Blood Crown

I watched out of the window of our rooms as my mates — all six of them — led the former King of Qamar onto a balcony that faced the city. Word of the battle in the throne room had been strategically leaked by those in the rebellion to draw a crowd this morning.

“People of Qamar,” Winta began, her voice magically enhanced so everyone could hear her. “Last night I challenged a corrupt ruler and won. I challenged our way of life and won. I challenged how we viewed women and slaves and won. I fought against a tyrant and won.” A low rumble started within the crowd as people started to eagerly whisper amongst themselves.

“As I’m sure you’re all aware, Shaytan had herself a remarkable queen. One who saw the need for equality and fought for it. I too have seen the need for equality. I too have fought for it. And I will bring you into a new era. One without slaves. One without women in fear of what a male might do to them.

“This morning, you will witness the death of oppression and the birth of freedom. The general and I will rule Qamar together as equals. And we are formally offering our pledge of allegiance to the kingdom of Shaytan and her new king.” The muttering started to grow louder as the people realized that the rumors of my death were true. At least as Winta had led them to believe.

Winta nodded to Thorne. In a move so quick I had a hard time following, Thorne sliced the head off Vaughn’s shoulders. A few shouts of protest rang out from within the crowd, but they were mostly silent now. Their shock hit me like a punch to the face.

“As I’m sure some of you know, there has been a resistance building against Queen Ashera’s reign. Just as I’m sure there will be resistance against our reign here in Qamar. I want those who would join and fight for such a resistance to know this — we will not allow you to win. The death of Queen Ashera has only fueled our resolve to eradicate you from history.

“We will find you. We will not spare you or show you any mercy. You will not be given a chance to comply with our new regime. You will all burn.” Well, hot damn. Winta was so much like Visa it was almost frightening. It was little wonder now that she was also meant to be my mate.

Malachi stepped forward, commanding and sinister. Gods, how I loved him.

“Shaytan lost her beloved queen but make no mistake — I will continue her work. I will continue to fight for justice and equality in all the kingdoms. Her vision will live on through me and the four males that stand behind me. Her mates. We will not allow those who murdered our mate to continue to spread their poison.”

And I thought I was proud of them last night. I felt tears welling in my eyes as my heart practically burst with my love and pride. We still had a lot of work ahead of us, but I knew that with the seven of us together, there was nothing we couldn’t accomplish.

“As a demonstration of our commitment,” Mal continued, “this symbol of oppression and tyranny will be burned to the ground.” He gestured to the palace. We agreed early this morning that I was going to burn this hideous thing to the ground. We already had a route picked out for me that would allow me to exit without being seen so I could join them at Thorne’s home.

Those gathered glanced around nervously. I could tell a few in the crowd would run off to the resistance, but the majority of those in attendance supported the changes being made. Their main concern seemed to be centered around the fire. Caspian would contain it to just the palace as I slipped away.

I took one last look at the room around me before I flipped up my hood. I placed my hand on the bed, a few chairs, and on the doorframe as I walked out of the room. All of them burst into raging infernos the instant my hand made contact. I continued to drag my hand along the wall of the hallway as I made my way back to the passage we’d snuck in here through. Soon, the entire hallway was blazing bright and furiously.

A feeling of righteousness settled within me as I made my way back outside the palace and then to Thorne’s home. We were going to burn the resistance just as Winta had claimed.

* * *

It felt as though it took years for the palace to burn to the ground. In reality, it only took a few hours thanks to the magical fires I’d lit. My mates had all stayed to ensure the fire remained contained to only the palace and to meet with and talk to some of the people of Qamar.

They were finally back, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands all over them. I wanted them all separately tonight. We had dinner together — all seven of us — before Winta and Thorne excused themselves. It tore me up a bit that they couldn’t be included, but my four established mates hadn’t had time to properly process things, and I wouldn’t take on new mates until they felt comfortable.

I ushered them into the room Thorne had designated for us. I looked at them all before speaking.

“I want to take you all individually tonight.” They all grinned, more than willing to oblige me.

“Jacobi, Caspian, Ambrose, and then Malachi.” They cocked their heads, possibly trying to determine why I’d picked that specific order. Then, with a shrug, Jacobi started to take off his clothes. I did the same. The others left the room.

