by Kell Amber
Silvan sighed against Cebrus’s mouth, and his big hands wrapped around Cebrus’s back, pulling him closer. Cebrus rubbed against the prince, relishing the hard length against his own.
“You will look perfect in my bed,” Silvan murmured.
Cebrus laughed. “Does that usually work?”
“What?”
“Saying things like that.”
A flush rose on Silvan’s cheeks. “Yes, it does.”
“Hmm. You might want to save your breath for more important things,” Cebrus said.
“I’ll take that under advisement.” The prince grinned.
“Prince Silvan!” A page ran toward them, his breath coming in gasps.
Cebrus resisted the urge to throw something at the kid. He didn’t appreciate having their moment interrupted.
“What’s wrong, Toby?”
“A chimera is attacking the north village,” he shouted.
“To arms,” Silvan commanded. He kissed Cebrus hard, before gently pushing him away to follow the page down the hall. The sound of dozens of feet echoed throughout the castle.
Cebrus thumped his forehead against the stone. It only took him a few minutes to decide to follow. After all, he’d never seen a real chimera. He’d heard of the dangerous beasts before, but the creature formed by a combination of a lion, a serpent, and a goat, which could breathe fire, would be interesting to see. That was part of the joy of travel, getting to see new things even if they were a bit dangerous.
He turned to walk down the hall and follow the others when two knights approached and blocked his way.
“Is there a problem?” he asked mildly.
“Prince Silvan asked us to watch over you,” the guard on the left said.
“Great. You can watch me while I go see a chimera,” Cebrus said. They could watch while walking just as well as if he stood still for them to stare at. “It’ll be much more interesting than standing here. Don’t you want to see a chimera?”
Cebrus waited for a moment as the guards struggled to decide their next move. Legally, they couldn’t physically restrain a wandmaker, and magic wouldn’t work on Cebrus. He gave the closest guard a sympathetic pat on the shoulder before walking between them and going into the direction he'd seen Silvan run.
He’d heard of chimeras his entire life, but he’d never seen one before and he had no idea they were even in this part of the world. His parents used to read him bedtime stories about heroes fighting these monsters. Instead of fearful, Cebrus had always been fascinated. Excitement thrummed through Cebrus’ s body. He loved learning more about fantastical creatures.
“Did you hear where the chimera is at?” he asked the guard, eager to be on his way.
“A mile from the castle, we’ll take you in the carriage.”
Cebrus didn’t argue as they bundled him into the death trap and got him on his way. At least they didn’t try to stop him. He repeated this mantra as wood bit into his fingers where he clutched the carriage handles in a tight grip. At least he wasn’t riding. In a carriage, despite its jolting and jumping, he was far removed from the rabid steeds.
Finally, when every one of Cebrus’s bones had been shaken apart, the carriage pulled to a halt. The door to the vehicle opened, and the driver held out a hand. Cebrus accepted the assistance, wishing he were back on the road walking everywhere. He never felt like he’d been spun in a whirlwind when traveling on his own two feet. He preferred the solid ground beneath the soles of his shoes, despite the slowness of his journey.
Glancing around, he saw no signs of the soldiers or Silvan. He almost asked where the damned beast could be when a loud roar had him walking around the carriage to see what could make that much noise.
“Oh my gods and goddesses,” Cebrus whispered as he caught sight of the creature. Maybe he’d been wrong, maybe he didn’t need to see this creature at all.
Before his shocked gaze, the chimera’s snake tail snapped at one of the knights, causing the man to stumble back and tumble down a low hill. Damn, he hoped the knight would be all right.
Cebrus scanned the group of fighters. There had to be at least a dozen knights surrounding the beast. The chimera stood twice the height of the carriage Cebrus had just exited. Its entire body was covered with the fur of a goat and the shape of one, too. Every few minutes, it would turn its head and blast out a burst of flame, causing the knights to jump back to avoid the fire.
His outing to see the beast went from amusing to horrifying. Cebrus’s hands shook as he watched Silvan step forward and confront the chimera with his sword.
