirteen votes.”
I nudged Oszin, who looked astonished that anyone had voted for him to be king, even if it wasn’t a serious vote.
“For Izeria, one hundred and ten.”
A few people cried, “Disqualified!”
“Hush!” Seron said.
A few other mist dragons also picked up votes.
“For our King Seron…” There was a pause. My heart was beating fast. “Forty-five thousand, six hundred and twelve.”
The room erupted in cheers.
“Forty-five thousand?” Aurek said. He patted Seron’s back. “I’m not sure there enough adults on the record for me to overcome that unless Oszin managed to get to every last dragon.”
“It’s going to be close,” Oszin said.
Seron’s jaw clenched. He held my hand. He looked nervous too.
“For our Lord Aurekdel…forty-five thousand, six hundred—”
“Holy shit,” Oszin said.
“—and thirteen.”
A sound that wavered between surprise, uncertainty, dismay and excitement rippled through the room like, “Ohhhohhh…”
“What?” Aurek said. “Did I hear that right?”
“By one vote?” Oszin said.
“The commission would like to state that throughout the realm, the votes have been astonishingly split, and as the regions came in, we counted all of them twice. The result is late tonight because we counted the votes of the court twice as well. We are all in agreement that Aurekdel will retake the crown by one vote.”
I’m not sure I had ever seen Aurekdel look so shocked before. Seron nudged him forward. “You won.”
“Well, sort of!”
“One vote or one thousand votes, it doesn’t matter,” Oszin said. “That’s how it works.”
Seron laughed and started clapping. “Long may you reign, my friend. I’m going to have a very enjoyable week with the queen.”
“I voted for you just so I wouldn’t have to serve you the wine,” Aurek said.
“I voted for you,” Seron said. “For less superficial reasons. Now I’m rethinking it.”
“Ha.”
“But my first interest is in the stability of this country. I think they’ve chosen well. You are the king, and I’m relieved to give up the burden, but it isn’t much of a mandate, so you’d better listen to me.”
“We said we weren’t going to talk about who we voted for!” I said.
“Well, I voted for Aurekdel as well,” Ezeru said. “You’re both good men, but I appreciated his determination to punish the mist dragons.”
“We definitely don’t need to talk about why we voted for whom,” I said. “No one is listening to my decree.”
The dragons were cheering around us, waiting for Seron to return the crown to Aurekdel.
But my infuriating mates were all looking at me.
“I think you voted for Seron,” Aurek said.
“I’m not going to say!”
“I bet she did,” Oszin said. “Didn’t you, Moth? Your face is so red.”
“I don’t want to seem like I’m playing favorites,” I said. “I—I had a very hard time deciding.”
I had struggled with the decision and a general distaste for choosing a king since Oszin got all of this going. It didn’t feel like my place to choose who would be the king. That was for fate to decide. Not me.
I thought it hardly mattered. Seron and Aurek would always rule together. Why go through all this? But the more I watched Oszin explaining the election and working so hard to make it happen, the more I couldn’t help but understand.
In the end, I thought we were here to bring about peace, and I decided that Seron had done more to that end than Aurek by exercising mercy on Izeria. And yeah…maybe, deep down, I still thought the man with the blood of Orvenu should have the crown.
Oszin grabbed his forehead. “Dear gods. It was my vote. I voted for Aurek.”
“It was anyone’s vote who voted for Aurek,” Ezeru said.
“Yes. I
t was all of our votes. But…that’s what I mean.”
“We don’t have to do this again until I’m dead, right?” Aurek asked.
“If you behave yourself,” Seron said.
They finally walked up onto the dais together and Seron placed the crown back on Aurek’s head.
“This is a formality,” Aurek said. “Seron and I will rule together. As we always have, and the past couple of years have only knit us closer. We’ve each had to walk in each other’s shoes and confront one another’s view of the world. If you voted for Seron, I hope to never disappoint you. This day marks a new era in the dragon kingdom. War and darkness will pass into history. Today, our gates are open, and kings are not born, but chosen.”
