by K. A Knight
No, it can’t be him.
He’s indestructible.
No one can kill the Seeker King.
The ten steps it takes to get down to where her guards are blocking someone on the floor, only his feet visible, are the longest of my life. My heart is in my throat and bile claws at me as I repeat his name in my head like a mantra, trying to tell myself I’m wrong, but I have a bad feeling. A really bad fucking feeling.
When we stand in front of the guards, I nearly throw up, but I hold it down as they step aside to show me the man face down on the floor in a puddle of his own blood, my own icy and frozen in my veins.
It’s not him.
I have never been so happy to see a dead body before, but I don’t let that relief show knowing she is scrutinising my face for any hints of recognition. When she doesn’t find what she wants, she almost snarls but holds it in. “We thought he might be one of yours.”
“Sorry to disappoint.” I shrug.
She steps closer then. “And how did you find your other man?” she questions, her voice low and not carrying.
“Secrets, Regina, are what the Cities runs on. You should know that. If you haven’t decided yet, maybe we should let you. The clock is ticking after all. If I’m not back with my armies tomorrow, they will attack. Tick tock,” I call, before turning and leaving, heading for the elevator. She wanted time, she wanted to wound me, and she was getting too close to the truth. Hopefully reminding her of what is waiting just outside her gates, and being left with no other options, she will agree to my terms.
“You will have your answer in the morning,” she retorts, and I ignore her as I step onto the elevator. When the doors close, a relieved breath hisses through my teeth. Fucking hell, I just saw ten years taken of my life right there.
Shit, another night in this snake’s den. At least I have my men to pass the time with.
We are escorted back to our rooms, and just when the door shuts an explosion rocks the building. I rush to the window to see the plume of smoke not two buildings down. Strand and Dray are getting daring. Hopefully, it will put more pressure on Regina and her government.
We are brought dinner and then locked up again. I start to get really frustrated. I’m not one to be locked away with nothing to do. Usually, I’m on the move all the time. Out on the open road of the Wastes, not locked in this gilded prison.
When they get bored with watching me pace, Thorn snags me around the waist and pulls me down on top of him on the sofa, forcing me to cuddle into him as the guys and him talk about everything and anything, including their life before they met me here in the Cities. Having been to the outers, I can understand why they were getting out now.
“Do you have any family here?” I ask out of the blue, and they stop talking to look at me.
“Nope, they are all dead.” Drax shrugs. “Nothing left for us here. We have some old friends, but no one that would risk the wrath of Regina and her lackies.”
That makes me feel better, petty, but true. I guess all we have is each other now. I force myself to relax into Thorn and join in their conversation. My body is still sore from our reunion and Drax must notice me shifting with a wince, because he hops up and disappears. I watch him go with a frown until I hear water running in the bathroom. He comes back a couple of minutes later and offers me his hand. “A hot bath will help,” he says sweetly.
I place my hand in his and let him lead me from the room. Maxen kisses me on the way past and carries on talking to Jax about what he found out there. I know they will let me know anything important, so I leave them to it and let Drax tug me into the bathroom where a bath is nearly half full. I slip out of my clothes, leaving my remaining daggers on the sink, and slip into the warm water as it is still running. He shuts the toilet lid and perches there, swirling his finger in the bathwater before adding some pearlescent liquid. My eyes widen when the bath begins to froth up and he laughs. I grin and lean back, unashamed to be naked. He looks his fill, but keeps his hands to himself and lets us lapse into silence as I float in warm water. He was right, it relaxes my muscles and I do feel better, but it also makes me think of Dray.
It was a close call today. I never knew I could feel fear like that, but Dray has always seemed so indestructible, yet faced with his death, I was a fucking mess and now sitting in the bath, the thing we always do together, I find myself aching for his arms just to know he is okay. Drax must sense that, because he kneels next to the bath and grabs my leg, starting to massage in the soap all the way from toe to hip before doing the other, his arms getting wet as he leans over me. The caring and soft way he is looking after me brings tears to my eyes, which I blink away and let him work me until I’m putty. He even washes my hair and shaves my legs for me. And when he’s done, I do feel better, refreshed and ready to take them on again. He pulls me from the tub and drains it. While I dry off, he heads out into the room. I finger comb my hair before throwing it back wet, and I’m just about to leave when he comes in with a shirt for me to wear.
