Dagon, meanwhile, had gone to seek out Vernus. To his surprise he found the High Procuress awaiting him in his bathing room. He bowed low to her, then stood awaiting her pleasure.

"What news do you have for me, my prince?" she asked him.

"It goes well, my lady Zenaida," he said, his eyes going to Vernus, who stood with another man.

"You may speak before Durantis, my mate, and his brother, Vernus, my prince," Zenaida said.

"You were right, my lady," Dagon began. "Zeras exercised great control over the queen. He taught her from childhood not to give in to her emotions. So it was that she had never tasted real pleasure until two nights ago when I brought her the gift of joy. Indeed, our bodies fit so perfectly together, it is as if the goddess had fashioned us for one another, as I believe she did. She desires to take me as her mate, but I have demurred, for while I love Kalida, I want her totally happy. Tonight she will invite me and one other man to her bed so she may be certain it is not just lust she feels for me. On the morrow she will, I believe, take me for her true mate. Kava may then choose a new queen."

"Are you certain that this is a wise thing to do?" Zenaida asked him. "If she is content to have you for her mate, then so be it, Dagon. Why must you tempt her with another man?"

"Kalida has been Queen of Kava longer than anyone else, my lady. You said it yourself. No man has ever really pleasured her until me. By taking another man into her bed tonight, she will learn with certainty that I am the only man who can pleasure her. She will then feel no reluctance in relinquishing her power over Kava; and nothing Zeras says to her will change her mind. His influence will be ended, and Kava will have another queen. You must trust me, my lady Zenaida. For Kalida's sake, this is the best way to proceed."

"You are a clever man, my prince," the High Procuress noted. "I am not certain that you are also a dangerous man as well."

"I am but a man in love, my lady," he answered her smoothly.

Zenaida laughed, genuinely amused. "Very well then, if you are certain Kalida will not be distracted by another lover and decide not to take you for her mate, then I must be content with your plan."

"I am the only man for the queen," Dagon replied with certainty.

When Zenaida and Durantis had left, Vernus said, "You do realize, dear boy, that women tend to be fickle. Having opened the gates of passion to our beloved queen, how can you be so certain that another man will not now be able to stoke her fires?"

"Because, my friend," the prince replied, "I know something about Kalida that no one else does. When I told Zenaidathat our bodies were well matched, I did not lie. I have never been able to fit my manhood entirely into any woman until I met Kalida. Her sheath is longer than any I have ever known. She devoured my entire length easily. Part of the problem was that no man had ever been able to fill her. Is there another man here in Kava who can match the size of my penis? If not, then there is no man who will offer the queen the pleasure I can; and only the man who can please her will mate her."

Vernus was almost faint with this revelation. "Ohhh, the lucky girl," he murmured, "to have such ecstasy for eternity!"

Dagon laughed. "A year ago, if I had been told I would be betrayed by my brother, sold into slavery, and become the mate of a beautiful queen, called Kalida, I should not have believed it," he said.

"Then you are content," Vernus said.

"For now," Dagon, Prince of Aramas answered him.

chapter 4

Kalida had chosen a handsome young slave named Adon to join them in her bed that night. He was of medium height with curly blond hair and melting brown eyes. His body was stocky, but well muscled, and his penis was thick, at least eight inches in length. Vernus washed him vigorously, strangely silent.

"You have cared for her other favorites," Adon said nervously. "What is she like? Will I please her? What has happened to the slave with the enormous penis? Did she tire of him that quickly?"

"He will be with you," Vernus said. "He has pleased her greatly. It was his suggestion to her that she might perhaps enjoy having two men to play with rather than just one. You must be at your best, Adon."

"Two men at once," the young man said wonderingly. "The queen's appetite must be a great one indeed, Vernus."

"Oh, it is," he agreed. "I don't envy you, Adon. Women are so demanding, aren't they?" He smiled at the boy.

"What is the other slave's name?" Adon asked.

"Dagon. He is a prince," Vernus replied. The queen, clever creature she was, had chosen a baby, he considered. Obviously she had made her decision, but to please Dagon, was going along with his test of her affections, Vernus thought. Adon was a pretty lad. He hoped they would not devour him whole. "I shall be here in the morning to take care of you, dear boy," he murmured, patting the young man's rosy buttock. Adon did not flinch. "Come now, and I shall turn you over to Zeras, who will take you to the queen's bedchamber," Vernus concluded with an encouraging smile.

"What in the name of Suneva is the matter with you?" Vernus asked Zeras as he delivered the young Adon up for the sacrifice.

Zeras shook his head wearily. "It is all over," he said despairingly. "There is simply no accounting for the vagaries of a woman. I thought I had kept her from her emotions. Now we are ruined, and all because of that man!"

"Nonsense!" Vernus retorted. "We will simply move from here to there. There will be much honor in her former position." Then he glanced meaningfully from Adon to Zeras.

"You are right," Zeras said. "In my disappointment I, who pride myself on my composure, have almost forgotten myself." His scornful glance went to the handsome young blond man. "Come," he told him frostily. "The queen awaits you." Then he ushered Adon to the doors that opened into the queen's bedchamber and pushed him through. He did not go in this time. He could not bear to see Kalida so suddenly and smugly content like some ordinary woman of the city.

