Story: Two Parts Mistletoe

I wrote this story last year as part of a Christmas anthology I put together, A Touch of Mistletoe. If you haven't read it, give it a look, all of the stories are excellent, written by some of my favorite peeps.

But for fun, I am posting my story in full here, for anyone who wanted to read it ^_^

The High King and the Queen

All my love to those who have enjoyed The High King's Golden Tongue ^__^ Since I was sad I could not fit Marren into the story (though it was in the earliest notes), the holidays seemed a perfect excuse to finally write her. It's only a short little thing, but I hope peeps like.

Merry Christmas!

-----

"One more time." Sarrica threw down his papers and circled his desk, stopped a pace short of hitting distance. "Say that one more time, you hypocrite, and I'll take those pretty new pearls around your throat and shove them up—"

"Majesty."

It was the abject terror in Myra's voice that saved Lesto's pearls and nether regions. Sarrica turned toward the door. "What's wrong?"

Myra stared back, wide-eyed and practically vibrating in place. "I've just received word from the city guard that Queen Marren is on her way."

Sarrica blinked. Stared. "Queen Marren," he repeated slowly. "Allen's mother. That Queen Marren?"

"Yes!" Myra said, looking ready to start misappropriating pearls himself.

"Pantheon preserve us," Lesto muttered. "What is she doing showing up without giving us some warning?"

Sarrica cast him a quelling look before focusing on Myra again. "Just her? Or did her husband and dame come as well?"

"I couldn't get a clear answer out of anyone, but I suspect they did."

"Get everything prepared. No one is to tell Allen. She's not doing anything before she speaks with me, especially with this little ambushing business." He whipped back around to Lesto and jabbed a finger at him. "Make yourself useful and go find Allen, keep him distracted."

"He's going to kill you the moment he finds out you're being controlling again."

Sarrica shrugged. "I'd rather he be angry than completely blindsided by his controlling, demanding, abusive mother. She's not getting anywhere near him until we've had words, and I'll suffer an angry consort for that if I must."

"You never learn, but it's your funeral pyre," Lesto said and shoved past him and through the door.

Myra gave him a sympathetic look and slipped away to start arranging everything.

Sarrica stared at the piles of paperwork he'd been hoping to finish that day so he could spend tomorrow with Allen, just the two of them. Sighing, he made certain his clothes were neat and there were no stray smudges of ink anywhere, then returned to the outer office and walked over to the sitting area.

A lavish tea service arrived a few minutes later, and servants set briskly about arranging it all. Sarrica thanked them as they bowed and faded off, half-wishing he'd brought some of his paperwork with him to hasten some of the interminable waiting.

Myra finally reappeared just as he was standing to sneak back into his office. "They're arrived, Majesty. Did you want to speak with all three of them?"

"No, Queen Marren is matriarch, so I'll speak with her. Let the others go rest. I'm sure they're quite exhausted after such a long journey." A journey long enough they could have bothered to inform him of their visit, but that was only one item on the list of matters he intended to address.

Myra bowed and swept from the room, returning almost half an hour later escorting a woman who was almost exactly what Sarrica had been picturing: tall, stately, beautiful, and reserved to the point of frostiness. Allen was very nearly her exact image, though her hair was brown heavily threaded with silver, swept up in one of those confounding, impressive twist-knot things Allen was always doing.

She swept him a bow so perfect Sarrica was reluctantly impressed, though not surprised. "Greetings, Your Majesty. It's an honor to at last make your acquaintance."

"While the honor is mutual," Sarrica replied as he motioned her to sit, "I would be more pleased by your visit if you had not ambushed us with it."

Her face remained expressionless, but Sarrica had become rather adept at reading Allen at his most neutral, and it was increasingly clear that Allen was crafted in his mother's image in innumerable ways. Sarrica had suspected as much from all he'd heard about her, and little things Allen had said, but seeing it was something else entirely. "It was not meant to be an ambush, but a surprise. Also, I knew if I gave him warning, Allen would fret himself to death preparing, and I did not want that."

"No?" Sarrica asked. He waited until Myra had poured tea and filled plates for both of them. Once he was gone and they were completely alone, he continued, "Given how exacting and demanding I know you to be, I would think you'd want Allen well-prepared for your visit and not a single detail missed."

Her brows rose slightly, the only blatant tell on her handsome face. "I am getting the impression you do not care for me, Your Majesty. While ordinarily that would not trouble me, for the list of people that dislike me is quite long, I do not want to clash with my son's spouse."

"Then let me be direct."

"Please."

"I want to know why you allowed the abuse he suffered to go on for so many years. I want to know why you neglected him for years."

He hadn't thought she could stiffen further than she already had, but Marren drew herself up rigid as marble. "You know nothing about the manner in which my son was raised—"

"I know the marks on his back," Sarrica snapped, leaning forward slightly. "I know they were acquired over several years of brutal treatment. I know he came here with no friends, and left no friends behind, and seemed surprised at the open affection with which he was treated by those who did befriend him. So do try to explain to me how he was not a victim of abuse and neglect."

Marren's mouth drew down, the skin around her eyes tight, shoulders sagging ever so slightly. It was as good as a loudly-proclaimed confession. "I did not know what his brothers were doing to him. I wish I had. He should have come to me." She stared at her folded hands, lost in thought a moment, but finally looked up again and met his eyes. "I will always regret that he felt he could not come to me. Allen has pride and hates to be perceived as weak, something I did not teach him on purpose but which I should have watched for better than I did. It's apparent you think me malicious or selfish, Your Majesty, but understand that I love my son. A parent should not have favorites, but Allen very much is mine. I have never wanted anything but the best for him. Whatever missteps I made, they were not on purpose."

Sarrica grunted and leaned back in his seat once more. "I hope you punished his worthless brothers accordingly."

"Rest assured." Her tone was chilling, and Sarrica smiled in approval.

She lifted her chin slightly and cast him a look that reminded Sarrica of the fierce, no-nonsense women who had raised him before he was old enough to let the army deal with. "Speaking of my son and mistreatment he's endured, I would like to have the whole of the debacle that saw him captured and tortured. His letters to me leave gaps, and it's difficult to remove the dross from the truth with gossip."

"Fair enough," Sarrica said and recounted the whole of the tale, filling in Allen's portions as best he knew them.

Marren paled considerably at certain points, but only nodded when he finished. "Thank you. I am glad events turned out as well as they did, though I am sorry for the losses. I should like to meet Lord Rene."

"You'd have a hard time not meeting Rene," Sarrica replied with a laugh and finally picked up the tea he'd been ignoring. "In fact—"

They both turned as the door flew open, and Allen strode in, beautiful as always, eyes blazing with anger. "Sarrica, you'd better not be—" He froze, going as pale as Marren had a moment ago as his gaze landed on her. "Mother."

Marren set her tea aside and rose gracefully, gathering the skirts of her heavy gown as she walked over to Allen, who'd closed up in a way Sarrica hadn't seen outside of meetings with foreign officials or the council. He hated it. Marren stopped about a pace from him and smiled as she looked him up and down. "Just look at you. I'm so very proud."

Allen smiled tentatively back. "Thank you, Mother. It's good to see you. Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

"We wanted to surprise you, of course. Your father and dame will be most excited."

