Ice Dragon Tales

by Hurri Cosmo

After all, Relel had seen the beautiful young prince first. His perfect features and small body just screamed "have your way with me" at him.

  Relel had come into the king's anteroom simply because he heard someone had been escorted there. He hadn't really been interested in the king's affairs but sometimes life was boring and finding out maybe a tidbit or two of gossip to help pass the time would always give him the lift he needed. Not that any of his brother's visitors ever had that kind of potential, but he was definitely scraping the bottom of the barrel on that uneventful day. Of course, it didn't hurt when he also heard the servants who had brought the visitor in say he was some gorgeous man child, a prince, they said, from another kingdom. He hadn't heard which.

  Gorgeous man child--and a prince to boot? Sounded like fun.

  So he stole in behind the young man, breathing in his scent as soon as he was close enough, which startled the little puppy, causing him to turn abruptly--and almost clumsily--around.

  Relel giggled.

  "Are... are you King Aric Tamusi," the beautiful boy stammered. "I-I'm Prince Joron Amar." He was obviously a lowly prince if he didn't know Aric's brother on sight.

  Relel had pushed back his long, blond hair from his dark eyes so he could have a better look at the adorable little hunk of man and found he was absolutely delicious. Innocent emerald green eyes had stared up at him, drinking in what Relel knew had to be his own majestic beauty. He had yet to meet a man or woman who had been able to resist Relel's charms. But, alas, the little prince had been looking for the king. They always were, which usually didn't concern Relel all that much. However, for some reason, this little waif of a royal captured Relel's pointed interest. There was something about his scent, something about the aura around him. He truly wished he could have simply spirited the little prince off to a lockable room right then and taken his sweet time being "king" over that body. But doing that again with one of Aric's would-be visitors would have only earned him another ten days confined to his rooms and he had already been bored to absolute death.

  "No, that would be my brother. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Prince Relel." He had extended his hand in greeting. When the young man gave him his hand, he couldn't help but pull him in close. His scent had been absolutely intoxicating. He had leaned toward the young man's ear, breathing in as he did, wanting in the worst way to nibble on those delectable lobes and had whispered, "I am very happy to meet you."

  The young man had obviously been shocked because he tried to pull back immediately. Relel wouldn't let him. He was having too wonderful a time throwing this gorgeous man into a tizzy and making him continue to stammer.

  "Oh! Ah...I'm... Thank you but..."

  "Will you be staying the night...Prince Joron?" Leaning once again to gain closeness to Joron's perfect ear, Relel had breathed, "When you are done with my brother, I will take great pleasure in showing you to your room, make sure you are satisfied with the firmness of your bed." That time he could not resist licking then pushing his tongue inside the prince's ear.

  Relel positively squealed when Joron jumped back, still not being able to remove himself from Relel's hold.

  "No! I mean...yes! I mean... I hadn't thought to... Maybe I'll go back to find an inn."

  "Nonsense. You will stay right here. With me." Relel had then tugged him into a tight embrace, not being able to hold himself back. He had grabbed a handful of Joron's hair at the back of his head and pulled back, exposing his beautiful throat, just begging to be marked.

  But that idiot TaParn chose that exact moment to interrupt them. He would have had the little puppy, too. He was sure of it. He would have kept him confused right up until the moment he took him. Oh, but that was an incredibly arousing thought. He imagined the boy's small body moving under him, pleading for him to stop, that he didn't know what was happening to him, why was Relel doing this--all in a seductive and pouty tone, pretending he didn't like it. He fully imagined having those little arms raised above his head, tied to the headboard, while he explored the sweet little ass he knew was under those dusty clothes he wore that day. Yes, he loved the idea of those innocent eyes of his, wide and naïve, looking up at him in total submission. But TaParn shooed him off and took the boy prince away, knowing all of Relel's crimes as of late and obviously not wanting to deal with any more of them. And unfortunately, like a dutiful errant child, he allowed for it.

  But now he regretted it fully.

