Chapter Sixteen

I was vaguely aware of Zane teleporting us into my room at the palace. We were both still without clothes, but somehow he had conjured a set for the both of us, he covered me with the thin fabric, almost lightly as if he was afraid he would break me. He sighed and lifted his hands until he had my face clasped between those warm palms. I stared into his eyes and he stared into mine. The both of us dared not to break the silence. It was Zane who bent down and kissed my lips tentatively. He pulled away too quickly for my taste, but rested his forehead against mine.

“Are you fine to go to the dinner, Kei mou?”

My heart shuddered in my chest. My Kei. He was claiming me as his. I couldn’t resist the small smile that curved my lips. Even though we had ended up making love on that cold grass more than once, my body was surprisingly light. Almost as if I had drained Zane’s vitality like the incubus in the stories of old.

“I’m fine, Zane.” I whispered, bringing my arms up to coil around the back of his neck, bringing him in closer so I could kiss him how I wanted. He groaned under the administrations of my tongue, his hands trailing down to tighten at my hips. I leaned in closer, pushing my already hard erection up against him. “In fact,” I seductively murmured, “I could go again.”

Unconsciously, I licked my lips and it drew Zane’s gaze like a starving wolf. Somehow, he resisted by closing his eyes and breathing in deeply.

“We can’t, Kei mou. They are waiting.” He groaned again as I pushed myself harder against him.

“What’s one more round?” I asked, my finger trailing lightly down his chest, only stopping at the trail of hair that ventured down farther. Zane was visibly shaking, his eyes clenched shut. When he opened them, there was a fire burning brightly in them.

“We need to be quick.” Was the last thing he said before I purred and pounced on him, taking his lips with mine and grasping his erection in my hand.