“I’ll wash your clothes. Go and sit with my brother, won’t you?” He kisses me on the cheek and I grin as I slip into his shirt, noting he’s now shirtless. Cheeky bastard. I check out his muscles, but leave the bathroom when he spanks me with my jeans, making me laugh and go in search of his brother, who is sitting alone on the sofa, watching Thorn and Maxen arm wrestle over the coffee table. When he sees me coming, his eyes light up and he moves over.
I recline next to him, cuddling into his side, and he draws me closer, so I throw my legs over his and curl into his side, leaning my head there as I watch Maxen and Thorn. Jax leans down and kisses my head softly, sighing in happiness, content to lapse into silence as long as I am with him.
Eventually, Drax joins us, cuddling into my other side and we take turns arm wrestling, they all beat me, not bothering to let me win. We laugh, we talk, and I feel happy again. Like a weight has been lifted with them by my side, but what I told Regina is true, the clock is ticking, and I can feel each move of the hand.
With the countdown on, it splits my attention and I realise that it’s always like this. We are always waiting for something to happen or we are on the move, fighting something, making our snatched moments meaning so much more…but I can’t wait to not have to snatch moments one day. For the rest of my life to be like this, filled with my men, happiness, and family, but I can’t help but feel it would be better out in the sands instead of this pretty prison…I never believed in fairy tales, but these guys have me believing. Too bad the fairy tales always turned sad before the characters live happy ever after.
We are brought more food for tea. I’ve never been fed so well. Regina is clearly taking the time to show off if the spread of the buffet is to suggest anything. There is enough here to feed an army. As a person who has felt hunger before, who had to watch like a dog at a man’s feet, waiting for scraps, it annoys me. Especially when I think about all those mouths who need feeding in the outers. I try not to waste any, but after eating a whole roast pig, some form of potatoes and veg, and yes, even chocolate, I am beyond full and end up sprawled across the bed. If her plan was to feed us so much and then kill us while we were in a food coma, it would certainly work.
With nothing else to do, we all just lay about on the bed, a tangle of limbs and full stomachs, and eventually I go to sleep. When I wake up, it’s dark out and the room is pitch-black, snores filling the air and limbs holding me down from all angles. I’m a sweaty mess from all the bodies. I groan and roll, slipping from the bed and padding into the kitchenette to grab a glass of water. I’m sipping from it when the floor shakes, and I look out of the window, seeing two more explosions spread across the Cities. At this rate, they will have nothing left.
“You have to give it to that crazy man. He sure knows how to have a party,” Drax mumbles tiredly, and I grin over at him as he yawns and stretches, coming over to peer out of the window with me. He grabs my water and takes a swallow as we see another explosion go off, followed by wha
t looks like blue lights flashing afterwards, heading that way. We watch the lights of the Cities as they respond to the explosions and the darkened sands beyond the wall, calling us home.
“I always thought it was too bright in this place. Watching the stars on the sands with you only hit that home. We came back and saw everything for what it was. Even camping with sand in places there shouldn’t be, sweating our tits off and usually covered in blood, I was happier out there than I ever was in here,” he admits and we share a smile.
“I feel the same, this feels so foreign to me, a world that doesn’t belong anymore. Like people are clinging on to the past. That might make me a savage, but I won’t deny I feel so much more at home out there than I ever could here,” I agree, and he leans against me, both of us looking over the sprawling city below. For some, this would be paradise, people are even fighting over leading it. They can have it for all I care, this isn’t home, just a stepping stone on the way to securing our home.
“Let’s go back to bed, baby.” He kisses my shoulder, grabbing the glass and putting it on the window ledge before leading me be back to the bedroom.
