by Sam Argent
“It was the day after we performed the spell on our mirrors. Why?”
“Was it a good cake?” Turren asked. “Maybe a really good cake?”
Sebastian shrugged. “It tasted like….” He trailed off as Turren leaned in to his hear his answer. That devious royal.
“Go on, Sebastian.”
Sebastian smiled. “It tasted horrible. It was the worst cake I’ve ever had.”
“Damn,” Turren said as he sat back. “You know what kind of cake it was. She ordered it for close staff and military to find out if the castle had been compromised. We have cake on slow days every now and then, so no one was suspicious.”
SEBASTIAN NODDED. “A simple but efficient test without hurting anyone’s pride.”
“What did the cake taste like to you?” Turren asked.
“Like sand, and I won’t give you a real answer no matter how many times you ask.”
“I brought a nice dinner.” Turren batted his eyelashes.
Sebastian took a large bite of a firm mushroom that released savory juice onto his tongue. “A very delicious meal too.” Turren smiled brightly. “But I will tell you nothing because your mother tricked me into eating it.”
“But I didn’t know about it.”
“Guilt by association,” Sebastian said as he ate another mushroom.
“I don’t lump you in with your father, so you shouldn’t lump me with my mother.”
Sebastian shrugged. “Why play fair?” He pulled the green meal closer and sliced off a small piece. When he put it in his mouth, tender meat and soft fat fell apart with mint tickling the edge of the taste. “The mint flavor is from the meat, not the spices. What is it?” Sebastian’s palate was confused, but the meat was amazing. Despite not knowing what he was eating, he cut off a bigger slice. It touched his lips just as Turren snatched the meat away and popped it in his mouth.
Turren swallowed the tender morsel and licked his lips. “It’s ferkil meat from Anerith. I told the cooks not to let your father anywhere near it so there would be some left for you.”
Sebastian slid his cake to the side and began untying his cloak. After the last tie pulled free, he tackled Turren. “Your food thievery ends now!”
TURREN SPREAD his hands across the thin cloth that let Sebastian’s warmth absorb into his skin. “This is not a good incentive.”
“That’s because you’re a masochist.” Sebastian smiled as Turren kissed his chin and then moved to his lips. “See what I mean.”
Turren’s hand sneaked under the sleeveless shirt and glided over ribs covered by soft muscle, and nipples that hardened as his fingers dug into them. Sebastian closed his eyes, and Turren massaged the nubs between his fingers. “I bet these would taste really good with caramel sauce on them.”
Sebastian’s eyes snapped open. “Why would I let you cover me with sugar?”
“Because I’ll be careful and won’t get it on our clothes,” Turren promised.
Sebastian stared suspiciously at the prince. “I come away sticky and you don’t get to do it again.”
Turren leaned forward and whispered in Sebastian’s ear, “I promise you won’t be sticky with caramel.”
Golden hair dangled over Turren’s cheek while Sebastian held him in place. “Always the little pervert when you think you have me, aren’t you?”
Turren’s legs locked around Sebastian’s waist, and Turren heaved Sebastian onto his side. He pushed Sebastian flat on the bed and leaned on his chest. “I don’t think anything. I know you’re mine.” Kissing down Sebastian’s clavicle, Turren undid one button at a time on Sebastian’s shirt. Sebastian watched but didn’t fight him. When his view of the smooth chest became unhindered, Turren grabbed the cake and drizzled drops of caramel onto Sebastian’s stomach with a spoon. Putting the plate down, Turren leaned forward and sucked on the sweet dessert and Sebastian. Sebastian’s abdomen clenched, and Turren dropped more caramel higher. He licked it away and finally lowered the spoon over a pink nipple. Turren took his time lapping it up and swirled his tongue around the nipple. He pulled it between his teeth and listened to Sebastian’s breath hitch.
“Who said you could bite?” Sebastian asked.
Turren reached for the plate again and placed another drop on Sebastian’s other nipple. He went for it teeth-first and used the caramel to slide it between his teeth.
“When I have you at my mercy, I will make you suffer,” Sebastian swore.
