Blood Crown

By the time we made it back out of the castle, we were all fed, dressed, and armed with new weapons Jacobi had snuck out of the guards’ stash. Weapons weren’t something the king of Malak typically had on his person, but all the guards were armed, so we were able to make do. We were headed into enemy territory now, and it was better to be safe than sorry.

We had decided to cross the border on foot to maintain the element of surprise. It would take us a bit longer, but it was worth it. I cast a quick glance at each one of my mates, a tug of fear pulling at my heart remembering that I’d almost left them.

I knew all too well the pain of feeling a mate die. I never wanted to put these men through that. My gaze locked with Caspian’s, and I could feel his relief that I was okay mingled with another emotion I didn’t know how to classify. That’s when I realized that the tug of fear I’d felt wasn’t my own… It was theirs. And it wasn’t coming through the mate bond. I felt the bond through my entire body — this was all in my head. It was an understanding instead of a feeling.

“Jacobi.” My breath left me in a rush, all four of my mates pausing to look over at me. “I… I can feel everyone’s emotions.”

Shock flashed on their faces, and I could feel it rushing through them, followed closely by excitement, wonder, curiosity, and a hint of panic. I cock my head at the last one, trying to figure out who it’s coming from. My gaze flicks between Malachi and Jacobi, sensing they were both feeling that panic. Not for themselves — I realized, but for me.

“What?” I asked, staring the two of them down.

“You can control elements better than any fae.” Caspian scoffed a bit, but Jacobi ignored him. I still had to explain that to him. “You have your own succubus powers, which are far more potent than any other. You’ve also started drinking blood.”

“You’re exhibiting the powers of the other races, Sher,” Malachi pointed out. The chilly fingers of dread tingled down my spine. “We can all do basic magic, and we all feed that magic in our own unique ways, but you’re something else entirely.”

“That can’t be possible,” I argued, my gaze now darted between all four of the men around me. But we all knew I was lying. I was…different. Panic welled within me. My breathing grew shallow, and soon my lungs screamed for more air.

“Hey,” Ambrose murmured as he stalked up to me and placed his hands on my cheeks. My gaze narrowed on him. “Regardless of what’s going on, you’re our mate.” He pressed a gentle kiss to my lips. “Once we get rid of the resistance, we’ll figure out what’s going on. You’re not hurt because of these changes. You’re strong.”

I nodded, tears pooling in my eyes when the other three crowded around me to touch and kiss where they could. My breathing returned to normal. I allowed myself a moment to be scared before shoring myself up, using my bonds with my mates to center and ground me. Ambrose was right. The changes weren’t hurting me in any way, at least not yet. We had more important things to worry about.

I kissed each one of the men around me before we started off again. After that, I knew that it was time to talk about Visa. Talk about my rebellion. My past. All of it.

“I had a mate…before all of you.” Silence greeted my poorly planned statement. I could feel some shock and curiosity through my newly discovered angelic powers. “Her name was Visa.” There was more shock over the knowledge that my former mate had been a female, and I took a deep breath. “She was killed — because of me.”

“That’s bullshit Sher, and you fucking know it,” Malachi spat. “She was just as involved in the rebellion as we were.”

“And who started that fucking rebellion, Mal?” I exploded before taking a deep breath and lowering my voice again. “That’s not the point. I felt Visa die. So I know what you just went through and I don’t want to put you through that again.”

“Dick slayer,” Caspian started in a soothing tone that surprised me. “I’m assuming that’s the dragon you hide under your war marks?” I nodded. “As much as I hate to say this, we’re all aware that our lives are on the line right now. Yours in particular. We’ll do everything we can to make sure that you’re safe and protected, but there is always a risk.”

The others growled, not liking the thought of me in danger, but at least acknowledging that I wasn’t about to sit any of this out. And I knew — or some part of me knew — that they could very well end up in a position similar to the one I’d just found myself in. I couldn’t bring myself to actually say the words in connection with them. I knew they would protect me with their lives. I would do the exact same.

I sent a small smile to Caspian. Taking a bracing breath, I continue, “I was found near the void by humans when I was just a baby. They found me in the forest that surrounded our village. My mother couldn’t have children, and even though they were well aware that taking me in would be a death sentence, they did it anyway.

“I was still a child when Lord Pyper found out about me. I’m still not sure how. But he had his men destroy that entire village of slaves to find me. When I ran out of our burning house, it was to find my father beheaded and my mother being raped and stabbed.” All the men around me were silent, and fury slammed through me from them. Caspian and Ambrose also felt horrified. “I was sixteen the first time Pyper tried to force himself on me. Thankfully my succubus powers were potent even then, and I was able to make him finish before he even got far enough to actually touch me.