He picked me up and threw me onto the bed. I giggled as I bounced a bit. It appeared that my more dominant angel was in a playful mood tonight.

His large cock stood at attention, and I was already so wet I didn’t need foreplay. I just wanted to feel them all inside of me. I didn’t want to wait for it. I used my enhanced strength to flip Jacobi onto his back before straddling him. My hands steadied me as they rested on his chest. He grabbed his cock and lined it up with my aching pussy, and I slid down his shaft until our hips touched. We both groaned in pleasure.

I gazed deeply into his eyes, not wanting to break the connection as I continued to move. I angled my body in a way that allowed me to grind my clit against him, and my pussy fluttered around him with each downward movement. He brought his hands up and started to play with my nipples. I wanted nothing more than to toss my head back and lose myself in the ecstasy that coursed through every fiber of my being, but I was determined to keep watching him.

Jacobi’s jaw clenched as I started to move a bit faster. He was trying to hold off his orgasm until I came, which just made me clench harder around him as I kept moving. His eyes fluttered, and he groaned. I beamed at him.

His grip on my nipples tightened and the small bit of pain mixed with the intense pleasure had me crying out his name. I was so damn close.

“Come around my cock, my love,” he rumbled. “I want to feel your sweet pussy milk my cock.”

My breath hitched and I found myself nodding. He removed one of his hands from my nipple so it could press against my clit. A few more thrusts and I was launched into oblivion.

“Just like that.” Jacobi thrust his hips against mine a few more times before he followed me. He groaned through his orgasm, his hips jerking under me. When we were finished, I leaned down to press my lips to his. He kissed me as though I was the most precious thing in the world. And thanks to my new gift, I could tell that I was the most precious thing in the world to him.

We untangled ourselves, and Jacobi moved to the attached bathroom. I heard the shower turn on as I grinned over at Caspian, who was already naked and approaching the bed. My fae prince had come a long way in such a short amount of time. I was aware that change was difficult for him. He was very much a man who liked to stick to the way he’d always done things. And he certainly didn’t like being told how to do anything.

I collapsed onto my back and held my arms out to him. Caspian’s eyes shone with both love and desire. I honestly hoped that he never stopped looking at me that way. That look was everything.

He came down on top of me, and I instantly wrapped my arms and legs around him. He chuckled as he bent to press a light kiss first to my forehead and then to my lips. I let out a wistful sigh.

“I need you, Caspian,” I mumbled against his lips. He smiled at me, and I couldn’t help but smile back.

He groaned, sliding into my pussy with an easy thrust. “And I, you, dick slayer. Always. Forever. Until the end of time.” Each word was punctuated with Caspian moving deeper inside of me. He pushed my knees up to my chest. I cried out softly, no longer sure where I ended, and he began. We moved as one, his pleasure blending into my own.

I gasped, my already sensitive body riding the edge of ecstasy once more. “No more games, Caspian.”

His stunning hazel eyes locked onto mine. “Never.”

We came at the same time, screaming each other’s names to the heavens. This had to be what true bliss felt like — connecting to another soul. Caspian and I shared everything — the good and the bad. He gave me a brief kiss on my forehead. “Next time, I’ll make you beg for me, dick slayer,” he whispered against my ear. I shuddered. I knew he would, and I also knew I would love it.

Caspian pulled himself off the bed. “Princess, get the fuck in here and bed your queen!” he yelled, and I laughed. Ambrose was not going to be amused.

Sure enough, Ambrose strode in, a pissy look on his face. “I told you, you can’t fucking call me that, you fae fuck!” He turned around to see me waiting on the bed for him, and his demeanor immediately changed. A predatory smile took over his features, and he tore his pants off as he stalked closer. “Little queen, you look absolutely delicious.”

I smiled back at my vampire prince, biting my lip at the hard cock between his legs. “You’ll have to taste me and find out.”

“Oh, I plan to.” He grabbed my ankles, pulling me to the end of the bed. “But first, you’re going to get on your hands and knees for me.”

I moaned, already desperate for his cock, to feel full once more. I positioned myself on my hands and knees, arching my ass into his hips. “Please.”

Ambrose dragged his hand down my spine, my skin tingling wherever he touched. He slid his heavy cock between my wet folds.

