Page 14 of My Princeling Brat (Tales from the Tarot #2)

Prince Cedrych

I’d stormed into Lord Vasil’s study, intent on having it out with him, and had somehow ended up kneeling before him and licking my own spend from his shoe?

How did that happen? One minute I was furious and ready to fight him; the next I was following his every command. Did he also have the ability to control minds? Even more terrifying, could it possibly be that I… enjoyed it?

Goddess above, if the daily scrolls caught wind of this, they would eat me alive. I could just see the headline now: Fae Prince Caught Licking the Shoe of Elvish Lord, Begs for More

What if my mother found out?

Do not disappoint me.

Her threat rang like a death knell in my skull as I splashed cold water on my face and tried to calm my racing heart. If my mother knew I’d knelt for Lord Vasil, how I’d allowed him to step on my balls and command me to come then lick my spend off his shoe…

She’d use it as a reason to deny me power and prestige. I could kiss my father’s lands goodbye.

Curse me.

Even worse, if Lord Vasil were to come in here right now and demand any number of debased things, I would surely comply, because it felt good. Too good. I’d have done far more if given the opportunity.

Because I liked it. Because I needed it.

Which meant that I couldn’t allow that opportunity to present itself ever again.

I glanced around my chambers. All of my trunks were now unpacked, my emerald green coats and trousers intermingled with elvish blue.

I’d have to have my things sent for later.

I’d sneak out after dark and go down to the harbor, pay a merchant ship for passage through the Lunar Straits back to Emrallt Valley.

Once there I’d inform my mother that the betrothal was over and suffer her wrath.

It was far better than staying here and becoming Lord Vasil’s…

Pet?

I didn’t know the word for what I’d become, however briefly, in the lord’s study.

I only knew that it wasn’t befitting of a member of the fae monarchy and certainly not the second-born son of my father, King Reginald Avondale of Bivenbriar.

Lord Vasil had unearthed urges within me that were better left buried forever, and once I was out of his proximity, I could go back to being the man that I was–in command and in control.

Except that I hadn’t been in control in Emrallt Valley. Drinking every night and starting fights surely wasn’t the best version of myself, either… was it?

From now on, I’d dedicate myself to training and become the best soldier I could be.

I’d earn my mother’s respect and my own autonomy, and if that wasn’t possible, then I’d learn a trade and support myself.

Something manual to keep my body busy and my mind distracted so that I’d not dream of Lord Vasil’s icy voice, his incendiary gaze, or his hard cock.

If only he’d let me suck him then I might have at least put that fantasy to bed.

A knock at the door startled me and I spun around, prepared for an attack.

“Yes?” I called out, frozen in place.

“Cedrych, may I escort you to dinner?”

Goddess almighty, Lord Vasil was at my door.

Had it been a few minutes or a few hours since I’d last seen him?

I couldn’t determine, but one look from him, one precise word, and I’d crumble and confess.

He would force me to confront the needy, wanton thing I’d become in his study, that worm.

No, it simply would not do, not if I intended to escape with my dignity intact. So, I took the coward’s way out.

“I’m feeling unwell,” I called back.

A pause and then, “May I enter?”

“No,” I said too quickly. He was quiet, but he remained at my door. I could practically hear the cogs in his clever mind turning.

“Cedrych, please do not shut me out.” He sounded hurt. The plea in his tone made me want to open the door and let him inside, but there was too much at stake. My reputation and my pride.

“I think I overtaxed myself today,” I said, which was one version of the truth.

The silence that stretched between us was torturous, but I bit my tongue and waited.

“Very well,” he said at last. “I’ll have your dinner sent up.”

I nodded but did not respond. The slant of the sun’s rays told me I had roughly two hours to figure out my plan of escape.

My honor and that of the fae depended on it.