Page 56 of Forced Vampire Mate

Luken paused and considered his words. “At this point, the oracle has locked themself away in their estate and has refused to speak with the crown on this matter. Unless the oracle responds with a threat to the crown, they will be left alone. They are a victim of the gods as much as any of us.”

There was a murmured response to this. A few of the journalists looked pleased, others unhappy. Traitors throughout the kingdom were being arrested. There had been several riots already; the gods might be defeated, but it wasn’t going to be a simple matter of moving on for some. Their disappearance had left a religious power vacuum. It was going to take work to fill it.

“In the coming months, Taimarah will also be hosting a peace summit. We have sent the official invitations to our neighboring kingdoms and territories with the hope that we can undo the strife caused by the gods pulling our strings,” he continued, leaning against the podium. “But together, we can make this world better. We can have peace and unity.”

Luken turned and gestured to me. I stepped up beside him and announced my new projects; while Luken was the driving force of getting the unrest settled, I was providing a different sort of hope. I’d be overseeing projects to introduce free education at all levels in the kingdom and a renewal of the arts. I’d be working on improving public infrastructure and supporting the most vulnerable members of society.

Briefly, I wondered what my old assassin-mates thought of all this. My mentor hadn’t thought I was suited for life as an assassin. Maybe she was right. Maybe I was born to be queen.

After the conference was done and Luken and I were alone, he pulled me into his arms. “You were amazing. Want to go to our room and get out of these clothes?”

I laughed as heat washed through me. “Oh, I do! But I promised Thessa and Darcie I’d stop by after the conference. I’ll meet you there.”

“Don’t take too long,” Luken said, brushing a kiss to my lips. He sent a promise of pleasure through the bond, making my knees go weak.

It was almost enough to tempt me away from my promise, but I had promised. I slipped out of Luken’s arms and laughed as I skipped away to find them. They were in the library—as I suspected—with books laying open on the sofa around them as they shared soft kisses, oblivious to the world around them. They looked so wrapped up in each other, I first made to sneak away. Thessa saw me.

“Elara,” she yelped, pulling away from Darcie as though she was expecting a scolding.

Darcie pulled her tighter. “Embarrassed?”

Thessa blushed and grinned. “Force of habit.”

They’d explained to me that any sort of intimacy was strictly forbidden in the temples. Even simple kisses would have had them both beaten. It was the reason why they had worked so hard to get Thessa out in the first place. Their plan was for her to come back and get Darcie out, too. Thessa being captured and forced into the Blood Trials had put an end to that plan.

“How are you two settling in?” I asked.

Thessa snuggled closer to Darcie. “It’s wonderful. Marissa took us shopping yesterday, and we got Darcie a whole new wardrobe.”

It was Darcie’s turn to blush. “You spent too much.”

I laughed. “I’m the wife of a rich king. That budget was nothing, believe me.”

Darcie grinned as she twisted a strand of Thessa’s hair around her finger. “Thanks, anyway.”

I nodded. “Well, it looks like you two want your privacy…” I winked. “I’ll see you later.”

“See you,” Thessa murmured, but Darcie was already pressing kisses to her jaw.

I quickly made my escape, laughing to myself. I understood them all too well as I headed to the bedrooms.

Luken was waiting for me.

Chapter 26

The apartment within the palace that Luken and I shared consisted of five rooms. His bedroom, where we both slept; my bedroom that had been converted into our personal library; a sitting room for each of us to meet with friends and dignitaries, and the bathing room. The sunk-in bath was big enough to be considered a swimming pool, with shelves of fluffy towels always waiting for us. There was also a two-person shower and two toilets in their own little stalls with magically-enabled sound and scent dampeners. The sink, with all our other needs, sat along the far wall.

Luken was in the bath and I quickly stripped down and joined him.

“We haven’t had sex in a tub yet,” I mentioned as I slipped into the water.

“Doesn’t our time at the hot springs count?” Luken asked, admiration and desire rippling through the bond.

I floated through the warm water to him. We had stopped by the hot springs—the place of our first sexual encounter—for two days on the way home. It had been even more pleasant this time than the first time. We’d both gotten a few new bruises, sparring, and fucking in turn.

“That’s a pool, not a tub,” I told him. I settled onto his lap, angling myself so I was sitting right on his cock. It was already hardening.

Luken kissed my shoulder. “Then we should rectify that, shouldn’t we. I want to give you everything, Elara. I want to make up for all the pain you’ve been through.”

---