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Chapter Text

Dew drops on the skin
of gold. Light shines brightly for
tomorrow's embrace.

The sun shone through the trees, lighting the forest in the warmth of midday as Katsuki hung his cloak out to dry from the limb of an old gingko tree. The red cloth was soaked in sweat and ash, and in need of washing. The birds sang their twittering songs from the canopy overhead, filling the forest with music, and a tired Katsuki sat below. His muscles were sore from practicing a new spell he had been working on mastering, his palms blistered from excess use of his fire magic. He shoved his hands into the cool water of the spring that flowed by where he had set up camp. The chill was soothing, and he sighed contentedly, flexing each digit within the ebb and flow of the current.

Katsuki hummed to himself, something he rarely did, but he was in a good mood despite how much his body hurt. He was so close to mastering the spell and each blister was proof of that. A good workout always raised his spirits, and his spirits were currently very high.

When the stinging in his palms began to subside, he wiped them on his pantlegs to dry, moving back to his camp where the campfire burned. The kindling crackled as the flames licked at the air, spitting embers every so often. The boar he had roasting on the spit above the fire sizzled as grease dripped into the flames. The spices he had slathered onto the meat were fragrant and made his stomach rumble. Katsuki had timed his training well, ending just as the meat finished cooking.

Katsuki dug through his bag, pulling out utensils for his meal, and shoved a large knife into the side of the boar’s stomach. He ripped off a flank of meat and set it on his plate. As he ate in silence, listening to the sounds of nature, a heavy-footed snapping of twigs caught his attention. Katsuki set down the plate, reaching for the blade at his hip, readying himself for battle. He had spent enough time isolated in the forest that he knew to always be on guard.

The bushes rustled as a large figure stepped out from behind a tree. He froze at the sight of the sound. His fingers twitched against the hilt of the blade. What he had thought would be a large animal was instead a towering man with massive red wings large enough to block out the sun. Katsuki’s knuckles turned white as he tightened his grip on the blade. He’d fought plenty of monsters over the years, but never one quite like this. The whispers he had heard on his many travels were more than enough to tell him exactly who stood before him – the tyrant dragon king. Those unmistakable red wings and tail stuck out in the dense forest. The situation Katsuki had found himself in was deadlier than any wild animal; no one survived an encounter with the dragon king.

The dragon king sniffed the air, then his crimson-eyed gaze settled on the boar roasting over the fire. “Ah, so that’s where it was coming from.” His voice was a low rumble that sent a shiver down Katsuki’s spine.

“Leave!” Katsuki shouted at him. He hoped he could remedy the situation without losing his head.

Those red eyes snapped from the campfire to Katsuki, looking him up and down. There was something unreadable in the way he examined him, and the dragon king took a step forward. Katsuki stepped back, poised for battle. “Is this your meat?” asked the dragon king.

Katsuki nodded slowly.

The dragon king’s stomach rumbled. “I would like some.”

“I’m not giving you my food.” He’d worked too hard to kill that boar, planning to sell part of it when he reached the closest village.

“I could take it myself,” said the dragon king. There was something deadly in the look he gave Katsuki. Those eyes said, “share with me or I will take it myself.” Katsuki’s life would surely be taken along with the boar if he continued to protest.

“Fine.” Katsuki relented, not wanting this to be his last day on earth. He moved aside, watching as the dragon king made his way over to the fire.

He had large hands with long talons for nails. Just from a glance, they were at least double the size of Katsuki’s hands, maybe larger. The dragon king didn’t bother using a knife. He raked his nails across the tender flesh of the boar, cutting a slab of meat loose. He used no utensils, and the heat must not have bothered him, as the dragon king held the meat with his bare hands, tearing into it with his pointed teeth. Red scales peppered his arms, legs, and chest, fanning out across his body like freckles kissed by the sun. Massive black horns protruded from his forehead, and his hair was tied loosely to the side in a braid. He was scantily dressed, but the rich red fabrics he wore around his hips and shoulders were of high quality. With those red scales of his, armor was of little use.

He was beautiful, breathtaking even. The artist renditions Katsuki had seen over the years across the continent did not do him justice. They were crude in nature, and it was clear none of them had ever seen the dragon king up close. The ones that had never came away with their life intact. The gold that adorned his shoulders, hips, and ankles shined against his tanned skin. How could someone known for being bathed in blood be so beautiful? The red loincloth at his hips hung from a golden hoop around his waist, dipping so low it barely concealed his cock below. His hip flexors peeked out from beneath, drawing the eyes south.

“Your meat is delicious. What did you season it with?” asked the dragon king.

Katsuki quirked a brow, eyeing him suspiciously, wary of the casual conversation. “Some herbs from the neighboring kingdom. I always keep them on me.” He always stocked up on the seasoning, never going anywhere in his travels without them. His hand was still on the hilt of the blade, though he relaxed just a little. For now, it seemed the dragon king was not out for blood. That didn’t mean he could fully let his guard down, though.

He stared at Katsuki the entire time he ate. Juice from the meat dripped down his chiseled chin, and he licked it away with his long tongue. His gaze fell to the abandoned dish on the ground, and he nodded to it. “Are you going to finish that?”

Katsuki followed his gaze and scowled. He relinquished his grip on the blade to reach for the plate, being careful to keep his eyes on the dragon king the entire time he did so. They were several paces apart, but given the intruder’s large stature, he could clear the distance in the blink of an eye. He was now regretting having strayed so far from the safety of the Todoroki family’s kingdom, but their king Enji was equally ruthless. So much so, that the queen hadn’t left her bed chambers in more than a decade and the crowned prince abdicated his birthright. Katsuki felt pity for the youngest prince Shouto, whom he had grown close to over the last few years, but his melancholy attitude always grated on Katsuki’s nerves.

He should have listened to Shouto. If he had, he wouldn’t be alone in the woods with the deadliest person on the continent. Katsuki loved a good fight, thrived off of it even, but even he knew this was one fight he would not win. Despite his casual behavior, the dragon king radiated power. Katsuki’s magic did not come close to it. Hesitantly, he began to eat his food once more.

“What is your name?” asked the dragon king in a low rumble.

“What do you care?”

Crimson eyes narrowed at him, and Katsuki gulped. “I asked you a question.”

“Katsuki.”

The dragon king hummed, looking satisfied with the answer. “You’re a magic wielder?”

Katsuki cocked a brow. “How can you tell?”

“You smell of magic. What kind?”

He really didn’t want to answer. Sharing his strengths with the enemy would make it easier for them to figure out his weaknesses, but something told Katsuki he had no other choice. “Primarily fire magic, though I am proficient in most other forms.”

“Hm.”

The dragon king licked his fingers clean, his long tongue snaking around each digit, then wiped his hands on the blood red loincloth. As he rose to his full height once more, his thigh slid between the open ends of the fabric, and he towered over Katsuki by at least three feet. Katsuki gulped and dropped the plate on the ground as the dragon king strode over to him. One of his large fingers came to rest below Katsuki’s chin, forcing him to look up into those fierce crimson eyes.

“I’ve been in search of something for a while, and I believe I have finally found what I was looking for.”

“Boar?” asked Katsuki with a glare.

A smirk tugged at the corner of the dragon king’s lips. “No. I can feast on boar whenever I please.” He ran his thumb over Katsuki’s lips, sending a shiver down his spine. “What I seek, I need alive.”

“What does that have to do with me?” asked Katsuki, his voice barely louder than a whisper. Blood pounded in his ears as fight or flight instincts screamed for him to run.

“You are bathed in the warmth of the sun and filled with power. I shall take you as my consort.”

“Excuse me?” Katsuki choked in disbelief. “The fuck you will.” Some of his initial vigor had returned and he would rather fight than give himself up like that.

The dragon king nodded, looking satisfied with his decision. “Yes. You are a fine beauty and will make the perfect bride.”

“I’m not going to be your fucking bride or consort or whatever else!” Katsuki tried to push away from him, but the large hand that had been lifting his chin locked onto his jaw firmly and the dragon king’s other hand wrapped around both of Katsuki’s wrists, keeping him from fleeing.

“You have fire in you, Katsuki. You are perfect.”

He would like to have fire out of him, preferably in the asshole’s face. The fucker wouldn’t listen. With his hands restrained, Katsuki attempted to kick the dragon king to free himself but was hoisted over the man’s shoulder with ease. Large wings beat against the air and then they were off the ground. One arm was wrapped firmly around his waist to keep him in place as the green grass of the forest floor grew further and further away from him. Shit. He couldn’t let himself just be captured. Katsuki was already in enemy territory, if he was taken to the castle, who knew what would happen to him.

“Let me go!” Katsuki flailed, kicking and punching at the dragon’s back to no avail. How could he let himself be captured so easily by a monster such as the dragon king? A spell! He needed to use a spell, but if he wasn’t careful, he could go plummeting to his death. Katsuki started quietly whispering an incantation, his hands pressed firmly against the dragon king’s back. Sparks shot out of his hands, aimed directly at the skin beneath his palms.

The dragon king shuddered, then beat his wings harder. “Tickles,” he said, and tightened his grip around Katsuki’s waist. “Do not do anything reckless, lest you risk me dropping you.” But that’s exactly what Katsuki wanted. “You shall come with me to my horde. It is the finest in all the land. I am sure you will not be disappointed.”

“I don’t want to go to your fucking horde! I want to go back to my camp where all my stuff is.”

“Those are useless things. I have many things in my castle.”

“Fuck you!”

“I intend to,” the dragon king growled loudly against Katsuki’s hip. “You shall be my consort and bear my offspring.”

Katsuki’s eyes shot up through his eyebrows. “Are you fucking blind? I’m not a woman! I can’t bear offspring.”

The dragon king hummed again. Katsuki was already fed up with that hum. “That’s fine. I need not an heir as long as I have you as my bride.”

Katsuki was seething, but before he could do anything else, they were descending. He hadn’t realized just how close he had been to the capital. Large walls surrounded a bustling city, and in the center stood a massive castle. It was even larger than the one that belonged to the Todoroki family.

They landed atop one of the many high towers on the castle and the dragon king folded in his wings. However, he did not let Katsuki down from his shoulder.

(Character concept sketch of Dragon King Eijirou)

Chapter Text

Silently screaming.
Begging you please, let me be.
Take me from here now.

Katsuki was carried over the dragon king’s shoulder down a spiraling staircase in the tower they landed on, through many, many hallways, past dozens of servants, until they finally reached an ornately decorated door. He lifted his body so that he could see where he was being taken, and from his spot on the dragon king’s shoulder, his eyes widened at the sight of the door. It was massive, much like the king, and there were detailed carvings of dragons and soldiers in battle. Jewels were embedded into the wood, and patterns of gold swirled like fire all around.

“My bedchambers,” the dragon king explained with a wave of his hand.

Katsuki stared in disbelief. The dragon king couldn’t be fucking serious about the whole bride thing, and yet, here they were. He didn’t set Katsuki down until they were inside the room with the door shut. The thud of the door echoed in the large, open room. Katsuki was tossed onto the oversized bed with its plush red canopy made of a thick velvet with intricate embroidery.

He huffed and scrambled to a seated position, his arms stretched behind him, resting on his hands. Katsuki stared at the man before him. The dragon king loomed over him, casting a shadow on the evening sun with his large red wings. Everything about him was red—his eyes, wings, tail, scales, clothing (if you could call it that), the room decor—everything except for his obsidian horns that protruded out of his forehead and curved back over the top of his skull. Katsuki gulped, feeling incredibly small not for the first time that day.

“What do you want with me?” Katsuki choked out, a knot forming in his throat. The beat of his heart quickened in his chest. It drummed against his ribcage as if signaling a funeral procession. He wanted—needed—to get to safety.

Those crimson eyes fixed on him as the dragon king narrowed his gaze. “I told you. I’ve taken you as a consort to be my bride.”

Blood pounded loudly in Katsuki’s ears. His fight or flight instinct made his hands tremble from the adrenaline. The warning bells in his head rang loudly. He needed to get out of there. His eyes darted around the room in search of an escape, but in the brief moment he took his eyes off the dragon king, his chin was captured between massive fingers with long, talon-like nails. “Wh-what are you doing?” His breath caught in his throat as he was forced to look into those crimson eyes. They slowly darkened, predatorial in their hunt for something Katsuki did not want to offer.

 “Consummating our union. Everyone will be pleased to hear the news.” There was a glint of something in those eyes that Katsuki was too afraid to unpack.

“I didn’t consent to this,” he gulped.

Hot breath fanned over his skin and his chin burned where the dragon king’s fingers touched. The scalding grasp burned him from within, under the heated gaze of the bloodthirsty dragon. Fucking hell, from now on, he would be better about checking in with the others if he ever managed to get free of this place alive. They had warned him so many times about going off on his own for too long. Katsuki enjoyed his solitude, so he always told them to mind their own business and that he would return whenever he was good and ready.

Tanned lips captured his mouth by force and Katsuki was pushed back onto the bed. His arms gave out from behind him as his back hit the mattress. It was soft, softer than he would have imagined from someone as terrifying as this. In another life, he would appreciate the supple mattress and lush fabrics. It had been a long time since he last slept in a bed. Now though, it felt like a dungeon cell. He twisted beneath the dragon king’s grasp, sheets tangling around his legs, and he tried to push him off. Katsuki learned earlier in the day that the man—beast? Monster? —was strong, too damn strong.

He pressed his hands against hardened pectorals in a feeble attempt to break free. The dragon king’s skin was just as hot on his chest as his fingertips were around Katsuki’s chin. The fucker used his free hand to press his palm flat on Katsuki’s chest, fingers splayed out, covering his entire sternum. The force held Katsuki firmly in place as he continued his struggle to break free.

Katsuki bit the king’s bottom lip, the metallic taste of blood on his tongue did little to deter his captor. The hot, thick muscle permeated the inside of his mouth, sucking the air out of his lungs at the source. Katsuki choked and gasped. He heated his palms, magic crackling just below the skin’s surface.

The dragon king broke away and said, “Use your magic on me and I tie you up.”

It wasn’t a threat but a promise. The stern warning made Katsuki release the magic he had bubbling up. Fear racked his body. What would happen to him if he were restrained further? For now, he was useful, the king wanted to fuck him despite his protests, but if he pissed him off, Katsuki was as good as dead.

“Let me go,” he begged against the dragon’s lips.

The dragon king pulled back slightly, the end of his braid tickling Katsuki’s collarbone, and narrowed his gaze. “You’re not a prisoner. I told you. You are to be my bride. It is considered a great honor.”

An honor Katsuki did not want. He did not want this man. He did not want to be some asshole’s bride. He wanted to go back to his tent in the woods and continue to train his magic and hunt boars.

With his lack of a tunic, the dragon king had little clothing to remove from Katsuki’s body. Though, removing would be putting it nicely. His massive talons tore Katsuki’s multitude of belts and slacks to shreds. They hung limp around his hips as the massive wall of muscle captured Katsuki’s cock in his mouth. He gasped and fought the urge to moan. He couldn’t give that monster the satisfaction of pleasuring him. However, his body was traitorous. Despite his attempts to squirm away, he could feel his length hardening with every lave of the dragon king’s long tongue on his cock.

Katsuki grabbed one of his horns, tugging as hard as he could, but that only seemed to encourage the beast. Like everything else, it had been a while since his last fuck—not since that blonde, illusionist mage he met while traveling in a neighboring kingdom. She had been fun for a romp or two, but that meant his endurance was currently lacking.

