Aden

I stare out the window, waiting for Tarsus to return from their meeting in the Terra Empire. Sovereign Wolfsbane, the ruler of the Terra Empire, wanted to offer their armies against the bat-folk in the battle tomorrow, but Tarsus left through Ash's portal to tell the Terra Sovereign that our armies of ten-thousand warriors will have no problem taking down a bat colony of a few thousand.

As for me…I'm not so sure. At least the numbers of Wolfsbane's armies could deter the bat folk, then no lives need be lost. But Tarsus is the regent, and they make the ultimate decisions. At least until Clav claims his throne. Which…it doesn't look like that will ever happen.

I stare at the roaring fire across Tarsus' elaborate bedroom and pull the plush blanket over my legs. In the distance, the Heart of Faerie gives a ruthless rumble, as if Mother Terra senses my presence and is reminding me of the looming deadline before she plummets the entire continent into nothing but ash and dust. Another billow of smoke joins the everlasting gray clouds above, promising an eternity with no sunshine, no blue skies, no moonlight. Already her curse has taken the ground from the roots up, killing every living plant, which in turn, has affected the wildlife.

One week. That's all it's taken for her to destroy our continent. It won't be long before our stores go empty and folks start going hungry.

All I have to do is sacrifice myself to her boiling lava, and this will be over. That's what Mother Terra told Wolfsbane a week ago. The plan was to bring Clavicle home and hope that he would care enough for his empire to convince Mother Terra to spare the world.

He very clearly doesn't give a shit and would rather cower in the human realms.

Unexpected tears prick my eyes as I stare at the blurring flames before me. He seemed so normal at the Ren Faire. Talked about his family like he loved them. Talked about his human father like he was protective of him. That horseback ride we took together, the way he made me feel as he made love to me, being so gentle with me and watching my body language.

I shake his memory away, try to focus on a new plan to calm Mother Terra's temper. She's a goddess, there's no option of killing her. Wolfsbane and Clavicle were our only options to deter her. Which means we're down to our last resort, which is me offering myself up so she spares everyone I love.

The volcano is a three-day journey on foot from here. Tarsus would never let me get that far, and I know that if they stopped me, I would let them. I'm not ready to die. Which is why they can't know about my plan.

But tomorrow…tomorrow the bat-folk are coming for me. Tarsus intends to fight, and I'll let them think I'm hanging back in the safety of the palace as they protect me. Only Ash knows that I plan to turn myself in before the battle gets too bloody. And she only knows because she's the one who will transport me there.

More tears stain my cheeks until I'm sobbing. Boys aren't supposed to cry, but I kind of get an out for this being my last night alive, right?

Relief floods me when the portal opens in the middle of the bedroom and Ash steps through the black portal of wind and storm, Tarsus behind her.

Dropping the book I'm reading, I leap out of the plush bed and embrace them both. "Everything okay?"

Tarsus pulls away and studies me closely. "Have you been crying?"

Ash's russet eyes flare as she immediately snaps to attention. But the look I find there tells me she knows exactly why I've been sobbing.

"I'm worried about you," I tell Tarsus.

"Oh, sweetie." Tarsus tugs me into another hug, stroking their long fingers through my hair. They're at least two feet taller than me, another foot if you factor in their massive antlers, and I rest my head upon their muscular chest, wrap my arms around their narrow torso. "I'll be fine. I have my powers, I have an army. The bat-folk will surrender before too much damage is done."

"So you're still planning on marching out?" I ask, pulling away.

"We'll continue as planned." Tarsus removes their white cloak and tossing it onto a nearby chair. They have a far-off look in their silver eyes, telling me something more than the battle is on their mind. "As long as Clavicle doesn't magically show up, we should be good."

The mere mention of Clavicle's name makes my body grow cold. He had me in his clutches. He could have…he would have killed me if Tarsus didn't show up in time. I close my eyes, cursing myself for my stupidity. Tarsus told me Clav was conniving. A master trickster. I should have believed them.

Seeming to sense my distress, Ash steps closer, places her palm on my cheeks, and tilts my face up to meet her russet eyes.

