Inez did a final scan of Varyk’s room. After spending the last several days with him it was strange having no belongings to take with her. Custom made shirts, leather pants and feminine undergarment had been provided for her. He’d graciously had items delivered, though he grimaced at her request for anything black.
Inez held firm, biting the inside of her cheek to hide her humor. It would have been a betrayal to her sect to dress in the colors of another king. Now she was leaving it all behind, save for the outfit she’d worn on her first day freshly laundered.
“Are you ready?”
Inez breathed out a heavy sigh and nodded. Varyk came up behind her and massaged her shoulders. The tip of his nose glided up her neck, sending overt signals to her brain. Sexy signals. If she offered, Varyk would leap at the chance to have sex again in the bed at the center of the room. The very bed they’d just climbed from not long ago.
“My offer to stay here while I visit the Black still stands.”
He repeated his earlier claim. Inez was under no illusions of Varyk being pleased at her decision to return home. If he could convince her to stay he would. Dangerous times were hitting their world and every sign indicated it could possible get worse.
What Varyk had disclosed prior to defeating Larz made odd sense. According to him, it was a repeat of the situation among the Black. The other Kings had reported similar irregularities and needed to come together once more.
Whatever was occurring impacted all of the sects, which meant working together. Rylin flew in last night for a one on one meet with Varyk and after an intense conversation, agreed to call the reglio.
“I’m ready,” she said, turning in Varyk’s arms to face him.
He placed a palm to the back of her head, the other along her hip and held her close. Inez squeezed her eyes shut and inhaled the scent of dark musk. A smell she now associated with Varyk. It took concentrated effort not to growl and moan when she wanted to undulate her lower half against him.
“Hold on,” he murmured.
She’d become accustomed to Varyk’s way of travel. His use of teleportation was natural and he did it without thought. A few times she’d walked into a room and he would touch her arm and wisk her away to have sex. Being entirely at his mercy during those times only increased Inez’s craving for him.
“Welcome, cousin.”
When Inez opened her eyes, they were in the main hall of her home. Rylin walked toward her with a broad grin, while perched on his hip a tiny baby clad in yellow slept. Behind him at a slower pace walked the King of the Silver, Faris, holding an infant to his shoulder, then Mikal, Rylin’s best friend, cradling two and in the rear the King of the Purple, Kon who grimaced as he held the last.
Inez stared around looking for a glimpse of Dara but the Queen’s presence was oddly missing.
“Faris and Kon arrived not long ago. Dara is resting. The children hardly slept at all last night.” Rylin announced then much to her surprise he plopped the sleeping baby into Varyk’s arms.
It amused Inez to see him struggle then cuddle the child close to his chest in resignation. She wondered which one he held. Inez couldn’t tell any of the young apart. They were all equally cute. This little one stretched a tiny leg and curled up in the strong arms holding him, never once opening eyes during the transfer.
Those in the sect noticed. Thin lines crossed their brows as they tried to fathom Rylin’s reasoning. It was rare for anyone to allow another not in the direct blood line to touch a vulnerable baby in their human skin. Not only had Rylin given the babies to the other Kings to hold, his actions implied he had faith none would offer harm to his child. Including Varyk.
Inez’s gaze narrowed. What was her cousin up to? Rylin ignored her pointed stare and directed everyone with a tilt of his head. “We will meet in another room for privacy.”
Inez hung close to Varyk, arms brushing as they strode down the hall and entered the room. Kon came in last and shut it with his hip, a broad palm clamped to the baby propped on his shoulder.
***
Varyk was no fool and understood the statement made. By handing him his child in front of his people, Rylin signaled implicit trust in Varyk. Foolish and risky to say the least. Why would Rylin jeopardize the safety of his blood to make such a declaration? Kon and Faris he could understand, their relationship with the Black wasn’t as adversarial as his.
If their position was reversed, Varyk was hard pressed to say if he’d do the same. In fact, he knew for certain he wouldn’t. Trust wasn’t something he took lightly and never with a vulnerable child who could do nothing to defend itself. Varyk could end the babe with an abrupt snap of his wrists.
He glanced at a smirking Inez. Unless he mated a female from the Black. Inez would want the babe to have a connection to her kin.
She hugged Rylin in a quick show of affection before turning to leave. Her presence in this room went against reglio protocol. Not even liras could participate, save for instances when someone acted as a stand in for the King.
He’d not let her escape that easily. They had a lot to discuss about their future. Varyk stopped her and lowered his head. “See me after.”
A smile played about her mouth and her eyes lit with a wicked light. Varyk only had seconds to ponder what she planned. Inez leaned up on her toes and kissed him. Not an innocent press of lips, but one with open mouth and full on tongue. Varyk tightened his grip on the sleeping baby, wishing his hands were free to yank her in close and punish her for such daring.
Instead he closed his eyes and stood still, cock growing hard as she took her time. Teasing, nipping and wet. Hard nipples stabbed his chest and he scented her growing desire. Varyk would definitely make time to pay her back.
Someone cleared their throat loudly and only then did she ease off. He opened his eyes to her pleased visage. Arousal glittered in her golden depths. For longer then he should, Varyk contemplated leaving. Passing the baby off to any of the others and porting away. A simple touch and he could take them to his home and assuage the need she’d ignited.
Inez slid a hand up his arm and squeezed. “Later.”
He tipped his head close and whispered, “You owe me.”
“Hmm.” With a last caress to his bare forearm, she winked and left.
In a smooth transition reflecting practice, Mikal handed off the two babies he held to Rylin before departing as well. Rylin waited until after the door closed to speak.
