Vox seemed less than pleased, but he grabbed his plasma rifle and opened the door, waiting for Arden to go out first. Arden still wasn’t used to being mortal, but he decided he could get used to having an armed escort go everywhere with him. He could only imagine what Eric would say if he knew. The thought should have been amusing, but it wasn’t.
Harding took on an entirely different persona as he shifted into the role of guard and led them down the hall toward the auction room. It was every bit as over-the-top as Arden had expected. There was a raised marble podium surrounded by columns for the auctioned servants and pets to be displayed upon, while the elites sat in luxurious chairs and private boxes surrounding the stage, cloaked in shadows—for privacy, of course.
There was already a fae up onstage, her vivid green locks flowing around her nearly naked body. The thin fabric covering her full breasts looked painted on, and her thighs peeked out from the high slits in her flowing red skirt. Her blue-painted lips were pursed around a cherry red gag that matched her bloodshot eyes as she stared fearfully at her shadowed spectators. The elves might have preferred high-tech gear for their own fashion, but it was clear they enjoyed fetishizing their fae counterparts with more exaggerated versions of their liberal attire.
Arden bristled at the sight of the bound woman onstage. The novelty of being out on his first official mission was wearing off fast. There were bruises on her bare arms, and he could only imagine what she’d been through at the hands of her captors. There were a variety of reasons why a fae might end up in the trafficking circuit, from illegitimate debt collection to kidnapping by force.
“Let’s start the bidding at fifty-thousand rue,” the auctioneer suggested from somewhere above. Arden looked up at the tinted window in the floor above that wrapped around the circular stage. He could see the shadow of a man, but nothing more.
Harding gave him a gentle push toward the backstage area. Arden held his tongue for now, but shot a dirty look when he saw the glint of amusement in the human’s eyes. Backstage, there were half a dozen others ready to be auctioned. One particularly defiant looking man was locked in an iron cage, wearing a muzzle that was long enough to fit a dog’s snout. Arden recognized him as a shifter immediately by the fresh scar on the side of his neck. The elves always chipped their shifters and installed implants that would steadily release a sedative, similar to the way Dusk had cured Arden. The sight made him touch the back of his neck instinctively. Leo had removed the implant a week ago, but it still wasn’t fully healed and he knew firsthand how tender they were in the beginning.
There was only one other fae, which Arden could only assume was due to the fact that Dusk had made it harder for operations like this one to exist. Considering that at least a few of the shadowed attendees were likely part of the royal family as well, his success was necessarily limited. The others were human, likely Ark escapees who’d sought sanctuary in Praya hoping for a better life and a chance at true freedom.
Arden couldn’t help but feel pity for them, which was an uncomfortable emotion, considering that he still felt loyalty toward the man who had likely been responsible for their initial capture. He told himself not to look, but when he saw the tag hanging off the earlobe of the nearest human female, the Ark insignia stood out immediately.
His stomach churned. He had to get it together. This was about the prince, nothing more. Every stage of his gradual transformation back into a chimera had been fraught with difficulty, but the emotional responses that contradicted his goals were by far the most difficult to deal with. Craving intimacy and acceptance was bad enough, but guilt would be the death of him.
“Why isn’t he bound?” the overseer backstage demanded, striding toward them. He was tall even for an elf, his light hair cropped close to his square head. He looked down at Arden with disapproval in his frigid green eyes, but there was curiosity as well. Curiosity and lust.
“He’s a chimera,” Vox said flatly, his voice barely muffled through his mask. “What’s he going to do?”
“Protocol,” the overseer barked.
Vox rolled his eyes after the man turned away. “Sorry,” he said under his breath.
Arden gave him a look and presented his hands behind his back. The ghoul’s chivalry was going to get them all killed. Vox fastened the cuffs around his wrists to the straps behind his back and checked to make sure they were secure. Arden tried to ignore the heat swelling his cock in his already unforgiving leathers. Now definitely wasn’t the time to get turned on.
