AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I placed a hand on his forearm, applying gentle, comforting pressure. Not that he needed my comfort. But Erix, out of all the princes, was kinder. There was no real cruelty and coldness in his eyes, only the drive to do what he was bound to do. He was a hunter through and through, and I couldn’t fault him for that. He met my eyes with a quizzical frown, as though he couldn’t understand why I was willingly touching him. He, the faerie who’d chased me down through the slums of Karn and trapped me in this place of nightmares.
A swift wind blew through the open windows, whipping my hair around my face as sending chills over my exposed skin. A winter frost was settling over the Void Wood tonight. Erix snapped his fingers, the blue of his eyes and tattoos flaring to life as a fire sparked in the hearth I hadn’t noticed before. Then the shutters slammed closed, cutting off the chill instantly as warmth filled the room. His eyes never left mine as I watched in awe. I’d never seen casual mage magic before like this, mostly just spells.
“Thank you,” I whispered. “You’re the only one who’s shown me an ounce of kindness since I arrived.” It wasn’t entirely untrue. Yes, the princes were cold and cruel…but they hadn’t hurt me in the way I was prepared to be hurt. They didn’t keep me in a dungeon cell or force themselves inside of me. They dressed me in fine clothes, fed me, bathed me, and all they asked for in return was my servitude.
Erix placed a palm on my cheek. I didn’t move, holding my breath as he ran his eyes over my face, my hair and my body. I would have paid any amount to know what was going on inside of his head.
“I amnota kind male, you should know that. But I admire what you did for your brother. It was brave and selfless, and I don’t think you’ve given yourself the credit you deserve.” I blinked at him, letting his words sink in slowly. Surely, he was toying with me. He stroked my cheek with the pad of his thumb. His jaw flexed again, his brows furrowing, as if he was struggling with something on the tip of his tongue. I didn’t say a word, afraid that if I did, he would change his mind. After a silent moment, he said, “I had a sister once, and I would have done anything to keep her safe. Anything at all.”
“Had?” I asked. More like whispered.
“Araya was a mage. A general in my uncle’s army. She died in a raid on Paragon. She was reckless and thought she was invincible. Only that time, I wasn’t there to protect her. I should have been by her side but instead, I was bound to the Wild Hunt.”
Paragon, the island nation of giants. Giants were warlords, and there had been no peace between their two kingdoms in thousands of years. They were some of the oldest beings in existence, yet they’d never learned how to exist peacefully even with their own kind.
“If Riven and I had been there things might have ended differently. I might have been able to stop her from taking on more than she could handle. Magic isn’t an infinite well to pull from. She should have known that.” He looked away, shaking his head as if to shake away the memories. “But all that’s in the past now. There’s no point in dwelling on the what if’s. Araya is gone and what’s done is done.” He looked at me again, face soft. “I just thought you should know that I do admire your reasons for giving up your freedom. You showed more bravery than most faeries ever will in their infinite lifetimes.”
I gripped his arm tight with shaking fingers, my eyes stinging as I fought to keep tears at bay. After weeks of captivity, I had no idea how much I needed to hear those words.
“Thank you, Erix. It means more than you know.” I whispered shakily. And I meant it. I meant every word.
Erix
Iwashed the blood off my arms and hands before peeling off my riding clothes, leaving them in a pile at my feet. There was so much of it that I could scrub for days and never quite feel clean. Today’s hunt didn’t go well. Instead of returning with a new bounty, we returned covered in him.
I hated when they fought back. This faerie in particular deserved his fate, and I couldn’t bring myself to feel any ounce of remorse for the way our elhorns had torn him limb from limb, savoring their meal as he begged for his life. He was a rapist, a murderer, and a child killer. We’d hunted him for hours through the lower valley. He thought he could escape through the veil, but we were faster.
Vazden was cleaning up our steeds while Haelo and Cadoc returned the head of our bounty to their father Osiris who’d summoned the hunt. I usually offered to make the journey in their place, if only to spare them from having to face him, but not today. Today, I had the bathing rooms to myself, so I’d shooed away the concubines and servants who clamored to assist me. I could bathe myself. Just the thought of their hands on my skin made me want to vomit.
