Blood Crown

I wasn’t sure what I had expected when we went into Cresta City. Scope out the city a bit, meet some new people maybe. Possibly a low-key riot to get under control, some out-of-control youth excited about Beltane.

What I wasn’t expecting was a whole fucking battle, and for the city to be under attack from my fucking people. Vampires. Again. I wasn’t anticipating Ashera to use fucking elemental magic like a fae. This was a fucking disaster. We needed to get to the bottom of this resistance, and fast, before any more innocent lives were lost.

Innocent lives? Who the hell was I? The little queen was turning me into a godsdamn pussy, caring about people’s feelings. Their lives. But seeing Ashera interact with her people on Beltane changed something in me. Freedom was no longer just Ashera’s cause, or Shaytan’s cause. It was our cause, and I was prepared to fight for that.

Speaking of my little queen, she had been fucking glorious. I had thought it was a turn-on when I witnessed her punish those traitors in her courtyard but seeing her in action like that had been something else entirely. My cock was already hardening in my pants again as I pictured her laying waste to the enemies who had tried to destroy Cresta. Ashera stood at the edge of the city, Malachi’s shirt hanging around her knees, blowing in the hot winds of the fire. The delicate bones of her face were striking in the dying light of the day, emphasized by the red-gold of the blaze still burning around us. My golden queen looked like she was on fire.

She looked determined but sad, and I was ready to go to war to punish every single person who had put that look on her face. I would slaughter every last vampire if they so deserved it. They weren’t my people anymore. I’m sure some of them would side with me, with freedom, and I would gladly welcome them with open arms. But those who sought to destroy the world that Ashera had dreamed of for so long, and then built with blood and love? They could burn in the flames of my golden queen.

We had split up to search the city, putting out fires, and finding places for citizens to stay, the others parting regretfully from our queen. I wouldn’t be parted from her though. I reached out to Ashera, clasping her finely boned hand in my own, much larger one. Did this delicate hand really spill all that blood? My touch woke Ashera from whatever stupor she had been in, and she gave me a sad smile, before tossing her hair over her shoulder. Ashera pulled away from my touch, stepping toward a group of people who were slowly making their way back into the city, huddled together for comfort. I didn’t know where this woman had come from, but one thing was certain — she was born to be a queen.

“My friends, do not mourn what you’ve lost today. We will rebuild our city stronger and better than before.” Ashera’s voice was not loud, but I was certain every single person looking up at her could hear every word she spoke. Covered in dirt and ash, it was hard to identify who was a demon and who was a human. Both had been affected by the attack on their city, looking to their queen for support. “Do not go to bed and fear for your lives or the lives of your children. I made a vow to you when I became your queen, and I intend to keep that promise. Sleep easy because I will eliminate any threat to our happiness. These rebels think that we are weak because we do not have slaves. They think they can walk into our city and control us like puppets. But they are wrong.” I watched the growing crowd’s faces as they looked up to Ashera, reverent of every word she spoke.

Jacobi appeared out of the shadows at my side, obviously not having gotten far in his search before he turned back. “What did I miss?” he whispered, looking around my shoulder at Ashera.

I tipped my head so I could speak to him without taking my eyes off my little queen. “Just watch. Isn’t she fucking beautiful?”

Ashera shot a glare back toward us, and we immediately shut up. She snapped her attention back to the townspeople. “They are wrong for thinking us weak because we refuse to own another’s freedom. But we will show them how feeble they are. They build their palaces and their castles on a pyramid of cards. They are fragile. Remove one of their carefully placed cards, and the whole thing will come toppling down. Now is not the time to back down or to show fear. Now is the time to rise up and gather our strength for the days to come. Send word to your families in Masas. Tell them not to be afraid. Tell them we will protect them.”

The small crowd roared with approval for their queen. They loved her, and I could understand why. I loved her. We all did, even Caspian, that ungrateful little prick. He loved her too. Speaking of, where was the asshole? I hadn’t seen him since just after Ashera had flooded the city with lava. Fuck.

I turned toward Jacobi as Ashera walked into the crowd to reassure people. Mal was nowhere to be found either, but I was certain the incubus could handle himself. “Have you seen Caspian?” I muttered.

