by Jana Downs
His mother reached out and tried to take his hand. “Sweetheart, your doctors say you’ve stopped responding to treatment.” He drew it back and tucked it into his lap, staring down at the table between them. His parents exchanged a look of pain, and Corrin couldn’t help the spark of resentment as he saw it. Did they expect him to be happy? Did they even know what the hell went on here?
Corrin felt dead as he spoke. “It’s like being mind-raped over and over, Da.” Marietta covered her mouth, her eyes filling with tears. Corrin nearly growled in disgust. “They come into my mind and change my fantasies. Do you know what it’s like being manipulated by an Anima, Da? It fucking sucks.” He shuddered and continued to stare down at the table between them, the muscle above his right eye twitching. “I feel so fucking filthy.” He looked up into his mother’s eyes. “I’m so dirty that I’ll never be clean.” He swallowed around the lump in his throat. “I won’t be surprised if Adrian doesn’t want me after this. I wouldn’t want me after this…” He burst into tears, covering his face as his body shook with silent sobs.
Marietta was crying as she reached for him. “Sweetheart, we didn’t know—”
He drew back out of her reach. “Just leave me alone! Goddess, haven’t you done enough? Leave me the fuck alone!”
* * * *
The king drew Marietta away as she started to weep in earnest now. “Come along, sweetheart,” he said, his own countenance stony.
“I can’t stand it anymore. I can’t stand it. We have to get him out of there. He’s withering away. Goddess, my baby…” Marietta sobbed into his hard chest.
“I know, sweetheart. I know,” the king said, rocking her back and forth. “I’ve already gone to the magistrate, and he won’t budge on his decision. He has to go through the last two weeks of the program.”
She looked up at him. “He won’t last another two weeks. I don’t care what you have to do, you have to save our baby!”
Their bodyguards fell onto either side of them as they exited the therapy center and made their way to the carriage. Gael helped the two up into the carriage and then followed them inside. The others would jog beside them on foot.
“I will find a way, Mari. I don’t know how, but I will find a way to get our son out of that place,” the king promised. He didn’t know how he was going to do it, but he would, even if his whole kingdom fell apart afterward. “I’d rather see him with an Unseelie lover than dead inside. I wouldn’t care to have him hate me if he was eventually happy, but…this is stripping his soul. I can’t stand it either. I just don’t know what we’re going to do. As a royal my hands are tied—”
“My lord, I have a solution if you are willing to listen to it,” Gael interrupted.
The Seelie king turned and gave him his full attention. “I’m listening.”
Gael cleared his throat. “I’ve been in contact with the Unseelie Prince Adrian Cadence over the past weeks. I know it was forbidden, but I was afraid that such a thing would happen to Corrin on the inside. He’s always been such a gentle boy, and the program is, uh, vigorous. The dark prince has been trying to penetrate our kingdom for some time with little success. If his lordship could arrange for him to have a brief window to get in, he will get Prince Corrin out of that place.”
“You did this behind my back?” the king asked. He should’ve been angry about it, but instead he felt only relief. Someone had a plan.
Gael bowed as much as he could in the tight confines of the carriage. “Forgive me, my lord. But I care a great deal for your son. I’ve been with him since his birth, and I wanted to have all options open in case such a thing occurred. Adrian cares a great deal for him and is willing to fight for him. I’ve been cautioning him to have patience to prevent out-and-out war, but his patience is wearing thin and it will be violent if I don’t present him with a positive option soon.”
Marietta smiled shakily and took the bodyguard’s shaking hand. “You always understood him better than anyone, Gael. I knew from the first moment you held him that you were the best guard we could ever give him other than Richard.”
“You know if you do this, if you are caught allowing him inside our kingdom, you will be punished for it,” the king said carefully. Gael had to be aware of the possible complications before he jumped into this headlong.
Gael swallowed and nodded. “I’m willing to take the risk, my lord.”
Relief washed over the monarch. “Good. You are a fine warrior, Gael. I wish you luck, and you have my blessing. When this is done, will you act as our emissary to carry our correspondences to and from our boy?”
