The reception chamber is a smaller room off the main throne room. He follows me to the door, and I lead him through. I’m not sure what to expect, but it’s certainly not for five of his Taruenorian servants to follow us. In the center of the room is a long sofa with colored cushions. A few delicately carved wooden tables are placed nearby to hold drinks, but there certainly isn’tenough furniture in the room to accommodate all these people. This is a small chamber designed for an intimate audience.
“Move this into the middle of the room.” Aurelion points at the sofa, and his servants jump to follow his orders.
I bristle, wondering what gives him the right to rearrange a room in my palace, but before I can say anything it is done. They stand at attention, ready for his next command.
Ugh, the arrogance.
“I did not realize we would have an audience.”
He only smiles. “All part of the ritual. You are welcome to have your guards as well. It makes no difference to me.”
How dare he tell me what I can do in my own palace? I lift my chin. “Very well. Shall we begin?” I gesture to my guards at the door, and they step into the room hesitantly.
“Lie down, oh, radiant one.”
“I will stand.”
He lifts a brow. “As you wish.”
Nonetheless, I move into the center of the room in front of the sofa. His servants position themselves around the outside so that we are in the center of a circle, all eyes on us.
The prince slides off his modified shirt and elaborate collar, leaving him in only his silken trousers. An servant steps forward to collect his garments. I can’t help staring at the definition in his chest and abs. He’s far more muscular and defined than I guessed.
I stare as he straightens and his body seems to grow. His shoulders sprout spikes. His face elongates into a snout, and his fingers lengthen into claws. His horns and wings lengthen. If I thought he looked dangerous before, I realize now how much I underestimated him.
Instinctively, I take a step back.
His nostrils flare, and his jaws stretch into a grin which bares two rows of sharp teeth. Then he drops to his knees. “Lift your dress.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Lift your dress, please, radiant one. I must scent you.”
I stare around the room at all the watching faces. I cannot do such a thing in front of all these people. But it seems I must.
Refusing to show him my hesitation, I grip the fabric of my skirts. Master Harmer might have mentioned this particular part of the ritual. I can’t believe the indignity I’m subjected to as Prince Aurelion shuffles forward. My shins and knees are bare. My hands tremble, and I clutch my skirts tighter so he won’t see.
“Higher, oh, Light of the Sun. Give me everything.”
I’ll give him nothing. I’m about to refuse, drop my skirts, and leave the chamber when I remember the dry wells and Vathira’s lack of defenses.
Gritting my teeth, I lift my skirts higher. To distract me from the thought of the prince’s snout there, I close my eyes and try to imagine it is Kaelun, but Aurelion’s hot breath on my leg is nothing like Kaelun’s tender touch, his passionate kisses. The way he held and stroked and kissed me there like it meant something.
Aurelion lets out a low growl. His breath teases my bush, and suddenly his snout nudges at the sensitive flesh there.
I suck in a gasp, clapping a hand over my mouth to try to hide my reaction, but his laughter rumbles against my pussy. And then a hot tongue slicks out to spear into my most private place. It pushes through my folds and curls up and into me, and my knees go weak.
The prince lets out another growl, and despite myself, I shiver.
Afraid of my reaction, I push his head away. “Enough. Surely that is all you need.”
He stands, and I’m disgusted and fascinated at once by the way he licks his lips as if he savors what he tasted. “Mmm. I find I am famished. You were right. Let us eat.”
I hate the way his words send another shiver through me and make it even harder to remember Kaelun’s mouth on my pussy. I ignore the implied meaning, only turning and striding from the room. On the way out I order the nearest guard, “Fetch Master Solen. Let him know the feast is to be readied for our guest.”
Kaelun
There’s something off about Grinning Ellys. I can tell as soon as I meet him next to the stall at the market selling tiny glass vials. He watches me from the shadows in the alley around the corner as I approach, his beady eyes running over me and every passerby in a manner that makes me think he’s sizing us up, coldly calculating how much each of us might be worth alive or dead.
