Spells and Necromancy: A Reverse Harem Fantasy (Unfortunate Magic Book 1)

by Candace Wondrak

“Right,” Kyler said slowly, eyes falling to her feet, slowly traveling upward. Ingrid could certainly use her looks to her advantage. “But it’s lights-out. Time to get back to your own room, Ingrid.”

  “Fine, fine.” She stepped closer to him, running a finger down his armor. “Do you want to escort me there, sir?” The way sir flowed off her lips…Lena would have to take mental notes. Ingrid was good at this.

  Lena watched them leave, nodded to Kyler as he shut her door, his eyes glued to Ingrid’s ass. She wanted to make a joke to herself, about how men were the same, always falling for a woman’s charm, but she couldn’t, because as she wandered into her washroom and stripped off her clothes, she couldn’t stop thinking about the strange vision and the voice who’d claimed it was a god.

  Blood of my blood.

  You are mine.

  You’ve always been mine.

  As she crawled into bed, she swore that she could hear the voice whispering those three things over and over. Lena prayed that her dreams would be empty on this night. No more horrifying, Bastian-filled ones. No strange voices in her head, telling her even stranger things.

  Lena just wanted peace.

  It was something she’d never get.

  Hunger thought about going inside her, even tried to. But the moment it came in contact with her spirit, it recoiled and bounced out. Something else had a claim on her, something so powerful even a strong, eternal spirit like Hunger could not go against.

  So it left her, wandering the forests, unimpressed with the nearby humans. It followed a small pack of humans to a large, walled city—Rivaini, it recognized it, though it had changed with time.

  Certainly there would be someone of note here, someone interesting.

  Soon enough, Hunger would be inside another body, tainting and watching from behind the human’s eyes as it made a mess of its life. Hunger did enjoy the chaos that often came with it. Perhaps, it thought, it should turn its sights to someone in the castle. This time, someone of a higher station…

  Chapter Eight

  Tamlen’s dreams were nothing but blackness. An endless void of nothing, only he was self-aware in it, able to realize the terrible reality that he was stuck and alone. As the morning light sparkled through the glass window and he slowly came to, he wondered if every night would be as such. If he would spend it all in a giant world of blackness and despair.

  Maybe he couldn’t dream anymore. Maybe those who were risen from the dead were removed from such things. Tamlen would heartily prefer a dream that made no sense—or a dream that involved him and Lena, legs tangled together in the sheets—instead of the startling emptiness that was the epitome of nothing. Truly, he’d rather dream of anything.

  Tamlen was on his side, warmth flooding through him. The bed’s sheets covered his body, and when he inhaled, he was delighted to find that they still smelled like her. Her skin, her sweat, her sex. Eyes still closed, he inhaled, tightening his grip around…something. Something solid…in the shape of another body.

  Had Lena made her way back to them in the night? Tamlen would have to chide her, for she should avoid getting into trouble. That College sounded far too much like a prison, even if she believed she had freedoms.

  She didn’t. Mages never did, at least not here. Always watched and shunned, unless their magics were needed. Then it was all smiles and take care of the bandits for me.

  Tamlen pulled the body closer, pressing his hardness into her backside. He might not have dreamt, but the morning hardness hadn’t changed a bit. He buried his nose in her hair as he murmured, “You came back…”

  Hold on—the hair was not long; it was short. And the body he spooned was far too large to belong to Lena. Muscled, strong, small zaps of electricity dancing through the fingers of Tamlen’s that held onto a bare, rune-filled chest…

  Tamlen’s eyes flew open, and he stared hard at the back of Vale’s head. “Vale,” he muttered, upset not only because it wasn’t Lena, but also because it was Vale. The bastard must have crawled onto the bed sometime in the night, unable to be a man and sleep on the floor. Vale was the one who had gotten a tomb, at least; he didn’t. If anyone deserved a bed to himself, it was Tamlen.

  Taking his arm off him and turning to the side, facing the wall the bed was against, Tamlen swore to himself. And here he was, thinking he’d get lucky. There’d be no such thing now that he knew it was Vale and not Lena, even if he admitted to himself that Vale gave good head.

