The mood in the room was more solemn than it'd been in a long time. Otho wasn't, for once, stuffing his face with the delicacies on the spread before him. Arden kept their head tilted downward and their gloved hands clasped in their lap. Ossenna's eyes flickered with all sorts of colorful emotions, most of which I knew she wouldn't voice until we were alone.

I cleared my throat. "Ysac and Teodric left several days ago, and we've yet to discuss a plan for if they succeed."

Otho shrugged a hand through his golden mane and leaned back in his chair, an air of insolence in his demeanor. He was the youngest of us, so I often attributed his attitude to a lack of tact, not a lack of respect. "If they succeed, indeed. They're too far for me to sense, but when they left, I didn't pick up on a lot of confidence."

"And those queens," Ossenna tsked, clutching her hot mug near her chest, "they're fickle. Ysac can handle them, but Teodric? I'm sorry, but he was clueless, the poor thing. I'm not sure he's ever been near such feisty women before. Astrida likely ate him up—"

Arden grunted. "You have no idea how nearly accurate you are, Lady Ossenna."

She scoffed, not so much at the interruption, but at the fact that Arden was agreeing with her. That didn't happen often.

I switched my gaze to Arden then, watching as they shifted in their seat and lifted their chin. They sensed me looking, as they slowly turned their head, inclining it once to acknowledge that they were listening.

"Well," I said, tucking my silky hair behind my ears, "let's get to the thick of it then, shall we? Only one of us present is able to truly keep an eye on those boys." One of my eyes twitched. "Arden, what did you see? What's the current situation?"

Arden pulled their hands up to the table, resting them there as if to push up and stand; but they remained seated. "Astrida is still debating. I wasn't able to record the entire conversation, but it seems her decision depends on her sisters and whether they show up. She firmly believes she is the heir and will fight for the crown."

I pursed my lips but acquiesced. In my opinion, Astrida was far from qualified for the post of monarch. Too self-centered, too stubborn, and much too capricious to be in charge of caring for millions of inhabitants across Acewood Kingdom.

"Gwenore," Arden coughed, "is coming. She's on her way here as we speak."

Otho gasped, his bushy eyebrows pushing up his high forehead. "Is she? Interesting. Of all the princesses, I thought she'd be the hardest to convince."

I myself had a hard time registering Arden's claim, and something noxious brewed in my belly in response. "Are you sure?"

They pivoted to me, and I couldn't see their eyes, but I felt them glaring at me, irritated that I'd questioned their abilities. "Immensely so. She debated her decision for a while before having supper with the emissaries. She woke with absolute conviction that she needed to be here. I...don't know whether she'll enter the castle willingly, though. I gathered a great deal of...mistrust from her."

Ossenna rolled her eyes. "As usual." She sipped from her tea, swallowed, then set her mug down. "She'll only come in if she's guaranteed to win, and if she does, she'll boot us all out of here in a heartbeat, without notice. I worry she won't even let us return to the homes she and her sisters took from us. She'll evict us from Acewood and send us off to be some other continent's problem."

I narrowed my gaze on her, across the table. Ossenna was rarely so down, so negative. It was common knowledge that of all the sisters, Gwenore was the least tolerant of magic, going as far as hating it, no matter how it kept our kingdom afloat.

I grasped the club charm on my bracelet, rubbing it in plain sight—a signal for Ossenna, so she'd know I wanted to meet with her privately later.

She saw me, winced, and rubbed her charm as well, meaning she accepted.

"And what of Ysac? Teodric?" Otho finally reached for a piece of fruit, his arm stretching languorously over the table. He plopped the morsel into his mouth, and a slither of red juice coated his lips before he licked them clean. "Where are they headed next?"

Arden sighed, their breaths blowing into their veil, lifting it slightly, but not enough to see anything underneath. "To Luned, of course."

Ossenna grimaced, and Otho took another slice of fruit, shrugging.

"They should have started with her," said the latter, making a face at the sourness of the food he'd ingested. "She's notoriously difficult and will keep them on Spade Island for hours as she details her most recent adventure with mermaids." His voice was low, mocking. "Honestly, they should have avoided her altogether. Is she even eligible?"

I grunted in warning. "She is." Luned's inheritance was always questioned, due to the nature of her birth. She didn't have the same mother as the other siblings, but as long as her father was King Hendry, she was still in line to inherit his throne, no matter how disliked she was by most of the mages.

Well, all of us, if truth be told.

