Chapter Thirty-Six

 

 

Drostan wanted to make sure that I watched the festival. So, he brought in the cross that he had used for my punishment, and set it up near the window. Before he left to attend the festivities, he manacled me to the cross. Then he buckled a leather contraption around my waist; it had straps that went between my legs. After a few quick licks of my pussy, Drostan slipped a dildo into me and then buckled the straps tightly to hold it in place.

“I wouldn't leave you with nothing,” he said gently as he stroked the hair back from my face. “When you need to, you can grind against this fake cock and the leather strap to bring yourself some relief.”

“I'm not going to get off on watching you with another woman,” I growled.

“You may, or you may not enjoy it, but you will watch, Riley,” he warned me. “If you close your eyes, I'll see you, and I'll have to bring you outside with me. You don't want to attend the rite, do you?”

“No,” I whispered.

“As I thought.” Drostan nodded. “So, be a good concubine and watch, as I am being a lenient master and allowing you to abstain.”

Drostan gave the dildo a little push, kissed my lips, and then left.

It wasn't long before the clearing was full of Unseelie fairies; dressed in hardly anything at all. Women wore wispy silk scarves and men wore leather belts. Their bodies were painted with strange symbols. Music started to play; a tribal drumming that vibrated through the night. Torches were lit, and their light gleamed off skin in a multitude of colors; slick with desire and sweat. I saw Drostan making his way through the court; clad in only in a few leather straps. His bare skin shimmered like metal, but the firelight turned the silver to gold. A woman sauntered up with a bowl of liquid and started massaging it all over his body. He gleamed even brighter, and smiled down at her as she worked the liquid into his cock.

Drostan's cock had been limp but still beautiful; draping over his silky balls and nestled amid a nest of black curls. But under the woman's ministrations, it quickly hardened and stood out from his body eagerly. The woman straightened, and Drostan pulled her to him and kissed her deeply as he casually played with her tiny breasts. I flinched at the irrational jealousy that took hold of me. Drostan could kiss and fondle and fuck whomever he wanted; it shouldn't bother me. Oh, but it did. Drostan let the woman go and continued through the throng; nodding to the fairies and stopping every now and again to kiss a woman briefly, or play with her pussy before moving on.

The Unseelie began to dance, and couples paired off; some were more than couples. They writhed together in passion; soon dropping to the ground or just leaning up against the trees to fuck savagely. Hands moved sensuously over skin and lips sought out every sensitive place to suck and lick. From the littlest pixie to the largest redcap; every fairy there was fornicating their brains out. Except for Drostan.

The Unseelie King made his way to the altar, where a beautiful sidhe woman was laying—exactly as I had been. Fairies paused their intercourse to join their king at the altar. Both men and women stood in a circle and watched avidly as their king stepped up between the woman's thighs and angled his cock toward her pussy.

Something tightened inside my chest as I watched Drostan thrust his cock into the woman. He lifted his head and looked right at me as he continued to slam into her pussy. The woman writhed beneath Drostan and cried out eagerly as she slid her hands over his chest, but he kept his gaze fastened on me. I was naked on the cross, and the fey lights were on within the castle; he had the perfect view. As did everyone else. But no one else was watching me; they were too consumed with their own pleasure and that of their king. Only Drostan enjoyed the view of my restrained body as he pounded his cock into another woman.

“Riley!” The whisper had me jerking my head to the side. “No; don't look.”

I caught a glimpse of Conall before I turned my face forward again. Drostan's stare was set on my breasts, and he hadn't noticed the movement.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” I hissed in panic.

Surely Conall wouldn't try to kidnap me again? He couldn't do it while Drostan was right outside the window, intensely watching me.

“I'm here for you,” he whispered. “There's something I have to tell you, Riley.”

“Go away!”

“Riley; I'm the one who loves you, not Drostan,” Conall declared.

“What nonsense are you talking about now?” I snarled.

“I'm sorry that we deceived you, but it was the only way I could have a slave to myself. I knew Queen Tana would try to take you for her little entertainments if I brought you to Seelie.”

“What?”

“King Drostan wanted a vacation from his court and the endless responsibilities that come with being king,” Conall explained. “I wanted you. So, we formed an understanding; we would switch bodies. Drostan could experience life as a Seelie knight, and I could have you while I looked after his kingdom.”

I glanced at Conall as a shiver coasted over my body. “I don't believe you. You can't switch bodies.”

“Magic makes anything possible,” Conall said gently.

“No,” I whispered. “No.”

“Has Drostan experienced a sudden, horrible pain recently?” Conall asked. “And afterward, did he act differently?”

My eyes went wide.

“That pain was the transfer of our souls,” Conall said. “Drostan took back his body because he's decided that he wants you for himself. It was Drostan in my body who abducted you; I was still in his. Don't you remember those first few days when you were brought to Tirne? Drostan was different then, right? And then I came here and met you, remember?”

I nodded.

“After I left, didn't Drostan change?”

“Dear God,” I whispered. “It was you in his body?”

“Yes,” Conall said. “We made the switch that day. It should have been sooner, but I didn't think to specify how long Drostan could have you before we traded places.”

“He wanted to try me out before he handed me over,” I murmured as I thought back to the conversation between the men that I had witnessed; it had seemed strange that Conall had been so upset that I had been there a couple of days before his arrival. “And his concubines... that's why Drostan got rid of them. It wasn't because he wanted me; it was because you wanted me.”

“Yes; he was clearing his life so that I could take it over,” Conall admitted. “I didn't want all of his women; I wanted you. You were my only request.”

