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“You know that she healed herself. She looks better than when she arrived,” Drac ground out.
Gidon leaned on the mantel and observed Drac. He was actually disturbed. Gidon’s beast could feel the tension rolling off him. He doubted the princess was Drac’s mate considering she was not of their kind, but the reaction that she drew from both man and beast was dangerous. The very fact Drac started pacing like a caged animal was caused for concern.
“I toyed with the idea of having her stay longer. Giving her time to heal and to also mend the damage her attackers had wrought.”
He watched the coldness seep deeper into Drac’s eyes upon the mention of the Darkans who were currently being held in the dungeons.
Gidon had no intention of conducting a hearing for Drac’s actions, and knew the elders and chancellors would be displeased. He was flouting laws that he had laid down but he had been present, the control that Drac had lost due to the princess her being hurt was not something Gidon wanted anyone to be privy to at this time. The cadre he trusted with his life would not reveal anything, and the Darkans awaiting trial had enough to fear.
“She is mended,” Drac rasped.
“She is not, Drac,” Gidon said. “The elixir may have healed her wounds, but the terror of what happened must linger within her, and she will question why she was attacked. I will have to explain the distaste many of our people have for her kingdom. I will invite her to remain with us for several days while getting to know our world. We want to form a relationship with a kingdom so we can ascend out of complete darkness for the prosperity of our people. She is the bridge we need to the kingdom of wind and mountains. The potential benefits for our realm if we form a relationship with Boreas are vast. How would that be attained if the princess were to return tomorrow with the memory of her attack at the forefront of her thoughts? She is ignorant as to what we have to offer, and we will take this opportunity to do something our Kingdom has never done before.”
“Fuck!” Drac curse rang in the chamber. “The desire to be near her is searing and constant. I was in the shadows watching her prepare for an audience with you. She is nervous, and I want to soothe her.” He sat in the high winged back chair by the fire, tipping his head to the ceiling. “My resistance will eventually crumble and I will take her. She is so much more fragile than what I am, how would she be able to withstand the viciousness of my beast’s chakra? What if I am too rough? What if I lose control, Gidon? What if she is harmed and I go on a rampage?” Drac asked with a throb of some emotion Gidon could not identify as it did not bespoke darkness.
He frowned at Drac’s statement of intent. “You will stay away from the princess. She is the heir to the Borean throne and is blood bound to Nuria. She is not just an outsider who tempts you. You court war to entertain the thought of bedding her.”
“If she stays beyond the morrow, for the remainder of the days I will have her under me, over me and every way I can imagine until I am sated. Expect nothing less from me,” Drac said.
There was a lengthy silence while Gidon observed his friend. He trusted Drac with his life and kingdom. He would never endanger the ideals Gidon and his father worked so tirelessly and mercilessly toward. Drac’s difficulty in restraining his desire in a situation fraught with so many implications troubled Gidon. He could always rely on Drac for his unflappable calm, his logical ruthlessness, and his ability to be unfazed by emotions.
“Is it that bad?” Gidon asked.
Drac ran his fingers roughly through his hair. “I enter the hallways and her scent eats at my gut, my beast claws at my mind to reach out to a beast in her that is not present. My cock gets painfully hard with just a fleeting thought of her. Her taste is none like I have ever had. It creates a craving in me that has my control of my darkness tenuous, as it roars wanting to devour. It’s a need that is visceral. I hunger for her.”
“Her taste Drac?”
He met Gidon’s eye unflinching.
“Her taste.”
“Fuck,” Gidon replied, which really said it all. “And was the princess open to you tasting her?” Not that he thought his friend would force any woman, but she was the damn Princess of Boreas, she should be skittish and fearful, not receptive to seduction.
Drac snarled and the lust and satisfaction that fired in his eyes had Gidon rocking back on his heels and mentally cursing.
“I cannot leave here until she departs with Lachlan. I want to be away from her Gidon, but I need to be here. If she was ever attacked again while I am away is not something I want to even consider.”
It was imperative that nothing at this stage tip the delicate balance they were trying to get established with her nation. A Darkan could not claim a woman belonging to another kingdom without inviting war, much less the heir of Boreas.
Definitely a royal cluste
r fuck. “She will be heavily guarded. I have selected a team of my five deadliest and loyal warriors to be her shadow for the duration of her stay if she accepts my invitation. She will not be harmed; you can return to the Northern Keep and concentrate your energy on finding the assassin of my father,” Gidon vowed.
Drac looked at him as if he was losing his mind.
“I cannot leave knowing death shadows her steps while she is here,” he stated implacably. “Do not doubt me, my friend, I will find the assassin of our Ricarkri, but I need to be here now. It is only five days, and Tehdra is mounting a search for the cowards, and she will not fail.”
Gidon had never thought Drac capable of putting anything before executing his duty. He was not like many that yearned to find the other half to themselves, and had always been wary of being vulnerable to a woman. They could have relationships, but there came a time when a Darkan meets a man or woman who the beast in them craved, and when they took that mate, it was for life.
“Do not bed her unless she is your mate. If she is yours then you are bound to her and her to you. Only if you are certain, Drac. If not, stay away from her,” Gidon ordered with finality ringing in his voice.
“I will depart in five days when she departs.” Drac shiktred away.
It really was easier to dominate with fear, Gidon mused. To simply take what he needed from each kingdom would be much simpler, but he had a vision for his people that many did not understand, and he had to rule with fairness and respect the other kingdoms in Amagarie. The character of the Ricarkri would be the character of the kingdom. If he ruled with the rage, treachery and viciousness that would be the only way his nation was perceived. If he wanted honor bargains, treaties and gifts for his nation, he would have to rise above the mercilessness inside of him and rule with fairness, strength and graciousness. A challenge, but one he welcomed.
***
The king’s private room was designed with regal elegance. The floor was made with onyx stones, and the great chairs and the dais were made from oak and padded with the softest of silver and blue velvet. The cavernous fireplace blazed with a fire that illuminated the stunning mastery of the tapestries which adorned the walls. Her feet sank into plush carpets threaded with an intricate design. Upon peering closer Saieke realized the threading had drawn pictures of several beasts in motion.
