She gasped as he watched her, pushing his tongue deeper and deeper until he found her spot and rubbed against it until she was trembling and begging him for mercy. Her legs quivered around his head where her thighs held him in place. He laughed huskily against her flesh, continuing until she exploded in ecstasy. But he didn’t stop; he moved his mouth, withdrawing his tongue to kiss his way down the inside of her thighs. His teeth nipped as his mouth ran down one thigh and then further until he once again feasted on her needy flesh, where his tongue delved inside and he growled from deep in his chest.
He worked her body until she was grinding against him, screaming his name as he pushed her over the edge. Slowly he kissed his way to her mouth, pushing his tongue in, forcing her to taste her arousal on his tongue as his cock entered her slowly.
“Dragon,” she uttered breathlessly. “I swear to the Gods if you go slowly because you think I cannot handle it, I’ll cut it off and do the job myself,” she warned.
“Careful what you wish for,” he laughed as he sat back, lifting her legs over his shoulder as he pushed into her body without waiting for permission. He pushed her body down, lifting her ass as he thrust into her until her brands ignited and the walls around them sang with her power. She smiled as he stalled, looking around the room. “The fuck, Ciara,” he demanded.
“If it senses my power, it adds to it. I’ll need to feed less to be sure Fury is fed. It’s a gift, and a very rare form of wards and runes mixed together; now start fucking moving, dragon.”
“Sassy little thing, I’m not the only male in the room who wants to fuck you,” he warned as his cock grew and she bucked against it, turning to her side as she rested her leg over his shoulder.
“Do your best,” she demanded, and he smiled at her challenge.
“Who does this pussy belong to?” he demanded softly. When she didn’t answer and only smirked at him, he tilted his head and brought his hand down on her ass, sending a rush of pain pulsing through her flesh. She screamed as he brought it down again, slowly massaging her flesh. “I asked who this pretty pink pussy belongs to,” he warned. “I expect an answer,” he warned, slapping her flesh again before he pushed in deeper.
“You, it’s yours, my dragon king,” she murmured as she used him to get what she needed, writhing against his cock as it hit against her nerves, sending heat and sweat beading at the base of her spine as he watched her.
“Fuck, you’re so hot,” he snarled as he withdrew and turned her over onto her stomach. “By the time I’m done with you, you’ll always feel me in you. You’ll never forget who had you first and who will have you last. You are mine, mine until the end of time. Do you hear me, Ciara? No man shall ever know what you taste like, what you fuck like, or that you growl when you come undone for me. You’re mine, forever more.”
He gripped her hips, entering her hard and fast until she buried her head in the soft mattress, screaming his name as her body trembled around him. His body jerked, and then his hand reached for her hair, turning her head so he could claim her lips. He sent butterflies racing through, her body clenched against his as the orgasm ripped through her. His name was all she could say; like an echo, she whispered it over and over as he took her.
Hours passed and yet he didn’t let up or slow. Instead, he got harder and more demanding until the dawn broke and they collapsed in a heap of tangled sheets and limbs. He pulled her close, whispering in his foreign tongue as her belly burned. She sat up, smiling down at him as he stared up.
“What was that?” she asked.
“That was my claim on you,” he whispered roughly. “You’re double fucked,” he laughed. “I claim you as my rite and my mate, little queen.”
“I’m okay with that,” she admitted as she leaned over and kissed him. “Now, my boobs hurt and I need to feed your son because I’ve apparently overeaten.”
He laughed, grabbing one, and then came up sputtering. “You shot me in the eye.”
“I didn’t!” she snorted, and then laughed as she took in his disgruntled look. “You…you,” she laughed until her side hurt, until he laughed beside her and they rolled on the bed. She turned, holding her side as she sat up.
“You’re a dangerous woman,” he murmured as he pulled her to him, kissing her softly. “Now go get our son, and feed him. I need those things empty to have the upper hand.”
“Using your son to help you already? I’m in trouble,” she laughed as she stood, moving into the nursery. She waved Darynda away when she rose, rubbing her eyes. “I’m just feeding him.”
She reached into the crib, pulling Fury to her and smiled as ocean blue glowing eyes stared at her. He may be part dragon, but he was full royal Fae and powerful if his eyes had already begun to glow. His eyes were changing already, to ocean blue with indigo rings around them. His arms jerked as if he was flexing and she slowly walked with him back into her room.
Blane had dressed in soft blue sweats and was closing the curtains as she entered the room. He leaned against the wall, watching as she moved to the bed, placing Fury on it before she walked to the dresser and pulled out a nightgown.
“I can’t sift or use glamour here,” she pointed out.
“You will live as I do, without magic,” he announced softly. “If Fury cannot use it, he needs to know he isn’t different than his mother. You’ll need time to adjust. And I like watching you do the mundane things, like bathing. I want to watch you brush your hair, knowing I tangled it.”
Her hand flew up to her hair, and he laughed. “This is crazy,” she pointed out. “I’ve used magic since I was young.”