  Because now Relel simply stood in the hallway and watched as his brother, holding his smelly little brat of a son, lead Joron's perfect body away from him. This would never do. No, no, no. Not at all. That body should be under him, panting and moaning for him. He wanted to see everything, every expression, every tear, every gasp. He needed that young man. For some reason, he couldn't think of anything else. He had to take the young man away from his brother. The question was how.

  But there was something Relel had up his royal sleeve that might work. Something he had discovered some time ago. A trump card he had always intended to use against his big brother when the time and situation presented itself. He had originally thought to use his little finding as blackmail, a powerful and valuable bit of information when he needed a political edge. But he decided now he would do something completely different. He would finally bring the woman here. He had already put his plan into action, anticipating a time when he would spring it on the unsuspecting king. His ingenious plot would definitely work for this. In fact, it would work in a whole lot of very good ways. The best of them, of course, would be that Relel would take the little innocent Joron into his bed.

  Yes, indeed, the time had finally come to bring Queen Abydell Tamusi home.

  * * * *

  They arrived at the big double doors into the king's chambers after they had somehow found the room Taiyo had been locked in. Aric allowed Taiyo to leap into Joron's arms as he went inside that dark prison with the guard who had followed them. They didn't spend much time and Joron constantly soothed the trembling Taiyo, until they were once again under way.

  Aric now smirked as he looked at the guard, who was picking himself up off of the floor, having obviously been coldcocked by Joron. His gaze did not miss the vase lying to the side of the large man. Aric took a sideways glance at Joron. The wildcat kept handing out surprises. He never wanted to break his spirit, but he wanted to make sure Joron knew who was in control and to whom everything and everyone, now including him, belonged. If he continued to think he could leave, he would have to be taught to think differently. Aric had never in his life felt this passionately about anyone, with the exception, of course, of his son. Joron now affected everything he did, everything he thought, and everything he said. And he had only known him a little over twenty-four hours. Well, physically known him, true. But he had had many fantasies of him over the past year. It was borderline obsession and it wasn't getting any better

  He told the guard who had come with them, to help the injured man to the infirmary and to send two guards to the door immediately. The injured guard stood and out of the corner of his eye, Aric watched as Joron approached him and murmured his apologies. He heard him say he understood the man had simply come in to protect him and for that he was grateful. He was sorry for hurting him. He heard the guard stammering, obviously trying to say something to impress Joron. Aric shook his head. He finally turned to meet the guard's eyes, still a little unfocused from the blow Joron had dealt him, and told him to get going. He bowed first to the King, then to Joron and headed down the hall.

  Aric watched the two men walk away and wondered how long it would be before the two replacements would be sent. He had never concerned himself with the door to his bedroom before, so had no idea how long it would take. He handed Taiyo to the woman who had followed them, giving Taiyo a big hug and kiss before he did. The very grateful nanny, Reeth, also covered him in kisses, telling him how much she had missed him. Aric asked the woman how she could have possibly lost track of the boy and she said he simply was not in his room
when she went to check on him after his nap. She said she didn't panic at that point, but after she had checked all of the usual places where he could have possibly gone and he was still nowhere to be found, she raised the alarm. Aric also asked Reeth if she had seen anyone new or strange hanging around Taiyo, but she said she hadn't. She swore she would be more vigilant. Aric sighed. He had tried to ask Taiyo about who it was that had put him in the room, but Taiyo was not going to tell him. Joron said he reacted pretty much the same way he did when Joron asked him. Taiyo simply put his thumb in his mouth and buried his head. Aric had examined the button Joron had given him, as if it held the clue he needed. He even looked at Reeth's top, as if he expected to find it missing a button but, of course, it didn't match.

  * * * *

  As soon as both nanny and child were out of the room, Aric turned, grabbed Joron by the front of the tunic he had on, and shoved him up against the wall. Joron looked up and saw pure rage on Aric's face and for a fleeting second, thought Aric believed Joron was the one behind his son's disappearance. Joron didn't know what to say or do to prove he wasn't. If Aric truly believed it, he would be a dead man. But Joron also read fear in Aric's eyes, too. From what? What could this powerful man possibly have to fear from him?

