12. Mica
Chapter 12
Mica
Mica didn't have to go far to find the trouble, which spoke to just how welcome Caelus was in Daria's inner sanctum. Turning a corner, he heard a scuffle in a side room and pushed his way inside. The scene before him had a cry leaving his lips. Caelus had Ra pinned to the wall with his magic, a sickening grin twisted his face as he leaned in close to watch the man's face turn a deeper and deeper shade of red as he pulled the air from Ra's lungs with his power. It was a classic assassination technique of the Air Court.
No! Ra was his .
With rage burning through him, Mica flared his wings wide and reached for the familiar warmth of power flowing through the earth far below, drawing it in deep reckless waves to rip Caelus' magic from his bones, something only the rulers of the courts had enough power to do. The Air Mage screamed in agony as he staggered to face him, somehow still managing to draw his blade even as the pain must have been overwhelming as he seared such an essential part of essence away from him.
Caelus took a single step in Mica's direction before he was yanked to a stop, eyes bulging as he rocked backward. It took Mica a moment to process what had happened. Despite being half-dead and gasping for breath himself, Ra had stepped in behind the now powerless mage and was tightening a garotte around his neck.
"You don't ever get to hurt someone I love again. You don't even get to breathe the same air as him," Ra growled as he clung tight to the steel cord he must've had hidden in his leather bracelets.
Blood gushed down Caelus' chest, staining the white of his feathers as the garotte broke through skin and arteries, hastening his death. As the elemental dropped to the floor, Mica rushed forward to catch Ra in his arms before he could follow after him, holding him close as he closed his eyes and breathed in his familiar scent.
"I won our bet," Ra said, voice rasping from his near asphyxiation.
"It was a tie at best," Mica said, too relieved the man was okay to say anything more. He was going to pretend he hadn't heard Ra's final words to Caelus. It was best for both of them.
They both startled as a voice interrupted from the doorway.
"Lord Mica, how kind of you to deal with the errant criminal for me," Lady Daria said, an edge of danger to the words.
Mica turned toward her, keeping Ra tucked under his wing despite the man trying to pull free. He took a moment to inspect her face and then reached out to get a sense of what the stronghold was feeling—calm. It was not the least bit concerned about what had happened in its room, which meant neither was Daria. They'd been used as executioners. At least that would make getting out of here without fending off more attacks easier.
"You owe us," he said, making Ra stiffen in his arms in surprise.
Daria narrowed her eyes and then dipped her head in acknowledgement before leaving the way she'd come.
"What the fuck was that?" Ra asked.
"Caelus either had something on her or the other mages were blocking her from dealing with him. She let us kill him so she didn't have to deal with the fall-out," Mica said.
"Dammit. Did I just accidentally help the Air Court?" Ra asked, looking disgusted.
Mica snorted out a soft laugh and brushed a stray lock of hair from his face before smoothing down his twisted clothing. "We have to give her a chance to change things here. And it's never a bad thing to be owed a favour by someone so powerful."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I just want to go home. I need to tell Kaia it's over and he can never hurt her again."
Warmth filled him at Ra referring to the Earth Court as home. Not that he wanted the man to stay once Kaia was trained. Fuck. What a mess. They were becoming more entangled every day. Forcing space between them, Mica let go of the man and headed to the door.
"News will travel quickly. We need to be seen by her court before we leave so they know she turned a blind eye and we weren't fleeing the scene. Half an hour and then we can go," he said.
Reaching out to the collar around Ra's neck, he sent a complex surge of power through the mineral there. He should've added the protections when he placed it there in the first place but he'd been stubborn, not wanting to admit how badly he needed to keep Ra safe, despite everything. Whatever happened, no one would hurt this man but him. The shielding he'd just added that would trigger if someone launched another magical attack at him would make sure of that. Ra raised an eyebrow as he felt the earth magic against his skin, but Mica didn't offer an explanation. Pulling back the second he was finished, he didn't wait for Ra to follow before heading back to the party.
