Chapter 6

CHAPTER6

If someone had told him he’d settle into a fairly amicable routine with a dragon, Larkin would’ve told them they were mad. And if they’d said he’d be letting said dragon cuddle with him, he’d have immediately assumed they’d lost their minds. But there he was, spending time with Jade while they went through historical documents and read them together while he rested against the dragon’s chest.

Jade was touchy-feely to the point of being nearly overwhelming, but Larkin was learning that it was easier to give in than it was to try to fight him off. He’d never admit it to the dragon, but there was something oddly soothing about the feeling of those cool scales against his skin while Jade translated one of the many books or scrolls he had on topics Larkin wanted to know about.

It was becoming familiar, which was frightening, because he should’ve been focused on trying to escape instead of letting himself be lulled into living a life where he got to choose what he did.

Not where he was or who he was with; he didn’t get to choose those things. But Jade was surprisingly patient when letting him select what he wanted to do to pass the time.

Larkin told himself it was just to bide his time until he could come up with a clever enough escape plan, but he spent less and less time thinking about returning home and more time looking forward to the next several stanzas of the historical epic they were working through.

“I don’t understand,” Larkin said, interrupting Jade as he translated one of the passages. “Why would the ruler refuse to reconsider the magistrate’s position when his crimes came to light?”

Jade kissed Larkin again, the way he tended to do whenever Larkin asked a question. “Who do you think the king valued more? The peasants who were wronged, or the magistrate he’d been friends with since childhood?”

Larkin frowned. “The magistrate, clearly, but it isn’t fair. Even if they were friends, he should’ve listened to the peasants. If he had, they might not have revolted.”

Larkin squirmed and blushed when Jade’s hands wandered a bit lower than necessary. That was the only downside to staying with the dragon. Cuddling was one thing, but all the… fornication left Larkin’s mind a confused, aroused mess.

He tried to push Jade’s hand away from his cock, but Jade wouldn’t be budged. At least he wasn’t petting or stroking, simply holding it. That was another habit of Jade’s that had Larkin flushing with humiliation, despite how harmless it was in comparison to so many of the other things Jade did with—no, to—him.

“You’re very noble,” Jade said, “but you are a rarity among your kind. Many humans, once they achieve power, forget about those who are less fortunate. Their issues are distant, trivial. Who cares about the starving people on the other side of the kingdom, when the nobles themselves take the majority of the share and can safely survive the winter without fasting?”

It was hard to focus on the conversation, with Jade’s fingers curled around his half-hard cock, but he forced himself to pay attention to it instead of letting himself get distracted by the touch like he so often did. “I was taught that it’s the responsibility of the nobility to care for their people. That’s why they’re taxed, after all. The money is meant to be there to pay for their serfs and servants’ needs.”

“But do you personally oversee the taxation process, or where the funds go?” Jade rested his chin on Larkin’s head and huffed a little. “I don’t mean to belittle you, my gem, but even if you are completely honest, you cannot be sure that your magistrates and dukes and barons are doing as directed. Do you remember the Altrician tale, where there was a strict code of conduct for the soldiers, yet only one man in the unit even followed it? If something isn’t enforced, it’s barely a rule at all.”

“It’s impossible to personally oversee it. That’s why there’s a… process, if you would,” Larkin said. “But there are too many lands, too many citizens, to ensure that they are all treated fairly. Which is all the more reason to listen to concerns when they’re voiced. If corruption gets out of hand, it can impact the entire kingdom.”

“Better hope your brother is as sensible as you, then,” Jade said. He set the scroll aside and kissed the side of Larkin’s neck. “You are so precious. Adorable.”

Larkin blushed at that. “I’m not a child,” he said, which was something Jade had to be all too aware of! “You don’t need to patronize me.”

“I’m not patronizing you by taking care of you,” Jade said, stroking Larkin’s stomach, which growled.

Larkin blushed. He always tried to hide his hunger, because he hated being tied up and left behind while Jade hunted, but sometimes his body betrayed him and made it clear that eating on a dragon’s schedule simply didn’t work for a human.

“I’m not hungry,” he said quickly. “You don’t need to go hunting.” He really wished he knew how to preserve meat so this wouldn’t keep happening.

Jade shook his head. “Speaking of starvation. I wouldn’t want you to revolt because I’d left you starving.” He easily picked up Larkin, carrying him out of the book alcove and toward the nest.

