Saving Kai

Chapter 2

Kai sighed, soft and low, leaning his head on the glass as he watched the scenery pass by the carriage.

For the first two weeks, he had been excited at every sight, every sound and smell, entranced by the strange scenery that passed through his sight.

But now, he was weary and worn with the travel that never seemed to end. They slept in the carriage, ate in the carriage, Kai was even sure that if the generals thought that it would be a necessity, he would have peed in the carriage as well.

At least that humiliation was nixed by the sole guardian who had come with them, Hasan, who seemed to at least have a practical turn of mind.

Kai’s body ached with the unaccustomed lack of exercise, and despite the carriage having beautiful suspension, the constant movement and jarring was wearing on him.

He felt a hand upon his arm, and he tried not to flinch, not to draw away from the unwelcome touch.

General Melville had made it a point to sit at his side throughout the long journey, and his presence was irksome at best, disturbing at worst.

The older man was constantly touching him, he's constantly in Kai’s space—and the way he looked at him… As Kai it might have been beyond his experience but as Lee Kyun he has an idea of what the perverted bastard thought of him. And it disgusted him.

The other two men watched it all with glittering eyes and a hint of amusement, as though they knew full well what Melville was doing—and by their reaction they approved.

Kai knew nothing of this new world he was thrust into, he doesn't have any idea of what was right from wrong.

Especially nothing of where he was going or what awaited him there. He had tried in the first few days to ask questions, to gain some insight into what they wanted of him, what it meant to be prince, but they parried his curiosity with bland answers that were mere jumbled nonsense to someone who had no background information. They might bowing to him, but there was no respect in their eyes.

It was all for show.

They were escorted by a large contingent of mounted men, so many that often Kai could not see the landscape for the press of horses and men around the carriage.

They never truly looked at him, only bowed the few times he had been allowed outside the carriage itself.

Their coldness, combined with the amused condemnation of his so-called protectors, gave him very little hope for anything pleasant in the future. Whatever it might mean to be prince, it seemed unlikely that it would bring anything but misery.

Just a continuation of his long imprisonment.

He wanted to curl in on himself as the touch upon his arm, encouraged no doubt by his inability to avoid it, began to stroke up and down his sleeve in a manner that made Kai shiver in distaste.

“You are tired, your highness. Feel free to use me as a pillow. I will watch over your sleep.”

Kai turned weary eyes upon General Melville, trying to keep his expression even and calm.

“I thank you, my lord. But there is too much to see to sleep.”

Dark brows rose above cold brown eyes. Melville’s face, sharp and narrow, made his smile more grimace than any gesture of pleasantry.

“You should gather your strength, my prince. There is much to be done once we reach the borders of Askara.”

He leaned a little closer to the man in his curiosity. “That is the name of my country? Askara?” He savored the word upon his tongue, as though it awoke something within him, some emotion he had never felt before.

Melville raised a hand and boldly cupped Kai’s chin, pleased at the opening to further his suit.

“It is, my prince. And you will rule there, with Gerald, Hasan and myself as your mentors.” His thumb worked gently along Kai’s jaw, his eyes growing hotter at the intimate touch.

Kai, distracted by the new information, realized too late he should have jerked away immediately.

And with it, he's mind was suddenly assaulted by memories he always wished to forget.

Men. A lot of them crowding over him. Forcing him. Him beaten. b****y. In pain.

He breathed deeply, his body shook, then he felt General Melville drew closer, using one huge hand to hold Kai’s thin wrists together when the prince tried to push him away, horror churning within, the feeling oddly familiar from his memories. He fought, he struggled but it did nothing to deter the man.

Pinned in the corner, Kai shot a pleading glance across the carriage to his guardian, but Hasan merely grinned, heat in his eyes, as he watched the interaction.

Kai struggled harder, realizing there would be no aid from the other two.

Melville’s bulk pressed Kai into the thick seat cushions, and his face lowered, a grin lifting his lips before he placed his mouth over Kai’s.

He cried out in shock at the intimate contact, trying to twist away. The fingers on his jaw tightened cruelly, and he whimpered with pain as his mouth was forced open, and then Melville’s tongue is pressing within.

General Melville hummed with pleasure at the taste, exploring every sweet inch of the untried mouth. To know he was the first to take this innocence was heady indeed, and his shaft pulsed with need, demanding he take what was his.

His hand slid into the long, thick, silver hair, a sign of Askaran royalty, but so foreign to his own people, holding Kai immobile while he deepened the kiss, stealing the prince’s very breath.

When he finally pulled back, he watched in satisfaction as Kai panted for air, his frightened gaze pinned upon his own.

“So sweet,” Melville whispered, shifting his body so Kai was pressed along every inch of his arousal.

Kai bucked in horrified protest, and Melville groaned at the friction. A growl of need left his lips, and he released Kai’s hair to unfasten the ornate buttons of the long outer tunic that hid the prince’s glorious body from view. The body he would soon possess…

He snarled when a large hand covered his own, stopping his motions.

“Not here. Wait until tonight. We will stop at Imman fortress. Fewer witnesses.” Gerald jerked his head toward the riders so close by outside. “Anticipation is half the pleasure, Melville.”

Melville hesitated, eyes narrowed, then slowly sat up and released the prince, who tried to push himself into the upholstery in a vain effort to escape.

Melville took several deep breaths, nodding to Gerald to indicate he had himself under control. The three men laughed then, turning their gazes onto the terrified young man huddled in the corner. Their prince.

Melville groaned long and hard. And the two men laugh harder.

While Kai's fear grew as their carriage moved towards his doom that he knew he can't escape from...

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