Sword of the King (27 page)

Ken scoffed. "You're the one who said it was obvious—" He broke off as Amr grabbed him, turned him around, stepped close enough to firmly pin him against the glass.

"I was wrong, and I have said as much to you before," Amr murmured. "I know a good thing when it nearly breaks my nose. I want you to be my Steward." He covered Ken's mouth with his fingers before he could protest. "If the other clans are not smart enough to take you, then Clan Mordred will be more than happy to take advantage of their gross stupidity."

Those gold eyes seemed to bore into him, and Ken wanted to look away but somehow couldn't. Amr's fingers slowly slid away from his mouth, and Ken said, "I think it's less stupidity and more common sense. You may have noticed I'm a lot of fucking trouble."

Amr slid his fingers along Ken's throat, curling into the hair at the nape of his neck, adjusting the tilt of his head ever so slightly. Ken's heard pounded in his ears, mouth dry, because there was no fucking way the son of a bitch was going to kiss him. Why would he want to do that?

"I think you're worth the trouble," Amr said. "You wouldn't be here if I didn't think you were worth every bit of aggravation you are going to cause me."

Ken made a face, refusing to let those words affect him. Amr would change his mind; he was too fucking irritating. "Let me go."

"No," Amr said, and kissed him. Ken jerked back, but that only succeeded in banging his head against the glass. He grunted, and Amr took advantage of the opportunity to press the kiss deeper, tongue taking his mouth, tangling with Ken's and staking an unmistakable claim. Ken shuddered, grabbing Amr's shirt with the intent of shoving him back, but somehow ended up using it as a way to keep himself upright.

Amr's hands skimmed his body, then pulled him away from the window, into Amr's arms, forcing Ken to shift his hold to wrap his arms around Amr's neck. When they finally broke apart, he was panting, wholly distracted by the way the hot, smoky flavor of Amr would not leave his lips.

"You're assuming an awful fucking lot," Ken finally managed.

"I'm assuming nothing, merely expressing an interest," Amr said. "This and you being Steward are two different things. But I think you are worth keeping as both, no matter how often you pick fights." He rubbed Ken's bottom lip with his thumb, and then they were kissing again.

Fuck, he had no fucking clue what the hell was going on but he didn't want it to stop. Drawing back, finally breaking free of Amr's arms, he said, "I will break you in half."

Though he didn't say, Amr seemed to understand, and said only, "So I know you are not a fan of Clan Mordred—"

Ken let out a sharp bark of laughter. "I'm not a fan of clans in general right now, shit." He pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes, sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You want me to join Mordred so I can be your Steward. Nobody is going to happy about that."

"It's nobody's business but ours," Amr said. "I think you are ideal for the position:  you're familiar with the clans and the pits. Your situation is unique and so grants an unusual perspective. You really don't seem capable of fear. Your love for the dragons is unquestionable. And as I said, I think if someone had paid attention and did the proper tests, they would find you have a very interesting lineage."

"You want me because I'm an asshole with blue blood?" Ken asked, though he wasn't really offended.

"Professionally," Amr said. "On a personal level, there's a whole different list of reasons. We'll discuss them later." He punctuated the words with a soft kiss, fingers tracing up and down Ken's spine, leaving him shivering and breathless. "More coffee?"

Ken shook his head, not quite able to speak yet.

Amr took his hand. "Come, then. We have a ceremony to perform." As he spoke, the dragons came slinking in from the balcony, scales gleaming wetly as they playfully growled and nipped at each other.

They drew up to Amr and Ken, demanding attention that the two men happily gave, then wandered away to go flop in the sunlight spilling in the windows. "Lizards or cats?" Ken asked. "Cause I can't fucking tell."

"Neither can I," Amr said, then picked up a small dagger lying on the kitchen island. The hilt was made of smoky black quartz, with an ornate silver dragon trapped within. The blade gleamed in the sunlight as Amr drew it across his palm, and blood pooled in his hand before spilling over to splash on the floor. He flipped the dagger and presented it hilt first to Ken. "Your choice, but Clan Mordred would welcome you."

Ken took the dagger and slit his palm, so the scar would form an 'x' with the slash he'd made to swear his brotherhood with Blaze. "Fuck it," he said, watching as his own blood spilled.

