by Amber Kell
Kreslan frowned. "So all Thresls reincarnate?"
Vohne shook his head. "Kings reincarnate; the rest of the Thresls live extremely long lives. The oldest living Thresl is three thousand years old."
"Wow." He could see Kreslan trying to wrap his head around that information.
Kreslan tilted his head curiously. "How will you know by sight?"
"Their scent. Deceit has a certain smell. I have the best nose in the palace, or at least I did. Those who try to destroy me will also try to avoid me so I won't know they are guilty. It's important that you stay by my side. I can't lose you, and you won't be able to sort the good people from the bad. Don't go to anyone I haven't approved and keep guards with you at all times."
His lover's stubborn expression made his heart sink. "I mean it, Kreslan. I won't survive if anything happens to you. A Thresl needs his mate, which is why my brother is a frozen princecicle instead of by my side. Others will try to harm you to get to me. Don't give them the opportunity."
Kreslan gave Vohne a wicked smile. "They will find it harder than they think to kill this human."
Vohne nodded. "Agreed, but I'd prefer you stayed by my side."
"Really?" Kreslan took a step forward, his hungry eyes sweeping Vohne's body. "Because I'd like to stay on top of you, or beneath you, or maybe even inside you. I think I was hasty in leaving our bed this morning."
Vohne swallowed the moisture pooling in his throat as his mate grabbed him, slamming their bodies together. As Kreslan kissed him with a burning fervor, Vohne's only thought was he loved this incarnation of his mate, he really did.
* * * *
Two hours later they left their rooms newly showered and dressed. Kres fidgeted beneath the formal clothes his lover made him wear.
"Stop wiggling," Vohne remonstrated.
"I can't help it." The clothing was restricting. The only saving grace was the high boots that let him bring his knife.
"You need to walk like a king, not wiggle like a little boy." Vohne took one step away from his lover as he finished talking.
"I can still stab you from here," Kres growled.
The Thresl laughed. "Yeah, but you'd miss me too much."
The guards fell into step behind them. "You look real nice, King-Mate," Nelrin said.
"Thank you, Nelrin."
"He's right my mate, you look real pretty." Vohne flashed him a wicked grin.
"I won't miss you," Kres snarled.
The guard shifted to stand next to Vohne.
"It's safer near me," the king whispered loudly with a wink towards his mate.
"Don't bet on it."
The four men walked down the halls until they reached an enormous room with dozens of people milling about. A cheer went up when they caught sight of Vohne.
One man separated from the crowd. His elaborate clothing put Kres's outfit to shame, and his blond hair was brushed to a high sheen. Rushing over to Vohne, he kneeled before the king.
"My liege, I'd like to say I and my house are thrilled at your return. Some said you'd abandoned us, but I knew that day would never come."
Kres gave Vohne an incredulous look. His mate smirked back.
"Easy, mate," Vohne's voice whispered in his head.
Releasing his clenched hands, Kres realized his right hand was creeping towards his knife. When had he turned so violent? Although he'd trained as a soldier, it wasn't until he became the Thresl's mate that his more violent tendencies had come to the forefront. Anyone who wandered too close to Vohne became the enemy.
"Kreslan, this is Duke Hellbur." He helped the duke up, releasing his hold as soon as the man was on his feet. Walking over to Kres, he put his arm around Kres's waist. "Your Grace, this is my mate, Kreslan Piers."
"Nice to meet you, King-Mate."
Kres nodded. "Same here." Vohne's grip tightened on his waist, letting him know his voice was less than sincere.
The duke looked amused at Kres's combative tone. "I'm glad to see you've reunited again. We all worried you wouldn't come back."
"So I hear. Now the question is why it took so long."
Hellbur frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Don't you think it a little strange it took me so long to return?"
The duke straightened his tie as he looked at the pair. "I thought you wanted a break or something. After hundreds of years of rule, you deserved some time off."
"And you thought I'd take it in the middle of a crisis? That I'd let the Thresl mates be purged and not rush home?"
