Karou

Chapter 1

Enyo

I stood over the three dimensional map, watching the little light as it slowly made its way across the Valley of Echoes. I knew this was a mini representation of the land, but it was difficult to sit here and watch the little dot move in real-time. It just didn't move that quickly and I didn't have that kind of patience. But it was always in the Valley of Echoes where I lost the most glory-seekers.

They never seem to make it through the Valley. It had been so long since I'd been to the Valley that I forgot what was out there. But something's out there. There were so few who actually made it more than 100 paces into the Valley before they were killed.

For this reason alone, I’ve always thought the crystal was in this area or at least in this direction. If not in the Valley itself then somewhere beyond. I could be wrong but there's something out there that doesn't want anybody disturbing it.

Beyond the Valley was a dark plane, covered with fog so thick, it coated your skin like fur.

No one had made it to the plane.

As I glanced down to see how my glory-seeker was holding up, I couldn’t find the little light. I paused, taking a more examining look at where I’d last seen it. Shifting down so I could scrutinize the map on a more level field, I found the little image of the body as it continued to decay.

I slammed my hands on the map and swore. What the fuck did we need to do to get someone to make it across the damn Valley? Of course, the idea that the crystal wasn’t in that direction constantly plagued me. But I’d literally looked everywhere. Myself. I’ve looked myself! And there was just nothing to find.

Karou refused to let me search these lands - the unexplored dead zones. The place from whence nobody returns. But how was I going to fight something that I couldn't see? How could I send in a glory-seeker prepared if nobody made it back alive to tell me what they needed to prepare against?

I slammed my fist against the map again and walked out of the room. Thrusting the doors open, I stood against the balcony rail and looked down over the courtyard. We’ve done well to keep our Kingdom as healthy as possible. We'd spread as much wealth as we could around to all of our subjects.

Even so, the Kingdom was falling. All the kingdoms of Faery were falling. The Fae Lords were doing everything they could to search their kingdoms for the missing crystal. The crystal that’s said if restored to its proper home, the lands of Faery would prosper again. Not that anyone knew where the proper home was, but since we didn’t have the crystal yet, it seemed wasteful to spend time looking for that at the moment.

This common strife was the only thing that kept the kingdoms from constant wars. This shared death day note that stated if we didn't find this crystal there'd be nothing left of any of the kingdoms of Faery.

We'd searched all the common places within our kingdoms. All the explored inhabited and uninhabited places. All that was left were the dark zones. But any Fae Lord worth his gumption won't let members of his Court within those lands. Because nobody returns - alive or otherwise.

I didn't hear him come in but I wasn't surprised when a set of hands landed on my hips and lips pressed against the back of my shoulder. I knew who it would be without having to look. Without breathing in his signature scent of music notes and lullabies.

“What are you doing out here?” Lark asked. His voice was low and always melodic. He could do anything with his voice as long as he sang. And when he sang, those who listened didn't have a choice but to obey.

“Another failed,” I said.

He chuckled. “You can't be surprised,” he said. “If there's anything out there at all, it's not going to be worth finding.”

“I think you're wrong. How can it not be worth finding when it's so heavily guarded?”

“Guarded by what though?”

“Unless Karou allows me to go myself and find out, we'll never know.”

Lark laughed, a sound that made me smile despite my sour mood. It was a sound I loved, a sound I craved, especially in the dark hours of the night. Out of everything that's changed over the years, the nights without Lark were the hardest.

“Are you packed?” Lark asked.

“Packed?” I had really hoped they'd forgotten about this. I was not in the mood for this trip. I don't know who put it in the Fae Lord’s mind that he needed a vacation, but I was not having it. I was not part of his Bound. As such, I was not required to go. And yet the four of them acted as if I was. As if it was required of me. As if I was going to be forced to go regardless.

The pathetic part was that I was just fighting myself. Because there was no way I was going to stay behind. What would I do with my days with the four of them gone? Prepare another glory-seeker? Really I was just preparing them for death. I'd given up hope long ago that somebody would actually succeed in finding the crystal. It didn't stop me from sending them. I had hope one day that somebody would return. Or at least make it to a point where they could turn around and give me a warning as to what's out there.

So far, I've had no luck with that. The curious thing was that they were always getting to the exact same point and then dying. There was something right there on the map, something that I needed to figure out in order to get my glory-seekers to the next stage.

“Come on, Enyo. Stop fighting.” His voice turned into a seductive purr. “I know you miss being in our bed.”

“Yes,” I conceded. “But I've already told you I'm not going to be Bound to anybody. Not even Karou.”