As the bidding continued onstage, Arden found himself studying the other prisoners. They seemed just as curious about him, and he knew it was unlikely any of them had ever seen a chimera before.
The fae onstage was finally won and her eyes met Arden’s as he was led backstage. There was something unusual in the way she looked at him, as if she recognized him. Before he could mention it to Vox and Harding, the announcer called for him.
“Don’t take your eyes off him,” Vox muttered, passing him off to Harding.
The human nodded in understanding, picking up Arden’s leash to take him up onstage. “Try not to look like you wanna bite someone’s dick off.”
Arden snorted. The stage lights followed him as he passed between the marble columns and took his place in the center. He could feel them watching from the darkness, and sorely missed his ability to see well in shadow. He thought less and less of being a vampire those days, even though mortality was not something he’d adjusted to either.
“And now, we have a very special offering for your consideration,” the invisible announcer proclaimed. “A chimera. A creature as rare as it is powerful, with the potential to become a higher evolution of elf, vampire or shifter. In its natural state, it makes the ideal conduit for Chrysalus energy. Given the unlimited military and personal applications this creature presents, we’ll start the bidding at five million rue.”
The silent crowd became abuzz with chatter and disbelief. Some expressed audible doubt that a chimera was actually up for sale, and the auctioneer chastised them with a reminder of the club’s rigorous vetting policies. Despite the skepticism, everyone seemed ready to make a bid.
If he didn’t know damn well that Eric would have paid ten times as much to have him back, he might have been flattered.
The bidding war was so intense that Arden began to fear the prince wouldn’t emerge the victor, if only because it was a struggle to be heard. When a soft, elegant voice rose above the others to bid fifty million, a hush fell over the room.
The announcer didn’t respond for a moment. Arden squinted into the darkness, trying to get a better look in the direction the voice had come from. Surely it was the prince. Who else had that kind of cash to spend?
“F—fifty-million rue,” the announcer stammered. “Do I hear fifty-one? Going once… twice… sold!”
The sound of the gavel announced the end and Harding whisked Arden backstage. “Geez,” he muttered. “Expensive little fuck, aren’t ya?”
Arden smirked. “And to think, I let you look for free.”
Vox came over to join them, a somber look in his eyes. Arden wasn’t sure if that was bad news about the mission or just his trepidation about the mission itself.
“Well?” Harding demanded. “Was it the prince?”
“It seems to be,” said Vox. “The account that just wired the payment is from the capital city of Daimon.”
“You there!” one of the stage hands bellowed. “Bring the chimera upstairs. His buyer’s waiting for the examination.”
Vox’s brow furrowed. “Examination?”
Arden sighed. “He’s an elf, Vox. I’m sure he wants to make sure the goods are legitimate.”
Anger flashed in the ghoul’s eyes, but just when Arden feared he was going to blow their cover, he restrained himself. “We can take him out first.”
“Don’t,” Arden pleaded under his breath. God, feelings made everything so much more complicated. He was torn between being charmed by Vox’s protec
tiveness and wondering how it was going to make his own departure more difficult.
“Come on,” Harding barked. He walked toward the stairs and tugged on Arden’s leash. The chimera shot Vox a pleading look and hoped he’d fall in line. Once they made it upstairs, the royal guards lining the hall quelled his fears that he’d been won by a less illustrious customer.
“Clearance,” the guard at the door ordered. Harding flashed his pass and the guard opened the door to let them through.
As soon as Arden saw the elven prince, he was relieved. Target acquired.
Prince Lavien was an extraordinarily beautiful man with long, straight hair the shade of the surface sky. His eyes were even bluer, and when they locked on Arden, they filled with curiosity and satisfaction.
Arden noticed the woman at his feet. It was the red-haired fae from the auction. The one who’d been staring at him. She was far from the only one, but there was something her astute gaze even now that put him on edge.
Did she somehow recognize him from Dusk’s party? No… she wasn’t of noble blood and surely he would have remembered a face like that.
