by Laurie Roma
They had been her guards since she was a youngling, tasked with keeping her safe and out of trouble. Their duty had been to ensure her protection, but they had also given her a sense of independence. They had never gotten upset when she had caused mischief and had dried her tears when she’d been sad. She had told them her secrets and shared her dreams with them. They were her greatest allies and truest friends, but all of that had changed when they had been made commanders of the guard.
Now, they had more important duties than seeing to her safety. She saw them often, but they were usually too busy to speak to her for more than a few minutes in passing. They were the closest friends of her eldest brothers, and their advancement meant they were highly trusted by the kings and queen. Although she was proud of all they had accomplished, she missed spending her days with them by her side.
Selfishly, she couldn’t help feeling like they had abandoned her. She could never admit that to them, and she had to swallow down the anger that made her want to lash out at times. They had been hers, and she resented having to share them.
“Come,” Jasyn ordered, then gestured toward the shop they were standing by.
Liandra noticed that the shopkeeper was holding one of the blades from the table. He dropped it and smiled weakly as she hurried past him. The small shop was empty, but well-lit with several blue light crystals. A male came out of the back as they entered and smiled in greeting.
“We need a moment alone.”
The male bowed his head before quickly disappearing into the back.
Before Jasyn could speak again, she threw herself at him and hugged him around his waist. It was a tactic used to sway his anger, but she had to admit that it was also a shameless excuse to touch him.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
He let out a loud sigh, then his muscular arms wrapped around her, holding her in a gentle embrace that made her heart sigh with love. It had been so long since she had felt so safe. When she was a youngling, he had hugged her often, but he stopped as she had gotten older. She missed the affectionate gestures that had once been so freely given.
Closing her eyes, she breathed in his scent. It felt so right being in his arms, and she wished she could remain pressed against his hard body for the rest of the day. “Please do not be mad at me.”
“Little one, how can I not be mad when you sneak out of the palace unguarded?”
“You followed me.”
Jasyn released her and quickly stepped back so he could look down at her. Had she known he had been watching? He hadn’t thought so when he had observed her dashing from the side entrance of the palace. He’d waved the guards off who had seen her leave. If he hadn’t followed her, they would have. She had been careful, though there was little that escaped his notice when it came to her.
There was rarely a time when he or his brothers didn’t have an eye on her. It didn’t matter that they were no longer in charge of her protection, they would always be close in case she needed them. They had tried to stay away, but they couldn’t stop watching her.
It was like a compulsion in their blood.
Touching Liandra had been a mistake. It made him desperately crave things that he couldn’t have. She was a princess, which meant she could never be his. Yet, in their hearts, she would always belong to him and his brothers. She had been theirs since the day they’d been tasked with watching over her.
When she was a youngling, they had felt great affection for the little female. She had been so filled with life, though a part of her had been afraid to truly experience it. Part of that was due to her being the only Dracor princess. He knew she felt weighed down by the expectations placed on her delicate shoulders, and they had tried to lessen that burden however they could.
Over the last few cycles, their feelings for her had begun to change. She had always been pretty, but she had grown into a true beauty. Braden, Jasyn, and Aeron’s protective instincts had shifted into a possessive hunger they could barely contain. But they couldn’t have her, and knowing that had slowly been driving them insane. It had gotten so bad that he wasn’t sure how they would handle it when she chose a set of kings or princes to mate with.
Actually, he knew exactly what would happen.
The proof of that was how he had reacted when he had seen the prince from the Palace in the Clouds touching her. Rage the likes of which he’d never felt before had filled him. He’d wanted to tear the male to pieces with his claws, and he’d considered beating the other two into bloody pulp for causing that look of fear on her face when they had trapped her between them.
He wanted to kill anyone who dared to touch what belonged to him.
That dangerous thought made him take another step away from her. His hands flexed as he fought the desire to pull her back into his arms since he feared he would never let her go if he did. Trying to sound stern, he said, “You know you should not be outside the palace walls without your guards.”
“I saw other females walking around without escorts.”
“It may look as though they are, but they are still being looked after,” he corrected. Despite the changes going on in the Sands, the warriors would never leave the females unprotected.
“Oh.” She sighed, and her shoulders slumped. “I just wanted to see the festival. They are celebrating my day of birth, and yet, I have not been able to see it! My mother and fathers want me to remain locked inside the palace, and my brothers just kept putting it off.”
“You could have asked us.”
“When would I have done that? I have only seen you and Aeron for a minute or two over the last few days, and I have seen even less of Braden over the last few months.”
He was surprised by the bitterness in her tone, and couldn’t help but hope she had missed seeing them.
“That is because your fathers have been keeping us busy with all their damn guests,” he bit out, irritated that his duties had taken up so much of his time lately. When her lips twitched as if she were fighting a smile, he relaxed again. “You may not have seen us, but we have been close by. We are always around if you need us. How else would I have known you were sneaking out this rising?”
