STORY EXCERPT

Gabriel kissed his brother’s cheek and grinned. “Just remember. Keep taking care of yourself, and everything will be just fine.”

“Will do, Gabriel.” Kalin smiled sheepishly. “It’s not easy to forgo my usual sparring, but for the welfare of our son, I’m willing to do anything.”

Cade wrapped his arm around Kalin’s waist and kissed Kalin’s temple fiercely. “He’s our treasure.”

Gabriel smiled slightly, although he was, for some reason, unsettled. He had experienced this wish to return to Xeetha for quite a while, not with particular urgency, but still quite insistently. Lucien was already making preparations for the portal for their departure, as always, very sensitive to Gabriel’s moods.

“It’s nice to have you here, but we won’t keep you,” Kalin said in the meantime. “We know you are both needed in Xeetha.”

Just as Kalin finished the phrase, Lucien got up, gesturing Gabriel toward the portal. Gabriel quickly hugged his sibling, his anxiety soothed when he felt the new life pulsing inside Kalin. As he released his brother, he went to hug Cade as well. Lucien followed his example, although his own good-byes were quicker due to the fact that he needed to monitor the portal.

At the last moment, Gabriel had a feeling there was something he was forgetting. He gave Kalin and Cade a serious look. “I think you should come with us. Something’s going on.”

Both Kalin and Cade seemed startled, but didn’t question Gabriel. All the members of Gabriel’s family had learned by now to trust Gabriel’s advice when he had this type of feeling.

“All right,” Cade answered. “Let’s go.”

Gabriel took Lucien’s hand, and together, they jumped into the portal. The energy effortlessly carried them between the two countries, and in seconds, they reached the other side, landing in Xeetha. Behind them came Cade and Kalin.

Cain and Pierre were there waiting for them, together with Zeli and Orin. They were quiet, their expressions subdued and somewhat puzzled. “What’s the matter?” Gabriel immediately asked.

“We’ve received a message from the mercenaries,” Cain replied. “Destyan has been actively pursuing them ever since we returned from Alaria. They’re hiding like bugs in their caves and valleys, but we’re weeding them out. Now they’re threatening us, making hints regarding Kazyan.”

Lucien tensed. “What about Kazyan?” he inquired. “What do they wish with him?”

“We don’t know,” Zeli replied. “Kazyan seems to know what they’re talking about. He and Destyan are waiting for us at dinner.”

Orin smiled slightly. “We just knew we could rely on Gabriel to bring Kalin and Cade as well.”

“But what could be so serious so as to warrant us all gathering here?” Cade inquired. “Kazyan and Destyan know how the situation is in Alaria. They wouldn’t summon us here for just anything.”

“We don’t know,” Cain replied. “Kazyan seemed upset about it, though.”

Gabriel said nothing as he and the others headed toward a private dining room. It wasn’t at all unusual for the Xeetahn royal family to dine together. No matter what duties they had, they all made it their business to return to the palace in the evening to share the last meal of the day. Usually, Gabriel would have gone to check on his son first since he missed Cain dearly when he was away from Xeetha, but something told him whatever Lyan had to tell them couldn’t wait.

As they reached the dining room, though, Gabriel noticed with glee that his mother was already there, as were the three babies she usually cared for. She was holding baby Cain, while Orin’s son Cyan was cooing in Lyan’s grip. Tiny Sidhe Davin was enjoying the attention of the Xeetahn king himself.

As everyone walked inside, Lyan and Seyran surrendered their precious charges to Patrice’s care. “Welcome back,” Lyan said to Gabriel. “And thank you for bringing Cade and Kalin. They have to hear this as well.”

“What is it, Kazyan?” Cade inquired. “You’re worrying us. What is this whole thing about the mercenaries?”

“I won’t go around the subject forever,” Lyan replied. “I truly wished I could have spared you this knowledge, but the truth is, son, my Kazyan originates from the mountains. I’ve been keeping tabs on him for years. I’m not surprised that he chose this moment to reveal himself.”

Cain gaped at him. “I thought your parents were dead.”

“In every way except the literal one, they were,” Lyan replied. “They abandoned me at birth, and I was raised by Iryus’s family. It was only once I became king consort that I managed to find out who they were.”

An ugly suspicion teased at the back of Gabriel’s mind. “You said your Kazyan came from there,” he dared to say. “What about your Destyan?”

At this, Seyran spoke for the first time. “He’s really dead now. I killed him.” When faced with the looks of shock coming from everyone, Gabriel included, Seyran explained, “Some of you knew him. Jerrol.”

Cade groaned. “So let me get this straight, Kaze. One of your parents is an outlaw mercenary and the other a former member of the Council, dead at Destyan’s hands. Why didn’t you tell us any of this before?”

“I didn’t want your lives to be shadowed by my past,” Lyan explained softly. “I do understand if this makes you see me in a different light.”

“Nonsense, Kazyan,” Cain immediately offered. “Nothing you say can ever change our opinion of you.”

Lucien remained silent, although Gabriel knew he wasn’t judging his birth father. He must probably be assessing the potential of military threat that could emerge from these dangerous revelations.