Turren ignored him and unfastened the top of Sebastian’s pants. He paused but Sebastian said nothing. Smiling, Turren pulled Sebastian’s pants down to the knees and drizzled caramel on top of Sebastian’s underwear. He stopped again, but there were no protests about staining the clothing. Turren opened his mouth wide and closed his lips around Sebastian’s hidden length, tonguing it. His saliva soaked Sebastian’s underwear, and Sebastian grew harder. He looked up, and Sebastian’s eyes had closed. Turren pulled away, drool clinging to Sebastian’s crotch. He peeled away Sebastian’s wet underwear and took Sebastian’s cock into his mouth. Sebastian shuddered against him, breath catching as Turren moved his head back and forth. As Turren licked underneath Sebastian’s shaft, Sebastian’s hand clung to his hair, and Turren moved faster. Sucking in his cheeks, Turren took Sebastian in deeper. Sebastian gasped, but Turren released him before he could cum.
“Please, Turren,” Sebastian begged, his mocking tone completely gone.
“I’m not teasing you. I’m keeping you aroused so I can relax you better.” Turren focused on the dishes, and they floated to a table on the other side of the room. Sebastian sighed regretfully and Turren kissed him. “It will be good for you too.” He leaned to the other side of the bed and came up with a bottle of oil.
Sebastian’s eyebrow rose. “When did you sneak that in here?”
“When you were speaking to your father,” Turren said. He pulled Sebastian’s pants off and threw them to the side. After scooting closer and pressing Sebastian’s knees back, Turren poured oil into his hand and spread it over several fingers. He placed them against Sebastian’s hole, massaging the skin, and slipped one into Sebastian’s ass. Sebastian bit his lip but there was no other sign of discomfort. Turren thrust his finger in deeply and crooked it from side to side. He didn’t add another finger until Sebastian’s hole was probably loose enough for three. Sebastian squirmed, and Turren thrust three fingers into him. Peridot eyes watched him, but Turren took his time.
“Something bigger needs to go in,” Sebastian said.
Turren took his fingers out and poured more oil on them. He thrust them back inside of Sebastian, who now glared at him.
“That’s not bigger.”
Turren pushed his fingers hard into Sebastian and smiled when he grunted. “You still need more preparation.”
“You bastard,” Sebastian said, but he pressed back onto Turren’s fingers as they moved inside him.
When Sebastian moved his knees higher, Turren pulled his fingers out and stood. He undressed and got back on the bed. After spreading oil over his cock, Turren put it against Sebastian’s ass and grabbed Sebastian’s thighs. Moving gently, Turren entered Sebastian with much less resistance than before. “Dammit,” Turren said.
“Hm?” Sebastian muttered, arching his back as Turren’s cock went deeper.
Fuck me, Turren thought. His ass is pulling me in like a damn snatcher plant. How the fuck am I not supposed to cum? Turren shook his head. No. I am going to make Sebastian feel as good as me, starting right this damn second. Turren thrust hard, and Sebastian bucked as he cried out. I have to make him cum first or I will have no honor. He pulled Sebastian’s legs farther apart and slammed into Sebastian, trying to think of anything that could distract him from filling Sebastian’s ass right then. Lessons with Frederick and the potions he had to memorize flashed in his mind. “Far sight… potion,” he muttered. “An eagle’s egg, three drops gryphon saliva… five daisy… petals.”
“What are… you… doing?” Sebastian gasped out while his
body rocked on the bed.
“Birthing… assisting… potion,” Turren recited as his cock calmed down slightly. “Four drops… aloe, six rose… blooms.” Turren shook his head and stopped his body from reacting too quickly. “And grind… up… ten… rockhounds’ tears.” Turren breathed and tried to remember more potions. “Breathing under… water… potion. Six trout eyes, tongue… of… newt, five… tadpoles.”
“Six!” Sebastian wailed out, and his seed spurted onto Turren’s chest.
“Oh thank the Gods!” Turren cried out and gripped Sebastian’s hips to thrust into him with abandon. Sebastian shouted, and more seed dribbled out of his cock. Balls tightening and breath stilting, Turren shouted his release and collapsed on top of Sebastian. “Six?” he asked when his breath returned.
