Lilly's King

Korom spun the daggers in his hands. As Korom began to fade, his body swirling in a thick black mist, Bor chuckled and turned to the approaching horde.

With one final nod, Korom flew out of the door, surrounding the spinners in the thick, dark smoke as screeching and tearing of flesh followed.

Korom’s gift to take on a mist-like form was far more dangerous than anyone could ever have expected.

In this form, his friend was not only impossible to kill, but he could move at incredible speed, even through the vastness of space. Not many knew of the true extent of Korom’s gift.

They both preferred to keep it a closely guarded secret. It was always amusing to see the shock on their enemy’s faces when Korom destroyed an entire force in seconds.

Keel and Tark moved to cover the left and right side of the house, making sure no spinners got into the dwelling without being noticed. Another smile curved his lips.

These were the best-trained men he had, and not having to give orders in a situation like this was a relief.

Bor stood watching as Korom swarmed around the horde of spinners, killing them with deadly blows in seconds.

As soon as a small group split off from the others, Bor tensed, ready to let out some of the pent-up rage and tension he felt inside.

A soft sound from behind him made him jerk his head around to see his mate and her sisters staring at the approaching threat with wide, shocked eyes.

He gave her a wink, a smile playing on his lips, and pulled the same blades he used to save her life earlier.

His need to protect his mate drove him off the small platform around the house, his boots hitting the soft grass as he charged forward, moving fast toward the hissing spinners.

He tightened his grip on the blades and swung out with all his strength as soon as the first one got close enough.

Satisfied it was dead when its head rolled away from its body, Bor released a loud, echoing roar, drawing any spinners that may have gotten too close to the dwelling and its precious cargo.

He snarled, swiping his blade up another spinner’s gut when its jaws latched onto his arm, slicing through his uniform and into his skin.

Two more jumped onto him, one clawing at his back, trying to snap its jaws at his neck, and another latched onto his thigh with a vice-like grip.

Grabbing the one on his back first, Bor flung it over his shoulder, not once letting go of its head, and squeezed as hard as he could, ignoring the thrashing and hissing sounds coming from it.

When he felt the dense bone under its flesh give way, Bor tossed the dead spinner to the side, grabbing the jaws of the one trying to tear into his leg.

With one strong pull, Bor ripped the lower jaw away from the head, using the long fangs of the spinner to pierce the skull of the rest of it.

Glancing up at Korom, Bor tossed the dead remains of the spinner and stood to his full height, sheathing his blade at his hip.

Korom was moving toward them, piles of dead and dismembered spinners littering the field behind him.

His friend would take care of the last of the spinners in the area, but Bor had learned the hard way to not move when Korom was in this form.

He was a very skilled killer, but he moved so fast that even the slightest movement could cause the male’s blades to slice into his flesh by accident.

He closed his eyes, waiting as the ice-cold mist moved around him. The sounds of tearing flesh, hissing, and dying whimpers filled his ears, but Bor didn’t open his eyes.

The last thing he wanted was to get the spinners’ blood into them. It would not do him any permanent harm, but it stung and burned for days.

Once the cold chill moving around him was gone, replaced by the heat of the sun once again, Bor opened his eyes to find his friend breathing heavily in front of him.

He waited, knowing Korom needed a few minutes to get his rage and violence under control.

The dark, swirling shadows around his eyes told Bor that his friend was fighting for control over his darker side.

When the deep brown of his eyes returned, Bor took a step forward and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Korom?” he asked in a low, concerned voice.

Korom took in a few more deep breaths and met his eyes. He gave him a nod, blinking away an emotion Bor knew all too well. His friend was in pain.

Not the physical kind, but the kind of pain that came in knowing you were capable of so much death and destruction in seconds, and you were the only one of your kind like that left.

At the thought of his friend’s worry that he would never find a female that would love him for the male he was, Bor turned to the dwelling.

Keel and Tark stood by the door. They gave him a nod to signal that all was well.

Bor turned back to Korom. “Control, my friend. You are in control.”

Korom closed his eyes, the dark shadow still swirling around him in waves.

After a moment, Korom opened his eyes and the last of the mist pulled back into his body, leaving the calm, controlled male he knew and cared for.

Korom gave him a half-smile and gestured to the dwelling.

“The transport will arrive in two minutes. Let us see to your mate.”

Only in private would Korom refer to his king as his friend. It was an unspoken rule that Korom had decided on the day Bor took the throne.

Never once had he spoken to Bor in such a friendly manner in front of any of the others.

They both turned and made their way to the house. Keel and Tark followed inside behind them as Bor sought his mate.

All the females were in the room he had left them in, holding the ill female between them.

When his mate ran her eyes over Bor, his chest felt like it would swell to a point it would burst at the sight of her worry for him.

“You’re hurt!” she called out, getting up and moving toward him.

Bor shrugged, his enhanced healing already taking care of the superficial wounds.

When Lilly got close enough to him, however, he reached out and pulled her into his chest, holding her as close as he could to his heart without crushing her.

“I am fine, little mate.”

“But…”

“Hush. Do not worry about me. My wounds will heal soon.”

Her body relaxed against him and when her arms wrapped around his waist, Bor fought back the emotions building in his chest.