Allen's eyes widened a fraction, mouth dropping before he recovered himself. Sarrica really hated seeing him revert to old habits, stiff and cool and hard to read. It had its uses, but they weren't in court right now. He'd rather have Allen vibrant and expressive. Allen was happier when he felt he could unbend. His own damned mother shouldn't send him right back to his shell.

But at the look Lesto was sending him over Allen's shoulder, Sarrica held his tongue and settled for glaring right back. What had gone wrong? How had Allen found out?

Lesto rolled his eyes, which meant it had been something stupid. Well, he'd figure it out later.

He shifted his attention back to Allen and Marren, who still stood talking more like acquaintances than family. Sarrica had always thought his family a little distant at times, but at least he could remember being hugged, a kiss on his cheek.

Watching Allen and Marren, he wanted to shake sense into both of them. Lesto kept glaring, however, and now the others had arrived to add their own disapproving looks. Honestly, who was High King around here?

"You should rest, Mother," Allen finally said. "Let me introduce you to my friends and then you can do that, and we'll see that dinner is readied. I'll clear my schedule for the next few days so I can spend time with you."

Marren took the arm he offered, smiling faintly. "That is hardly necessary. I am content to amuse myself and see you in the evenings and where your schedule permits."

Allen did not reply, only began the introductions: to Lesto, Shemal, Rene, Tara, and Jac. She bowed her head to all of them, even Jac, which left Jac sputtering and red-faced.

When the introductions were at last made, Allen escorted his mother from the room, Jac shadowing them, leaving Sarrica and the others alone—and with a last parting look that said Words were going to be exchanged shortly.

Sarrica rounded on Lesto the moment the door was closed. "You were supposed to keep him from finding out!"

"How was I supposed to know we'd walk past servants panicking about the unexpected arrival? After that, it was all over. He knew very well at that point that he was being distracted. I promise it will be a beautiful funeral."

"If I'm going to my pyre, you're going with me," Sarrica said. "And don't think we're finished with our earlier argument, either. You're not my High Commander anymore. I can throw you in the stocks—"

"I think you two are worse now that he's not High Commander," Rene groused. "Be quiet already. We're sick of listening to you."

Sarrica and Lesto both glared at him. Rene rolled his eyes. Beside him, Shemal laughed.

Tara clucked his tongue. "Queen Marren is not the sort to arrive unannounced. She once refused to let an uninvited visitor on the premises, made him cool his heels in the city for an entire week until her schedule opened up. So why did she act so out of character?"

"She said she wanted to surprise him and not give him time to stress over the matter," Sarrica grumbled.

"It's true he would have made himself sick worrying over the matter," Lesto replied.

Sarrica shot him an annoyed look. "I would not have let him, and Allen prefers to be prepared."

Lesto smirked. "You seem particularly petulant. Was she not as evil incarnate as you were hoping?"

"Shut up unless you want to find out what it's like to be in stocks."

"I know what it's like to be in stocks," Lesto drawled. "Or did you forget the night Nyle put us both in them?"

"Shut up," Sarrica repeated.

Lesto kicked him and easily slipped out of range as Sarrica lunged at him. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," Sarrica snapped. "Get out of my office all of you so I may be eviscerated by my husband in privacy, please.

The others filed out, but Lesto, irritating ass that he was, lingered. "Tell me what's upsetting you."

"Nothing."

Lesto kicked him again and shoved him back down into his seat when Sarrica tried to retaliate. "Try again."

"I don't like seeing him so cold and reserved. It's like the day we met all over again." Sarrica scrubbed a hand over his face. "She may not deserve to be tossed down a well like I was hoping, but I don't like seeing him revert."

"So don't let him," Lesto said and strode from the office like it was his and he was granting Sarrica its use.

His solitude lasted just long enough to enjoy a cup of tea before it flew open and Allen strode inside, eyes once more full of anger—but that was infinitely better than seeing him closed off. "Why didn't you tell me my mother had arrived?"

"I was going to," Sarrica replied, keeping his seat as Allen reached him.

Allen narrowed his eyes, hands braced on his hips. "After you interrogated her, no doubt."

"Obviously."

"There is no obviously! She's my mother, and I know you don't like her, but you will not—"

"I'll do whatever I like when she is guilty of abuse and neglect," Sarrica snarled. "You love her and want to defend her, I respect that, but she freely admitted that her actions—and inactions—were mistaken and unwittingly brought you to harm."

"It's not your place," Allen hissed. "She's my mother and I want her left in peace."

Sarrica's mouth flattened. "I appreciate I'm being a domineering ass, but I will not simply stand by and let her do as she pleases, not when you cannot even be yourself in front of her for fear of how she will react."

Allen opened his mouth, then closed it. Some of his anger faded beneath puzzlement. "What are you talking about? I'm not afraid of my mother."

"Aren't you?" Sarrica asked, looking away to scowl at the food-laden table. "The day we met, if you can call it meeting, I thought you had all the warmth of snow. The moment you saw her, you returned to that demeanor. It was like seeing the man I love turn into a stranger. Or worse, someone who thinks he has to hide the way he is with me and his friends when his mother is in the room, like it's something to be ashamed of." He slowly dragged his eyes back to Allen, fully prepared to be yelled at for the next hour.

Instead, Allen looked close to tears, and Sarrica promptly felt punched in the gut—and like hitting himself.

"I'm not—I'm not ashamed of anyone," Allen said. "She's my mother—it's habit. My family isn't like yours. If I tried to hug my mother, she'd be horribly confused and possibly reprimand me for being so untoward in public. I'm not afraid of her, but I'd prefer she not spend this whole visit chiding me either. I can't believe you think—" He broke off and turned away—and cried out when Sarrica grabbed him and yanked.

He squirmed where he was sprawled in Sarrica's lap, but Sarrica had a good deal more weight and muscle. "She's immensely proud of you. Those weren't just words. She was quite willing to admit you are her favorite."

Allen's mouth flattened at that. "My mother is not the sort of woman to play favorite—"

Sarrica laughed, and just laughed harder when Allen glared at him. "She freely admitted it. Her exact words were: 'A parent should not have favorites, but Allen very much is mine'.  And you're so indignant I interrogated her, do you care at all she did the same to me?"

"She what?" Allen bristled. "Why is everyone talking about me behind my back? I don't need you or my mother or anyone else interrogating and yelling and reprimanding on my behalf. I can take care of myself, I can speak for myself, and I've about had it with nobody trusting that!"

"I trust you with my empire," Sarrica replied. "Of course I trust you with you."

"You're not acting like it."

Sarrica reached up, stifled a sigh when Allen jerked away. At least he wasn't trying to stand. "I trust you're loving and kind, especially regarding your mother, whom you idolize. I wanted to hear for myself that she appreciated that and was sorry for what she did and let happen to you. I may trust you, but I don't trust her. I almost let your brother near you because of my own ignorance; I wasn't about to repeat that mistake."

Allen looked angry again, but after a moment, he slumped and seemed to shrink in on himself. "I didn't realize I'd made you think my mother was so terrible. She's not. She's just strict and wants what's best for me."

"You are the only reason I was willing to give her a chance," Sarrica replied. "It's the rest of the world, and what your brothers did to you, that made me suspicious of her." He smiled crookedly. "I did not mean to make you think otherwise, and I am sorry for saying that you acted like you were ashamed. I hate seeing you so reserved; you seem happier when you can be open, even when that entails openly wanting to kill me." Relief swept through him when this time, Allen turned into his touch instead of pulling away from it.