“Where in the fifteen hells is his wand?” Cebrus growled. He kept his tone soft. He didn’t wish to draw attention to himself and distract the prince.
“He doesn’t have one,” a deep voice answered beside him.
Cebrus pulled his attention away from the battle to confront the guard. “What do you mean?”
“He doesn’t like them. He says he’s never had a wand that suited him. He’d rather do without than try to use a bad one.”
Cebrus returned his attention to the battle. Before Cebrus’s horrified gaze, the chimera released a burst of flame out of its snake tail and incinerated a knight. He hadn’t raised his shield in time, and the screams carried over to where Cebrus stood.
The smell of charred flesh filled the wind. Cebrus swallowed repeatedly so he wouldn’t purge his stomach of the bit of food he’d eaten earlier. Although he’d seen battles before, he’d never witnessed anyone being burned alive. It was with no little satisfaction that he watched Silvan slice off the snake tail with his sword.
Make him a wand.
A soft female voice whispered in Cebrus’s mind. He spun around, but didn’t see anyone. Weird. Shaking his head, Cebrus turned his attention back to the battle. His entire body tensed when the chimera spit a fireball at Silvan. He bit his lip and resisted the urge to scream. Distracting Silvan right then wouldn’t be a good idea.
“What are you making?”
The guard’s voice snapped him out of his trance. Looking down, Cebrus saw he held the dark wood stick he’d picked up a few days ago in his left hand and his whittling knife in his right. He had no recollection of choosing those two items from his pack. His craving to help Silvan had overcome his common sense.
“A wand.” He might not remember picking this up, but he knew what do to with them. Sometimes wandmaking had a magic all its own. Good thing he’d still been carrying his pack when he came to the battle.
“If you’re making that for the prince, you’d best hurry,” the guard advised.
Cebrus jerked his attention back to the fight. The lion part of the chimera was snapping at Silvan as if he were a juicy steak ready to be devoured. The loss of its snake didn’t seem to be affecting it too much. Especially when its goat head spat a fireball at an encroaching knight.
At least this knight had the sense to raise his shield in time. Cebrus let out a sigh of relief as the flames fizzled out. His knife flew as he concentrated on forming the perfect wand for Silvan. He brought to his mind the qualities he knew of Silvan—bravery, strength, and determination, powers he could infuse into the wand. Silvan’s magic could fill in the empty spots to finish it off.
As soon as the stick reached wand potential, Cebrus shoved his knife back in his pack, then took off down the hill. He cursed when his foot slid on a rock and almost had him tumbling the rest of the way. Luckily, the chimera didn’t turn from its contemplation of the knights to see the idiot skidding down the hill. Cebrus heard the guards running behind him and sped up. If they caught him before he reached Silvan, the prince wouldn’t survive the battle.
“Cebrus, watch out,” Silvan shouted, tearing his gaze from the monster.
Working on instinct, Cebrus tucked and rolled. The whoosh of air over his head told him he’d just avoided something attacking him.
One of the soldiers grabbed Cebrus’s wrist and yanked him behind Silvan before retreating behind a boulder.
“Stay there
!” the prince ordered.
“Here, hold this,” Cebrus held out the wand in front of Silvan so he could see it without looking away from the chimera.
“With what hand?” Silvan snapped waving his sword and shield. They were tucked against a hill with Silvan protecting them both with his shield.
“Drop the sword.”
“No way. It’ll get us killed,” Silvan protested.
“Trust me.” They wouldn’t get out of there alive if Silvan didn’t listen. “It can help you save us.”
Silvan spared Cebrus a quick look. He must’ve believed what he saw there because he dropped his sword and snatched up the wand Cebrus held out.
Cebrus quickly reached around the prince’s body and wrapped his right hand around Silvan’s hand and his left arm around Silvan’s waist to support him. Some magic users didn’t know proper bracing when using their power, and he hadn’t seen Silvan use any magic before.
“Keep us protected while I bind you to the wand,” he shouted over the chimera’s screams.
Silvan didn’t reply, but he raised his shield higher and blocked another fireball. A shout from their left indicated someone else hadn’t been so fortunate.
