“Why would I do that?” Keltyr asked as he traded places with Xae. He slid into me, set one hand on my hip and the other on my cock, then proceeded to give me exactly what I needed.
Xae leaned against the tile wall to watch, a soft smile on his lips. “Rath is a fool.”
“Feel free to reciprocate,” Kel said. “A finger is a good substitute.” Xae chuckled as he stepped forward.
“Not yet!” I cried.
“All right, love.” Xae took my cock from Kel and let him focus on fucking me. “Don't fret. You know we always take care of you.”
He was right. They always did. And this time was no exception. Xae worked me until I cried out and came against the wall, pumping me through it. Only then did remove his hand, now soapy, and move toward Kel. I looked over my shoulder to watch Kel grin at Xae as Xae's hand went behind him.
Then Keltyr groaned, his eyes closing. “A little deeper, please.”
Xae's free hand slid over my back as he leaned closer to us.
“Fuck!” Kel shouted and jerked against me, his cock kicking inside me. He fell forward over me, his shaft limp but still in me, and grinned from me to Xae. “Thanks, buddy.”
“No problem.” Xae smacked Kel's ass, then stepped out of the shower.
Licking his lips, Kel looked from the door to me.
“No. Really?” I asked as his cock hardened inside me.
“You up for it?”
“Oh, yeah.” I braced myself against the wall and pushed back on my horned and horny lover. “But pull out this time.”
Chapter Three
We decided to eat lunch before we did some magic training with Xaedren and Keltyr. Especially Keltyr, who was new to having access to all the elements. So, we faded down to the arrival chamber (our latest trick to get out of using the stairs) and went into the dining hall where the Creen staff members were busy refreshing some of the platters on the buffet and setting out carafes of beverages. They were also cleaning up a particularly messy table.
“Looks as if the kids have eaten,” I said as we passed by.
Xae grunted. He was a bit of a grunter. In a sexy way. Not a sexual way, mind you. Although he did grunt during sex too. But I mean, his grunts sound sexy. All right, moving on.
I also looked for Taroc. Couldn't help it. He wasn't there. Disappointed, I filled a plate, then followed Rath to our usual table, across the hall from the kids' table. Since the Creen were so busy, I'd gotten my drink at the end of the buffet instead of waiting for one of them to bring me something. Sitting among my lovers, I ate, a feeling of sublime peace and pleasure infusing me. I had whined about training but it felt good to do something physical and useful. My body had that warm, slightly tired feeling that came from a good workout. The sex had only added to it. I glanced at Rath and grinned. He was still annoyed at Keltyr.
I understood why Rath was so upset. Kel shouldn't have done that without permission. Rath was right; I'm Kel's lover, not him. Keltyr couldn't have known if such a . . . gesture would be welcome. It obviously wasn't. Even though it produced a good result. Well, maybe it wasn't good. Rath didn't like it, and I certainly didn't like him finishing so soon. Though, that could come in handy when I had more men to satisfy. Oh, great Goddess, what a thought. I set those thoughts aside and focused on my food.
I was halfway through when my Wraith Lord pendant vibrated. I looked down to find the moonstone glowing around the silver W set over it. Similar glows came from the necklines of my men. But not only them. A few Wraith Lords around the room also stood up and faded. Whenever I was on a mission, the team was at least ten Lords strong—Emperor's orders. I assumed the other Wraith Lords had gone to their rooms to change into their armor, as I was about to do.
This time I waited to fade with my men.
We got up, leaving the remnants of our meal, and nodded at each other. In unison, we faded up to our suite, appearing in the same positions we had stood in downstairs. The only difference was Kel, who had gone to his room. Immediately, Rath, Xae, and I hurried into the massive dressing room and then to our individual armor stands.
All of this was done without conversation. We knew what we'd be facing—the same thing we had faced countless times since the Corrupter had discovered a way to bring the dead back to life. Well, a type of life. No, not even that. He animated corpses with Death Magic. They didn't have souls or thoughts beyond what he put into their heads. At least, we assumed they didn't. They were walking weapons that left bits of rotted flesh in their wake. And the Emperor still hadn't delivered his promised counterspell to release the corpses. So, all we could do was destroy them.
For Wraith Lords, such a situation was disheartening. Usually, missions involved protecting people from the Corrupted—the Corrupter's enchanted human soldiers—and freeing the Corrupted from enchantment. The second bit was really what we were needed for. No one else had Spirit Magic to free the Corrupted. The Goddess's magic also gave us the ability to fade.
“Ember?” Rath asked.
I looked up as I finished buckling the last strap. Rath and Xae were both armored up, looking brutally fantastic. Xae was even larger than normal in his chainmaille and plates, but Rath—seeing him like this always reminded me of the day we met. The day I saved his life.
“Ready,” I said, pushing thoughts of Rath fighting the Corrupter out of my mind.
We didn't wait for Keltyr; he'd meet us there. Instead, the three of us grabbed our Wraith Lord pendants and faded, letting the pendants direct the magic.
With a shivering rush, I was swept across Varr. Or maybe I wasn't. Maybe I'd only gone a few miles. I hadn't traveled a lot before I joined the Wraith Lords, and missions hardly counted. So I didn't know a lot about the world. I might recognize a city I'd been sent to before, but then again, I might not. They all looked the same when they were infested with—