This would be fun.

~~~~

I peeked my head into the office, but found no one seated behind the oak desk. Frowning, I turned around, Pian caught my frown and cocked his head to the side. He was sitting on the couch, a book in his hands. His brother was on the floor, his legs the only thing actually on the couch. He had his eyes closed.

“Why do you keep looking in there?” Pian asked confused. “Zane won’t appear no matter how many times you look.” Glaring at him, I stomped over and plopped down onto the chair across from the brothers.

“Shut up.” I grumbled, “I can look all I want.”

“Wait…” Pian muttered, staring at my face harder. “Don’t tell me…”

“You did it!!” Teyan half screamed from where he was laying on the floor. His arms were raised high in the air and his smile bright. Reaching out, I smacked him up against the head at the same time his brother did. He had an offended look on his face as he clutched both sides of his head in his hands. At that moment that he yelled those three words out, Cabe had walked into the room. He was still as exotic as ever and his eyebrows raised in astonishment or confusion, I couldn’t tell.

Before glancing over at me, Cabe asked, “Who did what?”

Pian tried to shut his brother up, but Teyan jumped to his feet and said excitedly, “Kei finally did Zane.”

Cabe was looking at me in confusion, as if he was imagining more than he should. “I can’t see Zane as a bottom.”

Teyan let out a loud laugh and chuckled while wriggling his eyebrows as he said, “Who said you need to be a top to command?”

Cabe’s eyes lit up and then he nodded solemnly. “Well then, my bad.” I was about to go over and smack Teyan, but right as I was about to, Brand and Data walked in through the portal from Tartarus. They both had their eyebrows raised in astonishment and Data had a grin spreading across his face. Brand on the other hand looked like he had heard something that he could now never un-think.

As he sat beside me, Brand muttered, “This sounds like a horrible conversation to walk into.”

Data laughed loudly from where he had sat on the floor. His eyes were bright with a memory. “Not as bad as that one time we walked in on Persephone all over Zane.” My heart shuddered in my chest and I felt my breath leave me.

“Persephone?” I gasped, thinking of that tall dragon who loved her jewelry. I didn’t know how I felt about her yet. On one hand she claimed Zane to be hers, but on the other hand, technically it was because of her that I finally was able to have Zane. So she was a hindrance, but a blessing as well.

“Oh shit,” Teyan, yelped from the couch. He grimaced, “Did nobody tell you?”

Before I even had the chance to answer, the five of them all began to chime in. Their voices mixing so much so that I had a hard time keeping track of who said what.

“His ex fiancee.”

“I hate her.”

“She has good taste in jewelry though.”

“Her father is some big wig in the Dragon tribes.”

“They were together for decades.” This comment was from Brand, his face scrunched up in disgust. All those in the room stopped talking.

Cabe sighed, “Only until about eleven years ago.”

Pian glanced over at me, explaining the best he could. “Then he cut off all contact with her and tried to annul the existing contract with the dragon tribe.”

“Zane can do whatever he wants.” Data scoffed, waving his hand at the twins as if telling them to shut up. “He is the Dragon King after all. A mere dragon lord would have to listen to him.”

“I’ve met her.” Cabe muttered in disgust.

“Ah…” Was the only thing I could say. What else could I?

“She’s a bitch,” Cabe muttered, patting me on the back. “Thinks she can get whatever she wants.”

“I hope I don’t meet her again.” I muttered standing up. I looked at all the boys gathered in the room and gave a sly smile, “I’m going to go find Zane.”

All five of them burst out laughing. Except Brand, he just shook his head with a smile on his face. They all knew why I wanted to find him, I hadn’t kept it a secret from any of them after all.

Thinking maybe I would find him at the Palace, I used a portal to teleport to Tartarus and made my way along the streets. I apparently had horrible luck because right before I reached the gates, there stood a tall blonde in my path, walking towards me. The moment she saw me, she flipped her hair behind her head and gave me a nasty smile.

“If it isn’t the human mutt.” She snarled, flicking a wrist where her jewelry jingled. “Go find your kennel.”

When I didn’t answer, she chuckled and said in an almost singsong voice. “If you’re looking for Zane, he was just at my house.”

“Liar.” I seethed. My fists gribbed at my sides and my anger flared.

Her laughter was loud and stung my ears. “If you think I am lying you can go check. He just left to go talk to the Prince.” She walked several steps until she was close enough to whisper into my ears. I couldn’t resist flinching. Her voice was like a black spell as each word flowed into my ear and damaged my soul. “He will never be yours. I’ve had my hands all over him. Touched him, stroked him. And he’s done the same to me. He would never want a mutt.”

I was so angry but instead of answering, I stormed off, running to the gates, my eyes turning black with each step. From behind me, I heard her evil chuckle echoing behind me. As I stepped into the palace, my face on fire and my emotions in turmoil, sure enough, from one of the long halls, I heard Zane’s footsteps. The closer he got to me, the more my anger fired up. The thought of someone else touching him pissed me off.

“Kei?” His soft voice stabbed at me. “Why aren’t you in Charon?” I didn’t answer. He reached my side and looked into my eyes, seeing that they were pitch black and that my cheeks were flushed, he tsked. “What’s wrong?” Once again I didn’t answer. He reached out a hand, and I let him pull me against him but my body was stiff against his. “What’s the matter?” He asked in an almost offended tone.

“Persephone was very happy to tell me where you were.” I snapped.

“She’s a fellow demon on the council.”

I rolled my eyes. “She was also your lover.”

Zane pulled away slightly to look into my eyes, searching for an answer before he even asked. “Who told you that?”

“I’m younger than you by who knows how many decades,” I retorted. “Of course you’ve had women. I don’t need anyone to hand me a note.”

“No one handed you a note, Kei mou.”

“No, but everyone seems to try to shove it in my face.” I turned and pushed him away from me, he reached out as if to take me in his arms but then let his arms fall to his sides. “Everyone keeps on reminding me that you are of high standing and I know you deserve better than me. But what I don’t understand, is why you chose me.”

The light in Zane’s eyes seemed to spark and wither all at the same time. He looked at me as if he had never seen me before. As if I was some new type of demon that no one had any records of. I guess, in a way, I actually was, because as far as I knew, there had never existed a mage demon before this. I was like a type of exotic creature that no one knew how to deal with. So, ultimately, I guess that look wasn’t something I should be bothered by. Zane took in a deep breath and sighed. His eyes closed tightly, and when he opened them, they were a pure gold with his pupils being nothing but mere slits. Exactly like a dragon’s.

“I chose you,” Zane started, his eyes flickering over my face. “Those many years ago when you were only a child,” he breathed in deeply as if he was imparting a large secret, “when you stole my heart.”

I snorted, kind of mad and yet happy at the same time, “I stole your heart.” My eyes rolled without even thinking about it. I put my hands on my hips and glared at Zane. “I have never stolen anything in my life. As if I would be coy enough to steal someone’s heart especially the heart of a Dragon King.”

Zane watched my expressions and seemed to deflate. “Kei, do you not remember that night 14 years ago? Do you not remember anything?” I scowled at him. Hadn’t we already talked about this?

“I only remember what I told you. I only remember losing the human side of me. I only remember waking up in my bed with no one around me and blood still under my nails.” I looked at my hand, seeing the blood there as if I was transported back in time. “It wasn’t my blood, Zane, I don’t know whose blood it was, but it wasn’t mine.”

There have been times in my life where my mind seems to wander back to the past without me even knowing, but I can’t see anything beyond a hazy wall. Now, as my mind wandered, I began to think of that time when I was nine and my powers first manifested. I felt a hand reach out toward me and a cold rush entered my forehead. As I looked up, I could see Zane frowning at me, his fingers lightly touching my forehead.

“Thymámai.” His voice was both loud and quiet, it reverberated through the room and I could feel his powers flow into me with that simple touch. Remember…he had said in greek.

As this single word flowed through my mind, it seemed that the hazy wall that had always been inside my mind suddenly cleared and that wall exploded into tiny fragments. I was completely frozen in place, staring into Zane’s eyes that were changing into a brilliant silver. I felt Zane’s arms go around me and my mind followed his power into the depths of my memory.