“You haven't given us the slightest reason as to why. All you keep saying is that you won't. You don't want to. And yet I know how much you hunger for us.”

I rolled my eyes. Mostly because he wasn't wrong. The five of us grew up together. We've been best friends since we were faelings. We've been lovers even longer. Before lovers was a thing. Even when Karou took the throne, we'd continue to be lovers for years. For decades. And then one day, Karou decided to change it up. He declared that he was Binding us to him. We would be his Bound, his cohort of lovers solely for him and him alone.

Don't get me wrong, it really didn't matter that he didn’t want us sleeping with someone outside the five of us. It's not that I didn't want to be with them, or that I had a problem being with only them; it's that I didn't want my life dictated. I didn't want to be Bound to anybody. I wanted to live my life how I wanted to live it, without needing permission. Without question. Without discussion.

Karou thought he was going to win by starving me of their touch. I don't think he was prepared for how long I would put up a fight. We had an impasse that neither of us was willing to concede on. I'd be absolutely fine with his Binding, as long as I was the master of my life. And Kaoru countered that the only way I'd be allowed to touch any of them again, would be if I allowed him to Bind me to him completely. To surrender my will.

He was a fucking bitch for doing this. Because I did starve for them. Just as I knew they did for me. Lark had already reached the limit as to how much he was allowed to touch. I could feel him press against me and yet, I could barely feel him at all.

I could feel his lips press on my shoulder as long as it was through clothing. I could feel him against me, as long as the touch was light. Barely there. Nothing but a fucking tease. As soon as it became too intimate, Karou’s command asserted itself and there was some magic fucking barrier that forced their touch from me. It even prevented their fucking body heat.

It made me hate Karou. Just a little.

Or maybe a lot.

“Come on,” Lark said. “Get packed. We're leaving in an hour.”

I sighed in exasperation. “I hate packing,” I said.

Lark laughed. “I’ll pack for you,” he offered.

He was probably going to pack me a thong or just sweats and nothing else. But at this point, I knew I was up against a mountain. Because if Karou came in and demanded I pack, there was going to be a fight. And in the end, we all knew I'd end up going with them. Because as much as this whole situation really pissed me off, there was nowhere I'd rather be than with my best friends.

Lark pressed his lips to the back of my head and I could just barely feel his touch. Then he released me and headed back inside. A minute later, I heard the door shut and knew that he had gone to my room to pack my bags.

A mountain. We were headed to a fucking mountain. In the Between were the Gray Mountains. Always covered in snow, but the weather was constantly beautiful. However, we were going to a ski lodge filled with people. And none of us were very peopley. None of us skied. So why we were going to a ski lodge was anybody's real fucking question.

I went back inside, closing the balcony doors behind me. For a minute I looked over the map again. The little image of the glory seeker’s body had already gone. Completely decomposed off the screen. I wasn't sure if this depicted real-time or if there was an echo. Did it happen there and then three seconds later it showed up on my map? Or was it instantaneous?

The truly frustrating part was that I couldn't see what was happening at the other side. I could see my glory-seekers. I could see their relative movement and location on the map. I could see their position in relation to other land masses. But to date we haven't found any magic that would show us what was happening to our glory-seekers in the Valley of Echoes. We couldn't figure out what was killing them because we couldn't see anything else. And no one had come up with the magic to change that.

I shut down the spell of the map. The table was once again empty. Ready for use. Which wouldn't be until we returned and I sent out my next glory-seeker to see what they could find. Truth be told, I was running out of ideas. I always try to send them out with something that might be of use. Something we haven't tried in the past. Something that might give them an advantage. But so far they continued to die right around the same area.

I left the war room and headed down the hall to my bedroom. When I opened the door, Lark had just placed a bag on my bed, zipping it up. It wasn't overly full, which meant one of two things. Either he'd packed very little or we weren't staying long. I know it was probably the former, but I was hoping for the latter.

He looked up, smiling at me. The boy was fucking gorgeous with these dark caramel eyes, burnt bronze hair. He had this dark stubble around his jaw. But it was his smile that made my stomach flip.

“You're all ready,” he said. “I've got you packed well.” He patted the bag as if to emphasize his words. 

I glanced at the bag, seeing how very empty it was. When my eyes met his again, his smile ticked up. I had a feeling I'd be buying some cheesy clothing from their gift shop.

Sighing, I picked up the bag and slung it over my shoulder, gesturing for the door. “Lead the way,” I said demurely.

Really, I only wanted him to lead the way so I could watch his ass. Tight fucking ass.