“As mentioned when I initially called the meeting, Varyk has brought up a fine point regarding recent behavior. Something we all may well have ignored. The mantle has always helped maintain the balance in our sect and given warnings of those not stable.” Rylin grimaced on the last. “I’m the first to admit that didn’t happen a few months ago and we lost females because of it.”
While the Black King swayed with the babes he cradled in his arms, Varyk noted the others remained as rigid as he was, almost fearful of disturbing the sleeping children. Four Kings gathered and all holding babies who were born from the same rise of Rylin’s essence. It was the most unusual reglio he’d ever attended and this marked his second since Rylin assumed the mantle for the Black.
“Varyk believes the same root cause which led my own to attack liras could be the reason his male devolved to the point he took my unborn.”
The reaction of the Silver King stood out. A spark. Some kernel of awareness. Rylin said a few more things which Varyk ignored in lieu of watching Faris.
As if sensing his stare, his fellow king turned. Secrets swirled behind the hooded gaze. And a deeper emotion. One Varyk would have denied if he hadn’t witnessed it.
Fear.
The Silver feared something enough it held him frozen.
“Do you all agree?”
Rylin’s question dragged Varyk’s gaze back to him. It was on the tip of his tongue to resort to sarcasm, then the child in his arm moved and opened eyes as gold as an antique coin. Tiny sounds emitted from the pursed lips followed by the smallest yawn. Pressure tightened Varyk’s chest and he bit back his antagonistic words.
Silence echoed and Varyk jerked his gaze up only to meet Rylin’s smug grin. “I think Finley’s attached to you, Varyk.”
Varyk stretched his arms out, holding the now fully awakened baby far away from him. “Perhaps you’d care to call your lira to reclaim them.”
Still grinning for all of his lowly worth, the Black walked toward the door and kicked it with the toe of his boot twice. It opened instantly and Mikal shouldered his way in. Rylin passed over the two children he carried. “Take them to the nursery until Dara is up.”
Another guard came to the doorway, followed by a third. Each of the Dracol young were carried out by armed guards with fierce scowls. The door closed with a snap. Varyk folded his now empty arms over his chest and cocked his hip. It was Kon who spoke up in the growing quiet. “Be clear, Rylin. What do you and Varyk suspect?”
“Madness.” Rylin said the word in a tone guaranteed to bypass any attempt at humor and quell all doubt.
Varyk gave the Purple King credit for not dismissing him right away. He threaded a hand through the loosened purple waves of his hair and eyed each of them in turn. “Are you all agreeing with this assessment?”
An abrupt nod served as Varyk’s only response. Faris tipped his head toward the ceiling causing his silver braid to sliver across his shoulder and fall down his back. Rylin turned in his direction. “Faris?”
The King of the Silver faced them and such anguished glittered in his amber gaze, Varyk caught his breath. Faris allowed them all a moment to witness the raw emotion then blanked his face. “I agree. Not simply because of what you’ve stated today.”
And then he proceeded to rock their beliefs on their axis by explaining a painful truth. The madness was not only spreading, but had a firm hold on Faris himself.
“Are you sure?” Rylin probed.
Darkness flashed then faded in Faris’ gaze. “I’m almost certain. It also seems to stem from the mantle itself. Sudden urges I can’t control. Voices hinting at violent desires. Needs I know aren’t mine.”
Rylin and Kon’s stunned looks probably mirrored Varyk’s. The mantle they wore as Kings came as a gift from the goddess of Fate. Its purpose helped instill a healthy balance among their sects. If the mantle created the current wave of incidents they were witnessing, then all they believed in was flawed. More than that, it meant they couldn’t count on their instincts to guide them.
“Do you think we are all at risk for this madness?” Kon asked in a grating tone.
A reasonable question. The Purple lived sequestered under the oceans of Vovar. They spent more time alone than any other Dracol when they weren’t living in small pods.
“I don’t think any of us has the answer to that.” Rylin slouched against the edge of his desk and gripped his nape. “Do you feel the need to defer the mantle, Faris?”
Turning on Rylin, Varyk snapped. “You can’t be serious!”
The only way the mantle transferred to another was through death. To Varyk’s knowledge he and Uvem were the only ones to ever survive after a new King rose. Perhaps the poisonous properties of the Green stalled death. He wasn’t sure. Either way, it wasn’t something he’d recommend attempting.
Although Faris controlled ice and a powerful frost fire, it didn’t mean he could halt death.
“I have a plan in place. If I think the condition worsens, I will end myself or select another from my guard I trust implicitly.” Faris jerked at the hem of his silver sleeveless vest. “If that fails, I would hope one of you would end me honorably.”
Kon snorted and turned to leave. “I want no part in plans of killing a King.”
“Wait!” Rylin jumped up raised his hand in a stop gesture. “This is speculation. None of us knows what the goddess of fate has in store.”
“Or what lesson she seeks to teach. Perhaps instead of talking about murder,” Kon emphasized, “we should look at why we have fallen from favor. In what way have we not ruled as we should.” He stared hard at Faris. “And perhaps we shouldn’t fight where our heart leads us.”
Faris’ expression darkened and his hands knotted to fists at his side. Kon’s look almost dared him to speak. At the Silver’s silence, Kon huffed a disappointed snort. “As for coming back to land, do not expect my presence any more. Going forward, I will send an emissary.”
After speaking those impactful words, Kon strode toward the door, where he paused to stare over his shoulder at Rylin. “Unless it pertains to someone of personal interest to me. Unlike some, it’s only a matter of time before I claim what’s mine.”
Then he closed the door behind him with a quiet click. Varyk glanced at the remaining two Kings. “That didn’t go well.”