“Get off me!” he snapped. Katsuki kicked his feet, hitting muscle, but the dragon king did not flinch, nor did he relent. He sucked on Katsuki’s cock until it was fully swollen with arousal, and he was writhing for an entirely different reason. He felt that familiar, tantalizing heat pool in the pit of his stomach. No. Not now, he protested against his body.

Thick fingers wrapped easily around his ankle, keeping his foot from moving. The dragon king lifted his head, drool and precum trailing from his lips to the tip of Katsuki’s aching cock, and he dragged him down the bed until his ass was at the edge of the mattress.

Shit!

The fucker was serious. There was no denying that fact. Katsuki’s eyes trailed down until they settled on the thin layer of burgundy fabric that did little to conceal the dragon king’s raging erection. There was a damp spot and with the way it was tented, Katsuki could already imagine how obscenely massive it was.

“Don’t,” he choked out, throat raw as tears began to prick at the corners of his eyes.

The dragon king cocked his head curiously, then tossed his braid over his shoulder as he stepped off the bed. He stood there for a moment, studying Katsuki, before wrapping his hands around Katsuki’s thighs, lifting his calves over broad shoulders. Katsuki’s back arched off the bed, only his shoulders and head still touching the mattress. The dragon king reached for his side, undoing a small clasp that held the gold band around his waist that his loincloth was connected to. It fell to the floor in a flurry, and Katsuki sucked in a sharp breath. Fuck. He was so fucked.

A thin layer of crimson scales peppered the dragon king’s pelvis where pubic hair would normally be. His massive cock was layered in slick scales and decorated in golden jewelry that shined brightly in the evening light. Three barbells poked out from one side to the other and precum dripped heavily from the tip.

“Don’t.” Katsuki begged again. He would be split in half on that monster of a cock. “It’s—it’s not going to fit,” he tried again, in a failed attempt to reason with his captor, but the dragon king’s eyes were dark with lust. He knocked the head of his cock against Katsuki’s ass and a large hand cupped each of his cheeks, spreading him wide open. Katsuki clenched his hole as a finger exploratorily prodded at the rim.

The dragon king said nothing as he pushed his finger inside and Katsuki hissed from the pain. If it hurt that much from a single finger, what would a dick that size do?

“Stop,” he begged, fists curling into the sheets.

“Mine,” growled the dragon king. A shudder rolled through Katsuki’s body at how predatory and territorial he sounded. “My bride.”

Katsuki raked his teeth over his bottom lip as the dragon king’s finger pumped in and out of him. He tasted metal on his tongue, and he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, his skin coming away crimson. A second finger pushed in to join the first and the stretch burned more intensely. He gasped. Katsuki blinked tears out of his eyes, his vision blurry. His lashes were damp and his chest tight. He hadn’t realized he was holding in a breath until the fingers fucking into him ceased their assault and were pulled free. Katsuki went slack, the dragon king’s shoulders the only thing holding him up. He wasn’t spared for long though. The dragon king pumped his waiting cock twice before the head breached his rim.

Katsuki cried out from the pressure and pain. It was too much. His body ached for freedom, for the assault to end. The dragon king gripped Katsuki’s thighs painfully tight, his pale skin already starting to bruise within the man’s grasp. The dragon king stopped halfway, and Katsuki wished that was enough to prepare him for what was to come next, but it wasn’t. His captor thrust forward hard and fast, punching the breath out of him. He felt winded, and the drag of the cock inside him burned.

Heat radiated off the man towering over him, fucking into him. His brows were scrunched in concentration, and it might have been cute if the situation was different. He was focused on the task at hand: fucking Katsuki to death. Katsuki let out a garbled sob as his orgasm was forced out of him involuntarily. He hated his body for betraying him in such a way. He wasn’t enjoying this, and yet the river of spunk rolling down his chest toward his face argued otherwise. It pleased the dragon king. Seemingly satisfied with what he had done, he fucked more aggressively. His nails bit into Katsuki’s skin, his tender thighs screaming for release.

He blacked out. Whether from the pain or exhaustion, he couldn’t be sure, but when he came to, the dragon king was still having his way with him. Katsuki had been flipped onto his stomach, face down in the pillows with his ass high in the air. His cock bobbed limply with each thrust and the hands on his hips were the only things keeping him from collapsing into the sheets. He cried into the pillow; sobs muffled by cotton padding. The dragon king sank his teeth into Katsuki’s shoulder as he came, his large body dwarfing Katsuki’s own. The way he wrapped himself around Katsuki felt like a warm blanket that had been airing out in the sun all afternoon after being washed, though it lacked all the comfort of fresh laundry. The heat and weight were an inferno, ready to burn him to a crisp.

When the dragon king finally pulled free of Katsuki’s body, he curled in on himself—naked, bloody, bruised, and oh so broken. He was a powerful mage, and yet, he had never felt more powerless in his life. Sharp nails caressed his spine and Katsuki shuddered. He didn’t want to be touched, far from it. He wanted to hide away and never see another person again, but his body was too tired. Exhaustion ate at his bones. He needed to flee to safety, but his eyelids grew heavy. Fear took over, not knowing what would happen to him if he slept, but he couldn’t stay awake. He was acutely aware of the fact that his body was covered in cum and sweat; something leaked out of his ass, whether that was blood or cum was yet to be determined.

He needed to get up. Katsuki tried to push himself up off the bed, but his arms quaked, and he fell back into the mattress, his head hitting the soft pillow. It was soaked with tears. His hair was plastered to the side of his face, and his throat was raw from crying and begging. Fingers carded gently through his hair, but he didn’t dare look up at the monster touching him so tenderly. He couldn’t see the dragon king’s face. It didn’t matter. Sleep was his inevitable conqueror.

Chapter Text

Water dripping down
Heat rolls off the body now
Savor the moment.

Katsuki woke to the sound of ceramic shattering on tiled flooring. He startled, launching himself upright. His body screamed in protest, his back and ass throbbing. Katsuki hissed, then looked around the room blearily. His eyes burned from crying and when he touched them, he felt puffy bags beneath. The bedroom he had been taken to the day before was just as ornately decorated as he remembered. Katsuki had hoped it was all a terrible nightmare, but no dream could leave him with this level of pain in his body. He searched the room for the cause of the noise, eyes settled on a blond-haired man bent over, cleaning up bits of broken ceramic off the floor.

Katsuki cleared his throat.

The man shot up, turning around to face Katsuki who sat naked on the bed, only a thin sheet covering his lap. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to wake you. I tripped and dropped the bowl of water I had planned to use to help you get clean.”

“Who are you?” Katsuki asked, nay, demanded. He drew his shoulders back, his body going rigid as he attempted a defensive posture. It was hard to achieve with how much pain he was in.

The man righted himself and dusted off his hands, approaching the bed slowly. “Kaminari Denki. I’m one of the king’s attendants. He assigned me to take care of you.”

“Tch.” Katsuki scrubbed his face with the back of his hand. “I don’t need some fucking caretaker.”

Kaminari put his hands up placatingly. “That may be so, but when the king gives an order, we listen. I’m just here to help you.”

“You wanna help me, then get me the hell out of here.”

“That I cannot do. Sorry, man. I can, however, get you cleaned up.”

“I can clean myself, dammit.” Katsuki snapped. He threw back the bed sheet and moved to get out of bed, but his legs gave out on him. Kaminari rushed to his side, catching him by the arm to steady him. “Get off me!” he barked, yanking his arm out of Kaminari’s grasp.

“I’m just trying to help, man.”

Katsuki leaned his knee into the side of the mattress, bracing himself. His legs felt like gelatin, wobbly and unbalanced. His skin was littered with bruises and teeth marks, from his chest downward. Not a single section of his body was spared from the assault. He was sticky with god knows what and his mind swam with dizziness. Normally, he’d have a touch more humility and wouldn’t stand so openly naked in front of another person, but his clothes had been shredded and if he tried to reach for the bedsheet to wrap around himself, he’d likely fall over.

“I brought you a change of clothes,” said Kaminari, taking note of Katsuki’s state of undress. “You should bathe first though. There’s a large, communal bath on the other side of the castle—” Katsuki shot a scathing glare at him “—or I can get the king’s private bath ready. It’s through that door there.” Kaminari pointed to an archway that was less of a door and more of a divide. Red draperies hung from the frame, pulled back to reveal another room on the other side.

Katsuki nodded at the doorway.

“Okay,” said Kaminari. “Why don’t you sit down on the bed and relax. I’ll get you when it’s ready.”

Katsuki did not want to sit on the bed. His greatest failure had taken place on that bed. He reached for the blanket. When he pulled it back, there was blood stained on the sheets below. Kaminari made a sharp inhale but looked away.

“I’ll call for someone to change the bedding,” was all he said before disappearing into the other room.

Katsuki stumbled across the room to a lounge chair stationed below a large window, next to a small table. This must have been the dragon king’s sitting area. He wrapped the sheet around his waist and collapsed into the chair. Katsuki winced from the shooting pain in his ass that went up his spine as he did so. Once seated, Katsuki assessed himself. It didn’t look like the dragon king had done anything else after he fell asleep. To that, he was thankful, but only minutely. There were handprints on his wrists, hips, and thighs, along with crescent moon-shaped welts and cuts from the man’s nails—claws.

Teeth marks had started to scab on his shoulders and chest, and the majority of his pain was concentrated in his lower back. It made sense. The fucker destroyed him during sex. Katsuki had never disliked sex so much before. He needed to find a way out of the castle but in his current condition, he wouldn’t make it far before getting caught. He also had no idea where he was in relation to the entrance. The dragon king had flown them there and they entered through a tower. Katsuki would need to get his bearings, though he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to leave the room. He was his capture’s concubine. What privileges did that entail?

He gripped the armrests on the chair and pushed himself up onto his feet once more. Kaminari was still in the bathroom and the sound of rushing water could be heard. If Katsuki tried to move quickly, there was a good chance he could get out of the room undetected before Kaminari returned to fetch him. He took a breath and winced at the pain he felt with each step, fighting through to move forward.

One step…

Two steps…

Three steps...

Four steps…

Fi—

“All right! That bath is ready for you!” Kaminari clapped his hands and walked back into the sitting area of the bedroom with a smile on his face. His expression turned quizzical as he spied Katsuki standing in the middle of the room, sheet tied haphazardly around his waist, looking pained, and obviously busted. “Um…”

“S’fucking whatever…”

Katsuki wobbled as he tried to move toward Kaminari and subsequently, the bathroom. Kaminari was quick as he moved to Katsuki’s side, shouldering his arm for support. A slender hand wrapped around his waist and the other held Katsuki’s wrist, and he was towed to the bathroom by a man six inches shorter than him.

The bathroom was… ostentatious. It was just as gilded as the king’s bedchambers, though Katsuki probably shouldn’t have anticipated it to be any other way. He was the dragon king, a ruthless tyrant with a horde of jewels and gold. His power extended to his military as well, with the strongest men in the kingdoms, or so the rumors said. The far wall was covered in a floor-to-ceiling mosaic of a giant red dragon breathing fire down on an army. The support pillars were made of marble, and the tub was inlaid in the middle of the floor, made of granite tiles. Steam vapors curled into the air above the bath and the tap looked like it was made of gold.

Kaminari removed the blanket from Katsuki’s hips and helped him ease into the pool of water. He had never been in a bath that size. For it being a private tub, it could easily fit four people, minimum. Katsuki was reminded of the dragon king’s towering height and huge wings. No wonder the tub was so large. He shrugged off Kaminari’s helping hands and lowered himself until he was seated in the pool. Steam wafted off the water’s surface and the heat did wonders for his aching muscles. He leaned back against the tub wall, resting his head over the edge. Katsuki’s gaze settled on the ceiling above which was done up in frescos as elegant as the rest of the architecture he had seen in his brief time in the castle. Katsuki had spent plenty of time in the palace in the Todoroki kingdom, but it paled in comparison to this.

“I have the soaps here to help you wash your hair,” said Kaminari. He pushed a wicker basket of soaps and oils across the floor until it rested next to Katsuki’s face.

“I can wash myself.” Katsuki barked, though a little less gruff. Kaminari looked shifty, like he might spontaneously combust if he walked out of the bathroom while Katsuki was in the tub. “Just go,” Katsuki urged. “I’ll call for you when I’m ready to get out.”

Kaminari nodded, golden blond bangs bouncing against his eyes. “I’ll be in the other room getting your breakfast ready.”

Katsuki sat unmoving until Kaminari had fully exited the bathroom. He was alone in an unfamiliar castle full of strangers with no clothing and a sore body. The odds of escape weren’t in his favor. He passed a set of balcony doors on his way to the bathroom. If he could find something to cover his body with, he could use his magic to fly off the balcony. The downside was that Katsuki didn’t know how long he could remain airborne in his current state, and he had never been in the dragon king’s capital city. He didn’t know the layout of it and could easily get lost if he dropped to the ground too early.

If he left under the cover of nightfall he could navigate through the city with less detection. There would be fewer people on the streets, and he could keep to the shadows. That would give him time to study the city layout from the balcony. His magic would draw too much attention if he used it at night. That posed a new problem of having to find a way out of the castle without using flames or explosions. He groaned in defeat. Escaping needed to be a well thought out plan. His captor was the dragon king. Whatever he did, it couldn’t be half-assed.

Katsuki sank under the water, soaking his hair so that he could wash it. He counted the seconds as they ticked by, oxygen slowly fading away. He needed to lift his head, but he wanted to stay submerged for as long as possible to clear his thoughts. However, the cards yet again did not seem to be in his favor. Hands locked in his armpits and hoisted him out of the bath. Katsuki snapped his eyes open and scowled as rivulets of water ran down his face. Kaminari stood above him, hunched over, with concern in his eyes.

“The fuck are you doing?” he barked.

Kaminari matched his scowl with a frustrated sigh. “Sorry, Kacchan. Can’t let you die. It’d be my head if that happened.”

“The fuck did you just call me?” Katsuki jerked his body away from Kaminari, knocking the man off balance and sending him tumbling into the warm water below. A large wave of bathwater splashed over the edge of the pool and Kaminari stood up, sopping wet in his clothing. He huffed. There was a challenging glint in his eyes as he stood over Katsuki and made his way to the ledge, hoisting his wet body back onto the bathroom floor tile.

Kaminari clicked his tongue and picked up a towel to wipe his face. “I said ‘Kacchan.’ King Eijirou said your name was Katsuki. Is it not?”

So, the dragon’s name was Eijirou. That was a useful bit of information that Katsuki had yet to be privy to. “Yeah, it is Katsuki, not Kacchan.”

“Katsuki, Kacchan. What difference does it make? I can’t let you drown yourself in the bathtub. Now sit up straight so I can wash your hair. We’re both lucky I came back in here to check on you.”

Katsuki glared deeper as he watched Kaminari pick up a block of soap and work his hands into a foamy lather. Begrudgingly, Katsuki moved closer to the edge so that Kaminari could run his fingers through his hair. Kaminari carefully massaged his scalp, easing the tension that had built up in his body over the course of the last eighteen hours or so.

“I wasn’t trying to drown myself,” said Katsuki, quieter this time. He let his eyelids flutter shut, having calculated that Kaminari was not an immediate risk to his life. The king wanted him alive, and it was Kaminari’s duty to ensure he stayed that way.

“If you say so. Sure looked like you were trying to drown yourself. You can scoot forward and rinse your hair.”

