by Dr. D
“It is a nice day out.” Dezi gazed out at the garden. “Let's go take a walk. Don’t just cramp yourself in the room.”
Dezi headed straight out, confident that the prince would follow.
“Do you know where all the flying bone crafts are stored?” Dezi murmured as they were walked around in the mostly flat garden. He had seemed many flying bone crafts take off and landed here in the back garden. It would be cool to observe them closely again.
Dezi didn’t expect the prince would answer, but he felt comfortable thinking out loud.
There was no one else around except the silent marble statues. The sun had started setting, and between the nice, cool evening breezes, Dezi could hear a few birds chirping at the fountains.
“Say, can you get me more elemental stones?” Dezi said and glanced back at the prince, who was following him faithfully.
The warm sunlight seemed to give Acheron more liveliness and spirits than usual. The beauty of his features stood out to Dezi even among the bright and colorful flowers blooming along the path.
Dezi couldn’t help but soften his tone. “It doesn’t need to be advanced ones.”
Acheron stepped closer and lean in again to kiss him.
“You would do whatever I say, wouldn’t you?” Dezi lips curved up into a taunting smile but turned his head away before Acheron got to him. “Don’t.”
The prince didn’t insist. But instead of stepping away, he went down to pull on Dezi’s pants.
“No!” Dezi almost jumped; he immediately looked up to check his surroundings. He could be in big trouble if anyone saw what he had taught the prince to do.
Luckily, no one was around.
Acheron stared at Dezi, slightly startled, unused to being rejected at this, as well.
Dezi pursed his lips and dragged the prince down between two tall statues.
“Do you have no sense at all?” Dezi wrinkled his nose at Acheron’s ignorance face, but decided to clarify just to be on the safe side. “Never outside or in front of other people!”
Acheron dropped his gaze at Dezi’s distaste.
“You hear me?” Dezi raised Acheron’s chin.
“Yes ...” The prince made out a labored reply and gripped onto Dezi’s coat
“Say you are sorry.” Dezi let go of the prince.
“I am sorry.” The apology came quickly.
Dezi softened his tone and ruffled Acheron’s hair. “Good.”
He looked up and saw a secret path right in the middle of the two statues. It almost seemed like that it appeared out of nowhere.
“No way.” Dezi gasped and inspected the short grass beneath them. There must be a specialty bone craft buried beneath him or something. Dezi wouldn’t be surprised if there were magical beasts in the forest that had the ability of disguise.
Could it be hiding the flying bone crafts?
That was the first thought that popped into his mind, and Dezi had his curiosity piqued. “Come on,” He held the prince’s hand and walked in.
Stone walls extended behind the statues, but the path ended quickly with a large metal gate lying in front of them.
Dezi walked forward, but Acheron suddenly gripped onto his arms.
Dezi shook off the prince and went closer to the gate to take a look. All he could see was an endless sea of dark red roses on the other side.
A private garden?
Dezi knitted his brows. Something seemed off about this place, but Dezi couldn’t put his fingers on it.
The prince pulled on Dezi and gripped him in his arms as Dezi reached for the gate.
Dezi saw a woman’s head in the garden, and then he had to turn around and shoved the prince. “What is it?” Dezi whispered impatiently.
“Baba ...” Acheron tried to cover Dezi’s eyes.
“Again, not my name.” Dezi elbowed the prince and looked at the garden again.
He saw the woman standing up, as she was about to turn around, Dezi recognized her.
It was the queen.
All curiosity was trumped by the memory of coldness that froze over his fingers. Dezi dashed into the corner of the walls with his back pressed against the cold stone. He glanced at the way they came in and cursed under his breath. It was too late to exit without the queen seeing them.
Dezi could hear his heart pounding in his chest, but his mind was blank about what to do.
Acheron’s hand grabbed onto his face and forced Dezi to look away from the gate. Dezi stared into the prince’s black eyes with confusion, but Acheron just suddenly leaned in to kiss him.
Dezi cringed and yanked away, but Acheron was persistent in trying again.
