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“And his other vices?” I dared ask.
She looked straight ahead and was quiet. “I know he’s not perfect. Ongar knows none of us are. But he is inherently good. He stands alone, between a queen and her army’s captain, Sierra. His mother and father are long gone. He is heir to a throne that, should I meet my death before him, he will inherit, a throne he sadly has never been inclined to take an interest in. Where Fadon and I are married to duty, Ander’s ways are more sensual. What he can touch, taste, see, and feel. He’s a very passionate person. He is all or nothing. Not like Fadon and I.”
I nodded, trying to fit all these pieces she was throwing at me, hoping they’d form a complete picture.
“Will he be faithful?” I asked softly.
I felt her tense under my arm. We were right at her bedroom door now, and our personal guards stepped back, giving us privacy.
Her beautiful midnight eyes traced a path over my face, and her lips found mine in a brief touch. I wasn’t sure how to react. It wasn’t a sexual kiss, nor one that seemed familial. It was more of a blessing, in a strange way. Perhaps it was an Ongahri custom.
“Sister,” she whispered, her eyes staring deeply into mine. “Lysander is a good man, and he knows what is honorable. As soon as you are wed, things will settle. That I can tell you. Get some sleep, my dearest. I will see you in the morning.” She nodded to my guards, who stood somewhere behind me, and left me frowning at her words.
What must have been a few hours after midnight, I woke up hot. Not the feverish kind, but the too-many-blankets kind. I was sweaty and thirsty. The blankets were all bunched up around me, and I shoved them off and sat up in the dark room. Light from a moonlit sky shone through the balcony windows creating an underwater effect in my bedroom.
I placed my feet on the plush carpet and reached for the glass of water Tilly had sat out for me before leaving for the night, drinking deeply and pushing my long hair out of the way.
When I was done, I contemplated whether to sit in bed and read something by candlelight, or just try to go back to sleep. But I was wide awake, too hot. I stared at the soft light pooling on the floor that came from the glass door of the balcony, something I still hadn’t explored. The cold air would be welcoming.
I skipped putting on the satin robe at the foot of my bed. Wearing only my nightgown, I walked to the balcony, opened the little latch at the door, and stepped out into the winter night, my hot bare feet singing in relief at the coolness from the flagstone floor.
There were millions of stars out. Before I could walk to the ledge and look out, I heard a moan. A masculine one. It was coming from the balcony next to mine, some twenty feet away. Lysander’s.
I stepped back as if I’d been struck by lightning. I knew the sound of a man’s pleasure.
Light poured out from his room, bathing his balcony in a warm glow. Where I stood, darkness surrounded me, so there was no way he could see me. The balcony walls were about four-feet high of stone before thin columns of marble made a railing, leaving a foot of space between, enough for me to see a head of brown hair taking my betrothed by the mouth. Lysander’s hand was on her head, his own head thrown back in ecstasy, his mouth parted and making a harsh breathy sound.
My mouth was dry, my body both aroused and repulsed. My feet felt locked to the floor.
“Fuck, you take my cock so good,” he moaned. “Yes, gods… I’m coming, my love. Fuck!”
Still on her knees pleasuring him, I could make out the woman’s hand as she dragged it up Lysander’s stomach and chest. Lysander grabbed it after a moment, then pulled the woman to her feet, his hand now around her nape, taking her mouth in a passionate kiss. Something about her was perplexing.
My mind was battering me, yelling at me to pay attention, but my mouth was open in shock, my eyes unblinking. What I was seeing in my head was different than what was being played out before my eyes, and I shook my head slowly, not understanding.
When he pulled away, Lysander’s breathing was loud and labored. His lover was of the same height, and both held each other’s faces now. It was then I understood what I was seeing. The woman was a man, a man I knew.
“I love you, you know that, right?” my betrothed said to Cornelius. “But I can’t do this, Neil. I can’t.”
“We still have time until we leave. Don’t choose her over me.”
Lysander’s face, wearing an expression I had never seen, was full of pain. “I have to.”
His lover pulled away. “No, you don’t. We’ve been through this already. It will work, I swear to it.”
“But things have changed—”
“Nothing’s changed. You still want me, want us, don’t you?”
“I want you more than anything, Neil, but I just… I don’t think this is right. She’s—”
Cornelius made a throaty sound and grabbed Lysander by the hair. Their kiss was heated, heavy, and so passionate my ears rang. I needed to move, needed to get far away from what I was witnessing. My body refused.
“Fuck me, Ly. Let me make you feel good.”
Cornelius and Lysander gazed at one another until they raised their held hands between them, fingers entwined.
“By Ongar, you tempt me too much.”