“I’m not going to revolt!” Larkin slapped Jade’s bare chest, but as always, it did no good. “And I’m not going to run, either. Just put me down. I’ll keep reading while you hunt.”

Jade kissed his nose. “You do silly things when you’re alone. Like rush off to fight a dragon without any support.”

He set Larkin down, and Larkin immediately tried to scramble away, but Jade was faster and stronger than him.

“I’m obviously not going to fight any dragons when you aren’t here,” Larkin argued as Jade pinned him down, kissing away his protests. The saliva, as always, made him feel torn. As little as he wanted to be held down by Jade, those kisses made it worth it…

But no. He would be tied down again and left alone for who knew how long, and he didn’t want that.

“Please don’t leave me,” Larkin begged, wrapping his arms around Jade. “I don’t want to be alone.”

Jade groaned and rubbed his cocks along Larkin’s thigh. “You are so, so tempting. But I need to take care of you. Maybe a bit more variety this time. I’ll go into one of the villages and buy bread and… whatever else it is humans eat. I’ll ask them to put together a nice feast.”

His stomach rumbled again at the thought of bread, even as he found his hand going to one of Jade’s cocks to slowly stroke it. He was getting used to eating mostly meat, which was strange; he’d always had a vast variety of foods at home. “Cheese?” he asked, a little hopefully. He was torn between wanting the food and the sex, and it took so little to confuse him. He blamed it on the saliva, on Jade cheating as always, but it was hard to deny he wanted it when it felt so good.

“Sure.” Jade kissed him again, deeper this time, driving his tongue into Larkin’s mouth and completely coating it with his spit. Larkin swallowed eagerly, chasing that sweet taste and the way his body relaxed into it, the way it made his cock stir.

He whined when Jade gripped his wrists and tied the hateful rope around them. Jade broke the kiss to make a shushing sound. “Don’t worry, pet, I’ll be back before you know it. And you’ll be so glad to see me.”

It simply wasn’t fair, the way Jade got him aroused then left him alone like this. He knew on a logical level that he was far more pliant when the dragon did things this way, but it was still frustrating because it meant he’d be leaking and aching for hours before Jade returned. Then there would be food, and sex, and he’d have time to loathe himself again for giving in so easily.

“You don’t have to get me aroused before you leave,” Larkin said irritably.

Jade smirked at him. “But I love how you beg for me when I return. I love how eager you are to have my cocks. I think with a bit more practice, I’ll even be able to give you both at once.”

Larkin blanched at that, even as his cock twitched with interest. “I don’t think so,” he said hurriedly, squirming a little and wishing he had just a little bit of stimulation to his cock. Unfortunately, as soon as his cock rubbed against Jade, Jade pulled away.

Somehow Jade had gotten his wrists and ankles tied without Larkin noticing. At least they weren’t tied to each other this time.

“Do you want me to stuff your ass before I leave? I have a few phalluses you haven’t tried yet,” Jade asked as he sat back. He rolled Larkin onto his side and pushed a finger against Larkin’s hole.

Larkin choked back a moan. He never wanted his ass stuffed, but at the same time, he almost always gave in, and he didn’t know why. Maybe because it reminded him of Jade while he was gone, which was ridiculous; his erection was enough of a reminder. “No,” he whimpered, squirming a little.

The finger pushed a little further, almost penetrating him. “Are you sure?” Jade asked, smirking. “You always enjoy it.”

“I don’t…” Larkin’s breath hitched, and he went still. “I don’t enjoy it.” But he was lying, and they both knew it. “F-fine,” he said. “Just a small one. With your saliva on it.” Because that was all he was after. Just the spit, and the tingling sensation it brought, and not the fact that his ass would be plugged up and stretched so Jade could take him right after he got back…

Jade laughed and gently slapped his ass. “That’s what I thought.” He scooted over to where he’d dropped his collection of toys the other day, an entire chest’s worth of phalluses made of different materials and in many different sizes and shapes. Larkin was never going to admit that he preferred the ones shaped like a dragon’s cock over a human one.

After a bit of rummaging, Jade held up a strange bulbous phallus that didn’t resemble a human or a dragon. It also didn’t seem particularly small.

“I think if you squirm around on this, it’ll rub all over. Maybe you can even come without my help?” Jade considered it. “I’d rather you didn’t, though. I want you desperate for me.”

