Page 10 of Tethered Thrones

I watched him drift to sleep once more and shook my head.

This could only be trouble.

Chapter 3

Sun

Iawoke with a start, glancing down to find the remnants of Hadi’s release still stashed away in the corner, and it shattered any delusions I had that the dream-like encounter with my king was just that, a dream.

It shouldn’t have been any different with Hadi. By now, it felt natural to do what humans would indeed deem unnatural with them.

But this time felt different in a way I couldn’t explain and refused to explore any longer as I stood and stretched my renewed body. Sex had a way of making me feel better, and now it physically rejuvenated me.

It felt more manageable that way; it felt safe to ignore the spark of something more I saw in his eyes than what my rational mind conjured up to replace it.

Hadi took what he needed from me and left. We were no longer enemies but were now the most temporary of my acquired acquaintances. Because, in the end, once the emperor was dead, would Hadi rest until he ascended the noc throne once more?

No.

Would I allow him so he could murder the rest of the humans of Naran?

Of course not.

So, just as I warned Clem not long ago, we were allies now. In the future? Only the gods knew.

…Is what I would’ve said before meeting the goddess face to face. Now, I wasn’t sure if any being, mortal or supreme, could decipher what was in our future.

No need to overthink,I thought while most definitely overthinking.Just go with the flow. Take pleasure when you can. Dole out pain when necessary. I’m sure he’s just tired of sitting on the sidelines.

At least, that’s what I deluded myself into thinking, ignoring everything that went unspoken as his enormous cock rutted against me and after he marked me with his web-like seed, fangs flashing in his frenzied release.

There was something more left unspoken between us in the heat of Hadi’s embrace.

Feigning ignorance was the best route, I decided. It was easier to keep my lust in check than examine the overwhelming emotions of the strange relationship I’d entangled myself in with not one but four nocs. I had to keep my beast in check, I reassured myself, trying to put up feeble defenses around my wounded heart still raw from betrayal, too tender to surrender to that…

“Fuck my feelings,” I gritted out, slapping my cheeks as I approached the doorway, left slightly ajar. Hadi must have decided it was time to join the others, which was somewhat annoying… as if I wanted him to remain with me until I woke.

I tried to shake all those emotions away, but Hadi’s eyes lingered in my mind. What were we now? Mortal enemies to what? Lovers? That sounded absurd even to me.

Mortal enemies to convenient partners suited us better. We would stick with that until Emperor Gaulu’s head hung from a spike as the traitor he was to the holy throne.

And speaking of my soon-to-be-dead emperor, my rest did not provide new answers to that conundrum either. I had little doubt we’d be ambushed before we reached the border of Kari. It was a matter of when, not if.

And what then? If we managed to survive, we’d surely be injured. It took a series of miracles to make it this far, and the goddess Tsuki seemed all out of miracles to bestow upon us now.

No matter. I yanked off my filthy robe and pushed the doors open, the cool breeze freezing on my nude skin.

“Emperor Gaulu will not rest until I’m dead. I can’t retreat into delusions; I must face reality head-on, sword drawn. But for now…” I trailed off, my body yearning for the hot springs and dreading the war ahead for the first time in twenty-five long, hard years.

Those were tough words, but even after resting my weary eyes, I was still no closer to figuring out how to carry out the most important mission of my life. All I was doing was spinning my wheels, coming to the same hopeless conclusions.

Had I lost my warrior edge in the madness of discovering treachery as wretched as his?

“Enough whining,” I scolded myself, looking up the empty hallway as I closed the door behind me.

By the sound of low voices and splashes drifting to my bedroom, my nocs were still in the hot springs. Walking on shaky feet, I followed the sound, hoping a relaxing bath would allow my mind to settle long enough to formulate a plan of action.

My memory carried me through the motions of preparing for the hot springs, cleansing my body before the long soak to ease my aches and pains. I stared into the rippling water of mywash bucket as Hadi and Clem’s voices grew louder and clearer, bodies obscured by the steam.

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