All the King's Men (25 page)

Thrusting greedily up into Nelina, Kirel banished all
logical thought and allowed sensation to take over. Her pussy clenched and
relaxed against his rod. He couldn’t last much longer at this rate. Judging by
the hoarse moans echoing through the Temple, he knew the other Guardians were
on the brink as well.

But their groans weren’t the only ones filling the air. A
thousand voices joined in, male and female, adding their own raspy cries to the
mix until the Temple was enveloped in an orchestra of passion so real and
exquisite that the sound of it began to unravel the tentative grip Kirel held
on his self-control.

He pressed the pad of his thumb against Nelina’s clit,
rubbing it gently yet fiercely, wholly focused on her pleasure. She peaked
around his cock, her inner walls fluttering in ecstasy.

Thor came with a roar, the sound overtaking everyone else’s
moans of pleasure. Kirel felt the man’s seed burst inside Nelina’s ass and saw
her throat bob as she swallowed down Domenic’s jet of cum. For his part, Dom
didn’t cry out but he clenched his fingers in Nelina’s hair and held his body
rigidly still while she took everything he offered.

Such was the carnal imagery around him when Kirel’s orgasm
swept through every part of his body. It began with a series of shattering
spasms in his balls that quickly rushed into his cock. He groaned with
fulfillment, his shaft jetting streams of hot liquid inside Nelina’s channel.

Thor slipped out of her long before Kirel had finished. She
released Dom’s cock and collapsed atop Kirel’s chest, sobbing little mewling
cries of ecstasy against his neck as he continued to shudder inside her.

He clutched her to him, their sweat-slicked bodies sticking
together as the drowsy aftershocks of satisfaction poured through them both.

This is what it was all about, Kirel thought as her hot
breath caressed his neck. Absolute possession. Absolute trust.

And total, insuppressible love.

From somewhere beyond his immediate vicinity came the soft
scruff of bare feet on wood. Kirel closed his eyes and tightened his grip on
Nelina. Someone was coming to snatch her away from him. He should have been
used to it by now, he supposed. It had happened often enough in the past.

He refused to look up even when the sound of shuffling
footsteps came to a stop. A whoosh of air slid against his cheek and something
landed beside him on the pillow, the edge of it touching his face.

He cracked one eye open to peer at the back of a Tradition
card. A groan lodged in his throat. He’d seen the blasted things in the seer’s
hands countless times as she dealt fate to the unsuspecting as though it were a
gift from above and not the all-encompassing curse it actually was.

“What’s this?” His voice sounded rough, as though he hadn’t
used it in far too long.

“Your destiny.”

Kirel’s lip curled. He was so damn tired of playing the
Tradition’s games. Loathe to release his hold on Nelina, he reached around her
and grabbed the card. Without looking at it, he gripped it between the thumb
and index finger of both hands and ripped it in two, scattering the torn pieces
on either side of him.

“Anything else you’ve got for me?” Sarcasm practically
dripped from his tongue. Nelina sighed deeply and lifted her head. Her golden
crown had fallen over the tip of one eyebrow and hung crookedly on her
forehead.

She’d never looked more beautiful.

The peal of thunder that filled the cavern made the walls
and the ground shake. Stalactites shuddered and clinked against one another,
sending a tumultuous crystalline reverberation through the Temple.

“Stand up.” It was Shivar’s voice this time, forceful and
commanding.

Kirel pressed his lips together. As much as he wanted to
just lie here with Nelina in his arms forever, he knew he couldn’t refuse his
king.

Shivar had come to claim his mate.

“It’s all right, Nel,” Kirel murmured.

She looked deep into his eyes as her own filled with tears.
After a moment, she nodded and rose.

Kirel did the same, a little unsteadily. His limbs quivered
with tension. Arching his back, he stretched out his muscles by reaching up
toward the ceiling. Refusing to look at Shivar as he gathered Nelina to him,
Kirel forced his attention on Thor and Domenic, who stood together at the edge
of the dais.

It was then that he realized they each held a Tradition
card.

Kirel sprang forward and grabbed the cards from the men’s
hands, turning them over. They were blank on the inside. On the back, the
symbol of the three moons glowed with a faint shimmer.