Katsuki did as he was told, sliding away from the edge of the tub to tip his head back into the water. Blond locks splayed out around him, resting on the water’s surface. Kaminari leaned forward to work his hands through Katsuki’s hair once more, rubbing all the soap out of it.

“I just wanted to think,” said Katsuki. “The quiet in the water helps calm the mind.”

“If you say so. Your hair is done. Do you need help getting out of the tub?”

The hot water had relaxed Katsuki’s body enough that he was able to stand with ease. Walking once he was out of the bath might prove to be its own challenge, but he was soothed enough to climb out of the water. Kaminari scrambled to his feet and picked up the basket of bath supplies, carrying them over to a shelf on the wall.

“There’s a towel for you over there.” Kaminari pointed to the opposite wall with his back turned, granting Katsuki privacy.

“Should I grab you one? You’re soaked.”

Kaminari shook his head. “I wouldn’t dare use anything in the king’s private chambers without permission. I’ll go dry off and change in my own room once you’re settled.”

Katsuki hobbled out of the bathroom back into the bedchambers with Kaminari following after. The small table in the sitting area was filled with food—meat pies, biscuits, cookies, eggs, a tray of bacon, and the earthy scent of freshly brewed tea. He didn’t want to trust the food, but his stomach growled in protest. He hadn’t eaten since before he was abducted, and a lot of energy had been spent when the dragon king fucked him. The seat he had previously occupied before getting in the bath called his name as his stomach continued to sing for the food on the table.

Kaminari gestured to the bed. The red canopy drapes had been tied to the posts and there were fresh sheets on the mattress. Kaminari had worked quickly during Katsuki’s brief time alone in the tub. In only a few minutes, he had laid out a feast on the table and changed the bed sheets.

“There are clothes for you on the bed. They were picked out especially by the king.”

Katsuki pursed his lips. He marched over to the bed where a neat pile of clothing had been folded and stacked. He ran his fingers over the sheer fabric, feeling how expensive it was. It was a garment fit for a royal consort, that was for sure. As he lifted the garments, he saw how sheer they were as well. The thin black fabric was almost entirely see-through. The top was wide open, covering only his arms and upper back. The sleeves had golden cuffs on the end that matched the anklets the dragon king wore, and the collar was also made of a band of gold. The pants—if you could even call them that—had long slits that ran down the front of them, revealing his legs and meeting into ankle cuffs at the bottom. The waistband was held together on a V-shaped golden band that dipped down over his pelvis, just above the base of his cock.

If he put on the clothing, he would walk around with his tits and cock on display for all to see. “I’m not wearing this,” he protested.

“It’s that or you go about naked. I’m sure his majesty would prefer it that way.”

“This shit is no different than being naked!”

Kaminari shrugged. “It’s the official attire of the kingdom’s queen consort. It would be a great disrespect not to put it on.”

“I never asked to be here! Your shitty king abducted me from the woods.” Katsuki clutched the fabric in his fist, shaking with anger. It smoldered in the palm of his hand.

“You shouldn’t talk about King Eijirou like that. He chose you.”

“Tch.” Katsuki spat. “I’m sure he’s chosen plenty of whores to serve as his consort in a similar manner.”

“No.” Kaminari’s voice dropped, and his expression grew stern. “The king has never taken a consort. You’re the first. You’ve got a mouth on you, Kacchan. Hopefully, that doesn’t get you killed. For whatever reason, our king chose you, which means he saw something in you that I clearly don’t.”

Katsuki stopped arguing, if only briefly. He released the hold he had on the fabric and the smoldering was snuffed out. The sheer garment was somehow fireproof. Magic? That had to be the source. Normally, it would have been a pile of ash on the floor by now.

“Do what you want but if you don’t put that on, I doubt you’ll be leaving this room any time soon. Our king is a generous person, but dragons are temperamental and possessive. I can only imagine what he will do when he returns to his room to find you sitting here naked instead of being dressed.”

Katsuki had little faith in the overgrown lizard being generous. However, he couldn’t take a repeat of the night before, so he begrudgingly conceded. He dropped the towel that had been wrapped around his waist and began to pull his legs through the ankle bands.

“I’ll let you be,” said Kaminari. “If you need anything, ring that bell sitting beside the teapot, and I’ll come back. It’s enchanted, so I’ll hear it from any distance.”

For a royal attendant, Kaminari was mouthy and exasperated. All the ones Katsuki had ever seen in the Todoroki kingdom were reserved. They quietly kept to the corners of the room unless called for. They didn’t dare mouth off. They were more like shadows than people. Katsuki wondered if it was because he didn’t belong here that Kaminari felt comfortable enough to talk back. He wasn’t born of nobility.

“Whatever you say,” said Katsuki as he pulled the sorry excuse for a shirt on over his head. He watched Kaminari’s retreat as he headed for the door. His shoes squelched underfoot with every step, leaving a wet trail in his wake. The door to the king’s bedchamber was unassuming from the inside, but Katsuki had how ornately adorned it was in the hallway.

With Kaminari out of the room and a pathetic excuse for clothing on his body, now was his best chance to make a break for it. He hurried to the door, albeit slower than he would have liked, only to find it locked from the outside. It only confirmed what Katsuki already knew. He was a prisoner in a foreign land. His cell may have been large and well-furnished, but he was trapped in the dragon’s den.

(Concept art of Bakugou's consort attire in both white and black)

Chapter Text

Hot hands travel down.
Spinning webs of deceit now.
Bring me to hellfire.

Katsuki ate breakfast in silence and spent the rest of the day planning his escape. He rifled through the king’s belongings until he found a sheet of parchment and a quill, then took a seat on the balcony, mapping out the city below. For a man or beast of wealth and fortune, his personal possessions were lacking. The castle itself was made into a treasure trove, but the room was threadbare. The drawers in the dragon king’s wardrobe held a week’s worth of clothing at most. There was nothing in there for the winter months, just loincloths and capes similar to the ones he wore when he took Katsuki the day before.

King Eijirou was dripping in gold but there was no jewelry anywhere to be found. His hair was long and thick, but the only soaps and oils that occupied the bathroom were in the basket Kaminari brought Katsuki. It was strange, to say the least. Overall, none of it mattered to Katsuki. He didn’t need some king’s jewels or gold. He had his own small cache tucked away for when he went into villages. Katsuki could always bum a room in Todoroki’s palace if he needed a place to stay. The prince owed him a lot of favors. He didn’t need expensive weapons, opting primarily for his use in magic. While he did keep at least one blade on himself at all times, they were old, dull, and worn out. Katsuki used them for butchering more than stabbing.

Searching the room had been his way to gauge the king’s personality, not rob him. Now, he was left with a lengthy list of questions. What kind of king adorns their castle but not their person? What kind of king only has the bare minimum of clothing? Sure, the items he did have in his possession were worth a small fortune, but it was nothing compared to the royal wardrobes Katsuki was used to seeing. From his position on the balcony, he could see how lively the castle grounds were. People smiled and laughed together. From a distance, they seemed happy despite the fact that their king was known to be a tyrant. Were the people always that joyful or was it a façade?

What little he knew of the man—beast—he learned from Todoroki. King Eijirou never attended political gatherings. The rare times his kingdom was present, he always sent an ambassador on his behalf. He never went in person. No other kingdom has ever stepped foot within the castle walls of the dragon king’s domain. He was, at best, an enigma. At worst… Well, Katsuki didn’t want to experience anything worse than what he had last night. He fought countless battles over the years, and he was never more helpless than in that moment.

Katsuki watched as the sun dipped below the city, beginning its gradual descent past the castle walls. He hadn’t seen the king since he passed out the night before, his only companionship being Kaminari’s brief presence to bathe him and drop off his meals. He was dry the next time Katsuki saw him, having changed his clothes. Katsuki had only eaten about half his dinner when he heard the bedroom door open. He scrambled to fold up the map he had drawn and tucked it under the plate. There was no hiding it on his person with the organza pant legs and sleeves.

The double doors to the balcony opened and King Eijirou stepped out with a sweeping presence. His wings fanned out behind his back and his cape carpeted the tile. His obsidian horns shimmered in the glow of the setting sun. He looked ethereal—magical. Katsuki would be in awe if the man before him wasn’t his captor.

“What are you doing out here?” asked King Eijirou, in that deep, booming voice of his.

Katsuki had to be careful with what he said. He couldn’t risk offending the dragon and putting his life further at risk. He cleared his throat and said, “I wanted to eat dinner outside. Have you eaten?” The way King Eijirou stared at him made Katsuki feel unsettled. He couldn’t tell what the man was thinking.

“I have,” was all he said in reply. His gaze flicked from Katsuki to the plate of food. “What is that?”

Katsuki swallowed thickly. “My food.”

“Under your plate.”

A corner of the map stuck out where Katsuki had failed to properly conceal it. He cursed himself for his ineptitude. A partial truth was better than a lie, right? Katsuki gently tugged the parchment out from under the plate and unfolded it. “I was mapping your capital to occupy time. There isn’t a lot to do in here.”

King Eijirou closed the distance between them and snatched the map off the table. He held it to his face, inspecting the drawing, then crumpled it into a ball and set it on fire with a single breath.

“Why did you do that?” asked Katsuki, more frantic than intended.

King Eijirou eyed him suspiciously. “You don’t need a map. I’ll take you wherever you want to go.”

“I want to go home,” said Katsuki. He folded his arms across his chest in protest.

“You are home.”

“This isn’t my home! You abducted me.”

King Eijirou pursed his lips and scowled. “I’ve made you my bride. This entire kingdom belongs to you now.”

Katsuki rose to his feet. He didn’t like the sensation of being small, and while seated, the dragon king towered over him like a giant. He was still significantly taller than Katsuki while standing, but it wasn’t as bad as when seated. “I don’t care about a kingdom. I like being a nomad. And I didn’t agree to marry you!”

“I don’t need your permission. I’m the king.” King Eijirou said flatly. “I could have made you a slave as punishment for hunting in my woods, but I didn’t.”

“I don’t see how this is any different.”

King Eijirou snatched Katsuki by the wrist and pulled him into his chest. “A slave does not reside in the king’s bedchambers. A slave is not asked to marry the king.”

Katsuki pushed too far. He hadn’t intended to get worked up, but his hot-blooded nature got the best of him. His hands flamed as he summoned his fire magic, but the king easily held both his wrists in one over-sized hand and squeezed. Katsuki could feel them bruise in a matter of seconds. His fire dispelled and he was dragged back inside the bedroom.

He was tossed onto the bed like a ragdoll. The fresh sheets Kaminari had used were now crumpled and King Eijirou stood over him, wings stretched out, blocking the sun as it slowly dipped below the balcony outside the doors. “You are a dragon’s bride and as such, you will do as you’re told. You are free to wander about the castle but are due back in this room daily at dusk.”

Crimson eyes settled on Katsuki and not for the first time that day, he hated how exposed he felt in the sheer fabric of the outfit he had been advised to wear. He had no problem walking around shirtless, he did it all the time, but the cut of the top made his chest feel accentuated, and the organza did little to hide his cock beneath the fabric. While King Eijirou may have said Katsuki wasn’t a slave, he couldn’t help but feel like he was being used purely for sex.

“I shall remind you what it means to be with a king,” said the dragon. He sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled Katsuki into his lap. His long nails effortlessly tore the front of Katsuki’s pants, freeing his cock from the already sheer garment. Katsuki fought to get away, but the grip on his forearm was too strong. A thick, scaly tail snaked its way around his leg, and he was forced to sit in the dragon’s lap with his legs spread wide and cock exposed. “You’re mine,” said King Eijirou.

King Eijirou proceeded to vigorously stroke the length of Katsuki’s dick. His body reacted to the touch no matter how much he hated it. And boy, did he hate it. He didn’t want to be a dragon’s mate. He didn’t want to be anyone’s mate. The king’s hand was twice the size of Katsuki’s cock, and it fully disappeared within his grasp. A long tongue licked the shell of Katsuki’s ear, and a shiver ran down his spine. He was not aroused but his body was sensitive.

“Stop!” Katsuki growled.

“I have to teach your body who it belongs to.”

The hand on Katsuki’s cock continued to stroke him and he moaned involuntarily. He hated that he moaned. It was not pleasurable. Precum beaded at the tip of his dick and his body tensed. Katsuki could feel the oncoming orgasm. He tried to think of anything else that might help distract his body and mind from the orgasm. If he came, that would only encourage the king to do more to him. It didn’t matter. That familiar tug in the pit of his stomach sent a surge of electricity through his body and then he spilled his seed into King Eijirou’s palm.

“You cum fast. How nice,” said the king. His cum-soaked hand released Katsuki’s cock, and he moved his fingers down to Katsuki’s taint. The tip of one long, pointed nail grazed the thin fabric, tearing the hole larger until King Eijirou reached Katsuki’s rectum. He pushed his finger inside and Katsuki gasped from the pain of the stretch and the sharpness of the nail. It wasn’t as bad as the night before, but it was still unpleasant. “I’ll make your body memorize my shape,” said King Eijirou. He pushed his finger in deeper, using the cum in place of oil.

King Eijirou lifted Katsuki off his lap with ease, then shifted his loincloth to expose his own massive erection. Katsuki barely had a moment to breathe before he was being penetrated by the monstrous head that destroyed his ass the night before and caused him to bleed. He gasped and tears tracked down his cheeks. Once again, the king entered him with little to no care. Katsuki’s insides were on fire. The hand holding his forearm in place released him, then both large hands wrapped around his waist and lifted him up and down. King Eijirou fucked into him like he was a disposable toy. Maybe he was. King Eijirou claimed he wanted Katsuki to be his bride, but it could have been a ploy all along. He would toss Katsuki into the horses’ pile of manure once he was done using him.

Katsuki wondered if he would have any magical power left in him once he was that broken and abused. He felt the piercings that adorned the king’s cock rub against his inner walls. It was a mixture of pain and pleasure as the king repeatedly slammed Katsuki’s body onto his lap then lifted him up again. He couldn’t breathe. Every thrust punched the air out of his lungs, and he could feel the cockhead in his stomach. That dick would be the death of him if he didn’t manage to escape the gilded prison he was now kept in. Tears continued to fall, and he cried out in pain when sharp teeth sank into his shoulder. Katsuki craned his neck to see King Eijirou had broken skin. Blood trickled down his clavicle, staining the sleeves of his top. The king’s long tongue tracked over the indentations of the bite mark, lapping up the blood that spilled. The bite was certain to hurt for days while it healed.

“Please,” Katsuki begged, though he wasn’t sure what exactly he was asking.

Please stop.

Please let me go.

Please keep fucking me.

Please kill me.

His mind was a jumbled mess and all he could do was moan and cry as he continued to be skewered by King Eijirou’s scaly, bejeweled cock. He bounced in place for what felt like hours. Katsuki came until his cock was physically incapable of getting erect any longer. It didn’t stop King Eijirou, however, who had the stamina of a beast. For the second night in a row, Katsuki blacked out in the middle of sex.

He didn’t wake until it was late into the night. The room was dark, and he was buried beneath the hulking mass of a sleeping dragon.

Chapter Text

Knowledge is power.
Secrets are best kept hidden.
Even stars descend.

Katsuki woke up in more pain than he had the day before. His back ached, his ass throbbed, and he felt like he was being crushed under a furnace. Something sharp dug into his shoulder and he was forced to open his eyes. Thick arms and legs wrapped around his body, long nails cutting into his skin. Katsuki was average height for a human, he knew that, but he felt so small in comparison to the monster that tightly clutched onto him.

