Stolen Kingdom
By Misha
Author’s Notes- Thank you to everyone who responded so positively to the first chapter! I am still a little uncertain about this one, mostly because it’s hard writing this darker side of Diavolos, but I do know where I want it to go.
Rating- NSFW
Summary- Diavolos and Kenna’s betrothal is formally announced.
Words- 2312
Chapter Two
“So you want to marry the girl?” Luther asked his oldest son, raising an eyebrow. “I thought you weren’t interested in a strategic marriage. Wasn’t that what you said before you left?”
“That was before I met Princess Kenna,” Diavolos said honestly. “Besides, isn’t this what you were hoping for? Adriana is willing to give you Stormholt, and its armies, on a platter, no bloodshed needed.”
Diavolos had heard his father musing about how the problem with invading Stormholt was that he’d have to crush the army first because they could never be converted, which was a waste of precious resources and the Five Kingdom’s second most powerful army.
“With you as King,” Luther pointed out, “I didn’t realize that you had so much personal ambition. This is the kind of move that I would have expected from Marco, not you.”
“It has nothing to do with ambition,” Diavolos told him, “I don’t care about the kingdom, I just want the girl.”
He wondered if his father would see that as weakness.
Luther smirked. “So it’s like that, is it?”
“It is,” Diavolos confirmed. “She’s young, beautiful, and naïve and I want her. I want her to be my wife.”
“And does she want you?” Luther asked him.
“She does,” Diavolos answered with a smug grin, thinking of the way Kenna had melted into his arms. “She’s very agreeable to the proposed marriage and so is her mother.”
“Could she be easily led?” Luther questioned, ignoring the reference to Adriana for the moment.
“Yes,” Diavolos answered, though it made him a little uncomfortable to talk about her like that. “She’s young and she hasn’t given a much thought to ruling. I think she could be guided quite easily.” He knew that was what his father wanted to hear.
“Queen Adriana believes that a union between Abanthus and Stormholt would force the rest of the kingdoms to agree to the alliance,” he continued, “which would give you the opportunity to enforce your plans for the kingdoms, the only difference is that you would have a legitimate claim to Stormholt and it’s army.”
“Which would be ideal,” Luther agreed, “though I would have to figure out another plan for Adriana. No matter how besotted the girl is, she’d probably object to her mother being murdered in cold blood.”
Diavolos felt a wave of guilt at the mention of his father’s plans for the gentle queen, but he pushed it aside. This was how the world worked—the strong took out the weak. More importantly, this was the action that was required to vanquish the Iron Empire once and for all.
“I’ll figure out the details later,” Luther said after a moment, “in the meantime, we have a trip to Stormholt, and a wedding, to prepare for.”
—
“Is it true?” Kenna froze at the sound of the familiar voice.
She stepped away from her horse and slowly turned around to see Dom standing right outside the stall, an unreadable expression on his face. She didn’t have to clarify what ‘it’ was, she had been expecting this conversation for days. It was why she had been avoiding Dom because she had wanted to put it off as long as possible.
“Are you really going to marry Prince Diavolos?” He demanded.
“Assuming that his father agrees to the alliance, then yes,” Kenna answered in a quiet voice.
She winced as a look of pain crossed his face. She had known for a while that Dom cared about her more than as a friend and sometimes she thought, if things were different she might care about him too, but things weren’t different. She was a princess and he was a commoner. She didn’t have the luxury of making choices based only on her feelings, she had to think about the good of the kingdom.
“Dom…” She began, “you always knew this day would come.”
“I know, I just… I thought it would come after the alliance,” he told her, “it caught me off-guard.”
“Things moved quickly,” Kenna said apologetically, “I think we were all caught off-guard.”
Dom studied her face and Kenna could see the realization dawning. “This isn’t just a political match.”
“No,” she admitted, “It’s… I’m not sure. But my mother didn’t suggest it,” though she had certainly nudged Kenna in that direction, “it was my decision.”
Or at least, mostly. She had been overwhelmed by the attraction that she felt for Diavolos and by the sensations he had awoken in her. She didn’t know how to voice it though, especially to Dom. She didn’t think she loved Diavolos, but she wanted him badly. His kisses and caresses had left her desperate for more. It was that attraction that had led to her agreeing to his proposal, though now that he was gone, she was second-guessing everything.
”I see,” Dom said quietly, “I’m happy for you, I guess.”
“Dom…” Kenna began, reaching out for him, but he evaded her touch.
“Don’t,” he said quietly and then quickly turned and walked away.
Kenna watched him go, a heavy feeling in her stomach. She hated hurting him like that, he was her best friend, but… He could never have been more than that, she’d always known that. Besides, meeting Diavolos had made her question her feelings for Dom because as much as she cared for him, she had never wanted him the way she wanted Diavolos. She had never felt this way about anyone before.
Just thinking about Diavolos, remembering the way he had touched her, made her heart race. Maybe she didn’t love him, but she wanted him desperately and that was more than she’d expected to feel for her future husband. That was something, right?
—
“Did you miss me?” Diavolos asked Kenna in a low voice as they danced at the ball that was being held in their honor.
“Should I have?” She teased, smiling up at him.
“I hope so,” he told her, “after all, I certainly missed you.” He trailed one hand up her back, while the other rested on her hip. “I could sneak into your room tonight and show you just how much…”
“Diavolos!” Kenna exclaimed, her cheeks flushing, but he could see that the idea intrigued and excited her.
“We’re betrothed now,” he reminded her, pulling her a little closer.
“But not married,” Kenna countered, “it’s not…”
“Proper?” He finished and then lowered his voice, “and are you a proper princess? Because I’ve been led to understand that you’re a bit of a rebel and I admit, it’s one of the things I find so fascinating about you.”
