The Queen's Consorts (23 page)

“Do you think that’s true?” she asked softly. “That you truly share a soul with her?”

Calder tilted his head, admiring her in Taryen’s arms. “Yes, Sari, I do.”

She smiled, liking her name, simple and unadorned, on Calder’s lips. He had obviously picked up the habit from Taryen throughout the night, and it pleased her. “I like the way you say my name.”

Calder smirked. “I thought you might.”

“I hated when you called me Lady Sari.”

“An inappropriate title,” Taryen agreed behind her as he ran his hand up her arm and then leaned down to lick at the curve of her neck in a soft, playful caress. “I think your soul knows what your mind will not accept.”

Calder went on as if there were never a pause in the story. “They grew up together.” He walked along the edge of the bubbling hot springs, the mist swirling up around him. He never took his gaze off the two of them standing there expectantly. “In order to keep the planet balanced and healthy, the queen journeys to each of the four points of Auroria during a cycle, bringing spring with her as she goes, and the young princess would travel with her mother to each of the four palaces. Every journey would bring the Festival of Flowers when they arrived at a new palace. Life was one big celebration, full of joy and abundance, for when the queen is happy, her people are happy with her, and it’s this lifestyle of extravagance the young princess grows accustomed to.”

“Spoiled,” Sari couldn’t help but point out.

“Very much so,” Calder agreed. “But nature knows darkness must follow even after the most vibrant of spring days. On their sixteenth birthday, the age of darkness comes to the princess, and as with tradition she’s separated from her consorts, leaving her fathers to take up the task of protecting her.”

Despite knowing how the tale went, Sari actually gasped out loud, because something about Calder’s storytelling made it so real. “Why?”

“They’re coming of age, and though they are well skilled in the art of protecting and caring for a princess, they have yet to learn how to care for a queen. For one full cycle, they are forced to live on the opposite side of Auroria than her. They travel counterclockwise through the
palaces,
keeping them as far as possible from the princess for fear she’ll seek them out. So powerful is her hold on them that if she called out, they would travel hundreds of miles to come to her. It’s believed only the separation of the farthest poles would keep them from hearing her.”

“Then why doesn’t she call out to you?” Sari asked curiously.

“I’ve wondered that often myself.” Calder ran a hand through his hair and then stared at her sharply once more. “Now it’s occurred to me she never thought to try.”

“Seems so cruel to tear them apart like that if they complete each other’s souls.”
Sari loathed stupid rules and traditions that made people suffer.
“And all for what?
Pleasure training?”

“I’ll admit my opinion on that part of the story is jaded as well.” Calder lifted his eyebrows scathingly. “But it is an extremely important task, keeping the queen happy. Her pleasure brings out the sun. Her smiles fertilize the soil. Her sighs make the winds blow and scatter the seeds across the land. Only her tears make it rain, but if they’re tears of rapture, they bring out rainbows.”

“Then what must the skies look like while she’s separated from her consorts?”

“It’s a turbulent time. The power fluctuates between that of the acting queen and the princess who is nearly of age. The entire planet prepares for this dark cycle where the storms rage and the sun
is
hidden.”

“It’s been like that all along,” Sari whispered.

“Nature has been disrupted. She was only supposed to endure one cycle of solitude. The darkness was essential. How could a princess so spoiled, so pampered and revered, possibly comprehend true joy unless she understood the darkness first. She needed to be alone, but not forever. After the cycle ended, the Coming of Age Festival lasts for two weeks while the princess prepares for her consorts’ arrival. The festival ends with the consorts’ entourage traveling back into the Sacred City.”

“Imagine how nervous the three of them are,” Taryen broke in as his arms tightened around Sari.
“Old friends.
The closest of companions.
Yet they haven’t seen each other for a cycle and all the while, their people are looking at the skies—waiting.”

“They’re given a drink.
Wine.”

“Green wine,” Sari said knowingly.