After receiving silent but stern gestures of rejection, the desperate prince sucked on Dezi’s neck, which was stretched in front of him.
Dezi frowned at the sensation but frozen solid once he heard the gate creak.
The sun had disappeared under the horizon, and the sky was turning dark. The queen drifted in view like a ghost, heading toward the exit without looking back.
Even with the dimmer sunlight, Dezi could see the queen was wearing a sleeveless dress. It was light and bright, like a young lady waiting to see her lover. But her skin was sickly pale and covered in tree branch-like scars.
Every muscle on Dezi’s body was stretched tight like a bow. The queen would easily spot them if she chose to turn around, and he was dead certain that queen would hate to see them here.
Cold sweat damped Dezi’s forehead, and his fingers unconsciously clasped onto the prince. Acheron’s hand moved to cover Dezi’s eyes again.
Sensing Acheron’s cold and trembling fingers, this time Dezi closed his eyes.
Time seemed to creep through them like concrete.
Eventually, Dezi reopened his eyes, and queen was long gone.
He let out a long sigh and deflated like a balloon. “Let’s get out of here.” Dezi nudged the prince and headed out in a hurry.
As he walked past the two statues, he turned his head to look back, but then hissed and touched his neck.
The path to the secret garden was no longer visible.
But there was a bruise on his neck, dark and red just like the roses.
Chapter 16
“Dezi!” Lisa ran up to him as he entered the campus.
“Good day, Lisa.” Dezi nodded and smiled, but his hand reached up and rubbed the fabric of his necktie uncomfortably. Neckties might seem normal in the grossly overdressed palace, but just plain weird in public.
“What a happy coincidence.” Lisa held onto his arm.
Dezi subtly shifted the bag that he was carrying to the other side and smiled again. Although he doubted it was a coincidence.
“Do you have any plans later?” Lisa said and looked up to Dezi. She brought a nice fragrance to Dezi with her movements; it was the perfume with dragon blood that Dezi had bought it for her, along with several other things.
“You missed me?” Dezi looked down on Lisa’s face. But he was certain that she had set her eyes on some new luxury item.
“I sure am.” Lisa rubbed his chest. “Come to my place later?”
Dezi gazed on her for a second, but he found himself less than enthusiastic about spending time with her today. Her features looked plain and unremarkable. Not to mention that he still had this damn hickey on his neck.
Before Dezi replied, someone else called out his name behind him. Dezi retrieved his arm from Lisa and turned to look.
“Bartolo!” Dezi reached out his hand with a grin. “I am glad to see you.”
“The pleasure is mine, my friend.” Bartolo shook Dezi’s hand.
“Excuse us for a second,” Dezi said to Lisa.
Lisa also recognized Bartolo and was staring with her eyes round and mouth ajar. Elites like Bartolo should have been way out of their league.
Bartolo eyed Lisa. “Who is the young lady?”
“A friend of mine.” Dezi frowned at her blunt expression.
He turned his back to Lisa and changed the topic. “Do
you have a moment?”
Bartolo picked up her insignificance and walked away with Dezi. “Of course.”
“I have something to show you.” Dezi pulled open his bag, and Bartolo glanced down at it and then stuttered. “Is, is it ...?”
“I am interested in selling it.” Dezi smiled.
“Do you care to join me for lunch?” Bartolo clenched his hands together.
“Oh?” Dezi raised his brows.
“I simply couldn’t let this treasure go.” Bartolo let out a dry laugh. The consequence of letting this went on an auction would be unthinkable. “I am sure my family would give you a good offer on this,” Bartolo said.
“I would be honored.” Dezi didn’t hesitate to leave the campus with Bartolo. Ever since he realized how easy cooking was when he had advanced elemental stones, he no longer valued every class like he used to. Dezi was certain that the chef license was already in his pocket as long as he attended the exam.
They arrived at a manor that belonged to the Bartolo family. The servants set the hot tea down at the table in front of them and exited the room quietly.
“May I ...” Bartolo cleaned his throat. “Take a look?”