Straining with the effort of forcing himself to take a
deliberate step toward Vida rather than rushing her with the fury of a
battering ram, Kirel willed his hammering heartbeat to slow.

This was different from any tale of a mating ceremony he’d
ever heard of. Something was happening. Whatever it was, he wanted no part of
it.

“Think carefully before you deny your destiny,” the seer
said, her quiet voice carrying through the Temple.

A hush so deep had fallen over the crowd that Kirel could
have easily forgotten they were there. Only the strong, pungent scent of
spilled seed reminded him of the audience who watched his every move.

Vida pointed toward the floor. Reluctantly, Kirel followed
the direction in which she signaled and watched in fascinated horror as a shape
shimmied from the torn upper half of the card he’d carelessly tossed aside.

Almost translucent, the form was still clearly
distinguishable as the silhouette of a man. He could even make out facial
features. A prominent nose, high cheekbones, dark hair curling around his ears
and the back of his neck. On his head sat a golden crown.

And then the semitransparent form looked straight at him and
Kirel found himself gazing into his own mirror image.

“What… How…?”

A shadow descended upon him, bringing with it a heavy weight
that settled on his brow. He whirled around, hand already going for the place
where he always kept his weapon only to brush against bare flesh.

Shivar’s smile was kind, fatherly almost. He ran a hand
through his hair and Kirel instinctively glanced up at the heavy crown that
perched awkwardly on his own head.

“What is this?” he said, pleased to be able to form a proper
sentence this time.

Shivar clapped his hands twice, calling for the attention of
those assembled. As though anyone could have looked away with such a spectacle
unfolding.

Bewildered, Kirel watched as Shivar took Nelina’s hand. Now
this was more like it, he thought as the familiar pain lanced through his
chest.
This
he could understand.

“The mating ceremony you’ve witnessed tonight was indeed the
glorious rite of passage for a queen ready to take her place at her king’s
side,” Shivar said.

Nelina averted her gaze. Gone was the confidence she’d shown
when she’d walked into the Temple. Now she simply looked vulnerable, as though
events unfolding around her had caught her in their tumultuous storm, leaving
her mussed and disheveled.

A slick trail of cum dripped from her velvety folds to slide
down her inner thigh. Kirel’s cock stirred and he had to force himself to stifle
a moan.

“But it is not I who will be escorting our lovely new queen
through the final Trial.” A gasp rose from the crowd. Shivar lifted a hand,
calling for silence. “Aris is being ushered into a new era. I’ve led our people
to the best of my ability but new ideas are needed. The Tradition has called
for a new way of thinking, for a leader who can stand against the Fates
themselves if that’s what it takes to bring prosperity and peace upon our
planet.”

Understanding dawned like a flash of lightning. Kirel rushed
forward to stand at Shivar’s side. He grabbed the man’s shoulder, turning him
so he could look into his eyes.

“I don’t want this,” he growled low under his breath. “I
never asked for this.”

“Don’t you see?” Vida said softly, coming up behind Shivar.
She laid a hand on the king, swirling her thumb over the spot where his
shoulder met his neck in a shockingly intimate gesture. With that one simple
touch, she’d claimed her mate. Her face radiated joy. Despite all that had
happened, the sight of their happiness filled Kirel with hope. “That’s exactly
why it must be you.”

“I can’t rule,” Kirel protested. “I know nothing about
affairs of state.”

Shivar’s eyes darkened. A sliver of something that looked
like melancholic pity shimmered across the surface of his gaze, like a cloud
drifting across the brilliant moon. It disappeared in an instant, bringing a
smile in its wake. “You’ll be fine. You know enough from having been at my side
for eight years. As for the rest, the Council will guide you. That’s their
duty. Just as yours is now to watch over Aris and ensure that peace continues
to reign supreme, despite the constant conflict threatening to engulf us.”

“And you?” Kirel swallowed past the lump that rose in his
throat. “What will you do?”

For the first time, Shivar’s smile turned into a
full-fledged, radiant grin. He slid his arm around Vida’s waist and pulled her
to him as a startled gasp went up from the crowd. “I’m going to do what I’ve
wanted to do for years. Make no mistake, Kirel. We’re all ruled by the Fates,
but duty eventually comes to an end. I’m free now, able to take this woman as
my mate.”

