Page 13 of Zepharali: Lord of the East Winds (Lords of the Wind Book 3)

Zepharali

Zepharali struggled not to turn back and check the prince’s reaction.

But he didn’t have to. He felt it.

Theodor and Boraleashe mounted their stallions and eased up beside him.

“Are you certain you know what you’re doing, Zeph? I have a bad feeling about him. He’s dark and silent.” Boraleashe scowled. “Why won’t he speak? Doesn’t that give you pause?”

“All of this gives me pause, Boraleashe.”

Zepharali called for one of his daughters. He had many and knew each one personally as they were all he had from his lost loves. They were his elite legion force.

“Eirene, my dearest.”

“Yes, Father.”

“Ride ahead and alert the Sergeant of the Wall to prepare to announce the Titan of the North and his King of Tir an Fhomhair. And ready the—”

“No need, titaness,” Boraleashe interrupted, “I’m leaving immediately before I turn into vapor.”

Zepharali couldn’t contain his amusement. “You’re so damn dramatic. Are you all sure you won’t stay and rest a day? You and your king are more than welcome and will be shown our greatest hospitality.”

“Thank you, but we’re going back to Scáthanna. There is still much to repair and mend of Boraleashe’s Arctic World.” Theodor reached out and shook his hand. “Know we’re only a breath away if you need us. We won’t hesitate to return. And may the gods bless you, Lord Zepharali.”

“Blessings, Your Highness,” he returned before he and Fire Breath bolted into the sky.

Zepharali’s head was spinning, his chest constricting the farther away he got.

His stallion crested the lavish green Halomere Hills. He’d never been more relieved to see the towering spires of his home, Helios Sonrun, named after the god of the sun.

His three suns were at their highest points, their rays emitting a limitless amount of power channeled through a network of conduits and solar panels, transforming his palace into a celestial wonder.

It was a beautiful sight for his weary eyes.

He didn’t have Fire Breath land in the courtyard as usual. He didn’t want to encounter the heads of his courts and their probing questions. Especially since he had no answers.

He leapt from his stallion’s back and landed with a thunderous bang on the balcony of his private quarters.

Zepharali moved through the vast rooms until he was at the doors to his bedchamber.

His personal aides leapt off the bed, where they’d been wrapped in each other’s arms, and rushed toward him.

Dyan and Lyan were incubi who worked well together to make Zepharali comfortable or look his best when he went out.

He threw his hand up, stopping them in their tracks. “I don’t require assistance right now. Give me a moment.”

His men appeared confused at his state, but he had no time to explain.

Zepharali closed and locked himself in his bath chamber and leaned against the double doors.

His muscles were tensed with need, his cock throbbing in his tight breeches. He yanked off his heavy cloak and thick tunic and tossed them to the marble floor.

He was weighed down enough.

He was reminded of the tribrid’s scent with every breath, making powerful desires consume his body. He groaned in pain and ecstasy, having to bite his bottom lip to keep it all in.

“Lord, are you—”

“I’m fine, Lyan. I’d like some privacy.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Fuck,” Zepharali whispered as fire streaked between his legs. “What the hell?”

He was always in control of his heart, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stop it from hammering, causing the heat in the room to rise.

He was confused. Even more so for not heeding his brothers’ warnings.

Zepharali could only conclude that something connected him to the tribrid, a dire reason why so many rules had been broken to protect him. And the thought of sending him away as advised created a battle between his analytical mind and the pleas of his heart.

He already wanted to return to Lazaar.

Zepharali turned on the multiple taps in his shower, needing the strong pressure to soothe his tight muscles.

He placed his hands on the heated tiles and bowed his head, letting the water pound over his neck and shoulders and cascade down his body. It was scalding enough to make his skin come alive.

Zepharali stood there for a long time, hoping the heat would calm the ache between his thighs. But before long, his relaxing shower morphed into a hot wash of unbridled need.

By the gods. What’s happening?

Lazaar’s energy and his fiery orange aura called to him like a blazing beacon.

Zepharali’s heart was the strongest part of him, and it pulsed for him to act. To move. To go to the prince, remove him from captivity, and envelop him in his arms.

It was an aphrodisiac that the prince’s presence sparked terror in the core of two of the fiercest titans in the world.

He thought of Lazaar’s dark eyes that blazed like burning coal. So rich and deep he’d almost gotten lost in them. His gaze had pierced Zepharali’s core as if he could sense his loving heart, as if he wanted it, hungered for it.

He’d just about begged Lazaar to speak, wanting to hear his voice, feel his breath scorch his insides.

But Prince Lazaaras had defied him.

Nobody defies me.

He’d wanted to grip the tribrid by his raven hair and force him to obey.

Zepharali shivered, though he was far from cold. His nipples tightened, and a craving churned in his stomach.

He whispered Lazaar’s name with both worship and fear as he dragged his palm over his chest and down his abs to his dick, which refused to go down.

He didn’t stroke himself. He held his cock in a loose grip, giving himself the slightest amount of friction to drive him mad.

Zepharali had taken so many lovers into his arms and to his bed, and he’d adored them all. Had never forgotten the name or feel of a single one. But never had his heart reacted like this.

On its own.

His suns gave him his incomparable strength, and his winds infused his lovers with a passion that emanated from his titan heart.

A passion they took and bestowed on others.

His romantic winds attracted many admirers…but not a single true lover.

They’d all—even the mothers of his daughters—gone on to have the most enchanting, passion-filled relationships that forever blossomed and never faltered.

Zepharali’s enchanting energy was consumed, absorbed, and taken for selfish reasons. It was cruel and tortuous to have someone awaken love inside him, only for them to have no intention of returning it.

Loving and losing was his blessing and his curse. But with all the disappointment and pain that came with it, he wouldn’t change what his wind could bring for anything in all the worlds.

His time would come. He believed it to the bottom of his core.

His oracles prophesied that a revered man with a great destiny and more love than his own heart could receive would come to him boldly and call on him…and his heart would answer.