Jacobi’s eyes widened. “No. You don’t think…?”

“Fuck, I hope not.” My chest tightened painfully at the thought of anything wrong with Caspian. Not because I cared about the fae fuck, but because I knew it would tear Ashera to pieces if he had gotten hurt somewhere searching the city. “We need to find him, and quietly, before Ashera finds out.”

“Before Ashera finds out what?” Fuck. Ashera stood in front of me, hands on her luscious hips, an expectant look on her face.

I groaned, running my hands through my hair. “Caspian. He possibly — maybe — he’s—”

Ashera did not look impressed. “Spit it out, Ambrose.”

“Caspian’s missing,” Jacobi responded for me. Because of course he did. King Perfect.

“Are you sure he’s not with Mal? He went to scope out some of the buildings on the west side for survivors.” But even as she spoke, I could hear the doubt lacing her words.

Jacobi shook his head. “I saw Mal before I joined you guys. He was alone. We both assumed Caspian was here with you two.”

Ashera closed her eyes, groaning. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. This is not what I needed today.” Her eyes sprang open, and she pointed at each of us. “This is what’s going to happen. You two are going to stick close to me, no wandering off. We’re going to scour every fucking inch of this city until we find Caspian.”

“What about Mal?” I asked.

“What about him?” Ashera was already moving away from the city center, leaving the two of us to trail after her like lost puppies.

“Shouldn’t we wait around for him?” My little queen was focused on the task at hand, not paying attention to me.

Ashera scoffed, dismissing me with a wave of her hand. “Mal’s a big boy. He can handle himself. Caspian on the other hand…” She trailed off, but I knew what she meant. Caspian came from a kingdom where, like Jacobi, he hadn’t experienced a lot of war. His family ruled with absolute control and power, and there were no arguments to their leadership. The fae fuck wandering around in a battle zone at night… well there couldn’t be a lot of good outcomes to that scenario. We’d have to hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

Fucking fae.

* * *

Ashera

Of course, Caspian had to be the one that was fucking missing. The other guys could handle themselves, even Ambrose. For as much as Jacobi and Malachi liked to mock Ambrose and call him a princess, I knew that he thrived on violence. He just hid it better. But I saw it when I was kidnapped. Sometimes when he fucked me, I got a taste of it. It was there, so a warzone would be nothing to him. But fucking Caspian? We just had to hope that he was trapped somewhere and not being held hostage for being a fae in Shaytan. That wouldn’t end well for him.

And the other possibility…I wouldn’t even give space inside my mind to contemplate that. We’d find him, figure out who was behind all of this, and go the hell home. End of story. I threw my shoulders back, Jacobi and Ambrose trailing behind me as we left the city center. He couldn’t have gone far. He had been with Jacobi when the fighting broke out, and I had seen him throughout the fighting. But I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen my fae mate since returning to the city. We had split up after the battle, and I had stupidly assumed he was with Mal. Stress started to creep through my body — fear that maybe we wouldn’t find him. Or maybe we would — beaten and bloody — laying in the street.

No. I needed to focus. Thinking like that wouldn’t help anything. The only thing that would help Caspian was a clear head. He was going to be fine. We wandered the city, calling out Caspian’s name. Our bond was so new that I couldn’t use it to pinpoint his location. Thankfully, even though I was out of practice, I had managed to control the elements so that the lava only minorly damaged the buildings. Most of the families who lived here would be able to move back in tonight, and those whose homes were hit by the explosions or the fires could room with neighbors until we could send in help to repair and rebuild. This was a good city, and the people here were friendly. Grateful, was a better word for it. They looked out for one another.

I would just have to hope like hell that someone was looking out for Caspian. Surely, he couldn’t have been that pissed when I used my elemental powers. Yeah, I probably should have told him about it ahead of time, but then I would’ve missed out on that delicious look of surprise. It never got old. I would explain it all to him if we found him. When we found him.

“Caspian! For fuck’s sake, where are you?” I screamed, my voice echoing off the buildings of a mostly empty street. This part of the city had been hit the worst by the bombs, and it still smelled like a bonfire.

