Royal Duties - 6. Chapter 6

Kiorl groaned, rolled over, opened one eye and growled.

“You didn’t answer the door.”

Kiorl bared his fangs, ears already turned back into his hair, and fumbled for furs to drag up over his head.

“Why the fuck are you here, Tobias?”

“You’re late,” the chef replied easily, as though staring down the third most powerful demon in Hell was a normal occurrence for a former human recruit. “You promised Jahke we could go out first thing. You know how he is.”

Gods… why isn’t Jahke waking me? It would be so much better than this.

“Kiorl, could you please think that less loudly?” Tobias’s deep blue eyes narrowed. “And Jahke’s not waking you because that boy has been literally bouncing on his hooves for the past three hours. Not even you could distract him today.”

Kiorl closed his eyes, tried – and failed – not to picture once again how soft and sensuous a morning wake up call with Jahke might have been, then frowned. Tobias had crossed the room to Kiorl’s highly prized and very extensive wardrobe, and had begun sorting through a rail of tunics and chitons, all very different from his own extremely modest attire. He selected a single-shouldered garment in pleated linen, edged at mid thigh with a broad stripe of inky black, and smiled when he stroked the fabric.

“You like this one.”

‘Ki, come play with me!’ Small, cool hands tugged at his belted chiton and at his wrist, dragging him away from his practice kata and across the hot sands. ‘Ki! Come on.’

Kiaza happy, smiling, long fangs catching on the soft green of his lower lip, impossible to resist. Kiorl held his hand and let himself be tugged along.

‘Knuckle bones? And what’s my prize if I win?’

Kiaza flashed him a dazzling smile.

‘I’ll sit in your lap.’

It was a perfect offer.

Kiorl grunted, rolled over and hauled himself upright, shaking his entire body from muzzle to tail tip in order to settle his fur. Tobias brought over a brush as well as the chiton and half turned away.

“Still so modest.” Kiorl quipped, but Tobias didn’t answer him.

Kiorl had been present for enough conversations with both Zai and Nassau to know that Tobias’s empathic gifts were very strong and hard to completely control. He knew that the boy would have been able to see the memory in his head, and had probably felt an echo of it through the clothes themselves: after all, how else would he have known why that garment made Kiorl happy? But for all the unwarranted intrusion of his talent, Tobias had not once asked him about the memories which featured Kiaza he’d seen in Kiorl’s head, and the panther was more grateful for that than he was able to express.

Dressed, he brushed down the pleated front of the chiton and began to fix a set of narrow braids into the right side of his hair, threading all the way along his scalp to the base of his ear. Tobias tapped his booted foot impatiently.

“I still don’t understand why Jahke isn’t waking me, if he wants me up so badly.” Kiorl commented with a flick of his tail.

“Kiorl...” Tobias rolled his eyes. Once upon a time, Kiorl would have snarled at him for his lack of respect. “What’s the one thing Jahke loves more than sex?”

Kiorl frowned, and Tobias chuckled as realisation dawned in his electric blue eyes.

“Oh Lord Ifrit...”

“Ha, knew you’d forget what day it was. Shindae owes me.”

*

“Kiorl!” Jahke was indeed bouncing on his narrow cloves hooves, skipping up and down the short expanse of flat ground in front of Zinkara Rumah, excitement bubbling from him in waves. “It’s Eostra! Let’s go!”

As the pale faun tugged at his wrist, Shindae and Sitka shared a look of mirth and adoration. Kiorl glared at them both, shook Jahke off and drew himself up to his full height.

“I suppose I don’t need to remind any of you not to get into any fights?” He glanced pointedly at Zai, but the ash-furred demon merely shrugged, hands full with stacks of carved wooden bowls from Tobias’ kitchen. “Alright then, let’s go.”