Since Silvan didn’t have a wand before, at least Cebrus didn’t have to worry about transference using up valuable minutes. Closing his eyes, Cebrus hunkered down behind Silvan and pushed Silvan’s energy into the wooden stick. Power sizzled through his body, and Silvan’s gasp sounded loud in Cebrus’s ears. He hoped he hadn’t hurt the prince. To do a new blank wand in the middle of a battlefield tested even Cebrus’s skill.
He opened his eyes only to be momentarily blinded by a flash of light off of Silvan’s wand. Cebrus’s vision went white for a second, then he couldn’t see anything except spots dancing before his eyes. Such a strong reaction had never happened before when he’d bonded someone.
“Wow, I can feel my magic.” Silvan’s wonder-filled voice broke into Cebrus’s muddled thoughts. “Stay back so I can kill this beast.”
Cebrus nodded. He released his hold on Silvan and huddled closer to the rocks.
What had he been thinking when he insisted on seeing the chimera? He could’ve gotten killed or, worse, distracted Silvan while in the middle of a battle. Cebrus silently berated himself. One of these days, he’d learn to think before he acted.
A loud explosion sounded above him. Cebrus watched in amazement as an enormous boulder levitated up from the top of the hill. The big rock floated over the beast. Spotting the danger, the chimera spit a fireball at it with no effect. Without another sound, the stone dropped on top of the chimera, squashing it like a bug beneath a soldier’s boot. The beast gave a giant squeal like a stabbed pig. Lion claws scrabbled for purchase for a minute or two before it lay still.
Complete silence filled the area. No sounds of battle or chimera screams pierced the sudden quiet.
“Is it dead?” Cebrus whispered, not wanting to interrupt the solemnity of the moment. He’d hoped to see the fantastical creature, but he’d quickly lost his awe when the chimera tried to kill Silvan. In the future, he’d keep his interest in them to books and drawings with the occasional story thrown in.
He stayed behind Silvan as the prince approached the beast to verify its demise. When they rounded the boulder, they discovered the eyes of both the goat and lion heads had glazed over from death.
“We’re well rid of that beast,” Silvan declared.
Cebrus nodded. But even as he agreed, he felt a stab of regret. Chimeras were interesting animals, a combination of three beasts in one creature. Too bad they were lethal and appeared to be untamable. Something that dangerous couldn’t be allowed to wreak chaos around the countryside.
Unable to resist, Cebrus petted the lion head. “Go in peace,” he whispered.
He didn’t realize tears tracked down his cheeks until Silvan wiped the drops from his face.
“Shh, it’s all right. It had to die,” Silvan soothed.
“I know.” Cebrus sniffled back more tears. “I just hate to take a life.”
“You didn’t kill it. I did. You helped keep me alive,” Silvan insisted.
Cebrus had stopped listening once Silvan began kissing Cebrus’s cheeks, then his mouth. A sizzling line of fire burned down Cebrus’s spine as he battled Silvan’s tongue with his own. Their brief battle for dominance ended with Cebrus giving in and allowing Silvan to take charge. Silvan dropped his shield to the ground with a thud as he abandoned his gear to get a better grip on Cebrus.
“Oh,” Cebrus gasped against the prince’s lips as Silvan wrapped his muscular arms around him and yanked him closer. He lost sense of time and place as he returned Silvan’s kisses. He snuggled into the prince’s embrace until the sound of a throat clearing behind him snapped him out of his happy daze.
They broke apart, and Cebrus turned to face the interloper. Why couldn’t they be left alone to kiss a bit longer? It had been too long since he’d last had sex, and with a willing man before him, he didn’t appreciate the interruption.
A guard stood with his hands on his hips and a scowl on his handsome features. “Did you want me to take care of the body, Your Highness?”
Cebrus glanced back to see Silvan still had his eyes focused on Cebrus. He couldn’t hold back a smile. Despite the guard’s annoyance, Cebrus still had the prince’s complete attention. He could get used to that.