“And I was taught to bathe,” he mumbled as he watched her gently pick up Fury and sit with him on the bed. She dropped the shoulder strap and presented her son with her breast as he latched on greedily. “I think he likes them as much as I do,” he laughed as he sat behind her, pulling her to him to rest against his chest as she fed their son. “You’ll adjust, and if he shows signs of magic, we will remove the wards.” Fury’s eyes glowed as Blane stared down at him. “Which will probably happen sooner than later,” he muttered under his breath. “He’s perfect, Ciara.”
“Isn’t he?” she asked. “He looks like you when he’s mad,” she pointed out.
“Does he? Probably a good thing, he’s a little too pretty,” he chuckled. “Can’t have the other kids thinking he is delicate.”
“He will be delicate, but not like a flower.” She turned her glowing eyes on Blane. “Delicate like a powder keg, ready to explode,” she mused.
Chapter Forty-One
She’d been stuck in her room for days, and with every day Blane ordered her to remain there, she got a little less willing to stay in it. She was the queen and yet she was locked in her room with guards posted outside the doors. She’d spent countless hours on the balcony with Fury, watching the dragons and people as they frolicked and began tending crops her family had provided.
He’d ignored her after claiming her for his rite of flight, as if she no longer mattered. It was enough. She placed Fury into Darynda’s arms and told her to take him to the nursery while she figured out what was happening that her husband hadn’t even bothered to visit her or their son.
Ciara opened the doors and marched out, finding her guards oblivious to her exit as they flirted with some of the maids. She’d played the perfect prisoner long enough that they’d grown slack with their detail position. She quietly closed the doors, spiriting down the hall towards the steps. Making her way to the great hall, she paused as the sound of Blane speaking created an ache of longing in her belly.
She slipped into the great hall, standing among the crowd of people who watched in the back all close together as he and his officials spoke from the front of the room.
“She is of a good, noble family and is favored among the people,” Kerrigan commented. “The Horde bitch has played
her role. The kingdom is finished without us having to fix it, the people are happy with what they’ve been given. They’ve voiced their worries and concerns for the choice of your bride, and what your poor wee son has been born with. He is innocent, but he is not ours. He carries the mark of the Horde on his flesh, and it has left your people terrified of what he will become after what was done to us at his people’s hands. You need an heir they will not fear, and Hannah can provide you that. She is full-blooded, so there will be no question as to what your child with her would be.”
Ciara’s stomach dropped as pounding started in her temples.
“She is a good choice,” Blane agreed with a frown on his mouth. “She would make a good queen to my people. I will need to speak to Ciara and give her time to adjust to what has been decided. And her new role as well,” he murmured.
“Of course, and the dungeon is ready for her.”
“She will not be moved to the dungeon. She is still the mother of my child.”
“As you wish, but the people feel she is a threat to them.”
Ciara blinked, sure she’d misheard him. He wouldn’t do this, would he? Of course he would, he’d gotten what he needed from her, and she’d handed to him on a silver platter.
“Then it is settled, the announcements will be made, and Hannah will replace the current queen with one the people can be happy with. And at your request, arrangements will be made to have the old queen removed from her rooms with the enemy she has brought to our midst immediately.”
Ciara backed out of the room and slowly, painfully made her way back to her room. So they were undoing what they had done? Her marriage meant nothing to Blane? They’d had a child together, and just like that, she was replaced? She was going to fucking murder him.
She tried to sift, watching the walls ignite in warning. He’d created a cage, lying to her about why he’d done it. It had nothing to do with their son and needing to see his mother do mundane things. It was to keep her here, to keep her prisoner and unable to leave him.
The guards watched her approach with apprehension as she passed them and entered the room. Once inside, she dropped to her knees as her stomach threatened to empty onto the white carpet. Why did she keep doing this to herself? Thinking she could reach the bastard who allowed others to sway him to their views.
She’d thought they had gotten through the worst of it, and she’d had this place redone for their return. She’d handed him his entire kingdom back in its full grandeur without him asking for it. Ciara looked around the room, noting that it was empty minus a few pieces of clothing that she owned.
Ryder had had the dressmakers tending to Synthia’s needs upon her arrival, while Blane had done nothing for her. Synthia hadn’t been locked in her room, unable to move freely about the castle either. Ciara had two rooms in the entire castle she’d been allowed in, and her husband’s bedroom wasn’t one of them.
She’d been content to remain in the rooms because Fury was so tiny, and she hadn’t wanted to be away from him, and yet she hadn’t been given a choice. He’d taken her magic away from her, leaving her helpless and defenseless, and she’d allowed it because she’d wanted to believe him.
Yet while she’d been locked in her rooms, he’d been choosing his new queen, as if she was only some enemy who meant nothing to him. A week had gone by since she’d seen him and everyone who visited or entered had merely said he was settling his people in, and she’d believed their lies. She was used to being in a place where lies didn’t happen, and if they did, she could vet them out since wordplay was easy enough to catch for the Fae.
The doorknob moved, and she slowly walked over to the table which held newly trimmed roses in it. She pulled them out, setting them aside as she held the vase and turned to watch as Blane walked into the room.