A soft, fluttering kiss was pressed to his palm, then Allen turned to smile at him. "So are you and my mother going to get along now?"

"Yes, I think so. We agree you're magnificent, if nothing else."

Allen's pale gold skin turned pink. "Pretty compliments, Majesty. One might almost think you were trying to squirm your way out of trouble."

"Aren't I usually?" Sarrica asked.

Laughing, Allen leaned in and draped his arms around Sarrica's neck, kissed him long and leisurely. Sarrica settled his own arms around Allen's waist, fighting the temptation to do more, but only because he'd go right back to in trouble if he ruined Allen's hair and clothes there in the office.

Eventually drawing back, Allen licked his lips. "I suppose this unexpected visit means we will not be enjoying ourselves tomorrow."

"No," Sarrica replied mournfully.

Allen's mouth curved in a slow, mischievous smile that had Sarrica's complete and undivided attention. "Dinner won't be for a few hours, Tara is making certain we won't be disturbed, and Myra is already readjusting our schedules. I say enjoy while you can, Majesty."

Sarrica curled his fingers around the back of Allen's neck and dragged him close for a harder, toothier kiss that left them both panting. He lifted Allen from his lap and stood, and holding fast to Allen's hand as he led the way to the secret passages.

A few minutes later they appeared in his chambers. Sarrica went to the main rooms to throw the servants out and lock the door. When he was finally certain they were alone, he headed back to his bedroom. Allen stood at his bureau, pulling pins and jewels from his hair and leaving them amidst Sarrica's scattered belongings. Usually Allen returned to his own room to make certain everything was properly put away so it wasn't misplaced and his clothes weren't damaged.

Few things were as satisfying as knowing Allen was too impatient to fuss. Sarrica pressed up behind him, mouth going to Allen's throat while his fingers went to work on the fastenings of Allen's elaborate jacket. Stepping back, he drew the jacket off and set it neatly over a nearby chair, then shrugged out of his own and dropped it to the floor.

Allen tsked him playfully as he splayed his hands across Sarrica's chest, and Sarrica was as susceptible to Allen's obvious approval as ever. He walked backward to the bed, drawing Allen with him, and sat on the edge. He made quick work of Allen's shirt, and Allen himself discarded most of the rest before moving in to divest Sarrica of his remaining clothes, those long, pretty fingers once more lingering on his chest.

Sarrica held them fast there and leaned in to feast on Allen's mouth, not relenting on the pressure until he got a hard nip. Obediently releasing Allen's hands, he slid his own down to run his fingers along the delicate black lace Allen still wore because Allen wasn't the only one with an obvious weakness.

Thinking sadly of his ruined plans for spending most of tomorrow locked in their rooms and Allen wearing nothing but lace for most of it, he hauled Allen in close and moved them properly onto the bed—and oofed lightly as he was shoved onto his back and straddled. Far be it for him to complain.

Allen's hands once more splayed across his chest, the lace he still wore a delicious torture as it rubbed against Sarrica's trapped cock and overheated skin. He curled his hands around Allen's sharp hips, rubbing against lace and bare skin, relishing the shudders that earned him.

As hard as Allen worked at his appearance, there was something obscenely decadent about seeing him with his hair loose and mussed, naked save for the lace, and the tattoo that, on the surface, seemed completely out of character. He was more intoxicating than the finest brandy in Sarrica's extensive cellars.

Bending, Allen kissed him, as slow and leisurely as he had in the office. It was as teasing as it was thorough, enough to incite but not nearly enough to satisfy. Pulling slowly away, he trailed kisses along Sarrica's throat and down his chest, hands moving to brace on the bed as he slowly, slowly worked his way down.

"You're a damned brat," Sarrica bit out.

All that got was a soft, smug laugh before that too-talented tongue licked and lapped at Sarrica's cock, a soft touch there, then firmer, then gone completely.

"I'm going to kill you."

"Not until I'm finished, you're not," Allen said with a breathless laugh as he sat back on his heels.

Sarrica scowled. "Why are you stopping?"

"Maybe I'm content—" Allen yelped as Sarrica lunged and grabbed him. "Let me go."

Sarrica turned him so he was facing the door, his hand braced on the footboard. He pulled the lace drawers off and tossed them aside, skimmed that lovely ass with his hands. "Hmm, I wonder what you could take, given our activities this morning." Hastier than he'd cared for, but he'd woken early and availed himself of the opportunity, and he was relatively certain Allen had no complaints.

"F-find out," Allen's stutters turned into a groan as two of Sarrica's fingers slid right in.

Chuckling, Sarrica withdrew his fingers and pulled away long enough to find the lubricant anyway, returning just as Allen was trying to move. "Stay right where you are." Slicking his cock, he grabbed those sharp hips again and pushed carefully inside. Allen moaned, head dropping over the footboard, but he thrust back eagerly at the same time.

Obliging the unspoken command, Sarrica started fucking him, steady and deep, pausing whenever Allen tried to increase the pace, even when his continued existence was called into question. He kept at it until the begging started—and then he pulled out, moving to rest on his back once more and dragging a trembling, frustrated Allen on top of him.

Allen dug his nails into Sarrica's chest, tried to scowl at him, but quickly lost it as he was lifted up and then pushed down on Sarrica's cock. His eyes fluttered, closed, the nails easing off as he chose instead to brace himself.

Neither of them lasted long after that, Allen fucking himself on Sarrica's cock for a few hard, deep strokes before he gripped his own cock and spilled over them. Sarrica rocked into him as Allen shuddered through his climax, then flipped them and thrust hard once, twice, thrice more before burying his face in Allen's throat and coming with a deep groan.

Gently pulling out, he rolled over to sprawl on his back again, hot and sweaty but pleased the evening was turning out a lot better than he'd dared hope. "I guess there's no chance we can simply stay here the rest of the night?"

Allen laughed and rolled over to sprawl on his chest and along his side. "I'm not certain I could ever face my parents after abandoning them in favor of staying in bed with you all night, no matter how tempting."

"As long as it's tempting," Sarrica replied with a smile, eyes sliding shut.

"Very," Allen murmured and shifted a bit before settling in to doze right where he was.

Too short a time later, a servant rapped on the door and opened it just enough to inform them that dinner was in two hours. Sarrica heaved a sigh, and Allen did the same as he rolled away and sat up. He lingered to steal a kiss then vanished into his own room.

Sarrica admired the view until it was out of sight, then threw back the blankets and submitted to the tortures of his own servants.

Half an hour later, he and Allen joined the others in the gold salon—including a handsome man with silver hair, a woman who very nearly could have been his twin, and both of whom Allen resembled: Consort Kareen and Dame Eila. They bowed low. "Your Majesty, an honor to make your acquaintance," Kareen said with a brief smile. "We've heard many stories; it's nice to have a face to put to the name."

Eila stepped forward and hugged Allen, which earned a shadow of disapproval from Marren before she smoothed it from her face. Allen hugged her back tightly and smiled as she drew back. "I've missed you all." He turned his smile to Kareen. "You're looking well, Father."

"And you," Kareen replied gruffly. "Being High Consort suits you, which does not surprise me at all. You are your mother's son, down to the marrow."

Allen flushed. "I've still much to learn."

