Authors: Scarlet Hyacinth
Tags: #Romance
“How?” Sari inquired. “They’ve all been watching my family and me like hawks since we arrived.”
“I have my ways. Do you remember Lieutenant Sagenamadeen?” When Sari nodded, Karein explained, “Should anything go wrong, at any time, should you need something when I’m not around, go to him. He will help you.”
Sari recalled the glowering draechen who’d been with Princess Akarawem and frowned. “I remember. Are you sure? He didn’t look like he liked me much.”
“Sage is loyal to me, and he will protect you,” Karein soothed him. “At this point, there’s no one else in this palace that I can trust.”
Slowly, Sari brushed his lips over Karein’s cheek. “You can trust me,” he told his mate. He realized this wasn’t what Karein meant, but he still needed the draechen to know that Sari was here for him.
The end result was a different one. Karein released a low growl. Before Sari could even realize what was going on, the draechen pushed him back, shoving Sari against the couch. Sari fell, and Karein crawled on top of him, pinning Sari’s hands above his head with one strong fist.
The draechen’s eyes were like oceans of fathomless black. “Do you even realize how close I am to throwing all caution to the wind and making you mine, right here?” His lower lip curled into an almost angry snarl. “You’re so beautiful and so very cruel.”
“I’m yours,” Sari replied, relaxing in Karein’s touch. Of course he was. It made so much sense now. He and Karein had been born to live and love like their ancestors had never gotten the chance.
“Do you know what you’re offering, Sareltae? Do you know what I wish of you?”
As if to answer Karein’s own words, Karein’s hand traveled under the silk of Sari’s garments, leaving a trail of fiery pleasure behind. Had Sari thought this was place was cold? He must have been out of his mind. Now, he felt like he’d fallen into an inferno. How could he be expected to reply under these more than distracting circumstances?
It took everything in Sari’s power, but he finally managed to muster a reasonably coherent response. “I–I’m not a child. I might not have been with anyone, but I understand what happens between mates.”
For a few moments, Karein’s expression went completely blank. His hand stilled on Sari’s skin, and he almost seemed to have stopped breathing altogether, as if Sari’s words had turned him into a statue. Sari cursed himself for his clumsiness. “Karein?” he asked, his voice trembling. “What’s wrong?”
His words snapped the draechen out of his trance. Much to Sari’s dismay, Karein pulled away, so quickly that Sari didn’t even see him move at all. He didn’t even remain on the couch next to Sari, but instead got up, wrapping the bathrobe around himself, as if trying to shield his body from sight. Sari couldn’t imagine why Karein might have felt self-conscious about his looks. The man was breathtakingly gorgeous, more than Sari could have ever dreamed he’d find. But unfortunately, so far, he hadn’t managed to convey his need for his mate adequately.
Karein gave him a look that could have meant anything at all. “You’re a virgin.”
It wasn’t a question since Sari had admitted to it earlier, but Sari still nodded. “Does it bother you?” For all he knew, there was some strange draechen tradition that Sari had yet to hear about.
Karein didn’t answer to that question. “I knew that you were sheltered, but I didn’t imagine… I thought that you must have surely had lovers before.”
So it did bother him. Clearing his throat, Sari got up as well and started to arrange his clothes and hair. “It’s because of my connection to Jenarra. Jenarra’s priestesses are forbidden to have sexual relationships. It’s not an official thing for me, but my stepmother used to enforce it herself, arguing that it’s necessary.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Karein answered. “Your mother is High Priestess, is she not?”
Sari shrugged. The topic always made him uncomfortable. He didn’t want to discuss the reasons behind his conception because it had always hurt him. Once, he’d been a wide-eyed child who didn’t understand why he was different, but then, his father had finally pulled him aside and explained. From that moment, Sari had understood that the love his parents showed to him wasn’t for him as a person, but for Jenarra.
He supposed that Karein would find out sooner or later, so he decided to explain. “My mother had a vision from Jenarra. The goddess told her to have me because I was needed for our people to thrive. She never would have given birth to me if not for Jenarra telling her to.”
The king had believed her, but naturally, the queen hadn’t. Of course, the problem might have been solved if after that one time the two had shared a bed, they’d stopped seeing each other in that capacity, but Selbrian and Onyerre’s marriage had been an arranged union, and what little balance had existed in it had been shattered after Sari’s birth. Or so Sari had been told at least. He’d only ever known Onyerre as the bane of his existence and his parents as loving, in their own strange ways and for reasons he had always doubted.