“But I was his “ward,” and I was to do whatever he wanted of me.” I tilted my head up to study the stars as I walked. “I met Malachi on my first ever outing from his estate. Pyper had allowed me out for being good and entertaining him and his guests.” More fury lashed at me from the men around me. “I never forgot that he was the reason my parents were dead. Never once looked at a human as anything other than family, an equal.

“I was already planning to murder Pyper when I met Mal.” I grin over at him as I pause in my storytelling. “He also had the fantastic idea to assassinate the incubus lord. By then, I was already mated to Visa, but Pyper didn’t care. After all, I was mated to a female. I was still under his thumb, and he assumed he could pawn me off as another consort for the king. He thought he could sell us as a package deal. After all, what male doesn’t want two women for the price of one?” My laugh was hollow.

“Mal, Visa, and I started planning for something much larger. I’d learned through Malachi that many of the citizens of Shaytan, including the army, felt the same way I did about humans and the nobility. Many had even found mates among the humans and had to hide their bond.”

“So you started a rebellion.” Caspian sounded awed. “You didn’t do it as a political power play. You did it out of love.” I think that fact shocked him the most.

“Fuck, little queen.” Ambrose ran a hand through his thick hair. “You were essentially treated as a slave and then rose to become a queen.”

“She was never a slave.” A deep masculine rumble had us all whirling to find the source of the voice. He was tall — much taller than even Malachi — with glowing bright blue eyes and a shock of white-blonde hair. His skin was a beautiful shade that was somewhere between Caspian’s black as night tone and Mal’s dark olive. I’d never seen another man that looked quite like him. He appeared to have some features from all the species mixed into his appearance. The pointed ears of the fae, a hint of fang from the vamps, angelic wings that were a stunning shade of heather gray, and horns like a demon. I was curious to know if he could shift or if he had the magical tattoos of the witches.

My mates stepped in front of me, but the stranger just threw his head back and laughed. “Don’t worry. I have no intention of harming the sweet goddess. She’s far too important.”

“Who the hell are you?” Caspian snarled. Despite being prickly to begin with, he felt the most protective right now — the closest to exploding all over this stranger. I needed to figure out how to adjust to feeling all these emotions and get a handle on them before they overwhelmed me.

“Just someone who has an interest in seeing the sweet goddess behind you succeed. But she was never born with the blood of slaves. In fact, she comes from the most royal bloodline of them all.”

What the fuck did that mean? I stood on tiptoe so I could study the stranger as he spoke. Something tugged at me, but I couldn’t be sure what it was. Before I got the chance to ask any questions, he just…vanished.

“Someone want to try to tell me who the fuck that was?” I asked as I continued to stare at the spot where the mystery man had been standing.

“What the fuck was he going on about?” Malachi grumbled.

They all turned to look at me as though I had all the answers. Which was hysterical. I shrugged, glanced around to make sure he was actually gone, and then gestured for all of us to continue on. We were close to crossing the border, and we couldn’t delay.

* * *

Caspian

We successfully snuck into Qamar, and I had a shocking sense of pride swell within me at the thought that my information helped my mate. I was quickly coming to the understanding that seeing her almost die was — quite possibly — the worst thing I’d ever gone through. And she’d been right. No more fucking games. I needed to get my head out of my ass.

Ambrose had already shown the entire group that he would be true to his word. He’d free the Masas slaves and change everything around. I wasn’t a fool; I knew they all expected me to say whatever had been necessary to get into Ashera’s pants and then not stick to my word. And they hadn’t exactly been wrong. As much as I was loath to admit it, they’d been right. I still assumed that I could use Ashera to get what I wanted. I thought that I’d be able to tame her in some way and still hold complete autonomy.

I’d been a fucking idiot.

That was not how any of this worked — this mate business. Ashera and I should compromise on things that were important to both of us. Frankly, while Juniya hadn’t known anything but slavery, I’d seen how dick slayer had been able to make the change in Shaytan, and I knew that my own kingdom could make that same transition. I couldn’t use her, the fact that I thought I could left a sour taste on my tongue.

I had every intention of changing the way things were between myself and my mighty dick slayer. Fuck, if she asked for my kingdom on a silver platter, I’d kill my father and give it to her. I’d even give my life for the fanged fuck walking next to me. Which told me just how much the succubus queen leading us meant to me.

The freak that had shown up a few hours back had me wondering more about Ashera’s powers. He appeared to be a perfect blend of all the species, which was extremely strange. He also claimed that she came from the most royal bloodline. There was no way she could have come from a royal bloodline. The former king of Shaytan wouldn’t run the risk of bastards and there were no other royals in that country, at least none that I knew of. That would have to wait. We couldn’t focus on finding answers and taking down the resistance, as much as it irritated me to admit.