Now that they were alone, Vernus said, "If she indeed chooses to take Dagon as her mate, it will be several weeks before a new queen is chosen, and we have to leave the palace. Her private residence has been ready for her for several years now in anticipation of her coming. We'll have a great deal to do, opening it up, furnishing it, preparing for her arrival. And, of course, Dagon's apartments at the Outer Palace of the Consorts must be done up as well. There will be absolutely no time for either of us, or the other servants, to brood, Zeras. It is past time the queen took a mate. Surely you know you held no real power here.This is Kava."

"As long as she was queen, I held power, Vernus. Do not fool yourself. I have been a man of importance; an adviser to the queen."

"Well, it more than likely is over now. So best not to grieve but to move on, Zeras," Vernus said in practical tones.

The tall, lean man sighed deeply. "I suppose you are right," he admitted. "For all my years in Kava, I never have really gotten used to women controlling everything."

"Let them have the power, and the responsibility, my dear," Vernus said with a chuckle. "I enjoy being taken care of, and having no worries except whether I can obtain oil of gardenia for the queen's bath supplies." He took Zeras by the arm. "Let us go and have a goblet of wine, my dear. Everything always looks so much better after a small draught of the grape."

"Two men at once," Zeras despaired. "I have never known her to be so insatiable. You will not believe what she said to me today."

"Well, do come along and tell me," Vernus replied; but as they hurried off, he glanced at the closed doors of the queen's bedchamber. Poor little Adon. He did hope they would treat him kindly.What on earth did a woman do with two men?

The doors closed behind him, and Adon stood a moment, his eyes growing used to the dimness of the queen's bedchamber. The only light was that of flickering candles set about in gold and silver holders upon the marble floor and on the inlaid tables. The room was filled with the fragrance of wildflowers. The queen was sprawled naked upon the great bed, and the slave with the great penis lounged assuredly by her side. Adon stood frozen. They were the most beautiful couple he had ever seen. He felt a tingling in his manhood.

"Come and join us," the queen called silkily to him. "Do not be afraid, my pretty Adon. I shall not bite you… well, at least not yet." Then she laughed softly, her slender hand beckoning him forward.

Encouraged, he walked across the chamber until he reached them.

"Onto the bed, my pretty Adon," Kalida commanded gently. "I want to see more closely what you have for me." She caressed him as if she were patting a favored pet. "Ohhh, how strong you seem." Her elegant fingers sleeked over his muscled arm. "What do you do?"

"I work in your gardens, my queen," Adon said.

"Do you like my gardens, pretty Adon?" she purred.

"Yes, my queen! I was a farmer's son before I came to Kava," he replied. "The caliph's tax collectors took me in exchange for the additional taxes they said my father owed them."

"And how old are you, little pet?" Kalida asked him.

"I am seventeen, my queen."

"You had no wife?" Kalida's hand brushed Aden 's thigh.

"A betrothed. We were to be married in the full moon after her first show of blood, but I am no virgin, my queen. I know what a man must do to please a woman."

"I am twenty-three," the queen told him, "and I have been pleasing myself with men since I was thirteen. Have you had a woman since you came to Kava?"

He blushed. "No, my queen. There are no women in your gardens, I fear. That is where I have been in the year since I arrived."

"Do you know how the women of Kava make love, little Adon?" The queen's green eyes narrowed as she spoke, assessing her new lover.

"I have heard rumors, my queen," he said, blushing further.

"You will do nothing without my permission,or Dagon's," Kalida told him, the fingers of one hand now marching down his chest, across his taut belly toward his groin. "Dagon knows what pleasures me, and so I have given him permission to act for me when he divines I wish it. Do you understand, my pretty little Adon?" She took his penis in her hand and squeezed it lightly.

"Y-yes, my queen," he half gasped.

"Excellent," Kalida said, releasing her hold on him. Turning onto her back, she put her hands behind her head. "You may both now begin caressing me," she told them sweetly. She watched through slanted eyelids as their hands began to move over her body. Dagon's touch was sensuous and sure. Adon's was shy and hesitant. She could understand that he was not certain of himself. She took one of his hands and placed it upon her small, round breast, smiling into his startled face even as she did so. "Do not be afraid, pretty Adon," she purred.

He grew bolder with her encouragement, slapping her breast lightly, pinching the nipple gently. Then, seemingly unable to help himself, he bent, and began to kiss the plump little breast.

"Lick her," he heard Dagon say to him.

"Ohhh, yes!" Kalida agreed as the two men began to stroke her with long, warm, wet sweeps of their tongues. They licked her lithe body from her neck all the way down to her toes. Then Dagon turned her over, and they began to tongue upward over her legs, her thighs, her buttocks, the length of her back, pushing aside her long hair to finish with the nape of her neck. She was again rolled over. Dagon, pillows propped behind his back, took Kalida between his open legs, his big hands wrapping themselves about her breasts. Kalida's legs fell open, revealing her bounteous treasures to the wide-eyed Adon.

"Go on," Dagon encouraged him. "You know what to do now, don't you? Her pretty cunt is as sweet as honey. Taste it!"

"Oooooo!" Kalida squirmed in Dagon's embrace as Aden 's pointed tongue began to explore her most intimate places, hesitantly at first, then with bolder stabs, and caresses that set her aflame. It was absolutely delicious, she thought. While she wanted Dagon for her mate, she would certainly keep her facile-tongued little gardener about. His tongue plunged into her sheath, and she squealed again with delight. Having Dagon pinching her nipples and fondling her breasts while little Adon tongued her pleasure point was wonderful. Her hips wiggled furiously. Finally, when she could take no more of his incredibly sweet torture, she managed to gasp, "On your back, Adon! I want to mount you!"