Sarrica snorted at that. "That is a lie if ever I've heard one, and everyone in this room knows it, so you can all stop snickering and exchanging looks." He cast a glare over the rest of the room, only to receive indolent looks and smirks in reply. Sarrica lifted his eyes to the ceiling and headed for the bar in the corner. He poured a glass of brandy for himself and a glass of wine for Allen.

Handing off the drink, he reached up to caress Allen's cheek before turning back to their guests. "You seem to be a family of silver tongues; I know I can speak fifteen words of Gaulden, ten of them not fit for polite company."

Allen burst out laughing, visibly startling all his parents. He stopped as he realized what he'd done and tried to hide behind a swallow of wine, but silence had already fallen.

Shemal stepped closer, his elaborate earrings glinting in the candlelight. If he noticed the stares he got, for even such a refined set as Allen's parents would not be used to a Farlander dressed like a Harken Duchen, he gave no indication. "I would wager, Majesty, that it's more like thirteen words are unfit for polite company, depending on how exactly the words are used."

"You're probably right," Sarrica replied. He nodded at Shemal. "He claims otherwise, but Shemal is something of a silver tongue himself, and I think the more time he spends around Allen, the better he gets. He's a natural ear for it."

"More like a highly honed desire not to be arrested," Shemal replied.

Lesto smiled from where he was leaning against the fireplace mantle. "Getting arrested isn't always a bad thing."

"You were not the one in chains," Shemal retorted.

Lesto's smile turned into a smirk.

Rene huffed where he was sitting on a chaise with Tara. "Can't any of you behave for five minutes?"

"I'm pretty sure you don't get to lecture anyone else on good behavior," Lesto retorted, pushing away from the mantle to stand next to Shemal.

Rene cast him a withering look.

Eila laughed, looking around the room with a smile. "No wonder your letters seem so much more relaxed these days." She smiled at Allen and stepped in to give him another hug. "I'm very happy for you, High Consort." She winked and stepped away. "You never did laugh or smile enough."

"I was busy," Allen said stiffly, flitting a glance at his mother, who, for the barest moment ,seemed sad.

Sarrica rested a hand at the small of Allen's back and said, "Well he's the darling of his secretaries and mine. They pretty much don't talk to me unless it's an order to sign something, or they can't convince Allen to take a break and need me to intervene."

Kareen smiled faintly and cast Marren a look. "Yes, I know the feeling—that is usually the only reason anyone summons me: my wife needs a break and insists otherwise, would I please come distract her."

The barest smile flitted across Marren's face, and the stiff line of her shoulders eased as she let Kareen draw her closer. Sarrica moved the conversation then to a trade agreement Allen had been wrangling all week, and would have laughed at the way father, mother, and son fell into animated conversation over the matter.

He slipped away to refill his drink, faintly surprised to see who followed him. "Dame Eila, I can see hints of you in Allen's smiles. You do not seem as… contained… as the rest of the family, if you do not mind me saying so."

"No, not at all," she replied easily, refilling her own wine glass with the same dry wine that Allen fawned over. "My brother was overlooked growing up; we come from a very large family and our elder siblings are hard to ignore. I'm not quite as vibrant as the rest of them, but not as quiet as Kareen. He is quiet, though, and more than happy to live in what some would call the shadow of his wife, though none of us sees it that way. But being quiet makes him easy to miss, and in turn, made him even quieter and sterner. Marren is severe by nature, though always with the best of intentions. Open affection is not a trademark of my culture, and Marren shows it differently. I am happy to see Allen has opened up more here." She patted his arm. "He lights up with you around; that makes for happy seeing."

Sarrica smiled briefly. "I assure you that wasn't always the case, though I'm happy it is now, and the feeling is mutual."

She patted his arm again, and he offered it as they went to rejoin the others right as dinner was announced—

and just in time to prevent Shemal and Marren arguing over some trade law regarding the Farlands. Lesto dragged Shemal away, Tara dragged off a snickering Rene, and Sarrica returned Eila to Kareen and Marren.

He'd just offered his arm to Allen when Marren stepped forward. "If you'll pardon, I would like a private word with my son, and we'll join you shortly."

"Of course," Sarrica said. "I would never deny you a conversation with your son, Majesty." He winked. "Only delay it."

"Sarrica," Allen hissed.

Smiling, Sarrica captured his chin and tilted his head up the slightest bit more, then bent and kissed him, brief but hard. Smile widening at the flush that provoked, he offered his arm again to Eila and led the way out of the room and down the hall to his private dining room.

Though he was plenty occupied keeping conversation going, part of his mind was preoccupied with what mother and son might be saying. As the first course was cleared away and the servants started setting out the second, he was about ready to go fetch them. Just as he'd made up his mind to do precisely that, the door opened and they walked in. Both looked as though they'd been crying. Sarrica narrowed his eyes, but Allen's fingers slipped through his hair as he passed behind Sarrica's seat to take his own at Sarrica's immediate right. In a more formal setting, he'd sit on the opposite end of the table, but where possible, Sarrica preferred him close—and so did everyone else.

Ignoring the food and everyone else, Sarrica leaned in close and murmured, "Are you well?"

"Yes, very well." Allen smiled, and Sarrica stole a quick kiss before sitting up again.

He narrowed his eyes as he caught Lesto staring at him with entirely too much smugness from where he sat at Sarrica's immediate left. "What?"

"Nothing," Lesto replied.

"Then stop smirking. Everyone already knows you're an infuriating bastard, no need to belabor the point."

Allen sighed. "You two have been even more absurd than usual. Is this about—"

"Yes," Sarrica cut in. "We're not discussing it because the matter is closed."

"No, it's not, you—" Lesto retorted.

"I will still put those pearls in places they don't belong."

Shemal turned from his conversation with Rene and Tara. "No need to drag the pearls into it, pick something else to misuse."

Lesto glared. "I'll deal with you after I'm done with him."

"Enough," Allen said. "Stop acting like children in front of my parents."

Marren smiled, reminiscent of the tentative smiles Allen had displayed at first, like she was afraid at being caught at something. "I cannot say Kareen and Eila and I acted very different in our younger days. What is this argument about?"

"They don't have the excuse of 'younger days' anymore," Allen said, staring blandly when they both shot him resentful looks. "Save your squabbling for tomorrow."

"If he doesn't drop the matter, there isn't going to be a tomorrow for him," Sarrica replied, but subsided with a huff as Allen gave him a look that promised he would not be seeing tomorrow either.

Lesto looked ready to upend his wine on Sarrica's head. "You think I'm going to drop the matter? You are the one who presumed—"

"Enough!" Allen said, and they both fell silent, though that silence was immediately filled by laughter from Rene, Tara, and Shemal. "I will lock you both in a closet until you concede you're bickering over what you both knew was inevitable. Now talk about something else."

Sarrica went for his wine instead, and left Allen and Tara to turn the conversation to other matters, happy to spend his own time between glaring at Lesto or smiling at Allen.

By the time dinner finally concluded and they had escorted Allen's parents to their suite, Sarrica was ready for bed. "So what did your mother say?"

"She… she apologized," Allen said, looking puzzled. "For things she did, or did not do, while I was growing up. I didn't need an apology, but…" He shrugged, looked down at the floor. "It was nice to hear some of the things she said, clear up misunderstandings I did not even know were there. I suppose I must blame you and your overbearing ways for that."

