The Warlock's Royal Admirer

By J.B. Black

How many secrets can first love bear?

Koli knew how his life would go. He’d leave behind the town that hated him, become a master warlock, and spend the rest of his life with his best friend (and secret love) Myron. Except life hasn’t turned out quite how he expected.

Stuck in a seaside village that Myron would love but he hates, Koli works to win over the anti-magic crowd and ensure the safety of the few magical beings who at times pass through. When an attempt to teach some local children about selkie reveals a horrible secret, the warlock finds himself with three apprentices of his own.

To make matters more complicated, the amorous King Nayden who went from not-so-secret admirer to a sympathetic ear has Koli questioning whether what he feels for Myron is love at all.

Then Myron returns.

Desperate to do what was right for his apprentices, Koli keeps Myron at arm’s length. Nayden’s words haunt him. Will Myron and Koli live happily ever after? Or will time cool their romance and give someone else a chance with Koli?

• Language: English
• Publisher: J.B. Black
• Release date: Feb 4, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224827244

J.B. Black

Three sides to take care of all your wanton desires:Jess adores the steamy side of romance, exploring the quick scenes that leave your heart fluttering as strong, fertile heroines find their Happily Ever Afters!If you enjoy mpreg and a wake on the more fantastical side with fated mates, JB Black will fulfill your every desire.Brendol enjoys M/M without the fantastical edge. No pregnancies, just gay sex and romance!

Book preview

The Warlock’s Royal Admirer

M/M Gay Fantasy Romance

J.B. Black

How many secrets can first love bear?

Koli knew how his life would go. He’d leave behind the town that hated him, become a master warlock, and spend the rest of his life with his best friend (and secret love) Myron. Except life hasn’t turned out quite how he expected.

Stuck in a seaside village that Myron would love but he hates, Koli works to win over the anti-magic crowd and ensure the safety of the few magical beings who at times pass through. When an attempt to teach some local children about selkie reveals a horrible secret, the warlock finds himself with three apprentices of his own.

To make matters more complicated, the amorous King Nayden who went from not-so-secret admirer to a sympathetic ear has Koli questioning whether what he feels for Myron is love at all.

Then Myron returns.

Desperate to do what was right for his apprentices, Koli keeps Myron at arm’s length. Nayden’s words haunt him. Will Myron and Koli live happily ever after? Or will time cool their romance and give someone else a chance with Koli?

The Warlock’s Royal Admirer by JB Black

This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are fictitious in every regard. Any similarities to actual events and persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features are only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used.

THE WARLOCK’S ROYAL ADMIRER

Copyright © 2024

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Other Works By JB Black:

Shorts

Red Rider’s Fertile Mate

Pucked Up

Taking the Knight

Taken by the Faerie King

The Pirate and the Sea God

The Breeding Demon’s Perverted Mate

The Incubus’s Fertile Mate

Fae Lord’s Fertile Mate

Bred for the New Year

Possessed

Novellas

Pining Rival to Virile Mate

Sea God’s Pirate Mate

Fae Prince’s Fated Mate

The Saucy Bard’s Potent Paladin

The Forest God’s Fertile Hunter

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Epilogue

Chapter One

The fields of Nexus sprayed out into the hills before the mountainside. Curled and hidden amongst the wheat, Myron buried his face in his hands, pulling his knees to his chest. Fat tears rolled down his face, and the young boy shook with the weight of the sobs he swallowed down. Birds chirped. Overhead, the blue sky mocked his grief. A perfect warm summer wind blew, but agony clenched cold about his heart.

This couldn’t be it. Couldn’t be the end of everything he knew. His life laid so simply before him, but now — chosen to go so far from all he knew — that faith in the safety he once took for granted crumbled. Here in the field had once been the furthest he had ever gone. Tomorrow, he would go beyond the mountains, traveling the continent under the guide of a warlock who he hadn’t met before. A warlock who would train him. Who would take him as an apprentice, teaching him the ways of magic beyond what limits his parents knew.

Can’t I stay with you? Myron had begged his mother.

She had shaken her head, telling him that his magic proved too complicated. Too powerful. Her smile suggested her words were a compliment, but this banishment — this abandonment had to mean it was a punishment.