The bathing pool was steaming hot when I dipped beneath the water. Candlelight winked off of the dark, rippling surface like stars in the night sky. My body instantly relaxed, my muscles unlocking as I laid my head back and spread my arms out wide across the edges. I stayed like that for an hour, fighting the urge to sleep.
Eventually, I added a drop of rose-scented soap to my palm, deciding it was time to get the rest of the faerie’s blood off of my body. I found myself thinking of Kyre. The sweet florals of the soap flooded my senses, reminding me of her soft, copper curls brushing my face. My cock was instantly hard, as it was every time she was near. She was going to be a problem for me.
I’d never taken a concubine to bed. Not in all the years I’d been a Prince of the Wild Hunt. Not since losing Araya due to my own mistakes. The Hunt was supposed to be a punishment, and so far, I hadn’t allowed myself to indulge in the same pleasures as my brothers.
They’d fully embraced this new life in ways that I never could. I missed who I was before our exile, commanding armies for our king, charging into battle with soldiers who trusted me, fighting for my people. That’s who I was down to my core, and it was stripped away in a single, devastating blow.
Kyre made me feel things I told myself I would never feel again. Sparks of the male I used to be burned like embers in my chest. I could feel him there, desperately clawing to come out. He wanted her. To take her, to fuck her, to own her. It wasn’t just her beauty that captured me. It was her selflessness. Her bravery. She reminded me of who I used to be. That never-ending ferocity and drive to keep going.
I pictured her the way she looked the last time we were in this room together, on her knees with Haelo’s cock in her mouth. Her skin was soft and luminous, the fullness of her breasts and curves so different from the faerie females I’d had in the past. She was lush, soft, and inviting.
I fisted my cock beneath the water, imagining the way she’d look on her knees before me, those amber eyes staring up through her long lashes as my length slid down her throat. I groaned, my head falling back as I rubbed myself, squeezing my palm hard enough to mimic the feel of her throat swallowing around me. My movements sped up as my balls tightened. Then a scent hit me like a blow to the face. A familiar scent. One that had my entire body going taut.
Opening my eyes, I saw her there, standing just inside the doorway holding a stack of washcloths. Her red hair was tied up in a ribbon, curls spilling out everywhere. Her dress was white, stopping at her ankles, and there was a slit that ran up her right leg, ending at the curve of her waist.
Kyre was smiling, her warm, doe eyes knowing and full of heat. I’d seen that heat the day I showed her to her new chambers, but I’d left before she even realized what she was feeling. There was a tension between the two of us that was thick and unmistakable. I wanted her with a fire that I hadn’t felt in decades. More.
“Where are the others?” she asked, her voice soft and quiet as she locked the door behind her. Padding across the room, she set the towels down on a clawfoot table next to the soaps and oils. Her eyes fell on my discarded clothes, covered in blood and gore. Her nostrils flared and her face paled, but she hid it well.
My fist was still around my cock when I answered. “They’ll return in the morning. I’m afraid you’re stuck with me for the evening.”
She faced me, the light of the candles behind her creating a golden glow off of her red hair. I let my gaze travel over her soft curves lazily, appreciating the rare beauty that she was. The first time I’d laid eyes on Kyre, I’d been hunting her for the Wild Hunt. Right now, I hunted for a different reason.
“I hope you don’t mind sharing,” she said, stepping closer. Her fingers wrapped around the delicate strap of her dress, pulling it off of her shoulder before moving to the next. “I was hoping to wash up a little before bed.”
My cock pulsed in my palm as her dress slid down to her waist, exposing her ample breasts. Her golden skin was luminous and soft, and I wanted so badly to taste it. “So, you thought you’d help yourself to the princes’ private baths.” I raised a brow, feigning audacity. No one would care if she chose to use our baths if it meant that we were the only males allowed to see her naked body.
Kyre wasn’t yet fully aware of how possessive faeries could be of their possessions. The moment she signed her life away and agreed to become our shared concubine, she became a part of us. If any male so much as laid a finger on what was ours, he’d lose that finger, and possibly his head.
