Tarsus

Ulna shakes me awake, which is so unusual for her, to the point that the first thing I look for when I jolt up is Aden. His spot is empty beside me, and panic grips my throat.

"Aden let Clavicle out of his cell and took him to the guest room down the hall," Ulna reports dutifully. I'm halfway to the door, pulling a silk robe on as she finishes. "I had twenty guards stationed outside the door."

I shake my head, fury igniting through my veins. "Twenty guards would never be enough to hold Clavicle down."

When I burst through the doors, I'm surprised to find Aden sitting beside Clavicle, and not dead on the floor. They're both naked, telling me exactly what I don't want to know. My eyes immediately dart to their linked fingers—where Clavicle's pinky had, indeed, disintegrated off his hand.

Just like I expected it to.

Everything in me deflates all the same. I suppose there was a part of me that desperately wanted him to be innocent.

"Aden," I say in the calmest voice I can muster, despite the rage bubbling in my core. "Get out."

Aden stands from the bed, his nakedness reminding me he let this awful prince fuck him again. I don't care who Aden sleeps with—it's his body and his choice and we have an agreement to keep our relationship open—but putting his life at risk with the enemy might possibly be the stupidest thing he's ever done.

"I'll leave," Aden says, looking between us, "only because I know you two have some serious shit to sort out. But don't you dare leave a goddamn mark on him, ."

"Don't worry, Aden." I don't take my eyes off Clavicle as I smile coldly. "I'll leave that to you once you realize what a monster he is."

Aden snorts and walks out.

I nod at the guards. "Clavicle is still mortal. I've got this. Stand outside the doors and keep your ears open."

Ulna nods and closes the door.

And then it's just me and Clavicle. My step-brother-turned-lover-turned-enemy. And every emotion that has stemmed from each of those relationships is warring within me, violent and controlling. Fondness, lust, love, hate.

"I'll fucking kill you if you ever fuck my boyfriend again," I say, my jaw clenched.

His lips curl over his teeth. "He's not your pet. Aden is free to do what he wants, with whomever he wants."

"Except you."

As though feeling too exposed, Clavicle grabs the boxers off the bed and pulls them on as he stands. He pulls on a pair of gray sweatpants next that look an awful lot like Aden's. And seeing my ex in my boyfriend's clothes makes confusing emotions twist violently inside my stomach.

I want to kill him…but I also want to fuck him.

He's tall—for a human—and scrawny, and I can see the outline of his ribs. His ridiculous pink hair is disheveled, spikes sticking out in every gods-damned direction. Those glasses on his face aren't doing me any favors. He looks weak and adorable, exactly how he wants me to see him. My cock grows hard as fuck seeing him in nothing but those black-rimmed glasses and Aden's sweatpants. I take a step toward him. Clavicle lifts both hands in defense, and seeing four fingers instead of five on each hand only fuels my hatred for him.

The fucking lying bastard.

"M-my memories are in my nightmares," he stutters, blinking rapidly while he stumbles back. "I-I don't have tangible memories, but sometimes I get these strange visions—"

"Shut the fuck up, Clavicle." I stride toward him, not slowing down as he backs up until his back is flush against the wall. Of course he's scared of me. He should be scared of me. He's still very much a mortal.

"I'm sorry—"

"I said shut up."

I'm so gentle with Aden. Us fae can sometimes underestimate our own strength around fragile mortals. But I'm not gentle with Clav as I reach out and grab a fistful of his pink hair and tilt his head back, satisfied when he flinches at the pain. His breath hitches on a panicked inhale as he blinks up at me, terror written all over his features. His hands clamp around my wrist, but his weak mortal body is no match for my fae strength. He used to be taller than me in his fae state. Stronger, too. His antlers had inches upon my own. But in his human form, he's at least six inches shorter and a hell of a lot skinnier.

Still sexy as hell, though, with high cheekbones, long lashes, and those pouty lips begging to be wrapped around my dick. Seeing him at my mercy, this beautiful specimen who tried to stab me in the back, it makes my cock throb. I wonder if his human mouth can suck my cock as well as his fae one used to. My dick stiffens at the thought.

I don't usually take things from other people that aren't willingly given. But it's not like his life is worth anything. He died to me the day he tried to kill me. This bastard isn't the Clavicle I was in love with. He's the enemy, and he'd kill Aden at the first opportunity he'd get. I glance at his four-fingered hand again, and fire explodes through my veins.

