A/N: Hello my loves! This chapter was real intense to write and not as long as I'd like it to be - but the ending felt right ❤️ Hope you're all enjoying your summer! I recommend ice coffee and sunscreen ☀️

I'll get around to editing ASAP ❤️

Chapter 6.

The next morning Deon woke to a clink of metal and swishes of fabric. Servants were placing bowls of meat, eggs, fruits and round loafs of bread on a blue stone table that hadn't been there the day before. Their chests were bare and they wore long gossamer skirts with gold bands adorning their arms and necks.

Alen's breaths were warm against his shoulder and his leg was thrown over Deon's hip.

A small girl placed a vase of white flowers on the nightstand. She couldn't have been more than ten years old and her wavy hair was tucked behind her ears. Her light eyes peaked up at him and widened in alarm when she saw him watching her.

Deon flushed. The sheet had slipped to his calves and that wasn't anything a girl should see. He opened his mouth to apologize, but she was already scuttling out on the heels of the older women.

"That smells good." Alen murmured and kissed Deon's skin, hand sliding up his chest. Deon's cock stirred and he turned towards his brother.

"He finally rewarded you." Alen breathed in his ear and that put a damper on Deon's mood real quick.

"It's a reward?" He sat up and put his warm feet on the cool stone floor. He felt stronger than he had in days, but when he stood his legs still felt rubbery.

"Yes," Alen stretched languidly, curving his spine and running his fingers through his raven hair, "if he likes you, he sends gifts."

Deon glared at the table, but took a hot loaf from a gold bowl. He wouldn't waste food. He knew exactly how much work went into producing it. Caring for the crops and harvesting them, before they even reached the kitchen.

Sunlight dabbled through ivory curtains with gold patterns and those were new too. There were no chairs and the twins sat on the bed.

Alen dipped a spoon into a red dish that smelled spicy and warm and held it to Deon's lips. "It's good, right?"

Deon frowned but chewed. The food was delicious, but he didn't want to be coaxed. Like a dog obeying the hand that fed him.

"Humans aren't meant to be kept, Len." He muttered and drank a cup of cool fruit water.

"The Peraan aren't like us, De. They live differently. Wouldn't you like to eat like this everyday?" Alen tilted his head and smiled invitingly. His red mouth was fuller from spices and his fingers trailed up Deon's knee.

A servant chose that moment to knock and Deon was almost thankful for the interruption, because biting back the words he wanted to say was starting to make his jaw ache.

They were escorted to the baths and servants scrubbed Deon's skin carefully around his bandages and washed and combed his hair.

A guard followed them up the stairs and into a luxurious room. Silken rugs softened the stone floor and a square balcony showed the ocean in the distance - but Deon's eyes were drawn to a gilded bed, large enough to fit a dozen people.

Two boys were lying on the rumpled sheets. One of them was Roi and his bright head rested on the shoulder of the amber haired youth Deon recognized from the previous day.

Roi sat up and smiled tentatively at Deon. His blonde curls were disheveled and there were red marks on his small wrists and ankles.

Deon felt a kiss on his jaw and his attention returned to his brother. His heart was already beating too fast and his legs trembled from walking up the stairs.

"Come on." Alen whispered and led him to a lounge covered in gold embroidered pillows.

Alen stroked Deon's hair and it was tempting to turn his head into his brother's chest. To hide. But he didn't want to look anymore vulnerable in front of the other boys than he already did.

The amber haired one, especially, was watching him with a mocking smile. His face was sharp and elfin, and there was a self-assured insolence to his body language that made Deon dislike him instantly.

Alen caught on to his brother's fears and his caresses became more subtle, hand dropping to rest on Deon's hip in silent comfort.

The door opened and the prince stepped in, dropping his kilt carelessly on the floor. Several guards followed and stood silent against the wall.

"Seyin." The prince gestured to Deon and sprawled on the bed, bending one leg to show his cock heavy between his legs.

"Go." Alen whispered and pushed Deon up urgently.

He stood shakily and stared at the grown man watching him with lazy satisfaction. Like a cat who caught a mouse. His black hair was damp and curling against his sharp jaw - and his dark skin gleamed against the pale sheets.

"Don't be shy." The man held out a hand that shone with jewels and Deon wanted to spit on it. But after everything he'd endured, he forced himself to take a step. Then another. And another. Until he could brace a hand against the edge of the rune engraved bed and sit. Ignoring the prince's outstretched hand.