I shivered as the truth of my situation settled over me. It was all so clear now; Drostan—the real Drostan—was the dominating jerk while Conall had been the man who I had started to fall in love with.

“I'm so sorry, Riley; Drostan tricked me,” Conall said. “He's tricked you too. But I've come to take you back to Seelie. Prince Trenton is helping me; we've agreed to share you.”

“You what?” I growled.

“We both love you,” Conall said softly. “We love you enough to do whatever it takes to make you happy; even if that means sharing you. Will you have us?”

I went still; staring at Drostan as he came inside another woman.

“Yes,” I whispered. “I will most definitely have you.”

“Thank you. I swear that we'll make you happy, Riley.” Conall smiled. “Tell me when Drostan looks away, and I'll get you out of here.”

Drostan fell across the woman on the altar, right on cue.

“Now!” I cried.

Conall leapt forward and undid my bounds as Drostan rolled aside, and another man took his place. The new fairy started fucking the offering wildly; blocking me from Drostan's view. I fell into Conall's arms, and he placed a quick kiss on my cheek before hastening me to an opening in the bedroom wall.

“I thought you had the secret passages closed?” I asked him.

“I lied,” he said sheepishly. “It's impossible to close these passageways; they've been here for thousands of years. I just didn't want you looking for them. I'm sorry, Riley. There has been a lot of lies between us, but from here forward, you shall have the absolute truth.”

“Okay,” I whispered.

Conall took me into the dark tunnel and hit the wall beside us. A panel slid into place behind us, and we were briefly left in the dark. Then a soft light came on above us; a little bobbing orb. Conall helped me out of the harness Drostan had placed me in and then draped me in his cloak. He took my hand, and we followed the orb down the passage and then out of the castle entirely. Once we were in the woods, we started to run, but I only made it ten feet before a horrible pain gripped my belly. I cried out and sank to my knees.

“Riley!” Conall dropped beside me. “What is it?”

“I don't know,” I whispered.

“It's the Understanding,” Drostan said smugly as he strode out of the shadows.

He had his pants on again, and there was a sword strapped to his waist. Unseelie knights surged up from behind him—also armed—and circled us.

“You son of a bitch!” Conall snarled. “You betrayed our agreement.”

“No, I didn't,” Drostan said calmly. “I brought Riley here and gave her to you. We never agreed on a length of time for her to be yours. Riley and I, however, made an Understanding that she would be mine forever; her life in exchange for her sister's.”

“You weren't supposed to actually bind her!” Conall shouted. “You were just to offer her the arrangement and cure her sister.”

“I know.” Drostan smirked. “It was a little leverage I put into place, just in case I changed my mind. And as fate would have it; I did. All I needed was some space to appreciate what I had and figure out what I wanted. I'm ready to rule my kingdom again, and I'm ready to settle on a single concubine; Riley. With the Understanding binding us, you can't take her away from me without my permission.”

“Conall?” I looked up at him in horror.

Conall's gaze was grim when he set it on me.

“No,” I whispered.

“You should have left her with me,” Drostan said as he strode forward arrogantly. “We could have proceeded without Riley ever knowing of our deception. But now you've revealed our secret—to Riley and my court—so you must pay with your life.”

Drostan pulled his sword and swung it in an expert arch. His muscles clenched, and I did not doubt that he could wield the weapon with deadly efficiency. But Conall was not entirely defenseless; he pulled a sword as well, and it swished through the air with a sharp sound of warning. He moved in front of me and prepared to meet Drostan in combat. But the Unseelie were drawing in closer, and I knew there was no way that Conall would live through this; even if he won, they would kill him.

“Wait!” I cried as I moved between the men.

Drostan and Conall both stared at me in shock.

“Let Conall return to Seelie unharmed, and I will be the most obedient concubine you've ever had,” I offered Drostan.

“I don't need you to obey me willingly,” Drostan growled. “I won't coddle you like Conall; you are mine, and I will make you obey.”

“But you prefer my compliance, don't you?” I asked as I sidled up to him.

“Riley, no,” Conall whispered as his sword lowered.

I glanced back at him and mouthed the word “run.” Conall shook his head adamantly and lifted his sword again. The damn honorable knight. I turned back to Drostan and draped myself over him; opening the cloak so he could take in my nudity. He began to smile as I slipped my hand into his pants.

“I can be very sweet when I want to be,” I purred as I stroked him. “Wouldn't that be better than constantly fighting me? You said that you'd prefer not to be cruel; so don't be. Let Conall go, and we can be good to each other.”

“All right, Riley,” Drostan murmured as he looked me up and down slowly. “It seems that we have another Understanding.”

“No!” Conall shouted as he lurched forward.

Drostan's knights intercepted Conall and quickly overpowered him. His sword fell into the grass, but then Conall's hands filled with light. I glanced his way in surprise; remembering a time when Drostan had used that very magic. Except it hadn't been Drostan; it was Conall in Drostan's body. That was why the assassin had been so shocked; he had known that the light magic wasn't Drostan's.

Before Conall could use his magic against them, the Unseelie soldiers bound Conall's hands behind his back with black manacles. The light winked out as soon as they were in place. As Conall fought and shouted, Drostan turned me so that Conall could watch him rub his hands casually over my body.

“Take him to the main road and release him,” Drostan said as he kept his eyes on me. “I need to explore this new arrangement with my concubine.”

Conall was pulled away, and Drostan led me back into the castle. I controlled myself and didn't look back. Nor did I cry.