“Yes.” Calder nods. “Dozens of attendants work to prepare the princess for the first mating that will make her queen. The young princess unknowingly drinks what she’s given. She’s naive. Her parents haven’t discussed with her the carnal pleasures of being a queen. It’s not their job. The consorts, on the other hand, they know better. In another section of the palace more attendants work to prepare them for their duties, and they drink the same herbed wine they’ve been drinking for a year. It was the only way they could possibly touch another female not their queen.”

“They can’t even get it up for a different woman without the herb,” Taryen added with a laugh. “No matter how
much
the sisters wanted them to. Even under demand, they’re useless for all but the one they are destined to serve. Their bodies will betray them to the sisters to an extent, but never like that.”

“The consorts are tense with anticipation, but they know this time won’t be forced or foreign.” Calder’s voice was hot, making a shiver run over Sari as he looked at her intently. “They’re finally going to be allowed to serve the one they are meant for.”

“Then the attendants leave the princess.” Taryen picked up the story where Calder left off. “And she is left alone in her chambers. She sits with her back facing the door, staring out the window. All the people near the city watch, waiting like she does. The skies are more ominous and turbulent than ever. She’s seventeen now. The old queen’s time has come to an end. The planet belongs to the new queen now, and knowing what she faces leaves her scared.”

“But excited,” Calder went on. “There’s
a warmth
in her blood.
A pulsing of something more than just the thrill of seeing her lost companions.”

Taryen helped Sari turn in his arms, forcing her back to Calder as he ran a hand down her neck, pushing her hair away, leaving a tingle where he touched. “The door opens, and she wonders what she’ll find. No one has prepared her. She knows nothing.
It’s
part of the cycle of darkness that she feel lost and confused.”

Sari clutched at Taryen’s robes when his words resonated so strongly with her she thought she might cry. She knew how that felt, to be so lost and lonely, confused as she faced the world alone, an outsider. Everyone seemed to know things and have a place but her.

“When she looks to them, she discovers two very different consorts kneeling in front of her.” Taryen turned Sari back around, and she gasped when she found Calder kneeling at her feet, looking up at her with those amazing light eyes that made her feel so many things. Taryen leaned down, his breath warm against her neck as he whispered in her ear. “Their bodies are seasoned and well honed, far thicker and stronger than the ones she remembers because they have been working hard, preparing to walk back to their queen as men.
Powerful.
Strong.
Deadly.
The ones the gods destined to protect and aid the queen in ruling an entire planet.”

Calder reached out, his hand sliding underneath the servant robes to caress Sari’s ankle. “Now all she needs to decide is what to do with them.”

Her breath trapped in her throat as Calder’s hand slid higher, making her skin tingle at the warm touch of his palm against her sensitive calf. At the same time, Taryen started undoing the tiny buttons to the black robes she wore, slowly exposing her to Calder. She wanted to close her eyes at the feeling. It suddenly seemed like too much of everything, but she couldn’t look away.

Calder began pulling his robes off too. She’d already unbuttoned them earlier. Now he slipped them past his broad shoulders, revealing smooth, tanned skin to her hungry gaze. All the while he watched her. Those light eyes swirled with something so tempting and forbidden it made her mouth water with longing. He stood only long enough to pull them over his legs and toss them aside. Then he was back on his knees in front of her, completely bare save the loincloth from his performance earlier. It seemed so long ago, like another lifetime as she looked at his thickly muscled body and realized the night was truly theirs. She could do what she wanted with these two handsome, powerful men meant for a queen alone.

Calder pressed his forehead against the bare skin beneath the curve of her breasts. His strong arm wrapped around both her and Taryen, forcing Sari tighter against him as his tongue darted out, licking at her skin before he tugged on the robes, forcing them past her shoulders as if suddenly too impatient to wait.

“Tell me what you enjoy,” Calder coaxed, his voice low and husky with arousal as he bent down lower and licked at her belly button. “What pleases you?”

Sari took a trembling breath, feeling very much like that naive new queen from their story despite having her own fair share of sexual history that should make her competent. Then she let out a long moan when Calder sucked one puckered nipple into his mouth, running the balls in his tongue against it, making all her piercings warm and vibrate.