Zai shared out the bowls of tribute as they walked, and Kiorl flicked his claws tips through several silvery minnows, a fat mouse, a tiny bird with jewel toned feathers, and a collection of many-legged insects with dark carapaces. Their shells were cracked open to reveal squishy yellow innards, rich with meat.

The collected demons of Zinkara Rumah let Jahke and Inai choose their route through the Inner Circle, trusting the naga’s intuition and Jahke’s abundant excitement for the festivities of the day. The sky was clear, the campfires bright, the distant mountains high and silent, the air fresh and crisp with the tang of bitumen, and Kiorl allowed himself to relax as he walked, keeping an ear attuned to the minor demons of his house.

Happy Eostra Ki.

Morning Nas. Kiorl smiled, knowing that though Nassau couldn’t see him, he’d feel the gesture anyway. Are you joining us today?

Sorry my friend. I will be paying tribute shortly in the Garden. Just me and Ba’al in the orchard.

You want company? The panther offered. Tradition – and the desire not to see his charges get into any spats with neighbouring houses – dictated that he should stay with his housemates, but nothing was stronger than the draw of time with Nassau.

Thank you, but no. Go enjoy. The boys like having you with them.

Kiorl glanced over the loose group of demons. Zai was standing with his arm around Tobias, fingers no doubt skimming over freshly healed wounds beneath his clothes, chatting with Shindae and a pair of demons from a house near the North Gate. Jahke was hunched down, Inai with him, both of them transfixed in conversation with one of Sathriel’s serpents, offering tokens from their bowls. Jin-Ha was speaking with a crow, relaying directions to Sitka. Shindae was watching him, his hot eyes alight with mirth.

“Something funny Shindae?” Kiorl asked him as he dropped the thread of his silent conversation with Nassau, moving forward to urge the group on.

“Not especially.”

Kiorl narrowed his eyes, ears flicking back into his hair momentarily.

“I forget how attractive you are when you smile, that’s all. It’s nice to see.”

The panther arched a dark eyebrow at him, but was saved from replying by Jahke’s excited yelp.

“Our boy’s found a good nest then.” Shindae grinned, and sloped off to join the others.

Summas might have been the most debauched, but it was no secret – from Zai, Tobias, and Nassau at least – that Kiorl’s favourite festival of the year was Eostra. Going out to pay homage to the servants of their regents had always been Kiaza’s favourite, and there had been special joy in watching the green-scaled boy with a newly hatched serpent cupped in his palms, hissing to it in soothing tones whilst it’s parent looked on with possessive pride. Bringing tribute to the snakes and crows of the Inner Circle as they readied to hatch their young was as an immutable part of Kiorl’s upbringing as learning his talents and physical powers opposite Nassau on the training sands.

Now Jahke skipped excitedly, practically twirling in his adorable enthusiasm, and lead the residents of Zinkara Rumah off the main path to a quiet seating area between great basalt menhirs where Inai quickly coiled himself into a compact arrangement of curls, and everyone gathered around with their bowls to observe the nest.

The hooded, black and silver barred snake raised itself up to challenge them, and the collected demons moved swiftly to placate it with their offerings. The serpent took one of Kiorl’s minnows delicately from his fingers, and body-slithered a beckoning to the rest of his clan. All the snakes of the family were dark and gleamed with a metallic shimmer as they slithered out from cracks and in between boulders, and each took an offering of tribute from one or other of them before the nest of eggs – tucked into a safe crevice of hot sand – was finally revealed to them. The eggs were pale and glossy, and completely unbroken.

“Oooh, we’re the first.” Jahke cooed happily. Beside him, Inai sighed with a contented hiss, settling his thick body into a protective loop around the formation of stones which held the nest.

Being first to discover a nest, and by the look of the gathered serpent family, a nest close to hatching, was a point of pride among the demons of the Inner Circle, as well as a source of joy, and Kiorl’s housemates made themselves comfortable to wait.

