Having escaped from his captor’s palace, the strikingly handsome Prince Miro must now make his way to his father’s lands. But first, he must fulfill his promise to the wine merchant who has secreted him out . . . a promise that entails a strange and unusual sexual practice that is foreign to Miro’s sensibilities.
But all hell breaks loose as Miro is found and caught. Now Miro will be executed in a manner befitting an enemy of the state. Is he doomed to die tragically or will he find a way to survive?
This BDSM novelette (15,000 words) is the final book in ‘The Royal Captive’ series.
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They haul me out into the sunshine, where a soft breeze cools my naked body and caresses the tendrils of my hair. The town square is not far from the inn. Soldiers and curious townsfolk pack the area, and the air is filled with chatter, birdsong and freshly baked bread.
A forbidding iron structure has already been erected in the middle of the square. Unlike the previous ones I had been tethered to, this one has a horizontal beam that is much lower, and two vertical beams that support it from the ground. A tortuous-looking iron circle forms the center of the horizontal beam.
My heart sinks.
They place my neck into this iron collar and fasten the clasps. The metal is cold against my skin, and tight – so that I am constantly able to feel the merciless circlet around every part of my flesh. It is not tight enough to choke me, however. My wrists are strapped by leather bonds to the vertical beams, as are my ankles.
My final position is one that requires me to stand with my legs apart. I am still unable to see Tia or Dio anywhere amongst the crowd.
Spirus notices me worriedly scanning the faces.
“No doubt you are wondering about the fates of your friends. All will be revealed shortly.”
“If you’re going to whip me, why don’t you just get it over with?” I snap.
“Whip you?” Spirus laughs. “Oh no. You don’t get off that easily. From what I saw last, you quite enjoyed your little public flagellation, especially when it’s done in the expert hands of a master such as I.”
I glower at him. What he says has truth, but I’m not going to admit it to someone as despicable as him.
Spirus continues, “No, no. What I will suggest to Queen Ariya when she gets here will be quite, quite different. And dangerous. I daresay you will not come out of it alive. The whole thing will be over before King Jai hears of it and even he won’t be able to save you by then.”
I can’t help but feel a frisson of fear run down my spine, no matter how much I braved myself for this. I’ve always told myself, as a soldier and commander of men, that I am prepared for death any time in battle.
But execution is something different. Execution is timed – you will know the exact moment of your death.
Why shouldn’t they execute me? My father is already rampaging at their doorstep, whether or not I am dead. Why not deal a blow to the old man that might finish him off once and for all?
“If you plan to kill me, at least let my friends go,” I say, gritting my teeth. “They had no part in this. I planned and carried out the whole thing. Tia was an unwilling participant. Dio was my hostage . . . I threatened to kill him if he so much as screamed.”
My chest is reverberating with the forceful thuds of my betraying heart. I can only hope Spirus will believe me. If anyone is to die, I should be the only one.
For answer, Spirus merely smiles. His hand dips down and seizes my strapped cock. It is semi-limp for now, but under Spirus’s ministrations, it becomes hard. His other hand pinches my right buttock – so painfully that I have to steel myself not to wince.
“You never could lie well, Prince Miro. Your friends have confessed to aiding and abetting you in their futile attempts to save your life. They will be dealt with in their own way – severely.”
I swallow. “But Dio is a prince! Your prince!”
“Indeed. I’ll leave it to his mother to handle him. But you are mine until her arrival. Mine to use in any which way I choose. I hope you have the stomach for what is about to happen to you.”