"Fae are masters of deception," she says, her panther-like tail switching behind her. "Even in their human forms. You are wise, , but you still give others the benefit of the doubt too often. It was one thing to look past Sovereign Wolfsbane's ignorance—a product of their upbringing—when it came to humans. But Clavicle is vicious, not ignorant. Don't let him deceive you."

My throat clicks in a hard swallow, but I nod. "He was too perfect, anyway." He didn't flinch at my chest scars. He didn't have any problem getting on his knees to suck my strap-on dildo. And when he took control… I shudder. If I had a cock, it would be hard right now. I liked how rough he was, but maybe that should have been a red flag.

The smell of honeysuckle grows stronger as Ash leans in and brushes her lips across mine. "I'm sorry for what he did to you," she whispers against my lips, and now I do have a hard-on, dick or no dick. "He's an asshole for tricking you like that." She gives me one more chaste kiss, then steps back and looks between me and Tarsus. "Are you sure you don't want any help in the battle tomorrow?"

Tarsus shakes their head. "We'll obliterate them with hardly a fatality on our part."

Her blood-red lips quirk up, and she flings her long black braids over her shoulder. "Very well. I'll return and check in on you tomorrow." She casts me one more glance, promising to hold up her word to retrieve me tomorrow, then disappears through the seam.

Once the seam closes, silence fills the room. I look at Tarsus, noting the far-off look has returned to their eyes as they sink onto their bed and unlace their black leather boots, their back rigid. Our room is huge, with wyvern skulls mounted upon the walls, a polished black marble floor, and a massive fireplace where a furnace is already roaring, providing warmth against the autumn chill. Or is it a chill from the smoking volcano blocking out the sun for the past week?

The bed is a double king with black silk sheets and a bone-white canopy hanging over the bed from the four posts made of wyvern femurs. Running along one wall is a book case filled with my own novels and with Tarsus' books on the history and lore of the Spine Empire. A plush sapphire rug takes up the space between the chairs by the fire.

Tarsus looks different without their usual make-up on. Colder. More masculine. Their lips are pulled in tight, their brows furrowed in deep thought. I know seeing Clavicle does a number on Tarsus. They started out as teen step-siblings when Clavicle's father—the Spine Sovereign—married Tarsus' mother. Then Tarsus' mother died shortly after. With Tarsus losing their mother and Clavicle having an absent father who cared more about leading than he did his family, the two developed a bond that evolved into love.

For decades they were lovers…until Clavicle decided he'd had enough of his father being king and took matters into his own hands, killing his own father.

It was all downhill from there, according to Tarsus. Once he wore the Crown of Teeth, Clavicle became as power-hungry as his father…and as paranoid. I guess killing a sovereign and taking his throne would make you watch your own back constantly, especially when another kingdom is pushing up against your borders.

That's why Clavicle upped the annual sacrifices to every full moon, practically living in the caverns that wove throughout the great volcano, where he developed a new romance with the bat king, Abaddon. It wasn't the blossoming romance between the bat king and Clavicle that upset Tarsus—it was the cruel way Abaddon seemed to change Clavicle, making him heartless and greedy for more human blood.

"What are you doing?" Tarsus asks when I crawl behind them on the bed and begin combing my fingers through their long, bone-white locks.

"Helping you relax." I comb most of the knots out—it's not hard when their hair is so fine—then move their hair over one shoulder and begin kneading the muscles in their back. Tarsus is that perfect place between muscular and lean. They're strong, but slender and fine-boned. They turn their head slightly, the firelight bouncing off their chiseled jawline.

"You don't need to do that," they whisper.

"I want to." I want to touch every inch of your body, I want to worship your very essence before I leave you forever.

I continue to knead, spending a little extra time in spots that make that sexy, throaty sound come from the pit of their chest. After kneading their tense muscles, I sink to my knees on the floor in front of them. Their tired eyes widen slightly at the realization of what I'm about to do.

"…we should go to bed." Their lips quirk up, and considering it's the first smile I've seen since I left for the human realms days ago, I take it as a win. Placing my hands on their parted knees, I gently run my hands over the robes covering their thighs. They suck in a sharp breath when I reach their crotch, glad to find their dick already hard.

"Take off your robes," I say.

Tarsus stares at me, the silver in their irises brightening.