Larkin scowled a little at that, but his eyes didn’t leave the item Jade was holding. “I don’t want that. I want something small,” he insisted again. “That’s… strange-looking. I don’t think it’ll be comfortable.”

“Let’s try it and see,” Jade said, bringing the thing up to his mouth and giving it a very, very thorough lick. Larkin had to swallow a moan.

The way he licked the item was absolutely obscene. If Larkin were ruler, he would outlaw these types of toys and acts entirely. Nobody should be subjected to… to…

Jade held up the dripping wet phallus. “This should be enough.” With one hand, he spread Larkin’s ass cheeks, then he spat liberally onto his hole.

Larkin jerked at the sensation, his thoughts instantly fleeing his mind in favor of sheer need. He suddenly didn’t care about the shape of the phallus, or the fact that it was bigger than what he’d expected. He cared only about being filled, about passing time until Jade returned and replaced the toy with one of his cocks.

As Jade started to work the toy into him, Larkin moaned, writhing as that saliva slid deeper into him and left him needy and wanton. He felt so full, but it still wasn’t what he wanted. “Please fuck me before you go,” he whined. “Don’t just leave me with this.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon,” Jade promised. “Just a few hours. Oh, damn, if I’m going into a village, I need to take clothes along.” He gave Larkin a single kiss to his forehead, then he disappeared into the dark of the cave tunnels.

Larkin heard the soft pad of Jade’s feet along the cave floor, and the atmosphere changed the way it always did when Jade transformed into his true, dragon form.

As soon as Jade was gone, the air in the cave cooled, almost as if it was only Jade’s presence that kept the upper caves heated. Larkin squirmed, making the phallus push against that strange, pleasurable spot inside him, but even with the pleasure zinging up his spine and the delicious tingle produced by Jade’s spit, it wasn’t enough.

“Please,” he sobbed, desperately, but his cries only echoed throughout the cave. For a time, that was the only sound, and he soon lost himself in rocking back and forth, trying to get the phallus to reach the most intimate parts of his body. He was rock hard and leaking onto the floor, and he rubbed against the blanket as best as he could, trying to get some sort of relief.

It didn’t come.

After a while, he gave up, though he wept quietly from the sheer intensity of the sensations. And that was when he heard it.

Footsteps.

Strange. He hadn’t heard Jade’s wings to indicate that the dragon had returned, and there were… multiple footsteps. He tensed, some of the sexual frustration bleeding away in favor of fear. Who was entering the cave? Would they find him? Would they see him in this terribly compromising position?

He never should’ve let Jade’s saliva do this to him! He should’ve held out and been stronger!

“Fuck, hurry up, I don’t want to be here when the dragon gets back,” somebody hissed. “He’s dead, right? No way he survived. We just say we didn’t see him, wash our hands of it.”

“You want to tell Prince Elric you couldn’t find a single trace of his brother?” a second voice answered. “We have to find proof of Larkin’s whereabouts.”

Larkin’s eyes widened. They were looking for him. His brother had sent these people to come find him.

He was torn between shouting out that he was here and knowing that they’d see him like this. He had always been modest, above the sins of the flesh, and now… They’d see him trussed up and stuffed, and they’d see his hard cock, and they’d assume the worst of him.

But this was the best chance he could get.

“Help me!” he finally shouted. “It’s Prince Larkin! The dragon is gone for now. Please, help me.”

The footsteps stopped for a moment, and some whispering followed, not amplified by the acoustics in the cave. But finally, he heard the men approach. He braced himself for the humiliation of being seen like this, but at least… at least he’d escape. He would pretend this never happened. He would never touch another being ever again, he would never drown in pleasure, he would never lose himself to a dragon’s fluids, he would not read ancient histories and poems and discuss politics…

Three men entered the nesting alcove, one of them carrying a small, shuttered lantern. They were dressed in simple traveling clothes, nothing that would help them combat a dragon. The only weapons Larkin saw on them were the daggers sheathed at their belts.

His eyes were drawn to their waists. They wouldn’t have two cocks each, but… even just one cock would be able to do more for him than the phallus. What did a human’s seed taste like? Sweet, like a dragon? Or something else entirely? Or—

No, no. Larkin wasn’t like this. He wasn’t desperate. “P-please,” he said. “Untie me. Before J… before the dragon gets back.”