My chest clenched. Every time I missed one of these boys, I hated Karou a little more.

I wasn't surprised when Lark led us to Karou’s suite. The suite was made up of three distinct spaces. There was the sitting room that contained the seating area with lush, rich furniture and his office at the other end. Then there was the massive bathroom with the rock spa features. And down the hall was a series of three bedrooms. Two small, yet luxurious rooms and then Karou’s master bedroom. With a bed that could comfortably hold a dozen grown men. It was heaven.

Or at least, it had been. It had been years since I’d been there. Once Karou decided that he was Binding us and putting us on a leash, I stopped being welcomed in the bedroom.

I suppose that’s not entirely true. I was welcomed in the bedroom. But I could watch and not touch. And they weren’t allowed to touch me. 

Creed was lying on the couch with a book in hand. The man hardly ever wore a shirt. Unsurprisingly, he was topless and his immaculately defined abdominals were well on display for the rest of us to gaze at. He had dark blonde hair, scruffy looking with facial hair. He was probably one of those guys you had on a pin-up. Somebody that you just drool over.

Where Creed was big and bulky, Whisper was leaner. But he was just as well defined as Creed. He had ink marking over his left shoulder blade, something that looked like a star with scratch marks. His hair was this white blonde that drew your attention to his golden blue eyes. He was leaning against the chair, tossing a ball at the wall. It was a very rhythmic thump thump thump.

He glanced up at me, his eyes meeting mine, the touch of a smile on his face. Just a hint. The kind that made you want to bite him.

Lark shut the door behind me and walked into the room. He dropped onto Creed's stomach, running his fingers over Creed's chest. Lark had always been into touching. He enjoyed just running his hands over our bodies.

Or he did. I wouldn't know since I'm not allowed in here anymore.

Stupid bitch.

Speaking of the bitch. Karou was looking out the giant windows behind his desk, his hands in his pockets. He was probably one of the most beautiful men I'd ever seen. His hair was light and his eyes were these crystal blue spheres. And across his chest, going down into a V was the ink marking his title, his magic, his heritage. And when he used his magic, his eyes would turn purple. These beautiful amethyst orbs that glowed so brightly, I could feel it in my cock.

Yeah, he's fucking gorgeous.

And then he decided to be a little jackass and demand us be Bound to him. Again, it wasn't the binding I had a problem with; it was that I basically had to ask him permission to piss. Why the others went along with it, I have no idea. I was completely baffled when they agreed. The five of us, we'd always been very independent. Even when we rotated around each other. We always balked at authority. We were rebellious against rules. Anything that tied us or held us to what somebody wanted, we were immediately drawn in the opposite direction.

Even as Karou became Fae Lord, nothing had changed. We still paraded around the Kingdom doing whatever we wished. Only then, we did it with authority. We were the ones setting the laws and breaking the laws. It was the time of my life. Of our lives.

The girls we shared. The adventures we went on. The monsters we killed. The quest to find the fucking crystal that was just lost to everyone.

And then Karou decided to change it. And he had never given me any reason why he thought I should agree. All I asked for was one solid reason. Why was he changing it now? Why, when it went against everything we'd ever been? Everything we'd ever known? Every way we've ever acted? Why did he suddenly want to control everything about our lives?

I continued to watch his back for several more minutes. He was watching the drill deck below. I could hear the faint sound of the swords clashing together. We weren't at war with any of the other Lords at the moment - none of the other kingdoms. The land was in such disrepair that war would just end it all. That didn't mean there weren't hostilities. That there weren't threats to prepare for. And so, our warmongers practiced.

I glanced at Lark as he continued to rub Creed up and down. Just tracing his muscles, the way they flexed and bowed.

“Ready to go?” Karou asked.

I scowled at his back, crossing my arms. I didn't answer. Lark did for the rest of us.

The steady thunk thunk of Whisper tossing the ball stopped. He glanced my way, the corner of his mouth ticked up once more.

Fuck I missed them so much.

“I'm giving you three days,” I told Karou. “Three days and I'm coming back.”

“We'll come back when I'm ready,” Karou said.

“You'll come back when you're ready. I'll come back when I damn well please.”

He sighed. “Why do you have to fight me on everything?”

“The Kingdom is falling apart, Karou. And here you are, going on vacation. One of the wells dried up in the South end, beyond the old brick wall. That leaves four solid wells. I know you get this shit reported to you. We need to find the crystal, not go parade around on top of a mountain when none of us ski.”

“We need a vacation.” His voice was soft. There was no command in it. It was as if he was asking permission this time. Even if it wasn't phrased that way.