Sarrica scoffed. "I think she came to see you because she cares, and it would have come about one way or another."

Allen cast him a look. "Well, you no doubt hastened the matter. So why is Lesto so irate with you? Surely he can't be surprised by what you did."

"Lesto is stupid," Sarrica replied. "And a hypocrite and mad he could do nothing to stop me. Like he wouldn't have done the same damned thing in my position. Honestly, what else did he expect me to do with Nyle's private holdings?"

Allen laughed, rested his head against Sarrica's arm. "Give them to Nyle's children, I imagine."

"Nyle's children have more money than they'll ever know what to do with," Sarrica said gruffly. "Nyle's personal wealth should return to Fathoms Deep blood, and since Lesto is a stubborn ass, to Nyle's nephews it goes, and Lesto can kiss my ass."

Shaking his head and laughing some more, Allen replied, "How long is this squabbling going to last?"

"Another day or two. It's not like he can do anything about it. Everything is quite legal and the matter closed. Now enough about me and Lesto," Sarrica said as they stepped into their chambers and he closed the door.

Allen gave him a bland look even as he began to work on the fastenings of his gold and purple dinner jacket. "Did you want to discuss how we're going to entertain my parents during their stay?"

"Not even close," Sarrica replied as he swept Allen into his arms and carried him into the bedroom.

Black magic ficbit

For Alessandra, just because <3

----


Koray dismounted, nearly falling to the stones of the ward as his knees gave out. Myst reached out to steady him, smiling in sympathy. "Good to be home, huh?" he shouted over the pouring rain.

"Yes," Koray replied fervently. "Thank you." He headed off into the keep, sighing as icy rain was replaced with warmth and dryness. The castle was always drafty, and he'd feel it soon enough, but for the moment it was the warmest he'd been all day.

Home, finally, after days away taking care of ghosts that resulted from an unexpected illness killing half a village. Thankfully whatever had struck them hadn't spread further, and he'd stay away a few extra days to ensure he wouldn't carry anything to the royal castle, but Goddess had he hated it.

Servants came bustling up, and Koray was happy to let them strip off the worst of his sodden clothes and pull on dry ones that must have been hanging by a fire in expectation of his return. "Thank you," he said. "Where is—" A familiar raucous laugh spilled out of the great hall. "Nevermind." The servants laughed and smiled as they hurried off.

Myst came up behind him, still in his armor, but given how efficiently it sluiced water he was a good deal less worse off than Koray had been. They walked together to the great hall, a smile already overtaking Koray's face in anticipation of seeing Sorin again after just over two weeks apart.

But he drew up short to see Sorin sitting with a beautiful, regal-looking woman at the high table. She'd rested a hand on his arm, was smiling at him fondly as he laughed at something she'd said. Anxiety soured Koray's happy anticipation.

Beside him, Myst whistled. "That's Lady Winesta."

"Who?" Koray asked frostily, running the name through his mind but finding no memory of her.

Myst grinned. "Lady Winesta. She used to live here in the palace, years and years ago, worked in the library." His grin widened. "His Highness was madly in love with her, followed her everywhere, was determined to win her heart." He started snickering.

Koray felt like someone had punched him in the face.

Myst's laughter abruptly died. "Oh, Goddess—Sorin is going to kill me—I didn't mean it like that!" He glanced in a panic toward Sorin, who chose that moment to look their way, and blanched at the angry look that overtook his features as he saw Koray watching them unhappily. "I'm dead, may the Goddess have pity and strike me where I stand before the High Paladin gets his hands on me." He rested a hand on Koray's shoulder and talked faster as Sorin stood and came toward them. "I meant when he was a boy. He was all of fourteen summers, and she has at least twelve years on hm. She's more like a big sister to all of us, but at least half the men in this place were once little boys madly in love with her. That's why it's funny."

"Oh," Koray said, but held back a smile as Sorin thundered their way. "You should run. I'll soothe the beast."

Myst didn't waste time thanking him, simply turned and bolted down the hallway.

Koray tossed his soggy braid and lifted his chin as Sorin reached him. "Good evening, My Lord High Paladin. I hope you've been enjoying yourself flirting with lost loves while I worked hard and struggled all day to get home to you in this wretched weather. Clearly I should have taken my time and accepted the offer to linger made to me by a very handsome farmer."

Dismay and confusion and jealousy filled Sorin's face, warring for dominance—and then it all cleared away, replaced by happy realization. "Farmer, is it, necromancer? I have it on good authority I have brains that resemble wet hay, surely that's close enough to farmer if that's where your tastes are leaning."

"You're still giving your brains too much credit," Koray retorted, and swept off past him down the hall, ignoring the grins and laughter of those familiar with their antics. Servants hastened to finish setting him a place at the high table. He wasn't surprised that Lady Winesta and Sorin were the only ones there; Cerant and Neikirk most often ate in the temple, and Brekk ate in his rooms with Emel. He and Sorin were the only ones who ate I the great hall regularly.

He'd made it halfway down the long length of the great hall when his wrist was grabbed and Sorin deftly spun him around and dragged him in close. "You forgot my kiss, necromancer."

"I didn't forget anything, you flirtatious lout," Koray replied, the smile harder to bite back that time. "You are the one who clearly forgot all about me, too busy flirting to pay attention when you were told I was on my home." He jerked his head away when Sorin leaned in, but didn't fight when Sorin's fingers threaded through his short braid and dragged him close, forced him to hold still as his mouth was plundered.

Koray shuddered against him, clung to the front of Sorin's tunic. He was so warm, it was like being embraced by a fire. If there was any better homecoming, Koray could not fathom it. Nothing was home like Sorin sweeping him up and kissing him breathless.

Even if they were once again making spectacles of themselves in the middle of the great hall. He would never figure out how he'd gone from a man who despised attention to always being the center of attention.

Finally drawing back, Sorin grinned, "Good evening and welcome home, My Lord High Necromancer. You've been sorely missed."

"Have I? Because you looked plenty pleased—" He grunted as Sorin bit his bottom lip. "It's good to be home, paladin. Now put me down."

"If you insist." Sorin stole another quick kiss then let Koray slide back down to the floor. "Come and meet an old friend while you eat. When we got the notice you were close, I had the cooks prepare your favorite."

Koray did smile then, and curled a hand around one of Sorin's massive arms as they approached the high table. The woman, Lady Winesta, rose and swept him a beautiful bow as they approached. "Your Highness, it's an honor to make your acquaintance. Sorin has told me much about you."

Flushing, Koray waved her back to her seat. "The honor is mine, and I am sorry this rock-headed idiot can find nothing more interesting to talk about."

She frowned slightly, but took her seat and picked up her cup of wine.

Sorin reclaim his seat between them, sprawling out in that way of his. Koray ached to drag him to bed, as much for the simple pleasure of curling up against him and sleeping for hours as for the needs that kissing Sorin had stirred despite his exhaustion. "So how was the village?"

"Many died, and we were worried the illness had spread, but the priests who accompanied us says they think there was something foul in the food many of them ate, though we were cautious and lingered a few spare days to be certain none of us became sick as well. But the village is purified, though that's of little comfort to those who survived."

"I'm sorry," Sorin said. His fingers trailed over Koray's hair as he silently looked for new streaks of gray or white.

Koray batted his hand away. "Stop your fussing and let me eat."