  "Now tell me what the hell you were doing outside this room when I distinctly told you to stay in here. Do I need to tie you to the bed?" Not waiting for an answer--obviously not caring what it could possibly be--he pulled him away from the wall, picked him up, slung him over his shoulder like a sack of grain, and headed for the bedroom.

  "No! Put me down." Joron kicked out, knowing it would do no good. Aric simply held his legs firm, once he caught them. The next thing Joron knew, he was being tossed onto the bed. He struggled to sit up, again knowing it was pointless. Aric effortlessly held him down.

  Aric was suddenly nose to nose with him. "Are you going to behave? If you don't, I swear to you I will tie you up, keep you tied up."

  Joron stopped fighting him and allowed Aric to hold him firmly to the bed.

  "Now tell me what were you doing? Were you trying to run?"

  What could Joron say? Yes, he was. But now all he could think about was this man's presence. All that filled his senses was this man's scent. Joron looked into those eyes and then at those lips and found himself wanting to be kissed. He let out a sigh and felt his face become hot. When he looked back up into Aric's eyes, what he saw there was shock. They were large and he, too, suddenly turned a shade of red. And then Joron was being forcefully kissed while Aric skillfully started to remove his clothes once again. Damn. He kept losing his well-earned clothes this way.

  The lovemaking was intense. But though it had started out fierce and hot, Aric seemed to change quickly as he watched Joron's reactions to everything. At one point during his hard thrusting, while Joron's legs had been thrown over Aric's shoulders to allow deeper penetration, Joron felt Aric's staff hit something inside of him that made every nerve in his body react. Suddenly Aric was hitting that spot again and again. He couldn't catch his breath as he moaned loudly with each hard thrust. Joron came, shouting out the king's name.

  Now, lying beside a sleeping king, he thought about that overwhelming feeling and total loss of control. The fact Aric was intensely watching him during that specific moment made his heart do strange things as well, but knowing he gave himself completely over to the pleasure Aric was giving him also made him cringe with embarrassment. He felt shame in his wantonness. He closed his eyes.

  Joron had never been in love, never knew what it could possibly feel like, but he was so very afraid this was it. He had fallen and fallen hard, and he knew he was alone in these feelings, too. Aric could never return them.

  Aric had fallen asleep on his right side, holding Joron in a light embrace, one arm under his neck, the other flung over his chest, one leg trapping both of his own. There would be no way he would be able to move without Aric knowing it, but every passing moment he was in this man's arms he fell deeper and deeper in love with him.

  There was nothing he could do but escape.

  * * * *

  Diagus was beside himself. It had been two full days and finally learning now his stupid brother took off for Claymoor Doom to save his sister was not good enough. Two days. The asshole Kinnabe finally talked, but the time wasted in obtaining that information may not have left enough time to save Joron. And it wasn't any form of torture that forced Kinnabe to talk either. Evidently Kinnabe finally came to the conclusion on his own that Joron might be in some danger running off the way he did.

  What the hell was his brother thinking, going up alone against a man like Aric Tamusi? Diagus had seen that look in the king's eyes when negotiating for his sister's hand. He was not going to take no for an answer and would have paid any price. But, of course, Diagus had to weigh that out with the possibility the man was crazy enough to wage a war in order to get her, too, if that was what it would have taken. His brother didn't know that. Joron only ever thought the world was black and white and everyone followed the same rules. Diagus knew Joron thought he was heartless and only cared about himself, but it wasn't like Diagus was some dumb fuck who just fell off the vegetable wagon. He could gain some serious wealth from this love-struck idiot but he also knew there was a line in the sand he needed to watch for and not cross. He saw it in Tamusi's eyes. Those really crazy black eyes. And now his brother, in his infinite stupidity, had run off headlong into that insanity--and all to save their sister.

  Stupid.

  In looking back, he probably should have consulted with his brother. It would have saved him this problem now. Not that Joron would have listened to him. It was obvious the idiot had thought up this stupid-ass plan when he was in his office trying to make Diagus change his mind. That was why he suddenly altered course and was able to escape his grasp once again.