Lust shot through his system when the pink tip of her tongue peeked out as she licked her lower lip. By the gods, she was trying to kill him.
“You were watching me?”
“We will always keep you safe,” he said, avoiding her question.
“I am very glad you were here. I do not know what I did to make those males approach me that way.”
His jaw clenched as anger surged through him again. “It was not your fault. It was mine. I should have never let those damn princes get so close to you.”
Her eyes went wide. “Princes?
“They are the youngest Princes of the Palace in the Clouds.”
“I did not realize we had even invited them. I thought they never leave the mountains.”
“They have not in a very long time. As far as I know, they only interact with the Sun Palace in the Northern Jungle. Both of those royal houses are known to be secretive, and they prefer to keep to themselves. The kings did not come, but their younger brothers, the princes, arrived with a small group of warriors a few hours ago. We assumed they were curious about your brothers and Princess Allie. They should not have come if they are not willing to follow the rules of our city. Stay away from those males,” he warned. “They are still young and do not have the discipline to be around you if they cannot keep their hands to themselves.”
She nodded. “I shall keep my distance if that is how you feel.”
Her quick agreement eased some of his tension. He had only just met the visitors from the Palace in the Clouds, and he didn’t trust them. After their actions, Jasyn wouldn’t risk having Liandra anywhere near them. He wouldn’t apologize for tossing that little shit on his ass either. He didn’t feel any remorse for his actions and would do it again in a heartbeat.
In fact, he wished the kings had also come so he could punish them
for not teaching their younger brothers better manners.
Aeron reached out through their bond and said, “Calm yourself, brother. Word is already spreading about the incident in the marketplace. I do not think they will return to the palace after what happened. They were warned about how they should behave while they were here, and they did not listen. If they do return, we will be ready for them. You need to stay away. You are still too angry to be anywhere near them. If they seek out our kings and bring a charge against you, we need you calm.”
“One of those fuckers touched her.”
“We were connected when it happened,” Aeron growled with the same anger he had felt. “I am surprised you let that fool keep his hands. It is a good thing Braden was not in the market with you when it happened, or he would have ripped their heads off.”
Braden, the biggest badass of their trio, definitely had impulse-control issues when it came to protecting Liandra.
“You know, we could change places. You could return to the palace to wait for the princes while I escort our little princess around.”
His brother’s cheerful suggestion grated on Jasyn’s nerves, so he broke their connection. He knew they should leave the shop, but he didn’t want to end this quiet moment with Liandra just yet. He cleared his throat and reached into the hidden pocket on the inside of his vest.
“While we are here, I might as well give you your gift.”
“You got me something?” Her glowing gold eyes shone bright with happiness. “But my day of birth is not until tomorrow.”
“Perhaps I should not give it to you then.”
She laughed and held out her hands, fingers wiggling. “Now totally works for me.”
He sighed at her use of Princess Allie’s human vernacular. It was becoming more common to hear around the city, but he still wasn’t used to it. Pulling out the bracelet he’d made for her, he held it out. The bracelet looked small in his large palm, but her wrist was slim.
The cuff was slightly smaller than the width of his finger with rounded sides so it wouldn’t cause harm to her delicate skin. He had twisted thin strips of gold, bronze, and silver metal together, then he had hammered it flat and polished it until it gleamed in the soft light inside the shop.
He had embedded several small firestones into the metal. The precious jewels were only found deep in the mountains where the molten lava and intense heat infused the rare gems with their red color. Her gasp of delight made him smile as he fit the cuff around her left wrist.
It fit perfectly just like he knew it would.
Liandra stared down at the bracelet and felt her heart melt. The metal was still warm from the heat of his body, and she felt it seep into her own skin. They usually gave her a gift together, so she didn’t know what to make of this break in tradition. Perhaps they had all worked on it, but it felt like it was something personal from Jasyn alone.
“Oh, Jasyn. It is beautiful.”
“I wish you many blessings on your day of birth, Princess.”
Tears stung her eyes, and she had to stop herself from professing her love for him right then and there. Instead, she wrapped her arms around him again, pressing her face against his chest. “Thank you. I will never take it off.”
He chuckled as he stroked his hands over her back. “I am pleased you like it. As much as I would like to stay here with you, we should give them back their shop.”
Jasyn wanted to curse when her shoulders slumped. He hated seeing her happy luminosity fade, and her glowing gold eyes dim with sadness. He used a finger to lift her chin. “What is it, little one?”
“I do not wish to go back to the palace yet.”
“We are not going back. I will be escorting you through the festival.”
“Really?”
“Aye, really.” Her brilliant smile made him feel like he had conquered a dozen rogues with his bare hands. When her stomach gave an unladylike grumble, he chuckled and gently gripped her arm. “Come, little one. Let us go find you something to eat.”