The first hatching was announced by Inai’s over-eager hiss of excitement, the noise several octaves deeper than the one Kiaza used to make, but just as adorable in his enthusiasm. Kiorl might’ve preferred to be there for some of the crows – they were Nassau’s servants after all – but he couldn’t deny Inai the chance to bond with the very newest of his kin. He left his favoured position leaning against the warm stone of the menhir and came close as a tiny bronze and grey snake no thicker than his finger flicked it’s tongue tentatively at Inai’s outstretched fingers. The naga couldn’t blush, he wasn’t warm enough, but Jahke’s downright sappy expression was enough to make Kiorl roll his eyes. They were the resident’s of the most favoured house of the hill, but they still acted like younglings.

“You love it really.” Shindae bumped his shoulder with a bright, soft smile. “Look how happy they are.”

Kiorl watched a second baby snake as it slithered carefully into Jahke’s soft palm, red tongue tasting the air even as it was lifted to be shown – honoured and respected – to the others by the beaming faun.

“Well… yeah.” Kiorl knew the twitch of his tail gave away his pleasure at the sight of all his charges happy together in the midst of Eostra. He glanced back at Shindae and echoed the lava demon’s smile. “But don’t tell anyone.”

They stayed until all the eggs had hatched, each tiny new serpent petted and exalted, and the remainder of their tribute fed to the increased snake family. Tobias and Zai gathered the largest fragments of shell, halves and wholes with only small pieces missing from them, and each of the demons carried one back with them as they journeyed to the house once more. Kiorl’s was the most complete, of course.

As he placed it within the smallest alcove in his room, watching the light filter through the fragile membrane, Kiorl remembered that he could not go across the hall and tell Kiaza to come and look, just as he had not been able to do for more than a hundred Eostra. He did not let the knowledge shake him, because he was the third most powerful demon in Hell, and such a thing did not affect him.

It didn’t.

*

Kiorl flicked his eyes up over the document again, glanced at the demon who had brought it and who was still standing bowed, all four arms held stiffly at his sides, shivering with the effort of showing obeisance for so long, and sighed as he signed it.

“Yes. I suppose so. Take this to Requisitions and see the Artificer about getting your stone. Don’t lose the fucking thing: I’m not replacing it.”

“Oh thank you my lord! I promise I shall not disappoint you!”

“Don’t make promises you cannot keep.” Kiorl frowned at the young recruiter. “Pulo, isn’t it?”

“Yes, master Kiorl.”

“You’ve done well if Jin-Ha thinks you’re ready to strike out on your own. How long has it been?”

“Three years, master Kiorl.” Pulo smiled readily, fingers quivering as he took the signed docket back.

Kiorl could easily imagine the kid was excited to get his own portal stone, a sign he was truly grown and independent, and able to venture Upstairs alone to collect souls. Kiorl swept his gaze across the broad, bare chest, and the thick canvas trousers which did not appear to have pockets. The kid would need a reliquary.

The panther was too important to have anything as ordinary as a desk within the Hunt office, but he left the marble writing surface at which he had been standing, gestured for the four-armed demon to follow him, and crossed the room to a set of narrow shelves with a mirrored back. All manner of small objects glinted and glistened in the low light of the alcoves, and Kiorl allowed his claws to trail across the curved surfaces of several little crystal vials before selecting one with a fat round body and a narrow, short spout. He held it out to the young demon by the cord around the neck.

“Good luck.”

“Thank you!” Pulo took the offering eagerly – too eagerly in Kiorl’s opinion – and the panther finally placed him as a creature he’d brought back from the Pit himself. He’d grown into his body and his confidence for sure.

“Didn’t you have a friend when you came to the Inner Circle?”

“Yes sir. He… didn’t make it.”

This is usually the point in conversation where you say ‘I’m sorry’. Kiorl couldn’t be sure if his inner voice was openly goading him, or if Nassau had slunk imperceptibly into his mind, because the voice Tobias insisted on calling his conscience was sounding more and more like his old friend every day.