Around him, the golden wheat rippled in the wind. All alone, he curled further in upon himself.

What’s wrong?

Myron jumped, scrambling back as Koli appeared out of nowhere. His friend smiled at him. Green eyes bright in a tan face. Those beautiful eyes that he would never see again. At the thought, Myron wept all the harder.

I don’t want to be an apprentice, Myron cried as Koli took a seat by his side.

Koli hummed, wrapping an arm around Myron’s back. Really? I’m looking forward to it.

His friend’s hands were always moving. Spells in the spaces between his fingers. Promises and power dancing in every twitch, though the constant shift of magic made most in their town sick. They just didn’t understand Koli. Didn’t realize how perfect he was — how beautiful. Now, his hands twisted flowers into a crown. Wild roses and hollyhock twisted with dandelions. Dark hair haloed Koli’s head, so when he placed the crown of flowers upon himself the bright colors of the flowers stood in stark contrast.

You’re going to become a powerful warlock and forget about me, Myron lamented, leaning against Koli, aching to somehow chain the other man to him.

More flowers called with magic appeared in Koli’s ever-moving hands. Violets, white clover, blue salvia, and heliotrope formed a crown as Koli spoke, You’re my best friend. No matter where you are, we’ll still be best friends, so I can't forget.

Brushing a lock of golden hair behind his ear, Myron ducked his head into his forearms as he pulled his knees once more to his chest. But what if you meet somebody else?

Like who? Koli laughed.

Someone better than me. Someone kind and brave and powerful, a king or something who could give you anything you wanted, Myron sniffled into his arms, longing to look at Koli’s face but terrified the other would be reconsidering their friendship.

A hand ruffled his hair, and when Myron looked up, Koli placed the crown upon the blond’s head. His smile took Myron’s breath away.

Holding up his little finger, Koli announced, We’ll make a promise then. After our apprenticeships are over, we’ll find each other and live together.

Forever and ever? Myron asked as he wrapped his pinky around his friend’s.

Koli grinned. Forever and ever.

Oh, if only promises were sealed with kisses! Though young and inexperienced, Myron ached to be the first to taste the sweetness of Koli’s smile, but he dared not. Luck had given him the dark-haired warlock as his friend. If he pressed for more, he risked breaking what existed between them.

Side by side, the two sat amongst the wheat, their pinkies joined at their sides as they listened to the wind whistle through the hills. Nature hummed her gentle melodies, and Myron slowly shifted, leaning against his friend to rest his head on Koli’s shoulder. The other smiled, breaking the entwining of their fingers to wrap his arm around Myron’s back again. Though Koli stood only a few inches taller, Myron felt incredibly safe in his friend’s arms.

They stayed there until the sunset, and when they returned home, parting ways at the village’s edge, Myron watched Koli run back to his home, never taking his eyes off until Koli waved and disappeared from sight.

***

Decades came and went. An apprentice became a master, and heading to the coast, Koli dreamed of Myron often, writing letters which for years had gone unanswered. The spellwork delivered them easily enough, but whenever the dark-haired warlock tried to scry for Myron, the stone spun in circles. His friend refused to be found, so Koli found a seaside village, making himself a home with space enough to keep a promise that seemed to be rapidly becoming shattered around him.

Galdicway sat just above sea level with stone walls and stone streets. Stone houses stood side by side, slightly warped and gray as if slowly succumbing to the pull to return to the sea which stretched cold and almost black all around what would have been an island if not for a thin strip of land which connected it to land during low tide. Bridges kept the connection, more stone in large slabs over the frigid water, but the villagers considered themselves an island to their own, looking down their noses at those who left the fading town to find better fortunes elsewhere.

Koli found a house for sale easily enough, a cottage as far from the town’s center as he could get while still being on the island. His home backed up to a semblance of a woods, big enough to contain most of the herbs he needed but little else. Anything not in the forest, he could grow in his garden, though the sandy soil often challenged even his natural talents for botany.

Given half a choice, it wasn’t where Koli would’ve gone. He ached for wild fields and forests, but Myron loved the ocean, though the oceans of Nexus were clear and blue, but Nexus had many witches and warlocks, and most of them hated Koli, so he