Karein must have noticed the shift in Sari’s mood. Just like before, he cupped Sari’s cheek gently, his previous shock apparently forgotten. “I knew it. You are a gift from above. No one so beautiful can exist out of mere mortals.”
Sari opened his mouth to argue against that assessment since he wasn’t perfect at all. But before he could say anything, Karein crushed their mouths together in a soul-wrenching, all-consuming kiss. At first, the move shocked Sari so much that he couldn’t even respond, but Karein’s tongue licked over the seam of his lips, demanding entrance, and Sari automatically gave it. His eyes drifted closed, and he melted into his mate’s embrace. As he surrendered to Karein’s demand, the draechen’s tongue thrust into Sari’s wet cavern. Tentatively, Sari met the slick muscle with his own. While he was fairly certain that his clumsy shyness couldn’t have satisfied Karein’s sexual need like the skill of an experienced partner, his mate groaned, stabbing his fingers through Sari’s long hair. It was Sari’s first kiss, and far better than anything he’d ever dared to imagine. He found himself rubbing against Karein’s body, his dick throbbing, desperately needing the friction, craving more contact with his mate.
A rip of material warned Sari that Karein wanted the same thing, and whatever scruples had held him back until now were no longer enough. Sari honestly didn’t know what would have happened had a knock not sounded at the balcony door. Karein broke the kiss and released an oath. “Give me a minute,” he said. “Something’s wrong.”
Sari nodded, taking a few deep breaths as his mate opened the door. As it turned out, the person intruding on Sari’s private moment with his mate was the lieutenant Karein himself had mentioned. The new arrival saluted Karein and bowed slightly at Sari, then said, “Highness, you need to go. I believe Prince Hareematek is looking for you. I’ve managed to distract the guards so far, but they were predictably unwilling to leave their post. It’s far too risky to linger here.”
“Thank you,” Karein replied. Returning to Sari’s side, Karein pressed another bruising kiss to his lips. When he pulled away, he murmured, “I’ll see you in a while. Wear your hair down for me, Sareltae.”
It bothered Sari that his mate still called him by his full name. “Sari,” he corrected. “Please, call me Sari.”
“Sari,” Karein repeated. His lips twisted into a small smile. “All right. Sari.”
Without further ado, Karein dropped the robe Sari had provided for him. He and his lieutenant left the room, and Sari followed them onto the balcony. He watched them shift, Karein into a black dragon, and Sagenamadeen into a blue one. Neither of them looked back, instead launching themselves into the air, their powerful wings leading them away from Sari. As Sari watched them disappear into the distance, he went to pick up his cloak from where he’d abandoned it. Only, instead of pulling it on, he returned with it into the room. Abandoning his cloak on the couch, he retrieved the robe Karein had worn and pulled it on. Wrapping himself into the garment, he curled on the settee, inhaling deeply. Karein’s scent filled his nostrils, reminding Sari of that unique smell of ozone and lightning that sometimes teased the senses before a storm. It was powerful, virile, untamed, just like the man himself.
Moaning, Sari buried his face in his hands. He was already addicted to Karein’s presence, and they’d only spent maybe ten minutes in each other’s presence. How in the world was he ever going to keep Ivenia safe now? Would he be forced to choose between his mate and his people? The questions refused to let go of Sari, but in all the uncertainty, he knew one thing. He would wear his hair down for dinner.
Karein was pissed. No, he was so furious. He’d finally tasted his mate, and his brother had chosen this exact moment to interrupt him for whatever nonsense had occurred to him. Overlords, if Hareem didn’t have a good, no, an excellent reason for this, he’d finally see how Karein really fought when he was angry.
As he landed on the cliff side, he changed shapes and pulled on his clothes with jerky motions. The guards saluted him, but didn’t seem to know anything out of the ordinary had happened. Some of Karein’s stress drained out of him, although the sexual frustration still had him and his dragon on the edge. Sage was right behind him and remained mercifully quiet, obviously sensing Karein’s mood.
Hareem was waiting for Karein at the entrance of the palace. No sooner had Karein stepped into the building than Hareem ambushed him. “You picked an excellent time to put on a disappearing act with your lieutenant.”