Silvan rubbed Cebrus’s back touching him all over, still not turning toward the guard. “Yes, take care of the body, Jerril. We don’t want people tearing it apart for trophies. They’ll just make a mess. Burn it and send its spirit to the afterlife.”
"You might want your shield.” Cebrus nodded to the abandoned piece of armor.
“Jerril, bring my sword and shield when you’re done with the chimera,” Silvan ordered before placing a kiss on Cebrus’s cheek.
Cebrus glanced over his shoulder at Jerril to find the soldier glaring at him. If looks could kill, he would’ve burned up quicker than a knight in the center of a chimera flame.
The prince led him away from Jerril, only to stop in front of Cebrus’s guards. “You two are on rat-catching duty for the next week.”
“Silvan!” Cebrus protested.
“No!” The prince’s eyes flashed with ire. “They need to learn that when I tell them to watch out for you, they are not to let you almost get killed by a chimera. You’re the most important person in the kingdom to me, and you could’ve died.”
“B-but we just met,” Cebrus protested. Surely the prince didn’t think they were mates. A mating took days, weeks, occasionally years. The prince couldn’t be certain of their bond in one afternoon after only a few kisses. A proper mating required sex.
Silvan held up his wand. “You bonded us. You will be my mate. If you didn’t want me, you shouldn’t have laid your claim.”
Cebrus opened his mouth to argue, but paused as he examined the wand. The handle had a gold emblem on it, signifying a fated pairing. Cebrus closed his eyes and used his inner eye. A cool blue and gold glow surrounded the wand. Both Cebrus’s and Silvan’s magic were intertwined across the surface. His magic had recognized Silvan; he couldn’t deny him now. He hadn’t expected this. Now he’d have to let Silvan come on his quest.
“Oh, blast,” he cursed softly. “That doesn’t necessarily mean I’m your other half.” Even as he said the words, he knew Silvan wouldn’t accept them. The prince had already decided they belonged together before Cebrus had created his wand. There would be no easy way to back out.
Silvan’s heated gaze seared Cebrus to his soles. “Trust me, you are mine.”
Cebrus sighed. “This is why I avoid royals. You’re all too possessive.”
“That’s a good reason you should avoid all other royals except me,” Silvan agreed.
“Despite what you might think, Your Highness, I’m still leaving at the end of the week to continue my quest,” Cebrus said. He had to stay strong. Silvan could easily coax Cebrus to give up everything to rema
in by his side and abandon his dreams. They might be mates, but Cebrus could always come back after he finished his quest. They didn’t have to be pinned together at the hips.
“Good, the sooner you find what you’re looking for, the quicker you can come back and take your place by my side.” Silvan nodded as if everything was going exactly how he had planned it.
Cebrus almost hated to ruin the prince’s day.
Almost.
Chapter Three
Silvan kept a hand on Cebrus’s back as he rushed him into the castle. He nodded to people who came to speak, but didn’t pause to talk. No way would he lose this opportunity. If he gave Cebrus a chance, the man would come up with a quick excuse to ditch him. The wandmaker had that jumpy wild-eyed look like an untamed horse ready to bolt. Silvan refused to leave the stable door open.
They were bound together by magic, but Silvan could tell if it were possible Cebrus would be the one person to figure out a loophole and escape. Silvan had no wish to be unbound. In fact, if he could find a way to be tied tighter to his beautiful wandmaker, he’d be even happier.
He opened the door to his room, then pushed Cebrus through the doorway, not giving him a chance to back out. Now wasn’t the time for subtlety. He needed to cement their connection before Cebrus wiggled away.
Slamming the door shut behind them, he eyed Cebrus. “Strip. I need to claim you properly,” he demanded.
A smile curved Cebrus’s lips. “And what makes you think I want to be claimed?”
“Baby, you’ve been traipsing around the country dying to be snatched. I’m just the lucky bastard who got to you first, and I’m going to keep you.” He might as well make sure Cebrus knew his intentions. The wandmaker didn’t appear to take him seriously enough.
Cebrus laughed. “You’d be surprised at the number of offers I’ve turned down.”