by Unknown
“Privacy?” I snorted. “That’s a public ladies’ lounge!”
“Maybe for you, privacy isn’t required. No offense, my lord,” the redhead said. “But Rose isn’t a soldier under your command. Neither are we. We’re the delicate kind.”
“Like flowers,” the dark-haired one added.
“Fine,” I gritted my teeth. “But if she hasn’t come out in five minutes, one of you will go in again and tell her I won’t wait here forever! Tell her to hurry up or I’ll come for her myself. I’ll go in and cause an ugly scene.”
“Patience, please, my lord,” said the dark-haired female. “We’ll do as you order.” As she spoke, she produced a miniature chess board. “While we’re waiting, why don’t we play a round to kill time? I’m an excellent player.”
The courtiers had done their research and knew that I favored chess. They had even carried it with them, which meant they were indeed here to stall me.
I would go into the ladies’ lounge in three minutes.
The dark-haired Mysthian started setting up the game. I ignored her and kept my eyes in the direction Rose had gone.
“My sister dreams of defeating the most powerful, handsome male,” the redhead said in a sensual voice, “and I’ll get cozy—”
I dragged her up by her elbow before she could sit on my hard-on, which remained from the princess’s effect on me.
My cock throbbed and wanted some action, and the courtiers were offering. They would go with me anywhere and let me fuck them both. Since they had part of Rose’s “scent,” they might even be able to relieve the pressure in my dick.
“Haven’t you heard I have no interest in sex, wench?” I asked, adjusting the coat over my groin. I couldn’t allow anyone to know that I was no longer a sleeper. If the courtiers found out, I’d have to kill them to keep my secret. I was allowed to be around Rose at all times only because my lord father and brother believed I couldn’t get hard.
“We also heard that you’re in the market for a bedmate,” the redhead said.
“And you think you can arouse me?” I asked, sipping the red tea and leaning back on the chair. The Aryanian had possibly lied about the tea growing on a mountain peak. It didn’t taste like one. Earth was full of liars.
“We might,” the redhead said. “You haven’t seen us in action. Give us a shot and you won’t regret it.” She somehow let hot desire exude from her whole body. No wonder the Mysthian courtiers were hot items in the angels’ court. My dumb brother called them “the delight of Earth.”
“We also have a suite nearby, my lord,” the dark-haired female added.
They were promising me guaranteed pleasure and satisfaction, while their princess kept me burning and hanging mercilessly.
“What will Rose say?” I asked.
“She wants us to meet your every need,” the redhead said.
“She wouldn’t mind us leaving her behind?” I asked.
“Rose is a big girl,” one of them said. “And Lexa is with her.”
“Shall we leave now, my lord?” the other asked breathlessly.
So this had been Rose’s arrangement. While my cock was hot for her, coldness edged toward my heart. She’d planned to pass me on to her courtiers as if I were leftover.
But what did I expect? I told her that I just wanted one fuck.
A fuck’s a fuck.
Did it matter who I fucked?
“So Rose put you up to this,” I said, my voice calm, but I wondered if they could detect the storm in it.
“No, my lord,” the redhead said. “We want you. No female can resist you. You’re the most striking male, and the mightiest!”
“Cut the crap,” I said and eyed the direction of the ladies’ lounge. A few females had gone in after Rose and had already come out.
A nagging certainty grew in me: they’d played me for a fool.
I stood up, kicked back the chair, and strode to the ladies’ lounge.
“No!” The redhead sprang after me and grabbed my sleeve. “You can’t go in there. You’ll cause a scene, my lord.”
I shoved her aside and kept going.
I halted outside the door and sniffed. Rose was gone. She wasn’t even inside the Mooncake Teahouse.
Anger shot through me. Again, she had used and played me.
The Aryanian server rushed to me. “My lord—” She did not know I was the High Prince of the Angels, but she realized that I was an aristocratic angel.
“Is this the only exit?” I asked.
I hadn’t threatened her, but she flinched. It seemed the only one who didn’t fear me was Rose. “It’s…” the Aryanian stuttered. “It’s connected to the downstairs exit.”
I cursed and the ladies recoiled.
Had Rose rushed to see one of her lovers in this city? That wicked witch was full of dirty, dark secrets.
I’d kill him!
Jealousy stirred like a beast in me and arose fully, its claws ready to maul anyone in my way. The fey princess had betrayed me, and those who had crossed me in the past hadn’t seen the light again.
The courtiers pushed toward me, despite the cold, killing light in my eyes. Yet they reeked of terror. Only their loyalty to Rose made them brave. It was evident now that they had offered themselves as a sacrifice when they had come to Atlantis to help their beloved princess do whatever she wanted to do.
If I struck them down in my rage, Rose would never forgive me, and I would never get to sleep with her.
At this point, did I even care?
“Rose must have gone shopping with Lexa,” the redhead said. “She can be a little… spoiled, according to your angels’ standards. Let’s enjoy ourselves and catch up with her later. You can chew her out then, my lord. Let’s go to our suite and let us make you happy. Even if you don’t want anything, a good massage will relax you. You’ve been working too hard, my lord, and your muscles are all tensed up. We can loosen the knots. You’ll feel good.”
