Everything was black. There was no up or down, no left or right. He couldn’t see his body. He’d only ever been in darkness this complete once, when he’d explored a cave too deeply as a child. Unlike that harrowing experience, he was not freezing cold. If anything, he was pleasantly warm. Emmeric seemed to be standing on something solid, but, crouching down, his hand passed through air beyond his feet. Spinning in a circle, he scanned the darkness for a hint of where he might be. He stopped.
There.
A small flicker of light, no larger than a firefly. As he watched, the light grew, moving towards him and gradually forming into a woman. It wasn’t until she was almost upon him that he realized it was Iyana. She continued walking towards him, the glow fading the closer she came, but golden sparks continued to surround her, creating an electric charge between them. Her luscious dark hair floated around her as if she were underwater. Eyes dipping lower, he noticed her sheer white gown. Iyana’s entire body was on display: her golden-tan skin, her full breasts that would be a perfect handful, the dip at her waist, her taut stomach and curves of her hips—the space between her legs. He felt himself hardening. Before he was ready—he would happily stare at her all day—she was upon him, hands running up his chest, pressing her delicious body close to his. She gasped as she encountered his arousal, grinding her hips right where he wanted her to.
He broke. Grabbing her face between his hands, he pressed his lips to hers with a fervor he hadn’t realized he possessed. She groaned into his mouth, grinding against him again. He wanted to eat that sound and took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. Their tongues danced together, bodies pressing in closer. He tilted her head back farther, kissing down her neck. His mouth found the perfectly raised bud of her nipple, sucking on it through her gown. When she gasped and grabbed his hair, he flicked it with his tongue.
He looked up to see her beautiful face as he gave her pleasure, but then she smiled sadly at him and pushed him away.
He fell, fell, fell…
Emmeric woke up, hitting the floor hard after rolling off the bed. He groaned, laying still for a moment to recover. Shoving himself to a sittingposition, he rubbed his ankle. He had hurt it somehow a couple days prior, and the fall definitely did it no favors. His other hand pressed into his chest. The tightness there had been worsening the further he traveled—like a band pulled taut and ready to snap. Although he didn’t want to admit it, he knew it was the distance from Iyana. Glancing out the window, he saw it was dusk. He’d slept for a few hours then.
He bathed first before going downstairs for dinner, thinking the other guests may be appreciative after a week on the road. Huton was one of the few towns outside of Athusia with hot water on tap, and he loved sinking into the luxurious heat after only bathing in frigid streams. Relaxing in the bath, he thought about the dream. The dream that most certainly did not mean he wanted Iyana. Because he didn’t. She was attractive, sure… but then he remembered how she moved against his body, and the little gasps when he did something she liked. His blood all rushed south, and a very important body part did not get the memo Iyana was not who or what he desired. That dream, though… He recognized it wasn’t real—Iyana hated him—but it felt real; she had beenright therein his arms. It had been a little while since his last tryst; so, with a resigned sigh, he reached beneath the water, gripping himself firmly. Telling himself the whole time,it doesn’t mean anything.
Zane
Zane rode into Huton with only three other men, all wearing civilian clothing. He wanted to fly under the radar as much as possible. Unfortunately, that also meant Ryunn had to stay behind. The horse’s size and pedigree would screamroyalty, as would too large of a party, especially if it appeared one man was being ‘covertly’ protected. So, he needed to pretend he was friends with these other men instead of being above them. But that presented a problem—he couldn’t even remember their names. Had he been wearing the mask of an asshole to protect himself for so long he actuallybecamean asshole? While theymeandered through the streets to find an inn, he tried to put a name to the faces. Two of them were almost identical, with a similar hulking height and build, dull brown hair—maybe they were brothers. One was Greg, he thought—it definitely started with a ‘G’.
“Geoffrey will go procure our rooms for us,” said the third in his company.Geoffrey. The third member was decidedly different from the other two. For one, he had long, wavy, bright red hair that he obviously took great pride in. And, two, he was always laughing and happy. The opposite of Zane in almost every way. Zane would rather be on his own, reading a book, whereas this man thrived in the company of others. During the three days it took to travel, he was the only one who would talk to Zane like he was an actual person and not a crown prince. What was his name? Something animal related. He remembered that much. Claw…? That didn’t seem right. But they were at the stables, and about to go inside. He’d figure it out later.
“Book them indefinitely, Geoffrey,” Zane said, using the man’s name as if he hadn’t learned it only a minute ago. “I don’t know how long we’ll be staying here.” The man nodded and ducked inside. The rest of them unloaded their packs and brushed down the horses. Luckily, they had arrived in time for dinner, and the group of four settled at a table. A pretty woman set down a tankard of beer in front of all of them. He scanned her from head to toe; she smiled and winked in response. This was the great thing about being on the road—his father had no say in who he took to bed. Uther would consider a barmaid unworthy of his attention.
“They only had two rooms left,” said Geoffrey. “Sorry.” He nodded in Zane’s direction.
“That’s alright,” said…Beak? No. “You and Gordon can bunk together, and Zane and I will share.” He gave Zane a hearty pat on the back, and the small interaction made him feel so much lighter. Rarely would anyone call him by his given name, without a title attached. It was always Crown Prince Zane, or Your Highness, or sire. He honestly could not remember the last time someone had addressed him solely asZane. Even with his father, he rarely was simply himself.
They ate their dinner in silence, the only sounds at their table those of chewing or slurping beer, but the rest of the tavern was getting rowdy with drunken men arguing over poker games. He locked eyes with the barmaid across the room, motioning towards the stairs. With a toothy grin, she removed her apron and left the dininghall. Zane stood to follow her, but then remembered he’d be sharing his room with someone. He glanced at the redhead.
