The King's diamond by Jenna Jones

Author:Jenna Jones [Jones, Jenna]
Language: nld
Format: epub
Tags: erotic MM, Romance MM
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

***

Damalepazhur's guards stayed with him until the physician came, and he gave the king a potion

to make him sleep, answering his questions in a solemn tone. Yes, Dolma lived, though she was

still ill. No, no one else was showing signs of poisoning. Yes, he had investigated the wine and

food: there had been a gritty substance in the bottom of the two silver cups.

"My diamond," Damalepazhur said. "Someone has tried to kill my diamond."

"So it would appear, my lord," the physician said. "Sleep. We will discuss it further after you've rested."

Damalepazhur slept. When he woke, the sun was not yet up and his head felt heavy. An oil lamp

burned on the table and Ketu knelt at it, his head resting on his arms as he slept. Damalepazhur

pushed himself off his bed, went to Ketu and shoved his shoulder. "Go to your mother."

The boy woke and blinked at him. "She is sleeping. I'm staying with you."

"By Azhur's balls, boy! Go to your mother! I do not want you."

They stared at each other in the flickering light. Ketu said in a trembling voice, "My lord, you are

The King's Diamond - 26

not the only one who has lost a friend tonight."

Damalepazhur fell onto his knees and pressed his hands to his eyes. The sleeping potion had not

rid him of his grief--only buried it, and he felt sobs tear from his chest as if they were strips of

skin.

"Oh, my lord," Ketu whispered and he felt the boy's arms once more go around him. "Oh, my

king. My good Damalepazhur."

"He was more than my friend," Damalepazhur said when he had calmed enough to speak. "I

loved him, body and soul. More than my wives, more than my children--more than my people,

sometimes. If he had asked me to walk away from my kingdom I would have gone, if it meant I

could be with him."

Ketu's head was bent over his, and he petted Damalepazhur's cheek like a mother comforting a

child frightened in the night. "I loved him as well, my lord, as any boy who's never known a

father would. He was good to me."

Damalepazhur smiled against the boy's linen-clad shoulder. "He used to say he saw the face of

Azhur in you."

Ketu chuckled. "Many people say that, my lord. What it means, I do not know. No one knows

truly what Azhur looks like."

"Since you have come to my palace, the statues of Azhur have begun to look like you." He raised

his head to look at the boy. "Do you believe it? Do you truly believe you are a son of Azhur?"

Ketu bit his lip in thought. "I believe my mother believes it. It's not a question I would ever dare

to ask."

Damalepazhur nodded, frowning. "Whoever did this does not believe it," he said and Ketu's eyes

widened. "If they believed you to be a child of Azhur, they would never dare to harm you, nor to

harm Dolma. Even if they did not respect the river folk, they would still respect the chosen of

Azhur."

"It could be anyone, in that case," Ketu said. "Many people give lip service to faith.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.