Dezi smiled and took out the dragon egg from his bag.
It was from an earth dragon; the shell was naturally embedded with gems and precious metals, and the diamonds and gold shone brightly even with the gentle light in the room. It was preserved perfectly as if it was just taken directly from the female dragon yesterday.
“Marvelous. How magnificent.” Bartolo’s shock was quickly replaced by a wide grin that seemed sincere enough to hide the jealousy behind his eyes.
It was impossible to locate a wild dragon cave. The egg almost certainly came from the captive dragons own by the queen. It was hard to imagine anyone besides the queen herself who had that kind access.
But Bartolo knew it was not Dezi who had taken it under the dragon claws.
If only his young brother had been chosen … Bartolo’s face twitched, but he forced that thought out of his mind.
“Let me introduce you to my father,” Bartolo said and opened the door to the living room.
Outside the hall stood a beautiful young lady with curly brown hair. She stopped in her track and turned around to glance at Dezi. A smile appeared on her glossy lips before she turned her head to Bartolo with an unspoken question.
“Oh, this is my cousin, Stacy.” Bartolo did a brief scan of Dezi’s expression and then turned to the girl. “Stacy, meet my friend Dezi.”
“Hello,” She said it with another smile. Her eyelashes fluttered slowly, like the wings of a butterfly. “Are you joining us for lunch?” Stacy stepped closer with a head tilt. Her voice had a confident strut that commonly found in a girl who knew that she was beautiful.
“I would love to,” Dezi said. “If I am not interrupting.”
“Of course not.” Stacy squeezed Dezi’s arm lightly and giggled. “We will be quite delighted.”
When she touched him, Dezi felt a tingling sensation enter through the soles of his feet and traveled all the way up to the crown of his head.
She was beautiful, but not enough to have Dezi fell head to toe for her within seconds of meeting her. It was the fact that she flirted with him that struck Dezi into a daze.
A new door of possibility just opened in front of Dezi. Marrying a rich man’s daughter and secure a position in the rich elite class. That was something Dezi had never even dare to dream of before but all of the sudden it was within grasp for him.
And Dezi was in love was this idea.
Chapter 17
“What?” Dezi’s lips curved up. “What do you want?”
Dezi was standing by the bed, trying to put on his pants, but Acheron was playing tug of war with him.
“Let go.” Dezi yanked it back and cracked a smile. It had been getting harder to leave the palace in the morning.
The prince hugged Dezi’s legs and rubbed his cheek on Dezi’s crotch.
“I need to go,” Dezi said with his gaze fixed on Acheron’s face, but he didn’t move.
The prince tongue, warm and slick, started to circle around the base of Dezi’s shaft and his long-fingered hands slid up to Dezi’s thin thighs. As the penis started to swell, Acheron took it into his mouth.
Dezi sighed and gripped onto Acheron’s black hair.
Acheron opened his eyes and looked up at Dezi.
“You are getting good at this.” Dezi knitted his brows and stepped back to sit on the bed.
The prince buried his face between Dezi’s legs, bobbed his head in a slow and steady pace. Seemingly trying to take as long as possible while still keeping Dezi occupied.
As the pleasure was building up to the climax, Dezi grunted and shoved it deeper down the prince’s throat.
Acheron stayed still and welcomed the intrusion, and eventually, the ecstasy of orgasm washed over Dezi.
“Ha ...” Dezi lay down on the bed.
Acheron kept it in his mouth and cleaned it gently with his tongue until Dezi reached down and pulled on the corner of prince’s lip. “Enough.”
Acheron licked Dezi’s fingers and kissed the palm.
Dezi sneered. “Look at you.”
Acheron climbed up to the bed and lay on top of Dezi. His eyes locked on Dezi’s lips, and he swallowed but didn’t dare approach.
Dezi’s lips curved up again; he had told the prince not to kiss him after an oral job, and here he was, the prince of the kingdom, obeying his every command. Dezi propped himself up a bit and rested his head on his own arm. “Just like a dog, aren’t you?”
