Page 33 of A Deception of Courts

I had finished without the need to touch myself. The feeling was impossible but possible. Clear from the spread of cloudy liquid that dripped from the tip of my cock onto Duncan’s lower abdomen.

“We have an endless amount of time ahead of us,” Duncan replied. “And I have an equal number of things to show you until you grow bored.”

“Duncan, I will never grow bored of you. Not in this life or the next.”

“I demand that you repeat that to me every morning and night,” he replied through a yawn. “Just so I never forget. If you can’t get some sleep after that, then I have failed my duty to you.”

Duncan pressed a final kiss to my forehead and helped me off him. I rolled next to his side, unable to forget the physical memory of his cock inside of me. Nor did I wish to forget it.

“Promise?” I asked, glad my eyes fluttered closed, and my mind was empty of anything but him.

“I promise.”

This time, when I closed my eyes, swept away by the rush of tiredness, there were no stone pillars or wings to greet me. No Erix or Jesibel. Just quiet and endless nothing. If only I could sink my fingers into the peace, because it wouldn’t last for long.

CHAPTER 10

Two long days, and equally drawn-out nights, had passed since I last spoke with the Nephilim, yet their words grew louder in my head. Perhaps it was because my dreams repeated them. Over and over, replaying the vision Gabrial had revealed to me. If I could’ve gotten sleep uninterrupted by the same repetitive nightmares, I may have been able to concentrate on other matters. Alas, I found no reprieve when my eyes closed.

The yawn racked my entire body. My mind sluggish and footing awkward, I stumbled into the crowd that dominated the main deck.

It was impossible to discern the time of day when impregnable clouds blanketed the sky with a multitude of greys and silvers. I only hoped the rain, which had held off this far, would leave us be. It wouldn’t be good for the morale of the sailors, finally preparing to embark on days’ worth of travel.

Today we would leave for Wychwood. It would’ve been sooner but Seraphine’s Asps had found fey stragglers in Lockinge and escorted them to us. I first didn’t leave because of the Nephilim, but was glad for the hesitancy because I still held out hope that Jesibel would be found and returned to me.

A hope that was quickly dwindling when every small boat arrived and she was not on it.

Seraphine had accepted the summons I sent for her only an hour ago. She surveyed every Cedarfall soldier that passed us with eyes narrowed in distrust. I quickly learned that unless you were putting money in her pocket, she wasn’t going to trust you. The assassin stood tall, both feet on the deck. Wisps of her thick hair caught in the wind, tugging free from the loose braid that snaked down her spine. She wore matching form-fitting trousers and a top made from the same cut of black material. It extenuated every length, curve and muscled mound of her body. The outfit was held together by a web of leather straps that concealed weapons in almost every place she could reach on her person. Perhaps her decoration of blade and steel was the reason no one seemed to approach her.

“How long ago did you get back?” I asked, my back pressing into the polished wooden railing that overlooked a drop into the dark azure of the ocean.

“Not too long ago. I didn’t think that I had to check in my every movement, Your Highness,” she replied, tone equal parts dry and distant. “Usually, my sponsors are not so suffocating.”

“Touchy. Sounds like you have had a long night,” I retorted, trying not to show how her tone chipped away at my ability to keep the poison from my tongue. “Are you annoyed at me for something, or more pissed that you came back empty-handed?”

“So, you heard?” Seraphine shot me a displeased look with a raised brow.

“I’ve learned gossip spreads quicker than scurvy on a ship,” I replied. “That, and I keep checking over the census, hoping more names are added to it.”

“Not the name you were hoping for I’m afraid.” Seraphine exhaled, neck clicking from either side as she continued watching the busy crew. “Lockinge is lost to bedlam. Humans enjoy the lack of authority in the city. The few Hunters who stayed have now fled. The humans’ king is nowhere to be found. I give it until nightfall, and the city will be lost to chaos that even Aldrick couldn’t grasp his hands back on.”

“Where have they all gone?” I asked, fighting the urge to chew on my already ruined nails.

“Called back to their master like good mutts.”

“Then we send people to follow the Hunters, find out where Aldrick is?”

Seraphine shot me a smile. “Already on it.”

“I knew I could trust you,” I said, wondering if she even cared.

Turns out she didn’t, as she replied, “You’re paying me well, what can I say, I am yours until the contract is complete.”

Which meant that when we landed back in Wychwood, Seraphine was no longer a crutch I could lean on.

“Don’t remind me, I might just cry. I’ve grown rather fond of your company,” I said, nudging her shoulder.

“I said you pay me well, but not enough to suffer through your sarcasm, King. It’s high time we get out of human waters, and back to familiar ground.”

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