Amr chuckled softly, then took his hand in his own, tangling their fingers together, blood dripping from between them. "As Prince of Clan Mordred, I welcome you to our hearth and home. Live with us, fight with us, die with us, and so we shall with you."

"I accept the offer of hearth and home," Ken began, then forced the trembling from his voice and finished, "I vow always to live with you, fight for you, and die for you, as you would for me."

Leaning in, Amr softly kissed both his cheeks, and Ken did the same. "I declare you Clan Mordred, and may you forever be." Ken nodded, but when he would have dropped his hand, Amr held fast, "Vow your allegiance, sword master."

Ken drew  a sharp breath at the words, because how could he have forgotten there was a separate vow for the knights? "You barely know me."

"I know enough," Amr said softly.

"I vow my allegiance, Prince. My life and my sword are yours to use as you see fit, until you no longer desire them."

"I vow my allegiance, knight. Your life and sword are safe with me, and so I declare you a knight of Clan Mordred."

Ken swallowed, nodded, closing his eyes because he just could not believe it was all happening. A finger gently tilted his face up, and Amr again kissed his cheeks, but then he pressed another soft kiss to Ken's mouth. "Amr ..."

"One more vow, knight. Call your dragon." He finally released Ken's hand, and grabbed a couple of damp towels on the island.

Cleaning off his hand, Ken called out, "Hey! Lizards! Stop being useless and get over here."

The dragons growled and dragged themselves from the sunshine, padding over to them and rubbing against them before sitting back on their haunches. "I don't know how this one goes," Ken said. "I'm—I really don't know that making me a Steward is a good idea."

"It is," Amr said. "I barely know it myself, and only because I was always determined to keep up with clan knowledge just so they could never use ignorance against us. Keep one hand on Nevada."

Ken obeyed, resting one hand on Nev's head, holding out his still bloody hand when Amr gestured for it. "This may hurt," Amr said, joining their bloody hands again, resting his free one on Cam's head. "The power of the Holy Pendragon is only as good as the fires that temper it. Noble Knight, your fires burn bright. Lend me your strength, temper my power, stand at my side, walk my path, protect always the people who rely upon me." The glow of his eyes increased with every word, a stunning, sun-bright gold that dulled the light around them.

Heart beating faster than ever, ignoring the faint tremor in his hands, Ken replied, "Highness, my strength is yours, and always will I temper you, stand with you, walk with you, and protect those who rely upon you."

"Then by right of the Holy Pendragon, I grant you a portion of my power," Amr said, and Ken felt a sudden, sharp burning pain. It shot through him, made him cry out and feel as though he was burning alive from the inside out.

As suddenly as it began, it stopped, and Ken was left gasping for breath and leaning against something warm. He looked up, and how the hell that led to Amr kissing him he didn't know, but fuck if he cared.

"Take a look," Amr murmured as he drew back, and then turned Kennedy to face a decorative mirror that was hanging on the far wall. Ken's eyes widened as he saw his own eyes glowed silver, same as Arley's had back in Blaze's apartment. "I can't—I don't—holy shit."

At his side, Nev growled, and Ken stared at the way his scales definitely looked more like polished silver than steel. "Nice makeover, lizard." He laughed as Nev gave him a playful nip.

"Fucking insane," Ken said, and looked back at Amr. "So what the hell do we do now?"

"We're due at the warehouse in two hours to start going through all the dragons," Amr said. "Hungry?"

"Starving," Ken said. "But first I'm going to get a damn shower."

Amr smirked, but said only, "Go, then. I'll order food and we can start making plans." He snagged Ken's wrist and dragged him close. "Thank you, for giving Clan Mordred a chance. No one else ever has."

"No one's ever really given me a chance either," Ken said, feeling suddenly shy, which just annoyed the fuck out of him. "So I guess we'll see what happens."

"Yes," Amr said, and drew him into another kiss.

Rafael woke up alone in bed and faintly disappointed. But given that his alarm clock said it was just after noon, Blaze had probably been up for a while. Rafael grimaced, but he supposed it was understandable that he would crash so hard after being beaten, then healed, and then forced to deal with the fractured syndicate. Ken's family had helped with that, thankfully, but so much activity had drained him.

That, and he'd stayed up waiting for Blaze to return, though he would never admit it. Climbing out of bed, he went to shower. When he was dressed and at least partially awake, he went to find his errant ... lover, he supposed, even if not in deed yet. Yawning, Rafael went to make coffee first.