Hellbur paled. "You're right, but in the middle of a war against our mates, it was difficult to think clearly."
"I heard some people want to take his place," Kres grumbled. He didn't like the way the duke looked at his mate.
"There have been some rumbles." He cast an apologetic look at Vohne. "You were gone a long time, Your Highness. My house is eager to renew our vows to your service."
Vohne gave a nod. "There will be a renewal ceremony tomorrow. It will be interesting to see who shows up."
The duke gave an uncomfortable smile. "There are some who want to go their own way, claiming the monarchy is outdated. Some memories have faded over time."
This time it was Kres sending calming thoughts to his mate when he felt Vohne start to growl.
"Maybe it's time to remind people why they need a king."
* * * *
Kres spent the rest of the day pretending he was happy to meet people. He wished he had enhanced senses or superpowers or anything to help him sniff out the back-stabbing betrayal of the court members who'd tried to harm his mate and would try again.
As big as he talked, he could feel Vohne's pain at his people's betrayal. Even though he gave a good front as a calm and confident ruler, Kres could feel the insecurity and hurt Vohne hid just beneath the surface as they walked through the palace greeting people.
Vohne gripped his arm as if reading his unease. Considering their link, maybe Kres's Thresl did experience his emotions. He gave his lover a smile.
"Greetings, King and King-Mate." A beautiful woman with shining black hair and sparkling blue eyes curtsied to them. Kres sized her up, wondering if the knife belted around her waist was ornamental or functional. He moved slightly in front of his lover until Vohne tightened his hold and pulled him back.
The woman's mouth quirked into a smile. "I'd heard you were protective, but I hadn't heard the king couldn't take care of himself."
Kres bared his teeth in a facsimile of a smile. "Want me to show you what I can do with your knife?"
She laughed, but he noticed she did add a little space between the king and herself. "I am Niafe, daughter of Lady Nelb. I've come to warn you, Your Highness, my mother means you ill will."
"And you just happened to come by to warn us because you are such a devoted subject?" Kres said, his voice heavy with sarcasm.
"Easy, mate," Vohne murmured in his ear. "No reason to kill the messenger."
"She's not the messenger. A messenger would be someone carrying a message from one person to another. She's the source."
"I have a message from my mother."
Vohne gave him a smug smile.
"Darn." Kres scuffed his boot on the ground then afterwards felt guilty. Some worker would probably stay up all night obsessing about that smudge on the surface of his shiny boots. Maybe he'd hide them when he got back to the room.
"Focus, Kres," Vohne admonished. "What's your mother's message, my lady?"
"I'm supposed to stab your mate." She announced the words like she should be given a medal for not following her mother's directive.
Vohne shoved Kres behind him. "And why didn't you?"
Niafe laughed. "Two reasons. Firstly, I've read the old texts and I don't follow her beliefs, and secondly, your mate's knife looks bigger than mine."
Chapter Eight
They pulled Niafe into an empty room to minimize the amount of people who could listen in. The guards blocked the door after a moment of argument. Neither of them trusted Niafe, but V
ohne insisted.
Unable to override the orders of their king, the men reluctantly waited outside.
"You're very brave to meet me alone."
Vohne shrugged. "As you stated. My mate has a very large knife. You make the wrong move, and he will gut you."
Niafe paled, giving Kreslan a nervous look. He felt a momentary pang of guilt for making it appear that his mate was a man seconds from snapping, but the smile Kreslan gave Niafe had him holding back a laugh. His lover was extremely protective.
"Don't worry. As long as you don't make any sudden movements, you're safe enough," Kreslan said.
"Why don't we sit down?" Vohne motioned towards the table and chairs. They'd wandered into one of the meeting rooms scholars generally used for their studies or to debate their views. From the cobwebs decorating the ceiling, he had a feeling they'd strayed from that path.
Once they were settled with Niafe sitting across from them, closer to Vohne than Kreslan, she began her story.
"Ever since I was little, my mother told me how she should be the one ruling the kingdom. I used to dream of growing up and becoming queen."
