Prince of Land and Fire

By Emily Carrington

Against his will, Lord Tian has fallen for a magical land creature -- a gnome. A prophecy says he must wed a land creature and become a destroyer and spy. But he can't resist Alastair, or the BDSM games they play.

Alastair is trying to spy on Tian's mother and preserve the balance of the natural world. Needing Tian in his bed and in his heart does nothing but disrupt his plans.

But prophecies are often both right, and misunderstood. When Tian and Alastair play at BDSM and love they set in motion the destruction of the status quo.

Publisher's Note: The Three Brothers Fair series is part of Emily Carrington's SearchLight Multi-Verse. This series was first released at another house and will be continued at Changeling Press LLC.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Changeling Press
• Release date: Jun 9, 2018
• ISBN: 9780844102726

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Prince of Land and Fire (Three Brothers Fair 2)

Emily Carrington

All rights reserved.

Copyright ©2018 Emily Carrington

Second Edition

BIN: 08441-02727

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Publisher:

Changeling Press LLC

315 N. Centre St.

Martinsburg, WV 25404

www.ChangelingPress.com

Editor: Crystal Esau

Cover Artist: Angela Knight

Adult Sexual Content

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Table of Contents

Prince of Land and Fire (Three Brothers Fair 2)

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Emily Carrington

Prince of Land and Fire (Three Brothers Fair 2)

Emily Carrington

Against his will, Lord Tian has fallen for a magical land creature -- a gnome. A prophecy says he must wed a land creature and become a destroyer and spy. But he can’t resist Alastair, or the BDSM games they play.

Alastair is trying to spy on Tian’s mother and preserve the balance of the natural world. Needing Tian in his bed and in his heart does nothing but disrupt his plans.

But prophecies are often both right, and misunderstood. When Tian and Alastair play at BDSM and love they set in motion the destruction of the status quo.

Chapter One

In Tian’s opinion, mid-October was too early to begin a winter solstice festival. The grass still glowed with summer’s barely gone promises, and the trees had just started dropping their leaves. Yes, his mother’s word was law, but should her say-so dictate the actions of the entire royal family and the court?

The entire royal family meant only Tian and her just now. Maybe that was why he felt the pressure so intensely. It wasn’t right to attend balls and ceremonies designed for the winter solstice while the geese still hadn’t flown south. Worse, when he scanned the crowded float where the first ball was being held, he saw no one he had any interest in dancing with.

Lord Tian?

He started, grimaced in response to his less than relaxed attitude, and then had to smile as he faced the kelpie courtier addressing him. Hello, Matthew. He raised an eyebrow at the mildly attractive court musician. May I help you? Tease. Make Matt ask for what he wanted. These were the roughest games Tian was allowed to play if he wanted to tumble into bed with more than himself this night.

Matthew bowed low. Will you dance, Lord Tian?

Tian withheld a yawn. The responses had worn lines in his tongue. I have danced.

Will you dance with me?

Now? Please, please, get this part over.

If you will, my lord.

Tian caught Matthew’s hand, urging him to straighten. Always. You tempt me every time you move or speak. He guided his prey to the middle of the floating ballroom. Every kelpie of lower rank cleared a space for him. And the musicians who had been muddling through a lesser-known ballad paused midphrase and began a syncopated version of the royal jig.

Matthew pressed himself against Tian and undulated his hips.

I like you too, Tian whispered, his words safely hidden under the fiddles. Kicking up his heels, he spun in a tight circle, smiling a little to himself when Matthew giggled.

May I cut in?

Tian tripped over his hooves, staggered a few steps, and managed to click his right hoof hard into Matthew’s shin. He kept his dancing partner from falling, but there was nothing he could do to wipe the look of pain off Matthew’s face. Forgive me, he said, and now it was his turn to bow. If you need help getting to a seat… He offered his arm.

No, Lord. I can manage. Matthew repeated that obsequious bow, though now his gaze was focused beyond Tian. My lady, I offer you my place.

Another courtier, one of Matthew’s dozen or so sisters, materialized out of the crowd and put Matthew’s arm over her shoulders. Meeting Tian’s eye, she blushed and retreated with her brother at her side.

Tian smiled politely after her. You’re not my type, Cathy, but I’d rather marry you than the earth elemental of my mother’s prophecy. He extended his hand without looking and repressed a wince when his mother took it. Then he resumed the dance.