To an outsider, their position might appear intimate, romantic even. To Katsuki, it was anything but. They weren’t cuddling after a long night’s rest. Katsuki was a prisoner in a gilded cage. His cage just happened to come in the shape of a dragon. He tried to maneuver out of King Eijirou’s grasp, but that only led the beast of a man to hold him tighter. Katsuki sucked in a sharp breath as tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. He needed to escape. Waiting until the dragon was fast asleep might be his only chance.

He didn’t know how he would manage that, though. If he continued to be fucked so hard he passed out from the pain and exhaustion, he’d never slip away in the dead of the night. If he had the ingredients for a sleeping potion, perhaps…

However, it seemed unlikely that King Eijirou would fall prey to a potion. Despite his insane desire to have Katsuki as his bride, he likely wouldn’t trust anything Katsuki gave him. Not for a long time. Katsuki did not want to be held captive in this castle long enough for that trust to be earned. He shifted again in a failed attempt to shimmy his way free of the king’s grasp.

Arms tightened around him, crushing the air out of Katsuki’s lungs. “Where do you think you’re going?” asked King Eijirou, his voice heavy with sleep.

Katsuki wet his lips, swallowing down the knot in his throat. “Bathroom,” he croaked. “I need to use the bathroom.”

Warm breath fanned across the back of his neck, tickling Katsuki’s hairs. A beat of silence spanned between them, and he thought the king had fallen back asleep. Finally, his grip slackened, and he shifted away from Katsuki, letting him go free.

“Hurry back,” said King Eijirou as Katsuki clawed his way to the edge of the bed.

Katsuki opted not to respond. He cast the king a quick glance over his shoulder as he stumbled his way across the room. The thin bed sheets pooled around his hips, bare chest glistening in the morning light. His long, red hair stuck out in odd places, save for the locks in his braid. He was infuriatingly attractive, and it pissed Katsuki off to no end. Someone as savage and cruel as him should have been just as ugly on the outside as he was on the inside.

With every step, a new surge of pain coursed through Katsuki’s body. His legs felt like gelatin, wobbling this way and that. He winced at the pain but continued, not wanting to show weakness in front of his captor. If the dragon king noticed, he said nothing. Katsuki clung to the archway that separated the bathroom from the bedchamber for a moment, before pushing forward and entering the adjoining room. He wouldn’t have long to himself. With King Eijirou still in the other room, he would likely come check on Katsuki if he stayed in the bathroom for more than a few minutes.

Katsuki slumped against the wall until he was seated on the cool tile floor. It soothed the ache in his ass. With no one to watch his disgraced state, he crawled across the tile of the large bathroom to take a leak, dragging himself onto his feet so that he could stand. It took every ounce of energy to stay upright long enough to not pee all over himself. When he was done, he turned to see King Eijirou standing at the archway, leaning against the frame with the curtains tucked behind him. Katsuki hadn’t even been gone for five minutes.

How did someone so large move so quietly? Katsuki jolted at his presence. “Need something?” he forced himself to ask.

Deep red eyes scrutinized Katsuki for a moment before King Eijirou took a step into the room. “Bathe with me,” he said, padding silently over to the bath to turn on the golden tap. Steam began to rise in the room as the small pool filled with hot water.

Knowing he didn’t have a choice, Katsuki staggered over to the bath. He eased himself into the rapidly filling water and hated how it comforted his aching body. He didn’t want to share any more time alone with the man across from him than he had to. King Eijirou noted the distance between them and crossed the tub in a single stride. Katsuki chewed on the inside of his cheek as he was dragged into the king’s lap, forced to sit with his back to King Eijirou’s chest. All comfort the water brought him was lost in the blink of an eye.

“How is it?” asked the king.

Katsuki swallowed down the anger that clawed its way up his throat to say a simple, “Fine.”

Teeth grazed lightly against the curve of his neck, and he stilled. Katsuki tasted bile on his tongue as he remembered the events of the last two nights. As hands snaked their way up his torso and held the sides of his ribcage, he knew what was to come.

“You’re beautiful,” King Eijirou breathed against Katsuki’s neck.

He didn’t feel beautiful. Katsuki felt like a corpse left to rot—foul and decayed. Two days and he was already a shell of his former self. King Eijirou parted his legs and lifted Katsuki slightly out of the water, just enough that when Katsuki was settled into his lap again, it was so that his cock could spear Katsuki in two.

The water helped provide some much-needed relief. The friction was still there, his insides splitting in two from the sheer size of King Eijirou’s cock, but with every thrust, water also entered Katsuki, making the experience slightly less painful. Katsuki just wanted a moment to breathe while he went pee. Instead, he got the breath punched out of his lungs with every hard thrust he received in the tub. The worst part was how delicately the king cradled him against his body.

Katsuki’s back was pressed firmly against King Eijirou’s chest. Tender kisses were burned into the skin on his shoulder, an invisible brand marking him as another treasure in the dragon king’s hoard. It scorched him to his very soul. The bathwater sloshed around them, spilling over the tub ledge onto the floor. Katsuki’s mind went blank, disassociating as he waited for the king to finish using him.

Despite being told the day before that he was free to roam about the castle, Katsuki was too exhausted and sore to leave the king’s bedchamber yet again. When the torturous bath sex had finally ended. The king carried him back into the bedroom, his cock still thoroughly stuffed inside of Katsuki. He proceeded to fuck him again on the bed, soaking the sheets with their sopping wet bodies. Red wings eclipsed the morning sun.

It was three days later when Katsuki finally had the strength to crawl out of bed and carry himself hesitantly into the hallway. Kaminari had checked on him several times, doing his job as an attendant perfectly. He made sure Katsuki was fed and bathed, his torn clothing replaced with new garments, and that the bed sheets were replaced with fresh ones. It made Katsuki feel helpless and weak having someone wait on him hand and foot.

As much as Katsuki’s body protested to stay in bed and rest, he knew he would never break out of the prison he was being kept in that way. He needed to leave the confines of King Eijirou’s bedchambers and familiarize himself with his surroundings. Hesitantly, he cracked open the large, wooden door that led to the hall and poked his head outside. The hallway was relatively empty, save for a lone guard that stood post three doors down. He inclined his head at Katsuki but remained at his station.

Katsuki had wondered if Kaminari was telling the truth about him being allowed to roam the castle or if it was a trick. He wouldn’t put it past the king to test him in such a way. Katsuki pushed the door open the rest of the way and stepped fully into the hall. The guard remained where he was, but watchful eyes stayed fixed on Katsuki as he decidedly walked in the opposite direction. He may be free to wander about the castle, but that didn’t mean he was alone. He could feel eyes watching him, despite the fact that he no longer saw castle staff after rounding the nearest corner. As long as he was in the castle, and possibly the city, King Eijirou would know about it.

As he rounded another corner, his feet picking up speed, Katsuki thought it was a shame he wasn’t there as a guest. He could appreciate the architecture of a castle that was hundreds—possibly thousands—of years old. Every inch of it was rich with draconic energy. The hallways were wide with tall ceilings to the point that Katsuki suspected they were designed to allow the dragons that founded the castle to walk freely in their natural form. There were mosaics on the walls, much like in King Eijirou’s bathroom, but upon closer inspection, they were not made of glass or stone. The colorful fragments that formed illustrious pictures were made of scales, likely the ones shed by the very dragons that once occupied the castle.

Katsuki wondered if any other dragons lived here now. He carried onward, passing maids and several guards. One, dressed in thick plated armor, looked like he was about to approach Katsuki, when a maid approached him and whispered in his ear. The guard glanced sheepishly between the maid and Katsuki, then returned to his post without a word. Katsuki surmised that they were instructed not to interact with him. He would take it. The less he had to deal with other people in the castle, the better.

He found a corridor with a downward staircase that smelled of food. His stomach growled, but he ignored the need to eat. The staircase most likely led to the kitchen, and as much as he wanted to fill his belly, he wanted to avoid a room full of watchful eyes. Katsuki pushed forward until he stumbled upon a large pair of double doors. Curious, he pushed one open.

The doors led to the largest library he had ever had the privilege of laying his eyes on. The one in the Todoroki castle may have very well been a sitting room in comparison. The library was three stories tall, with floor to ceiling shelves and rolling ladders. There was a staircase in the middle of the room that rounded a large, circular bookshelf, and giant, glittering windows on the northern side of the room. Katsuki’s eyes widened in amazement. He could very well get lost in a room like that, and not for lack of trying. He stepped inside, quietly shutting the door behind him.

The library was empty of people, not a single archivist or scribe to be found. Izuku would lose his curly-haired mind if he ever had the opportunity to enter a library of this magnitude. As Katsuki browsed the shelves, tables, and cabinets, he discovered all different forms of recordkeeping. There were books (as that was most common these days), scrolls, and stone tablets. There were several tables with fresh jars of ink and quills for writing. Various runes were etched into the sides of the bookshelves cataloguing the information that was held there. Katsuki was thankful he knew how to read but the sheer volume of information that the library held was overwhelming.

He spent so long just trying to get his bearings in the room that he hadn’t noticed how much time had passed. A glance out the window signaled that the sun began to set. The warm glow of dusk bathed the library in a comforting hue, making Katsuki want to curl up in the room and never leave. More information was held within the walls of that library than likely all other libraries on the continent combined. The only thing that motivated him to leave was the ominous reminder King Eijirou had given him several days prior.

“You’re due back daily by dusk.”

Katsuki wasn’t ready to find out what the consequences would be if he were late. His current predicament was bad enough. With a reluctant sigh, he stood from the chair he had settled into and headed for the door, navigating his way back to the king’s bedchamber before the sky fully descended into night.

Chapter Text

Crinkled pages turn.
Nimble fingers find purchase.
Solitude rests here.

Katsuki found solace in the library. For two days in a row, he traveled the castle halls after breakfast to the ancient repository. Both times, Katsuki skipped lunch. Studying the tomes and filling his head with the vast knowledge that was stored there was more important than eating. Given the age and complexity of the castle, he figured there had to be a passageway somewhere that could discretely lead him outside. If one were hidden somewhere, the answers would be found in the library. He was certain of that fact.

Dust clung to his skin and hair as he explored older areas in the library. He wiped a smudge from his cheekbone and dragged a ladder across the room. Katsuki didn’t have much time left before he had to return to his—the king’s—room. He would never refer to it as his own. That was not a place for him to feel welcome or to seek refuge. To his displeasure, going back to that room for dinner meant spending the rest of the night with King Eijirou, and he wasn’t the most conversational of partners. Katsuki could count on one hand the number of times the dragon king had spoken to him. Not that he wanted to have a conversation, but it was hard to get any useful information when he was constantly tight-lipped.

If King Eijirou truly viewed Katsuki as his bride, why was he so quiet? Wouldn’t a king want to converse with his queen? If it was for political purposes, there were better, easier, options than abducting someone from the forest. Katsuki shook the thought out of his head. No use dwelling on it. He would be free soon. Hell, as much as he hated asking for help, if he could get a letter to Izuku, then Katsuki could cash in his surplus of favors. The scribe was undoubtedly holed up in the Todoroki castle somewhere. It was a very poorly kept secret that Shouto had taken him as a lover, much to the king’s chagrin. The heir to the throne was required to sire a son and that wasn’t going to happen if Prince Shouto kept a male lover and no concubines.

Picturing the two of them together in his head made Katsuki want to vomit but they were his best chance of survival. Shouto was foolish enough and resented his father enough that he would happily go to war with a neighboring kingdom just to rescue a nomad. It made Katsuki feel a little guilty, but not enough to put a pause on his plans. He bookmarked the tome he was reading and set it in a small, hidden away corner of the library. Any books he thought might be even remotely useful were added to the pile—spellbooks, maps of various kingdoms, records on past dragon kings, and so on.

The heavy door to the library opened, drawing Katsuki’s attention. He hurried away from the alcove where he kept the books, staggering over to an area lined with tables for studying and research. Near the entrance to the library stood a man, peering into the room looking lost. When his gaze landed on Katsuki, relief swept over him, and he approached quickly. Katsuki’s eyes wandered up and down the length of the man, taking in his silver hair and thick, silver eyebrows. His skin was littered in shiny silver scales like the king, but without the towering height and looming wings Katsuki had come to know.

“There you are!” he said, slightly breathless.

“Who the fuck are you?” asked Katsuki, clutching the back of a nearby chair as if to shield himself.

“Tetsutetsu, but you can call me Tetsu. Eiji sent me to fetch you.”

Eiji? Was that supposed to be a nickname for King Eijirou? It sounded too cute and informal for someone so imposing. Katsuki eyed Tetsutetsu harder, noticing more similar characteristics to the king—his pointed teeth and slitted eyes screamed dragon. He made no efforts to move from where he stood, not trusting a single damn person in the castle. That didn’t stop his curious nature from getting the better of him as he parted his lips, poking his tongue ever so slightly before saying, “You look like him, the king,” Katsuki added for clarity.

Tetsutetsu smirked with a shrug of his shoulders, taking a careful step towards Katsuki. Katsuki back peddled, hand still on the chair and dragging it with him. “We’re cousins,” supplied Tetsutetsu. “People have pointed out our similarity for hundreds of years.”

Katsuki’s eyes widened at the revelation. For being cousins with a dragon, he looked mostly human. “…How?” he asked.

Tetsutetsu cocked his head curiously at the question. “Well, we were clutch mates… When a mommy dragon and a daddy dragon love each other—”

“I don’t need a goddamn lesson on sex!” barked Katsuki. “I mean you look human, or more human than he does.”

“Oooh.” Tetsutetsu laughed, shaking his head as he clutched his sides to catch his breath. “We can change our shape.”

Katsuki was entirely unimpressed with yet another dragon. For fierce, mighty creatures, they were rather unintelligent. Dumb animals, really. He fixed Tetsutetsu with a glower, no longer having any fear towards the man or concerns for self-preservation. Katsuki folded his arms across his chest, then frowned at the way it seemed to accentuate his already mostly bare chest. “How come the king still has wings and a tail but you don’t?” he asked, getting to the point.

Tetsutetsu rocked on his bare heels—did no one wear shoes or was that just a dragon thing? —and motioned to approach Katsuki once more. This time, Katsuki didn’t step away. “It’s a sign of respect,” said Tetsutetsu.

“How so?” asked Katsuki, genuinely curious.

“King Eijirou and I are family, and have known each other since we were whelplings, but this castle and this kingdom is his hoard. I’m the only other dragon in this entire kingdom.” Tetsutetsu stretched his arms out from side to side to accentuate his point. “We’re family, but it’s by his goodwill that I’m allowed to be here. Dragons are very territorial, so as long as I’m within the castle walls, I take on the form that is the most vulnerable to show I mean no harm and don’t wish to challenge him.”

“Challenge him?” asked Katsuki, trying to absorb all the information, unsure of what will be important later on.

“For leadership. If I showed up in his castle in his kingdom in my full or even half form, it could be interpreted as a power play. I respect him and I enjoy not having to be in charge so I wouldn’t dare risk it.”

“I don’t understand how anyone can respect someone like that,” spat Katsuki, turning away to face the floor to ceiling windows behind him.

“Hm?”

Tetsutetsu moved swiftly, stepping into Katsuki’s personal space and eyeing him curiously. His charcoal eyes widened as he took in all the marks that littered Katsuki’s body. Tetsutetsu whistled appreciatively which only grated on Katsuki’s nerves further. “Eiji really did a number on you.”