The weakness in his muscles transferred from his legs to his spine, but he kept his back straight and stared hard at the floor.

"Still stubborn?" The prince spoke in his ear and Deon felt the man's warmth behind him. A large hand touched his spine and fingers dug into his wounds. Deon grit his teeth against the pain, but didn't move away. "I'm not usually this patient. My boys will think I've gone soft."

A hand gripped Deon's chin and turned his head. He screwed his eyes shut and felt the man's mouth on him. The kiss was hard and demanding and a tongue invaded his mouth, tasting of honey and wine.

The prince released him and tugged him down. He felt one of the boy's brush against him and caught a flash of bright green eyes, before the prince pulled Deon closer. His heart was abruptly racing and he struggled.

"Enough of this!" The prince bore down on him, smothering the boy with his size.

Deon's back crushed into the mattress and he gasped with pain. Every inch of the man's body pressed against him and Deon could smell the fragrant oils on his skin, feel the muscle that was gained through strict training and not real labour.

The hands on him were strong, but smooth and manicured. The prince had never worked for anything in his life. He was born into riches. He'd never gone hungry. Never toiled until his bones ached. And all he did was take. Deon's brother. His freedom. His body. His pride. And Deon hated him. Hated him.

"Get off me!" Deon shouted and thrashed as hard as he could. He heard gasps beside him and then hands were around his neck. Squeezing.

Deon's air cut off and he struggled harder. A knee forced his legs apart and then a hard rod pressed between his buttocks and tore into him. The assault left him stunned and his vision went dark. In the next instant he could breathe and a voice spoke in his ear. Breathless and mocking. "Calm yet?"

Deon coughed and wheezed for air. The cock in his ass felt like it was searing hot, burning into skin with each thrust, and he scratched the body on top of him mindlessly.

The hands returned to his throat and strangled him into stillness. In the distance he thought he heard Alen shout, but then the pain drowned everything out.

A hard slap against his face brought him back and he gasped, blinking away black dots, as the body against him lifted. The cock in him pulled free and it felt like a knife unsheathing.

He released a choked sob and a hand stroked his bruised throat. "Last chance, Seyin."

Deon had no strength left and he couldn't meet that cold stare. Instead his blurred eyes fixed on Alen's tear drenched face across the room. His brother was on his knees and his slender arms were gripped by two guards.

Another guard approached the bed and lifted Deon, large arms cradling his body effortlessly. The motion sent another wave of pain through him and, just before the door shut, he heard the prince speak a command and the unmistakable slither of a whip unfurling.

....

The healer tended to him, as she had the previous nights. His skin was sponged, re-bandaged and oil was rubbed gently between his raw buttocks. She fed him tea and a thin porridge that burned his sore throat and sent him into an exhausted sleep.

That night when his mattress shifted he thought it was Alen, but when he turned his head the moonlight caught the glow of ice grey eyes. Deon's insides constricted with fear and his body started shaking. He could feel the tremor, all the way to his fingertips.

The prince smiled knowingly, full mouth curling in the dark, and unclasped the collar around his neck.

"I don't enjoy pain." The young man spoke quietly and dropped the collar onto the nightstand with a heavy clunk of metal. "I like my boys warm and willing. But if you challenge me," He unfurled the dressing around his hips and let it fall to the floor in a whisper of fabric, "I have to discipline you."

He reached out with confident ease, pulling the sheet down to expose Deon completely, and the boy couldn't control his whimper. At least no one was around to hear it.

"Shhh." The prince soothed and pulled Deon into his arms. Deon trembled and shuddered with tears and shame. The man's body repulsed him, smooth and hard and so much stronger.

"Shhh. Gently now." A kiss brushed his temple and a jeweled hand smoothed back his hair and ran down his nape.

When Deon turned his face away, the prince followed and kissed him. And it wasn't a cruel, dominating kiss. It was warm and skilled. A hand touched his cock, working him gently, until his balls tingled and his breathing hitched.

"That's it. Let go." The prince murmured and circled his thumb over Deon's wet tip.

The pleasure, after so much pain, was irresistible and Deon came with a watery gasp. The prince held him again, kissing his sore lips tenderly and whispering sweetness into his ear.

After a long while Deon stopped shaking and the prince touched him again - using hands and mouth to bring him to release expertly and kissing away his tears.

He wasn't sure how much time had gone - or when he stopped resisting and started clinging to those broad shoulders - but something inside him had broken.