The first man, who was taller than the other two, blinked at him. “Prince Larkin?” he asked, sounding utterly bewildered. “What…”

“Just untie me,” Larkin said, his cheeks flushing a furious shade of red. “Before the beast returns.” He almost said that Jade wouldn’t take well to anyone else seeing him like this, but he didn’t want to admit to Jade’s strange possessiveness. “He’ll kill you if he finds you in his lair.”

The three men looked between each other. “Uh. What should we do?”

“Untie me! I just told you! No, I order you to untie me!” Larkin said, almost desperately. “I’m your prince!” Unfortunately, he ended up moving enough to shift the phallus inside him, and the sudden spike of pleasure drove another moan from his lips.

The largest of the three men stroked his beard and approached Larkin. He squatted down next to Larkin and, without any warning at all, reached out to give Larkin’s hard cock a long, steady stroke. “Fuck, he’s hard right now. It’d be a shame to waste this.”

Larkin paled. It was one thing for Jade to touch him; he’d grown used to the soft sensation of those cool scales running along his skin and shaft. But he’d never been comfortable with anyone else touching him, least of all this intimately. In Kithage, such things simply did not happen outside of marriage.

“Don’t touch me!” he said, though the words came out as more of a squeak than anything.

The smallest of them said, poking at Larkin until he was on his side, examined him more closely. He burst out laughing. “Look, he’s even got something in his ass. Oh, he was getting prepared for a nice fuck. Weren’t you, princeling?”

“N-no!” Larkin tried to shimmy away, but with his wrists and ankles bound, there wasn’t any way for him to actually move. At most he could wave his arms at the men, hoping to hit them with his fists, but the large man easily caught him.

“New plan,” the large man said. “We have our fun with him. Then we finish the mission.”

“No!” Larkin said again, more loudly that time. “J— The dragon will be back any minute. And he’ll kill you. Just help me escape. My clothes… I can find my clothes.”

The smaller man rubbed at the phallus in his ass, forcing it to press against a particularly sensitive spot in Larkin’s ass. He keened, wishing Jade had just fucked him before leaving him so he wasn’t so damn desperate for touch.

The third man grimaced. “Are you sure? The dragon…”

“You saw the dragon fly off! It’s not going to come back for a while. It always stays out for hours.” The large man squeezed Larkin’s cock once more, then moved his hand to stroke Larkin’s chin. “I’ve always wanted to face-fuck a noble. Not so high and mighty when their mouths are stuffed with cock.”

How did they know Jade always stayed out for hours? Dread pooled in his stomach. How long had they been watching? Could they have rescued him before this? He squirmed as the man’s fingers went to his chin, and he shook his head furiously. “Don’t do this. You’ll be in a world of trouble if you touch me.”

“What are you going to do about it?” the man said, laughing. “Hey, get him on his knees. I’ll take his mouth.”

“I want his ass!” the one still playing with the phallus said. He twisted the phallus once more, before pulling it out in one single movement.

Larkin cried out, hating just how empty he felt now, desperate for something to fill him—but not these men.

He wanted Jade.

The effects of the saliva were fading fast, especially in the wake of his fear, and he struggled against the expertly tied ropes. He could do nothing against these men, and it was clear they were going to do what they wanted with him.

Jade! Where are you?he pleaded wordlessly. He never thought he’d want to see the dragon so badly.

The tall, slender man said, “I’ll wait my turn. I don’t mind sloppy seconds.” He flashed a smirk at Larkin. “Besides, I can’t wait to watch them wreck a fucking noble.” He sounded positively gleeful.

“Who are you? Why are you here?” Larkin asked, trying to make the words more of a demand than a plea but failing miserably.

“We came to find you! Now we’ve found you.” The bearded man gripped Larkin’s shoulders and forced Larkin into an awkward kneeling position. Then he untied his trousers and pulled out his cock. It was instantly unappealing, surrounded by a thick patch of hair and nowhere near as smooth and beautiful as Jade’s. “I feel any teeth, I’ll knock them out of your mouth.”

Larkin whimpered and shook his head, trying to pull back. He’d always shied away from sex before, as was proper, and the only cocks he wanted were… Jade’s. And Jade fucking cheated! These men weren’t cheating. They were going to brutalize him. Maybe they’d rescue him after, but they were going to hurt him in the meantime.