Kreslan gave a growl worthy of a Thresl.
Vohne hid his smile.
"I don't dream of that any more." She held up a hand in defense. "I did until I grew old enough to understand my mother is insane. She did something. I don't know what, but she did something to stop you from returning. There's a man she goes to. A magic user. I think he cast a spell to stop your resurrection."
"Where is he now?" Vohne asked.
"He died many years ago, which is why I think you were able to come back."
"We need to find out what he did so it can't be done again," Kreslan said.
"That's not all." Niafe's voice was rushed as if she wanted to get it all out like ripping of the bandage. "Mother has recruited some soldiers. She plans to take over the castle in three days."
"Why in three days?" Kreslan asked.
Niafe turned her brilliant eyes to Kreslan. "Because that's when your marriage ceremony is planned."
Vohne flinched at the glare from his mate's eyes. "And when were you going to share that happy news?" Vohne checked to see if icicles had formed in the air from the chill in his mate's voice.
"Could you give us a moment?" he asked Niafe.
She gave him an innocent smile. "I'll be right out in the hall bugging your guards."
"It won't take long." Especially if Kreslan impaled him with his dagger like his eyes were promising to do.
Vohne waited to talk until she'd left the room. Once the door shut behind her, he slid to one knee before his lover, his life, his mate. Taking Kreslan's left hand between his own, he looked up at the one person he adored above all others and always would. "It is tradition for the king to re-marry his mate after each reincarnation. You have been my husband for hundreds of years. Each time you die, I die with you, and when we meet up again, we renew our vows. It's assumed by all you would be willing to marry me again." He hoped his eyes reflected the deep feelings he had in his heart for this one man. "Were they wrong?"
Kreslan's handsome face changed from annoyed to confused. "How many times have we gotten married?"
Vohne smiled. His lover hadn't said no. There was still hope. He really didn't want to go in front of his people and tell them his mate refused his hand in marriage. It would undermine his legitimacy and cause issues later on, but there was no way he was going to bring that up to his mate. He wouldn't pressure him. He'd already taken away all of Kreslan's other choices in life. He wouldn't take this choice away too. "More times than I care to count," he confessed, mostly because each time they reincarnated, it was because they'd died before.
Kreslan shifted in his chair but still let Vohne hold onto his hand. "A guy just likes to be asked."
Vohne's head snapped up. His mate's eyes sparkled with amusement. "Would you do me the honor of being my husband?"
A teasing smile tilted the edges of Kreslan's mouth. "Depends what you're offering. I mean, you have to top the offers from the other guys I have lined up."
"Hmmm, that's tough. You could be a co-ruler of an entire kingdom," he offered in a hopeful voice.
Kreslan shook his head. "I'm not really into that kind of power. I'm a low key kind of guy."
"Hmm. Riches. I can buy you anything you desire."
Kreslan shook his head again. "Money can't buy happiness."
"You're a tough man to please," Vohne said, playing with Kreslan's fingers as he thought. "How about my undying love and devotion? I can promise I'll never stray, and if I haven't stopped loving you by now, it's never going to happen. Besides, I've already killed all the competition and I'm all you've got left."
Kreslan laughed. "Well, if you put it that way, I guess I'll have to take you."
Vohne stood up, leaning over his mate. "So you'll marry me?" He didn't want any question in Kreslan's mind that he'd agreed to this marriage.
"Yes, I'll marry you."
"Good." Vohne slid his fingers into Kreslan's hair and pressed their lips together. The familiar flavor of his mate set his body on fire. He wanted to throw his mate on the table and cement their bond, but he knew they needed to talk to Niafe about their plans first. Giving Kreslan one last kiss, he marched over to the door and ripped it open.
"Come in," he growled to Niafe.
Sitting in the chair beside his mate, Vohne gathered his thoughts on how to thwart another uprising.
"Who do you see as my biggest adversaries?" Vohne asked Niafe.