  Vale couldn’t take the hint, for he also turned around, snuggling against Tamlen’s back as he groggily whispered, “Don’t…go. The pie’s not finished…”

  Okay, that was…just stupid. But Tamlen smiled at the wall all the same. He only allowed Vale to suck him off because Lena had wanted it; he wasn’t into that sort of thing on his own. His morning wood would simply have to cease and desist.

  A hand moved to his side, and Tamlen was grateful that he chose to sleep mostly clothed. He wore his undershirt and his undergarments. Vale had at least taken off everything up top; he hoped the man was still clothed down below. He didn’t want to feel—Vale adjusted himself, now the one doing the spooning even though he was the shorter of the two—and there it was: the other man’s morning erection, poking against his lower back.

  Tamlen swore to himself, shaking out of Vale’s grip, inching as close to the wall as he could to get away from him. The blasted man followed him, scooting along as if he needed someone to cuddle with. “Damn it, Vale,” Tamlen spoke, his forehead practically against the wood. “I will burn you if you keep doing that.”

  He refused to turn around and glare at him, refused to realize how close he was and how, until Tamlen realized it was Vale and not Lena, he might have enjoyed the snuggling, too. Of course, that was not something he would ever admit aloud. It was simply good to not be alone, especially considering his black and empty dreams. It didn’t mean that Tamlen wanted to spoon with the other man constantly, not while they were awake and conscious.

  He still kind of hated Vale, really. Since Vale had killed him, it was most difficult not to hold a grudge the size of Rivaini itself. Needless to say, the quickest way to Tamlen’s heart was to not murder him in cold blood, even if they were on the battlefield opposite each other.

  Vale’s hand was no longer on his side, but Tamlen could still feel how close he was. “No, you won’t, because you’d burn this whole place down,” he finally spoke, his voice a mere whisper, almost husky. It was how he sounded when he spoke with Lena, while he was inside her, pounding into her.

  The thought made Tamlen’s dick even harder, which was truly awful, given the situation.

  “I’ll be careful to burn only you, then.”

  Behind him, Vale chuckled.

  Tamlen moved to lay on his back so that he could glare at him. “It’s not funny.”

  The other man’s head was right beside his, his blue eyes twinkling. They were a dark blue, darker than the sky on a clear day—not the worst color. A mischievous glint lingered inside them as they flicked down. Tamlen followed his gaze, realizing that his cock had tented the sheets around his legs.

  “Do not say a word,” Tamlen muttered, once more giving Vale his back. “I felt yours on my back, so don’t deny that you have one, too.” What he should do was march out of the bed, get away from him, go downstairs and see if the owner, Harry, could make him some breakfast. The man was a good cook; he’d given them each large plates of meat and potatoes after Lena and Ingrid had left the night before.

  But he didn’t get up, didn’t move away, for reasons unknown to himself.

  “I felt yours, too,” Vale said.

  “Yes, well, I thought you were Lena.”

  “Did you?” The other man moved closer to him again, pressing his erection against his backside. “I don’t know how you thought that. Lena and I, we’re not exactly the same body type.”

  Tamlen scoffed. Didn’t he know it.

  Fingers grazed his hip, where his shirt had bunched up. Tamlen felt hi
s skin heat up in spite of the fact that it was Vale touching him and not Lena. Perhaps, since they shared a bond with Lena in more ways than one, they were…connected to each other as well?

  It was ridiculous. Insane. In his first life, Tamlen never would’ve thought about letting another man touch him. Yet yesterday, twice, Vale’s mouth had been around his cock. His erection throbbed at the memory. It might’ve been the best head he’d ever gotten, which was saying something, since before he gave his all to the rebellion, the war that apparently died when he did, he was a ladies’ man.

  Vale was very good with his tongue.

  Tamlen had thought that he only let Vale do it because Lena had wanted it, and he wanted to please her. He was drawn to her, he liked her, perhaps more than a self-aware necromancer’s thrall should care for his necromancer. But now, with Vale’s fingers toying with the small string near his hip, he wasn’t so certain. If anything, his dick stood straighter than it did when he first woke up.

  No. He couldn’t let this happen. Even if Lena had told them it was all right, practically encouraged them to, in her words, get along better, Tamlen wasn’t into it. He wasn’t. He wasn’t.