"Telling me to stop fussing over you is like—"

"Expecting you to use your brains," Koray cut in. "Believe me, My Lord High Paladin, I am well aware of the futility, but I am informed that replacing you would be more difficult than simply continuing to endure you."

Sorin's eyes glittered with amusement and challenge.

"Sorin is one of the smartest people I know," Winesta said sharply. "I thought you were his lover."

"He is—"

"I am," Koray said at the same time.

Winesta's mouth pinched. "Why would you speak so rudely—so meanly—to and about a man you claim to care about? Are you always so dismissive of him? Especially after all I know he's done for and because of you."

"It's not like that," Sorin said.

The look she gave him could only be described as pitying. Koray's appetite withered and died. "I'm not mean."

"Really? Because you seem to me to be exactly the worst kind of lover: You provoke him to jealous fits, you call him names and insult his intelligence, you demand he pay you attention to the point of making unseemly spectacles of yourselves. I would think a man who has suffered the way I've heard you had, High Necromancer, would be less mean and manipulative a lover. I'd heard rumors, but I had hoped they were wrong. Clearly they were not.

Koray was going to be sick. Was that what everyone thought of him? He'd thought it was obvious—

He rose and stormed from the great hall, grateful that he and Sorin had long ago moved back into what had been the king's solar. He threw up what little he'd eaten, then washed his mouth out with brandy from the table in the far corner. Then he drank more, hoping the burn of it would sear away the shame that filled him.

The door slammed open and Koray jumped, the glass slipped from his fingers to clatter to the table, spilling brandy everywhere before it rolled off. He barely caught it in time to avoid it shattering, and set it on the table with trembling fingers as Sorin strode toward him. "I'm—I'm sorry, I didn't—"

Sorin's mouth slammed down over his. He kissed Koray so hard his mouth hurt, and the fingers in his hair gripped so tightly he whined, but when Sorin started to pull away Koray clung to his wrists and chased his mouth.

Eventually, though, Sorin pulled away, and Koray had to face reality again. "Is that really what everyone thinks?"

"No," Sorin said fiercely. "If you had stayed a moment longer you would have seen the entirety of the great hall lose their temper on your behalf. Lady Winesta is currently hiding in her room, as she damn well should. She wanted to apologize to you, but I said there wasn't a chance she'd see you before tomorrow. I'm sorry."

Koray sniffled, hated that tears threatened. "I can't believe that's what people think."

"There's nothing more exciting to bored, discontent fools than malicious gossip," Sorin replied. "Trust me, the list of ugly rumors surrounding me would take days to read off. I'm accounted everything from a murderer to secretly to a demon. I'm also well-documented as a bed-hopping slut." He smiled crookedly as Koray scowled. "So really this is just one more stupid rumor that will sweep along for a little while then fall to the wayside when something newer and more entertaining comes long." He cupped Koray's face, wiped away stray tears with his thumb. "I promise nobody who matters believes such a stupid rumor. As I said, the entire castle just roared to your defense."

"Still, I don't want anyone to think that I actually believe you're stupid and incompetent, or that I take pleasure—"

"Of course you take pleasure in calling me an idiot," Sorin cut off with a laugh. He dragged Koray with him over to the oversize chair by the fire, drew him down so he was straddling Sorin's lap, legs pinned between Sorin's legs and the sides of the chair, his arms with nowhere to go but around Sorin's neck. "But I would have to be an actual idiot to miss the affection in your tone when you say it. Everyone in this place, and many well beyond, know it's a game we play. If we hadn't mocked-argued over my boyhood infatuation it would have been over something else. I like you prickly. I always have, even when you were actually questioning my intelligence."

He closed the space between them and kissed Koray softly, sweetly, eventually drawing back only just enough to say, "You may not use conventional means, necromancer mine, but I know 'I love you' when I hear it, and everyone knows you are my sun and moon."

"You're an idiot," Koray said, and kissed him until his sore lips throbbed in protest.

Sorin smiled. "Shall I call for supper since you didn't finish yours in the hall? You must be hungry."

"I can eat later. I'd rather satisfy a different need right now," Koray replied, stubbornly ignoring his own flushed cheeks.

"I see." Sorin's soft expression turned into something sharper and hungrier. His large hands splayed under Koray's thighs and then he was standing, carrying Koray along like he weighed nothing. Koray shivered and held on tighter, nibbled lazily at Sorin throat, at the point where jaw and throat connected that always made Sorin shiver and moan.

He was dumped on the bed and quickly relieved of his clothes. There was a chill in the air despite the fire, but as usual cold air was no match for the heat Sorin put out, those huge hands skimming over Koray's skin and setting him on fire.

"I have missed you, necromancer," Sorin said, stripping off most of his clothes and casting them aside. He retrieved the jar of oil from the table beside the bed, then returned to stand between Koray's spread thighs. Setting the jar on the bed, he returned to running his hands over Koray's body, stroking and pinching and caressing, moving down to tease his cock before shifting away again, easily batting Koray's hands aside whenever he tried to stop Sorin or touch in his turn. "I intend to have my fill of you, necromancer."

Koray tried to squirm free, but only got his hands pinned together against his chest for his effort while Sorin's free hand wrapped around his cock. "What if I want my fill of you?"

Sorin leered, let go of his cock to slick his fingers. "You'll be filled with me soon, don't worry."

"Idiot," Koray said with a huff.

Chuckling, Sorin release his hands, but only so he could continue stroking and teasing while his other hand steadily worked Koray open. "You're tight."

"That doesn't sound like a complaint," Koray said, then gasped and clung to the sheets, writhing at the stretch, the slight burn. Constantly surrounded by other people, seldom left alone long enough to sleep for than a couple of hours, he hadn't had opportunity even to tend himself.

Sorin's free hand fumbled at Koray's hair, until he finally got it free. Koray huffed again, but reached up to come the strands out himself. His hair still wasn't as long as it had once been, but it was slowly reaching that point.

"Satisfied?" he asked. "No new streaks."

"Good," Sorin replied, and withdrew his fingers. Koray whimpered, but didn't have to wait long as Sorin quickly slicked his cock and pushed inside him with infuriatingly slow movements. He groaned, head dipping, arms bracing on either side of Koray as he worked in deeper and deeper.

Koray clung to his sweaty back as Sorin held still for a few moments. Eventually, though, Koray grew tired of the overly cautious treatment. He dug his nails into Sorin's shoulders and bit his ear. "I've waited long enough, paladin, and despite your insistence otherwise I am not in fact made of glass. Fuck me or I'll just return to that handsome farmer—" he broke off with a ragged cry as that got him exactly what he wanted.

It was almost too much, which just made it perfect. Koray could do little more than hold tight and take it, but that also suited him just fine. He'd never admit it aloud, but there was nothing better than all that heat and strength and fierceness given over to the sole purpose of pleasing the two of them.

His nails dug in deeper as he came, but his hands slid away as he slowly calmed. Sorin gave a last few stuttering thrusts, and kissed Koray through his climax. Koray lifted his suddenly heavy arms again to wrap around Sorin, holding him close as they both slowly calmed.

Sorin rose and gently withdrew, scooped Koray up and settled him properly on the bed. Then he slipped away to clean up, and returned to clean Koray as well. "Shall I have food brought now?"

"Come to bed, paladin. If I know the palace staff, which I do, they will bring food all on their own eventually. I'm tired and getting cold again."