It took everything in him to be able to walk away from Ra while he could still feel the air dragging back into his lungs as he recovered from Caelus' murder attempt. Grabbing a whiskey from the bar, he forced himself to do what he usually would at these things—network, manipulate, dig for information. By the time he felt Ra's presence return to the room, you couldn't tell he'd almost died before strangling someone to death only minutes earlier. Ra looked perfectly put together and everyone around him had noticed, judging by the appreciative looks he was getting. Mica suppressed the urge to stalk over there and stake his claim, knocking back his drink instead.
Ra's storm-grey eyes met his from across the room with a teasing glint as the human felt his tumultuous emotions through their connection. Turning away from him, Ra struck up a conversation with Kairon, the vampyr who'd helped heal Mica's people in the immediate aftermath of the damage to his stronghold.
He frowned at the intensity of their conversation and the easy way Kairon leaned in to grip Ra's shoulder. What were they talking about so intently? Before he could use the collar to listen in, Lord Tyson approached him and he was forced to focus on the conversation with the Fire Lord. By the time he managed to extricate himself, Ra had moved on. To the dance floor. Of course.
The way the man moved to the music was indecent but Mica felt a smug sense of satisfaction as he realised each of his admirers took one look at the collar around his neck and kept their distance. He could feel Ra's growing frustration through their connection as he was denied the physical contact he craved. It didn't take long for Ra to storm over to him and grab his hand, dragging him back onto the dancefloor fast enough that Mica was forced to murmur apologies to the elementals his wings brushed against as they passed.
"What the fuck signal is this collar sending? I thought it was a tracking thing but that doesn't explain why no one will get within arm's reach of me," Ra hissed.
He didn't know why he'd let the human manoeuvre him to their current position, but now he was there he couldn't help but pull Ra close, wrapping one arm around his waist and taking the nape of his neck in a firm grip with the other.
"It means they know to keep their hands off you," Mica growled in his ear, relishing the shiver Ra couldn't conceal as his warm breath stroked against his skin.
"Because?"
"I told you already. Because you're mine ."
"Are you seriously going to cockblock me with this for three years?" Ra asked.
No. If he had his way no one else would ever touch Ra again . Stiffening at the impossible thoughts, Mica forced himself to loosen his hold. That was not what this was. Not what it could ever be.
"I'll remove it, but I can't do it here," Mica finally said through gritted teeth, weaving a small layer of magical shielding around them to keep his words private between them.
Ra's hand drifted up to the collar as if he was protective of it, but that couldn't be right.
"Why not?" he asked.
Because he wasn't going to leave him unshielded anywhere other than the Earth Stronghold. But that wasn't the only reason. Mica sighed. It wasn't like it wouldn't get back to Ra eventually anyway. He was sure someone had asked Lord Bastion what was going on with the collar on his best friend by now. The secret would be out the next time Ra spoke to his brother.
Letting his wings stretch out to enclose them in a screen of copper feathers to hide Ra's reaction, he focused on the tiny glimpse of his mark on Ra's throat instead of meeting the man's eyes. Unable to fight the urge, his thumb brushed against the copper lines softly as he spoke.
"Because they think it's a sign of intention. An engagement ring of sorts," Mica murmured.
Ra tried to jerk away, but Mica didn't release his hold. "What the fuck? They think you want to marry me ?"
"Not marry. That's a human thing," Mica said.
Ra snorted and rolled his eyes. "And of course no elemental lord would be caught dead observing a human tradition. What then?"
"In the early days of my court, collars like this were given to the person the ruler intended to take as a consort. It was a sign any attack on them would not be tolerated," Mica said.
"Awww … so you do care? It is a safety thing?" Ra teased, even the anger Mica could feel directed at him not enough to stop the man's natural tendency to tease and flirt.
It was a never-should-have-happened thing. And now he'd put even more power into the collar, every mage there would be certain they were together. He wished that thought didn't fill him with satisfaction.
"Someone has to keep you in check," Mica growled, pulling Ra close and swaying to the music before they drew even more attention for the way they were standing perfectly still in the middle of the dancefloor.
"You're a possessive fucker, aren't you? I can feel how much you need this on me. Your mark wasn't enough, was it? I'll let you leave it," Ra said, the false innocence in his voice setting off alarm bells.
