Page 46 of Heir

For her.

If there was one thing and one thing only that the bear, vampire, and I agreed on, it was that we would do anything for Omaera.

We still didn’t like the idea of having to share her, or that we would be tied to each other for what could very well be eternity, but the most important thing was protecting the Queen and getting her the answers she needed.

Even if it meant riding the fucking bus to do it.

Good gods, I hated public transit.

I could run faster than the average bus, and most modes of public transit stunk like stale urine, garbage, and bad weed.

But none of us had a vehicle.

Omaera refused to drive because of how her mother died. The bear was a bear without even a fucking phone or wallet; the vampire was rich, powerful, and had a driver; and I just did whatever the fuck I wanted, which usually meant running or hopping on the back of some guy’s motorcycle to get where I needed to go.

“Let’s just call a cab,” I said, as we walked to the subway station that morning, all of us flanking Omaera like she was some popstar and we were her bodyguards. Because we kind of were. And she was more important than any popstar. She was a fucking queen.

“No,” Omaera said. “The subway is fine. I take it every day.”

I turned up my nose and rolled my eyes as we made our way down the stairs headed underground.

“It’s cold like a cave down here,” Zandren commented. “Smells worse than any cave I’ve ever lived in though.”

“Wait, I thought bears shat in the woods,” I said with a laugh.

He turned to me and looked me dead in the eye. “We do. But not in our caves.” Then he shook his head and scoffed like I’d asked the stupidest question in the world.

We paid and went through the turnstile, slaloming through people. A train whizzed by, its wheels squealing on the track.

“It’s well-lit for a cave too,” Zandren added. “I prefer my caves darker.”

“It’s not a fucking cave, dumbass. It’s a tunnel.” I snapped my fingers at my sides, creating small benign flames to keep myself busy and distracted.

A small child not too far away caught me, his eyes wide, mouth open.

I smiled at him and put one finger to my lips for him to keep it a secret, then I snapped my finger again and produced a rainbow flame. His eyes went even wider, and he whispered, “Wow!”

“This is our train,” Omaera said as one came to a stop on the platform. I went to step on when the doors opened, but she grabbed my hand. “Wait for people to unload first.” Her eyes asked me if I was just born yesterday. “Patience, sparky.”

A rush of pure pleasure raced through me from her touch. It was the first time she’d ever touched me, and it was like coming home. I’d never felt such peace. Such joy or bliss. I knew that no other woman could touch me now without me experiencing pain, at least until Omaera and I mated. But I had no idea how truly wonderful her touch would be. How magical and powerful her skin would be against mine.

And when she removed her hand, it was as if all the light in my life, all the energy in my body, had drained away like water in a sink.

I was bereft and weak for just a blink of a moment, but it was enough to make me dizzy.

“You coming, mage?” Zandren asked after he, Omaera and Drak had stepped onto the train.

Nodding, I stepped on as well and joined them. It was standing room only, and the four of us were drawing a lot of attention. Probably because Zandren was a beast and hadn’t bothered to button his shirt, Drak looked like a model for an undertaker magazine, and my fiery red hair and odd clothing choices always made people do a double take. Genie pants were just so fucking comfortable.

But if Omaera wanted me to wear something else, I would.

For her.

The train jerked to start, and we were all jostled. Omaera put her hand out against my chest, to stabilize herself, and that same intense rush of pleasure filled me up to near bursting. I can only describe it as energy, light, heat, and the buildup to the greatest orgasm of my life.

Her hand only lasted there a second before she pulled it back and held onto the pole with just one hand.

I pouted inside, but remained unfazed on the outside.

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