"I wouldn't believe a thousand apologies from you, Clavicle," I say, not hiding the roughness from my voice. "But maybe I'll show you how sorry you should be." With his hair still in my fist and his back against the wall, I shove him to his knees so his nose is inches from where my erection presses against my tunic. His mouth screws in disgust, but I press my hips forward, nudging his face with the tip of my cock through the fabric.

"You can pretend to be the good guy all you want," I say, pulling his hair back until his eyes meet mine. I lean down until my nose is inches from his. "But I'll always know the truth, Clavicle. You're a sly, conniving bastard. I've fallen for your tricks before, but I'll never fall for another one of your lies again."

He stares up at me with a hateful glare, the same look he gave me when I told him to stop the sacrifices all those decades ago. A look so filled with vitriol, one wouldn't think there was a grain of kindness in him. If only Aden could see this side of Clavicle. Then he'd see the Prince of Ruin I know too well.

"Go to hell," he snaps, then he spits in my face. I jerk my head back in shock, then fury floods through me. He's not pretending anymore. At least not with me. He never does, because he knows he can't fool me.

"I should have let Aden stay," I seethe, wiping his saliva off my cheek. "If he saw this side of you, he'd know the real you."

"Aden already knows the real me." Clavicle arches his back, resisting my fist in his hair. "You're the one trying to make me look like the bad guy."

I chuckle, the fire in his silver eyes making my cock swell even more, pre-cum dripping down my shaft. His hair still in my fist, I drag my other fingers down his face. When I run my thumb over his lower lip, I can feel my pulse throbbing in my cock.

"Pull it out," I order in a husky voice as I straighten, unable to control myself anymore. "And suck it."

He bares his teeth. "I'd sooner bite it off."

I chuckle again, but slightly thrust my hips forward so my pelvis is directly in his face. "There he is."

I'm surprised to see his own erection through his sweatpants as he stares at the outline of my cock through my tunic, his throat convulsing in a swallow. He's fucking enjoying this, the sick fuck.

"Yeah, you want it, don't you?" I purr. I don't know why I care if he enjoys it or not. He's the most horrible person I've ever met, yet the sight of his erection only makes me want him more. "Untie my sash, open up my robe," I command, my fist tightening around his hair until he flinches, "and suck it. Or this will be your last night alive."

There's so much sexual energy in the air right now, it's taking all my self control not to let him go to the bed so I can fuck him like I used to. But there's no way I'm letting him have any illusion of power.

On his knees, he slowly unwinds my sash with trembling hands, then opens my robe until my cock slips out. He gasps, his eyes widening as though he didn't expect it to be this big. As if he didn't remember what my cock looked like after having sucked it a thousand times in his past life. A measure of pride swells in my chest at the look in his eyes.

"There's no way my mouth will fit around that," he whimpers, and gods. The whimpering.

Fisting his bubblegum hair with one hand, I take my cock in the other and guide it to his lips.

"You'll accommodate," I purr. "Don't worry."

He jerks back until his head hits the wall, but I don't slow down as I press my cock between his lips, pinning his head to the wall with my dick. He doesn't resist, but lets his mouth open just enough for me to slip the tip in. He's not wrong, his mouth just barely fits around the head of my cock. Aden is a human, and he's a pro at sucking dick, but then he's been doing it a few years. I push it in a little more, then a little more, until I feel the back of his throat and he starts choking around my cock.

Holy hell, his pretty lips seal around my cock better than I remember, though he can't take it all down with his small human throat. Fae are generally taller and more skilled than humans, and a human taking a fae cock down the throat is no easy task. I hope this is painful for him. I hope he gets the message about who has the power here. I trap his head against the wall with my cock until he's gagging around my cock, until his body starts convulsing as it desperately begs for air. I slowly pull out, satisfied with the tears in his eyes from choking. He sucks in a sharp breath.

"There you go," I coo. "See? You just needed a little…encouragement."

He coughs and stares up at me with watery eyes. "What the fuck is wrong with you!"

"Shut up and take it again."

"No." He shakes his head and opens his mouth to object again, but I shove my cock in before he can get another word out. He garbles around my cock, so I shove it in a bit deeper until he's gagging. The noise he makes makes blood shoot straight to my cock, and I throw my head back, moaning in delight.

When I pull out, I release his hair and he falls to his hands and knees, gasping for breath. There's a string of precum making a slobbery bridge to his lips, and I fucking swear. Aden is the only man I've been with since Clavicle. I'm monogamous by nature, but goddamn. It feels good to be rough again, to exert my power over someone without worry about breaking him. Or, in this case, without caring about breaking him.