  Was he?

  He hated the indecision, hated that his cock throbbed with desire. Tamlen wished Lena was here, too. If she were, then it would be easier to let go, because he could put all the blame and lust on her. But alas, she wasn’t here. It was only him and Vale.

  Damned Vale with his damned mouth and his damned wandering hand.

  “Do you want me to stop?” Vale asked, fingers near Tamlen’s belly button, beneath his shirt. “Or…do you want me to keep going? I could take care of that. You know, since we’re in this together.”

  Tamlen knew he should say no. The old Tamlen would’ve said no without any hesitation. But after yesterday, after everything…he couldn’t. He, as much as he hated it, didn’t want to. He pictured the way Lena watched them, remembered hearing her say it was all right if they did things without her. If they did, certainly they’d have to tell her, be upfront about it. Not only were they her fucking thralls, but they were also together.

  Which meant, in a way, Vale and Tamlen were committed to each other too.

  When Tamlen said nothing, Vale took it as an affirmative. Pressing his chest hard against his back, Vale’s hand slid farther south, beneath his baggy undergarments. His hand, strong and calloused from sword-wielding, gripped the base of his cock hard. Tamlen felt a moan in his lower throat and fought to keep it down, but he could not stop it from escaping as Vale started moving his hand along him.

  This was wrong, wasn’t it? This was—Tamlen could hardly think, too engrossed in the feeling of Vale jacking him off. He didn’t even hesitate when Vale stopped to help him out of his shirt. Within seconds, they were both naked.

  Vale’s dick rubbed against his leg as he nipped Tamlen’s shoulder, drawing his hand along his abdomen. He threw off the sheet so that he could see every inch of Tamlen’s body, and Tamlen could see each part of his. Unsurprisingly, Vale was rock hard.

  “I thought,” Tamlen muttered, aware of how soft his voice was, “that you were going to take care of me.”

  “I am,” he murmured, teeth grazing his shoulder, “it’s just better when we’re both naked, don’t you think?”

  Tamlen only knew one thing: he didn’t know what to think. He didn’t know what to do. He did know, however, that he didn’t want to stop. He wanted more, he wanted Vale to keep going. And, Gods, he wanted that mouth around his cock.

  Vale moved so that he lied atop Tamlen. Their erections touched, and Tamlen shuddered. This wasn’t normal, not for him. This wasn’t Sumer. Things like this weren’t accepted…at least not in the time he was from. He didn’t want to do this—but oh, yes, how he wanted it in this moment.

  Vale reached down between them, gripping Tamlen’s hard cock, stroking it a few times before he said, “You know, you can touch me too, if you want.”

  “I’m not…”

  Vale rose an eyebrow, his face far too close to his own. As if to argue with what he would’ve said, the hand around his length tightened. “If you were not, this would’ve gone flaccid a while ago. No, Tamlen, I think it’s time you face facts—you want this.”

  “You and I are not lovers,” Tamlen growled out, though it was as weak as a kitten, for his hips started to thrust with Vale’s hand.

  “Aren’t we? We were together yesterday, slept with each other all night. And look at us now. This is hardly a position between friends—or enemies, for that matter.” Vale bent and flicked his tongue across Tamlen’s nipple, instantly hardening it. “You, Lena and I are lovers.”

  Tamlen stared hard at the ceiling, not knowing what to say, unsure if he would even be able to say anything. Vale’s legs straddled him, and the man sat up, grinding their cocks, their balls together. Fuck, that felt good.

  “Tell me to stop, and I’ll stop,” Vale added. “But I don’t think you want me to.” There was a pause, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Do you know what else I think?”

  Tamlen was sluggish in drawing his eyes away from their grinding dicks to meet Vale’s eyes. “What?”

  “I think you’re afraid of where this might lead.” Vale bent his torso down, hovering over Tamlen’s face as he whispered, “And I know you want this as badly as I do.”

  His cock twitched with the urge to release, and before Tamlen could stop himself, his body tensed and convulsed. His eyes closed as a wave of pleasure swept over him. The entire room seemed to shake as he came all over his own stomach, squirts of seed that were more telling than anything he could’ve said or done in response to Vale’s words and actions.

