zabiks.cc 
Rohan smiled, bowing. “Of course, Your Majesty. Thank you. Your acceptance means a lot to Jamil.”
The Queen pursed her lips, but he could see a flicker of approval in her eyes. “At least your bloodline is impeccable,” she said grudgingly.
Behind the Queen, her wife rolled her eyes, making Jamil laugh.
His beautiful eyes shining, Jamil grinned at him and squeezed Rohan’s hand, his relief and happiness filling their bond like sunshine.
Rohan couldn’t help it: he kissed him quickly on the mouth.
“Tai’Lehr!”
Chapter 38
“I’m sorry, come again?”
Prince Seyn of the Third Grand Clan stared at his older brother and wondered if this was just a vivid, elaborate dream. He was still having trouble processing everything that had happened in the past few days—it still seemed unbelievable that his so-very-proper brother had been having an illicit relationship with a rebel under their very noses for months—but this was too ridiculous.
He received a flat look from Jamil. “Mother insists that I need to have a chaperon every time I’m alone with Rohan until the divorce is finalized.”
Seyn chuckled, shaking his head. “I’m not even going to talk about the absurdity of me being a chaperon, but eh, isn’t it a little too late for that?” It was stupid. Why did it matter, anyway? Everyone now knew that Jamil and Mehmer were getting a divorce, and Mehmer had already moved out of the palace and gone traveling until the scandal would blow over. Seyn had felt a little bad for him, except Mehmer didn’t seem all that upset. If anything, he had seemed cautiously excited about no longer being constrained to comply with the stifling rules he had imposed on him since before he could talk as a future king-consort of the Third Grand Clan. There didn’t seem to be bad blood between him and Jamil, as far as Seyn could see. They still seemed to be friends, even if their relationship was a little strained and awkward. In any case, Mehmer was unlikely to give a shit if Jamil and his future husband weren’t chaperoned while they were alone.
“It was the Queen’s condition,” the man who was seated next to Jamil said, his eyes on Jamil.
Seyn was still trying not to gawk at him. When Seyn saw him a few months ago in the palace, Jamil introduced him as his manservant. At the time, Seyn had thought it very strange—that man looked nothing like a royal manservant, with his tattoos, the aggressive set of his chin, and black eyes that unnerved Seyn a little. To tell the truth, an aristocrat’s attire suited him much better than a servant’s, but he still had that… wildness about him that seemed completely indecent. Seyn blushed a little as he realized that this man exuded raw animal appeal, which was what had really made him so uncomfortable months ago. It still did. Seyn naturally gravitated toward more refined, haughty men—all right, toward Ksar—while Rohan’s kind of male attractiveness just made him feel awkward. He still couldn’t believe that his very proper brother had a relationship with such a man. Was the world ending?
“You know how she is,” Jamil said, shifting a little so he was closer to Lord Tai’Lehr.
Seyn wondered if Jamil thought he was being subtle. It was kind of amusing to watch Jamil struggle to keep his gaze on Seyn. His eyes kept returning to Lord Tai’Lehr, and there was such want in them that it made Seyn a little uncomfortable, to be honest.
“It’s not the only reason we wanted you here,” Jamil said, tearing his gaze from Lord Tai’Lehr with obvious difficulty. Lord Tai’Lehr didn’t even bother looking away from Jamil. Seyn felt more uncomfortable by the moment.
“We wanted…” Jamil seemed to lose his train of thought, his eyes becoming glazed, for seemingly no reason at all.
Frowning in bemusement, Seyn looked at the two men and focused on his senses. He was still not very good at this aspect of his telepathy, but even he could see that Jamil’s telepathic presence was… fused with Lord Tai’Lehr’s. For all intents and purposes, they looked like one being in two bodies.
Seyn stared at them, his mouth falling open. Holy—Were they engaging in a merge right in front of him? Without touching each other? He hadn’t thought it was possible, but apparently it was. Jamil looked high, his gaze vacant, a flush on his cheeks and pleasure rolling off his body in gentle waves. As for Lord Tai’Lehr, his glazed black eyes were still fixated on Jamil, his body tense with arousal.
Seyn blushed and looked down.
Eh, was he supposed to stop them? Wasn’t it his duty as a chaperon? One could argue that a telepathic merge was more intimate than physical joining of bodies.
He almost laughed at that thought. He would be the biggest hypocrite in the world if he criticized someone for engaging in illegal telepathic merges. Though he was pretty sure he and Ksar had never been this bad about it. Jamil and Lord Tai’Lehr were showing all signs of merge addiction. They must have done it countless times to slip into the merge so effortlessly—so recklessly and shamelessly. It was obscene. It was as obscene as if they were having sex in front of him.
