“You knowI do,” I reply, reaching for his waistband.
Troy groans when my hand dips down and wraps firmly around the base of his cock. He turns his head to the side to look at the dark staircase we’re nestled in, the smile on his lips telling me he’s more than willing.
“It’ll have to be quick,” he thrusts into my hand.
“Mhmm,” I nod, “but that’s the fun of it, Troy.”
“Fuck, you’re perfect,” he groans, nipping back down before he takes a step away. His blue eyes graze over my flushed body before he nods his head.
“Strip for me, Alexis.”
I hurriedly drop my riding pants without hesitation, watching as he does the same. I’m about to pull down the dark lace at my hips when Troy closes the space between us, his hand stopping me with a firm tsk.
“Black…” he mocks, fingers gripping both sides of the lingerie, “alwaysblack.”
There’s a wicked gaze in his eyes before he tears the lace down my thighs with a rough pull.
“Forget the lace, Troy,” I shake my head, “get inside me,now.”
The Woodlands Prince laughs and bends down to grab my ass, effortlessly lifting me up to his waist in a movement that’s far too easy. Along with enhanced speed, all Discerni are blessed with enhanced strength, and Troy is no exception. He holds my weight with one hand and maneuvers my back against the wall, his other hand coming up to my mouth to cover the moans we both know are about to come. We fuck into a rhythm all too familiar to the both of us… quick and quiet like the secret we are.
“What city in Pyre did you say you were visiting?” Troy asks.
We’re making our way back down the staircase, both of us adjusting our clothes.
“I didn’t.”
“Will it be the same as your other trips?” he looks at me curiously.
“Same as my other trips,” I nod.
He’s used to this, getting the bare answers from me. He may be the King’s son, but no one save myself and Zander know of the nature of our travels. Even Cal and the two Discerni twins that travel with us, Holis and Mana, have no idea why we visit the libraries of Disce. The King asked that I not to disclose the reason of my travels since our very first meeting together, and I’ve kept that promise without fault.
Surprisingly enough, I myself have never inquired as to why the book he sends me out to retrieve is so important. The King’s secrecy is curious, yes, but I’ve mostly ignored it because I’m just genuinely grateful to be in his service and out of the Queen’s. The four years I spent in his wife’s Ladies in Wait were some of the most boring years of my life, so I’ve learned to take his employment as the gift it truly is and not ask too many questions.
“Did you say Elena was here?” I turn to Troy, remembering his comment from earlier.
Troy nods and runs a hand through his hair as we step onto the second floor.
“When I arrived two nights ago she was leaving my father’s study. The room you were in earlier.”
I smile at the thought of the quirky yet strikingly beautiful daughter of the King here in Bardot.
“Ancients,I haven’t seen Elena in ages.”
Both her and Troy inherited their mother’s blonde hair and fair skin, but their blue eyes come from their father. Both children have a slight coldness to their features that also matches their mother, but where Troy spins his cool face into smug confidence, Elena embraces her sharp features in an attempt to ward off unsolicited conversations and social etiquette. She’s never been good in public settings, yet somehow, the quirkiness she presents fits her.
The last time I saw Elena I was fourteen. She was standing next to me as I was provided the status of ward under the King and Queen. That was nearly eleven years ago.
“Probably for the best,” Troy frowns at my side, “she’s become odder with every turn of the year.”
“Is she still studying at Alston with the Seers of Sianoa?”
He nods, smiling in greeting at a serving girl who walks by.
“Sometimes she’ll show up at court with a few of her sisters. They’redifferent, Alexis. I don’t know how best to explain it. They’ll spend all their time in the temple we have in La’ Cour, sometimes even staying months on end before showing their faces in court.”
He shakes his head at the thought. “The Ancients aresleeping. What they’re doing with that time…”