The sound of laughter distracted him while he was making it, and he absently hit the brew button before wandering to the back door and pulling it open. His house was stabilized, if still rather battered looking, but as he was planning to leave it behind forever when he moved to the city repairs were low on his list of priorities.

In the backyard, Blaze was playing with the dragons, laughing as they lunged and allowed him to dodge away, occasionally knocking him gently to the ground, rubbing and nudging and nipping.

Blaze looked deliciously sweaty and rumpled and happy. Rafael had never seen him so fucking happy.

Conway abruptly froze, and then whipped around, eyes glowing as he rumbled a greeting to Rafael. Blaze and Erie stopped when they noticed. Erie growled at him in friendly fashion, sitting back on his haunches. Blaze smiled in that sweet, shy way that was so at odds with his otherwise hardened pit fighter demeanor. "Good morning."

"More like afternoon," Rafael said with a smile as he climbed down the stairs and crossed the yard to join them, stroking Conway's scales in greeting. "Didn't mean to sleep so long."

Blaze shrugged. "I'm surprise you're awake. You looked tired just lying there; magic and dealing with the syndicate on the heels of Leo's beating ... " he shrugged again. "Feeling better?"

"Almost," Rafael said, and reached out to grab the front of Blaze's shirt with both hands and tug him close. Bending his head, he kissed Blaze, tasting coffee, bagels, and that underlying flavor of Blaze himself. When he finally drew back, he said, "There, much better."

"If you say so," Blaze said, but couldn't quite quash a smile.

Rafael laughed softly and took another kiss. "So how did everything go with Rust?"

"He's dead. I'm sure Amr and Ken have taken over the syndicate, knowing Amr. They'll call when things quiet down. Things are going to be interesting with two of the biggest syndicates in the business toppled and overtaken."

"Interesting is one word for it," Rafael said. "I've already got meetings arranged with the heads of Morgan, Stone, and Camry. Rest up while you can, because you're the only one I trust to have my back and it's going to be a long week."

Blaze nodded. "We can handle it. I think the clans might be a bigger problem, eventually."

"Let Amr and Ken handle the clans; that's their thing. The pits belong to us," Rafael replied. "I'll lay out the details for you later."

"Why not now?"

Rafael dragged his tongue across Blaze's lips, pleased when Blaze shivered against him. "Because right now, I'm going to fuck you."

"That's a good reason," Blaze replied, laughing as Rafael took his mouth in another hungry, bruising kiss. He explored Blaze's mouth, learning all the nooks and crannies, sucked on his tongue, fucked it as thoroughly as he would soon be fucking Blaze's ass.

But first ... Ending the kiss, Rafael stepped back and looked at the dragons, who sat waiting patiently, eyes glowing as they looked at Rafael. "Get him naked, dragons."

"What—" Blaze's face turned scarlet, and he almost jerked away, but Erie's soft rumbles stilled him. He jumped as Conway nuzzled his cheek. "He's your dragon—" He broke off as Conway pulled his t-shirt off and Erie made short work of his jeans and briefs.

Rafael enjoyed the sight before him:  Erie, Conway, and Blaze all naked, the sunshine bathing their skin. Such a study in contrasts, with the taller, fairer dragons flanking the shorter and darker Blaze. "Beautiful," he murmured, then looked at the dragons. "Play, dragons."

"What—" Blaze said again, but Erie cut him off with a kiss before he could finish the sentence. He went with it, submitting easily as Erie gripped his head to hold him in place while he devoured his mouth.

"Conway," Rafael said softly.

Growling, Conway dragged his sharp nails along Blaze's skin, leaving long red lines on his torso and his hip. Blaze swore as his shoulders were bitten hard, but not quite enough to draw blood. Rafael drew close to them, hands skimming along skin, Erie and Conway rumbling in approval. Still petting the dragons, Rafael kissed Blaze again.

"This is crazy," Blaze said.

"I admit I've never been quite this adventurous, but I think I would be crazy not to try. You seem made for the attention." Blaze went red at the words, making Rafael laugh and lap at his lips. "I never thought I would see a pit fighter blush."

Blaze tried to glare, but the dragons continued to nip, caress and tease, and Blaze's glare dissolved beneath wide-eyed lust. Rafael kissed him again, then drew Conway close and kiss him. Conway rumbled in approval, nipping Rafael's jaw as he drew back.