But I ain’t sorry. Kiorl realised the young demon was still watching him with a hopeful and inquisitive expression.

You reckon he’s any good with those four hands?

Does it matter if he can’t carry a conversation?

Ouch. When was the last time you wanted witty repartee with your casual sex?

“Was there something else?” Kiorl snapped, ears flicking back over his hair. He didn’t wait for an answer. “Get out.”

Pulo blanched, bowed, and retreated from his presence.

*

Kiorl rolled the half full reliquary between his fingers, smiled to himself, and drained the rest of the soul within before Tobias decided to come downstairs and admonish him for bringing his work back to the house. Soul eating was a rare delight, and it had been no more than a happy accident when Kiorl – fresh from a successful trip Upstairs – had run into another Hunter and the demon had used his power of judgement to determine that the soul Kiorl had collected was suitable for direct consumption. He’d stopped Kiorl from depositing his reliquary at the office, and the panther had thanked him with genuine happiness, and brought his prize home to consume at leisure.

Ensconced upon his favourite chair, he watched the flames dance in the great hearth of the den whilst Jahke picked distractedly at the strings of the latest instrument his mate had brought home. Inai lay by the fire, his thick coils half unspooled, resting on his elbows as he roasted a large speckled egg in the ashes.

Only good use for fucking salamanders. At least there’s a world somewhere where they didn’t turn into giant fire breathing flying monsters.

Kiorl set his reliquary down, and was just considering the idea of raiding Jahke’s downstairs bookcase when the pale faun shivered and sat up.

“Sitka’s home!”

“How can you tell?” the panther arched a dark brow at his housemate.

“Don’t know.” Jahke rubbed the tips of his fingers over his bare chest, right above his heart, and the smile which curved his lips was a soft and private thing.

He would never look at you like that.

Kiorl scowled at himself.

“I just do. I wonder if he and Shindae brought anything fun back from Upstairs?”

“They’d bring you anything you asked for,” Inai replied, rolling over to grin toothily at the faun. “It’s become a bit of a game between the portal guards guessing what will come through with them next. Between your books, and Tobias’ ingredients, it makes for good speculation.”

“And are you winning any of your bets, Inai?”

Inai’s forked tongue flickered as he smirked.

“It would be wrong of me to use my inside information to take advantage of my colleagues.”

“You practically managed all that with a straight face, Inai.” Kiorl grinned at the big naga. “But I still wouldn’t try lying around Zai or Tobias anytime soon.” He was interrupted by the familiar noise of hooves and boots on the stone threshold. “Ah, the errant scavengers return!”

Jahke bounced onto his narrow hooves and practically ran to the foyer, but stepped back when he reached the arched doorway, glancing quickly between whatever he could see and where Kiorl sat in his favourite chair. It was Shindae who entered first with a warm, bright smile for the faun, and a broadly smug grin for Kiorl.

“What have you been up to Shindae?”

“We brought you a present.” The lava demon’s skin cracked and glowed with pride. “I ain’t never letting anyone say I don’t have the best nose in the Circle after this.” He gestured to the doorway. “Bring ‘em in Sitka.”

Everyone’s attention was tuned to the arch where Sitka entered, but he was not alone. In one hand, carelessly looped around a dark finger, were a pair of knotted leather thongs, and being lead on them by the necks were a perfectly matched pair of mortals. They were nude, had brown skin, pointed ears, white blond hair, and the fully blank expressions of those who had been heavily compulsed.

“My, my… what have the two of you been up to?”

“For the record, this is all Shindae’s idea.” Sitka proffered the hand which held the leads. “Personally I think you can find your own playthings.”

“Never turn down beauty, Sitka.” Kiorl reprimanded him without taking his eyes from his presents. “I would have thought you’d learnt that by now.”

