His cock was glossy with her, still hard and flushed. She wrapped one hand around the base and took him into her mouth without hesitation. The taste of herself mixed with his skin. She sank down until her lips met her fist, then drew back slowly, tongue pressing firmly along the underside.
Zaeryn’s hand settled in her hair, not pushing, just resting there as she worked. She kept the rhythm deliberate deep, steady sucks, cheeks hollowing on the upstroke, tongue swirling around the head before she took him in again.
His breathing grew heavier above her. She could feel the subtle twitch of his cock against her tongue, the way his hips started to shift in small, controlled movements. Sage didn’t pull away. She took him deeper, relaxing her throat, letting him slide farther each time until her nose brushed his skin.
Zaeryn’s fingers tightened in her hair. A low, rough sound left him. She felt him swell against her tongue, then the first pulse of his release hit the back of her throat. She stayed down, swallowing around him as he came thick, hot pulses that she took without pulling off.
Only when the last tremor passed did she ease back, letting him slip from her mouth. A thin strand of saliva and come connected her lower lip to the head of his cock for a second before it broke.
She stayed on her knees a moment longer, breathing evenly, one hand still resting lightly on his thigh.
Zaeryn let out a long, unsteady breath, the remaining tension draining from his shoulders. He looked down at her as she got up.
Sage’s legs were still shaky, and she sagged against him the moment she was upright. Zaeryn wrapped both arms around her waist, holding her securely against his chest while she caught her breath.
She rested her forehead against his collarbone, the frantic pounding of her heart slowly settling against his skin.
"I believe," she murmured dryly, her voice still raspy against his shirt, "that was an acceptable use of our forty minutes."
Zaeryn’s mind was already somewhere else. Tomorrow was going to be a scary day.
"More than acceptable," Zaeryn replied.
Even as Zaeryn continued holding her, part of his mind had already begun moving towards what awaited him tomorrow.
Sage noticed the change almost immediately. The warmth had not left his embrace, but tension was gradually returning to his shoulders as the Imperial Council reclaimed his attention.
"You’re thinking about tomorrow," Sage said, lifting her head from Zaeryn’s chest.
"It’d be difficult not to," Zaeryn replied.
"I’d be more concerned if you weren’t thinking about it at all," Sage admitted. "That would suggest you still don’t understand what you’re walking into."
Zaeryn released her, moved towards the sofa and sat down.
"You’ve got an interesting way of making someone feel better," Zaeryn observed.
Sage remained standing in front of him and looked down at his face.
"I didn’t say I was trying to make you feel better," Sage replied. "I’m trying to make sure nothing they say catches you unprepared."
A soft chime passed through the suite before the communication panel beside the door illuminated.
"Dr. Stellan’s authorized access period will expire in five minutes," a calm voice announced.
Sage looked towards the panel with visible displeasure.
"They have remarkable timing," Zaeryn observed.
"The Crown gave me forty minutes and apparently intends to recover every second it didn’t authorize," Sage replied.
Zaeryn rose from the sofa, crossed the space between them and placed both hands around her waist before kissing her. When he drew back, his expression had become more questioning.
"The Crown?" Zaeryn repeated.
"Yes, the Crown," Sage replied. "The Council brought you here because they consider you a matter of national concern now. This isn’t something Athea gets to handle privately anymore."
"Good to know," Zaeryn replied dryly.
Sage reluctantly stepped out of his arms and began restoring some order to her appearance. Her silver hair had partly escaped from its tie, and several attempts were required before she managed to gather it properly again. Zaeryn watched her straighten the pale coat of the Aegis Division and smooth the creases from the front.
"You’ll be there during my evaluation tomorrow?" Zaeryn asked.
"Yes," Sage answered. "I’ve been instructed to attend the first part because I’ve examined you more extensively than anyone currently in the Capital."
Zaeryn raised an eyebrow. "Examined me?"
"Scientifically," Sage clarified, giving him a pointed look.
"I didn’t say anything," Zaeryn replied.
"You were about to," Sage said.
Zaeryn smiled faintly, but the expression faded when Sage approached him again.
"They’ll ask whether I altered you," Sage continued. "Several Council members already believe your abilities might be the result of an illegal experiment."
"What are you going to tell them?" Zaeryn asked.
"That the suggestion is scientifically embarrassing," Sage replied. "Then I’ll explain that you could already use Vitae before I ever met you and that nothing in your biology looks artificially enhanced."
"And if they prefer their own explanation?" Zaeryn asked.
"Then they invited the wrong scientist," Sage answered. "I’m not changing my findings to make the Council more comfortable."