The courtiers could turn any tide with their sweet talk. I regarded them as though I’d never really looked at them before. Even when I’d dallied with them, my gaze had been on Rose. These females were gorgeous, soft, and sultry. Just one look at them, any male would have an instant hard-on.
I could fuck them both until my anger ebbed, until my frustration ironed out, until my cock no longer ached.
I would escape the burning lake of lust, even if only temporarily.
Yet I had no interest in them. My erection was gone the second I considered taking them to my bed. The princess didn’t give a damn with whom I slept, but I cared greatly who she ended up with in bed. And that one would be a corpse soon.
I would show her how this was going to be from now on: I wouldn’t allow her to have pleasure without me. I wouldn’t allow anyone else to touch her. I would run my long sword through the male in front of her eyes if he, unfortunately, was her lover.
My hard gaze skipped over the courtiers, who looked miserable as if they knew they’d failed in their task. Any other male would take pity on them and give them whatever they wanted, but I was still the heartless angel.
My wings stretched, brushing them aside, and my boot kicked the window.
A few faint-hearted patrons screamed and fled toward the stairs, their feet crunching over the shattered glass.
I shook my wings and flew out the window.
From the sky, I scanned the ground.
Rose wasn’t amid the crowd.
When I landed at the corner of a street near the teahouse I cloaked myself.
I followed the trail of her scent, for no smell of the crowd and city could cover it.
I rounded a few blocks, taking a left and then a right turn. The princess had walked by those streets. As I approached a bakery shop, I noticed a commotion inside and looked through the window, hoping she wouldn’t be caught in the thick of it.
A black-winged angel smashed an ice-cream cake onto the face of a cashier, who seemed to be a subhuman species. “You dared ask an angel to p
ay for this horseshit?”
His angel companion snickered.
“You should feel honored that we stepped into your substandard shop, dirtbag!” the angel yelled.
That type of misconduct was common for angels in any city on Earth when dealing with non-angel races. My fellow angels believed that they were entitled to do whatever they wanted because of their superior genes and conqueror status. No laws could bind them in any earthling city.
We laid claim to everything as we saw fit.
Even in the free city of Babylon, the shop owner was lucky the two angels didn’t burn down his store for displeasing them. The king’s horde had burned an entire earthling city, destroyed five towns, and executed a sample of all races to set an example to Earth natives for defying the angels.
Victoria’s army had also slain a whole village of Mysthians that dwelled outside the twilight realm before my brother had resorted to demanding the hand of Princess Rose in marriage.
The shop owner, an older subhuman race, came out, bowing and apologizing profusely to the two angels. I didn’t interfere or linger since Rose wasn’t inside.
The picture of Rose kissing her lover flashed before my eyes. Acid churned in my stomach, and rage burned through my veins.
I would gut him!
And I would make her pay!
Her scent wafted ahead, and I sprang forward.
PRINCESS ROSE
“Greetings, Empress,” North said with a smile.
I wasn’t empress, not yet, but I didn’t correct him. We both knew that when I returned Mysth—if I ever returned—I would brush the emperor aside and take the power.
I would rule my people and get the realm into shape to fight the angels.
And North would be the new commander for the Dragonian.
I spotted a certain heat in North’s gaze.
His blue skin, cat-like illuminated eyes, and dark horns did not repulse me. I believed that he was comforted by that. Amid the Dragonian, he was considered the strongest male and most striking.
Yet he hadn’t taken a female to be his consort.
His father, the deceased former Dragonian Commander, had once made an official request to Emperor Oberon to grant my hand to his eldest son, North, to secure an alliance between the top two races.
My emperor father had rejected the abhorrent idea with overly harsh language.
Later on, my spies had informed me that the marriage idea had been North’s. He’d seen me when I’d ridden a horse out of the twilight realm.
The Dragonian had always craved to join the gene pool of the Mysthians. They still coveted us. It didn’t matter to us that they were a technologically enhanced species. We Mysthians would never breed with another race.
The Dragonian lifespan was longer than other species— they could live to three thousand years, probably because of their science. The lifespan of most earthling species was shorter than a hundred.
The Mysthians were the only immortals on Earth.
With the hope that the mixed offspring could gain our immortality, the Dragonian had once kidnapped a few Mysthians for their genetic experiments, only to find that every Mysthian was magically warded at birth. They couldn’t steal our DNA. My late empress mother had been about to go to war with the Dragonian for their crime and offense against us, but then she died giving birth to me.
North had been greatly surprised the night I’d gone to meet with him to propose an alliance. The Mysthians stood no chance to fight the angels alone, and the Dragonian were the most advanced species, second only to us.
If we battled the angels together, many of our people would perish. But North and I agreed that a chance of freedom was worth fighting for.
“We’re the new generations,” North had said. “Unlike our forefathers we’re open to new ways of thinking and acting. I’m glad you came to me, Princess Rose, and you can trust me.”
“Trust can’t be freely given,” I’d said.
“Then I’ll earn yours,” he had answered.