Chapter Forty-Six
Himika
“Well, that’s all settled,” Seron said. “Now we know the truth of the matter. The people like us exactly the same. All except Oszin, who liked you better.”
Oszin laughed. “I like taking credit for this, I have to say. Unless you’re going to make me serve wine all week too.”
“Nope.” Seron put his hands on Oszin and Aurekdel’s shoulders. “Aurek can handle being the wine bearer by himself. You’re going to have an excellent night for working so hard for the past year to ruin the legacy of Orvenu.”
“I detect a twinkle of mischief,” Aurek said. “I’m glad you’re taking this well.”
“Well, what matters to me now is that I was the king. I had a taste of it. I didn’t love it, but now I know we’re on equal footing, you and me. Now get me my wine.”
Aurekdel sighed and walked over to the side table.
Seron looked at me and a thrill went down my spine when his eyes met mine. He caught my chin in his hand. “We’re on equal footing too.”
“We…always were, really.”
“Do you believe that, Oszin?”
Oszin picked up way too quickly on this game. “No. She’s been pretty honest about it, really. She might complain about being a princess, but she complains the way only a princess would. And she really likes being the queen. No matter who is the king.”
“I saw the world through the eyes of a peasant for most of my life,” Seron said. His hand was still on my chin. “Remember when you told me to let it all go? That you were my one and only queen?”
“Mmhmm…”
“Take off those clothes slowly, and then get on that bed on your hands and knees.”
I bit my lip, with a mixture of excitement and apprehension. It certainly wasn’t like Seron never took charge before. In fact, it was his usual way to let his desire build up until he just took what he wanted. But he’d never ordered me around before. I took off my dress, feeling weirdly ashamed at the way Oszin, Seron and Ezeru watched my every move. Then my slippers, and finally I stepped out of my underthings. I was a little hesitant now, but Seron’s eyes directed me to the bed, to put my hands on the spread and face the wall.
He walked over to me and grazed his hand over my ass, between my legs—not nearly long enough—and my breasts.
“You are always so beautiful,” he said. “Aurek, I need that wine.”
Aurek made a little sound of frustration mingled with some enjoyment of the situation. Knowing Aurek, he was very curious to see where all this would go.
“Oszin, I think you should fuck that girl’s mouth,” Seron said.
“Seron!” Aurek said. “Who taught you to talk like that?”
“Who do you think?”
I glanced at Oszin and he was definitely aroused at the thought, although he also looked like he was still the farm boy who loved me. I understood what Seron was doing. This was really Oszin’s night. It was his dream, one I hadn’t really liked—for obvious reasons. But I trusted him, and in this case, it actually seemed to work out.
But there was also something sparking between Aurek and Seron. I wasn’t as sure where it was going. Maybe Seron’s joking bet had some truth behind it, and this was the last piece of them resolving their rivalry.
“We’re all equals here,” Seron said. “That’s what this night is really about. Go on. We all know you’ve deferred to us. It’s a hard habit to break, but tonight we’re going to break it. She’s going to pleasure you like you’re the king tonight.”
Oszin loosened his trousers. His eyes were intense with lust and a little disbelief as he climbed into bed with me. I looked at him back, my entire body on fire with anticipation, especially because of the way Seron told me to pose. If he just intended on me pleasuring Oszin, he would have just told me to kneel on the floor, wouldn’t he?
“He’s right, Oszin,” I said. “We are…equals.”
Oszin smirked. “All right. You still hesitated.” He brushed a finger along my lower lip, and when I let my jaw fell open, he took my arms in his and pulled me onto him, pushing my head down on his cock. His erection was hard as a rock under the softness of his skin, trembling with desire for me. I sucked on him, running my tongue up and down the underside of his length, his hand still on the back of my head, but gently. He didn’t try to force me too much, but nor would he be letting me go.
Almost immediately he was reduced to wordless groans of pleasure.
“Good,” Seron said, slowly running a hand along my thighs. I quivered a little, wanting more.
Aurek handed Oszin a cup of wine too. “A little extra heat for your loins.”
