2

Chapter Two

Caise Sashtain lifted his brow in mocking amusement as he glanced at his brother, knowing Kai’el felt the wisps of female power still edging toward them, clinging to the faint threads of their own magick as though in reluctance to part. Ah, but if only the holder of that power felt the same reluctance in storming away in such fear. The clash of passions would surely make for a much warmer night than the one they would undoubtedly spend alone instead. It was not exactly proper to take a lover within the castle of the Sorceress you were currently courting, he reminded himself with a silent sigh.

“At least she did not curse us again.” Kai’el flexed his shoulders against the tension still wrapping about them, a small frown creasing his dark face as he paced back to the bar to refill the goblet he drank from.

Caise grunted as his comment. “She is as receptive to our suit as ever,” he growled, anger simmering in his gut as he glared at his brother. “We are wasting precious time in this infernal castle on this fool’s errand the Sentinels have sent us on. She is no more willing to allow a bonding now than she was upon our arrival. I grow weary of chasing that which hides from its own needs.”

He reached back, releasing the leather that held back the long strands of his blond hair as he felt the tension in the room elevating as well. It was the same, each time she was near. As fair of face and body as she was, he would have been surprised if he had felt no arousal, but what did surprise him was the brooding anger that filled him each time she found reason to heap yet more accusations upon their heads. Not that most of it was not correct. Still, though, it rankled.

“Unnatural magick,” he snorted at the accusation, feeling the prick of conscience with a frown.

Kai’el still stared at the door, his expression reflective rather than angry. It was clear he saw the challenge in the woman, where Caise could only imagine the consequences of actually taking her as a consort. Unnatural magick would be the least of her accusations then. She would likely run home to her Queen Mother, screaming in horror at their desires rather than sighing in bliss as her sister often did when her Wizard Consorts were near.

“She would be the perfect playmate, should we get past her fears.” Kai’el finally shrugged, obviously ignoring Caise’s look of horror.

“You must surely be joking?” Caise snarled, amazed that such words could come from his brother’s lips. “She has already branded us as deviants and has yet to even know our touch. Gods forbid she should actually learn of our more extreme practices. She would become catatonic from sheer terror alone.”

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Lora Leigh

But the thought of it, he must admit, tempted his lusts. With her brilliant violet eyes, sun-kissed red-gold locks, and a body that would tempt even the strongest of warriors, he forgave himself for his lust. But he never forgot the all-important fact that the Princess Marina must be always handled gently.

It was enough to cause a grown warrior to whimper at the thought. She was not just a virgin, but a virgin scarred. One whose body and mind had known nothing but terror at the hands of Twins. Wizard Twins those assailants were not, for no noble son of the Sentinels’ line would dare to so mistreat a woman. But they had been magickal Twins nonetheless, and the horror she had known during the misadventure had forever branded her woman’s soul.

‘Twas a shame, he thought, saddened by the knowledge. Each time he saw her, he could see the bruises, the soul-scars she carried and the dark edge of shadowed pain that followed her aura. She was a woman tormented by the past, and he feared the depth of that torment would never allow her to know true pleasure. At least, not the darker pleasures they could have shown her.

“I believe that perhaps our lovely Marina could be coaxed into experimenting a bit with the darker desires,” Kai’el informed him, his voice soft as he lifted his goblet to his lips for a sip of the less than potent wine. “If she were approached properly.”

Caise could not believe his brother would dare suggest such a thing, not here, within the sanctuary of Sellane Castle. The magick wards were strong at each remaining princess’s door. The heir apparent, Serena, had included her own personal guards at her rooms, but the Princess Marina, whose powers were still yet unfocused, pushed beneath the barricade of her fear, still depended much on her mother’s magick. A mother currently residing in the mountains within the temple of the Matriarchs.

“It would be a risk,” Caise murmured. “If I remember correctly, there were several objections sent to the Sentinel Conclave in regards to the Veraga invasion of the Princess Brianna’s rooms during their courtship.”

“The Sentinel Priests did no more than shrug off the arguments the Queen Mother presented,” Kai’el pointed out. “As stated, no magick could slip past the wards of protection unless the Princess wished it. They are wards meant only to defend against those who would harm the royal daughters. We wish her no harm.” The reckless hunger reflecting in his brother’s eyes was worrisome.

Kai’el had been certain Marina was the sorceress they had seen in visions for the past decade. Her features shadowed, her body lissome, they saw little except the exceptional hunger flowing from her as she lay bound before them, arching to their touch.

Caise felt his body tighten, his cock engorging with lust once again. Sweet Mercy, but to see her helpless before them, crying out in need, her body and her hungers pliable beneath their demands.

