A Royal Rebellion by Revella Hawthorne

beginning to hurt him. “It hurts.”
    Edward walked over the bed where he knelt, Reynard pausing what he was doing to watch. Edward towered over him, his fingers taking the place of Percy’s as he lifted the collar higher, exposing the skin on the right side of his neck.
    “Damnation,” Edward breathed out, gently moving Percy’s head so he could see all around his neck. The skin was red and chafed on both sides, the back and front not as irritated. “I am so sorry, Percy. I don’t have the key. I lost it after I got shot.”
    “Let me see,” Reynard said, standing at Edward’s side now, leaning over Percy’s other side. Thick fingers with callused pads ran gently over his skin, and Percy shivered.
    “Can you pick it?” Edward asked Reynard, both men touching his neck and the collar. Percy closed his eyes, hyper-aware of the two bigger, stronger men looming over him. Edward meant the ornate locking mechanism that the two ends of the collar disappeared into. It was a dark metal, heavily covered in precious red and white gems, and the ancient collar was designed to fit one key, and one key only, making it nearly impossible for it to be removed by anyone other than the royal who put it on the consort’s neck.
    “If this was a lock designed in the last fifty years or so, I would say yes,” Reynard said, tipping Percy’s chin back and lifting the lock away from his neck as high as it could go. “This necklace is over five-hundred years old, and meant to resist tampering. It was created by some of most ingenious and devious men in history. We would need an expert in ancient lock designs. I’ll do my best, though.”
    Percy blinked his eyes open, eyes watering at the sting as the coils dragged on the inflamed flesh of his neck. Reynard froze, and Edward took the necklace from Reynard, holding the coil off of Percy’s neck.
    “There should be a silk scarf in one of the bags,” Edward said to Reynard, who strode for the side of the room where their bags were stacked. Reynard returned after a moment, and handed Edward a long length of silk, and he held a small blue jar in his other hand.
    “Put some salve on first, on the skin, then the silk,” Reynard advised, opening the small jar. A strong odor rose from it, and Percy crinkled his nose in distaste. Edward chuckled, and dipped his fingers in the creamy ointment.
    The second the salve hit his skin, Percy moaned at the cooling sensation, the pain dissipating, going numb. It was cool, and stung, but it quickly went away as Edward spread a thin layer around his neck. Percy leaned into the touch, eyes growing heavy, the care and thoroughness his master showed in tending to him making him want to melt in pleasure. He hummed, and rubbed his jaw and cheek on Edward’s forearm, looking up and watching every move his lover made.
    Dark eyes met his, and Percy could see a deepening in them, as Edward recognized his fascination and responded. The door clicked somewhere nearby, the captain gone from the room, but Percy couldn’t take his eyes off Edward to check. All he wanted was for Edward to keep touching him.
    Edward was wiping his hands on a towel now, watching Percy as he kneeled on the bed, biting his lip, shifting his weight. Percy whimpered, his body vibrating with need. Percy reached out and tried to grab Edward, but his master backed away, shaking his head. Percy whined deep in his throat, desperately needing Edward to touch him, to take him, his hole growing wet and aching with emptiness. Percy’s body clenched, tight and urgent, and he fell to all fours on the bed, a fine layer of sweat building over his whole body, clothes sticking.
    “Edward, I need. Please,” he begged, arching his back, spreading his legs apart on the bed. He felt the pull and odd weight of his abdomen, and he groaned, eyes falling shut, his muscles thrumming with need as it radiated out from his core. He was very aware of his body, how it felt, how empty and yet how full he felt on