Jahke resumed his position upon the chaise as Sitka took from his Bag of Holding a colourful vial. He poured the contents down the throats of the mortals, pressed the leads more firmly into Kiorl’s hand, and went to his mate. The two boys stood before Kiorl, steady but weaving faintly, their matched brown gazes glassy and unfocused. Kiorl narrowed his eyes and tugged at one of the leashes. The boy attached to it staggered, eyes sliding to him.

“Come.”

Kiorl dragged his teeth across his fangs as the boy paced toward him, then hooked his finger into the collar and yanked the puppet down to kiss him. Sitka’s compulsion had made him pliant and willing, and the potion he’d drunk clearly amplified the effect now that the horned demon had moved away. Kiorl tasted blood and leant back, still holding the boy’s neck in one hand and grinned broadly at the very visible effect his latent seduction had produced.

“Delicious.” Kiorl licked the blood from his lip, flicked his eyes downward and purred with self satisfaction as the boy dropped to his knees, fine motor skills battling through the double blanket of compulsion and seduction as he unbuckled Kiorl’s tabard and pushed the fabric aside to take the tumescent girth of his cock in one hand. “Ahh...”

“Better?” Shindae asked, half gloating as he moved to the fireplace to continue observing. He reclined against a thick loop of Inai’s scaled body, and the naga shot him a predatory smile all his own; it was no secret the snake was more than fond of those who had their own inner fires to stoke.

Kiorl ignored him, tugged forward the other mortal, and pushed him down to join his lust-drunk twin. Together their fingers worked at his crotch, stroking and fondling his heavy length. Kiorl twitched his tail, the tip snapping back and forth as soft lips closed over the head of his erection. Both puppets lapped at him with delightful eagerness, hands clasping at his thighs as they shared, exchanging little half kisses and touches of tongue. The panther purred aloud, relaxing back into his seat, all but the hand which held the leashes of his two pets at complete ease, eyes never straying from the erotic sight of their spit-slicked lips against his flesh.

“Mmmm… how’s the view?”

“Fan-fucking-tastic,” Shindae responded, his voice gravely and hot. “I give the best presents.”

“That you do.” Kiorl smiled at the scavenger – delightfully reposed with the naga, both of them fully roused, applying light, appreciative touches to each other as they watched – then let his gaze track over the brown-skinned puppets in his lap. Once upon a time, another slender, beautiful mortal had similarly pleasured him in this chair, and the memory gave Kiorl an idea.

“Oh... Jahke?”

“Yes?” The faun straddled his mate’s lap, gripping tight to Sitka’s horn over his shoulder even as the demon kissed and bit his neck, both of them watching the tableau with intense eyes.

“I assume you have oils secreted away somewhere around here?”

“At least three kinds,” Jahke answered without pause, reaching with his free hand in-between two cushions of the chaise, coming back out with a slim clear bottle. He twisted to kiss his lover soundly, then left his perch on Sitka’s thighs and stepped boldly up between the two suckling pets to give Kiorl a kiss which had his vision blurring at the edges. “Here.”

“You do it, pretty boy. You’ve such nimble fingers.”

Jahke blushed, the rose colour staining his milk-white skin, and stepped back with a delighted shiver. He slicked one hand, and the second of the puppets whimpered as fingertips teased over his upturned rump. Jahke spared no motion of his fingers as he slid them into the boy’s hole, eliciting gasps and groans which Kiorl felt against his skin as the marionette tried valiantly to keep up with the task he’d been presented with. Jahke produced a pleased gasp of his own as he used his other hand to reach between the boy’s legs for his ignored erection, the muscle hot and hard in his hand. The mortal made a half aborted grunt of longing, forehead resting on Kiorl’s abdomen.

The panther hauled the boy up by his collar, pushed the other one away with a careless paw, turned the puppet, spread him open with both thumbs, and brought him down into his lap with a single sharp thrust. He cried out prettily as he was penetrated, whimpering as Kiorl’s claws dug into his hips, and the panther snarled. Jahke lowered himself to his knees, quick hands on the puppet’s legs, spreading his thighs wide until he was straddling Kiorl’s lap completely, and the panther used his free hand to pet Jahke’s soft blond curls in silent permission as he continued to fuck his prize.