Jacobi put a gentle hand on my arm, and I felt his sway over my emotions, warm and soothing. “It’s going to be okay, love. We’ll find him.”

I nodded, trying to keep a strong face — which was ridiculous — because both of these men could read my emotions without trying. “Caspian!”

And then I felt it. A tug down the mate bond. I whipped my head around, and Ambrose nodded. He felt it too. Caspian was here. Somewhere close by. Alive.

“This way!” I ran ahead into the building across the street from us. It was still intact, just a bit charred, and dark inside. But Caspian was inside, I knew it.

“Would you fucking wait, little queen? You don’t know what’s in there!” Ambrose’s annoyed voice followed me into the building as I started throwing open random doors, hoping to see my fae prince inside one of the empty rooms.

“My mate is in there. I really don’t need Princess Ambrose on my back right now,” I snapped, opening a door leading down into an even darker basement. But the pull was there again. Caspian was down there; I was sure of it.

Jacobi threw his arm out before I could take a step down. “Let me go first at least, please.”

I rolled my eyes. “Fine. But let’s go. He might be hurt.”

Ambrose scoffed over my shoulder as we walked down the stairs single file. “Maybe his pride is hurt. But that’s about it.”

“Fuck off, Ambrose.” I had no patience for him right now. Whatever this pissing contest was between Caspian and him needed to be worked out, and fast. Ambrose muttered behind me, but I was focused on getting down the stairs and making sure Caspian was okay.

Jacobi was at the bottom of the stairs, unmoving. I pushed past him, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the darkness of the basement. “What the hell are you waiting for?”

“Love, don’t…” But it was too late. I had already spotted Caspian across the room, chained to a wooden frame.

“Caspian!” I ran over to him, checking over his chained body for any injuries. Besides a gag in his mouth, he seemed to be relatively unharmed. So why hadn’t he gotten himself out of the chains? I tugged the gag out of his mouth.

He gasped for air. “Ashera. Trap. Behind…”

I whirled around. From the shadows, a lone cloaked figure ran at me in a blitz attack. I crouched defensively. This asshole didn’t stand a chance. But before he could reach me, Ambrose was behind him, efficiently snapping the man’s neck. My vampire mate spat on the body, kicking it out of the way. “Fucking prick.”

I smiled at him, feeling slightly less pissed off than I had been a moment ago. “Help me get these chains off Caspian.” I touched one of the chains and snatched my hand away. It fucking burned. “What the fuck?”

Caspian nodded, groaning as one of the chains slipped onto the bare skin of his neck. “They’re enchanted. It’s why I couldn’t use my power to get them off me.”

“These are stronger than the ones they used to kidnap me. Fuck. Okay.” I could figure this out. No problem. I was debating another lava attack when Jacobi came up behind me. He pulled me away from Caspian’s side.

“Let me.” I gave him an uneasy look but stepped back. Ambrose pulled me to his chest, and we watched Jacobi approach the chains.

Caspian eyed him warily. “You really think you can handle these?”

“Just keep quiet, or I’ll leave you there.” Jacobi ripped the bottom of his shirt into a long strip, wrapping it around his hands several times. “Should be fine,” he muttered.

“Should be?” My voice was sharp, and Ambrose squeezed me tighter.

Jacobi looked back at me over his shoulder. “It’ll be fine. Do you want Caspian free or not?”

I sighed in reluctant acceptance, watching Jacobi move closer and closer to the enchanted chains. He reached out a wrapped hand, and… touched the chains without any difficulties. I took a deep breath, watching Jacobi unwind the rest of the chains. “Enchanted items usually can’t harm angels. Pure, and all. How do you think we got you out of those chains?” I hadn’t really considered that, as dazed as I had been when they found me.

“Are you still considered pure?” Caspian asked as he sat up, rubbing at his wrists. Jacobi tossed the chains into the corner with a loud clank. “But, uh… thanks.”

I pushed Ambrose’s arms off me, running over to Caspian. “Are you okay? What the hell happened?”