He wasn’t going to open his mouth. He wasn’t—

But the man playing with his ass suddenly thrust two fingers inside of his stretched hole, and he gasped. The bearded man took advantage of that, shoving his thick cock inside Larkin’s mouth before he had the chance to close it again. Larkin gagged at the taste of musk and sweat, so unfamiliar, so unappealing.

It didn’t matter what Larkin thought, though, because the man started thrusting in without any care for Larkin’s need to breathe. The only consolation was that the man wasn’t as large as Jade, but it didn’t stop that cock from hitting the back of his throat, making him gag.

At the same time, the man behind him lined up and thrust his cock in, no further lubrication. It felt good in the first instant, but the human cock didn’t have the same ridges as Jade’s dragon one, and its smooth slide didn’t bring with it the same tingling pleasure. It was mostly a burning stretch.

He whimpered around the cock in his mouth, squirming, but it didn’t do anything to dissuade the man in his ass. If anything, it seemed to encourage him, because he sped up.

Oh, gods. What if there was still dragon saliva in his ass? It would only make the man more aroused. Maybe it would make him finish faster, though. Then they could be done with this, and they’d untie him and help him down the mountain…

He could return home, where he could pretend none of this had ever happened.

The man behind him slapped his ass cheeks. “Tighten up a bit more, Your Highness. You’d think you were one of those over-used sluts in the brothels, not a prince.”

Of course these men visited the brothels that weren’t meant to exist but were still very much in existence in the capital. Alzaria had many temples to its name, but it had its shady underside as well where men went to find pleasure outside of their marriages.

Larkin’s vision began to blur with tears, a combination of the pain and humiliation both. This was nothing like how Jade fucked him, who made him feel good and whispered words of affection to him as he thoroughly debauched Larkin.

The man in his mouth thrust deep, making him gag again, and he tried to pull back. But he couldn’t go anywhere, speared between the two men and forced to take them both. Each rock of their hips sent him back and forth, making him take them deeper, harder, and he whimpered as the tears started to fall.

“Fuck, he’s crying,” the third man said. “Didn’t know royals could cry.”

The larger man laughed and thrust forward harder. “They pretend they’re better than us, but you take them out of their castles, they’re just like us. Worse, even, because they’re mostly useless.”

Larkin wanted to protest that he wasn’t useless, but right then, he felt like he was. He was tied up and being used, unable to do anything but take it and listen to those horrible words as the men spewed them.

He mewled as those thrusts got harder, wanting to beg him to stop, too—wanting all sorts of things that seemed would never happen.

“Well, we found a use for this one,” the man fucking Larkin’s mouth jeered. “And it’s a pretty good one. Too bad we can’t keep him.”

What did they think would happen to them once they were all back at the castle? They must have known that Larkin wouldn’t dare tell anyone about this, not even his brother, or else they wouldn’t have dared touch him.

Knowing that he didn’t want the humiliation to be made public robbed Larkin of the last of his resistance. This was happening, and he could do nothing about it. He wasn’t even going to have them punished.

Larkin mewled pathetically as the man fucking his ass sped up, and the tears got heavier when he felt the man’s release. It was wrong. It didn’t tingle, it didn’t add to his pleasure.

It wasn’t Jade.

“You’re done? Then get out, I want a turn,” the third man said. “I want to feel his ass all warm and slick.”

It wasn’t over. Even though the other man had finished, it was going to continue. Larkin still had to feel his jaw stretch around one man’s cock while another took his ass, and he was utterly helpless to stop it.

The smaller man chuckled and pulled out, and Larkin felt his disgusting seed trickle down his leg. He didn’t have much time for relief, though, as the third man thrust painfully hard into his now-stretched hole. He was a little bigger, enough to make him really feel it, and Larkin nearly choked on the cock in his mouth as he struggled to take it.

“How are you still fucking his mouth?” the man who’d already spent asked. “That’s amazing stamina.”

The bearded man laughed and shook his head. “Nah, he’s just really bad at this. Doesn’t know how to suck or swallow at all. I’m doing most of the work.”

“Wasn’t… ung, wasn’t Larkin the prude? My sister said he ignored her advances.” The man gripped Larkin’s hips harder, to the point of pain. “But maybe he doesn’t fuck peasants.”

“He does now,” the man in his mouth said with a laugh. “Too bad he’s not more of a whore. I’d like to have a prince sucking me dry. Oh well. His mouth is still warm and wet, and it’s as good as a pussy.”