He let his hand drift from her hip to her backside, cupping the gentle roundness as he held her tightly against him.
“Diavolos,” she whimpered. She paused and he could see her internal struggle and that desire was winning out over her sense of propriety. “There’s… There’s a passage,” she whispered breathlessly, “it goes right outside my room. If you use it, no one will be able to see you.”
One of Stormholt’s famed tunnels? Diavolos knew his father would be interested in knowing all about that, though he personally was more interested in how receptive Kenna was to his advances.
“Then I guess I should put that passage to good use, shouldn’t I?” He asked in a low voice. “Tonight, I’ll come to you in the cover of night,” he promised as the song ended, “and I’ll show you just how much I missed you.”
Kenna simply nodded and then some nobleman claimed her for a dance, whisking her away from Diavolos. It occurred to him then that he didn’t like seeing her in another man’s arms. She was his and after tonight, she would know it too. He would claim her as his and make sure she was so satisfied in his arms that she never wanted to be anywhere else.
As he accepted a dance from some noblewoman, Diavolos found himself meeting his father’s eyes from across the room and saw the look of satisfaction there.
“Seduce her. Make her want you, make her need you until she would do anything for you and give you anything you wanted. Even her kingdom.” His father’s instructions rang in Diavolos’s ears, so cold and calculating.
It chilled him that he was doing exactly what his father wanted, but he reminded himself that his motives were better than his father’s. Luther wanted Kenna’s kingdom, but Diavolos just wanted Kenna.
—
Kenna paced her chambers nervously, wondering what she was doing. She couldn’t believe that she had been bold enough to invite Diavolos to her bed. She thought of everything she had been taught, of all the lectures on propriety she had received through the years.
“We are betrothed,” she reminded herself, though she wasn’t sure that Gabriel or her mother would approve of her reasoning.
Or maybe her mother would approve, given how desperate she was to cement this alliance, Kenna thought cynically, she’d probably encourage Kenna to do whatever it took to keep the prince interested.
She sighed, hating that she was being so negative about her mother, but at the same time, she still felt confused by her situation. She was incredibly attracted to Diavolos, but she barely knew him and she felt like she’d been pushed into agreeing his proposal without being given time to really think if it was what she wanted and she wasn’t quite sure what she’d gotten herself into.
Just then, she heard the door to her room open, jolting her from her thoughts. Kenna turned to see Diavolos slip into the room and locking the door behind him.
“Did anyone see you?” She asked, unsure what she should do next.
“No,” he assured her, quickly crossing the room and taking her in his arms.
Kenna sighed into his embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck as he leaned down to kiss her. His mouths was demanding against her, his hands running over her silk-covered curves as he kissed her hungrily.
“I like this, but I’ll like it even better off,” Diavolos murmured against her mouth as he pushed the straps of her nightgown over her arms and then further down until it pooled at her feet. “Much better.”
The next thing Kenna knew, she was being lifted off of her feet and into Diavolos’s strong arms. He carried her across the room and then set her down gently on the bed.
“You are so beautiful,” he told her as he knelt between her legs, his large hands resting on her thighs. “I can’t believe that you are going to be mine.”
“I am already yours,” Kenna said softly, realizing she meant it. She still wasn’t sure exactly what it was that she felt for Diavolos, but she knew that whatever it was, there was no denying it and no turning back from it. He was going to be her husband, but it was more than just a politically advantageous match, that much was apparent from the way he made her feel.
Diavolos gazed up at her, something she couldn’t quite understand in his dark, beautiful eyes. “You will never regret that,” he promised. Before Kenna could question him, he inserted a finger into her making her gasp and forget everything but this new sensation.
“Diavolos,” she gasped as he began to pump his finger in and out before adding a second one. She threw her head back as the pleasure overcame her.
“That’s it,” Diavolos encouraged continuing to work her with his fingers, his thumb massaging her sensitive nub, “just like that.”
He covered her mouth with his, partially to muffle her cries and Kenna shuddered against him, marveling at the way this man made her feel. It was like nothing she had ever experienced or expected to experience and she had a feeling that this was just the beginning.
—
Diavolos watched Kenna sleep, knowing that he should return to his own room, but unwilling to leave her just yet. He’d never felt like this before, had never felt this need to stay with a woman afterward, in fact, he always left as soon as he could. Of course, this wasn’t just any woman, this was the woman who was going to be his wife, the mother of his children.
Diavolos watched Kenna smile in her sleep and wondered if she was dreaming of him. He hoped so, though he couldn’t quite push aside the guilt he felt. She had given herself to him without hesitation and he’d taken what she had to give, all the while planning to take her kingdom from her.
Except it wasn’t that simple.
They would share the kingdom and really, that didn’t matter to him at all. He didn’t want to be King, he never had. What he wanted was Kenna and with him, she’d be safe. She would be his wife, his queen. In fact, she’d be safer this way.
Diavolos had no illusions about his father and knew that Luther had intended to claim Stormholt one way or another and that his original plan wouldn’t have worked out well for the young princess, but thanks to Diavolos, she would be safe.
What about Adriana? A little voice asked, but Diavolos dismissed it. Adriana wasn’t his concern, Kenna was.
And perhaps his motives weren’t entirely pure, but nothing that had happened had in this room had been a lie. He’d wanted Kenna more than he’d ever wanted another woman, more than that he truly cared about her. He wanted a life with her.
Diavolos intended to keep the promises he’d made tonight with his lips and his body. He would make Kenna his wife and he would spend a lifetime worshipping her and protecting her. Whatever his father had planned for Adriana or Stormholt, didn’t have any impact on that, on what Diavolos and Kenna would build together.
—
