All the King's Men (22 page)

Strong arms enveloped her from behind. Before she could even
comprehend what was happening, Domenic had knocked the blade from her hand and
sent it clattering down the mountainside.

Thor moved forward with the determined stride of a predator.
Nelina’s pulse thundered wildly in her ears, fear gripping her heart. He looked
more menacing than the
linqust
ever had—and much more dangerous.

He trailed the tip of his finger along her jaw. Nelina
kicked out but he didn’t even flinch when her bare foot connected with his
shin.

Cupping her chin, he held her face tightly and forced her to
look at him. The wild fury shimmering in his eyes sent a spiraling wave of
apprehension into the pit of her stomach. “We’ll be the ones doing the
skewering, my queen.”

* * * * *

Finally
, Kirel thought as he reached for the door
handle. The soft rap that had sounded only moments earlier had signaled the
first time someone deigned to contact him all day. Once the guards had hauled
him back to the castle, they’d unceremoniously dumped him back in his chambers
where he found his window already barred. His door had also remained locked
from the outside and no matter how much he pummeled it with his fist, the guard
on the other side refused to open it, mumbling something about orders.

He pulled the door open, finding it unlocked this time, and
looked straight into Vida’s eerie amber-flecked eyes. The seer raised an
eyebrow, giving him a cursory once-over. He steeled his jaw, knowing how
disheveled he still looked. Having given Nelina his spare
skella
, the
one he’d worn that morning had been the only uniform he had left. Since he figured
the king wouldn’t require his services today, he’d changed into the loose linen
pants and tunic he preferred, but the dust and grime of the storm still clung
to him. Nelina’s smell swirled around him as well, as did the scent of sex,
just as heady and musky as though she’d only moments earlier smeared his skin
with her wet heat.

He gave Vida a too-bright smile that did little to mask his
apprehension. “Has Shivar sent for me?”

She nodded, gesturing toward the end of the hall. “We’re
expected in the Temple. I didn’t know you’d be so unkempt or I’d have come for
you sooner. We’ll have to stop at the hot springs. I’ll wait while you bathe
but, Kirel…hurry. There isn’t much time.”

A shiver of unease snaked up his spine. He fell into step
beside her without a second thought. “Thor found her then?”

She glanced at him sideways, her all-seeing eyes darkening
momentarily. “Did you really think he wouldn’t?”

“Nelina escaped. It must be clear to everyone by now that
she won’t go through with this. Doesn’t that mean you’ll have to conduct
another reading? Find someone else?”

A frown tugged at the corners of Vida’s mouth, making her
ageless porcelain face twist with exhaustion and worry. “There is no one else,
Kirel. The Tradition has chosen Nelina. I don’t know what the Fates will do to
her if she refuses to see this through. If she fails, the consequences could be
even more dire. It
must
be her. Whether you want to accept it or not,
you know that too.”

His blood ran like ice in his veins. He stopped dead in his
tracks and dug his fingers into Vida’s upper arms, turning her to face him.
“Where is she?”

For a moment, he thought Vida wouldn’t answer. Fear and
anguish twisted Kirel’s gut, causing his muscles to tense and stiffen until he
thought he’d start shaking her if she didn’t say something soon.

Vida sighed. “She’s being brought to the Temple, just like
you are. In the meantime, she’s being readied for the Trials. They’re
happening, Kirel. Today.”

“Readied,” he echoed. Jealousy twisted like a blade between
his ribs, heading straight for his heart. “Thor and Domenic?”

“They left her in the servants’ care once they brought her
back.” She touched his hand lightly, her voice softening. “They’re not allowed
to fuck her on the day of the Trials. You know that.”

Relief swept through him in such a sudden rush it made his
knees buckle. The Guardians may not have been allowed to fuck her, but he’d
done just that.

No, he corrected himself, he’d made love to her. And it had
been wondrous.

Releasing Vida, he stormed through the castle, no longer
caring whether the seer was following. He knew she would be. Pausing at the
mouth of the tunnel leading to the hot springs cavern, he raced down the steps
two at a time then plunged into the pool fully dressed.