Caspian pressed a deep kiss to my lips. “That witch caught me in one of the buildings I was searching. Fucking trapped me with those goddamn chains before I had a minute to think. I’m sure they were hoping to catch you off guard once you found me. Although, that didn’t exactly go to plan.” He shot Ambrose a quick glance, but he simply shrugged.

“I’m just glad you’re okay. Fuck. Don’t do that again.” I pressed my forehead to Caspian’s. He felt weak. “Those chains drained you. Take some of my energy.”

He brought my lips to meet his again, whispering against my lips. “I’m okay, dick slayer. Just happy you’re here now.”

“Mmm…” I moaned against his touch, grateful to be near my mate once again. But a kiss wasn’t enough. I needed to feel our bodies touch in every way possible, desperate to know he was actually okay.

Caspian’s voice was a low chuckle against my collarbone as he kissed his way down my neck. “Are you sure I’m the one that needs to feed?”

“Yes,” I murmured. “Now shut up and kiss me.”

Caspian didn’t need to be told twice, kissing me hard as he dropped his hand under the oversized shirt I wore. He slid his fingers between my legs, groaning when he realized how wet I was. My control on my pheromones slipped, and I heard my other two mates growling behind me. They wouldn’t interrupt Caspian though. Not now. Later…later, all bets were off.

I pushed some of my energy into him where our skin touched. He needed the extra dose, and I knew that the stubborn fae wouldn’t properly feed until we were home. He didn’t want to appear weak.

“I want you to scream my name, dick slayer. I want this whole fucking city to know who’s making you come.”

I heard Caspian undoing his pants underneath me, fitting his thick cock right at the entrance to my soaking wet pussy. He sank into me, inch by inch, so that I could feel every bit of him stretching me out in the most delicious way. “Caspian, fuck.”

I sat up to straddle him better, feeling him moving even deeper. I rolled my hips, desperate for more friction. Caspian held my hips, forcing me to move in time with him. What would I have done without him? He was grouchy and irritable and downright stubborn. But he was a part of me, no different than any of the others, and I needed to reassure my soul that he was still here with me. Our pace increased, Caspian forcing me down on his cock in his usual demanding fashion. He wouldn’t have any complaints from me.

“Scream, Ashera. Tell the world who you belong to.” He groaned, and I arched my back, driving into the pleasure. I was so fucking close. “Scream.”

I couldn’t hold back any longer, screaming out Caspian’s name as I shattered around him. He continued thrusting into me, calling out my name as he found his release.

Caspian tossed his head back onto the bench he laid on. “Ashera, you’re going to be the fucking death of me.”

I climbed off him, straightening my shirt. “Are you telling me you can’t keep up with my sex drive?”

He ran his hand through his icy blonde hair, making it stand up in tufts. “I meant this whole fucking mate thing. I thought I was dying. I mean, like I actually thought I was going to die, but I felt like I was dying when I couldn’t call out to you.”

My chest tightened painfully at his words. I knew exactly what he meant. But the fact that he was acknowledging it…that was a step in the right direction.

“Join the club, prick.” Ambrose’s voice grumbled behind me, and I rolled my eyes. First step, making sure Caspian was actually okay and fed. Next step, getting these two to stop their pissing match.

“Come on, Caspian. We should find Mal.” I offered the fae my hand, and he got to his feet, brushing invisible dirt off his clothes. Even after being captured, his clothes were still impeccable. Ridiculous.

We walked up the stairs the same way we had come down, only this time I was hand-in-hand with Caspian. A comfortable silence surrounded us, the calm before the storm. We all knew what was coming, and the battle we faced. But right now, I could only feel grateful that we had all made it out of this alive.

The four of us had just made our way back out into the street when Mal landed in front of us. He had a look of utter confusion on his face as he took in Caspian’s beat-up face, Jacobi’s wrapped hands, and the unmistakable aura of sexual energy in the air. “What did I miss?”

Caspian groaned, pulling me tight against his chest again like it was the most natural thing in the world. “It’s a long fucking story. Can we go home first, before you interrogate me?”

Home. Caspian had called it home. And that sounded pretty damn good right about now.