That night, North and I had sworn a blood oath to fight our common enemies and not betray each other. Together we would return Earth to the pure era without the angel plague.
The slimmest hope that the Mysthians would breed with the Dragonian one day after we drove out the angels had also reignited in him. I’d seen that in his eyes.
He could wait for eternity for that, and he didn’t have forever like we did, supposing we Mysthians survived the war.
I held North’s gaze.
“I’ve found the angels’ power source,” I said.
“You did well,” North said. “I knew you’d accomplish it.”
I didn’t need his praise or validation. I wasn’t a weakling.
I handed him the crystal in which I had recorded the angels’ wars, the intel of their advanced weapons, and the secret build of a spaceship, but I had erased the part regarding the Forbidden Glory.
I couldn’t afford to let him have a second thought and bail out on me now if he knew we were helpless against the angels as long as they had the Glory. Before the final battle came, if there was absolutely no hope, I would let him and his people have the option of choosing fight or flight.
As for me and my people, we would never surrender.
We’d rather die than kneel to another species.
“Your scientists will develop the new weapons with mine in my labs,” I said.
“As agreed,” he said, then paused before continuing, “You’ll have to learn to trust me, as I trust you, for this alliance to work.”
“You don’t need to doubt my faith in our alliance,” I said as I pulled out my drawing of the Forbidden Glory. “You know what this is?”
“Flaming swords protecting the Forbidden Glory,” he said. “The oracle described this.” His eyes grew so intense I was afraid they could burst into fire at any time. “You saw it?”
“Yes,” I said reluctantly.
North inhaled sharply. “It does exist.”
“What else did your oracle say of it?”
“It can annihilate worlds in mere seconds,” North said. “It can wipe out anything and everything. It can erase time and space.”
I had seen how it had eradicated one whole superior race.
I had experienced how it had taken me to deep space.
The Dragonian oracle had passed the test as the truth-sayer.
“What else?” I pursued.
“It has weakened the Earth Goddess,” North continued, his illuminated eyes closed for a second. “It has come to hunt her, so she’s hidden her great earth magic.” His eyes flashed open, fixing on me.
I kept my expression warm and firm toward him. “Did the oracle say how to destroy the Forbidden Glory?” I asked.
“The oracle talked riddles,” North said ruefully. “And it offered a different version than your Mysthian prophecy.”
I gazed into his eyes and held my breath. “What do you know about our prophecy, North?”
“The Earth Goddess hid her magic in one of her descendants,” he said, “and everyone believes it’s you.”
“And you believe that, too?”
“You’re the Morning Star of Mysth.”
“I don’t feel the great earth magic in me.”
North held my gaze. His look was gentle, as if he wanted to spare me the horrific truth. “It is said the earth magic will only manifest in you during the most critical crisis.”
“Have you heard of the attempted assassination on me a few days ago?” I asked.
“Yes, Rose.” He swallowed. “I’ve arranged with my people in the angel king’s palace to watch out for you at all times.”
I pulled my cloak from my neck and showed him the line of bruises. “They almost got me,” I said. “They almost strangled the life out of me and drowned me.”
North clenched his fists, his eyes burning with rage and worry. “I’m sorry, Empress. I couldn’t be there to protect you.”
“I am not yours to protect,” I said.
“You’re my ally,” he said. “The Dragonian can’t fight the angels alone, so your survival is most crucial to us—and to me personally. You should retreat earlier than we planned.”
“I showed you the bruises on my neck because I didn’t want you or anyone else to have false hope. If the destructive magic had been in me, I would never have allowed the angels to do this to me.” I licked my lips. “When my life was leaking out, I didn’t feel a wink of the promised earth magic in me. It didn’t defend me. I’m not who everyone thinks I am. I’m not that descendent. If there’s truly one who exists, you should lead the search for her or him. You also need to get this message to my generals and have them search for that magic bearer in the twilight realm or elsewhere.”
North looked uncertain. “It can’t be. You’re the last of the Mysthian royal bloodline.”
“My great-parents were the first fey. Maybe one of them had an illegitimate offspring somewhere,” I said. “Putting false hope in me might get everyone killed in the end.” My eyes suddenly burned. “If I had the magic, I would have destroyed the Forbidden Glory.”
“But you faced it and still lived!” North said, hope rising again in his eyes and replacing the despair. “The legends say—”
“I don’t care what the legends say,” I cut in. “We must destroy the Forbidden Glory. Our imminent task is to bomb the angels’ vault to rubble with the Glory still inside.”
That was my easy way out, and North seemed to see through that.
“I doubt our Earth weapons can destroy it,” he said. “They can’t even hurt the angels, who are still flesh and blood. You must find the Sky Power as the oracle instructed. Your Mysthian prophecy foretold your coming to lead the fight against the winged beings with the great magic in you, but the Dragonian oracle finished the incomplete prediction: only when the Earth Magic and Sky Power become one will the flesh save Earth and all earthborn.”
I sent him a doomed, bitter look.
Then the ancient angelic inscriptions on the doorframe of the angels’ vault swirled in my head: