Acceptance

Chapter 66

Qin's POV

I wiped sweat from my forehead as I moved the stone out of the way. "Find anything," Nathaniel asked me as he came in. I had to admit, he looked really good in his black muscle shirt, dark jeans, and work boots. I shook my head, "Nothing." He pulled a list out of his back pocket and checked off this sight. "Drake and Shelton didn't find anything at the other sight. Ready to move on to the next one," He asked me. I nodded, "Yeah." I took off the gloves I was wearing and grabbed my water bottle. We went to his waiting Jeep and got in. I sighed when I sat in the seat. "How much longer do you think it's going to take us," Nathaniel asked me. "Well since it's just the four of us, a couple of more days. Not including the drive back to the castle," I replied while making sure the passenger side air vents were pointed at me.

Today was the first day of our search, ensuring no other children were at the past rebel camps. Not wanting to waste my magic, I've been using my hands and putting sweat into looking. I use special roots to find any living organisms, but they cant tell me if there is a dead body under the ground. So we have to lift up floors and other things to make sure the dirt hasn't been messed with. We also check basements and warehouses. It's a lot to do, but we have to do it. And the girls don't know we're out here doing this. We didn't lie to them either. We told them we had important matters to take care of and we would be back as soon as we were finished. We forced Pyrus to stay behind because of his knee. He growled his protests but he understood. Plus someone needed to be there to help Cindy with the twins since Alice is still on bed rest. 

We drove until sunset, pulling up to a camp ground to stay for the night. We set up camp and I used my magic to make a makeshift shower with complete privacy to use. I scrubbed the sweat, dirt, and grime from my body quickly, wanting to enjoy the food I could smell Nathaniel cooking. I made the water stop pouring down before grabbing my towel and drying off. I then wrapped it around my waist before stepping out. I changed into some basketball shorts in the tent before taking over for him so he could wash up. By the time he was finished, dinner was ready. We sat by the fire as we ate. "Do you think this will work," I asked him softly. "Maybe not entirely, but it's a start," He replied to me. I have never been on the receiving end of the women's anger before, and it's not a place I like to be. He nudged me, "It's going to be okay, my King." I sighed and put my empty plate to the side, "It's not just the women being on mad at us that's got me worried. Alice is on bed rest. The rebel movement is still going strong. And I'm scared what Aniavin has planned." 

Aniavin was a kingdom on another kingdom that we were once in a war with. They were wanting to take over the world and rule it under their one kingdom. With everything we have going on with our own people they thought it a great idea to send in some of their assassins to extract information from Shelton. "That's who attacked Shelton wasn't it," Nathaniel asked me. I nodded, "Yeah. The council wanted to keep the fact they still existed a secret, and they were doing a great job of that, until they attacked Shelton. We weren't aware until I saw them that day. Shelton and I approached the council about them, and they told us they were looking for the Blood Stone. We didn't even know what that was until Shelton clicked the pieces together on why it was him they targeted." 

"What's the Blood Stone," Nathaniel asked me. "It's an artifact known the boost one's magic abilities. It was once used when Lord Dracul tried making vampires the supreme species thousands of years ago. The out come of him using the stone was that it stripped him and all vampires of their magical abilities, leaving you with only your natural abilities. Your father may vaguely remember that point in time, but since he was a child when it happened, he may not," I explained to him. "Where is the stone now," Nathaniel asked next. "Shelton didn't want to share that with me. He wanted to keep it to himself so that only he would be their target," I said with a sigh. "However why the Aniavin need the stone, I don't know since they have no ley lines on their continent whatsoever so no one can do magic there until they leave their kingdom." 

"Is it possible they want to take it to make sure a certain powerful hybrid doesn't get her hands on it," Nathaniel theorized. I nodded, "We've thought of that idea. However, why not just target her instead. Eliminate the threat entirely." "Because of how powerful Alice is," Nathaniel answered. "None of us have truly seen the extent of her power. We see how large Adira is, but we don't know what sort of magic she has in her arsenal," He explained while nudging me. "Just like we don't know what you can truly do. So if it's so secret then why are you sharing it with me?" 

"Because us hiding things is what got us in this mess with Alice and Cindy. You all will be crowned soon enough so I don't see why it's so important to wait. I'm done hiding things from all of you," I told him. "And if you get any back lash from the council for it, I'll be there to defend you," He told me. I smiled softly at him, "Thanks." He then kissed me softly and I gladly returned it. When he deepened the kiss, I let him take control. 

Nathaniel's POV

Wanting to ensure no one could see us in case other campers were to hike past our campsite, I took him into the tent. As my tongue invaded his mouth I slipped my hand into his trunks and grabbed his hard member. He moaned and pressed into my hand. "So needy my King," I teased him. "Why don't you give me what I need my Prince," He countered with that familiar spark in his eyes. I smirked, "If you insist." I removed his shorts, his hard cock already leaking with precum. I grabbed the lube out of my bag that I packed as a just incase, and began to prep him. We should be resting so we would have plenty of energy to continue our search bright and early, but I just couldn't resist this one on one moment with Qin. It's been far too long since we've last got to enjoy each other. When he was ready, I removed my own clothes and lubed myself before pushing into his tight cavern. Goddess it's been so long. I kissed him as he adjusted to my size before thrusting when he was ready. I wanted to ensure he thought about this night for a while, keeping his mind from the worries back home a little longer so I ensured he would feel this for more than just tonight. By the time I was finished with him, we were both sticky with cum and sweat. He had trouble keeping his eyes open and I couldn't help my smirk of satisfaction. I cleaned us both up before laying on top of my sleeping bag and pulled him close to me. As he slept I ran my fingers through his hair. 

He took it the hardest after the fight with the girls. He just wanted to do the right thing and not give them more to worry about. Making these decisions don't come easy, and it's definitely not easy making them alone. A lot of it's confidential, that he isn't allowed to share with us just yet because we aren't crowned. Shelton was the exception since he is on the council, but the rest of us are in the dark. Most of us are used to being in the dark over these kinds of matters because it's our parents' responsibilities since they're still the current rulers. Alice is used to being in the dark, and it's clear she hates it, especially when it's one of us putting her there. I can understand her frustration, but I also understand where Qin is coming from. Sharing it with her, is even harder to do, because she isn't royalty. Tonight he decided to say screw the rules and confided in me. Had he talked to Alice about it first, she would then go bug Shelton for more information so she would know very piece of information so she could plan accordingly. Cindy would be even more furious that they kept it hidden. Pyrus would try to get him to stop talking about it because he doesn't want Qin to get in trouble for sharing this information. And if he shared this with Drake he would bring it up with all of us, resulting in a combination of how the others would react. He shared it with me first because he just wanted an ear to listen to him. 

I have seen the mountains of paperwork Qin has. I have seen the hours he's put in with his warriors, trying to help them adjust to more modern times with the help of the warriors Alice had trained, I've seen him help the warlocks in general try to adjust, and to take a day out of each week to spend time with one of us only to deal with the consequences of it later. The others know he works a lot, but because they're usually so busy doing their own thing,  getting ready for their own coronations, or taking care of the twins, they don't truly see it. Him taking this time out of his busy schedule to go back through the camps and sites is really going to hit him hard when he returns. I want to help relieve as much of his stress as possible, but I know that won't happen until things with our women are fixed, and who knows how long that will take.