by Amber Kell
"It's a date, my treasure."
Niafe cleared her throat pulling them back to the present.
The next two hours passed in a dull flipping of his knife as papers came out to write down plans and possible enemies.
"I still don't trust Hellbur," Kres commented. "Even if Lady Nelb is behind all this, there's nothing to say Hellbur isn't helping her."
Vohne broke off his conversation with Niafe to face his mate. "True, but I didn't get a sense of deception when I spoke to him."
Kres disagreed. "There's something oily about him. I didn't like how he looked at you."
"Hellbur has always had a crush on the king," Niafe said.
"How do you know?" Kres asked.
"I read it in a courtier's diary I found in the archives. He apparently wanted to bind your houses years ago, but you turned him down."
"It's unnatural for two Thresls to match even for a monarchy. I would still need my soul mate, and Kres, even in his mildest incarnation, wouldn't tolerate sharing me."
"True." He didn't know what his previous forms were like. Some of his memories were returning but just in flashes and bits. Not enough to form more than a brief idea of what he was like before. "I can promise if Hellbur wants the same thing now, it's not going to happen."
Vohne laughed. "I'm sure he knows after meeting you. If not, I'll be happy to inform him."
It was late when the talking finally finished. They ate a light dinner and went to bed.
Their lovemaking was slow and sweet, and when it was over, Kres fell asleep in the arms of the man he loved more than life.
He woke with people banging on the door.
"Go away!" he shouted. Blinking, it took him a moment to realize he was alone in bed.
Where the hell did his lover go?
The door slammed open and a dozen soldiers entered.
"King-Mate, we're here to arrest you for the murder of Lady Nelb," an unfamiliar soldier announced in a voice ringing with authority.
"What?" The sleepy fog clouding his mind blew away, leaving him awake but confused.
Nelrin approached the bed, crouching beside it until they were at eye level. "Your knife was found next to Lady Nelb's body."
"Nonsense, it's right there." Kres pointed towards the bedside table where he'd set it the night before.
Kres sat straight up, staring at the bare spot. "Shit." His knife was gone.
"We don't blame you for killing her. Arresting you is only for show. Please get dressed and come with us."
Looking at the guards, he saw not one of them blamed him for the supposed murder.
"Um, all right." Dressing quickly, he let them lead him away. Now he had to figure out who killed Lady Nelb and framed him for it, but the bigger question was where the hell was his lover.
Kres followed the soldiers, mentally preparing for the rigors of a jail cell. What he wasn't ready for was the luxurious office he was shown inside. Lush carpet sank beneath his booted feet and a soft couch with a wide padded seat dominated the room.
"We thought you'd be more comfortable here, Your Majesty," Nelrin said in an apologetic tone as if expressing regrets for the lack of proper accommodations.
"I'm not the official king-mate yet," Kres reminded him.
"Trust me, after this, you will be more than accepted by the populace," Nelrin said with a smile. "Anyone who had doubts before won't now. You will be seen as the enforcer, the king's right hand."
He watched in astonishment as the soldiers all gave him a respectful salute before leaving the room. Nelrin was the last man out.
"We'll make sure no one bothers you while we wait to find out what the king's reaction will be."
"Don't I get to defend myself?"
Nelrin shook his head. "Heroes don't need to defend themselves. It will likely be a slap on the wrist or community service. It will be decided by the victim's closest family and confirmed by the king."
Kres was still mulling that over when the soldiers left. Wasn't it convenient that he'd met Niafe last night and her mother ended up stabbed with his knife? Kres didn't believe in coincidences. Beautiful Niafe was up to her pretty little neck in all this. A neck he imagined throttling when he got out of this place.
Where the hell was his mate? Wasn't he supposed to sense when Kres was upset? Maybe he wasn't upset enough. The entire situation felt unreal, like he was still dreaming, although the calm way the soldiers brought him here took away some of his worries. Plopping down on the comfortable couch, he propped his feet on the cushioned ottoman and wondered how to verify Niafe had set him up for murder.