She threw it with her anger, watching as it shattered next to his head. She turned, plucking up the next one before using it to hit him. It hit him, breaking as he screamed.
“What the fuck, Ciara?” he demanded. His eyes burned with rage as he watched her move to the next. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” he growled as he rushed her, catching her.
“Get away from me! Did you think I wouldn’t know? You bastard!” she sobbed as she pulled her arms away from him and moved back, staring at him. “Get out!”
“What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“What about Fury? Will he be named your bastard when you take your new bride?” she seethed as her brands pulsed and the walls glowed in warning, sending pain shooting through her.
“The people no longer wish an outsider to be their queen,” he said coldly. “I am their king by choice; I cannot deny them their wishes. Kerrigan thinks they will revolt against you if I don’t listen to the people.”
“You married me! I didn’t ask to be your bride, and Fury didn’t ask to be your son, and yet we will be nothing to you?” she fumed as she reached for another vase, only for him to grab her wrist and take her to the floor.
“You will always be mine,” he warned. “He is Fae, or have you forgotten? You and your family slaughtered our people. They have a right to fear what will become of us if one resides on the throne. He has your brands, and it is no secret that while you have won over their hearts, they still fear you and my son. Kerrigan was right to ask the popular vote, as the people demanded he did. But that doesn’t mean you are free to leave. You will remain here, with me. You will become my mistress.”
“You bastard,” she laughed. “I will not be your anything.”
“It wasn’t my choice to make.”
“You are the king! Kerrigan is leading you around by the dick, and you do nothing but follow him and do as he says. You are the king, Blane. Grow a fucking pair!” she demanded as she pushed him off of her.
“Fury will remain in the nursery,” he announced as he rose from the floor, staring down at her. “I’ve called for a wet nurse to feed him and tend to him. You will be removed from your rooms within the week. I’ve had them prepare rooms for you and your handmaiden in another wing with the castle staff.” He swallowed hard as he watched her rise. “You need to feed.”
“I’d rather die,” she whispered coldly. “Leave.”
“Ciara, this isn’t what I wanted either, but a king is only a king if he pleases his people.”
“Shut the fuck up, and get the fuck out,” she demanded through angry tears. “Now I know why you placed the wards. You’re caging me in because you knew this would happen. You knew once it did I would leave you. You’re weak. A king doesn’t listen or take orders from his men. He listens to his people, but he doesn’t bow to anyone. Neither do I. I will find a way to leave you, and when I do, you won’t need to ask yourself why I did it. You’ll know why I am gone, bastard.”
“You will not leave me, ever. I enjoy your body and your mind too much to ever allow it.”
“That’s too bad,” she whispered. “You lost me when you didn’t have the balls to defend me or your son. I’m ready to move now, and if anyone else feeds my son, I will remove her fucking head from her body. He is mine; I am his mother, Blane.”
“Then you can be chained and held in the dungeon.”
“As you wish,” she growled.
She watched him leave the room and wiped away the tears. She called Darynda to her, holding Fury as she moved to the balcony. She watched as Blane walked from the castle with Kerrigan at his side.
“Synthia,” she whispered, sending the call to the Horde kingdom. “Take it back, everything that was done except for the mass grave. Take it all back and return this place to its state after we had attacked it. Burn the flag of the Horde from the castle, removing the peace he was given. They need to be reminded of who we are and why you don’t cross the Horde.”
She watched as the crops started to fail, turning black as the women merrily picked the vegetab
les from the stock. The walls crumbled, returning the castle to ruins as she stood on her balcony, cradling her son. Blane and Kerrigan both looked up at where she stood and frowned. Their eyes took in the decaying state in which the castle fell to. It was no longer a proud, imposing castle but rather hauntingly beautiful ruins. Her eyes skimmed further, watching as the village decayed.
The wood they’d been using to build houses turned to sawdust, and the flag that symbolized peace burned high on the top of the castle. She turned away from Blane’s angry stare to enter the bedroom which was blackened by fire, covered in ashes. She sat on the remains of the bed, baring her breast to Fury to feed him.
If they didn’t want her as their queen, they could have what was theirs. The charred remains of what was once a beautiful castle. The door opened, and Blane and Kerrigan entered with a nursemaid behind them who scuttled with a worried look. Guards came, frowning as they took her in, feeding her child.
“Take my son,” Blane growled.
Ciara fought against the anger and pain as the guards moved to retrieve her child. She allowed it, not wanting to scare Fury. She swallowed the sob, not wanting Blane to see how much it hurt her to have her child taken.
“Take the queen and her servant to the dungeon. Place them in separate cells.” Ciara looked at Kerrigan, who smirked with triumph. “No one is to enter her cell, no one but me. She is to have no communication unless I say otherwise.”
“You think you will be able to hold me?” she asked, standing as she righted her dress. “My brothers will bring the entire Horde down upon you, and you won’t be able to defend with this pile of stones we stand in. I do hope your queen will enjoy her room.” She smirked at him with a coldness that she knew he felt. “I’m ready.” Ciara squared her shoulders as Darynda slipped her hand into hers.