“Lucky present,” Sitka grunted as he watched his mate swallow the boy’s cock in a single motion. “He gives the best blowjobs in the ‘verse.”

Jahke preened with the compliment, despite having his mouth full, then gave as muffled yelp as the boy who had been without purpose since Kiorl had discarded him pressed himself against his skin. His body was hot with Kiorl’s seduction and whatever potion Sitka had given him, erection flushed an angry red with need, lips still damply parted. The noise Jahke made as the drugged boy lapped at his tight entrance with his tongue was obscene, and Kiorl purred, using the reach of his tail to encourage the motion and the accompanied moans. He thrust into the boy whose body clamped and tightened around his cock as Jahke sucked him expertly into his throat, and the pet screamed as Kiorl rent his shoulder open with careless claws.

Sitka had left the chaise at some point previously, retrieved the bottle of lubricant, and splashed it generously over his mate’s tender entrance as the other boy leant back. Compelled or drugged, there was no magic strong enough to allow the pretty mortal to resist the draw of Jahke’s perfect arse, and Jahke let out a muffled yelp of delighted surprise as he was reamed. Kiorl drew distracted patterns in the blood from his present’s wound, grinding lazily into the deep heat of his body, and nodded welcomely to Sitka as he noticed the new direction of the horned demon’s attention.

“Be my guest.”

Sitka drank deeply of the boy, and lent back with his usually shining onyx eyes gone dull with the sensation of it. He exhaled with a groan.

“They taste rather good. You should try it.”

Kiorl had no qualms about taking the advice of the younger demon, not when his tastes in blood had always proved so accurate before, and drank happily. The pretty marionette was very flavoursome, and he squealed in pain.

“I think we should put those mouths back to better use. Jahke? Time to be more proactive. Up you get.”

The new demon pulled his blush pink lips from the puppet immediately, and the boy in Kiorl’s lap squirmed unhappily with the loss of sensation. Sitka laughed, catching on quickly, and took both leashes, hauling one boy off Kiorl’s cock, the other from the tight warmth of Jahke’s body, and pushed them both back to their knees between Kiorl’s legs before passing back their leads. Heady lust left no room for hesitation, and both began to lap greedily at Kiorl’s length. Sitka took the time to kiss his lover soundly, slipping two fingers into Jahke’s fucked-open arsehole, making the pale faun vibrate with sensation in his embrace.

“Now, now Sitka. He’s supposed to be – Nnnghh!” Kiorl dug his claws into the arm rests of his chair until the fabric threatened to rip. “-Helping me with my present.”

Sitka let his mate go with a proud smile, and Jahke stepped forwards. It was obvious from the two upturned rears before him what Kiorl wanted him to do, and the faun practically glowed with happiness. Kiorl allowed himself to feel smug that his suggestion had been taken so well: Jahke rarely got the chance to fuck someone, but Kiorl knew he would do just as well with this as he did with any other task he set his mind to. He started with the one Kiorl had been fucking, sliding home in one smooth thrust whilst Sitka used the last of the lube to ready the other with obvious delight. Kiorl played his tongue over his fangs, warmed by the sight of so many pretty bodies sucking and fucking for his pleasure.

Jahke passed from one boy to the other like a little hooved fucking machine, teeth set in his pink lower lip, positively captivated with his job. The two gifts mewled and whimpered as they were alternately plundered and ignored.

Kiorl buried his cock deep in the throat of one boy – which didn’t really matter – and gripped his hair tight enough to draw pinpricks of blood as he came into the hot mouth. Jahke had good stamina, but his stimulation did not take much longer, and he fell back into Sitka from one of the boys, dark arms tight around his narrow chest as he splattered himself with his own cum.