* * * *
Vohne sat at his desk, flipping through the hundredth piece of paperwork. A lot of the information was on the machine on his desk, but the really old stuff was still on paper. He'd sneaked out of their bed early to get some work done, hoping to return to his mate before Kreslan awoke. Looking at the bright sun outside, he was pretty sure he'd failed.
Rubbing his eyes, he tried to focus on the paper again.
A knock at the door had him lifting his head. "Enter."
Nelrin walked into the room, a wide smile on his face. His mate Friln followed behind.
"We've got your mate in lockdown if you'd like to go see him."
Vohne jumped to his feet. "Why would you arrest Kreslan?"
"His knife was found by Lady Nelb's body. Lady Niafe demanded we take your king-mate into protective custody. When you weren't in your room with your bonded, we took him into protective custody in case one of Lady Nelb's supporters went looking for him."
"Were anyone else's fingerprints found on the knife?"
Nelrin shrugged. "We didn't bother looking. It's not like it matters anyway. You're not going to have your mate put in the dungeon. Besides, Lady Niafe hates her mother, and I doubt she's even going to press charges. She merely demanded we protect your king-mate against repercussions, not charge him with anything."
Niafe. For the first time Vohne wondered if maybe he had his attention on the wrong family member.
After Nelrin left, Vohne concentrated on his lover. His first instinct was to go free him, but protective custody meant Kreslan was out of danger. It would do him good to stay put for a bit until Vohne found out what really happened.
"You all right, love?" He sent the question down their shared link. The connection felt stronger than ever before.
"I hate your planet!"
Vohne laughed.
"Did you kill Lady Nelb?" He didn't really think Kreslan had. Not that his lover wasn't capable of murdering anyone, because he was, but more than that, he didn't have the opportunity as the man was beside him all night.
"No. But everyone is too busy congratulating me to listen."
"Ahh. Sit tight, love. I'll come check on you in a bit."
"Take your time. I'll let you know before I die of boredom."
"Thank you. I'd appreciate that."
He could feel annoyance more than anything along their connection before he broke off communication. It wouldn't do for him to rush to his lover's defense. If Kreslan was going to prove himself as a true king-mate, he needed to take care of his own issues. Vohne would only step in if absolutely necessary. He couldn't let anyone harm his mate, but Kreslan wasn't made of glass either.
A soft knock at the door drew his attention.
"Enter."
Niafe sauntered into the room, triumph glowing on her face.
Vohne examined her carefully as she entered the room. The woman dressed as befitted a lady of the court, in sheer layers of locally woven fabric, but it was the look in her eyes that had him shifting uneasily in his seat.
"Good morning, Your Highness. I hear your mate has taken care of our little problem."
Gone was the sincere woman from yesterday. The girl who'd reluctantly plotted against her mother and helped him strategize his defense had vanished behind this confident, conniving woman.
"You don't look like you're too upset about her death."
Niafe
shrugged. "I've lived under my mother's thumb for enough years. This is more a relief than a moment of mourning."
Vohne propped his elbow on the desk and rested his chin on his hand as he examined her. "Have a seat."
With a brilliant smile, she sat in the chair before his desk.
"Why did you frame my mate for your mother's death?"
Niafe's jaw dropped open for a second but she quickly recovered. "Why would you think I killed my mother?"
Vohne stared at her for a long moment.
Niafe jumped to her feet. "Fine! You want to hear I killed the psychopath who tried to ruin my life and unbalance the monarchy? Then you're right." She pointed a finger towards the door. "But everyone thinks your mate is a hero. He can ride this out with the backing of the entire kingdom in his pocket. Do you think they'd think the same thing about a woman who kills her own mother?"
"Perhaps not, but how can I trust you with my brother if you don't think anything about framing my love?"
"You forget one thing, Your Majesty. I don't need your permission to bond with your brother. I just need your brother's. Hell, we might not even be mates, but I was willing to bet my mother's life on it." With a cold look at Vohne, she left the room.