Smiling, Sorin went around the room to put out the lights and throw more wood on the fire. Then he crawled naked into bed and pulled Koray close.

And Koray really wasn't surprised that Sorin fell asleep first; the idiot had probably barely bothered to sleep the whole time he was gone. Cuddling a bit closer, Koray closed his eyes and slept.

Intertwined

Good Afternoon, Peeps ^__^

Since Intertwined is a not so secret favorite of mine, I am doing it's debut post myself. There are two giveaways, one right here for the first six books and Prism Book Alliance will be hosting a giveaway for the remaining five next week.

We all know how much I love poly. Harem Master recently came out, and my nano project is a fantasy story about four men accidentally bonded together until they kill the demon that destroyed their city (this would be the foursome porn with telepathy that I've been bitching about all week. Do not do telepathy. Definitely don't do telepathy if you have to write foursome porn).

So I was pretty damn stoked when we first launched this call, and I have been increasingly excited as every book came to me ready for final touches. They offer a little bit of everything: office shenanigans, professor and students, friends to lovers, angels to the rescue, rivals and incubus funtimes, a witch in the woods, beautiful, deadly demons, modern Greek gods, frog shifters, a quirky triad, and a fantasy that proves everything is possible.

Something for everyone, be you an old hat at poly or just starting to wade in ^__^ Scope them out, try for one below, and whether you do or not, have a lovely week! :)


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Full Moon Blog Tour

My birthday is October 13th. Much like kids born in February or December, it's really hard not to have the world tie my birthday up in the holiday attached to that month. Unlike the poor bastards born in February and December, I've never had any problem with this :3 Growing up many of my birthday parties were costume parties. One of my favorite movies in all the world is The Nightmare Before Christmas. I grew up with a mother who read us Stephen King for bedtime stories.

So it'd be hard for me not to love the moon, paranormal stuffs, and devote a not insignificant chunk of my time writing and reading it. Now I have a new fantasy book coming out Nov 4th, but for this tour it definitely seemed more apropos to stick to paranormal.

Since there are faces new and old along for this tour, and sharing books I love is my favorite thing to do, here are a few of my favorite paranormal or otherwise night/moon-centric tales.


[1] Master of the Lines series by Angelia Sparrow - vampires! Probably the most moon-centric book on this list, though that doesn't become clear until the last couple of books and explaining why would be spoilery :3 Vision is my true love!


[2] Tooth & Claw series by Amelia Faulkner - vampires and werewolves. A blind vampire, even, and extremely well done. I am currently pining away for the next book to come out. If you want something different in the way of vampires, here you go.


[3] Charmed and Dangerous anthology - lots of favorite peeps in this book, and some truly amazing stories. If you're like me and don't always have time to read long stuff, this is a good set of short stories to keep you occupied for a few nights.


[4] Song of the Spring Moon Waning - rare to see a story about China, especially an historical, and this has fantasy elements and is still one of my favorite stories ever.

[5] The Warder series by Mary Calmes - Sinnerman is my favorite of the set, but they're all good. I reread them all the time, was very very excited when I bought the prints and got Mary Calmes to sign them ^_^


If you give them a try, I hope you enjoy! :D
-----

My contribution to the giveaway for this tour are the five main books of my Dance with the Devil series, which revolve primarily around the lives of various paranormal detectives. The first, Dance with the Devil, is about Christian. He is unique in that he is half ghost, something that even the paranormal world in all its oddities has never really seen. Midnight is about an ancestor of his, a powerful, eccentric witch who's ward is a special, one of a kind draugr. Dance in the Dark is about Johnnie, a normal human who was adopted by a powerful vampire, and who learns there is more to how that happened than he ever realized. Dance Only for Me is about a sorcerer who encounters a demon that shouldn't exist, and Sword of the King is about the unique dragons of the Dance world, who are split between the mysterious dragons of the Clans, and the dragons raised for pit fights by the Syndicates. If you win them, I hope you have fun reading! ^__^

Have fun with the rest of the tour! You can enter the raffle here for the chance to win various prizes. Thanks for stopping by ^__^

Argh, Cats

So as well known, Sasha and I recently bought a house. It's been an adventure of the kind I never want to do again, though I'm very happy we have a home.

One of the frustrations of the new place is cats. We had five. Found a homeless kitten (or rather, she ran off from a home we think was abusing her), so now we have six. But the same house owns this gray and white asshole cat who like to come up to our windows and sliding door and terrorize our cats. We're getting kind of sick of it.

My question for the internet: does anyone have effective tips for making this cat leave us the fuck alone. Yes, we could close the windows, but 1) we enjoy the short stretches of pretty weather where we can leave them all open and 2) my cats love it even more and I'm not taking away one of their favorite things because of Asshole.

We're trying thing on the window sills (coffee grounds and foil so far), and we're going to get spray bottles. But those are hard because he literally just goes around to every window in the house so it's hard to know where he'll pop up next, and he bolts fast when he sees a human so it's unlikely we'll ever be able to spray him.

I could call animal control, but that's a last resort. There's no telling what they'll do to him, and I don't want to start off living here by pissing my neighbors the fuck off (possibly pissing them off MORE since they know we have the kitten and sure as fuck aren't giving it back. She was 12 weeks when we found her, weighed 2.5 lbs, and had three kinds of worms. We are NOT giving her back).

So, advice is welcome, if you have experience in this sort of thing and know effective (at least possibly effective) solutions.

<3 p="">Meg

Busy Busy Busy

So a brief sum of things and why you won't be seeing much of me or Sasha.

Sasha and I have been attempting to buy a house. It started out smoothly, but the endgame has been a little rocky. The TL;DR is that we're not sure where we're going to be living come the beginning of August. At the same time we're supposed to be doing to DC for Outwrite DC. So how are we closing, moving, and traveling all at once?

::laughs hysterically::

My parents are very kindly letting us crash with them for a bit. But that still leaves storing our crap and getting closing shit done hours before we have to drive to DC. Then we have to come back and move into the house.

So from about tomorrow (Saturday the 17th) through [date unknown] in August you aren't going to see us much. Because on top of all that we still have a company to run, and there's going to be a brief spate of days where Sasha and I don't have internet.

Don't even get me started on our poor kitties. They're going to throw up on our beds in revenge for like a month straight.

Thank you to all the peeps who have been reading Risk it All, and those who dropped a line to say you liked it :) I do have plans to write stories about Tori's brothers, and you'll see Tori and Rick a little bit in Shield of the Dragon.

Now back to work. Lots to do, lots to do ^^

Everybody have a good weekend! <3 p="">

Release Day - Risk it All

Yay! Risk it All is at last out, I hope peeps have been enjoying it. I really hope those who remember the original enjoy the rewrite, I was really happy to finally go back and do a better job of their story. I do plan on doing the other brothers at some point. As ever, time enough to do it is the tricky part. But I really really want to knock out some DwtD stuff and maybe bring that series to a close in the next few years, so you'll ideally see them sooner rather than later.

Kipling is fun to write, because he's quiet and sweet but also could kill you in .003 seconds. And as always, I love my dragons, even if Siege and Perilous are pretty lowkey in this story. Tori is probably my favorite of the three brothers, though at the end of the day it's really hard to pick.

I am not very good at babbling today, I'm a LOT stressed over house stuff. Buying a house should not be so goddamn stressful x_x But hopefully this time next month it'll all be over with and we'll have a house. Cross your fingers for us!