Chancing another glance at the two men, Seyn blinked.
Jamil was leaning into Lord Tai’Lehr’s side, his head on his shoulder and their entwined fingers on Tai’Lehr’s flat stomach. Their eyes were still glazed. Seyn was pretty sure they were communicating mentally.
Jamil finally glanced at Seyn, his face suspiciously pink. “You didn’t see this,” he mumbled. He seemed to be trying to look imperious and commanding, but he failed miserably, considering that he was all but purring as he snuggled up to his bondmate.
A laugh left Seyn’s mouth. “See what? Nothing to see here.”
Tai’Lehr’s free arm draped around Jamil’s shoulders, pulling him even closer. He turned his head, his lips brushing against Jamil’s temple. A small sound left Jamil’s mouth, his lips parting and his eyes becoming completely glassy. Seyn wasn’t sure his brother even remembered anymore that they weren’t alone in the room.
Noticing Tai’Lehr’s fixated gaze on Jamil’s lips, Seyn cleared his throat before things could escalate. Yikes, he never wanted to know what his big brother was like with a lover. Jamil had been happy with Mehmer, but their relationship had been nothing like this. He’d rarely seen Jamil as much as kiss Mehmer in someone else’s presence. He was too proper for that. Or he had been, at least.
“You said it wasn’t the only reason you wanted to see me,” Seyn reminded his brother. When Jamil didn’t even react to his voice, Seyn started getting creeped out. “Lord Tai’Lehr, is my brother all right?”
Tai’Lehr lifted his gaze to him. They were less gone than Jamil’s but still not completely focused. “He’s fine. And you should call me Rohan.”
“He’s fine?” Seyn said, not without sarcasm. “He doesn’t even seem to be here, Rohan.”
Rohan’s hand rubbed Jamil’s bicep as he pulled him closer with a protective arm around him. Jamil buried his face in the crook of Rohan’s neck, his eyes closing.
“He’s fine,” he repeated. “It’s just been a while. He gets clingy when we’ve been apart for a long time.” He smiled ruefully. “I’m not much better, to be honest, but I’ve had the best training in the mind arts Tai’Lehr could offer. Jamil hasn’t. The merge is more overwhelming for him while I can still maintain part of my awareness of the outside world.”
Suppressing his curiosity about the training Rohan had received—now wasn’t the time to discuss it—Seyn asked, “What did you want me here for? Jamil started talking about it before getting… distracted.”
“We want your help. Or rather, your fiancé’s help. To get the High Adept’s support, I had to promise Idhron things I’d rather not give him.” Rohan grimaced. “That man has too much power as it is. You told Jamil that Prince Ksar was able to get behind Idhron’s shields and get some dirt on him. If you could convince Ksar to share what he learned, it would be very helpful.”
Seyn frowned, his stomach clenching in discomfort as he remembered his last meeting with the High Adept of the High Hronthar. “I’ll ask Ksar. I don’t think he’ll refuse to tell you, even though he isn’t exactly your biggest fan after you all but blackmailed him to support you in the Council.”
Rohan shrugged, not looking very contrite. To be fair, he seemed to be paying the conversation only marginal attention at best, his gaze on Jamil’s face as Jamil’s eyelashes fluttered open.
“All right?” Rohan murmured, his voice significantly softer as they gazed into each other’s eyes. “Feeling better?”
Jamil gave him a smile that Seyn could only describe as smitten. “Yeah. So much better. Love you.”
Seyn turned away, beyond uncomfortable. A merge was an incredibly intimate experience and he felt like a voyeur watching it—and kind of envious. Not trusting his self-control, Ksar allowed them to merge only when Seyn demanded it during sex. Seyn’s stomach fluttered as he imagined what a merge with Ksar would feel like outside sex.
He should absolutely find out.
“All right, I’ll get on with it,” Seyn said, clearing his throat. “I’ll speak to Ksar right now. I’m sure you two will be fine without me chaperoning you—” He turned to the couple and then promptly turned away, flushing. “Could you maybe wait until I’m gone before you get into his lap, brother?”
“Go away,” came a breathless reply between the kissing sounds. “And you didn’t see anything.”
Laughing, Seyn left.
He was the best chaperon ever, wasn’t he?
Epilogue
“Mommy, look!”
Shayla looked up from the oven as her seven-year-old daughter burst into the kitchen, waving a magazine in her hand.
“What is it, Nina?” Shayla said, straightening up, which wasn’t an easy feat so late in her pregnancy.
Nina beamed at her. “Look, Mom, the prince’s wedding is in this magazine! There are so many pretty pictures!”