Vohne shook his head at her exit. She killed her own mother and still thought she had a chance with Bleine. Unfortunately for her, there were two major flaws in her plan. Bleine's intelligence rated even higher than Vohne's, and he would let himself die before being used by another woman. Secondly, Vohne didn't plan on bringing his brother out of deep freeze until he had a viable candidate. If Niafe thought she could blackmail him into a mating with his brother, she wasn't as smart as he thought.
Vohne sat at his desk for a bit wrapping up some more paperwork before deciding it was time to go check on his lover. Kreslan might get into trouble if left for too long on his own. Hell, he might have already left wherever they had him stashed. Guards or no guards.
Ignoring the soldiers who fell in step behind him, Vohne headed towards where he could feel his mate biding his time.
As he approached, the door guards snapped to attention.
"Has he been behaving?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The other guard nodded.
"Hmm." Vohne opened the door. With a wordless gasp, air burst from his chest as he fell onto the soft carpet, a familiar hard body pressing against him.
"Took you long enough to check on me." Kreslan's hot breath brushed across his ear. "Now that I have you, whatever am I going to do with you, hmmm?"
"Problem, Your Highness?" one of the soldier's asked. He could hear the amusement in the other man's voice.
"Nothing I can't handle."
With a quick flick of muscles, he flipped over on his back, spun around and pinned his laughing mate to the carpet.
"What are you going to do now?" he teased.
Kreslan relaxed completely beneath his hold, his eyes sparkling with laughter.
"I guess I'll have to give in to your obvious superiority," he said, rubbing his body against Vohne's like a cat in heat.
Vohne looked up to the men in the doorway. "Leave us."
With knowing chuckles, the guard left closing the door gently behind them.
Kreslan moved beneath Vohne, his body hot, hard, and delicious—perfect.
"Mmm." Vohne leaned down to taste his lover. Kreslan turned his head.
Vohne growled. "What is that for?"
A smirk crossed his mate's lips. "You think because you have me trapped, I'm just going to give it up."
"You're not?"
"Nope." Kreslan licked his lips, taunting Vohne with their slickness. "Like all good things, you need to fight for what you want."
Vohne had foolishly relaxed against his lover during their chat. Before he knew it, Kreslan had flipped him onto his back, sliding on top and pinning him to the floor by his wrists.
"Gotcha," his victorious mate announced.
Vohne couldn't hold back his grin. "I guess I'm just a prisoner to your whims."
Kreslan frowned at him suspiciously. "I fell into your trap, didn't I?"
"Never try to outstrategize a king, my love."
Sighing, his mate gave him a hot, hard kiss. "I guess I'll just have to fuck you until you can't be so sneaky."
"Good plan," Vohne agreed. Of course he didn't tell his mate he would agree to about anything if it involved his hard, muscular body naked and against Vohne. No need to give the man the total advantage. He knew from experience the difficulty in resisting his mate's charms during a disagreement. Luckily, this one time they were in perfect accord. "I don't suppose we can move this to the couch so I don't get rug burns?"
Kreslan smiled. "Nope. It will remind you later about the dangers of trying to outsmart your mate."
Vohne laughed. "Yep, that will teach me."
* * * *
Kres dipped his head to taste the flavor of his lover. Just as he was enjoying the feel of his hot mate beneath him, a blaring alarm ripped through their warm cocoon.
Before he could figure out where the alarm came from, Vohne quickly rolled them until the Thresl was on top. He jumped to his feet and offered Kres his hand.
"What's going on?"
"That bitch must've tripped the thawer. She's going to try and bring back my brother before I can warn him."
"What bitch?"
"Niafe. She came to me earlier and confessed to killing her mother. Tried to tell me she was doing you a favor, building up your reputation."
"I'm not sure that's a reputation I want to have."
Vohne wrapped a hand around Kres's arm, pulling him towards the door. "We've got to stop her. Bleine will be disorientated when he first comes back. He might not be able to see through her bullshit. Here."