Fuck this guy, thought Katsuki as he turned away from him once more. He didn’t know the half of it. The visible marks were the least of his problems. They were unsightly and embarrassing, yes, but he received worse in battle. The marks hidden within his body and the damage done to his psyche was what really fucked him over.

“Must be some good sex to get Eijirou that worked up.”

Katsuki bristled, hairs standing on end like an angry cat. He could hear the challenge in Tetsutetsu’s voice, and he hated to admit that he took the bait. If the fucker wanted details so badly, then Katsuki would give them to him. He had no reason to keep the king’s secrets. “It’s the fucking worst!” he barked.

Tetsutetsu cocked a silvery brow as he moved once again into Katsuki’s line of sight. “Oh?”

Katsuki felt the anger he had been stewing in for the last several days boil over. His cheeks flamed and he balled his hands into fists, digging his nails into his palms. “That cocksucker just takes, and takes, and takes. He took me here against my will. He fucks me without permission under the guise of being the king. I don’t have time to rest, my body aches, I’m not allowed to use my magic, and he won’t let me leave.”

Tetsutetsu furrowed his brows and pursed his lips together into a frown. “Why does your body hurt?”

“That’s what you got out of all that?” Katsuki spat. “Because that asshole of a king just shoves his giant fucking dick inside me until I bleed.”

The silver dragon’s eyes widened like he had some sort of fucking epiphany which only furthered Katsuki’s already irate state of being. Tetsutetsu laughed, the kind of laugh that rocked one’s entire body until they were crying.

“The fuck is so funny, asshole?”

“I’m sorry,” he said, holding his hand up as if asking for Katsuki to wait a moment while he collected himself. Well, Katsuki wasn’t fucking waiting. It was almost dusk, and he had to get back to the king’s bedchambers to be fucked to near death yet again. He had no choice but to lay down and take it until he found a way out of the shitty castle. “Wait!” called Tetsutetsu as he wrapped one of his hands around Katsuki’s bicep. “I’m here to walk you back to the room.”

“I don’t need a goddamn escort. I’ve been doing just fine on my own.” Katsuki knew he was never truly alone. Despite the fact that he walked to and from the library each day without anyone by his side, there were always eyes watching him. “S’not like I’m ever actually alone anyway.”

“Just trust me on this.”

“What the fuck ever,” said Katsuki, stomping out of the library. If the shitty beta bitch dragon wanted to follow him, then he could do as he pleased. It wasn’t like Katsuki could stop him anyway.

Katsuki listened to Tetsutetsu’s heavy footfall behind him as he made the trek back to King Eijirou’s bedchambers. He never once looked back to acknowledge the fucker. His footsteps were more than enough confirmation to let Katsuki know he intended to hold true as an escort. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end, a warning that the predator lurked nearby, but there was nothing he could do about it. He hated being outclassed. Dragons were no joke. Few ever fought dragons and lived to tell the tale. The ones that did… Well, they were all assumed to be liars. If Katsuki couldn’t find the necessary information he needed to sneak out of the palace, the tomes within the library were ancient enough that he might find a spell or two that could help him defeat his captor. Some of the scrolls appeared to be thousands of years old, the only thing keeping them from turning to dust and ash was the ancient magic cast upon them.

As Katsuki reached the ornately decorated door that led to the king’s bedchambers, Tetsutetsu came to a stop, leaning his back against the wall with his thick arms folded across his chest. Katsuki gave him a once-over and scowled, reaching for the door handle. “If you’re not here to help me escape, then I don’t give two shits about whatever you’re concocting in that empty head of yours.”

“Ouch.”

“Go fuck yourself.”

Tetsutetsu smirked. “Maybe later. I haven’t let my tail stretch in a while.”

Katsuki scrunched up his nose and eyebrows. “Fucking weirdo.”

He pulled the door open, shutting it firmly behind himself without another word. Katsuki faintly heard the farewell that was called out from the other side of the door, but he didn’t dignify it with a response. The sun had just begun to dip below the horizon, and he wanted to take a seat on the balcony before he was forced into the luxurious prison that was the king’s bed yet again. The fresh air almost made him feel free.

A morbidly impulsive thought crossed his mind, and he pulled himself up onto the balcony ledge, staring down at the kingdom below. A strong breeze in the right direction was all it would take to blow him over. Katsuki could slow his descent with his fire magic, but he wasn’t sure if it would be enough to break his fall entirely. The balcony was several stories above the ground and there was a lot of activity going on below him. It was the easiest and simplest way out. Kaminari had assumed Katsuki was trying to drown himself in the tub only a couple of days ago. Katsuki hadn’t been, he wasn’t a quitter, but it was a fast ticket to freedom. He wondered if the stories of reincarnation were true. If he died, how long would it take for him to be reborn? Would he remember his past life? Would he come back as a slug?

“What are you doing?”

King Eijirou’s deep, slightly panicked voice pulled Katsuki out of his musings, surprising him. He spun on his heel, turning too quickly, and lost his balance. Large hands snatched him by the wrists, pulling him back towards the balcony floor before he could fall off the ledge. Damn that dragon. Even if Katsuki had fallen, the king could have easily scooped him out of the sky before he hit the ground. It was a lose-lose situation.

“I was just thinking.” Katsuki confessed, once he was standing safely on the balcony.

“You don’t need to do that,” said King Eijirou.

Katsuki glared at him. “You keep telling me what I do and don’t need to do. I can make decisions for myself.”

“And your decision is to jump?”

“I never said that,” said Katsuki.

King Eijirou’s brows furrowed, and he took a step back. “Do you hate it here, with me, that much?”

Katsuki pursed his lips and pushed past the king, back into the bedroom where their dinner now sat on the small table and Kaminari’s retreating form slipped into the hallway. “I was never given a choice,” he said.

Chapter Text

Tender touches sway
Lips taste of unspoken truth
Desire rings out.

What Katsuki said must have gotten to the king to some degree. They ate dinner in silence, then King Eijirou left until well after Katsuki had fallen asleep. He awoke to the shift in the mattress as the king climbed in bed with him, but nothing happened. Katsuki was on edge the rest of the night, waiting for King Eijirou to take him in his arms and have his way with him. Sex multiple times per day had become part of the routine. It wasn’t one he participated in willingly, but he also didn’t trust this sudden change.

King Eijirou didn’t seem to care one bit about what Katsuki had to say or the situation he was in. So why the sudden change? He was an even greater enigma than before. The lack of sex allowed his body to rest for once, but his mind raced with questions. Questions he knew wouldn’t be answered. They slept with space between them, backs facing one another. When Katsuki finally managed to succumb to slumber once more, he awoke in the morning, wrapped tightly in the dragon’s embrace, with King Eijirou’s dick pressed firmly between his ass cheeks. The moment King Eijirou realized Katsuki was awake, he broke away and left the room without a word.

Katsuki refused to dwell on what any of it could mean. If it was meant to be some sort of show of remorse, it didn’t matter. The only apology Katsuki would accept was being set free. The dragon king would return to his relentless fucking soon enough. He just needed to prepare himself for when that happened. Ideally, Katsuki would have a spell, or a potion catered to slaying a dragon when the time came. However, potion making was never his strong suit.

With the king’s bedchambers empty, Katsuki decided to make his daily trip to the library. In the hallway, he felt another shift. Before, castle guards and maids would send him fleeting glances as he walked by, now, they stared intently. It was oppressive, like they were silently warning him that even though the king wasn’t present, he was always watching. And like the day before, Katsuki suddenly had an escort. Kaminari stood in the hallway waiting for him with an eager smile on his face. Katsuki wordlessly marched past him in the direction of the library, only for Kaminari to fall in step beside him.

“The fuck are you doing?” he asked.

Kaminari cocked his head to the side, peering at Katsuki curiously. “Accompanying you,” he said.

“I don’t need a damn chaperone.” He rounded the corner, shoulders drawn taut and hunched forward in a hurried effort to reach the library for a sense of privacy.

“Whether you need one or not is beside the point. I was told to stick by your side and not let you out of my sight.”

Katsuki froze in the middle of the hallway. After all this time, why now? Did the king honestly believe he might hurt himself? Was it out of embarrassment? Sure, it would reflect poorly on the king if his new bride-to-be suddenly killed himself, but he could always kidnap someone else.

“I’m just going to spend all day in the library. You don’t need to sit there the whole time.”

Kaminari gave him a light pat on the back between his shoulders. “That’s exactly what I need to do. Don’t worry, I’ll read a book or something.”

“You can read?” Katsuki asked, surprised.

A bright smile crept across Kaminari’s face, as he took pride in the fact that he had someone to teach him how to read. “Yeah! Actually, most everyone in our kingdom can read. King Eijirou went through great lengths to ensure everyone was privileged with the knowledge, rather than just people of status.”

“That can’t be true,” Katsuki breathed.

“It is! There are schools all over the kingdom. Even in the tiny villages, there are scribes sent to teach people how to read and write.” That was… impressive, but Katsuki wouldn’t be swayed. One good deed did not make up for the unspeakable horrors that were associated with the dragon king. “I do wonder, though, why you like it there so much. It’s so stuffy and creepy.”

Katsuki side-eyed Kaminari, glaring intently, then locked his gaze on the hallway before him. “I don’t have annoying ass extras watching me the whole time.”

Kaminari frowned. “We’re just doing our job.”

“And what exactly is your job?”

Kaminari shoved his hands in the front pockets of his trousers and hummed to himself as he rocked on his heels. “To keep the king’s most valued treasure safe. In whatever capacity that entails.”

Katsuki stared in disbelief. ‘Most valued treasure.’ Since when was he treated like something of value? The king had done nothing but tarnish him since the moment he was taken. “What a load of shit,” he said, before stomping the rest of the way to the library.

“It’s true!” Kaminari chased after him.

“Go fuck yourself.”

The massive library door rattled as Katsuki slammed it shut in Kaminari’s face. He marched over to the alcove where he kept all the documents and books of interest. It was a blessing that no one seemed to clean the library regularly or they might have been reshelved by now. Though it made him wonder how the room stayed as tidy as it did when no one else was ever in there. The library door opened and shut as Kaminari slipped in after him. Katsuki sparked a flame in the palm of his hand, ready to launch it at Kaminari and burn the whole damn place down if he approached.

Lucky for both of them, Kaminari stayed near the entrance. He had no interest in wandering the rows of books for something to read or seeking out Katsuki’s exact whereabouts within the repository. They stayed on opposite sides of the room for hours and Katsuki surmised that was as good as he could get. In that time, he rifled through the growing cache of records he collected. The books were stacked in a precarious tower as they varied in size and thickness. The scrolls had fallen into a pile on the floor and ink smudges stained the sides of his hands as he scribbled on sheets of parchment.

Katsuki found a tome written in the draconic tongue that appeared more promising than the rest. Ancient languages were not his strong suit. Something of this complexity could take decades to master for even a seasoned scholar. He didn’t have decades. In another world, he could likely ask King Eijirou to decipher the book for him, but the reality was that he couldn’t dare ask the king for that sort of favor. It would be a death sentence. King Eijirou would want to know what he intended to do with the book. Katsuki couldn’t share those intentions with the man he wanted to get away from (or kill, whichever was easier).

He sat on the floor of the library, legs crossed as he copied symbols from the book onto the sheet of parchment, trying to piece together what each one could mean. Katsuki wasn’t sure if the draconic symbols were meant to represent letters or sounds but he took note of how certain ones appeared paired up more often than others. He was so absorbed in his studies that he didn’t hear Kaminari’s approach. He cursed his carelessness when the attendant spoke, pulling his attention from the texts.

“It’s almost time for dinner,” said Kaminari. There was a restlessness to him that likely came from sitting around the library all day, not doing anything. He could have left. It wasn’t like Katsuki would have told anyone if he had.

He clapped the book shut, returning it to the pile. When Katsuki was certain Kaminari wasn’t paying attention, he set it in the middle of the stack. If Kaminari chose to report on Katsuki’s actions, he wanted the book to appear as unscrupulous as possible. He rolled up the parchment he had been using for notetaking and whispered a sealing spell on it. A purple seal glowed on the scroll, then faded away in the blink of an eye.

Katsuki dusted himself off and got to his feet, marching past Kaminari brusquely, shoulders bumping. “You have fun babysitting?” he asked, not really caring to hear the answer.

Kaminari huffed a quiet laugh and smirked. “It’s pretty easy work when you’re not trying to drown yourself or jump off a balcony.”

“I wasn’t trying to fucking—!” Katsuki stopped himself. It wasn’t worth the argument. They all saw what they wanted to see and refused to take his thoughts and feelings into consideration. “Whatever,” grunted, heading for the door. When he opened it, Tetsutetsu was standing in the hall.

“Shift change!” Tetsutetsu declared with a friendly smile.

“Perfect,” said Kaminari. “I have to head to the kitchen to get their dinners.”

“This is fucking ridiculous,” said Katsuki. He turned away from the pair of them.

Kaminari excused himself and ran off in the opposite direction. Meanwhile, Tetsutetsu easily fell in step with Katsuki. He whistled—fucking whistled! —to himself, hands folded behind the back of his head. Every so often, his gaze would fall to Katsuki. Whether that was because he was checking on Katsuki or eyeing his scantily clad attire was yet to be determined. “What are you so damn happy about?” Katsuki snapped.

Tetsutetsu shrugs weirdly with his hands still firmly in place behind his head. “It’s just a nice day out.”

“I wouldn’t know.” Katsuki grumbles.

When they return to the room, King Eijirou is already sitting inside. It was the first time he had ever returned before Katsuki. His wings were tucked neatly behind his back as he sat at the small table where they ate their dinner every night. One of the many strange things about the king—did he always eat in private before he abducted Katsuki or did that only start after Katsuki was brought to the castle? Katsuki stepped inside and as he turned to walk further into the room, he noticed Tetsutetsu wink at King Eijirou.

A fleeting frown crossed the king’s face before it returned to a neutral expression.

“Have a good night, My Lords,” said Tetsutetsu before exiting the king’s bedchambers.

Katsuki slowly crossed the room to take a seat at the table with King Eijirou. Kaminari had yet to arrive with their meal, so they sat in uncomfortable silence. Katsuki picked at his nails, a nervous tick of his, in a failed attempt to fill the stagnant air that settled in the room. It was King Eijirou that broke the tension, reaching across the table to take one of Katsuki’s hands into his massive ones. “What’s on your hands?” he asked.

Katsuki glanced down and hummed to himself. “Ink,” he said.

King Eijirou turned his hand over, inspecting it several times before releasing Katsuki. “You should wash up before dinner arrives.” He spoke softer than Katsuki was used to and there was a noticeable absence of warmth when his hand was freed.

“Right,” he said, standing to head to the small wash basin resting in the corner of the room. As Katsuki made a futile attempt to rid his hands of the ink, a knock sounded on the bedroom door.

Knowing it could be none other than Kaminari with their dinner, King Eijirou said, “Come in,” without bothering to check who it might be first.

Kaminari shouldered the door open as he pushed a small cart into the room. The top tray held covered dishes to keep their meals warm. The tray in the middle held copper chalices and what appeared to be an expensive bottle of wine. Katsuki hadn’t been offered alcohol of any sort in his brief internment thus far. He wondered what the occasion was as he took careful, slow steps back to the table.

“Tonight’s dinner is a shepherd’s pie,” said Kaminari as he uncovered the plates and placed them on the table. He set out dinner rolls to accompany the entrée and began to pour the wine into chalices. His eyes remained locked on the king’s, shoulders taut, but King Eijirou’s expression was unreadable as ever. He slid the chalice to Katsuki who held his hand up and shook his head.