Niafe shifted in her seat, folding her fingers and setting them in her lap. "I don't want you to think badly of me, Your Highness. Going against my family was a difficult decision."
"I understand," Vohne said as a thought occurred to him. "What is your heritage?"
"Half human, one half Thresl. My father was human."
"Was?"
"Yes, he died in The Purge. Mother hasn't remated."
The silence was filled with the weight of knowledge.
"That's why she's losing her sanity, isn't it?"
Niafe nodded. "It's been a slow slide, but even some of her supporters have urged me to take her place." She gave Vohne a guilty look. "I would never betray you, Your Highness. I believe you were chosen by a higher power, and I support your and your husband's rule."
Kreslan gave a choking cough.
Vohne kicked him. "Stop it. Whether you want to or not, you're going to rule with me."
"I'm not wearing a crown, and I'm keeping my knife."
Damn, the man was cute when he pouted.
"Deal."
Niafe laughed.
He really liked this woman. This would all go better if his brother was there to advise him. A kernel of an idea grew in his mind. If Niafe wasn't mated, maybe she would be a good candidate for Bleine. At least he could introduce them. It would probably be best if he had several potential mates for his brother to choose from. If there was a connection between them, Bleine might not have noticed it while he was bonded with Jallryne. "How well do you know my brother?"
A blush covered Niafe's cheeks. "We've spoken a few times."
"Setting up your brother?" Kreslan asked.
"Possibly. Niafe, if you were connected to the throne through my brother, do you think your mother would lose her supporters?"
"What?" Kreslan sat up straight. "She'll have you assassinated and let her daughter take over."
"No." Niafe shook her head. "Not if we sell it to the people that I am also an advisor. That would buy us time to figure out what to do about my mother. She must be controlled."
"Can she be re-mated?" Vohne wondered if she could be saved if they found her another mate.
"I doubt it." Niafe frowned. "Who would mate with a madwoman?"
"Good point."
"It might not work," Niafe said. "I've always thought we had a spark, but as he was bonded, I didn't pursue him."
Vohne turned to look at his mate, who sat quietly beside him.
"What are you planning?"
Kreslan gave him a sweet smile. "Nothing, dear."
"Uh huh." Why did his mate's innocent smile not reassure him at all?
They spent the next hour discussing how to counteract an invasion with Niafe filling in the details of her mother's plan.
"My mother will change everything if she finds out I talked to you. You must be prepared for anything. Keep your most trusted men close around you. You and your mate's lives are in danger."
"I've been through this more than once. I know how to quell an uprising. I'll try to save your mother, but make no mistake, if the only way to end this is to kill her, I won't hesitate to do what is right for my people. Having them led by an unbalanced, power hungry Thresl isn't in anyone's best interests."
* * * *
Kres watched the pair interact and wondered what Vohne's brother was like. If he was anything like Kres's mate, Niafe would be a good match.
"Don't you think, love?" Vohne asked.
"Huh?" He'd been so busy watching his lover he hadn't paid attention to what he said.
Vohne laughed. "You weren't paying attention, were you?"
Kres shrugged. "I figure you'll tell me anything I need to know, and since I don't know any of the people you're talking about, it doesn't make any sense to me." All he really understood was Lady Nelb needed to die. He could take care of that while Vohne dealt with the intricacies of court life. Kres was a soldier. He saw things more black and white than his surprisingly complex thinking lover. Who knew when he first met the man-cat that Vohne would turn out to be a reincarnated king and Kres's soul mate?
"If you paid attention, you would know who your enemies are," Vohne scolded.
"I'm sure he was paying attention," Niafe interjected. Poor girl thought she could head off a fight.
Kres decided to try out their link. "You can explain it to me later. Use little words and lots of lube." Kres sent telephathically to his mate with what he hoped was a sultry look to his lover. He was still hard from their foreplay a moment ago.
The king gave Kres the smile he thought of as his. The one that crinkled his nose and brought out the sparkle in his eyes. Vohne leaned over, pressing a hot hard kiss on Kres's lips.