Her answer reassured him, although it did not remove his unease entirely.
Sage placed one hand against his chest and glanced towards the illuminated communication panel.
"All right," Sage said. "Give me a proper kiss before I have to leave."
Zaeryn answered by sliding one hand behind her neck and drawing her closer. Their lips met.
Sage parted her lips against his and kissed him more deeply, refusing to let the approaching deadline rush the moment. Zaeryn followed her pace until another soft chime came from the communication panel, warning them that only two minutes remained.
Neither of them immediately pulled away.
When Sage eventually ended the kiss, she remained close enough that their foreheads rested together. Her breathing had become uneven again, and the displeasure in her violet eyes made it clear that she blamed the palace for the interruption.
"Was that proper enough?" Zaeryn asked.
"It was acceptable," Sage replied, although the small smile touching her lips contradicted the deliberately restrained answer.
"Only acceptable?" Zaeryn asked.
"I’m leaving before you make me prove otherwise," Sage said.
She reluctantly loosened her arms and stepped away from him. She used the glossy surface of the communication panel as a mirror while checking her hair.
"You look fine," Zaeryn told her.
"I looked considerably more professional when I arrived," Sage replied.
"I don’t remember noticing," Zaeryn said.
"That’s because you were looking somewhere else," Sage replied.
Zaeryn smiled as his gaze dropped towards her cleavage.
"They’re distracting," Zaeryn said.
Sage looked back at him, and for a moment, it appeared that she might abandon the remaining minute entirely. The panel chimed again before she could make that decision.
"Dr. Stellan’s authorization will expire in sixty seconds," the calm voice announced.
"I’m beginning to dislike that voice," Sage said as she moved towards the door.
The door opened before she reached it, revealing the Royal Guard waiting in the corridor to escort her from the secured level.
Sage stopped at the threshold and looked back at Zaeryn.
"I’ll see you tomorrow," Sage said.
"Tomorrow," Zaeryn replied, nodding.
Sage stepped into the corridor, and the Royal Guard fell into place beside her. Zaeryn watched until the door closed behind them, leaving him alone once more with the silence of the guest suite and the evaluation waiting at the end of the night.
He remained near the door for several seconds before hunger finally drew his attention towards the small kitchen built into the adjoining room. He had eaten nothing since arriving in the Capital, and now that Sage was gone, his body had apparently decided to remind him.
Zaeryn opened the refrigerator and found almost nothing inside.
Several bottles of water occupied the upper shelf, but there was no actual food. The cupboards proved equally useless.
Apparently, guests were expected to request their meals through the communication panel rather than prepare anything themselves.
Zaeryn considered ordering something, but the idea of waiting for another palace attendant to arrive, announce herself and watch him receive a tray made the hunger seem less important.
Marceline had specifically warned him to eat before his anxiety ruined his appetite. She would undoubtedly remind him of that conversation if she discovered that he had gone to sleep hungry only a few hours later.
Zaeryn took one of the bottles of water and closed the refrigerator.
It was still far too early for him to feel genuinely tired, but there was nothing he wanted to do. The suite offered more entertainment than he could reasonably need, and his Omni-Pad contained several games, yet none of them could hold his attention while tomorrow remained ahead of him.
More than anything, he wanted the night to disappear.
Going to sleep was the closest thing available to skipping the remaining hours and reaching the evaluation sooner. Once tomorrow arrived, he could finally stop wondering what the Imperial Council intended to do and get the entire ordeal over with.
Zaeryn returned to the bedroom, placed the unfinished bottle beside the bed and lay down.
Sleep refused to cooperate with his plan. He remained awake for what felt like hours, changing position whenever his body became uncomfortable and opening his eyes whenever another possibility concerning the evaluation entered his mind.
Even after he finally drifted off, sleep came only in short, uneven intervals. Each time he woke, the illuminated clock beside the bed informed him that fewer hours remained before he would have to stand before the most powerful women in the Queendom.
When sleep finally held him for longer than a few minutes, morning was already close.
A chime from the communication panel woke him sometime later.
Zaeryn opened his eyes and stared towards the unfamiliar ceiling while the calm voice of the residence system carried into the bedroom.
"Good morning, Zaeryn Noctis. Your escort will arrive in one hour to take you to the Imperial Council chamber. Please be dressed and prepared to leave."
Zaeryn remained beneath the covers for another moment as the meaning of the announcement settled over him.
The day he had spent the entire night trying to reach had finally arrived.
In one hour, he would stand before the Imperial Council.
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