"Look at me," I order once he catches his breath. He obeys, not bothering to hide the hatred in his watering eyes. "I want your eyes on me the whole time. I want you looking at me when I cum and I want you to swallow it down."

"You are certifiably insane," he snarls.

I grab a fistful of his hair and yank him up again so he's eye-level with my hard dick, and I shove it in. I'm rougher this time, slipping in and out at a rapid rhythm as I chase my orgasm, barely keeping myself together from the slurping sound my cock makes as it plunges in and out of his tight mouth. Tears stream down his cheeks, but just like I ordered, he obediently glares at me while my cock glides in and out of his mouth, hitting the back of his throat. His eyes on mine while I fuck his mouth is nearly my undoing, but I somehow manage to keep myself together.

"You sure know how to suck a cock," I say in a husky voice, keeping my eyes on his. "It's almost like you've sucked mine a thousand times before."

His brows furrow in fury, and he garbles something around my cock that only serves to bring a laugh out of me. I notice his cock is hard as fuck beneath his sweatpants, a wet stain even forming through the fabric. But I need more from him. I need to know that he still wants me as much as I want him, despite his resistance.

"Take out your cock," I order. "And stroke it for me, sweetheart."

He mumbles something around my cock, and I slip out just enough to let him talk. "What was that?"

His lips curl back from his teeth. "I'm not your sweetheart."

"Shut the fuck up and put my cock back in your mouth." I shove it in. A smile tugs at my lips when he does as I say, slipping his hand beneath the hem of his pants and stroking himself.

"Pull it out," I breathe while I sink in and out of his mouth. "I want to see it."

His glare hardens, but he pulls his cock out from his sweatpants, and I'm pleased to see it hard, an angry red shade, and slick with precum.

"Yeah, just like that, baby."

Some of his resistance leaves his features as he strokes himself. His eyes fall closed for a moment, and I let them, enjoying the sight of him pleasuring himself while sucking me down. Even as a human, he's beautiful and perfect. Clavicle's flaws are all tucked away beneath his skin, within the dark crevices of his black heart. But on the surface, he's all beauty and charm and perfection, just like he was as a fae.

I'm so close to coming now.

"Eyes on me, sweetheart," I order.

He reluctantly opens his eyes and meets my gaze as I slow my rhythm. But he's not glaring now. His eyes have softened, almost like he's forgotten that he's supposed to hate me. Only longing fills those gray eyes as he bobs his head on my cock, as if disappointed that I slowed down my rhythm. I'm not even holding his hair anymore. Both my hands are planted on the wall behind him as he sucks me down…willingly.

And that's my undoing. He moves on my dick, taking it deep down his throat on his own volition until I unload into his mouth, giving him no choice but to swallow every fucking drop of me down. The movement must be his undoing, too, because ribbons of cum squirt out of his cock, pearlescent against the black marble floor.

When I've found my full release, I pull out, bracing myself on the wall. Because that blowjob nearly did me in. Clavicle hunches forward on his hands and knees, over his pool of cum, gasping for air. The sight is a painful reminder of what we used to be, what we used to have before his hunger for power fucked it all up. With my cock limp and my hunger sated, anger steadily takes up the space where the lust was.

And I hate myself.

I hate myself for being weak enough to want to fuck the enemy.

I hate myself for forcing him to suck me, even if he is the enemy.

I hate myself for snapping at Aden when I first walked into the room.

Self-loathing pours over me like oil, heavy and impossible to wash away.

"Ulna," I shout, making Clavicle flinch. The general steps in. She seems a little surprised by what she sees—Clavicle crawling in his own cum at my feet, and me completely undone, my robes draped open.

She knows what happened, and more shame fills me, but I plaster on a hard face and jerk my chin to the prisoner as I tie my robes back around my body.

"Bind him and take him back to his cell. Don't give him any clothes except the sweatpants he already has on."

She opens her mouth in a silent gasp. "But it's cold—"

"Do as I say," I snap. Before I can do anything else I'll regret, I shove past her. I don't go to my chambers.

Not when Aden will be in there waiting for me, stewing over how I snapped at him. Not after what I did to the person he believes is innocent.

Instead, I take the grand stairway to the first floor and stride out of the palace into the cold night air, as if the wind could blow my sins away.