“Go on,” he said. “We’ll be down here for a bit yet.” Zane managed a small smile, but it was genuine. And then he surprised himself by patting the man’s shoulder as he left the table. He never struck up a comradery with his guards, not after the last time. “Alright, boys, time for some poker,” said the redhead, clapping his hands together.
Gordon groaned. Or was it Geoffrey? “You sweep the floor with us every time, Talon.”Talon. Zane liked it, it fit him.
“I can’t help it if you both have awful tells,” said Talon, beaming. He was always smiling. “Seriously, didn’t your father teach either of you about a poker face?” Ha! Theywerebrothers. As Zane walked away, they continued their friendly conversation, and he was a little sad he wasn’t taking part. But he didn’t belong. Those weren’t his actual friends—they were just play-acting. He considered going back, maybe ask to join their game.
But the busty barmaid was waiting at his door, leaning against it so her breasts pushed forward more, and Zane resolved to lose himself in a wholly different activity instead. He knew how to do this. Making friends was harder for him. So he pressed his body to hers, unlocking the door behind her and walking inside. Once he had the door closed, she forced him against it and captured his lips. She kissed like she was starving, and Zane gave back what he received. Picking her up, she wrapped her legs around his waist, and he walked them to the bed without breaking the kiss. Her tongue swept inside his mouth, and he let her take charge.
They undressed hurriedly, and she really did have magnificent breasts. He sucked on each nipple, causing her to arch her back with a gasp. Then, kissing his way down her stomach, he found she loved it when he sucked and licked a wholly different area. It didn’t take long for her to come with a lusty cry, and then she was pulling him back up to her by his hair. She was an eager lover, and he was more than happy to oblige. Kissing her deeply again so she’d taste herself on his tongue, he entered her with one swift motion. He fucked her hard and fast, chasing his release. It came upon him quickly, and he withdrew at the last possible second, spilling himself over her stomach. For several moments, it was quiet except for heavy breathing. She tried to caress his skin, getting closer to kiss him again. Instead he stood, wetting a rag inthe bathing room, and cleaned her of his mess. Then, like the ass he was, he dumped her clothing on her lap.
“I don’t cuddle,” he said. She appeared disappointed, but said nothing as she dressed and left the room.
Zane sighed as he flopped back onto the bed, not bothering to get dressed. Talon said they’d be awhile, anyway. The release only provided a reprieve from his thoughts for so long, and she wasn’t exactly the flavor he’d been craving, anyway. Staring at the ceiling, hands behind his head, he wondered how long he could stay here without doing as his father asked before Uther discovered him. Because he always did. Somehow, the old man knew precisely when he was somewhere he shouldn’t be or when he was lingering in one place for too long.
Zane prided himself on being the empire’s top tracker. When he had been twenty-one, his father’s go-to had challenged him to a tracking contest. Uther tasked a man with leaving Athusia and he was given a day’s head start. There were no rules—he was allowed to hide or run to wherever he saw fit. Not only did Zane find him within three hours—he’d holed up in a brothel at the edge of the city—but the other tracker stepped into a hunter’s snare deep within the forest, and the prince found him as well. Uther only used Zane from then on for the more complex missions. Especially since he was confident an opposing party would be unable to tempt his son to abscond the empire or betray his sovereign; the emperor had the prince under his thumb. Even when he didn’t personally agree with missions he’d been tasked with, Zane never complained. His time outside of the castle was too precious to risk losing it.
Wondering what his father wanted a tiny village woman for, he figured he was better off not knowing. Because that’s what he did. He ignored his father’s misdeeds, tried to keep himself on his less-bad side, and waited for the bastard to die. Zane was not particularly excited about gaining the throne, becoming emperor, ruling an entire empire. But if Uther was dead, he’d be free. His people would be free. He could drop the mask he always wore and be himself.
He would no longer feel as if he was drowning.
Emmeric
Aloud, raucous cheer from downstairs woke Emmeric abruptly. Groaning, he rolled over, only to notice it was fully dark outside the window.Godsdammit, he’d missed dinner. His stomach chose that moment to growl, protesting his choice of priorities. He really hadn’t meant to sleep through the afternoon, only a twenty-minute nap at most. But the past week had caught up to him, and he slept peacefully. Thankfully, without any dreams. Emmeric had taken this extra day to recuperate, eat good meals, and sleep in an actual bed, but he planned on leaving in the morning. Hopefully a merchant would take pity on him and let him bum a ride in their wagon so he wouldn’t need to walk the entire distance to Athusia.
Splashing his face with cold water, he decided to see if there was still some stew and bread left in the kitchen. The cook was a portly middle-aged woman, but he found flattery could get you most places, so if he had to flirt with her to eat he’d do it. He padded downstairs, still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, but stopped short at the doorway into the tavern.
Across the room was a shock of bright red hair. Was it? Then a familiar laugh rang out through the room. He knew that laugh, he’d grown up with that laugh. Emmeric was stuck. He didn’t know if he should go over there and say,hey, I’m alive, or tackle him, or bolt back up to his room to compose himself. Before he decided, Talon raised his head, finding Emmeric immediately. His eyes widened. He made a show of stretching and yawning, then collected his winnings from the two men he was with. Was that Geoff and Gordon? He signaled to the stairs with a subtle nod, and Emmeric took the hint, climbing back up to his room, hearing Talon’s footsteps a beat behind him.
Talon burst into his room, slammed the door behind him, and wrapped Emmeric in a tight hug. Emmeric clung to his friend, fighting back tears, the familiar scentof spiced rum enveloping him. Gods, he hadn’t realized how much he’d missed this man. Pulling out of the hug, Talon rested his forehead against Emmeric’s, and took a deep, shuddering breath. They stayed that way for a moment, soaking in each other’s presence.
