Page 76 of The Flame King's Queen

Groaning, I give my queen what she needs, pulling her further down on my knot and pressing up with my hips until she comes again.

Isavelle’s well-fucked scent has driven away the darkness of the day. With my knot locked deep inside her, I wrap my arms tightly around my mate, and I finally feel myself again.

23

Isavelle

Zabriel needs the comfort of my scent for many hours, and we lay together in our bed with his arms wrapped tightly around me. My cheek rests against his chest, and I close my eyes, not because I’m sleepy, but because it’s better for listening to the comforting thump of his heart.

“Emmeric has been here,” Zabriel murmurs after some time. “I don’t know how he managed to breach the castle or raise our dead parents, but he knew how much it would hurt me to see my mother like that. He’s punishing me for destroying his stronghold in the south and driving his army out of Maledin. He’s angry that I became King of Maledin and took the throne from him.”

His mother. Not their mother. Though she died a long time ago in years, five hundred of them to be precise, for Zabriel, in waking time, his parents were killed less than a year ago. I hold him even tighter. “Do not forget that the lich is driving him toward greater and greater cruelty. The undead sorcerer has been obsessed with the ‘black prince’ and the rest of you who destroyed his phylactery.”

Zabriel sighs heavily. “I wonder if the man who I once called brother can even be said to exist anymore.”

“I have wondered that too, but remember what Zenevieve said? There was sorrow in Emmeric’s face as he stood over Shar’s body. That can only have been Emmeric.”

“Sorrow, after locking up Shar and making him suffer all these years,” Zabriel says angrily. “If Emmeric has ever tempered the lich’s cruelty, it has not been enough.”

I stroke my fingers down Zabriel’s chest, and whisper, “No, I agree.”

But if the lich and Emmeric are ever separated, will the undead sorcerer be driven to even greater desire for cruelty and revenge? If Emmeric dies, will the lich lose all sense of self-preservation and only seek to punish and slay?

“I’m so sorry he used your mother to hurt you.”

Zabriel captures my hand and kisses my palm. “As long as it’s me Emmeric hurts and not you. If his cruelty turned to you…” He gazes at me for a moment, then slants his mouth over mine.

Zabriel cups my belly gently, and my breasts firmly, licking and suckling and making me arch and moan. When he sinks into me, I wrap my arms around his neck and hold on tight.

“I will always protect you, my queen,” he tells me between slow thrusts that make my insides light up in pleasure. “You and our family will always come first in my heart. I will never squander your love for power. My children will never fear me.”

I arch my neck as he sinks deeper into me. “And that is why I will always love you.”

A few days later,I speak with Ravenna about visiting my crone, and she agrees that we should inform Biddy about what happened with Emmeric.

“Would you wish to add a new rider to your escort, my queen?” Dusan says, and Fiala glances at him with interest.

“Who do you mean?” I ask.

“Let’s speak with Captain Ashton, and we will see if she is ready.”

The four of us consult with the captain, and I’m both astonished and pleased by what he tells me.

We find Anise in the eyrie, energetically mucking out dirty hay and wyvern droppings. She leans on her rake and grins as we approach her. “Are you all going flying? Keilar will be excited to see you, Miss Ravenna.”

Ravenna cautiously offers her hand to Keilar, who has approached our group to sniff and nuzzle. “I’m a slow learner, but she’s very patient with me.”

I turn to my sister with a smile. “I have talked with Captain Ashton, and he says you’re making excellent progress as a novice rider. How would you like your first official assignment?”

Anise’s eyes grow huge. “An assignment? But I’m not even a real wingrunner yet.”

“But you have expertise enough to fly, and I believe you know the way we’re going.”

“Are we flying to Amriste to see Dad and Biddy?” she asks excitedly.

“We are.”

Anise runs to a wyvern and puts her hand on his neck. “This is Ereskier, and I’ve been learning to fly on him. May I fly him to Amriste?”

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