I never particularly cared for Luned. I never bonded with Gwenore, or felt much affection towards Astrida, or took Tilda under my wing as the youngest; but Luned, I liked least of all. She was a distant child, preferring the company of creatures only she seemed to see, talking to herself in her own made-up language. When she grew into her womanly shapes and curves, she was siren-like, wooing men without ever giving them what they wanted. This often drew me to wonder if the rumors were true; if she was, in fact, a mermaid.

Acewood inhabitants thought mermaids were a legend, a fabricated tale. Those in this room with me knew better. Not that any of us had officially sighted a mermaid, but we'd all read in our mage books and heard stories from our predecessors—mermaids were real.

But whether or not Luned was part mermaid was another story. How could she be? King Hendry had strayed from his wife to conceive Luned, yes; but why on earth would he have cheated on the lovely, human Queen Gabella with a monstrous mermaid?

"In any case," Arden stood up, one hand pressed to their heart, "Ysac and Teodric are on their way to Spade Island. I should go check on their progress now. If you'll excuse me." They bowed to each of us and scurried out of the room.

Otho followed, mumbling about meetings with some potential suitors for whichever princess won the vote.

They'd both left Ossenna and I alone, at last. One sultry look exchanged between us, and we ushered out of the meeting room, through the door to the Mage Corridor, and up the stairs to our quarters.

"Yours or mine?" she breathed, as we hesitated between my circular, corner room, or her centered, less isolated chamber.

"Mine," I said, sliding my door open as I checked left and right, in case anyone followed us. Servants weren't allowed on our side of the castle unless invited, and both Otho and Arden went off to other affairs...but we could never be careful enough.

Meeting like this was...dangerous. And more so when it was evident that we both wanted the same thing. Both needed the same kind of relief.

The instant my door closed behind us, she slammed me against it, her lips shoving onto mine.

"Mm," she mumbled, licking the outline of my mouth hungrily. "Coffee. You did that on purpose."

I grinned. "I never know when you're going to want this, so I drink it on the regular now."

She snuck her tongue into my mouth, swirling it around in dizzying motions that cut off my oxygen, made me woozy, and I struggled to keep my legs straightened. She placed her hands against the door, on either side of my face, and pressed her body hard against mine, deepening our kiss.

I couldn't breathe, and I didn't want to. Under the current circumstances, it had been days since we'd been able to kiss, to touch, without fear of repercussions, without the risk of being seen. Since Teodric's abrupt arrival, and Jack's sudden departure, the castle was on alert. The guards were always patrolling, and our fellow mages watched their own shadows in case they betrayed them.

Ossenna and I...we survived by being together, wrapped up in one another. When we had to postpone our private meetings, when we had to pretend that we weren't in love...it killed us both on the inside.

She lowered one hand, draping it down my chest, stopping it at the hem of my golden trousers. My heart stopped, expecting her to go lower, to find the surprise waiting for her under my pants. Of course she didn't; she teased me by tracing lines under my navel, her soft fingertips burning the flesh under my shirt.

She removed said shirt in a rush, tossing it behind her as she resumed lavishing my mouth with her passionate kisses. I tasted like coffee, but she tasted like bliss. Flowery, spicy all at once, her tongue so wet and wanting that I wondered if her sex was just as ready.

No, no, patience. Take your time; she likes the foreplay.

Mages weren't supposed to do this, to feel this way. We weren't born with these desires. But over the years, Ossenna and I had succumbed to the arousal without understanding what it was. We unraveled each other piece by piece, year after year, and became so accustomed to the games that we couldn't stop.

Many times, we'd come close to being discovered—caught in a closet or having forgotten to magically seal our doors and enchant them so sound wouldn't escape. But we prevailed. We thrived on the rush of one another, the thrill of our pleasure, and spent so much time naked in our decadent sheets that we'd ended up falling in love.

I was no fool—Ossenna was in charge. In the meeting room, I was seen as the leader, but behind-the-scenes, Ossenna owned my heart. Whatever Ossenna wanted, she received it from me without a complaint. And right then, I wanted nothing more than to give her everything she'd ever dreamed of.

At long last she slipped her hand into my pants and took hold of my cock, letting out a moan of delight as she began to stroke it.

"Yes, darling, there you are." She lowered to her knees and yanked my breeches down, exposing my girth up close and personal—right where she liked it. "I've been thinking of you all morning. Imagining you, remembering the flavor of you," she licked the sides of my cock and groaned, "the thickness of you."

Before I could stop her—I didn't want to, but I didn't think we had much time—she set her mouth over my sensitive tip and began to suck it. Her tongue whirled around the rest of my length, lathering me, preparing to slide me into her slit with drenched ease. The thought of her aroused and eager to receive me only hardened me more, and she moaned again as she felt me throbbing inside her mouth.