“Water’s fine,” he said. Katsuki didn’t trust being alone in this castle without his faculties about him.

Kaminari nodded, clearly burdened by the request, but left to fetch a pitcher of water. “Eat,” said the king, gaze locked firmly on Katsuki. The energy in the room felt off. Katsuki wanted to protest but relented, fearful for what the strange turn of events could mean. He dipped his bread in the meaty broth and lifted a forkful of the roast to his mouth. The savory flavor was impeccable, as were all the meals Katsuki had eaten since he was abducted. The castle’s head chef was no slouch.

Kaminari returned a moment later, pouring Katsuki a glass of water before excusing himself. He would be back in an hour or so to collect their plates, as he did every night.

“How is it?” asked King Eijirou.

Katsuki lifted his gaze from the bowl in front of him, meeting King Eijirou’s sparkling crimson eyes. “Good,” he grunted, then took a bite of his bread. Pleased by the answer, King Eijirou followed suit. They ate in what most would consider a comfortable silence, but Katsuki waited for the other shoe to drop with each passing bite. When the food was almost gone, King Eijirou nudged Katsuki’s abandoned chalice ever so slightly. “Are you sure you don’t want any wine?” he asked, head cocked curiously to the side as his braid fell off his shoulder. It was unfair how handsome he was.

“I’m sure,” said Katsuki. Smarter people would not have refused, but Katsuki’s sense of self-preservation has become distorted. He could tell he made the wrong choice when he noticed what was quite certainly a look of brooding on the king’s face. He bit his lower lip, wondering if he would be punished for refusing.

King Eijirou took a sip of his own wine before pushing the chalice forward. Crimson eyes darted around the room before settling on the door. Was he waiting for something? He kept his gaze fixed on the door for a long minute before returning to meet Katsuki’s eyes. “I want to… apologize…” he said.

Katsuki’s blood ran cold as he stared at the king. He felt his jaw visibly drop in disbelief and had to snap his mouth shut. “Excuse me?” he asked, certain he misheard. Auditory hallucinations. That had to be what was happening!

“I’m sorry,” repeated King Eijirou. “I’ve been alive a long time, but I’ve never been the best around people. I have been informed that I may have gone about things the wrong way…” His voice sounded small, which was a stark contrast to his imposing size.

Katsuki was in the middle of mental backflips when a knock sounded on the door. Kaminari had returned to collect their empty plates. The look he shared with the king signaled he had about two seconds to do his job and get the fuck out of the room. Normally, Kaminari would take the time to wipe down the table and see if they needed anything else for the night before turning in. Tonight, he slid the dirty dishes onto the tray and zipped out the room like lightning. Katsuki swore he saw yellow sparks in his wake. When it was clear they wouldn’t be interrupted again, the king continued.

“My intent is for you to feel at home here.”

“I don’t feel at home anywhere,” Katsuki corrected. He was a nomad. Even if he had been invited to the castle under happier circumstances, he never would have stayed.

“So I’ve noticed,” said King Eijirou.

Now that had Katsuki’s attention. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“When I entered your camp nearly a fortnight ago, that wasn’t your first time in my woods, was it?”

Katsuki tensed, leaning back into his chair for some semblance of distance between them. “No,” he said carefully, “It wasn’t.”

King Eijirou nodded to himself, fully aware of the answer. “Dragons are drawn to strong sources of magic. Yours is the strongest I’ve ever seen in a human. It’s as if you’ve been blessed by the sun itself.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means every time you set up camp at the edge of my kingdom, your magic called up to me like a siren’s song. Your magic is a fearsome temptress and dragons are territorial. I can’t help but covet your power. In your brief time here, my own power has grown tenfold.”

Katsuki thought about the lingering glances Tetsutetsu had cast upon him. He assumed it was because of the way he was dressed, but now he wondered if it was because of his magic. “So what? I’m just here because of my magic? I’m sure you could find someone else just as strong to be your bride.”

King Eijirou lunged across the table, snatching Katsuki’s hands in his large ones. There was a feral glint in his eye, as if he had tried to snatch a bone from a dog while he was still chewing on it. “No one else will do!” he barked. “Your magic drew me in, but it was the whole of you that had me mesmerized.”

More words had been exchanged in the current conversation than in the entire time Katsuki had known the king. “King Eijirou—” he started.

“Just Eijirou is fine,” said the king. “There’s no need for formalities between husband and wife.”

Katsuki carefully extracted his hands from within the king’s grasp. Dropping formalities would imply a degree of closeness that they were not at. Katsuki would not refer to the king as just Eijirou. “King Eijirou,” he repeated, noticing how the king’s expression soured. “What is the point of this conversation?” he asked. Katsuki couldn’t see his end game. It wasn’t like he was suddenly going to let Katsuki go free.

“I wanted you to understand that you’re here because I care about you.”

Apprehension rested heavily on Katsuki’s shoulders. There was no way it could be true. The things the king had done to him so far were not how people showed care and affection. He was never the most well-versed in relationships. They usually boiled down to fleeting trysts to take the edge off, not the kind of thing that would result in marriage, but he had spent plenty of time around other people that were happily in love. Those relationships didn’t start with abduction and rape.

As if on cue, King Eijirou stood from his seat at the table and took Katsuki by the elbow. He must have deemed their conversation over with. The previous night’s reprieve was over. It was time to grin and bear it like all the times before because he was powerless to a dragon. King Eijirou pressed light kisses to Katsuki’s jaw and trailed his lips down his throat, over his pulse point, and against the sheer fabric on his shoulder. A shiver ran down his spine. It wasn’t the first time he had been peppered with delicate kisses that could be misconstrued for tenderness. It made his stomach churn.

Katsuki stood with all the rigidity of a stone pillar, feeling the way warm lips caressed his skin. It wouldn’t be long before he was ripped apart, bloody and bruised. The kisses were some perverse prelude to the main act. They were meant to make him feel safe and secure before the rug was pulled out from underneath him. King Eijirou wrapped one thick arm around Katsuki’s middle and hoisted him off the ground with practiced ease. He carried Katsuki to the bed and gently deposited him onto the mattress. Here it was.

He squeezed his eyes shut and curled his fingers in the sheets. Katsuki had no choice but to spread his legs like one of the whores in the brothel because who could deny the king? To his surprise, King Eijirou stripped him of his bottoms rather than just tearing into them. Maybe he had been scolded for the number of magically infused garments he had destroyed. Katsuki wondered what kind of magical seamstress would be imposing enough to have that sort of effect on a dragon.

Claws dug into the meat of his thighs as his legs were pushed against his abdomen. He knew it was only a matter of time. Katsuki drew in a breath, bracing himself for the pain that would inevitably come, only to startle at the wet warmth against the rim of his hole. His eyes snapped open, forced to look down the planes of his body and between the valley his thighs made as they were pressed against him. King Eijirou’s face was positioned between his cheeks. His eyes were focused on the sight in front of him, so Katsuki could only see the red of his hair. That was when he felt the first flick of a tongue dart in and out of his rectum. He gasped at the sensation, breath drawing up because it tingled. Why did it tingle?

Katsuki focused his gaze on the canopy above the bed as the king’s tongue explored his insides. He slipped in a finger with his tongue, making a genuine effort to stretch Katsuki open. Was this also something the king had been talked to about? What the hell kind of conversation did he have with his aids? Katsuki had been licked in private areas before, but never did it feel like this. An involuntary moan escaped him, and his cock kicked to life against his pelvis. His body never failed to betray him. No matter how much he hated it every time the king fucked him, his body would respond in kind.

The worst part of it, though, was that he didn’t hate whatever it was the king was doing to him. His tongue plunged deeper, exploring with more vigor and lapping up Katsuki’s insides. King Eijirou ate him out like a starved man despite the fact that they had just finished dinner. With each thrust of his tongue, Katsuki’s body became more pliant and at ease. A sense of calm washed over him and the fatigue that built up in him faded away. What sort of magic had the king used to subdue him? His balls tightened as he felt that long tongue flick repeatedly against his prostate. He was going to cum. His body, sensitive and tingling from head to toe, tensed. He squeezed his thighs, which seemed to be the signal for King Eijirou to stop.

The king pulled back, releasing his hold on Katsuki’s body and unfastening the circlet that held his loincloth in place. Katsuki stared at the thick, bejeweled cock with clouded eyes. It somehow felt less imposing now. King Eijirou grabbed him by the hips and dragged his body to the edge of the bed. When the head of the king’s cock kissed his hole, Katsuki drew in another breath but was able to let it out with ease when the searing pain he had anticipated did not come. King Eijirou embedded himself in Katsuki as he always did, but his insides were pleasantly numb.

With each drag of the barbels against his inner walls, a surge of electricity shot through his body. Katsuki came hard and fast. Moans that sounded more akin to choked out sobs clawed their way out of his throat and his whole body shuddered. He curled his toes, legs dangling in the air as the king held a firm grip on his thighs. For once, he didn’t black out from pain, but the pleasure he felt left him overstimulated and raw.

The cum that repeatedly covered his torso from multiple orgasms was licked away. The sight of King Eijirou dragging his long tongue up the planes of Katsuki’s body to lap up any and all spilled seed was almost enough to make him cum again. A voice in the back of his mind reminded him that this was the enemy, and he hated how much he didn’t hate the king at that moment. When King Eijirou had finally had enough, he dragged Katsuki into his chest. The heat that radiated off of him was immense, but Katsuki was too tired to dwell, or think, or rationalize any further for the night.

He just let himself succumb to sleep.

Chapter Text

Pleasure does not make
a man satisfied. Only
complacent for more.

Warmth was the first thing Katsuki noticed upon waking. Warmth from the summer sun’s morning rays, warmth from the large body that enveloped him, and warmth on his cheeks as he remembered how the previous night ended. Lying prone, naked on the bed, made him feel more vulnerable now than it did after every other time King Eijirou fucked him. There was a degree of intimacy to last night’s endeavors even if Katsuki refused to admit it.

The king’s intentions continued to perplex him. He apologized, sure, but he still refused to let Katsuki go free and continued to fuck him against his will. It might not have hurt, but he didn’t ask for it. With the sudden change of heart, Katsuki wondered what would happen if he used his magic on the king. Would King Eijirou still punish him like he threatened, or would it be something else entirely? It was almost worth the risk.

Katsuki’s mind was clouded with too many thoughts first thing in the morning. The iron-like grip on his torso held him firmly in place on the bed. He had no means of escape even now. The king stirred, both from his slumber and with arousal. It was moments like this where Katsuki considered him more man than beast as he pushed his hips forward and ground his morning erection against Katsuki’s ass. The arms around him drew Katsuki in so that their bodies were pressed flush against one another.

“Good morning,” said the king. He didn’t often greet Katsuki first thing in the morning. King Eijirou continued to grind against him, chasing friction and letting his thick cock slip between Katsuki’s thighs so that both of their dicks rubbed against one another. He dragged his teeth along the back of Katsuki’s neck, pressing hungry kisses to his shoulder.

The king released his grip on Katsuki’s body to slide one of his hands down his chest, over the flat of his stomach, and to his limp dick hanging over the top of his thigh. King Eijirou took it in his massive hand which he had no issues wrapping around both of their cocks to stroke as one. Katsuki involuntarily arched his back, digging his ass into the king’s hips.

The dragon fire that burned within the king seemed to radiate out of his body with the heat of a thousand suns. Katsuki was on fire—his magic alight with every touch. Electricity coursed through his veins and his hands crackled and popped.

“That’s good. Let it out,” said the king as he licked the shell of Katsuki’s ear. His free hand tugged on one of Katsuki’s exposed nipples and a gasp escaped him.

He had never felt like this before. Was it some after-effect from whatever caused the sex the night before to not be shitty? “What’s happening?” he gasped. Katsuki felt feverish, his body running hot while he trembled with chills.

King Eijirou purred against his throat and sunk his sharp teeth into the flesh of Katsuki’s shoulder. He licked the bite when he was done, and the pain rapidly seeped away. “Our magic is resonating,” said the king. “I told you yesterday that I’ve felt stronger than ever since you came here. You’re finally feeling it too.”

Katsuki sunk his teeth into his bottom lip as he moaned, failing to conceal the signs of pleasure. “Why now?” he asked. What changed?

King Eijirou pulled away. He disentangled their bodies and flipped Katsuki flat on his back. There was a frown of frustration on his face. Katsuki waited, desperate to hear the answer. For a brief moment, Katsuki swore he saw a flicker of embarrassment coloring the king’s cheeks, but it was gone in the blink of an eye. Instead of answering, he grabbed Katsuki’s knees, tossing them over his shoulders, and buried his face in Katsuki’s ass like he had done the night before. As King Eijirou’s tongue traced methodical circles around the rim of his hole, Katsuki was met with that same tingling sensation from before. All tension and pain were washed away, and he hardly noticed the fingers that worked him open in time with the long tongue that plunged in and out of him.

When King Eijirou deemed the job satisfactory—after Katsuki had cum on himself and it trailed down his abdomen to his chest—he lowered Katsuki’s legs and slotted himself between Katsuki’s thighs. Katsuki was left gasping for air as each breath was punched out of him, thrust after thrust leaving him winded. King Eijirou’s crimson eyes glowed as if a fire had been lit behind his irises and his obsidian horns shined brightly in the light of the morning sun. Not for the first time, Katsuki thought he looked ethereal. But every time before this, the mysticism associated with dragons made him fearful, not enraptured. Now, he felt almost reverent as he gazed up at the man above him.

With scrunched brows and a wrinkled forehead, sweat dripped off the king onto Katsuki’s chest. When he dug his long, talon-like nails into Katsuki’s thighs, there was no biting sting, though it would still surely bruise. What was normally just stuttered grunts morphed into a sound, a name, and Katsuki feared how sweet it sounded to hear his name fall from the king’s lips. He had spoken so little in the weeks Katsuki had been taken captive that Katsuki now wondered if it was because his tongue was silver and not pink. Had King Eijirou withheld conversation on purpose? Unlikely. Katsuki was getting swept up in the moment, just as he had mere hours earlier.

The heady moan that escaped his own lips was one of genuine pleasure and it seemed to spur the king on. He grabbed Katsuki’s shaft, stroking him in time with his thrusts. And when King Eijirou leaned forward, stretching Katsuki’s thighs as their chests pressed together, Katsuki didn’t fight the kiss that pressed against his lips. He was too stunned to fight back. They had never shared a kiss before. King Eijirou parted their mouths, snaking his tongue into Katsuki’s. The tingling sensation was back, accompanying King Eijirou’s tongue in his mouth. As he licked Katsuki’s palate, Katsuki found himself fully submitting for the first time.

All of his previous reluctance melted away. Aside from the horrendous fucking, the refusal to let him go outside, and the threats over what would happen if he used his magic against the king, Katsuki had been treated well within the castle walls. He wanted to be disappointed with himself, mad at how easily he gave in after two sessions of good sex. Was he always that weak-willed? Katsuki prided himself on not being one to think with his cock, but his mind was clouded from too many sensations.

When the king came, the garbled choked out sound that he moaned into Katsuki’s mouth was unlike anything he had ever heard before. Katsuki panted, chest heaving, as King Eijirou drew him into his arms once more, holding him close with his cock still buried fully within Katsuki’s body. He showed no signs of removing it any time soon. Katsuki didn’t mind it. Without all the pain, it was pleasant. He didn’t hold the king back, they weren’t to that point, but he didn’t fight to break free. No matter how suffocating it was to have his face buried in King Eijirou’s sweaty chest, he knew he couldn’t fight his way free even if he wanted. His palms itched with unused magic, screaming for Katsuki to let his power run free.