He sucked on the other nipple, and Sari’s knees got weak. She sagged in Taryen’s arms, letting him support all her weight as the white wash of pleasure flowed over her. She clutched at Calder’s head, holding his mouth to her breast.

“Free me, Cal.”

He released her nipple only to look up at her as his touch slid to the curve of her bare hip. “Your wish is my wish.”

She shook her head even as she watched the path of his hand as it ran down the flat plain of her stomach. “I’m not one of them either.”

He looked up at her in surprise for one moment before he smiled knowingly, clearly recognizing where she’d stolen the words. “You were listening to us.”

“I’m sorry.” Her cheeks grew hot in embarrassment.

He gave her a slow, devious smile. “Were you watching us that night when we thought you were sleeping? Did you see me take him?”

She nodded silently, her voice trapped in her throat.

Calder pressed a kiss against her hip bone before his eyes lifted to hers once more. “Did you like what you saw? Did you enjoy the way your consort looks under me?”

She moaned, her fingers tightening in his hair.
“Gods, yes.”

“You want to know what it felt like for Taryen to have me in
him?
” Calder fell back on his haunches and reached for the tie at his hip holding the loincloth together. He did it
slowly,
as if confident he had something special to unwrap. Sari could already see his cock straining for freedom, but she still licked her lips as he drew the wet material away, revealing himself to her. Then he leaned back on the cold, tiled floor, putting himself on display, and crooked his finger. “Come here, Sari.”

Already under his spell, she slipped out of Taryen’s arms easily and crawled over Calder’s big, strong body, feeling his hard cock brush against her stomach as she opened her mouth expectantly. Calder threaded his fingers in her hair and brought her lips to his, pushing his tongue in deep, obviously sensing what she wanted. She moaned at the penetration and arched into him, hungry for more.

He pulled away after a few breathless moments, but only to give instruction as he slid his hand down to her pussy. “Spread your legs.”

He pushed not one, but two fingers in her, breaching her almost roughly, but she was so wet and
aching
it felt amazing, especially when he curved them upward and found just the right spot inside her to make Sari gasp out loud.

“Feel good?” His question was more cocky than concerned.

“Yes.” She panted, already wound so strongly stars were bursting behind her closed eyelids as she squeezed them tightly against the pleasure. Taryen knelt behind her over Calder and tugged her head
back,
putting her breasts on display in a way that turned her on more than she thought was possible. “I’m going to—” She gasped when Calder leaned down and took the offering, sucking one taut nipple back into his mouth, making her piercings vibrate stronger than ever. He was still rubbing his fingers against her G-spot, and she shattered easily, crying out from the velocity of her climax. “Gods help me!”

It was violent and overwhelming. Her moans echoed off the mosaic walls as wave after wave of bliss crashed over her, and all the while Calder sucked and stroked and made it last for what seemed like an eternity. If Calder tormented, then Taryen soothed as he placed soft, reverent kisses across the back of her shoulder.

It wasn’t until the storm started to wane that Taryen whispered against the curve of her neck. “Can I taste your essence?” His hand snaked around her waist, pulling her against him so that she could feel the hard line of his cock against the small of her back. “Please. I need it.”

She was still too far gone for words, so she just tilted her neck, this time knowing what he was asking for. Taryen took the offering instantly, leaning down to taste the soft patch of skin where her heart was beating hard and fast. He sucked hard, forcing Sari to take on his yearnings along with her own. She cried out again, her nails digging into Calder’s shoulder as they both leaned forward, completely overcome by the connection.

She could almost see herself through Taryen’s eyes, how stunning he thought she and Calder were together. How much he liked to watch them touch. Kiss. Her nails dug deeper into Calder’s shoulder when she caught all Taryen’s desires. He wanted to see Calder in her. He wanted to see himself in her. He wanted all three of them to be joined. One after another the images hit her, each more erotic than the last, until she felt herself rising to another precipice. She was going to find a second climax just from the thoughts and feelings Taryen was sharing with her.