"At what cost?" Mica asked, even though he didn't need Ra's damn permission to leave it there. It's not like the human could remove it without him.
"Well, if you're not going to let anyone else touch me, you're going to have to keep me satisfied. I'm not staying celibate for three years and I have quite the appetite," Ra said, pressing close to grind up against him.
Mica's hands tightened around Ra's body and all his blood rushed south as his cock throbbed with need. Fuck it. It's not like everyone didn't think they were intimate already. Pulling Ra behind him, he strode in the direction of one of the small rooms he knew surrounded the council chambers. They were designed for taking private calls and bilateral negotiations—layered with soundproofing and privacy spells that would keep the noises he was going to force from Ra's lips from anyone else's ears.
"If you don't want this, tell me now," he said as he slammed the door closed behind them and pinned Ra against it.
Ra groaned as Mica sucked another mark onto his neck, grinding against him. "Are you sure you can stand to touch me for this long?"
Guilt surged in Mica for a moment as he sensed the pain behind that question, but it wasn't his damn fault Ra had chosen extortion over the connection they'd shared. He'd been ignoring the fact that Ra seemed to have gotten over his hatred of him because he just couldn't return the sentiment. When the human forgot to keep his emotions to himself, there was a disturbing affection and yearning underpinning their every interaction. The potential for a mating bond between them meant the yearning was a two-way street, but the affection was decidedly one-sided. Mica wanted Ra. Maybe in the early hours of the morning he could even admit he needed him. But he couldn't feel affection for him after what he'd done.
Mica made himself pull away for a moment to focus on his words. "If we do this, it's just sex. Nothing more."
Ra shrugged. "Fine by me. That's all I was asking for."
But Mica could feel the evasiveness in the words. Feel the way Ra was bracing himself for the pain a meaningless fuck would cause when he wanted more.
"Dammit. I don't want to hurt you," he whispered. Because despite everything it was true. Ra might have been happy to hurt him with his actions, but Mica would never do that if he had any choice in the matter. He couldn't.
Ra looked surprised and then annoyed. "Stop snooping in my emotions and you'll be fine," he snapped, grabbing a fistful of Mica's hair and pulling him into a filthy kiss that was all tongue and clashing teeth and raw desire.
Groaning, Mica took back control because it was the only way he could do this. He wasn't going to risk his own pleasure with the man. He knew his limits and the drive to mate was overwhelming. This was just a way to keep his collar around Ra's neck. To make sure the irritating human behaved himself and stayed safe.
A brush of his magic along the seams of Ra's elemental tailoring had his clothing falling down to the floor, leaving him utterly naked before him. Fuck the man was beautiful. The light golden tan of his skin almost glowed in the ethereal light of the crystal room.
Ra's surprised laugh at his sudden state of undress was interrupted by a gasp as Mica trailed biting kisses down his chest until he could suck each of his nipples into his mouth, working them with his tongue. Mica slid his hands down to the man's ass, kneading the muscles there as he fought for the control not to take this further than could go and keep his heart safe.
Ra's head thumped back against the door and his body strained toward him as he lost himself to the pleasure of Mica's kisses trailing further and further down his body. The deep groove of Ra's adonis belt was a siren call to his tongue as he sank to his knees and traced a wet path across warm skin. Nuzzling into the join between his groin and thigh, Mica drew in a deep breath of his scent.
When Ra responded by gripping tight to the upper edge of his flared oversensitive wings and stroking down firmly, he was lost. Feral. Unable to do anything but surrender to the need between them. Reaching up to grasp the throbbing steel of Ra's erection, Mica pulled the head of his cock into his mouth, moaning again at the burst of salty pre-cum against his tongue. Sucking him deep, Mica swallowed him down to the root in one long, slow move that had Ra cursing and babbling as he gripped Mica's hair in shaking fingers.
"Fuck, Mica. Don't stop. Please," he gasped, hips pumping his shaft into Mica's mouth as he lost any control of himself.