I climb up onto the bed, spotting Thorn awake and watching us in the dark, his skin glistening in the moonlight. Crawling towards him, I stop and lay a kiss on his stomach and then on his lips. He smiles sweetly up at me, cupping my cheek.
“Need help sleeping?” he whispers and I nod, kissing his hand.
He looks behind me then and shares a grin with Drax, who I feel crouched behind us. “You heard her, we need to help her sleep.”
“As she commands,” he teases, his voice loud in the dark room, but Jax and Maxen are still sleeping. It’s just Drax, Thorn, and I.
Thorn pulls me down to him, kissing me sweetly, and sucking on my tongue before pulling back and pecking my lips. Keeping me chasing after him, he massages my lower back which has me groaning in bliss. How did he know it was sore?
“Drax is going to play with that pretty ass, I’m too big to,” he whispers, and I shiver from his words, pressing down harder on his cock, which is rapidly hardening against me. He goes back to kissing me, just massaging my back, neither of them in any hurry. Drax kisses across my shoulders and down my spine as he strokes my legs.
When Drax’s hands finally go to my pussy, I’m wet from all their touching, and the glide of their rough hands on my skin. He kisses above my new tattoos so sweetly that I shiver again and press back into his hands, telling him without words I want him to touch me. He runs a finger down my pussy, while Thorn swallows my encouragements and skim his hands upwards, massaging until he brings them between our bodies and uses that same soft skill on my breasts.
Drax dips two fingers into me, scissoring them before slowly pulling them out and pushing them back in, stretching my pussy as his other hand plays with my clit. Thorn covers my nipples, his hands hard on my breasts as I rock against Drax, my body humming with need again, and I yank my mouth away from Thorn, kissing down his throat.
He twists my nipples, flicking them before moving his hands to my back, running them down until he cups my arse and then he parts my cheeks. “Make sure she is nice and wet,” he whispers to Drax who groans, matching the noise that escapes me when he pulls his wet fingers from my pussy, and slips one in. I push out to let him, the ring of muscles giving way and letting him in, and he slowly fucks me with it before adding another, stretching out my ass for him. He adds a third and I bite down against Thorn’s neck to muffle my yell, pushing back onto his fingers as he plays with my ass.
Thorn holds my cheeks for Drax, his cock still hard between us, and I moan, needing someone in my pussy. Drax must hear my unspoken plea, because he lines his cock up and slips inside, stilling once he is balls deep, letting me stretch around his width before fucking me in time with his fingers in my ass. We find our rhythm, with me pushing back as I nip and suck at Thorn’s skin who is patiently waiting, and when Drax pulls out of my pussy, I bite down hard, punishing Thorn. I need to be filled, and when he pulls his fingers from my ass, I nearly scream in frustration.
“Fuck me,” I demand harshly, and I feel his cock prodding at my ass.
“Let me in babe,” he whispers and I push back, letting him slip into me. He stills before pulling out and slipping in deeper, working through my tight muscles with patience, each thrust getting him further until he is balls deep in my ass, and then he drops a soft kiss on the middle of my back in thanks as Thorn lifts me slightly. Drax helps him until he is at my pussy, his cock thrusting inside roughly, his length and width stretching me to the point of pain, and I writhe between them.
They wait until I stop and then Drax pulls out before thrusting back in, and Thorn copies him. They settle into a maddening rhythm, filling me again and again. I feel full with them, my pussy and ass stretching in the most delicious way, and I have to bite down on Thorn again to muffle my moans.
“Fuck, this is hot, watching you take both of us,” Drax whispers against my sweaty back, his hands gripping my hips and slamming me back into him. Thorn thrusts up, arching off the bed with the power of his movements, and I break my hold on his skin, a moan slipping free when he bumps my cervix.
Together they fuck me hard, each thrust harder than the last, moving faster until I am just held between them, unable to move or speak until finally, it all gets to be too much and I explode. My nails scratch into Thorn’s chest as I bite down to muffle my scream.