"Do it," I press. Finally, they stand and remove their dark purple robes. Their cock is already hard, waiting for me. It's been too long since I've sucked it or fucked it, honestly. Since the battle against the Solar Empire, things have been a little tense between us. Especially when I declared that I was bringing Clavicle home.

What an epic fail that was.

Kneeling before them, I lift my eyes to Tarsus', take their cock in both my hands and slowly stroke. Their eyes fall closed as they throw their head back, that sexy moan escaping them. It makes me hungry, that sound, and I sink my mouth onto their cock until the head hits the back of my throat. Their fae cock is larger than your average human cock, and I'm not even halfway down the shaft, but they suck in a sharp breath, their length swelling in pleasure. When I pop off, they sink back onto the bed and curl their long fingers under my chin.

"What did I do to deserve you?" they ask, their voice soft. "You're incredible, ." Leaning in, they press their lips against mine, gently licking the seam of my lips until I allow them full access to my mouth. We indulge in one another like that, soaking each other in the way we should have a week ago. Slowly, tenderly, as if a battle wasn't bordering the horizon and a volcano didn't threaten to wipe us out.

When they pull away, I take their dick in my hands again, determined to finish what I started, and then sink my mouth onto their length.

They lean back onto their hands. "," they say in a husky voice as they stare down at me with hooded eyes. "I swear. Your mouth on my cock never gets old."

I grin around their dick and offer a wink, which makes them moan again. "You are such a tease, ."

I pop off long enough to say, "And you are my pillow princess, Tarsus."

They snort, then suck in another breath as I take them back into my mouth and build a rhythm, my head bobbing up and down, loving the way they fill my mouth so perfectly, loving the velvet skin of their cock, loving the familiar bitter-saltiness of their precum. Their whimper sends blood rushing straight to my groin, and I know I'm going to get off simply from sucking them. I always do.

They comb their long fingers into my shaggy hair, gently cupping the back of my head. I wish they would take a fistful. I wish they would pin my head in place as they sink deeper into my throat until I'm gagging. I wish they would skull fuck me in the most merciless way.

But like Ash and Wolfsbane, Tarsus makes a point to be gentle with me. I can be as rough as I want with them, but to them, I'm porcelain. I know Tarsus is afraid that they'll lose control and I—being a fragile human—would have no way to defend myself. Now that they saw the way Clavicle pinned me down, I know Tarsus will never be rough with me.

Still, I try to give them the best blowjob ever, sinking onto their cock until I'm choking myself off on their dick, because that makes me wet as fuck. I curl my fingers under there balls, then gently run my fingertips over their taint.

"Fuuuuck, !" Their fists tighten in my hair as they throw their head back, and I build a fast pace while their hips rise up to meet me.

This is familiar territory. I know what Tarsus likes. I know what Ash likes. I know what Wolfsbane likes. I have my little polycule where all my needs are met in different ways by a fae, a witch, and a vampire. Who fucking needs Clavicle, anyway? Why should I care about losing someone I knew for less than a day?

I sink onto Tarsus' cock until they're nearly balls deep in my throat, their cock hitting the back of my throat.

"," they whisper. "I'm going to cum."

I loop my arms around the backs of their thighs, imagining that Tarsus is the one pinning me there as they ejaculate down my throat. And that's my own undoing. I find my orgasm as they finish theirs, my body shaking with heavenly pleasure while swallowing them down.

They pull out of my mouth, a string of saliva mixed with their come forming a bridge between their cock and my lower lip. I lick it off, swallowing the remaining residue in my mouth.

"Oh, babe." They gather me into their arms and pull me onto their massive king size bed, tugging the thick blankets around us as they kiss me, licking their own cum off my lips. "Thank you. I needed that more than you know."

I love their arms around me, warming me. I love their devoted attention as they whisper sweet nothings into my ear. I love their compliments, their affirmations, the way they see me for who I am and not for who society expects me to be based on my genitalia.

From the moment I met them five years ago at a small-town coffee shop, Tarsus has always been my true home and my most loyal family.

The thought of them marching off to war tomorrow to fight a people who would love to see me get fried in the volcano nearly rips my heart in two.

Tarsus is risking their life, and their armies, for me. What they don't know is, they're going to lose me either way when I let the bats take me to be sacrificed.