“What is it, Hareem?” Karein asked, struggling to keep his voice calm. “And this better be good.”
Hareem stole a look at Sage. “I need a word with you. In private. It’s urgent.”
The tone of Hareem’s voice instantly put Karein on alarm. “Of course,” he replied. “Sage, continue with what I told you. You’re dismissed.”
As the lieutenant saluted, Karein guided his brother to a nearby empty room. He’d have much preferred to take this conversation elsewhere, but leaving again, with Hareem in tow, would be suspicious. He and his sibling would just have to be careful and make sure no one overheard. With that in mind, Karein closed the door behind them and gestured his brother to sit. Their senses would alert them if someone lurked outside. He did note that Hareem ignored his invitation, now looking quite anxious indeed.
“All right,” he said. “It’s safe for now. Tell me.”
His brother didn’t delay in complying. “Taryn’s pregnant,” Harem blurted out.
Oh. Okay, that was a good reason. Karein gaped at his brother. “Are you sure, Hareem? I thought male wolf-shifters couldn’t fall pregnant.”
Hareem released a bitter laugh. “Yeah. So did I. Imagine my surprise. I didn’t know for certain until recently. It’s why I’ve been so agitated these past days. But I’m sure now.”
It seemed that Hareem truly was serious. “How could this happen? It’s anatomically impossible.”
“According to Taryn, there’s some dubious magical blood in his line.” Hareem passed an agitated hand through his hair. “The child-bearing gene must have passed on to him. I didn’t believe it when he first told me, but at this point, it would be idiotic to continue doubting it.”
“Overlords, Hareem… What are you going to do?”
“I was hoping you could tell me.” There was no trace now of the ice dragon legendary for his charming, yet fake façade. Hareem was dissolving into pure panic, and that was bad, for all of them. “Taryn wants to keep it, but you know as well as I do that it’s a recipe for disaster.”
Karein’s stomach roiled at what Hareem was saying. A child was something so precious, especially when he or she came from one’s mate. Karein would never have that. Even if fae males had the ability to give birth, Karein’s energy stealing abilities also prevented his semen from ever impregnating anyone. It was why he could never stomach the idea of a child being harmed. Well, he had another reason, and he swallowed around the sudden knot in his throat as the dark guilt threatened to choke him again. But no, he couldn’t think about that death now. He needed to focus on Hareem, and of course, on Sari. The past was the past, and he couldn’t change it.
“You can’t do that to Taryn,” he said. “He’s your mate.”
“I know, okay? I’ve known from the moment I saw him. But he’s ninth caste, Karein. No matter how much I want this to work, the Directive forbids it. And even if it wasn’t against the law, if one word of it reaches Father’s ear, Taryn’s dead.”
Karein tried to come up with something that would work under these circumstances. No matter how many times he’d threatened Hareem with exposing the truth about Taryn, he never would have done it. He knew how much the werewolf meant for his brother. But sadly, Hareem was correct. Breeding outside one’s own caste was forbidden by the Directive. There were a few exceptions, but none of them applied to Hareem’s situation. In fact, if anyone even learned that Taryn was more to Hareem than a plaything, Hareem would be forced to take a different, official mate out of the draechen. The most Taryn could ever expect was a life as a concubine, deprived of any chance to breed.
Fortunately, the Directive didn’t apply to magical creatures, but Karein could easily place himself in his brother’s position now that he had found his own mate. “You need to stall,” he said. “Keep moving him around. Make sure he never stays in one place for too long. In the meantime, we need to find a place to stash him until the baby is born.”
“But where?” Hareem asked, looking more desperate than Karein had ever seen him. Wait. Karein had never actually seen him desperate at all. “Where could we take him that wouldn’t draw Father’s attention?”
Karein was very tempted to approach Philip Strange once again. He’d done it once so that he could save Caelyn and Graham. Philip might be able to help them contact Taryn’s pack. Because Karein could avoid his father’s scrutiny for a couple of things, but the expense required to maintain a pregnant werewolf in a secure place would draw the eye. To Karein, one thing seemed certain. Hareem couldn’t keep Taryn anymore. The secret would come out, and then, Taryn and the child would be killed. “You need to speak to his family. They have to take him back, at least temporarily. Then, if he so desires, he can return to your side. The child can stay with the wolves.”