Your clumsiness should have been conquered long ago, Lady Weinberg said by way of greeting. I seem to recall Andrew giving you hours of his time before you were at last ready to join the court promenades.

Andrew, one of Tian’s currently absent brothers, was Andy to all unless he was in trouble. Tian cleared his dry throat. I beg you not to criticize Andy for my shortcomings. It wouldn’t do any good to remind her that his dancing was usually flawless. He led her into a series of turns consistent with the Royal Jig and watched with satisfaction as she had to struggle to keep in perfect step. Her look of concentration seemed more important than speech.

When they returned to the simpler movements, she said, My use of Andy’s name doesn’t mean I’m displeased with him.

Understood. I annoy you. Please inform me of what concerns you, Mother. Lunar Spirit, save me from a lecture. He hoped the tongue-lashing he was about to receive wouldn’t be too painful. She wore an expression of mild irritation rather than a murderous visage.

You were flirting with the wrong person.

This again? Until I meet my intended husband, I am permitted to sleep with others. As long as I treat them with respect. Which meant pleasuring with pain wasn’t allowed.

Hans has already fulfilled his part of the prophecy. Almost twenty-five years ago. And from his letters, I gather he is quite content with his role in history.

Tian considered pulling away, running to the edge of the floating ballroom, and diving into the chilly waters of the loch. But he would either have to shed his clothing or swim encumbered by trousers and shirt. Both would cause discomfort and frustration. So he bent his head a little and answered, My flesh and heart haven’t called out to any of the earth elementals I’ve met as Hans’s body and soul called out for Prince Felimid.

Perhaps you haven’t given any of them a chance. She scowled and leaned close. Christian, you are not Hans, who has always been in tune with his soul’s voice. And you are not accustomed to listening to my suggestions as Andy is. And with your father gone and the weak lunar cycle rapidly approaching, the prophecy has become crucial. You must find your husband before the winter solstice.

He decided not to ask her how the solstice had anything to do with her prophecy about himself and his brothers. When Andy had still lived in the two-story stone house by Loch Erie, Tian would have gone to him for answers. But she was far from the trusting ear he’d come to rely on. I will make a concerted effort, Mother.

The dance ended then, but she didn’t allow him to escape. Instead she gripped his wrist and leaned close. Enjoy intercourse with whomever you wish, but remember: your husband is just over the horizon. Keep your eyes open for him. Smiling in what Tian thought of as her polite mask, his mother curtsied before leaving him.

Free now to seek out Matthew, Tian hurried from the center of the float. Scanning the crowd -- and nodding genially whenever he caught someone’s eye -- Tian was nearly at the edge of the flat wooden barge when he spied Matthew. The courtier sat on a low chair and seemed to be chatting idly with a black-haired, olive-skinned man in a toga.

A toga! What kind of ridiculous costume was that for a kelpie? Especially at a feast and ball meant to encourage the moon goddess’s help and protection? Then Tian had to laugh. He had resented being told how to dress; probably this stranger was expressing a similar opinion.

Still several steps away, he watched Matthew nudge his chair a little away from the dark-eyed stranger. Seeing that, Tian frowned. He would not allow any of his people to be made uneasy. And while he didn’t know all the kelpies in his mother’s kingdom by name, he knew them by sight or by familial affiliation. The toga wearer was not from this place. His beautifully darkened skin told that tale louder than his toga.

The unknown kelpie reached out for Matthew, and the courtier jumped up and back. His chair went into the water, and Matthew fell in after it.

Tian shed his shirt in one fluid motion and jerked his trousers down. Tian kicked off his trousers over his hooves before charging. He dove into the water. He spared a single thought for the man who had spooked Matthew. The least you can do is follow me in. He shifted to his full kelpie guise, complete with long fishlike tail and gills. Then he was under the water and seeking Matthew. There was no chance of the other kelpie drowning, but the shock of falling in might play havoc with Matthew’s senses.

Tian’s keen vision cut through the dimness, and he spotted the chair. Matthew clung to it, or perhaps he was trying to pull the cumbersome thing back to the surface. Like Tian and his brothers, like most of the kelpies Tian knew, Matthew probably didn’t want anything to pollute his home.

Noble as that was, Tian thought as he flicked