He could feel the intensity of Ra's arousal through their connection and a dark sense of satisfaction settled in him as he used every noise, every spark of excitement he could sense, to drive Ra wild. He worked him fast and hard with no mercy. Driving his pleasure higher and higher until his cries were echoing off the crystal walls.
Sensing Ra's impending climax, he slid his hand down further, stroking over the sensitive skin behind Ra's balls until he could press a single finger against the hole he was desperate to feel around his cock. That light touch alone was enough to set Ra off and he pushed forward into his mouth one last time, screaming Mica's name as he came deep in his throat. As Mica swallowed every drop, the tightening of his throat around Ra's cock had him convulsing in drawn-out waves of pleasure until the human slumped against the wall with trembling legs.
"Fucking hell. It's always the quiet ones. Give me a minute to find the reset switch for my muscles and I'll return the favour," Ra said, eyes closed and body lax as he finally released his hold on Mica's wing that had been driving him half crazy with the need to claim.
"No," Mica said, running a hand through his hair to fix it up as he got back to his feet.
"No?" Ra asked, incredulous, as his eyes tracked down to the very clear bulge in his pants.
Not bothering to explain himself, he picked up Ra's shirt from the pile on the floor and silently started redressing him. Still drunk from the intensity of his orgasm, Ra actually let him. Mica said a silent thank you to Elysia for the magicked garments that made this so much easier even as he internally shook his head in disgust at himself that they'd been so overcome he'd never even bothered removing Ra's shoes. It wasn't until the last item was in place and he was buttoning Ra's jacket that the man shook off the daze he was in.
"What the fuck just happened?" Ra asked.
"You came."
"No shit. Why aren't you letting me return the favour?"
"Because I don't trust you," Mica said. It was only part of the truth. The bigger problem was that he didn't trust himself.
The sensation of Ra's emotions that had been a pleasant tease in the back of his mind shut off suddenly. For a human, he was surprisingly good at blocking his side of the connection. At least for short periods. He guessed Ra must've had lots of practice with Bastion, which pissed him off even more.
Ra shoved him hard as his hands dropped from the last button, pushing him away.
"Fuck you, Mica."
"We did that already," Mica said, knowing it would only fan the flames of Ra's bitter rage. It was for the best. They couldn't keep doing this.
Twisting in place, Ra yanked open the door they'd entered through. They hadn't got more than a single step into the room. At least their toxic exchange had taken care of his erection before he had to re-emerge into the party. Ra made a beeline for the portal area, his friend Tir noticing from across the room and moving to join him.
Catching Tir's eye, Mica gestured for them to wait while he said the necessary farewells. By the time he was finished, he was surprised Ra's fuming glare hadn't burned a hole through his wings. He'd almost reached the two people waiting for him when an anguished scream rent the air and a flash of white dropped from the still open ceiling straight toward Ra.
"Murderer! I will end you!" the elemental shouted, the tell-tale buzz of gathering magic speaking to her abilities as a mage as she pulled a short sword glowing with gold light from her back.
Copper power flowed down his hands like lightning as he flung a shield around Ra and Tir that would fry their attacker to a crisp if she made the mistake of flying into it. If he could've gotten away with an offensive magic in the heart of Daria's stronghold in front of so many people he would've, but the new Air Lady was still an unknown and he couldn't be sure how she would react. To her credit, Daria was only a touch slower than him in responding. The attacker disappeared behind a solid golden sphere of the Air Lady's magic that quickly floated through a hole the crystal stronghold opened in its wall before it was cut off from view.
"My apologies, Lord Mica. Lucia can be a vengeful bitch," Daria said.
It wasn't him she should be apologising to, but one glance at the Air Court soldiers had him holding his tongue on that. They were poised to attack at the slightest provocation, their eyes trained on the man their fellow courtier had named a murderer.
"Who is she?" Mica asked, although he could guess.
"She was Caelus's sister. I will deal with her," Daria said, ignoring the murmur of voices as the crowd realised just who had been murdered.
"Deal with her how?" Mica asked.
"That is not your concern," Daria replied, confirming his suspicions Lucia would likely fly free by morning.
He'd have to warn his scouts to keep an eye out for her. Ra was in her sights and he didn't think the elemental was going to let this go.