Kres instinctively grabbed the handle of the dagger his lover handed to him. "What's this?"
"To replace your lost one."
"Aw, that's sweet. Most men bring flowers."
Vohne gave a bark of laughter. "Let's go before my brother is taken advantage of."
Kres walked fast to keep up with his lover. "But won't he be… um… be unable to perform? I mean if my danglies get frozen they aren't going to work."
Laughing, Vohne gave Kres a quick kiss on the cheek as they walked, proving the man had amazing coordination. "Thresls have amazing recuperative powers."
"I have noticed that." Kres hurried to keep up with his mate as the stronger man yanked him along.
Ripping open the door, Vohne glared at the soldiers. "Why are you still here? Niafe is after my brother. I want her stopped before my brother gains consciousness."
The guards ran down the hall.
"Idiots," Vohne muttered.
He still didn't let go of Kres as they followed the soldiers.
"Why aren't we running?"
"Kings don't run."
"Really?"
"Unless our mates are involved." Vohne flashed him a hot smile. "I'd run anywhere for you."
After what felt like an endless stream of hallways, they reached a point where a dozen soldiers stood outside a metal door.
"What's going on?"
Kres's hormones stood at attention at the forceful tone of his lover. Hot images of his lover using that commanding voice in the bedroom made him harder than the solid door before him. Pulling his shirt down farther, he futilely tried to hide his erection. Luckily all eyes were on Vohne and ignoring Kres for the moment.
Nelrin came forward, bowing low before the king. "She's locked the door, overriding the security measures."
Kres's blood ran cold. If she blocked them long enough, she could thaw out Vohne's brother and cause all kinds of trouble.
He couldn't let her get to Bleine. His mate loved his brother, and it would break Vohne's heart if Bleine re-mated with this scheming bitch.
No one was allowed to upset his mate!
Kres scanned the doorframe, the electronic panel catching his eye. "Can't you override the system?"
; Vohne shook his head. "Security has changed since I was here last. They didn't even have electric locks."
"Huh."
Kres walked up to the security panel and plunged his knife into the interface with all his might. A popping noise sounded, followed by the smell of burnt electronics polluting the air, and the doors slid apart.
Vohne flashed him a look of admiration. "Good thinking."
Kres shrugged. "Sometimes the direct approach is best."
The guards rushed in ahead of them. A moment later the sounds of a struggle and shouting reached their ears.
Yanking his knife out of the wall, Kres retained hold of his mate as they entered the room. It was eerie as fuck to see walls of people hanging from tubes filled with blue goo. "Who are all these people?" His voice was barely a whisper, he didn't want Niafe to hear him, and truthfully, the room creeped him out. He nervously gripped the knife tighter as they approached.
"Most of them lost their mate or have severe illness or injury and are waiting to be cured. Some will be here for a brief while, others centuries."
Chills prickled Kres's skin as he moved with Vohne through the room. Several tubes hung from hooks in the middle of the room like something out of a horror movie. "It's still disturbing."
Vohne gave a soft laugh. Kres hoped there never came a time where Vohne needed to be cryogenically frozen because he didn't know if he could do it.
"I demand to see the king!" Niafe's shrieking voice echoed through the chamber.
"I believe that's our cue." Vohne yanked free of Kres's hold and walked quickly towards the sound.
"Shit." Kres rushed after him, determined to protect his mate against himself in necessary.
He skidded to a halt when they reached the area where Niafe stood, held between two guards beside Bleine's frozen tube.
"Why are you doing this?" she asked Vohne. Kres had to give her credit. With her attitude, she made the guards seem more like accessories than the people who held her captive. Despite being a psycho, the girl had style.
"You've admitted to murdering your mother and framing my mate. Now you think I'm going to let you bond with my brother?"
"I deserve this!" For the first time, Kres saw cracks in her composure. "I deserve to be queen." Madness lived in her eyes.