ADULT EXCERPT

Slowly, almost reverently, Cade undid Kalin’s pants, freeing Kalin’s cock from its confines. Kalin groaned at the first touch of his mate’s palm on his swollen flesh. Even the simplest caress felt amazing when it came from Cade. His dick twitched in Cade’s fist, and Kalin detected that irritating, typical smirk on his lover’s lips. So that was the way Cade wanted it to be. Well, Kalin could play the game as well as his mate.

He tightened his hold on Cade’s hair, glaring at the demon. “Is something amusing? Perhaps you find this displeasing or a topic worthy of your mockery. I said, suck me, or else you’ll find that whores like you are easy to find and easily discarded.”

Cade’s eyes widened, and Kalin had a few seconds to enjoy his moment of triumph, before his mate snapped back. “My apologies, my king,” Cade said. “I assure you I meant no disrespect.”

“Good,” Kalin replied. “Now put your mouth to better use, and be quick about it.”

Cade didn’t delay in complying with the order. Wet heat engulfed Kalin’s prick as the demon took the shaft all the way into his throat. Sensation exploded over Kalin’s body, and he slumped against his throne, clutching his mate’s long locks and forcing Cade’s head lower down. There was something to be said about this game. Kalin rarely asserted authority over Cade. Mostly, it was the other way around, as Kalin found freedom in surrendering to Cade. To a certain extent, this was similar, as in spite of seeming to control the situation, Kalin remained at Cade’s mercy. In truth, Cade was the one to dictate their rhythm, the extent of the pleasure he received, and that added a second, more subtle layer to Kalin’s pleasure.

The volcanic torture was so familiar, the rapture it brought so agonizingly beautiful, that it took everything in Kalin’s power not to come in mere moments. At one point, he stopped pretending to be in charge. He stopped being the king fucking the whore’s mouth and surrendered to Cade’s ministrations.

If anything, the change made Cade even more ravenous. The demon practically devoured Kalin’s cock, growling possessively around it. Distantly, Kalin realized that this must also be Cade’s way to reassert his dominance over Kalin, to brand Kalin all over again as his. His position at Kalin’s side had been threatened and questioned. While neither of them had even taken into account the suggestion as a valid alternative, instincts were not rational, and Kalin was, at this point, well accustomed to Cade’s passions and fiery nature.

With every second that passed, the heat and desire between them increased. At one point, Cade actually ripped Kalin’s pants off, tearing them into little shreds. Kalin knew he should have protested, but it gave Cade better access, so on the whole, Kalin considered it a good trade-off. Still sucking on Kalin’s cock, Cade rolled Kalin’s balls in his clawed hand, massaging the sac and sometimes squeezing it to an almost painful extent. The threat, the bite of pain, and, Light above, the sweet, addictive pleasure became too much for Kalin to handle.

He heard himself cry out Cade’s name, moaning, panting and pleading like he was the whore in the game they had begun. He couldn’t bring himself to regret it, as he had long ago agreed to give everything he was and had ever been to Cade. And if sex between them had always been explosive, since becoming pregnant, Kalin had grown even more sensitive, so he was already incredibly close to orgasm.

Cade took Kalin’s cock one last time inside his mouth and swallowed around the head. At the same time, he rubbed his finger over Kalin’s asshole, promising dark delights to come. A wave of pleasure coursed over Kalin, and with a cry, he exploded, sending his seed down Cade’s throat.

His mate greedily drank down Kalin’s offering, cleaning him with the same thoroughness he would put into a military strategy. Kalin shuddered, his mate’s ministrations quickly arousing his libido once again.

Cade seemed to have expected that and planned ahead. He removed his mouth off Kalin’s dick with a wet pop and retrieved the scraps of material that had once been Kalin’s pants. He toed off his boots, then, once free of the shoes, took off his own shirt and pants and placed them on the floor in front of the throne. Kalin watched all these preparations in a daze, still recovering from a mind-melting orgasm and too focused on his mate’s nudity to even try to figure out what his mate intended.

To a certain extent, he was not surprised when Cade pulled him off the throne and placed him on the impromptu nest of Cade’s clothes. The carpet beneath their feet combined with Cade’s garments formed quite a comfortable bed, something Cade must have obviously known. Since Kalin had fallen pregnant, their previously rough play had been toned down a bit in deference of the child Kalin carried. Kalin didn’t particularly mind, and he always looked forward to whatever his lover would do next. Just when he thought Cade was all burning passion, the demon showed him a different, gentle side, and Kalin loved him for it.

With almost excruciating tenderness, Cade tied Kalin’s hands down, using the base of the throne to immobilize Kalin. Of course, Kalin could have easily freed himself from the bindings if he so desired, but he didn’t. His muscles seemed to be filled with a strange lethargy, and his body was beginning to go limp. He was already entering that peculiar state of mind that allowed him to let go of all his troubles, to lose himself in Cade’s talented touch. The bindings were just a part of that, a cue that triggered an instinctual reaction inside Kalin.