Vida’s lower lip trembled slightly. In all the time he’d
known her, Kirel couldn’t remember ever seeing her at a loss for words.

“You’ll need a new seer,” Shivar said. “Vida will help you
with that task. Afterward, though, I don’t expect you’ll be seeing much of
her.”

Vida giggled like a schoolgirl, drawing another rumbling
from those assembled.

“If you’re going to tie me to the bed,” she said, “I expect
to be hand-fed.”

Shivar wiggled his brows. “Without a doubt. And bathed of
course. If you’re really good, I’ll even—”

He leaned over and whispered something in her ear. Vida
gasped, turning as red as Maewyn’s moon.

Kirel shook his head, trying to make sense of everything
going on around him. As though taking advantage of Kirel’s bewilderment, Shivar
took a step back. Grabbing Kirel’s hand before he could protest, he slid
Nelina’s smaller palm in his.

For a moment, the planet tilted on its axis as sudden
comprehension struck. As king, Nelina was to be his. She was his gift…his
sensual, lush, passionate—

“No.” The word was barely recognizable to his own ears as
coming from his throat.

He released her hand and put a safe distance between them.
He couldn’t trust himself to speak, much less not to gather her into his arms
and fuck her senseless again and again and again in front of anyone who cared
to watch. Every nerve in his body screamed at him to take her, to possess her
wholly in front of the Tradition and the entire world, but a nagging sensation
held him back.

It was that small bit of common sense that managed to break
through the turmoil and make itself heard.

Nelina’s lashes fell downward, hiding her eyes. He thought
he saw a glimmer of a tear, one she quickly swept away. When she opened them,
the icy demeanor had returned and she fixed him with a haughty glance that
could bend steel.

“Of course not.” She grinned, the forced smile lifting her
perfect cheekbones but not reaching her eyes. “Why would you want me now? I was
only fun to have when I wasn’t yours.”

Kirel shook his head. Her words seemed to reach inside his
chest and squeeze. The breath snaked out of his lungs on a shuddering sigh.

He fell on one knee, the wooden dais making harsh contact
with his kneecap and sending a sliver of pain up his thigh. “I’m not very good
at this,” he admitted. He searched out her gaze and held it. “I don’t want to
take you because you’ve been given to me like so much property for a deed well
done. I want you by my side for all eternity for one reason and one reason
only.”

The icy glare melted. Nelina closed the distance between
them but didn’t reach out to him. “What’s that?”

“Because I love you. Damn it, Nel, I love you. Do you want
to hear it again? I love you!”

His voice boomed off the sides of the Temple, echoing off
the walls, thundering through the chamber. The stalactites quivered. He didn’t
care if he brought the whole damn place down on their heads if it meant she
finally got it through that thick skull of hers that he absolutely, undeniably,
adored her.

A shaky smile blossomed on her full lips. A real one this
time. When the next tear slid down her cheek, she didn’t try to brush it away.

“What do you say, Nel? Will you be my queen? My mate…for now
until the end of time?”

Chapter Eleven

Nelina made a show of thinking about it, the way Kirel used
to do all those years ago. She pursed her lips and raised her gaze toward the
ceiling, contemplating a fair length of time to keep him in suspense.

Thus preoccupied, she didn’t even see him move. She simply
felt him careen into her abdomen with his shoulder and lift her so that a
moment later she hung suspended in midair, her ass thrust upward, her head
hanging so low over his back that she could reach out with the tip of her tongue
and lick the hollowed dimple at the base of his spine.

Her crown clattered to the ground.

“Yes!” she cried out, barely able to contain a joyous laugh.
“Gods, Kirel, I was getting to that!”

The chuckles that rang out from the audience shattered the
last of the remaining tension in the Temple. Kirel carried her toward a fresh
pillow in the center of the dais and placed her there with so much care and
reverence, it caused a new wave of tears to blossom behind her eyelids. She
blinked them back, feeling foolish. The grin spreading over her face stretched
her cheeks, sending a pleasant ache into muscles that hadn’t been used with
such unabashed joy in much too long.