“Hm-huh,” Sebastian said and captured Turren in a hard kiss.
With Sebastian’s tongue scouring his mouth, Turren didn’t give a fuck about breathing. This was the best way to die. As he grew light-headed, Sebastian pulled away, and they put their foreheads together.
Sebastian laughed. “You need a tutor.”
“You can teach me all night.”
“That’s not a bad offer,” Sebastian said. “And I changed my mind.”
“About what?”
“If you ever shrink your cock, I’ll kill you.”
CHAPTER 26
“YOU’RE TWIDDLING your thumbs while Lord Piadas works hard to find out why Trenton is trying to kill my son?” King Harris asked Lord Orwell.
“I don’t waste my time, and Trenton will give up once he realizes the Heart of Light won’t bend to him.” Lord Orwell calmly drank his wine.
“What happened to your newfound sobriety?” Frederick asked.
“I’m drinking in anticipation of happy conversations with my son.”
“What does that mean?” King Harris asked.
“It’s a personal matter that has nothing to do with you.”
“Does this matter involve my son? We need to talk about them, Caspian.”
Lord Orwell upended his glass to get the last drop. “Not really, Your Majesty.”
“You scramble for every chance to display your family’s name, but you balk at a relationship between our sons?”
“Can you defeat Trenton?” Caspian asked quietly.
“Maybe if you loosened your tongue. I consider myself a fair king, but you’re leaving me with few civil options.”
“And you forget mine. By marriage, I only fall under half of your jurisdiction.”
“Don’t act as if your wife is close to her people,” Frederick said. “Their eyes glow red if we even mention her name. What did she do to them?”
“Nothing that can’t be mended with my current deck of cards,” Caspian said.
“That possibility is part of the reason I haven’t thrown you into a dungeon for treason,” King Harris said. “But the fey are not here now.”
“Your Majesty, you should stop maligning my reputation when you have no proof,” Caspian said.
“For your sake, you better hope a trail doesn’t lead to you,” Frederick said.
“Was that cryptic threat supposed to mean something?” Caspian asked.
The throne doors burst open, and Queen Anne stalked into the room. “So far, no, Lord Orwell,” she said. “You’re dismissed.”
“What’s happening?”
Queen Anne rolled her eyes and swung her hand in Lord Orwell’s direction. The lord was swept off his feet and slid across air until he reached the doors. The air propped him back on his feet and gave him a final push, closing the doors behind him.
King Harris sighed. “I doubt you encouraged him to be more helpful.”
Queen Anne shrugged. “Not my problem.” She turned to Frederick. “Thank you for keeping an eye on him. I found out who is trying to poison Turren, and it appears Lord Orwell had nothing to do with it. You’re right, Frederick, I believe that he and Trenton have separate motives.”
“Good,” Frederick said. “It’s been tiring removing magical toxins every day without Turren suspecting anything. He’s accepted the antidote lessons without complaining, but potions have never gone with his memory.” He frowned. “Except he has improved during the past week.”
“We got lucky. After the first group of officers passed the cake test, we told them to leave pieces around and pay attention to any bad reactions. A new recruit found one and spit it out without thinking. Pembrost reported to me after he interrogated the man. It turns out they placed spells on our staff to pass like a virus until it reaches its intended victim.”
“Were any of the servants hurt by it?” King Harris asked.
“A few exhibited signs of illness, but I healed them. Trenton does not care about hurting civilians.”
Frederick sighed. “He always lives up to his reputation.”
“One other thing,” Queen Anne said. “The curses are also aimed at Sir Orwell in case Turren ate any of his food.”
“Lord Orwell finds out, and he will be out of our castle by nightfall,” King Harris said.
“Loyalty to Turren is the only reason I am keeping my mouth shut,” Frederick said. “Why couldn’t Turren fall for a man whose parents weren’t asses?”
“He takes after me in most ways,” Queen Anne said.
King Harris opened his mouth but couldn’t refute her claim and shut it.