A soft touch to my hand had me blinking in surprise before turning my gaze to my mate. I was often shocked that so much power was contained in such a small package. She was a bit shorter than most of the other succubi and nowhere near as tall as any of us. But there was no doubt that she was the strongest of us.

“Everything okay?” She was still wearing that damn cloak. I knew we needed to keep her presence a secret, but I hated the fact that I couldn’t look at her properly.

“Everything’s fine. I was just thinking.” I gave her a small smile. “We’re probably going to need to stop somewhere before we get to the capital. We’ll all need to rest up, feed, and find food.”

She giggled quietly. “Feed and find food.” Her eyes met mine from the shadows of the hood. “You’re right. We shouldn’t go storming in after having walked all this way. We need to make sure we’re at the top of our game.”

“When I was here last, there was a small, abandoned cottage around here. If it’s still empty, I think we should stop there for a bit.” I glanced around at the others, and they nodded their agreement.

I led us to where I’d seen the cottage, and thankfully it was still empty. A bit dusty, but it would allow us to rest a bit before we hit the outskirts of the capital. We’d packed some food and water, so we dug into our packs to pull out our supplies. I helped Ashera shuck off the cloak. The windows were covered in such a thick layer of dust that if anyone happened upon us, they wouldn’t know who she was if they looked in.

Ashera grabbed my hand and tugged me into an empty room I assumed was a bedroom at one point and closed the door. I raised a brow in question as she turned to face me.

“I wanted to talk about what I said before I drank your blood.” Her voice was soft, an indication that she didn’t want the others to overhear our conversation. “I realize that was an intense moment.”

“Dick slayer.” I sighed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “That moment put a lot of things into perspective for me. You were right.”

Her lips twitched slightly as she stared up at me. “How much did that hurt to admit?”

I chuckled and placed a light kiss on her lips. “You were right, Ashera. And I know that my word probably means shit right now, but I want you to know that while I’m still going to be an asshole, I’m your asshole. I won’t be a complete dick to you anymore.”

Her laugh brightened the room around us and made me smile like an idiot. “I love you, Caspian. Thank you for wanting this to work.”

“I’m sorry I gave you any other impression, dick slayer.”

She stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around my neck. “Now what do you say to a quickie before going back out there?”

I hadn’t had her alone yet. Every time I’d been inside my mate her other mates had been around. So the thought of having her to myself for a small moment excited me. I stripped us in record time before pushing her back against the wall. I lifted her up so her thighs rested on my shoulders. She said a quickie, but I needed the taste of her on my tongue. I needed her to come unraveled in my mouth before I dived into her tight, wet pussy.

I ran my tongue up her slit, and she tangled her hands in my hair. I looked up at her as I started to suck on her clit and groaned when she tugged on my hair. Her head fell back against the wall. I slid two fingers into her pussy and crooked them just enough to rub against her g-spot with each tug of my lips.

Ashera’s breathing and her pussy fluttering around my fingers told me she was close. I could feel her feeding off the sexual energy we were creating, Mal too if the extra tug was anything to go by. With one last pull on her clit, my little dick slayer exploded. She screamed my name as her pussy clamped down around my fingers.

In a flash, I readjusted our position so her legs were around my waist. I pressed into her, locking our gazes.

“Caspian.” Ashera’s plea was breathy, and her eyes were filled with heat.

“Don’t worry, my queen. I’m going to give you my cock.” She moaned as I rubbed against her.

I took her lips at the same time I thrust to the hilt inside her, capturing her whimper of need with my mouth. Aware we didn’t have much time, I set a rough pace. I made sure to angle my hips in such a way that I rubbed against her clit with each thrust. Her nails dug into my shoulders, and her moans soon filled the space around us.

“Come on my cock, dick slayer.” My command was harsh as I fought the urge to come, not wanting to finish before she did.

Ashera’s breath hitched right before she came. Her sweet pussy clenched so tight around my dick I couldn’t do anything but follow her into oblivion.

“I love you, Ashera.” She shuddered against me as I kissed her, trying to pour everything I felt for this amazing woman into that one sentence.

A loud banging against the door had us breaking our kiss. I growled low, displeased with being interrupted. Ashera grinned at me, pressed a light kiss to my lips, and then wiggled until I let her slide to the floor.

“If you two are done… The rest of us also need to feed.” Ambrose, that fucker. I might be willing to give my life for him now, but I wouldn’t hesitate to throat punch him into next fucking week.