“Who am I to say no to my little queen?” Before I could respond, he slammed deep inside me, both of us crying out. “Hard and fast, Ashera. Just the way you like it.”

I did like it like that. Ambrose enjoyed teasing and tormenting and getting his way, but I also knew he would do anything in his power to please me and to keep me safe. Including making me orgasm so hard that I would see stars. Like now, for example, as he thrust away desperately inside of me, using his fingers to play with my clit.

I was so fucking close — arching my back and meeting him thrust for thrust. Release was tingling in my toes, spreading through my veins, and once Ambrose called out my name, I followed suit — shattering into a million pieces.

“Alright princess, time to let a real man take a turn.” Malachi’s voice rang out behind me, and then where Ambrose’s warm body had been, there was nothing.

I was flipped in the air, and placed on my back on the bed, looking up into my assassin’s handsome face. Ambrose was muttering, and I heard him storming off into the bathroom.

I leaned up, giving Malachi a light kiss. “Mal.”

“Sher. You made me wait until the end.”

I shrugged. “Figured you could handle it.”

He grunted, forcing my wrists above my head with one of his hands. “You figured wrong. I was desperate, listening to them all pleasure you and knowing you wanted us to take turns. I’m not a patient man, Ashera.” He dipped his head down, running his teeth along my neck.

I moaned, arching my body up against his. “Then I guess you need to practice.”

I could feel the broad head of his cock nudging against me, still slick with the release of my other mates, and damp with my own desire. “For a queen, you can be such a brat sometimes.”

“And for a king you—” I couldn’t finish my sentence before Mal slid to the hilt inside of me. He always stretched me in the most delicious way. I moaned. “What was that for?”

Malachi moved lazily; my arms still pinned above my head. “Call me a king again.” His voice was deep and husky with desire.

I grinned, moving my hips in time with his. “You like being called a king?”

“I only want to be your king.”

I was so drunk on pleasure, my body flooded with the emotions of all my mates. I knew it wouldn’t take long for me to come again, but I didn’t want to do so without Malachi — my rock, my anchor. I clenched around him, enjoying his haggard moan. “Of course, my king.”

Mal roared, his gentle pace no longer slow and easy, but urgent and harsh. I wanted to squeeze him close, run my nails down his back, but he was in control.

“Come for me, my queen,” he gritted out.

I did, filled with his release, and the heavenly feeling of being at peace, listening to my mate call my name. He finally released my wrists, falling to my side, and curling up against me.

I trailed my finger down his arm. “So, king, eh?”

“Fuck off, Sher,” he muttered.

I gently cupped his face in my hands, rubbing my thumbs along his cheeks. “I saved you for last because you’re my rock, Malachi. You anchor me, keep me grounded. You’re the reason I made it through Visa’s death, not the rebellion. You. I’ve loved you for centuries.”

He stilled under my hands. His eyes shone with the burst of emotion I felt coming from him — searing love, dedication, pride, and humility. This demon — once the greatest assassin in all Shaytan, turned general, and now king — was humbled by my words. Tears burned the back of my eyes as we continued to stare at each other.

“You’re the only thing I’ve ever wanted for myself, Ashera. The only thing that has ever mattered more than anything else in this world. It killed me to be near you every day and not have you. You. Are. Everything.” Mal leaned down to press a tender kiss to my lips. He pulled back, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Well… Being king matters more.”

I laughed loudly. “Should we get cleaned up with the others?”

“In a minute.” We were quiet for a couple moments, enjoying the silence between us. With the five of us — now seven — there weren’t a lot of one-on-one moments. “Well?”

“Well, what?” I asked.

“Well, did you get everything you wanted? I know I did.”

Mal was right. I had gotten everything I could’ve ever hoped for while lying awake dreaming during those sleepless nights at Lord Pyper’s. More so. I was blessed with my freedom, and my mates, and the strength to help free others. The resistance didn’t fucking stand a chance, and I felt so peaceful with that realization. I gave Mal an easy smile and shook my head.

“This is more than I ever could’ve imagined. Sometimes I think I’m still dreaming. But you know what?”

“What?” Mal mumbled sleepily, nestling into my neck. My other mates appeared out of the bathroom, one by one, joining us in the bed.

Calm. Content. Peace. “If this is a dream, I don’t think I want to wake up.