As if reading Katsuki’s mind, King Eijirou said, “You can use your power. It would be wrong to stifle it.”

Sparks of fire sizzled and cracked, dancing off Katsuki’s palms. The bed sheets caught fire and smoke quickly billowed around them as the flames ate away at the sheets. King Eijirou appeared unperturbed. Did he intend to let them die there, unphased by the rapidly growing inferno that threatened to burn the bed to ashes? It was only when Katsuki squirmed to free himself before the fire could eat away at his body did King Eijirou pull his cock free from Katsuki’s ass. He inhaled deeply, sucking up the smoke and flames alike, until there was nothing left but smoldering embers around them. He exhaled, and the heat of his breath stung Katsuki’s face.

“You’ll adjust to the resonated power soon enough,” he said, then beat his large wings. With his grip around Katsuki’s body, King Eijirou lifted them into the air until they were standing properly on the floor. The bed was a mess. The whole thing would need to be thrown out and replaced, but King Eijirou still looked entirely unbothered as he said, “Let’s wash up.”

And that’s how things continued for several days. Kaminari and Tetsutetsu took turns escorting Katsuki to and from the library, but neither of them sat in the room with him like Kaminari had done previously. When Katsuki voiced his frustration that it was impossible to tell what the king was thinking and how he couldn’t understand what happened to change the way they had sex, Tetsutetsu laughed at him like he did the first time they met. After clutching his stomach with laughter and silver scales rippled all up and down his body, he finally turned to Katsuki teary-eyed.

“Eiji is a bit… inexperienced,” explained Tetsutetsu. “His upbringing didn’t provide him with many opportunities to engage in sex. I just thought I would remind him that dragon saliva has a certain healing quality to it and that when we lick our mates it can make them… sensitive.”

Katsuki’s face flamed as he stood in the hallway outside the library. How could the other dragon speak so brazenly in public? “Inexperienced my ass!” he protested instead of dwelling on the fact that the king had a literal magic tongue. “His damn dick is pierced!”

Tetsutetsu’s thick, silver brows arched, and he laughed again, though this time it was more subdued. “That’s part of a draconian coming of age ceremony. Do you wanna see what mine looks like?” he teased.

“I don’t want to see what his looks like!” shouted Katsuki. Stupid fucking dragons. He opened the library door and slammed it in Tetsutetsu’s face. A while later, Kaminari came by with Katsuki’s lunch.

Katsuki was starting to have some degree of luck deciphering the draconic tomes. One of the spells appeared to be for a potion. Potion-making was never his strong suit, and it would be absolutely ridiculous to make a point when he can only read every fifth word in the instructions, but curiosity won out. With the book in hand, he went ambling about the library but was unsuccessful in his search for ingredients. It was, after all, a library. He frowned at his failed search. It was nearing time to go, so he made a list on a sheet of parchment and stashed the book away in the alcove with the rest of his—his hoard.

He was hoarding. Katsuki didn’t hoard. And yet here he was, with all the tomes and scrolls stashed in a cave of sorts within the library. It was classic dragon behavior. Had the king been rubbing off on him? He shivered at the thought.

Katsuki carried the list with him to the front of the room where the rows of tables were. Kaminari was already standing there, awaiting Katsuki’s arrival. “Let’s go,” he barked, knowing he had no say in the matter. Kaminari followed in step beside him.

“What’s that?” asked Kaminari, nodding at the parchment in Katsuki’s hand.

“Ingredients,” was all he said in reply.

Kaminari inclined his head in consideration. “Do you need me to get something for you?”

“No,” said Katsuki. He didn’t trust that the list of ingredients wouldn’t get back to the king, and since it was a draconic potion and King Eijirou was a dragon, it was likely he might recognize what it was for. Hell, Katsuki didn’t entirely know what it was for yet! But he was smart enough that he could figure out the properties of the potion once he started preparing it.

“Just let me know,” said Kaminari.

Katsuki had to be the one to collect the ingredients and there was only one way that was going to happen. He pushed the bedroom door open to find King Eijirou already inside. That made it easier. He wouldn’t have to wait. Kaminari skipped off down the hall to fetch their dinner and Katsuki crossed the room to stand in front of the king. It was unnerving the way he smiled at Katsuki.

“Welcome back.”

“I’m back,” said Katsuki as he bit the inside of his cheek. “I—I need to ask something.”

King Eijirou’s brows furrowed, and he pursed his lips. “What is it?”

Katsuki’s gaze fell to the parchment in his hand, then flicked back up to meet the king’s eyes. “There are some ingredients I need for a spell. I need to go into town.”

“Absolutely not,” said the king automatically. Katsuki was prepared for that. “Give the list to Kaminari. He can check with the apothecary or the alchemist to see if we have the items in stock. If we don’t, one of them can fetch whatever is missing.”

Katsuki shook his head. “I want to go by myself.”

“You’re trying to leave,” said King Eijirou. His eyes darkened. They reminded Katsuki of the ominous aura of a blood moon.

“I’m not,” he said. It would make for a good excuse to flee, but that wasn’t what this was about. “I just want to get the ingredients myself.”

King Eijirou took a single stride forward, closing the distance between them so that Katsuki was now forced to crane his neck to meet his gaze. “What is the potion?” asked the king, jaw squarely set.

“I’m not sure.” Katsuki answered honestly.

“You expect me to believe you want to go into the capital to gather ingredients for an unknown potion, when anyone else could just as easily do so?”

“It’s the truth.”

“You’re not going into town.”

Katsuki’s insides burned with anger and his cheeks grew hot. “You can’t keep me locked up in here forever!”

“You’re my bride! I can do exactly that,” the king spat back.

“I’m not your fucking bride!”

King Eijirou snatched the parchment out of Katsuki’s hand and gave it a quick once over. He glared at Katsuki, then burned the sheet to ash. What he asked next chilled Katsuki to the core. He had never felt so afraid. “What have you been studying in the library?”

“Nothing,” said Katsuki automatically. He couldn’t confess to reading the ancient tomes.

“More lies.” King Eijirou grabbed Katsuki’s wrists, holding them painfully tight in the palm of one hand, and tugged him forward so that their chests were pressed together. “I give and give and give. I thought you would be different, but you just want to take what’s mine and run, like everyone else. If you don’t want to be treated like a bride, then I won’t be nice anymore.”

That was nice?

Katsuki was not given a chance to rectify his mistakes. King Eijirou was angry and emotional, and there was fury in his eyes. He tossed Katsuki at the dining table and bent him over the tabletop. The positive change that had taken place over the last few days had left. It was worse than ever. If what Tetsutetsu said was true, then all the pain Katsuki had felt originally was the mistake of an inexperienced man. What Katsuki felt now was the rage of someone that knew exactly what they were doing. King Eijirou did not take time to stretch him open. He did not use the magic of his saliva to rid Katsuki of pain. He simply ripped the sheer pants off Katsuki’s lower half and plunged himself within.

Katsuki screamed out in pain. His hands gripped the edge of the table until his knuckles were white. He tasted copper on his tongue from biting his lower lip hard enough to draw blood. His hips slammed painfully into the edge of the table. King Eijirou did not try to get him off. He dug his fingers into Katsuki’s hips for support and assaulted him over and over again, letting all of his anger and frustration out with every thrust. Katsuki fucked up. He had been trying so hard not to fuck up. He became careless in the wake of contentment he had been feeling.

This was his punishment for his carelessness. He knew to never trust a dragon, but part of him believed King Eijirou would let him go into town because of their growing rapport. Stupid. He was stupid. Katsuki wasn’t studying ancient draconic texts for fun. He was looking for a way out—either escape the kingdom or kill the king. He let himself get momentarily distracted and now he had to pay for the consequences.

Fat teardrops rolled off his jaw and splashed onto the tabletop. His hips stung from the nails that cut biting crescents into his skin. One hand found purchase in his hair and King Eijirou yanked his head back. His scalp ached from the hair pulling. Everything hurt. Teeth sank into his shoulder and the pain was not licked away afterwards.

“You’re mine,” said the king against his throat. “Mine! Only mine!” he repeated angrily. “You can’t leave when I only just found you!”

King Eijirou released Katsuki’s hair and slowed his pace, dragging his cock back until only the head remained inside before snapping his hips forward once more. Katsuki cried out as his own hips slammed into the table. There would be no involuntary orgasms for him this time. This was pure agony from start to finish. His hands crackled with magic, but that only seemed to spur the king on.

“My magic!” he declared. “Mine!”

“Please,” cried Katsuki. “Please stop.” He wouldn’t, not for hours.

Chapter Text

Pain licks up the length
of my arms. Burning. Scorching.
Turning limbs to ash.

Regret. That’s what Katsuki felt when he couldn’t move for the next several days. He shouldn’t blame himself. Logically, he knew that, but he couldn’t help but think that if he kept his mouth shut, he would have been fine. He was a fool for thinking he stood any chance of convincing King Eijirou into letting him go into town. The pain from how brutally and savagely the king fucked him left him bedridden. He only managed to get up to use the bathroom with Kaminari’s assistance.

He thought he was helpless before…

King Eijirou stayed away. Where he slept was anyone’s guess. Katsuki didn’t care to find out. He was just relieved that he was left to his own devices. Not that it mattered much considering he couldn’t drag himself off the mattress. Curled up in a ball under the sheets, immobilized, was how he spent the next four days. His back cramped, his legs ached, there was deep bruising on his wrists the color of violets.

The bite marks stung the worst. A physical display that Katsuki was the king’s property and nothing more. Any goodwill he was willing to extend to the king had been extinguished. All platitudes given to Katsuki by Kaminari as he periodically checked on him were thoroughly ignored. No one was his friend, he reminded himself. This castle was strictly enemy territory and that was how it would remain.

He praised the goddesses when he was finally well enough to crawl out of bed on his own. Katsuki worked quickly to dress himself, then high-tailed it to the library. Even after everything that happened, it was the only place in the castle he felt remotely safe and secure. He may not be able to use the potion recipe he had been working on deciphering before everything happened, but he could still dig deeper into the many spells within the books.

Deciphering the draconic tomes took more time than he would care to admit. Katsuki loved magic, but that sort of old text was beyond his knowledge. Practicing magic without fully understanding the mechanics of a spell was a bad idea, but he was more motivated than ever. Katsuki couldn’t risk pissing the king off like he had days before, but he was willing to be reckless and impulsive if it meant staying alive and setting himself free.

When King Eijirou learned that Katsuki was no longer bedridden, he returned to the room once more. He kept his distance like he had done previously, only appearing after Katsuki had fallen asleep and left at first light. He would take it over the alternative. No one bothered Katsuki in the library, so the next several days were spent tirelessly devoting himself to magic. The draconic language was slowing piecing itself together. The patterns in the writing were recognizable. Katsuki found several books on language tucked in another section of the library. It took a puzzle of languages to fully decipher the writing. His spells were a messy translation of a translation of a translation of a translation of a translation.

Katsuki drew in a shaky breath as he picked up a stick of chalk. He drew the magic circles from the tome on the floor in a haste. The lines were a jagged scribble rather, lacking the smoothness that came with years of practice. The magic circles weren’t an exact one-to-one ratio with the sketch in the magic tome but close enough. Clunkily, he read the words with his rudimentary knowledge of the draconic language, and the magic circles glowed in response. They were a soft white light, which turned red.

It only took a second for Katsuki to know he fucked up. He dropped the tome to the ground and knelt, but when he tried to erase the circles on the floor with his hands, they got burned.

It wasn’t the satisfying burn that left him blistered and sore for a few days when he practiced fire magic. This burn made his hands ache to their very core. He watched in horror as the veins in his hands turned a bright red, as if he were on fire from the inside out. Then, the tips of his fingers turned an inky black, stained in the magic that he had performed. He balled his hands into fists, hugging them to his chest, and cried out in pain. It felt like the digits would fall off if he didn’t hold them close, like a log on the fire when it turned to coal. A slight breeze and the charcoal would break free, leaving nothing but ash behind.

Katsuki clenched his jaw, gritting his teeth to fight through the pain.

It took several long minutes. He sat on the floor curled in the fetal position with his arms crossed over his chest. When the glow of the magic circles finally began to fade, the pain trickled away with it. It started at his elbows and worked its way to his fingertips, like he was peeling off a pair of gloves. With the pain gone, he could breathe easier, however, his fingertips were tarnished black with no signs of turning back.

“Shit,” he cursed, biting the inside of his cheek. For once, he wished Izuku was here. The man was annoying as shit, but he was a wellspring of obscure knowledge. He would probably know how to reverse the magic but there was no way to ask him. Izuku was likely still safely at home in the Todoroki kingdom, haplessly mooning over the youngest prince as the pathetic attendant that he was. Help would not come for Katsuki, at least not in the form he wished.

The library door flung open, and a frazzled Kaminari stood at the entrance. “Katsuki!” he shouted, rushing across the library to where Katsuki was still curled on the floor. He needed to get up. He needed to put the books away and clean up the mess he made before anyone figured out what he was doing. He did none of it. “Hey, hey, just breathe,” said Kaminari. He took Katsuki by the elbow, helping him to his feet. Katsuki swayed unsteadily. The room was off kilter, begging him to return to the floor.

He tried to protest Kaminari’s help, but his tongue failed to form words. They were there, heavy on his lips, but they wouldn’t take shape. Kaminari pried Katsuki’s hands away from his chest with delicate care. He inspected the way they were tarnished and nodded to himself. “Infirmary,” he said more to himself than anything. “Here—” he moved Katsuki to one of the tables, setting him down in a chair. Kaminari scanned the library until his yellow eyes found what he was looking for. “I’ll be right back.” He dipped around a corner, then returned a moment later with a small cart.

Kaminari wrapped one arm around Katsuki’s waist and the other around his shoulder, hoisting him to his feet and lowering him onto the cart. “It’ll be faster to get you to the infirmary like this.”

Katsuki nodded his head lazily, shoulders slumping forward. Kaminari pushed the cart, abandoning the library in search of a doctor. Katsuki was absolutely fucked. He was thankful he was so disoriented because he didn’t want to think about what would happen when the king found out. The previous punishment was bad enough. Katsuki let out a shuddering breath. He tried to flex his fingers, but they refused to move.

“We’re almost there,” said Kaminari reassuringly. They rounded a corner and went down a sloping hall. Katsuki lurched forward. Kaminari shot his hand out, grabbing Katsuki by the shoulder and pulling him back against the handrail of the cart. “Stay with me.”

Katsuki did as he was told but not by choice. His body felt too heavy for him to move on his own. When the cart finally stopped in front of a small wooden door, Kaminari pushed it open with the front of the cart and held it open until they were both fully inside. Katsuki blinked in an attempt to clear his rapidly blurring vision. His throat closed up and there was acid on his tongue. He leaned over the edge of the cart in time to heave his empty stomach. It was a good thing he hadn’t eaten all day. The only thing that came up was water and stomach acid.

“Whoa!” called out another voice. Katsuki sluggishly righted himself to see another blond hovering over him. “Help me lift him onto one of the beds,” said the blond.

Kaminari grabbed him by the pit of his right arm and the stranger by the left. They effortlessly picked Katsuki up and dragged him over to one of the cots stationed in the infirmary, where he collapsed. The man lifted Katsuki’s hand, studying his fingers before he asked, “What happened to him?”

