She bent over Lily, a small smile playing on her red lips. She held out a slender hand to touch Lily. Lily jerked back, falling onto her bottom.

“Hold her,” the Queen demanded. The two guards came forward, each holding one of Lily's arms as she fought them like a wildcat.

Telal didn't entirely understand the response inside him, but some mixture of rage and possession roared through him like a battle shout. Before he knew it, he was walking towards her. Lily looked up at him with wide, frightened eyes. The sight nearly killed him. He actually wanted to cradle her to him and tell her he'd get them out of this. Even with talks of jaheera demons and other things which would frighten most people, she'd never batted an eye. Now he saw real fear there and he was ready to pummel his fist into those who caused it. Starting with the guards holding her.

“Hurt her and you'll answer to me,” he told the guards, his voice low and steady.

The guards eased their grip on her arms. His mother turned to him with shrewd eyes. “This one means something to you?” Unsure whether to agree or not and not knowing which answer may make shit worse, he didn't say anything. His mother smiled as if she thought of something funny. “And to think Lady Arianna has been saving herself for you this whole time.”

Telal glanced back up at the dais to see Arianna perched delicately in her seat. She watched him with concerned eyes. When he spoke, he made sure to do so loud enough for everyone to hear. “That marriage proposal was created by my father who's dead now. The contract is void and very, very old. I have moved on.” He never even knew Arianna. He and Alrik had spent some time with her, mostly formal dinners with both sets of parents around. He couldn't particularly remember much about her, except that his brother used to watch her when he thought he wasn't looking. He'd felt bad about it at the time. He'd have gladly switched to be in Alrik's place if it meant making his brother happy. But things had changed since then.

“Get it over with,” he said.

The queen arched a thin brow at the order then pressed her hand to Lily's forehead. Lily's eyes squeezed tight, her lips meshing together as if in pain. Telal tensed. “Hurt her and you will regret it,” he warned again, softly this time for his mother's ears only.

His mother suddenly cried out and ripped her hand away from Lily like she'd been burned. Her eyes glowed wide, frantic. “She's strong. There's magic in this one,” she said to Alrik.

Alrik came forward. “I think we'll keep her.”

“Do it and die,” Telal growled.

Alrik sent him a chilling look. “Do not...threaten me, brother Telal.”

A cracking, sizzling energy tapped along his skin like spikes of electricity. The sensation grew along his throat and chest until the choking reflex kicked in. A warning from Alrik.

“I left the proposal in the study. Read it. I'll be back to learn what your decision is.”

Alrik took a seat at his throne, his chin on his fist. “You know what my decision is.”

Frustration crept in until Telal wanted to shout. “Just think about it, please!”

He could tell he'd surprised his brother, and for a moment, it looked as though the darkness recessed from his eyes. But just as soon as he saw it, it disappeared again.

“I will let you leave with the girl under two conditions.”

“What are those?” Telal's hands curled into fists. It wasn't just having someone else make orders of him, but that another held power over him that made him want to claw out his own hair.

“Vow to reject the contract between you and Arianna.”

“Done.” The woman meant nothing to him, and she obviously still held Alrik's attention.

“And never come back here again or I will kill you and any who enter.”

“Fine.”

The guards and queen stepped away from Lily, and Telal didn't hesitate, he strode towards her, wrapped his arm around her, felt her sag against him, and then he ported them the hell out of there.

Colors dissolved before Lily's eyes like a puzzle made of sand and all the pieces streamed coming together in little increments. She was in Telal's arms standing atop the black ashen rift; trees surrounded them, massive oaks with heavy branches and big green leaves. The air smelled different, colors looked different—they were home.

“Are you okay?” Telal said in his familiar deep voice.

Was she okay? Something hot and tight pulled in her chest until a sob broke from her, then another. Tears flowed down her cheeks in fast rivulets. He made a gruff sound and wrapped his arms around her, crushing her in his warm embrace. She felt him cut through her bindings at her wrists and then she wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him to her like a child does a teddy bear when they're scared.

She couldn't even be sure what she cried about. Seeing her mother, knowing how they treated her there, or feeling for the first time in her life what it was like to be useless, powerless. Burying her face in his shirt, she let the tears come.

He spoke quietly to her in demonic words she didn't understand. She got their meaning; he was trying to soothe her. And it worked. Like snow melting in the sun, the cold chill of fear melted away bit by bit in his arms. He'd keep her safe; he'd protect her. One arm held her pulled against him so tightly that not a breath of air could pass between them, and the other trailed up and down her back in comforting strokes.

She let out an unsteady breath as the crying finally stopped. Her cheeks were warm from a mixture of crying and embarrassment, her eyes were wet, and now he had a large damp circle on his shirt. She pulled back and let out a ragged laugh; it felt good, eased some of the tension inside her. Then she looked up at his eyes, and stilled.

He watched her with predatory awareness. A tiger about to pounce. His eyes smoldered with needs, some of which she wasn't sure she could identify. His hand swept up into her hair to cup her head, tilted it to the side and her breath caught. She knew what he was about to do and every bone in her body wanted it. Her stomach and core clenched with something tight and hot, her breasts suddenly felt heavy in her bra like she'd break the straps of the flimsy material if she so much as jumped. And her heart raced so fast, so loudly, she heard it roaring in her ears, heard her choppy breathing cutting through the quiet air between them.

His eyes swept down to her mouth and then he leaned forward and caught her lips with his own. He didn't kiss her gently, he took her. His lips pressed hard against hers, his tongue conquering her, sweeping inside in a forceful thrust, paring against hers like he mimicked something else entirely. She moaned as the sensation swept up inside her, wetting her, teasing her, warming her blood like melted chocolate.

Her hands came up to grip the long tendrils of his hair. He groaned in approval then squeezed that arm and wrapped around her tighter, pulling her flush against his hard body. And hard he was. She pressed against him, eager to learn more about him, needing to feel him push against her and relieve the burning heat he created between her legs.

He changed the angle of the kiss, thrusting, circling his tongue heavily into her mouth, licking her lips, biting them, sucking them into his mouth and nibbling it with his sharp teeth. He bent his knees then rocked forward with her hips. A wild moan fluttered out from her as his cock speared against her sex. He growled something in demonic, then arched against her again, bending down then thrusting up against her core, rubbing his long cock against her swollen sex. Even with the obstruction of clothing, she whimpered and tightened her grip in his hair. It just felt so good; she'd never felt anything like it.

With a growing hunger of her own, she nipped back at his lips then thrust her tongue in his mouth, dueling and sucking the wet length. His hands became eager, sweeping down her back to cup her bottom and hold her still as he worked his hips against her, bumping his cock along her clitoris in a way that made everything clench tighter inside her like a coiling spring. She couldn't seem to catch her breath, everything was getting harder: her breathing, her tense muscles, her nipples. There was nothing else in the world except him and her.