Larkin wept harder, humiliation and pain and misery overwhelming him, and for a moment, he was consumed with despair.

Then he felt it.

There was a change in the air, something that felt like the pressure dropping, and there was the gentle sound of wings.

Jade.

Oh, gods, it was Jade.

This time when he wept, it was from relief. Jade would save him. Jade would protect him. Jade, who saw him as a precious treasure, a gem… unless he thought Larkin was tainted by other men’s touches now.

Panic rose up inside Larkin. He was tainted now. He hadn’t remained faithful. It wasn’t his fault. He hadn’t wanted to, but did that matter? Other men had left their mark on Larkin. He couldn’t even pretend they hadn’t. Jade would be disgusted with him.

“Think Prince Elric will want to know—” the already spent man started, but his words were cut off with a strangled scream and a very loud, very wet squelch.

“What the fuck?” The two men fucking him pulled away, comically trying to pull their trousers up. Even that wouldn’t save them from Jade’s massive dragon form, glaring down at them with blood dripping from his snout.

“You dared touch what is mine?” Jade growled at them. His eyes glowed, and smoke wafted out of his nostrils. “You defiled something worth more than your lives, more than your children’s lives?”

It shouldn’t have been so much of a relief to hear Jade still referring to Larkin as his.

“I told you!” one man shouted. “I told you the dragon would be back!”

The bearded man shook his head. “N-no! We weren’t—he’s just a human, you don’t need him—”

Jade roared and spat fire into the air, heating the entire room to uncomfortable levels. “Who are you to decide what I don’t need?” Then he lowered his head to be more at eye-level with all of them. “Why are you here? If I like your answer, I might let one of you live.”

Larkin went limp, torn between gratitude and humiliation. He didn’t want Jade to see him like this, dirtied and broken at the hands of men who cared nothing of his rank or even his well-being. His rank should’ve protected him, but it had only made him more alluring to these men.

He stared, wide-eyed, at Jade’s dragon form, his eyes drawn to the blood and fire. It took him a moment to realize what had happened, that the man who had just used Larkin’s ass was now dead.

“We’re— We’re here to… rescue Prince Larkin!” the man who had been in his mouth said as he struggled to fasten his trousers.

“Rescue?” Jade’s head snapped forward, and before anybody could react, the bearded man was snapped in half by those large, sharp teeth.

The remaining man screamed and scrambled away, trousers once more around his ankles. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I didn’t know!”

Jade spat out the bearded man’s clothes—but not the man, oh gods, he’d eaten half of that man—and turned his attention to the sole survivor. “Try again. The truth, this time.”

Larkin struggled not to vomit, and for a moment, it seemed he’d keep his meal down. But then he gagged again, and everything he’d consumed recently came up. He hated the men for doing this to him, certainly, but they were dead now!

The man started to speak, but caught himself, staring at the mess of clothes that was all that remained of his friend. “Please don’t kill me! I’ll tell you what you want to know!”

Larkin whimpered when Jade extended one talon to gently stroke his face and scrape away the vomit. Yet despite what he’d just seen, despite the imminent danger of such a sharp claw near his face, the gesture was soothing.

“Well?” Jade prompted. “I’m waiting for that explanation.”

“Um, ah, that is—Prince Elric…” the man let out a gasping sob, “Prince Elric wanted to know Larkin’s whereabouts. If he was dead, we were… we were supposed to bring proof. If he was alive… he wanted… he wanted his brother dead. It wasn’t our fault! We were just following orders!”

Larkin’s head snapped up, and he stared at the man in disbelief. “Prince… No. You’re lying. My brother never would’ve ordered my death!” He pressed his face against Jade’s talon, uncaring of how sharp it was, only wishing it was his cool hand instead of the dangerous claw.

“I’m not lying!” the man said. “Prince Elric gave the orders personally.”

Jade moved his talon away from Larkin to wrap it around the other man. The man screamed pathetically.

“Please! Stop! I’m sorry, I’ll do anything!”

Larkin whimpered at the loss, and his stomach roiled again. He didn’t want to see anyone else murdered before his eyes, no matter what they’d done to him. “Why are you lying?” he asked, his voice anguished as he struggled hard against the ropes again. “Why would you say such a thing when you want to preserve your life?”

“It’s the truth! Please, I’ll go back, I’ll tell them you’re dead, you’ll never have to worry about us ever again—” His voice gave way to a high-pitched squeal.