“Wonderful,” the Prince said warmly, turning his chair to face them. He placed a hand gently on the fae’s head. “See that she’s given a comfortable room and delivered to my estate. I would like to spend a moment alone with my newest acquisition.”
Arden bristled at the thought of an elf owning him and realized Leo was the only one who didn’t elicit that response. In fact, whenever he saw the elf and fae together, he couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to be possessed by them. To be the focus of the passion that burned so intensely between them.
Elves had a penchant for dominance, and despite the prince’s gentle demeanor, Arden wouldn’t have been surprised if he was the same. As the other servants left with the fae, the elf approached and looked down at Arden, his eyes alight with curiosity.
“Well, you are certainly beautiful,” he mused, his gaze sweeping over the chimera’s exposed torso. “As for whether you are what they say you are… that remains to be seen.”
“I’m at your disposal, Master,” Arden said, lowering his head in deference. The sooner the elf was convinced, the sooner he was theirs.
“Leave us,” the Prince ordered, waving his hand toward the door.
Neither Harding nor Vox moved. “Sir,” the latter finally spoke. “We have been instructed to remain with the item until the purchase is final.”
The Prince snorted, but to Arden’s surprise, he didn’t throw a royal tantrum. “Very well,” he said, opening his robe to reveal a perfectly smooth ivory torso beneath. Arden’s mouth watered at the sight of the v-shaped cut disappearing into his tight beige trousers and the sizable bulge beneath. “I suppose we’ll have an audience, then.”
Arden resented the shit out of himself for the thrill those words sent down his spine. Dusk was right. He really was changing and the fact that he hungered for the touch of a perfect stranger, let alone an elf, was proof of that.
“Come,” the Prince ordered, standing at the foot of the bed.
Arden followed him, sitting down where the man gestured. His cock stiffened against his tight leather jeans as the Prince came down on top of him, his long hair sweeping over Arden’s bare arms. “Let us see what you have to offer, hm?”
Arden laid back, slightly on his side, since the restraints made it impossible to lie flat on his back. The Prince seemed to have no interest in freeing them, choosing instead to caress the deep impressions they left in the chimera’s skin.
“So soft,” the fae remarked, his long nails teasing the sensitive flesh over Arden’s exposed hip bones. “I can sense the Chrysalus within you,” he murmured against Arden’s lips. He smelled like mint and felt as cold as the moon. Arden opened his mouth to the exploration of the elf’s tongue and momentarily lost track of the mission as the Prince’s hand drifted down to the leather so tight it felt like nothing more than a condom stretched over his stiffened cock.
When the elf shifted to disrobe him, exposing his neck in the process, Arden’s old self returned enough to regain his focus. Bloodshed and sex had always been his two great needs, but the scales had shifted. He needed the one so much more than the other. It was better with Vox. Deeper and more satisfying, due to their emotional connection, but there was something to be said for this, too. A quick taste of the unfamiliar. To be wanted and touched and claimed by a male he barely knew.
“So submissive,” the Prince remarked, gazing down at the man beneath him as he ran his hands down Arden’s waist, his thumbs sweeping over the dips and curves of his muscles. Arden tensed up as he felt something cold and sharp scrape over his skin. He looked down to see the bladed claw tip on the Prince’s left index finger. Elves had fangs of their own, but from what Arden had heard, they preferred to use such implements to do their bloodletting.
Arden looked up at the elf, mesmerized as the beautiful man ran his metal claw down the cut of his hips, at once threatening and enticing the sensitive flesh below. Arden’s cock was already at full attention when the Prince took it in his other hand and gave it a long, commanding stroke.
Arden’s hips bucked violently, and he was ashamed at just how organically his body responded to the touch. It was like scratching a deep itch, and while there was nothing romantic or sensual about the way the Prince was massaging him, the Chrysalus was responding well to the elf’s efforts. As a chimera, he could only serve as a conduit to the Chrysalus rather than controlling it. His body and his spirit both ached to release the pent-up energy to a willing and capable vessel. It felt as natural and necessary as breathing.
