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My parents shared a long look before my father released the expected drawn out breath laced with disappointment. But to my surprise, he did not chastise me. “Son, thank you for telling me all of this. I’m not sure what we can do at this point.” He paused, looking down at his open palms before lifting his head again. “I suspected something was off when you all returned, but I had no idea just how far things had fallen. I served King Zalan for decades during his madness, and I can serve Kazimir just the same. We will not let the realm fall to ruin.”
Blinking, I stared at him, nails digging into my palms and straightening in my seat. “That’s it? You’ll just serve him like you did King Zalan?”
“Endre, honey,” my mother tried to soothe me, reaching across the table that divided us, but I jerked away.
“No, don’t try to placate me like you did for all those years serving a different mad king. You know this is wrong.” Turmoil settled across my shoulders, and I dragged a breath in through my nostrils, trying to calm myself.
“We do, but our hands are tied. Unless I can convince the other High Houses to depose him – which, given Kaztar’s infatuation with Kazimir, I think is highly unlikely – then the best action we can take is to steer the realm in a direction that benefits the people at large,” my father tried and failed to justify his logic to me.
“Unbelievable,” I swore, nearly knocking over the table as I snapped to my feet. Without another word, I spun on my heel and stalked toward my room.
“Endre, where are you going?” My mother’s footsteps chased me, the light patter so antithetical to my dark mood.
“I need some space,” I gritted out, slamming the door to my bedroom in her face.
“Give him time,” I heard my father say, his voice muffled by the wood between us. My mother sighed and retreated, and I stomped toward my bathroom, turning the taps on the shower and stripping out of my clothes. Bracing my hands on the counter, I stared at myself in the mirror, questioning the male I had been and the male I wanted to become. With a hard shove, I forced myself to stand beneath the cold water and embrace the pain.
It was the least I could do when the male I served caused so much of it. I hated to admit that my father was right. What could we fucking do about the situation we found ourselves in? Whyhadn’t I seen this coming? Why hadn’t I done more to stopanyof this?
I smashed my fist into the tile, cracking it and splitting the skin across my knuckles. A hiss slipped through my gritted teeth as the cuts stung in the spray of water and blood dripped onto the ground. Each speck of ruby diluted and disappeared, much like I wanted to do from this fucking realm and from the idiotic choices I’d made since we’d rescued Izidora from that cave.
24
Aknock on my bedroom door allowed me to tear my face away from Taya’s. “Come in,” I called, shoving her off my lap. Her gold eyes flashed with hurt before she straightened her clothing and perched on the edge of the arm of my chair like an ornament. Crossing her arms over her chest, she pushed up her ample cleavage, only accentuated by the deep dip in the dress she wore.
Desmond entered, carrying with him a velvet pouch that offered a sharp rattle when he walked. “Ah, Desmond, good to see you. Please have a seat.”
The Mage glanced around the ornate space, finally selecting a low couch across from me. “So, what do you need the crystals for?”
He proffered the bag to me, and I accepted it, drawing open the cinched center and spilling the gems into my open palm. Amethysts, quartzes, opals, and topazes glinted in the light from the crystal chandelier overhead. Glancing at the female still clinging to me, I growled, “Leave us.”
With a pout, she stomped off. The door slammed with enough force that the painting of myself commissioned on mycoronation day rebounded against the stone wall. The crown, intentionally skewed on my head, grew even more crooked as it resettled at an angle against the wall. Rolling my eyes, I returned my attention to the task at hand. I’d make it up to her later, but she couldn’t know about the magic all the anointed kings and queens of Északi possessed.
“The stones assist with channeling the power I must wield to make you Fae,” I stated, arranging the stones on the table between us after evaluating each for its purity. Satisfied with the collection, I went to my desk and lifted the hidden bottom of a drawer to retrieve the paper I needed. The High Priestess had handed it to me in secret the day after she placed the Night Crown on my head, and the moment I read it, I knew the Fates had provided me yet another gift. It hadn’t taken much to sway Desmond to assist me, not when his humanness crippled his strength and lifespan.
“Now, remove your clothes,” I instructed, skimming the words written in a flowing script. It looked ancient, and I wondered just how long this parchment had existed, how many royal hands had looked upon these words and used them. If the history I remembered from childhood lessons served me, at least a dozen kings had cause to wield such power for their political gains. My ancestral line included.
The Mage did as instructed, not bothering to cover himself as he reclined on the couch. Examining the array of the crystals, I ensured their proper order, then, one by one, placed them along his body according to the instructions written by some long-ago monarch.
“Can you make that bigger while you’re at it?” he joked as I placed a few near his dick.
“Don’t think it works like that,” I grinned devilishly. “If you can survive the pain of the procedure, you’re welcome to join me in my harem tonight.”
He snorted, closing his eyes and tucking his hands behind his head as I finished placing the stones. With one last sweep from paper to his body, I confirmed everything was in place, then stole a cushion from behind him and tossed it to the ground. Kneeling, I placed my fingers on either side of his head, and I tapped into my magic. The source of moonlight and black binds in my chest swirled as I called it to my palms and out into the world. Silver dipped into a dark gray as my magic caressed Desmond’s body, testing before trapping itself in the crystals. Once every stone had been filled, they began to glow, and the scent of burning flesh filled the air.
Beneath my palms, muscles ticked in Desmond’s face, but no sound slipped from his throat. Pushing more power out of me, I willed it to begin the transformation, and after a few moments, bubbles popped out of his boiling skin as his body rearranged itself from its basest form. A pained sound escaped him then, and I pushed harder, wanting to ensure the transformation from the Mage’s human form to a Fae one succeeded.
I sensed the change happening just before the stones exploded, sending shards scattering throughout the room. With a yell, Desmond jerked off the couch, his skin seeming to rip apart and sew itself back together at the same time as he writhed on his hands and knees on the carpet beside the couch. His ears grew a slight point, and his thin frame thickened with new muscle. When he lifted his gaze, his once dull eyes were sharper, and as one last wave of transformation swept from the base of his spine to his head, he choked out a cough.
Then, ever so slowly, he raised his gaze to mine, revealing a devious smirk. New power lurked within him, and as his creator, I sensed it, almost like an extension of my own.
I offered him my hand, but he ignored it, pushing to his feet with the ease of a Fae. He flexed and admired his new body, testing it with a few jumps and squats before he finally returnedhis attention to me. “I think I might take you up on your offer. I want to see how much better this body fucks.”
“Grab your clothes and I’ll show you the way,” I instructed. He wasted no time pulling on his pants, but left his chest bare as we slipped from my room and strolled to the stairs that spiraled up into the rooms where my females waited for us.
The space was dark and sultry and smelled of sex. Already, several played with one another, warming up for a night that would leave everyone sweating and satisfied. After all, they did miss me while I was gone.
Taya was splayed over a soft, circular bed in the center of the space, her emerald green robe hanging loose and exposing one soft breast, nipple already hard as she waited for me. Lazily, she traced swirls over her skin, and my cock hardened as I drank in her spread legs and wet pussy.