Gael nodded once more, and King DeMarco shook his hand firmly. Their son was going to be saved.
Chapter Fifteen
Adrian stalked through the forest with a single-minded purpose of retrieving his lover. It was well after two a.m., prime time for the Unseelie Fae but downright ungodly for the Seelies. The reports Gael had been giving the past few weeks had horrified Adrian. He was afraid of the extent of the damage Corrin had suffered. Adrian was fully healed from his ordeal, but his soul was still raw from being pulled from his Seelie lover. His band mates from Desire had come as soon as they’d heard that Adrian’s lover was being held against his will by the Seelie people. Adrian was grateful that he had friends willing to fight for him and his lover.
They broke the tree line as one unit, dressed in black leathers and armed with guns sporting iron bullets. God and goddess help anyone who got in their way tonight. Corrin was leaving this place with them one way or another. Adrian didn’t hope for bloodshed, but he wasn’t above causing carnage to get him out.
On his mark they approached the front door to the rehabilitation clinic. It looked so harmless from the outside, just an ordinary white building with tall Grecian columns gracing the entrance. It was just like any other building in the Seelie court, except for its chilling purpose.
Gael had given them a map of the structure and Corrin’s position in it. It took his drummer all of two seconds to pop the magick on the lock and get them inside. At this late hour, the clinic was empty, and their footsteps echoed on the stone floor. This place felt cold.
“His cell’s coming up on the left,” Adrian cautioned. “It may be guarded because he’s a royal.” But when they got to the painted white door, the hallway was still empty. As Gael had promised, he’d taken care of most of the details, for which Adrian was grateful. There were twenty locks that stretched the entire length of the door going in two-inch increments top to bottom. Adrian unlocked each one, his heart thundering.
“Hurry up, man,” Parker said, clearly uneasy being in this place. He turned the last lock and swung open the door.
Corrin was curled in a fetal position on a small mattress shoved in a corner. He was so pale he was almost translucent, and he’d lost a lot of weight. His long pale locks had been cut short, and Adrian’s heart broke at the sight. Even in the dim light he could see how frail Corrin looked.
He took three determined strides inside and knelt beside the bed. “Wake up, beauty,” Adrian said, gently stroking his lover’s forehead and face. He didn’t want to startle him. Corrin’s pretty green eyes eased open. The circles under them were prominent. His gaze was so mournful that Adrian felt his heart trip in his chest.
“This is sick even for you people,” his beauty whispered, his voice cracking. “Wake me up, you sick fuck. I mean it, Trig, you turn him into something with breasts I’ll rip her apart with my bare hands.”
Adrian raised his eyebrows in confusion. “If I grow breasts suddenly, you and I both are going to have a problem with it.” He chuckled at the image. “Though if truth be told, I’d hope you’d still love me anyway.”
Corrin sat up, nearly banging his head with Adrian’s. “Please, Trig, stop this. Please, goddess, have mercy.” He sobbed quietly. Adrian brought him into the cradle of his arms and let him cry on his shoulder.
“I love you, beautiful. Please don’t cry. You’re breaking my heart,” Adrian begged.
He didn’t know what they did to him, but if he had his way he would burn this place to the damn ground in protest. “Shh, beauty. I’ve got you.”
“Please tell me you’re real. Please. I can’t think anymore. I don’t know what’s real and what’s not.” Corrin sobbed, clutching him like he’d never let his lover go. Adrian probed gently at his mind only to find it ravaged by an Anima. The touch was more identifying than a fingerprint, and when he found the butcher who had torn his love’s mind apart in hopes of “curing” him, he was going to kill him.
“Give me a blade,” he said over his shoulder. Without hesitation, Davy handed him over a short knife. Corrin whimpered and drew back in fear. Adrian brought the knife to his neck where his throat column met his shoulder. He nicked his skin without hesitation, and he felt the blood well up. He knew the instant the smell of his blood hit Corrin’s nose. His eyes flared, and he licked his bottom lip, eyeing the wound.