Out of the corner of his eye, Arden caught sight of the two men watching them. The lust and envy in Vox’s gaze made it all the more tantalizing.
The Prince’s hand wrapped tightly around Arden’s shaft and with one expert pump, Arden released his seed in the other man’s hand. The elf’s blue eyes darkened with satisfaction and Arden gasped as he dug his claw into the tender flesh above his groin.
Pain and post-orgasmic ecstasy mingled as the Prince bent his head to suck the blood he’d just drawn, his tongue gliding seductively along the slit. Arden shuddered as the man raised up from between his legs, licking a mixture of blood and cum off his fingers.
“Exquisite,” the Prince whispered, flashing Arden a sinister look that made his core tighten up with need.
“So it’s settled, then,” Harding grunted. “You’ll take him.”
“Oh, yes,” the Prince answered, standing as he pulled his robe back on. Arden’s head was still spinning too badly from the orgasm to sit up just yet, but when he rolled onto his side, he saw the man reach into the pocket of his robe for something.
It all happened in a flash, too quickly to process. The Prince pulled a gun and took aim at Harding. Before the man could reach for his sidearm, a spot of red appeared in the center of his forehead and he dropped.
“Harding!” Arden cried in horror, leaping up. Vox was faster. The ghoul already had his gun drawn, a look of shock in his pale eyes that turned to fury in an instant. He was ready to avenge their friend before Arden had even come to terms with what had happened.
The Prince was behind him all of a sudden, his arm wrapped around the chimera’s waist, keeping him close to his chest. Arden felt the barrel of the gun press into his temple and froze. He’d been on the receiving end of a gun more times than he could count, and the careless response that had once been permissible was difficult to overcome.
Vox didn’t seem to have any trouble remembering. The ghoul froze with his weapon drawn, his gaze fixed on the Prince.
“Don’t think I won’t shoot him,” the Prince warned in a surprisingly calm tone. “If you so much as blink, it’s over. He doesn’t need brain function to be useful, only a pulse.”
Vox’s eyes narrowed, but he gradually lowered the gun.
“No,” Arden choked. The Prince’s grip on him tightened, making it impossible to speak. The room filled wit
h armed men in masks that covered nearly as much of their faces as Vox’s did. He was immediately disarmed and when one of the elves pulled a chain around the ghoul’s neck, Arden lunged.
“Don’t touch him!” he seethed.
The Prince grabbed his leash and jerked him back hard enough that he fell to the floor, coughing. Before he could get up, a boot landed in his back, crushing his chest to the floor. All the air rushed from his lungs in a wheeze and the moment he gasped for breath, a needle pierced his neck. It was out before he could claw at it and the guard let him up.
“Easy,” the Prince hissed. “That brat belongs to the Master of Ark.”
Arden’s blood ran cold. So the Prince did know who he was. He rolled over just enough to be able to see Vox struggling against the men who were binding him in restraints even a ghoul had no chance of escaping. Next to him on the floor, Harding’s lifeless body was still bleeding a trickle from the head.
Arden’s stomach twisted as he watched the Prince’s men drag the burly human out of the room. Another shoved Vox’s head down and pushed him forward.
“Don’t hurt him,” was all he could say, his voice hoarse as his body grew too heavy to lift his head off the floor.
The Prince finally turned to face him, a look akin to pity in his eyes. He knelt down, sweeping his hand along Arden’s jaw. “Such simple, malleable creatures you are,” he murmured in a voice that sounded almost sympathetic. “And here I thought you’d be eager to be returned to your Master.”
Arden’s heart pounded and with each pulse, the poison took greater effect. It took him a moment to make sense of the elf’s words, but he was starting to put it together. The fae… she must have recognized him somehow and tipped the Prince off to his identity.
He was right, of course. The moment Harding had dropped to the floor, the mission had become a nightmare, but that was just a reminder of how deep into the rabbit hole Arden had ventured. This was a rescue mission.
So why did it feel like a tragedy?
Chapter 17
Puppet/Master (The Vale Chronicles Book 1) Page 14