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When Wizards Rule

“’Twill not be easy,” he warned his brother then. “The Queen Mother will have set wards against such magick slipping past her guard once again. She is incredibly protective of this daughter.”

But the thought of such passions unleashed, unrealized… He could feel his lusts rising like a gathering storm, whipping through his body, accelerating his passions, his power.

“The Queen Mother can only protect against that which she knows,” Kai’el pointed out then. “She cannot protect her little lamb against that of which she has no knowledge.”

Caise frowned back at his brother as he voiced the suggestion. The implication was clear, but could it work? They had not, as she had accused, used the darker powers to invade her dreams. Had they done so, she would have never found the courage to face them with such fury surely?

It was, without doubt, an unfair proposition.

“There is a risk,” he murmured, turning to pace to the wide, long windows which dominated the suite of rooms. “Her scars run deep, Kai, as do her fears.”

“There is much more risk in continuing as we are,” Kai’el sighed, weariness apparent in his voice, in the vibrations of his hunger. “She fears male force and strength, Caise. She does not fear her own capitulation. Perhaps we should begin there. She did not ask to be attacked, to be held against her will as her magick and her woman’s soul screamed out in agony. There is no agony, no pain when the powers are aligned, and you must admit, her magick very much suits our own.”

That was more than clear. Even now, long minutes after her hasty exit, they could feel the faintest presence of her lingering power as it melded with those stray threads of their own. It was an unusual occurrence, one that reportedly even the Veraga Twins had not experienced until after the bonding with their consort. Caise ran his hand over his jaw, seeing his own reflection in the window as he stared into the darkness beyond. His golden eyes were odd, even amid the less than traditional Wizard Twins. The reflection of unique powers were often commented upon, but never delved into. The inherent sense of privacy each Wizard felt in regards to their magick extended to their curiosity involving others. Likewise, Kai’el’s pale blue eyes were indicative of his own powers. Should their secrets be revealed, then they would be viewed only with fear, with trepidation. Gold and pale blue blending among the magickal sects had not been seen in so many centuries, surely even before the separation of Sorceress and Twins, that the powers inherent in them had been forgotten as well, but for a select few. Those select few were even more interested in keeping the Sashtain secrets than the Sashtains were themselves.

“There would be no way to trace the power,” Kai’el pointed out. “We could slip in, beneath the Queen Mother’s guard, and see what tempts our little Princess. I am not suggesting we molest her. Merely that we give her the chance to…choose pleasure?”

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Lora Leigh

Wicked, reckless, Kai’el’s dark suggestive smile had Caise grinning in turn. They could only get so lucky that she would feel the need to do such.

“She will, of course, suspect us,” Kai’el continued. “Just as she has these many weeks. But covering our tracks should be a simple enough maneuver.”

It was glaringly obvious that his brother had been giving this much thought, which surprised Caise very little. Kai’el was forever testing the boundaries of their magick, often more so than Caise did himself.

“You do not have to convince me,” he finally growled. “It is obvious that means other than our charm and status as Wizards and warriors will be needed to win over the Princess Marina. I worry only of her fears. I see the scars that fill her soul, Kai. They…disturb me.”

Unlike many Wizards, certain powers they possessed were their own, and not easily accessible by the other twin. It was nothing they had set out to accomplish, merely one of the vagaries of their personalities, distinct, yet sharing certain traits. They were individuals, despite their bonds. Unlike the Veraga Twins, they could not interchange with their powers, using the other’s as though they were their own. They were confined to only those powers they possessed. But that magick was deeper, darker, and in many, many cases, stronger than the average Twins. There were only two others stronger than they, and Caise did not envy them the responsibilities of such gifts.

“We are, then, in agreement?” Kai’el asked carefully.

Caise could feel his brother’s tension, his hunger to touch the fair Marina however possible.

He drew in a deep, fortifying breath. “I am in agreement,” he murmured, weighing the advantages as well as the risks of this venture. The satisfaction to be gained could be great, as long as they did not cross the line and tempt her powers out of her control. Otherwise, they could strip her of the strength her magick possessed.

“We will proceed with caution,” Kai’el assured him. “She must come to us to find her true female satisfaction. But there are ways, brother, to tempt that journey without marring the sweet vintage she alone holds. We will merely seduce the unseduceable. Surely this is a quest we can triumph in?”

No doubt. They had done it well before.

Caise nodded sharply. The stakes were much higher than ever before, just as the risks would rise each time they tempted such extreme use of their magick. Delving into the darker sides of passion, or lust, was never without payment due.

“We will prepare her then.” Caise would reserve judgment as to the merits of this journey until the first step had been completed. “When shall we begin?”

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When Wizards Rule