I hadn't meant for this. When I signaled at my club charm earlier, I really had meant to talk. But the hunger that grew in her eyes the second we were alone...I couldn't resist her. Nor would I ever try to.

She brought me to the brink of explosion before she reluctantly removed my cock from her mouth and straightened up. I tickled my finger down the side of her neck, traipsing between her small but perky breasts, caressing over the velvety fabric of her dress until I reached her bellybutton. I tugged the fabric up, exposing her smooth, dark legs, which I grasped to heft her into my arms. While she was tall and well-built, she was light as a feather as I carried her to my bed.

After I set her down on the edge of the emerald and green bedspread, I pushed her dress to her upper thighs. I then lowered before her, not as a mage before his lover; but as a man about to worship the best thing that had ever happened to him.

She squirmed as I pried her legs apart. I was gifted a delightful view of her glistening wet spot, warm and dark pink and ready for me. I touched her delicately with the tip of my finger, watching her chew on her bottom lip as she waited for me to proceed.

With more pressure, I stroked her slit, finding her little button immediately, teasing it with my fingertip before leaning forward to insert my tongue—

"Wait," she said, setting her hand atop my head, barring me from getting closer. My tongue was within inches of her center, and I smelled her, craved her.

"What?" I tried not to groan, having come so close to getting her off as much as she'd gotten me. We were nothing if not fair; if she pleasured me, I pleasured her back.

"I—" She let out a heavy breath and fell backwards, though her legs remained spread, almost as if she'd still welcome me if I were to push forward and lick her, anyway. "I can't get myself in the mood today, Sym."

I gawked at her soaked slit, located at eye-level with my face. "Are you sure about that? Because I think your pussy says otherwise."

She waved at me, as if trying to smack me, but her arm wasn't long enough. "You know what I mean. And you know she doesn't make decisions for me."

She was the delicious, drenched masterpiece I'd been about to slurp up, but Ossenna was barring me access.

I bit back a groan as I stood and lowered onto the bed beside her. "What's the matter? What can my tongue not fix?"

It was a bold response, and she might burn me for it later; but instead, all she did was bring her hands up to cover her face and blow out another hefty breath.

"This whole thing. The gathering, summoning the princesses back home. Ysac, Teodric, Arden's attitude of late...It all still bothers me more deeply than I want it to."

I sensed my erection diminishing and frowned at the pain of its deflating. "I know." Patting her arm, I curled up next to her, smoothing my finger down her temples. Years ago, she'd let her hair grow out, and I used to twirl it around my fingers, or use the strands to draw images on her beautiful, dark skin. "But we must believe this will work."

"You know having them here will make this," she gestured at herself, then at me, "will make us more difficult, right? The sneaking around...it'll get more complicated."

"Maybe." I traced circles around her sparkling eyes. "Is that what's troubling you, my love? Arden will be so preoccupied they won't be on the lookout for our antics. And with so many women and their hormones in the castle, Otho will be busy, too. I wouldn't worry about Ysac, and Teodric has no idea where he is half the time—"

"—Teodric," she said, her voice near a whisper. She propped herself up on her elbows, staring vacantly ahead at my golden-tinted walls. "He concerns me. Not for us, not because he might see through us—he won't—but because him being here...it feels like a warning. An omen of some sort, though I can't piece together what it means, and why."

I caressed her arms, focused on her face, watching for cues of her emotions. Would she calm down and let me touch her, let me soothe her into ceasing her worries for a spell? Or would she storm off if I tried to get handsy and resume where we left off? I couldn't help it—I had my concerns, too, but she'd riled me up. She'd turned me on. And I wanted her badly.

"Teodric is no one," I said, only half-believing my own words. "He has no magic, and his arrival is a coincidence. How he made it through a magical mirror that swallowed up our fiercest mercenary in exchange, I'll never know. But I insist that it's Arden we should keep an eye on. They owned that mirror, and it somehow made its way to the garden where Ysac and Jack were meeting? Coincidence?"

"No." She moved away from me, sitting up straight as she hugged herself. That was my answer—we wouldn't be disrobing and fucking today, for sure. She was too distraught. "But as much as I have sinister thoughts about Arden lately, I still can't see them sabotaging us. I can't see them doing anything against this kingdom. It's something else." She got to her feet and shimmied to the door. "And I don't know if I'll be able to relax until I figure out what."

She left, and I dragged a hand down my face, resigned. I looked at my hand, then at the bulge where my cock was once firm and excited, and huffed. "It's just you and I now, my friend. Ossenna won't be joining us for a while."

I shoved my hand down my pants, grabbed my shaft, and got to work to release my tension.

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