“I want to try everything.”
He tried not to smile as he said, “I knew you were going to say that.”
CHAPTER THREE
Aeron Mazer leaned against the stone wall as he anxiously waited for Jasyn to escort Liandra back to the palace. He could admit he was jealous of the time his brother had gotten to spend with their little princess, though he couldn’t fault Jasyn for delaying their return for as long as possible.
It had been enough for his brother to share pieces of the day with him through their bond, but he would have loved to experience her pleasure firsthand. Jasyn had patiently guided her through the festival, letting her stop and speak to as many people as she wished. The citizens of Sand City loved her, and a simple smile or word of praise from her had brightened people’s day. They had been starved of her attention, and Aeron wished her fathers and brothers could recognize how important it was for her to have more opportunities to connect with their people.
He knew how they felt since he desperately missed her smiles when he wasn’t around her. The sound of her voice had the power to soothe the ache in his soul, and her touch could ignite the flames of lust within him until he felt as if he would go mad. Still, the discomfort of his unending hunger for her beat the agony he felt whenever he couldn’t see her. They’d had to settle for watching her from a distance since they had been promoted to commanders of the guard, and the separation was slowly killing him and his brothers.
Last night, he had been the one to predict that she would try to sneak out. He understood how much she had wanted to attend the festival since he had witnessed her growing irritation at being confined inside. He had seen the sadness dim her glowing gold eyes when her brothers had once again failed to follow through on their promise to take her beyond the palace walls. Aeron knew that they worried for her safety, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to reprimand them for hurting her tender feelings.
She deserved to have whatever she desired, and he couldn’t help but wish that he were by her side on whatever adventure she craved. The truth was he wanted to be with her always, but that was something he couldn’t have no matter how much he and his brothers loved her. Being born without a drop of royal blood meant they could never claim her as their mate. They would never be considered worthy of her. Then again, no male could ever be worthy of her in his eyes.
Still, she would always be his mate in his heart.
Many cycles ago, he and his brothers had tried to mate another female, though something hadn’t felt right. She had been willing to bond with them, but they had held back for some reason. The rejection had caused her to become cruel, or perhaps she had always been so. They just hadn’t realized it until she showed her true nature.
When she had left them for another trio set, all they had felt was relief. They hadn’t even cared when she had spread word that they had failed to please her. Having a female to care for was an honor, but they had known in their hearts that they should have waited for the right one.
Then they had been tasked with the duty of protecting young Liandra.
Meeting her had changed everything. As she grew older, their feelings for her had developed, evolving from mere affection to deep, abiding love. She was the light of their lives, and she owned them, body, heart, and soul. There would never be another for them, which was something they had already accepted. If they were destined to never find happiness, then they would endure...as long as they could remain close to her.
He pushed off the wall as Liandra and Jasyn came through the open gate with her three guards trailing behind them. The Vortox brothers had been angry when they had realized she had slipped away from the palace without their knowledge. They had quickly followed after her and Jasyn when Aeron informed them of her location. They would have to learn to be more vigilant, but he couldn’t blame them.
She was far more cunning than others gave her credit for.
Liandra practically skipped her way into the courtyard next to Jasyn, a
nd Aeron couldn’t stop from grinning as he started over to meet them. Her joy was infectious, and he realized that all the warriors nearby were affected by her. Even those keeping watch on top of the wall were smiling down at her. There had been a time when Aeron would have been angry at all of the male attention she attracted, but he understood the importance of the guards seeing the treasure they were protecting.
She was a rare beauty amongst their people, though it went beyond her perfect face and form. She had a natural radiance about her, an inner glow that had the ability to bring peace to those fortunate enough to be around her. Her kind and gentle nature called to the protective instincts ingrained in every warrior, and her beautiful smile could warm even the coldest of hearts.
As soon as she noticed that he was heading toward them, she gave him that special smile that seemed reserved for him alone. It always left him feeling weak in the knees. He was a warrior and could not afford to fall on his face in front of a crowd of people, yet he would worship at her feet if she let him. He laughed when Liandra ran toward him. She came to a stop in front of him and bounce on her toes as if she could barely contain her happiness.
“It looks like someone had a good time.”
“Aeron! You should have come with us to the festival. It was so much fun!”
“I wish I could have, princess.” By the gods, he also wished he could touch her. “Your mother sent me to escort you upstairs. She would like for you to join her for a private meal up in her chambers.” He dismissed the Vortox brothers, who bowed before they took their leave.
“Is the Queen angry?” Jasyn asked through their bond. “Our little princess is worried.”
At the warning, Aeron turned back and saw Liandra’s tense expression. Wanting to put her at ease, he hurried to say, “Your mother was very pleased you were enjoying yourself today.”