“Take from me, beauty,” Adrian commanded. Still, his lover hesitated, as if he were still wary of Adrian’s presence. “You still wear my token, Corrin. You are my submissive. Do as I command.”
“They couldn’t get them off,” Corrin said quietly, moving a bit closer to the tempting smell. “The magick you infused in the hoops can’t be removed by anyone but you. That’s what they told me.”
Adrian nodded. “That’s right, lover. No one can take you away from me. Now who is your Master?”
“You are,” Corrin said instantly, coming into his arms and wrapping his legs around his waist.
“That’s right. Now do as your Master commands.”
Corrin wrapped his arms around his neck and brought his mouth down to the wound.
“Perfect,” Corrin thought. “I’m actually awake. Thank goddess.”
Adrian’s mental chuckle filled his mind. “Good boy. Are you all right?”
“I feel better already. Why is that?”
Adrian held him close. “It is because I’m reaffirming our bond. Grounding you, so to speak, and taking away some of the damage that butcher of a therapist inflicted.”
“How long have I been here?” Corrin asked.
“Around four weeks.” His friends shifted restlessly. They needed to go. “Hurry and finish, beauty. We’ll talk more when we get somewhere safe. We have to get out of here.”
Corrin sealed his lips more firmly over the wound and began to suck in earnest.
“Can we move as he drinks?” Jamie asked, darting a nervous look at the door. “We don’t know how long Gael can keep them busy.”
“You’re right,” Adrian said, standing and taking Corrin with him. “I’ll carry him. Let’s go.”
* * * *
They reached the edge of the kingdom without incident, piling into their parked hummer as soon as they crossed the border. Corrin had fallen asleep at some point during the five-mile hike out of the kingdom. The sounds of pursuits had been far enough away that none of them worried, but they were all equally as relieved when they made it to the car. Adrian was a sweaty mess, but he would survive. He was just happy that he had Corrin with him again.
“He’s as beautiful as I remember,” Parker said, sliding behind the wheel and starting the engine. Davy got on the passenger side with his weapon out, just in case. Jamie and Chris were in the first section of the back seats by the door, and Corrin and Adrian lay down in the very back. Corrin was cuddled to Adrian’s chest in a dead sleep, his mouth halfway open and looking adorable.
“Of course he’s beautiful,” Adrian said, gazing down on his lover in adoration. “Step on it, Parker. I want to get as far away from North Carolina as possible by daybreak.”
* * * *
When Corrin opened his eyes, he was in an unfamiliar place. He stared up into a purple-cloth ceiling. At first his stomach fell at the thought he was in another “therapy” session, but then memory from the night before came crashing in, and he smiled for the first time in weeks. He struggled to sit up and get a better look at his surroundings.
He was in a king-sized canopied bed that had matching privacy curtains that were tied open. The purple comforter was soft cotton, and he resisted the urge to snuggle deeper into the satin sheets. Everything in this place was about comfort. The pillows were fluffed to absolute perfection, and he lay back against them once more and inhaled the spicy scent of Adrian. He had to be in his lover’s bedroom.
A voice to his right drew his attention. “Good evening, beauty.”
His eyes popped back open, and he met the blue eyes of his Master. “Evening. How long have I been out?” He realized he was naked as he sat up again and the sheet slipped. His lover gave him a look that said he looked edible.
Adrian winked. “Give or take around eighteen hours. We got back to New York around two hours ago. You didn’t stir through the whole trip.” Adrian pushed up from the chair he was sitting in and crossed the last remaining feet before sliding into bed beside him fully dressed. Corrin went to him, clutching him like he was a life preserver. “I was so scared I’d lost you,” Adrian admitted, hugging him back equally as hard.
Corrin shook his head. “You’ll never lose me, Adrian. Like you said, I belong to you. The best Seelie magicians at court couldn’t get your tokens out of me without tearing them from my body, and no amount of mind-fucking could get you out of my head.”
“Gael told me you were ready to leave with me,” Adrian whispered, kissing the top of Corrin’s head.