Acheron’s black eyes were still focused on Dezi’s lips.
“Answer me.” Dezi frowned.
Acheron blinked and looked at Dezi’s eyes.
“Whatever.” Dezi tried to get up. “I really need to go now.”
Acheron reflectively pushed him down.
“Hey,” Dezi growled.
Acheron lowered his gaze and backed away a bit.
Dezi sat up and looked at the prince with the corner of his eyes. Sometimes the prince would act like he simply didn’t hear him, and Dezi didn’t like that very much.
Dezi pursed his lips and repeated. “Who is just like a dog?”
“I am …?” Acheron read Dezi’s face and become more certain. “I am your dog.”
Dezi was amused. “Yes, you are.”
Acheron swallowed again and pushed Dezi back down to the bed. He mounted over him and licked his neck.
“Are you trying to act like one?” Dezi’s shoulders shook as he laughed out loud.
Acheron tightened his arms around him and rubbed his crotch on Dezi’s hips.
“All right, enough.” The grin on Dezi’s face stayed until Acheron sucked on his skin. “No, what did I tell you.” Dezi elbowed the prince and covered his neck. “You will leave a mark.”
The dark red bruises on Dezi’s neck took a long time to heal. It bothered Dezi more than just the curious stares from other people.
Dezi glanced back at Acheron’s black eyes with his brows knitted. What kind of person would relentlessly suck on the skin until there was blood in his mouth and still wouldn’t know to stop?
“Let go.” Dezi pushed the prince who was still clinging onto him. The prince rubbed his head on Dezi’s chest and eventually got up.
The door was knocked on as Dezi stood up.
Mathew’s voice came through shortly. “Your highness, her majesty asked for you.”
Dezi hastily put on his pants and headed toward the door. The queen would summon the prince quite regularly, but Dezi could never get it out of the prince where exactly they went. Although he suspected that it had something to do with dragons, Dezi knew better than to stick his nose in the queen’s business again.
He eyed the prince before he opened the door and had to turn back.
Dezi pulled Acheron close and reached into his pants to make the prince’s erection upright and less visible. Dezi glanced down at the
glan that was sticking out of the waistband and lowered the shirt to cover it.
“I will be back when you are back,” Dezi pursed his lips and said when he met Acheron’s soft black eyes.
Dezi finally opened the door and bowed to Mathew. “Good day to you, my lord.”
Mathew greeted Dezi back and looked at the prince. “Her majesty is waiting, your highness.”
Acheron retrieved his gaze from Dezi and exhaled before he left with a maid; it almost sounded like a sigh.
Dezi bid Mathew goodbye, but he was called to wait and handed twenty silvers.
“Thank you, my lord.” Dezi looked down at the coins. “I didn’t realize it had been another month already.” This was the second time he had received this monthly payment.
A thought entered his mind—shouldn’t he leave the palace already? It was true that he already had more than enough to obtain his cooking license.
“Where are you going?” Mathew’s question pulled Dezi back to the presence.
“Just meeting up with a friend.” Dezi said and lowered his head to straighten his coat. He wasn’t going to tell Mathew that he had a date with Stacy.
Dezi could feel Mathew’s gaze on him, and for a second he thought that he would ask something else, but Mathew waved for him to leave and lose the interest in talking.
Dezi sighed with relief and headed out, completely forgot the thought he had moments before.
Chapter 18
“Proceed.” The queen glanced down at the bottom of the pit like she was watching a show in the arena—an arena without daylight and crowd, below meters of soil and stones.
This was a massive dungeon passed down from generations of Royals, built to trap down even the mightiest dragons. The dragons were usually kept in specific areas based on their magical talent. But right now, there were two dragons of different elements down in the fighting pit, both circling against the wall.
“Yes, your majesty.” An older nobleman held up a small bone craft made out of the dragon horn and cast a spell down toward the dragons.
The brown dragon roared and shook its head. The horns that should be on its head were missing. In the notches was planted something that didn’t belong there. It was clearly agitated by the spell, but it still stumbled backward and backed against the wall.