Peeling the wet clothes from his flesh and kicking his boots
to the bottom of the pool, he dunked his head beneath the surface of the warm
water one last time before pulling himself out of the hot spring. Water sluiced
off his body to drip onto the volcanic rock.

He found Vida standing at the foot of the stairs, a
gold-trimmed robe held in her outstretched hands. He pulled it on without a
word, recognizing it as the traditional ceremonial robes worn by worshippers
during any service held in the Temple.

Although every city on Aris, no matter how small, had a
Tradition Temple of its own, the royal Temple was reserved only for the king
and his immediate kin. As such, entry was forbidden to the public—and even to
the courtiers who called Waldemar Castle home—on all days but those of the mating
Trials. During the king’s mating ceremony, all of Aris was invited to watch and
revel in the newfound joy of their king and queen, united as one in the ruling
of their people.

Vida smoothed a lock of hair away from his temple before
nodding her approval. “Much better. Let’s go.”

He didn’t need to be told twice. They walked in silence, his
bare feet making no sound on the rock floor as they touched the ground. He
refused to think about Nelina in Thor and Domenic’s arms but images of her in
Shivar’s bed kept breaking through the barrier he’d erected in his mind. They’d
almost reached the entrance to the Temple when he realized he’d fisted his
hands at his sides and dug his fingernails into his palms hard enough to send a
jolt of pain up his arm.

Shaking out his clenched fingers, Kirel drew in a deep
breath and paused at the mouth of the Temple cavern. Like every other chamber
in the royal castle, it had been carved out of Tradition Mountain.

This Temple was said to be the closest to the heart of the
Tradition. The kings and queens who prayed here were believed to have the ear
of the Fates, able to send their supplication directly to the deities
themselves.

For his part, Kirel didn’t care whether or not the Fates
could witness the mating ceremony. He wasn’t about to let it happen either way.

He strode in at Vida’s side through the spacious domed
entranceway. Torchlight glittered off the sleek ebony rock, sending shimmering
arches of color to dance over the surface of the walls and floor.

Before tonight, Kirel had never been inside. He’d had no
idea what to expect but he’d assumed the grandeur and elegance of other Temples
would pale in comparison.

He’d been right.

The cavern was immense, stretching as far as the eye could
see in every direction, as though it had been carved to form a perfect hollow
into the very heart of the mountain. Stalactites crystallized from dripping
lava hung downward from the vaulted ceiling, some long enough to graze the top
of his head.

In the center of the Temple stood a raised dais. Sheets of
gauzy material the color of Arisian sand fell in ripples around the rotund base
of the stage. These had been gathered in four sections, the individual strips
bound together with golden ribbons, allowing the view of the middle of the dais
to remain unobstructed. In the center of the stage, plump satin pillows as tall
as a man and almost as wide across had been artfully arranged. Four crystal
bowls dotted the four corners of the platform. Kirel didn’t need to see the
contents to know they held the lubricant that would allow the Guardians to fuck
Nelina without worrying about their seed quickening inside her.

Arranged in a semicircle around the dais, two dozen
elaborately studded chairs had been strategically placed to provide the best
viewing experience. Twenty-one council members had taken their seats around
Shivar, who sat on his throne in the center of the arrangement. At his right,
an identical throne stood empty. Beside it, a smaller chair crested with three
overlapping moons awaited Vida. Domenic and Thor stood directly behind the
king.

On either side of the archway through which Kirel had
entered sat rows upon rows of black stone benches lined with velvet pillows. As
the day of the Trials had been moved up due to Nelina’s escape attempt, Kirel
hadn’t expected many Arisian citizens to turn out for the ceremony.

He’d been wrong.

The benches were filled to the brink with all manner of
people numbering in the hundreds, perhaps even thousands. Some, like the
courtesan he’d encountered the night they’d brought Nelina to the castle, he
recognized. But almost everyone else was a stranger to him. And they were all
here to watch the woman he loved be brought to the pinnacle of ecstasy and
claimed by the king’s men before ultimately being handed to Shivar.

Suddenly, Kirel found it hard to breathe.