  Then, of course, Diagus also learned his sister eloped with the duke and disappeared from existence, too. He was convinced it was only another phase of Joron's very stupid, very dangerous plan. He had sent his men to the duke's citadel to find her, to make sure she was actually there, but that was going to take time, too.

  Damn it to hell.

  Diagus sat behind his father's large desk. It wasn't like he was doing any real work yet. He liked the feeling of being able to be there, be in the king's chair, thinking about all the power he now had all to himself. It felt good to be the one everyone now had to come to. He would not waste this authority like his father did. He actually had chills making the decisions for his people in his first session. But still, when Tamusi basically begged for his sister's hand, that moment was the sweetest. To have something that man wanted, something he needed. That was power.

  However, now...

  It was early. At this point, his brother was not at Claymoor castle yet. But Diagus was not one to wait. He did not know why he felt Joron was in danger, but he truly did. He sighed. This constant need he was feeling where his brother was concerned was wearing on him. He tried endlessly to satiate his desires with anyone he could, but he was quickly finding no one could satisfy him. He had come to the conclusion that doing it at all was pointless. He didn't even care who he bedded, and the biggest problem was, he no longer was even enjoying it. All he could think about while in the act was Joron and the fact that whoever he was with at the moment wasn't him. And now Joron had slipped out from under his grasp again.

  Damn it.

  He would have to go rescue him, but he had to be careful. In order to do it, he would have to be smarter than Tamusi. Bringing his sister back was going to be the first step. She now belonged to Tamusi and though the duke was a dangerous man to anger, just like Joron had said, Tamusi was worse. He had no choice. His heart sank as he contemplated imminent war--either civil with the duke or territorial with Claymoor Doom. Neither one would prove to be healthy for his newly acquired crown.

  He was tired, but he would still leave tonight. He could waste no more time. Nor was he going to allow anyone
else to take Joron. And though, unlike Kinnabe, he believed Joron was safe in that regard from Tamusi, he did not want to take any chances. He knew how Joron's presence in a room seemed to affect everyone. The pure beauty that emanated from his brother attracted both men and women like moths to a flame.

  He would follow Joron to Claymoor Doom and he would drag him back. To hell with Tamusi. And when he did get him back, maybe he needed to put Joron in a cage until he had enough of him. So far, his brother's little habit of disappearing or being saved when things were getting interesting was driving him insane.

  There was no doubt in his mind the king would hold his brother when he learned his sister ran off and got married. But Tamusi didn't seem to care at the time if his sister was a virgin or not. He never asked the question. Maybe the fact she had done this, they had done this, would not bother him. Diagus would simply declare the marriage null and void, since his sister was officially promised to Tamusi by decree of the king. Which, of course, had already been done, and then Joron went and fucked it up. Why the fuck did his brother think he could do this alone? Why did he do this at all?

  If Tamusi demanded his sister as ransom for his brother, so be it. He would be ready and he would deal with any of the fallout afterward.

  Earlier, he had commanded his men to gather the army to rescue his brother out of Claymoor Doom. He told them they would ride before the sun rose. Of course, Diagus had no proof his brother had been/would be kidnapped, but he didn't need it, knowing what he knew. That damn brother of his would pay for all this trouble. Oh yes, dear brother, you are not as sly as you might think you are.

  Diagus was shocked when he finally made it out to the courtyard. The army assembled was vast. Not only did every soldier who ever wore a uniform mount up, but there were townspeople as well, holding any manner of would-be weapon from axe to pitchfork to rusty old sword. The word of Joron's kidnapping had evidently spread like wildfire and it seemed there was not one man, woman, or child who would not risk life and limb to help rescue him. Diagus realized as he was standing there, more and more were gathering, too, pouring in the front gate as the news spread. Diagus smirked, realizing for the first time how much the kingdom obviously loved his brother. What surprised him more was the bite of jealousy not over the fact he did not hold the same position with his people, but they seemed to know his brother more than he did.