“Thank you, brother.”

“Sir? Are you ready to go?”

Kearnyn's voice jerked Telal out of his memory. Telal clenched the necklace in his fist. It was the first time he'd ever taken it off. His heart sank in his chest, but he opened his desk drawer and dropped it inside.

“Yes, let's go.”

He grabbed Kearnyn's shoulder and ported them into the conference room at Tyrian's study. Tyrian and his guardsman Rayn waited for them there.

“Have a seat and tell me how the weapon manufacturing's going.”

Telal took a seat but realized that he had no idea. Shit. So much had been going on lately he hadn't even bothered to keep on his business. He looked to Kearnyn and the guard stepped forward. He'd only made a thousand in his free time. But with his trip to the rift, the work had been pushed far from his mind.

“Rosa Delgado has been working hard on her share of the weapons. I do not know the exact number she has completed.”

Tyrian took a seat in a leather armchair. “I'd like to see one of the weapons. Rayn has volunteered to be a test subject to the electric power in them.”

After a moment, they agreed that Telal would go and fetch the witch. With a sigh, he ported to her shop.

Rosa lurched when she saw him and screamed in holy terror, the color draining from his face.

“Didn't mean to startle you,” he said easily. “You are required at a meeting with Tyrian en Kulev right now. Fetch one of the weapon's you've enchanted.”

She stood there staring at him for a long minute, her hands clutched to her heart. Then slowly, methodically she went and retrieved a dagger.

“Next time port outside and knock,” she said with a glare.

Telal shrugged. He didn't care. In fact, he didn't feel much of anything right now. A cold numbing feeling had settled over his body. Going to this meeting should be important and take planning. He knew he should have brought one of the weapons he'd enchanted himself and not be here wasting time, but he hadn't done any of those things. Everything seemed so unimportant now, different.

She held out her hand to him and he took it, porting them into Tyrian's study. She faltered as she spotted Kearnyn a blush covering her cheeks.

“Let me see it,” Tyrian said.

Rosa handed him the blade and he studied it, nodding, his brow pulled in concentration. Then he stood and Rayn groaned.

“Really?” asked Rayn.

“Really,” Tyrian said. Once he was about ten paces away from Rayn, he grabbed the dagger by the blade and sent it sailing through the air. The dagger landed above the knee in Rayn's leg.

“Ah, fuck.” Rayn cursed and his body started jerking as if he shocks of electrical bursts zapped through his body. He fought it and tried to stay standing, but the power of the electricity was too much for him and he fell to his knees, yanking the blade out of his leg viciously.

Tyrian nodded with approval. “Very good. If we get a similar reaction or worse from the idummi then this will prove to be an excellent new weapon.”

“Agreed,” Telal said.

“Good work,” Tyrian said to Rosa.

She smiled. “Of course.”

Tyrian ordered Rayn to the medical ward and after he limped out of the room grunting and cursing, Tyrian took a seat, his expression all business.

“What happened in the rift?”

“My father died during the Great War and my brother Alrik has been king ever since. My mother still reigns as queen.” That twisted bitch.

“Your brother? Hm... How did the kingdom look?”

Telal looked away. He wished he could say it had turned out to be everything he thought it'd be if Alrik became King, but that'd be a flat-out lie.

“Bad,” he answered honestly. “Alrik has become corrupted worse than anything I've ever seen him. It's actually affected him physically, discoloring his natural appearance.”

“I've never heard of such a thing.”

“I have but I thought it was a myth. He appears to be ruling with an iron hand. Even his eyes are black.” Telal's chest tightened; he curled his hand into a fist as some kind of outlet to the anger twisting inside him. How did everything turn out so wrong?

“Has someone helped to corrupt him?”

“I have no doubt my mother has. She's always been a twisted bitch.”

“He won't accept the proposal then,” Tyrian said. It wasn't a question. “What do you plan to do?”

“I don't know.” It almost hurt to say. No, wait, it did hurt to say.

“If you plan to take the throne back then I'll support you,” Tyrian said, his voice quiet.

Telal stood, nodding. “The weapons should be finished in...” Fuck he didn't even know. He looked to Kearnyn who spoke up.

“In the next two weeks, sir.”

“Good, I look forward to it.” Tyrian came forward and thrust out this hand. Telal shook it then touched Rosa and Kearnyn and got them the hell out of there.

He ported to Rosa's first then grabbed hold of Kearnyn.

“Wait,” Kearnyn said, stepping out of his hold. “I need to talk to Ms. Delgado.”

Telal arched a brow and looked at the both of them. Yup, if they weren't already sleeping together, they’d soon be hitting the sack.

Telal left them and reappeared in his office. Lily Bellum sat on his desk, a wicked smile on her face. Seeing her actually made him feel better.

“Get off my desk,” he said out of habit.

Surprisingly, she did. She hopped off but ran up to him and jumped on him, wrapping her legs around his waist, her arms around his neck. He was so stunned by the action his hands went around to hold her.

She pressed a kiss to his mouth and before he could kiss her back, which he realized he really really wanted to do—if only to lose himself for a while—she kissed along his jaw and to his ear.

“I have a surprise for you,” she whispered in his ear.

His hands tightened on her. Another one? He still hadn't gotten over the shock of the pen. “What is it?”

She laughed a low and provocative sound. His cock must like the sound because all the blood in his body pumped to there. He closed his eyes as she began nuzzling his neck with her soft lips. God, she'd felt amazing wrapped around him. She'd been so generous and soft in bed. He'd taken her where no other man has. A hot fiery surge of pride filled him. His hands reached to her ass and squeezed, bringing her against him so he could push his cock against her—to remind her of what he'd done. He felt more animal than man.

She moaned and licked up his neck. “Come on. I want you to see it.”

“See what?” he asked, his voice deep with arousal. She wore another dress, this one a light shade of pink. Just the thought of all the ways he could take her in that dress pulled his balls up tight.

She pulled back to look at him, her eyes shining with excitement and desire. “Your present!”

Cursing and mumbling, Telal let her lead him down stairs, out the main lobby, and outside. His guards sent him a varying degree of shocked expressions to which he glared at them—daring them to remark. Each time one of them glanced at Lily or the bare skin of her legs, a growl started from deep in his chest.

At the curb sat something with a black tarp over it. Judging by its shape, he had a feeling he knew what it was.

“What is it?” His lips curled with distaste.

She hopped to the curb and grabbed the black tarp pulling it a way with a great flick of her wrists like a magician. His jaw dropped at what he saw and he quickly shut it.

“You bought me a bike?”

Her eyebrow cocked. “Not just any bike. A Harley Davidson Iron 883. Just came out this year.”

Telal had to admit, the bike looked sharp and sleek in a badass kind of way. It had a black body with two chrome exhaust pipes coming off the side. Everything from the seat to the handles was black. It looked manly. A part of Telal actually flexed at the idea of riding with that between his legs.