In other writing news, we managed to fit in my lesbian mermaid story, which will now come out in September. If you like that sort of thing, or are game for something different, give it a try :3 Note this story was originally released in Vixen a few years ago, so if you have that anthology there's no reason to buy this story again.

And of course many peeps are eagerly awaiting November and the release of The High King's Golden Tongue. I am anxious to see what everyone thinks, NGL. But I think it's one of my best books, I am so very very happy with it.

Now I must get back to work. LT3 stuffs to knock out, packing to do, and I am going to finally finish The Painted Crown if it kills me.

There are a couple of other projects in progress, more on them when I have firm details.

I hope everyone is having an excellent week. As always, much love for your support.

Officially On Vacation (And WIP: SotD)

Sam, Sasha, and I are off to Las Vegas. If there's an emergency, we'll deal with it, otherwise you won't hear much from us re: work. We'll be back in action roundabout the 20th (though Sasha and I will be quiet/missing in batches over the next couple of months as we go through the hurdles of house buying).

In parting, I leave you with most of chapter one of Shield of the Dragon. You get to meet Diamond, and we'll see if you can guess the special guest(s) :3 As ever, this is the rough draft so pardon errors, etc.

Last Call (and a snippet)

It's May thirty-first, which means in ten days I go on vacation. That means anyone who needs something from me has until the fifth to email or otherwise contact me about it. I will attempt to deal with all of them up until the ninth, after which point everyone waits until I'm back in action on the twentieth.

I am not very good at whittling down my writing to dos, for every one story I complete I seem to add three more. I've been briefly sidetracked working on a side story for The High King's Golden Tongue. It's about Lesto, who is significantly more prominent in the rewrite than he was in the original.

After that, it's back to my to do list and sticking firmly to it because I really want to finish certain stories and am tired o getting waylaid.

The first story I'll be finished, which right now is just shy of being half done, is The Painted Crown, book two (of three) of the trilogy that The Engineered Throne decided to become, since I couldn't do Bertin's story until I took care of something else first. TPC is about Prince Istari, former general, ex-sniper, and current hostage of Tallideth :3 I don't think I've posted any of this yet? But if I'm wrong yell at me. First 3000 words, apologies for any errors, it's still very much a WIP.

I hope everyone has a lovely week ^__^

WARNING: VACATION

This is official notice to all and sundry that I am going on vacation in June. With Samantha and Sasha. The update will be done the week we're gone, but that's it (and pretty much all of that is Sasha). I am closing my email, ignoring the internet, the only thing I may take my laptop for at all is to write.

I will be busy doing last minute shit like packing and all from June 5th on, and that is the last day you have to get in touch with me. On June 9th I officially go dark, and you will not hear from me again until June 20th. No exceptions, exchanges, or refunds. LT3 has worked basically nonstop without anything but working vacations since we started, and we need a break. So we're taking one.

We'll be spending a week (the 10th-17th) in Las Vegas :D Samantha's been before, but Sasha and I have not, and we're all really looking forward to it. We've got a spa visit scheduled, a day long trip to the Grand Canyon, a reservation at a Gordon Ramsey restaurant, and a whole list of other things to see and do.

I've got a lot to do in the meantime so that I don't come back to huge piles of work (I still will, but ideally I'll minimize the number of piles). So you will probably see less of me online the next few weeks and then not at all, and I'll return once we're home and have decompressed (which is why you won't hear from me until the 20th).

So this is your warning: if you need me, speak sooner rather than later. Because I'm dead serious about not checking emails and such while I'm relaxing and having fun.

Everybody have a good week.

Release Day - The Harem Master

I have a penchant for pretty boys in jewelry and very little else. It's cropped up in basically any story where I could possibly get away with it. I love poly, and above all else I like taking something that frustrates me and writing it in a way that doesn't frustrate me.

Regarding all of Tavamara verse, I was provoked by two things: Slave fic is a squick for me, and I got really tired of stories where a man was dragged into a king's harem, which was all women, in a country where homosexuality was wrong, and no one ever seemed to take issue (or The Bad Guy takes issue and once he's been taken care of everything goes back to being fine). It's sloppy world building.

So I wanted to create a world where sexual servants were an important part of the culture, but they weren't slaves. I wanted a society, too, where homosexuality wasn't an issue.

In fact, I wound up with a culture where bisexuality is common (and even expected to a degree, for good and bad, since no culture is perfect), where the greatest taboo is having children out of marriage (and therefore men and women do not sleep with each other before marriage) and so the culture developed a practice of same sex lovers while unattached.  Only the royal family are allowed to retain lovers after marriage, a sign of their status and power.

But also, and most importantly, an indication of their right and worthiness to rule, since concubines willingly and happily surrender their lives to serve and will do so until the monarch they've sworn themselves to dies. A monarch without concubines isn't to be trusted (and royals have been passed over in Tavamara's history for this reason). They have a long history with the priesthood, and it's considered one of the greatest honors in the kingdom.

It's always been very, very important to me that they do it willingly, that they're not slaves (and I definitely very much on purpose made one of their greatest enemies an enormous empire whose wealth is built on slavery).

I have no problem with people who write/read/enjoy slave fic, I will fight anyone who tries to come down on them. But it's a hard limit for me, and I wanted to write a story that had concubines and sexual service, submission and devotion and power plays, that didn't include slavery and rape and violence.

The King's Harem was a good start, and Sandstorm is the kind of adventurous romp that I love. But The Harem Master is definitely the one I'm proudest of so far. It takes place several generations before the other two, and many of the harem traditions in the first two are in fact established in THM.

Though Demir and his relationship with Ihsan and his harem are the main focus of the story, I was supremely happy I also finally got to include a princess and her harem. I've always put it off because women get treated horribly in M/M fiction, and like so many authors I didn't want to make readers angry and stop reading. But I'm really past done with sacrificing my own happiness and ideas for people who think that it's ever okay to hate on women. So you get a harem master, a prince, a princess, and all the people who love them.

And I'm not going to lie, one of my crowning moments is that my mom finally broke down and gave the Tavamara books a chance and she went from not really getting poly to demanding when the fuck I'm writing the next one, stop slacking Megan April Derr.

All my love to those who read it as a serial. I have a penchant for cliffhangers that stressed a few people out :3 So I'm grateful no one has actually killed me yet. I hope all those who have been patiently waiting for the ebook, and those who are taking a chance on something new, enjoy it.

Lord Demir has spent his life trying to appease a brutal, selfish king, and keep the concubines under his care alive—and now he is on the verge of losing everything. The council wants to abolish the harems, there are no heirs to the throne, and the foreigners control the Steward. One wrong move will tip tensions into civil war.

Crown Prince Ihsan returns to find his home in turmoil, and the royal court so full of vipers it's impossible to say which of them will strike first. Removing his father from the throne, one way or another, should be a simple matter. Staying alive and proving himself a worthy king will be far more difficult.

Crown Princess Euren has spent the last five years in hiding so that she could not be used against her father or Ihsan. But she is the daughter of a soldier, never meant to wear a crown, never trained to fight battles where words are the weapon of choice. If she hopes to keep herself and her loved ones alive, she'll have to learn fast.

LT3 | Amazon | ARe | Kobo

I hope everyone has a good rest of the week and a lovely weekend ^__^