Drax follows, biting down on my side to stifle his yell as he stiffens against my ass and comes. Thorn isn’t far behind, thrusting twice more before he stills and grunts, filling me too. I flop back onto Thorn’s chest, completely boneless, and Drax kisses my back again before pulling from my ass. I feel his weight lift from the bed, but don’t bother to look until he comes back and cleans me up before heading back to the bathroom and then joining us on the bed a couple of minutes later. I lift from Thorn, letting his cock slip free, and snuggle into his side, as Drax curls around my back.
“See? Bet you’re tired now,” Thorn teases, and I smack his stomach lightly.
He’s right though, I can already feel my eyes closing. With a smile on my face, I go back to the waiting darkness, ready for whatever tomorrow might bring.
A Politician’s Game
The table is filled with men and Regina when we are brought into the room. It’s so early, sunlight barely streams through the glass windows, however, I had been awake early, ready to leave this place with an answer one way or another. I had been dressed, washed, and ready by sunup.
When we get there, I spot her sitting in my seat at the head of the table, so I grab another chair and pull it to the other end and sit. She narrows her eyes on me, but forces a smile as my men spread out around me and her guards behind her. The divide is clear in the room, the tension high as we all wait for the other to make a move and shatter the silence.
“We have discussed your terms,” she begins, sipping from a mug as she watches me across the table.
I wait, not bothering to speak, and her eyes twitch in displeasure. “As you might have seen, we have been undergoing an attack from inside our own walls, this, plus the fact that I have been persuaded we were in the wrong to come into your lands…we have agreed to your terms,” she states.
“Good, took you long enough,” I taunt, but inside I sigh, thank fuck. I was starting to get worried, maybe this plan will work after all. “You will bring the men responsible for my men’s torture?” I confirm, and she inclines her head, but I spot the harsh grip she has on the mug. I’m betting she was outvoted by this because she doesn’t seem like the type to want to give in, even when faced with odds she couldn’t win against. “They are being brought down to the lobby as we speak. We thought you might want an audience, to show what the people outside these walls are capable of.”
Fuck, she has managed to twist it. It will make us look like the ones who are in the wrong. She smiles, knowing I have come to that conclusion, and it’s my turn to grind my teeth. Shit, I need to th
ink fast.
“Of course, shall we?” I inquire, bluffing, and she scowls but stands.
“Let’s,” she snaps, thinking she has won this round. We all follow her to the elevator, having to split in two to fit as I rack my brain, trying to think of what to do to make this better. If the people of the Cities see me executing men with no explanation, they will rally with Regina and never follow Strand. No, I have to make this look like they are the bad guys, or all of this is for nothing.
The ride down is over quickly, too quickly, and I don’t have a plan. We are led across the lobby like a firing squad and out onto the steps of the building where six men are waiting on their knees, with fear in their eyes and a crowd gathered there waiting for what will happen. I spot our faces being broadcasted and the screens held across the square. Shit, I bet this was her plan and why she was waiting to tell us, she needed time to put this in place.
She steps forward, silencing the crowd with her hand in the air. I search the ranks distractedly, tuning out her speech. Major would know how to twist this, but me? I don’t, who the fuck did I think I was coming here and demanding things? I’m not smart enough and now I’ve been played. This will cause a riot and we will be lucky to escape with our lives, and when we attack with the army and kill them, we will look like the savages she accused us of being. We got played.
“As you can see, we have come to a peace treaty with the Northern people, they have demanded these men in sacrifice, and we have agreed to save our great city—” Motherfucker.
I look to Maxen for help, but he is frowning, his eyes filled with the same conclusion I have come to. Just then, during Regina’s speech, I spot movement in the crowd. People are being pushed out of the way as a man races towards us. I scan his face for hints of familiarity but find none. Who is he? I watch him come, looking towards the guards, but they are distracted trying to contain the outcry from the amassed people with the announcement of the executions to take place, and don’t see him coming.