“Yes,” Corrin said. “I realized when they dragged me before the magistrate how wrong the whole system was. The most freeing thing was the fact that I realized that I no longer fit and had never really fit into the Seelie life. I was ready to leave with you that second, but my father pitched a fit. The magistrate sent me to rehab to try and ‘cure’ me. The things they did to my mind…Adrian, I’d understand if you don’t want to be with me anymore.”
“Don’t even think that,” Adrian commanded, pressing his fingers to Corrin’s lips to stop the flow of words. “What they did to you didn’t dirty you in any way. They’re the ones who are tainted by their actions, not you. I love you, Corrin, and nothing will change that.”
His chest tightened at the absolute certainty in his Master’s voice. “Thank you, Master. I was so afraid you’d be angry with me.”
“Never, beauty, never,” Adrian swore, tilting his lover’s chin and kissing him soundly.
Corrin broke it with a whisper. “I need you. Please, Master, I need you to love me.”
“Whatever you need, beauty. I will give it to you in spades.”
They made love slowly, and Corrin was amazed at how perfect and right everything felt with Adrian. Adrian carefully prepared him, using the slick he’d gotten out of the side drawer to work open Corrin’s passage and ready him for his invasion.
“I love you, Corrin,” Adrian murmured, kissing his way down the Seelie’s chest. Corrin shivered. He loved his Master with everything he was.
“May I ride you?” Corrin asked as Adrian drew back to spread the lube on his own cock.
Adrian smiled at him and winked. “If that’s what my beauty wants.” He rolled to his back and Corrin put his leg over his lover’s hips. It took some maneuvering but he finally managed to sink down on Adrian’s thick cock, and as he was fully seated, Corrin groaned. This was where he belonged.
Corrin bounced up and down on his Master, working his hips in a desperate way that left them both gasping.
“Master!” Corrin cried, the feeling so intense he squeezed his eyes shut. Adrian gave him a firm pop on the ass to get his attention.
“Look at me, boy,” Adrian rumbled. “You belong to me.”
“Yes, Master. Only yours, Master. Ah!” Without warning, his body jerked and he began to spill himself over Adrian’s chest and stomach.
Adrian chuckled. “Tsk tsk, naughty sub came without permission. I’ll make you pay for that later. Ride me hard, beauty. Let me finish inside you.”
Corrin couldn’t help but obey. He groaned as his
already-spent body was forced into higher planes of pleasure, and his Master’s voice became a lifeline which he held onto with both hands to keep sane.
A few seconds later, his Master joined him in bliss. With a sharp bark of warning and a hard arch of his hips, Adrian emptied himself into the tight depths of Corrin’s ass.
They lay panting together afterward, neither really caring about the mess they’d made.
“We’re going to be together forever, aren’t we?” Corrin asked, kissing Adrian’s cheek and looking at him with sleepy eyes.
Adrian nodded, stretching. “Yes we are, Corrin. We’re going to be together forever. As soon as we manage to drag ourselves out of bed, I’m going to contact my king and arrange for our bonding ceremony. If you want, I’ll turn you into a Vampire class like me, but there isn’t any rush. We’ve got all the time in the world.”
“Sounds good,” Corrin said. His Master would handle things on that front. He wanted to have some time to just be Corrin for a while and not have to worry about any responsibilities.
“Everything will work out, beautiful. I promise.”
Corrin believed him. Despite the fact that he’d just slept eighteen hours, he felt his eyes grow heavy. He felt safe with Adrian, and it wasn’t long before he started to drift. His last thought before he went into dreamland was about how good it felt to be held by his lover at last.
Epilogue
Eighteen Months Later
“It is my pleasure to introduce you to our new bonded couple Adrian Cadence and Corrin Cadence,” Parker said from the podium as the happy couple came through the entrance to their reception hall at the king of the Unseelie’s chapel, St. Augustine. The couple was dressed in fitted tuxedos, Adrian in black and Corrin in white with matching bloodred accents. Their rings, part of Corrin’s insistence on human tradition, were also matching, both platinum bands with emerald stones subtly inlaid.