Larkin made the mistake of looking over, eyes widening in horror as Jade’s claws penetrated the man’s torso. Blood trickled out of the wounds, out of the man’s mouth.

“Your orders didn’t include defiling him,” Jade said. “That was your own choice. For that choice, you’re dying now. But if you’d killed my precious jewel, I would have tortured you, so you can be glad for this small mercy I’m giving you now.”

“Jade!” Larkin squeaked. “I thought you were going to let him live! We need to find out who really sent him.”

Jade dropped the man outside the nest, onto the hard cave floor. In the next instant, he was no longer in his large dragon form, but resembled a man once more, rushing to Larkin’s side and kissing him all over, leaving behind bloody imprints.

“I’m so sorry, my pet,” Jade said. He used his sharp claws to cut away the rope. “I didn’t think there was anybody on the mountain. I should never have left you unprotected.”

Larkin curled up into a ball, trying not to heave again. So much bloodshed. So much death. It was worse than the rape, in a way, because people were dead. Even after what they’d done… “He was lying,” he whimpered, starting to cry all over again. “My brother never would’ve sent anyone to kill me.”

Jade kissed the side of Larkin’s neck, then pulled him into an embrace. “Let’s get you cleaned up. A nice, long soak in the hot spring. I’ll scrub you all over, get their scent off you.”

That sounded very nice. Much nicer than it should have. Larkin shouldn’t have been relieved at the prospect of Jade touching him, but for a few moments, he’d been afraid that Jade would refuse him. He’d heard enough stories of men casting their wives out after they’d lain with other men, even if the women swore it hadn’t been their choice.

“Don’t ignore me,” Larkin said, though. “We have to… we have to warn my brother that there are men misusing his name.”

Jade didn’t say anything for a while, long enough that Larkin started squirming in the embrace.

“I don’t think he was lying.” Jade’s voice was a lot softer than usual. “Your brother… you said he was the one who told you to go slay the ‘wyvern.’ I think… I think he was fully aware of who truly lived here.”

Larkin stared at him, shaking his head in disbelief. “No. He was just… mistaken. He wouldn’t have sent me to my death.” But doubts were starting to form in his head. The troublesome mare who hated him—but that couldn’t have been his brother’s fault; horses were independent creatures. The way his men had abandoned him—but he still only had Jade’s word for that, didn’t he? And now… Why would that man lie when facing death? But no. He had to be mistaken. He had to be!

“I have to go back,” Larkin said. “Please, Jade. My brother has to know what kind of men are lurking in our ranks. You keep saying that a ruler needs to be more aware. That humans are too eager to remain ignorant of unpleasant things. But if there are snakes like these in our kingdom…”

He braced himself for Jade’s usual refusal. He’d find a way out, though. He wouldn’t succumb to Jade’s saliva anymore. He wouldn’t be lulled into complacency anymore. These days—weeks—he’d spent with Jade were a nice vacation, but he had a duty as a prince to take care of his lands, and he couldn’t do it as a dragon’s toy.

Jade kissed Larkin’s forehead. “That doesn’t concern you anymore, pet. I’ll protect you from whatever might come. Let the humans deal with their own issues.” He smiled widely. “I brought you cheese, like you asked. Let’s get you fed, then we can take a bath and wash their disgusting scent off you.”

Larkin let out a frustrated sigh. “Jade, I can’t just stay here any longer. There’s a danger to the kingdom, and I need to be at home to deal with it. I am a human, and as a prince of Kithage, it’s my responsibility to set things right. I don’t care about the cheese, or the bath. I only care about my people and my brother being maligned.”

“You aren’t the crown prince. That’s your brother. Let him deal with it.” Jade’s smile dropped just a fraction before he scooped Larkin into his arms. “If you aren’t hungry, then we’ll take that bath immediately. I found a few lovely shampoos while I was in the village which will leave your hair completely silken.”

Larkin struggled against Jade, finally finding it in him to be more irritated than resigned. “Jade! I’m not asking you. I’m telling you. I must return home. I don’t want your cheese or your baths or your saliva. I want to fix this situation before it gets even worse.”

But Jade ignored him and carried him down to the baths, talking about his trip to the village as if he hadn’t just eaten two humans and eviscerated a third.

If Larkin wanted to escape, he’d have to come up with a real plan.