Chapter 5

Baz

The woman with her lips around my cock was trying her hardest to make me feel something, but despite her efforts, all I could manage was a slight tingling at the base of my spine. My body was numb, and all I wanted to do was sleep.

I tapped her on the head, causing her golden head to pause before she lifted her face, her eyes meeting mine as my cock slipped from her mouth with an audible pop. I waved her off with a dismissive gesture, and she had the nerve to pout.

"Did…I do something wrong, sire?" she stammered. For a moment, my stomach curdled at the fear in her voice.

Gently, I petted her sweat-slicked hair, forcing a smile to my lips. "I'm tired tonight. You get some rest, that's an order."

Geneva had been my personal consort for five years now. I didn't trust anyone else in my bed, and I had no time to hunt for a suitable fuck.

Geneva was a kind girl who worked in the kitchens, and I noticed her eyes following me more than enough times that I'd convinced her easily. But as lovely as she was, she was also as dull as a sword made of cheese.

I'd given up trying to make conversation with Geneva. She only ever responded with hollow pleasantries, telling me only what she thought her prince wanted to hear. After a while, it became tedious. So I fucked her when I felt like it and let her suck me when I needed to relieve stress, but that's all I'd ever want from the woman.

With an apologetic look, she stood, straightening her dress before giving me a hasty bow. She was out the door before I could formally dismiss her.

I didn't care. Not tonight. Not after the flight back to Andune that had taken three long days of fighting against the frigid temperatures of mid-winter.

There was a war brewing. A few skirmishes with raiders from Aetheria were only the beginning. Their queen was reluctant to fall in line, as her mother had before her death six months ago. She no longer wanted to fight under the Emperor's banner and instead had broken the treaty between us, pulling her armies out of Elysian territories.

My father"s anger was justified, but I couldn"t shake off the feeling of being treated like a dog on a leash as I was sent to intimidate the Aetherian queen into reconsidering her decision.

Our efforts were fruitless. In the past few weeks, I'd taken the lives of countless Aetherian soldiers, and their deaths left a permanent stain on my skin. Even now, I could still see their faces—soldiers who had once been my allies just six months ago.

My heart raced as I paced back and forth in my room, unable to find any sense of calm. My perfectly tailored outfit suddenly felt uncomfortable and suffocating, but I couldn"t stop fidgeting with it. The palace was my prison, but even here, I could escape when I needed to.

Discarding my princely clothing, I donned something a little less conspicuous before leaving my wing.

Minutes later,as I sat perched at the top of the astronomy tower's roof, Xyla let out a contented yawn, her wings comfortably folded around both of us. In the distance, the city of Andune was aglow with a sea of flickering lights, their patterns and rhythms creating a mesmerizing symphony of life that drowned out the chorus of my thoughts.

From this height, I could just barely make out the edge of the Folklands, the towering jumble of ancient trees and ruins that was the home of the Folk, who didn't always appreciate strangers passing through. All manner of creatures haunted those dark forests.

I took a deep breath, letting the cool night air fill my lungs and clear my mind. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying not to let it consume me.

The thought of the upcoming pageant made me want to vomit. With everything else this empire faced at the moment, the last thing we needed to worry about was parading a bunch of preening girls around, hoping for me to fall in love with one.

There was little to no chance of that happening. I'd met countless foreign princesses and dignitaries. I'd seen exotic women from tiny corners of the world that could render a man blind, deaf, and dumb. I'd fucked whores, noble women, and kitchen maids, and yet none of them sated me. None of them held my interest for more than a night of passing passion.

Xyla shifted her heavy, feathered wing when a frigid gust of wind swept over us, arcing over the spires of the palace. I scratched her coarse fur and she grumbled happily. My chimera was the one constant in my life. She was perhaps the only soul in this world I trusted completely. I'd raised her from the moment I met her on my first journey to the nest atop the sea cliffs.

"We're about to go to war, my friend." Xyla grunted, shoving her snout into my shoulder. "Let's hope my future wife can stomach it."