“There,” Vida said, pointing to a row of long benches
situated in front of the dais. “I made sure there would be an empty space for
you. Thor argued against it of course, but I convinced him to allow you to
attend. He will have you tossed out of the ceremony at the slightest hint of a
disturbance so behave yourself for once, all right?”

Kirel struggled to come up with a sarcastic reply but
nothing came to him. Instead, he shuffled forward on numb feet and collapsed onto
the velvet pillow placed there for the comfort of the king’s guests and did his
best to avoid Thor’s narrowed gaze.

Despite the size of the crowd, the hush that enveloped the
Temple was almost absolute. No one spoke. The shuffle of eager excitement imbued
the air with a carnal, expectant electric charge. From where he sat, Kirel
could make out the multitude of curious glances being cast toward the
entranceway. Everyone anxiously anticipated the queen’s arrival.

Everyone but him.

Kirel scrubbed a hand over his face, flinging a lock of damp
hair away from his eyes. His mind churned as he struggled to come up with a way
to end this here and now. But how could he, when so many people had come to
witness a new era of peace and prosperity being ushered in? The union between
Nelina and Shivar was meant to create stability for the people of Aris, to
ensure a period of fortune and security blessed upon them by a Tradition that
would be obeyed today just as it had been for millennia.

As ever, Aris’ wellbeing depended on its royals.

It depended on Nelina.

The animated scrapes and shuffles came to an abrupt stop and
a hush so complete settled over the Temple that for a moment, Kirel thought
he’d been struck deaf. Fitting punishment from the Fates, he supposed, but even
that had been denied him.

When the first awed gasp reached his ears, Kirel lifted his
head…and found himself staring at a goddess.

Nelina walked in unescorted. No, she didn’t
walk
, he
corrected himself. She glided, her bare feet barely touching the ground. She
held her head high and her back straight, shoulders pulled back as she passed
through the narrow passage between the benches. Her slender curves were draped
in a gauzy material so sheer he could make out every inch of her sensual flesh.
Dark areolas and firm nipples peeked through the creamy material and the curls
at the apex of her thighs brushed against the translucent silk with every step
she took.

Her long brown hair had been shorn. It hung loose and
flowing over her shoulders, but where it had once reached the middle of her
back, it now barely touched the slope of her breasts. A ribbon of solid gold
circled her forehead, causing the shimmering tresses to frame her porcelain
face.

The effect was breathtaking. She was a picture of royal
grace and carnal seduction all wrapped in a gossamer package.

Kirel didn’t recognize the soft, strained sound that floated
to his ears as his own until he repeated it, the strangled groan sliding
between his parted lips as his cock hardened like a steel rod against his
belly. The ceremonial robe he wore offered no constraints and his thick
erection rose and curled against his heated flesh, taunting him with his
inability to control his reaction toward her. Aris’ future queen.

Nelina moved through the crowd with a certainty borne of
determination and dogged obstinacy. She didn’t look left or right at the
admiring crowd as she passed them. Instead, her gaze remained fixed firmly on
Shivar.

Holy Moon Gods! Why was she doing this? She’d made it clear
that mating with the king was the last thing she wanted to do. So then why was
she acting as though she hadn’t been coerced into going through with the mating
ceremony? Why wasn’t she running screaming in the opposite direction?

When she neared him, he caught a whiff of cherries. The
scent burrowed deep in his balls, teasing his tender sac. He clenched his jaw,
but not before he whispered her name.

For a brief, heart-stopping moment, she turned her head.
Their gazes met and held. He opened his mouth without thinking of what he’d say,
knowing simply he had to speak. He had to tell her she was making a big
mistake.

Then she glanced away and the connection was broken. As
though she hadn’t even recognized him, she continued walking toward the center
of the Temple. When she reached the dais, she lifted the hem of her gauzy
garment and stepped up onto the platform.

Thor and Domenic rose. They joined Nelina on the stage,
framing her lithe form between their strong, masculine physiques. Like Kirel
and everyone else in the room, they too wore pearl-colored ceremonial robes
trimmed in gold. Only Shivar’s formal vestments spoke of his royal bearing. His
robe was entirely gold-colored with emerald trim bordering the hems of his
sleeves.