“Like I need that…”
Aurek grazed a hand down my back and Seron said,
“I told you, no touching her this week.”
“Seriously?”
“That was the bet!”
“Well, I thought you meant no important touching.”
“I meant what I meant,” Seron said. “I’m getting even with you, just this once. I’m going to play with our things and not let you touch.”
“What is Ezeru doing?”
“Ezeru didn’t make any bets. He can jump in anytime.”
“Oh,” Ezeru said. “Well, in that case, I’m going to fuck her now.”
“I didn’t—I’m obviously working up to that myself. I just mean that when we’re done with this you can seduce her as you see fit.”
“Fine, I don’t know what you mean,” Ezeru said.
Aurek laughed.
“Shut up, Aurek, I don’t have all this experience seducing people. I just—know—what I want.”
I lifted my ass, encouraging him to take it already. If I could have spoken without cutting off Oszin’s pleasure, I would have told Seron that he didn’t need to seduce me. I’d tried to tell him a long time ago that I was glad they each had their own way with me. But I guess Seron’s propensity to get a little frustrated was all part of his charm.
Anyway, my signal snapped him out of it and he gave me what I craved. As I was working my tongue and lips over Oszin’s length, licking the tip, tasting the first beads of his desire before he urged me to take more of him again, I felt Seron thrust deep. My core tightened around him, and then relaxed a little as he slid out, only to be met with an even deeper thrust than before.
I moaned. I thought my mouth was getting tired because it was taking him a long time to release. But as warm pleasure flooded through me I got a second wind. Still, I remembered what my handmaidens told me a long time ago, just to keep my lips and tongue as tight as I could and let him do the work.
As the moment ticked by I melted more and more into them and what they were doing to me, growing more helpless, just trying to keep myself from collapse. I surrendered to them and soon I was rewarded with the gratification of Oszin letting go completely, coming inside me as he growled out my name. “Himika… Princess…”
Deep down, I thought, whether I was a queen or a girl or ‘Moth’, in the end I was his princess.
As I listened to his pleasure it spiked my own and then I was whimpering along with him while Seron kept fucking me.
When it was done, I collapsed into the pillows.
Ezeru picked me up in his arms and sniffed me a little. “You lo
ok tired but I don’t want to wait.”
“Oh, my rock dragon,” I said dreamily. “I might be spent, but I don’t have to be done yet. You’ll just have to be a little slower than you prefer.”
“I can go slow,” he said.
“What?” Aurek said. “I’m going to the other bedroom. I didn’t vote for this.”
“Ha…” Seron said. “This week you get to watch me play with your swords. More wine, and then have a front row seat here on the bed.”
“Oh, I see. Revenge. You rigged the whole vote, didn’t you?”
“The whole vote,” Seron said. “All ninety thousand or whatever it was, yep.”
While they argued, Ezeru sat me on his knee and started stroking me between the legs very gently while he nuzzled and kissed my neck and shoulders, licking a little of Oszin’s seed off me. How very Ezeru. He was both demanding and nurturing at once. When he was satisfied with that, he leaned me back, supported by his hand, and sucked and bit my nipples.
“Ooh…,” I moaned.
“She’s ready for more,” Seron said. Ezeru’s hand had moved away from my sweet spot but now Seron’s hand filled the void, his thumb tweaking the nub of desire there before sliding along the lips of my sex. I let out a groan of urgency that surprised even me.
Ezeru took this invitation gladly and lifted me up just enough to nudge his cock between my folds. He spread his knees and my legs spread with them. Seron’s arm was wrapped around Ezeru, still brushing me between the legs.
“Go very slow with her,” Seron said.
“I’m trying…”
Seron’s fingers teased across me so lightly that before long, the slowness was worse than if they had gone fast. Sometimes he deliberately seemed to ignore my most sensitive areas, just teasing around them, barely brushing a finger by before going back to skimming my fingers over my mound. Ezeru followed his head and ground his hips against mine with a painfully slow rhythm.
The Kingdoms of Sky and Shadow Box Set Page 82