  The pleasure lingered in his body, and Vale did not cease in his grinding. His orgasm had happened too soon, far too soon, and it had happened with little help.

  “Fuck,” Tamlen murmured, eyes still closed. Vale kept working to get him hard again, wasn’t he? The bastard wanted to make sure Tamlen knew that they were as much lovers as they were with Lena. The blasted man wanted to drive him crazy.

  “That was…quick, but reassuring.” Vale’s breath was hot on his face. Tamlen refused to open his eyes, to acknowledge what just happened, and what was happening again. “I didn’t even get my mouth on it. Don’t worry. I can keep going.” And then, suddenly, his lips were on his, their chins and noses grazing.

  Tamlen froze for a moment, unsure still, even as he felt the cum on his stomach, but the moment Vale’s tongue slipped into his mouth, he took action. He brought his hands to Vale’s face, ran them down his back—such a strong, solid back. His muscles felt like fire beneath his touch, his flame magic and Vale’s lightning magic colliding, mixing to form something new and powerful. He felt his dick start to grow in length again.

  After his entire body was flushed, Vale broke their lip lock, trailing kisses down his chest, pausing at his stomach, where the pool of white, sticky cum sat. Tamlen watched, locking eyes with Vale as he licked it off him, sending shivers of ecstasy up his torso. He’d never seen anything more erotic than Vale cleaning him off as if it were his duty.

  When Vale gave him a sloppy grin, Tamlen forced out a frown, which was hard to do considering, and took a hand to the top of Vale’s head, moving him farther down. His long, hard dick nearly smacked him in the face as he went down, and Vale immediately drew his tongue along its underside, swirling it around the tip after gripping its base and pulling back the skin.

  This time, there was no one else in the room. This time, Lena didn’t watch with rapt attention, touching herself all the while. This time, it was only Tamlen and Vale.

  Tamlen had no idea how long it would take for him to orgasm again, and he didn’t care. He propped himself up with a pillow and watched. He supposed he could’ve closed his eyes and imagined screwing Lena, pushing into her and feeling her squirm beneath him—but he didn’t. He couldn’t focus on anything other than the mouth around his cock, and the man it was attached to. His mortal enemy, years ago. The
man who had killed him now serviced him eagerly, just as he did last night.

  Vale was good at it. He must’ve overcome his gag reflex, for he took nearly Tamlen’s entire length in his mouth. When he deepthroated him, it was almost like a vagina, but not quite. Still warm and wet.

  It didn’t take long. A rush flew through Tamlen, and his salty seed spilled into Vale’s mouth, pulsating with his throbbing cock. Some of the white stuff came out of his mouth, but Vale was quick to lick it back in. Tamlen could hardly move after the orgasm rocked through him. He only watched as Vale licked his cock one last time before gazing up at him.

  Vale sat with his legs open, gripping his own balls. His own penis had to be aching to be released. Tamlen felt for him, but he was not the type to put a cock in his mouth. He might have a newfound enjoyment of being with a man and letting a man go down on him, not to mention the fast orgasm that tumbled through him while a man grinded on him, but to give another man a blowjob? Not his thing.

  “You don’t have to,” Vale said, realizing where Tamlen’s thoughts were. “I can do it myself, if you just let me look at you.” His hand gripped his dick, stroking himself in plain view of Tamlen.

  Tamlen supposed he could’ve looked away or closed his eyes, but he’d already crossed some lines this morning. Why not one more? Why not watch Vale pleasure himself? Seemed a logical thing to do, right? Whatever affirmation Tamlen wanted, he knew he would not get. This was uncharted land to him. As he watched, Vale met his eyes, his pupils dilated in desire. That man was…something else, he thought.

  With the white runes carved into his skin like decorative scars, Vale looked like a god. The muscles in his arms tensed and jerked, veins bulging. Vale, Tamlen supposed, would be considered a handsome man. But to look at a man and like what he saw? That wasn’t Tamlen, even if he might’ve enjoyed Vale’s sexual company.

  That’s what he would tell himself, anyway.

  Still, he was utterly rapt in Vale’s masturbation.