From his position by the fire, wrapped happily in the coils of the naga and stroking one of Inai’s interestingly shaped erections with an unnaturally warm hand, Shindae grinned pompously.

“Don’t say I never bring you guys anything...”

Kiorl let out a satisfied growl, and inclined his head to the lava demon. Shindae had certainly earned himself a rise in Kiorl’s personal standings. He gathered up both leashes as he stood, tugging his presents to their feet. Both glassy-eyed boys still sported quivering and rather painful looking erections and stood gazing at him, slack jawed.

“You did very well Shindae. I’ll arrange for you to have a tenday off.” The panther grinned lazily. “I think I might go finish enjoying my present now. Tell Tobias I won’t be down for dinner.”

*

He fucked each of the boys in turn until they’d come messily with his cock buried inside them, then had them ride him until he reached completion twice more. The furs of his bed had been a mess of blood, cum, sweat, and tears, and Kiorl had pushed the spent pair from the great stone dish, uncaring for their injuries or the state he’d left them in. The marionette twins were no longer a good distraction, and on the way the bathroom Kiorl had beckoned to Inai and asked the big naga to take them away and dispose of them however he saw fit. Neither mortal had a useable mind left after the potion they’d been fed, and their souls were worth less than the pleasure Inai would get for devouring them.

Tired, sated, his belly full of the warm sensation of bone deep satisfaction, Kiorl showered, smoothed his damp hair back with one palm, and grinned at his reflection in the mirror.

And exactly what did all of that accomplish?

It was a very good distraction. Kiorl sighed, having long ago given up the circular argument about whether reasoning with himself was a viable form of conversation. Shindae really does have a good nose for these things. It was fun.

He abandoned the bathroom and returned to his rooms, to find that the house had discarded all of the soiled furs from his bed, leaving a stack of clean ones – along with several blankets – for him to arrange to his liking. He did so, spreading contrasting pelts across the stone dish before slumping back into the natural warmth.

It had been fun, and Kiorl felt a soft pang of regret that he hadn’t kept one of the puppets to keep him company as the alcoves began to dim.

Company? His inner voice mocked. What is the point of these distractions if you’re still falling asleep alone.

Fuck off.

Kiorl scowled and rolled onto his front, tail lashing the air in directionless aggravation. Shindae was sleeping alone, he always did, just like Kiorl. Inai would be sleeping alone too, unless the snake had decided to eat one of Kiorl’s presents now and save one for later. It wasn’t as though he was the only one in Zinkara Rumah sleeping alone.

I have slept alone for almost as long as I can remember.

But the sight of Jahke and Sitka as he had left the den with his presents caught in his mind, because despite having enjoyed themselves with him, they had been curled about each other on the chaise, kissing softly, with eyes only for each other.

Only Jahke and Sitka could be that sickeningly in love.

Kiorl pillowed himself on his folded arms, clicking his tongue to plunge the room into total darkness.

Once upon a time, it would be unthinkable that Zai wouldn’t have joined them, regardless of how impromptu an orgy had been. But Zai hadn’t even graced the doorway with a jealous expression.

He has something better, Kiorl’s inner voice snarked.

You mean he’s whipped. Tobias never lets him have any fun.

He seems awfully happy about it though.

The panther scowled.

Zai was always weird. He huffed softly in the dark. I’m fine, it’s not like I need a companion. A warm body is enough. Again he mourned the loss of his puppets; their suckling mouths had been so soft. It would have been a good way to fall asleep. I’m fine.

Yeah. The voice in his head mocked him openly. You’re fine. Keep telling yourself that.

Kiorl turned and glared, unseeing, at the ceiling. He would never admit it, not even to Nassau, but he lay there for a long time as the campfires burnt brightly in the night sky above, and prayed to gods he usually hoped would never notice him for sleep to come.

“I’m fine,” he whispered into the dark, not believing himself.

Sure you are.