An Unexpected Return by Jessica E. Subject Page A

Benignus, how you fill me so.”
    His cock jumped, demanding attention. He’d love no more than to watch them fuck, stroking himself, but then he’d never get a chance to leave. Time for the next phase .
    Rushing down the corridor, he ignored the lavish silks of purple and gold hanging on the walls, for the extravagance did not suit him. He wanted to rule his father’s kingdom on Tyto, the moon of Otaria, no more than he wanted Madelia as his queen. Not until he was ready to settle down. The excessiveness of this lifestyle had never held any appeal to him anyway. Even as a child, he’d preferred to explore the caves of Tyto with the common children, or stow away on a supply ship to visit other planets, only to be dragged back home by his guard.
    Reaching his father’s study, he burst through the door. The warmth hit him like a brick wall. He drew in a quick breath. “Father, I need your help. Benignus is very ill. He’s been in the lavatory with the sickness. I believe he ate some tainted food.”
    The king peered up, examining him. “No one else has shown any signs of the sickness. Seriously, at twenty-one star cycles, I would expect the two of you to have outgrown your antics. What kind of trouble have you gotten into this time?”
    “No trouble at all, sir. Please help him. I have him resting in my bed now, but he is too ill to move to his own quarters.”
    “Thornton!”
    The stout man—and the only Terran friendly with his father—entered the room as soon as the king beckoned. “Yes, Your Majesty?”
    “Fetch the doctor and bring him up to the prince’s quarters.” The king stood up, his purple robe billowing behind him. “Let’s go.”
    Aristides hurried to follow his father, hoping Benignus had stuck to the plan and would last long enough to get caught.
    “Were you in those caves again? You know the black magic there causes the sickness.”
    He sighed. The humid caves were filled with bacteria, occasionally causing visitors to become sick if they didn’t wash after returning from them. His father, though, preferred to live in his fantasy world. “No, Father, we went directly to my quarters after dinner.”
    “Honestly, you two cause more trouble than any common child.”
    His father reached his suite first. The lights flashed on and in an instant, they were treated to a view of Madelia, who sat on top of Benignus, speared by his cock.
    “What is the meaning of this?” The king’s face turned from its usual shade of blue to bright red, heat radiating from his body even in the cooler part of the castle.
    Benignus scrambled out from under Madelia. He held his stomach. “I was there lying on the bed and she climbed on top of me. I was too weak to push her off.”
    Smirking behind his father, Aristides winked at his friend.
    Madelia chose that moment to turn around and glare at him.
    “And you, woman?” the king asked.
    She cowered under his father’s glare. “I thought he was…. Oh, fuck. I was set up.”
    “No one talks like that to me or anyone while on my land.”
    Everyone cringed. His father hadn’t been born into a kingdom, but had given himself the title after settling on Tyto. He’d been the president of Otaria, and when he and his followers left for the moon, he’d changed his title to king, and declared the state a monarchy. Though Aris had never understood why his father left in the first place. Every picture he’d seen of his birth planet, the luscious forests and open sky, had left him with an ache to flee from Tyto.
    But oh gods, his childhood had been hell, growing up in the cold-climate underworld. He’d been a toddler when his father moved him there. He grew up speaking in the “proper manner,” yet his schoolmates spoke in the old world way. He’d learned the rough dialect and every curse word, yet he took care to revert back to the royal tongue when at home in the castle. He couldn’t wait to leave.
    “Aristides.” His father pulled him forward. “Since she is