SPENDING SEVERAL days in with Turren hadn’t been part of Sebastian’s plans. Once they got the hang of sex, they just kept doing it. Experimentation is always the right way to go, Sebastian thought. He tapped Turren’s nose lightly as his nostrils flared from snoring. “That is not very prince-like,” Sebastian whispered. He smiled when Turren kept snoring and put his head down on his pillows. Shutting his eyes to rest for another round, Sebastian didn’t expect to be poked on the arm. “You slept long enough,” he said as he turned to a still-sleeping prince.
“Get dressed, we’re leaving,” Lord Orwell said from behind him.
Sebastian frowned at his father. “You said you didn’t care anymore if I saw Turren. And why are you here when I’m naked?”
Lord Orwell rolled his eyes. “You might have been the more restrained of your siblings, but I’ve still seen your skin enough not to give a damn. Dress and don’t wake him.”
“Why not?”
“Because his lovely parents forgot to mention that your food was being poisoned. We’re leaving, now.”
“I never sensed anything wrong with the food.”
“That’s because Frederick has been helping the cooks contain the problem, and he’s slipping antidotes in your food and drink,” Lord Orwell said.
“If the problem is taken care of, why should I leave?”
“Because I don’t want you targeted as a way to kill the prince.”
“Which means that Trenton doesn’t give a damn about me being your son.” Sebastian smirked. “Having been once called his companion works badly in your favor.”
“Trenton will try something even more drastic if I don’t tell him he’s wrong about Turren’s purpose. It depends on you, Sebastian,” Lord Orwell said.
“Why do I have to go without saying good-bye?” Sebastian whispered.
“Because you came on my authority, and you will leave on it despite rumors that are circulating through the castle.”
“If Trenton hears that I stayed in the prince’s bed?”
“Then I’ll tell him it was a ploy to erase the pages they’re looking for,” Lord Orwell said.
“The truth is always the best lie,” Sebastian muttered.
“You do remember your lessons.”
“I want to get dressed without you standing over me,” Sebastian said.
“Fine, but hurry up.” Lord Orwell crept out just as quietly as he had entered, and Sebastian looked down at Turren.
He kissed the prince’s lips, and Turren responded in his sleep, smiling like a fool and murmuring, “Bastian.”
“I’m sorry,” Sebastian sai
d and got out of bed to find his clothes.
“Why is he here?” Sebastian asked after he closed Turren’s door to find Kevin waiting in the hall.
“Your cooperation wasn’t a guarantee, and I might have needed muscle,” Lord Orwell said.
Kevin crossed his arms. “And you’re buying a nice shipment of tools and weapons for my inconvenience.”
“The nerve of you to make me pay full price,” Lord Orwell growled.
“You take me out of my bed, I take money out of your pocket.”
“Gods, where did I go wrong with these ingrates?” Lord Orwell asked the ceiling. “Come on, we have little night left.”
“You didn’t have to come,” Sebastian whispered as they moved down the halls and bypassed wards.
“You stopped listening to reason, so I had to,” Kevin said.
“When have I been unreasonable?”
“Ever since you laid eyes on the prince,” Lord Orwell said. “Give me some of your magic.”
Kevin frowned at Sebastian. “What magic?”
“I don’t recall hearing please,” Sebastian said.
“You little lying sneak!” Far away, boots rapped on the floor and the sounds came closer. “Guards are coming. Give it to him or I carry you!”
Sebastian snatched Lord Orwell’s hand and poured magic through the connection so quickly, he jerked back as if stung.
Lord Orwell grabbed Sebastian by the collar. “Do that again and I’ll slip you a memory potion so strong, you won’t remember the last year.”
Sebastian’s eyes widened under his hood. “You wouldn’t.”
“The risks I have to take and your attitude? Believe me, I’m more than tempted.”
“You’re not being reasonable, either,” Kevin said. “You could have let him say good-bye.”
“Bah! You two don’t know the world as well as you think you do to give me advice.”
“But sheltering Sebastian from all pain isn’t wise, either. I came because this situation is too dangerous, but he has to learn about heartache on his own,” Kevin said.
“What are you two talking about?” Sebastian hissed.