“I’m not sure,” said Kaminari. “He was in the library. He spends a lot of time there. I think he was practicing one of the spells.”

They talked over Katsuki like he was a child, unable to think for himself. The man pressed the back of his hand to Katsuki’s forehead; it was cool against his clammy skin. “He has a fever, and these markings are unlike anything I’ve seen before.”

“I need to find Eijirou.”

“Go,” said the doctor. “Tell that idiot king what’s happening.”

Kaminari frowned. “You know you’re not supposed to talk about him like that.”

“I call it like I see it. Do you want to stand here arguing?”

Kaminari let out an annoyed sigh and shook his head. “No. I’ll be back soon.”

The doctor waited until Kaminari was out of the infirmary before continuing. He grabbed Katsuki by the chin, turning his head this way and that. He pressed his thumb and forefinger around the outside of Katsuki’s left eye, pulling the eyelid apart to check the dilation of his eye. “You’re Bakugou, right? The king’s consort.”

Katsuki grunted something that he supposed almost sounded like the word ‘yes.’ It must have been enough because the doctor understood him.

“Right. My name is Monoma Neito. I’m the doctor here. Stay still. I’ll make something for the nausea.” Monoma left Katsuki on the cot as he went over to his workstation and started concocting something for Katsuki’s stomach. It smelled like tea—chamomile maybe, something soothing. After a minute or two, Monoma returned to Katsuki’s bedside with a teacup and set it on the table by the cot. “I’m gonna need you to sit up.” Katsuki tried, he really did, but all his strength was sapped from his body. Monoma clicked his tongue. He reached behind Katsuki, pressing his palm flat against the center of Katsuki’s back, and grabbed him by the elbow. In one smooth motion, Katsuki was upright, but unsteady.

He held Katsuki up and reached for the cup, pressing it to Katsuki’s lips. “I’m gonna need you to down this in one go.”

Katsuki gave a small nod and parted his lips. The tea was bitter and tasted nothing like chamomile. They say effective medicine never tastes good, but this was horrid. He blanched. A new wave of nausea washed over him.

“Keep it down,” said Monoma, chiding. Katsuki breathed in through his nose slowly and the moment passed. “Good. You can lay back down.” Monoma pulled the cup away and lowered Katsuki back down onto the cot. He stood, returning the cup to the counter where he got it. When Monoma returned to Katsuki’s side, he took one of Katsuki’s hands in his, inspecting the blackened digits with a frown. “What kind of magic were you practicing?”

Katsuki glared at him, refusing to answer.

“Figures.” Monoma rolled his eyes. “I’m not a mage, so I can’t help you if you don’t tell me. Can you move them?” Weakly, Katsuki flexed his fingers. “Good. That’s good.”

The door to the infirmary slammed open with a bang, snapping their attention to the door. King Eijirou stood in the door frame, eyes wild, and breathing labored. When his gaze settled on Katsuki in bed, he rushed to his side. “What’s wrong with him?” he demanded.

“This is an infirmary, please try to be less noisy, Your Highness.” Monoma barked at the king. Red brows pinched together but King Eijirou remained silent. “It’s a side effect of magic. From what Kaminari said when he brought him in here, it was likely self-inflicted. However, I have not been able to get the type of spell out of him. Without more information, it will be hard to treat. For now, he needs rest. Lots of it. No strenuous activities.”

“M'fine.” Katsuki slurred, waving his stained hand at Monoma.

The king captured Katsuki’s hand, rolling it between his fingers and gently turning it over to inspect it like a rare treasure. He ran his thumb down the Katsuki’s finger to his palm, then wrist, then forearm. His crimson eyes darkened and he sniffed at the air. “This is ancient magic,” he said.

Katsuki poked his tongue out, wetting his lips. “S’not,” he lied.

“It is,” said King Eijirou flatly.

“I’ll speak with the apothecary,” said Monoma. “See if they can find anything to treat his hands.”

“My hands are fine.”

“I’ll take him back to our room,” said the king.

Katsuki did not want to go back to ‘their’ room, but he could do little to resist when King Eijirou effortlessly scooped him up into his arms and carried him out of the infirmary.

Chapter Text

With delicate care
the world softens around me.
Forgotten from pain.

Tender was not a word Katsuki would use to describe King Eijirou, not even a little bit, but he wasn’t sure how else to describe the events of the next few days. He was delirious when they returned to the king’s bedchambers from the infirmary. King Eijirou gently deposited him on the mattress with the pillows stationed around him to form a nest. The king sat on the edge of the bed, watching Katsuki as a fever had overtaken his body. His face burned while chills enveloped the rest of him. His fingers, meanwhile, were numb at his sides.

King Eijirou shifted on the bed, moving to the headboard and pulling Katsuki into his lap. He expected the man to take advantage of his vulnerable condition, as that was the norm in their relationship. Instead, he wrapped his arms and tail around Katsuki’s body, sharing his immense heat. It was scorching. Katsuki trembled at the touch, and his jaw ached from the chattering of his teeth. King Eijirou reached for the edge of the bedsheet, pulling it over his lap to cover Katsuki in it. He was surrounded by warmth, exhausted from fatigue, and barely conscious.

There was a knock, then the door creaked open. Katsuki vaguely remembered Kaminari entering wordlessly with their dinner. He was given soup that he couldn’t eat on his own, not with his numb hands and shaking body. Kaminari struggled to feed him while King Eijirou supported his head. Katsuki wanted to protest about how he didn’t need someone to spoon feed him like an infant, but he quite literally did. Even with King Eijirou holding him upright and Kaminari lifting the spoon to his lips, much of the soup was spilled on his chest due to Katsuki’s inability to stop his teeth from chattering. He opened his mouth and bumped his lips against the spoon’s head, splashing the broth. It trailed down his chest and Kaminari was forced to wipe away the mess with a rag. Katsuki had the distinct impression that there might have been some unease between the attendant and the king at that.

The bread was easier to manage. Kaminari tore off bits and pieces, plopping them in Katsuki’s mouth. He chewed slowly because that’s all that he could manage. It was a struggle just to get the small scraps of bread down. King Eijirou didn’t leave his side, not even to eat. He told Kaminari to send his meal back to the kitchen and he would have it later. Katsuki never saw him leave. If he did get dinner, it was after Katsuki had fallen asleep for the night.

Additional blankets were added to the bed, swaddling him in them, making Katsuki feel increasingly infantilized. The fever ate away at him, and drowsiness settled into his very core. His bones rattled together until he finally drifted off into a fitful sleep.

The next morning, he awoke in a haze. Nausea rolled through him. Katsuki didn’t make it off the bed before his throat closed and he tasted acid on his tongue. A warm hand stroked his back in slow circles as he heaved onto the mattress. Limbs like jelly, he collapsed into a puddle of himself. The only reason he didn’t fall into his vomit was because the hands that were originally at his back snaked around to his front and pulled him away from the mess. His gaze flicked down. The hands on his chest were smaller than he expected, but they didn’t belong to Kaminari. While Kaminari had garish yellow lacquer on his nails and an ugly black band he wore around his index finger, these hands were different, yet familiar.

The heat on his back was familiar too, and when Katsuki feebly craned his neck to the right to look behind him, he was met with King Eijirou’s face. However, the obsidian horns he had grown accustomed to seeing nestled into his forehead were gone. He didn’t loom over Katsuki quite as much, and the expansive red wings were absent. There was no tail coiled around his thigh, no elongated nails biting into his skin, just a man with long red hair and ferocious eyes.

“…Why?”

Crimson eyes flicked from Katsuki’s face to the mess on the bed, then back again. “Let’s get you cleaned up,” he said, ignoring Katsuki’s question. The king reached for the small bell Kaminari had given Katsuki on his first day and rang it once, then scooped him into his arms effortlessly and stepped off the bed. With King Eijirou in his human form, Katsuki was held closer to his chest. Instead of his face barely reaching the king’s shoulder, their cheeks now pressed lightly against one another. He smelled of brimstone and his anklets clinked together with every step.

The door to the king’s bedchamber creaked open as they crossed the threshold into the bathroom. Katsuki wondered how Kaminari always managed to move about the castle so quickly, if he had some sort of portal spell, unless he actually secretly lived in the hallway on the other side of the door, waiting to be summoned.

King Eijirou set Katsuki in the tub and turned on the faucet. Water rushed from the golden tap and collected at his feet. Katsuki could hear Kaminari shuffling about in the other room, but the sound was quickly replaced by the continuous rush of the water. It was with great care that King Eijirou stripped him of his clothes rather than tearing them off Katsuki’s body like he normally did. Katsuki swayed in his spot on the bench seat. The king righted him. His eyes roved over Katsuki’s naked body, gaze settling on the discoloration on Katsuki’s hands and forearms. The spell ceased its corruption before doing more damage, but Katsuki could feel that heavy gaze inspecting his body for any more signs of it.

King Eijirou pursed his lips, brows taut in the scowl on his face. He refrained from removing his loincloth which hung more loosely on his hips without the full height of his half-dragon form and took a seat beside Katsuki. Water continued to fill the tub, sloshing around their calves as King Eijirou pulled Katsuki into his lap. He had been in this situation before, but not with the thin layer of fabric acting as a poor excuse for a barrier between them. Katsuki’s bare back pressed against the king’s chest and his cheek found purchase against his shoulder.

“What are you doing?” he managed to ask. It was the most intelligible string of words he had articulated since the day before.

“Getting you cleaned,” said King Eijirou. He reached for the basket of soaps and oils that sat near the tub’s ledge. King Eijirou dampened a cloth in the water and rubbed a bar of soap against it. He lathered the soap against Katsuki’s skin, running the cloth along his arms and down his torso. Katsuki felt the familiar bulge against his ass as King Eijirou worked his hands down Katsuki’s body, but the king did not act upon it. Since when did he hold himself back?

He massaged Katsuki’s hands between his fingers, paying extra attention to the blackened digits. Warm breath fanned over his shoulder as King Eijirou leaned in closer, holding Katsuki’s hands up to his line of sight to inspect further. “This is ancient magic,” he said.

Katsuki’s silence was answer enough.

“Very few beings retain the magical prowess to practice ancient magic. The average human is not one of them.”

Katsuki puffed his chest in a pout. He couldn’t help it. He strived to be the best, so being referred to as anything less pissed him off. “You said I wasn’t average.”

King Eijirou chuckled softly to himself. “You’re not. It’s why you’re not dead right now. Let that be your saving grace and do not attempt something so foolhardy again.”

Katsuki did not make promises he couldn’t keep. He had no intention of stopping. A taste of the magic was all it took for him to be hooked. Lesser men lost themselves in a drink. Katsuki was not a lesser man, but this particular ale called to him like a siren’s song. There was a voice at the back of his mind that urged him to continue practicing. Nothing worth doing came easily. It took discipline and continued practice to be skillful at magic the way he was.

Thick thumbs dug into his shoulders and Katsuki couldn’t help the way he melted into the touch. King Eijirou was like the wind. One minute it was a gentle breeze, the next a fierce tornado. The back and forth made Katsuki dizzy, whiplashed between tender touches and physical assault.

They sat in the tub until long after Katsuki’s body began to prune. When the water turned cold, King Eijirou reheated it with his breath. When he finally deemed Katsuki clean and suitably relaxed, he lifted him from the tub and carried him back to the bed. There was a cotton tunic and a pair of slacks sitting atop the sheets. King Eijirou frowned at the modest attire. “This is entirely inappropriate.”

Katsuki would not normally be one to take advantage of an illness, but he was tired of everyone in the castle seeing his cock on full display whenever he stepped out of the king’s bedchambers. “I’m ill,” he pouted.

King Eijirou furrowed his brows, glaring down at Katsuki in his arms. “And whose fault is that?”

Technically…

Katsuki would not have been practicing ancient magic if he hadn’t been taken against his will. However, he didn’t want a repeat of the other night when he didn’t have the strength to even pretend to fight back. Instead, he gave the king a resigned sigh. “I’ll be able to rest more comfortably in that.”

That seemed to appease him, if ever so slightly. King Eijirou conceded, setting Katsuki on the bed and helping him dress in the tunic and slacks. There was a plate of food on the table by the window. King Eijirou eyed it and then Katsuki. “Do you think you can sit up?”

Not on his own, but with the armrests on the chair to prevent him from tipping over, he thought he could manage. Katsuki nodded. The king scooped him up once more, frowning at the way the cotton tunic rubbed against his bare chest, then set him in the chair. He tried to lift his hands but couldn’t do more than a shrug. The king dragged the other chair around the small table so that he was seated beside Katsuki and stabbed a fork into the eggs on the plate. The nausea from earlier was blessedly gone, so Katsuki was able to chew and swallow the food with minimal effort.

And that’s how it continued. For the next several days, King Eijirou waited on Katsuki hand and foot. All of his royal duties were set to the wayside. His advisors were tasked with running the castle and the country. Kaminari came to bring them their meals and left promptly without conversation. Katsuki wondered if that had to do with the fact that the king was in his human form. From what he gathered from Tetsutetsu previously, almost no one had ever seen him so exposed. In his attempt to show Katsuki vulnerability, he showed members of his castle as well. It did not bode well for one known as a tyrant. If rumor got out that the king was more susceptible to attack, there could be an army at the castle gate in a matter of days.

The doctor, Monoma, popped in twice to inspect Katsuki. He gave Katsuki something to help with the fatigue and the recurring fevers and was satisfied to see that the markings of the spell slowly began to fade away. He surmised that as long as Katsuki wasn’t practicing ancient magic, the erosion would fully disappear in time.

Despite the king’s need or desire for sex multiple times a day, he never once put a hand on Katsuki. Sometimes he disappeared for long stretches in the bathroom, and his erection dug into Katsuki as they slept, but he made no advances. Katsuki felt the weight of his heavy gaze on him more than once. It suffocated him, and he would wait for the moment to pass so that he could breathe. King Eijirou would run his eyes up and down the length of Katsuki’s body until that fiery crimson gaze came to a stop on Katsuki’s hands once more. They always came to a stop on his hands.

The mobility in his fingers steadily grew as the erosion faded and he could eat on his own after four days. It was a full week before Katsuki was able to walk well enough on his own and deemed fit to end his bedrest. He couldn’t be more thankful. He missed having what little space he did. While the king hadn’t done anything unbecoming toward him over the last week, his constant hovering struck an entirely new nerve within Katsuki. It was so unlike the person he had gotten to know up to that point that he wasn’t sure what to make of it.

He pushed open the door, ready to step into the hallway once more when a hand came down on his shoulder with a warning. “You will not perform that spell again.”

Katsuki flicked his gaze to the man behind him. King Eijirou was back in his half-dragon state, nostrils flared and eyes darting from Katsuki to the hall. He drew in a breath and nodded curtly. There were other spells he could practice, and his translation skills had significantly improved by the time he cast the previous one. He still felt the way the fire ate at his insides, how it burned the very veins in his fingers from the inside out. He didn’t want to feel that sort of pain again. He would be more careful. Katsuki couldn’t risk having Kaminari rush him to the infirmary a second time.

Chapter Text

Strengthened waters turn
to ice. Freedom brings respite,
illness and disease.

King Eijirou’s warning went in one ear and out the other. He said Katsuki couldn’t perform that spell again, but the library was rich with ancient magic and he didn’t say Katsuki couldn’t practice any magic. Despite his hostile demeanor and generally unpleasant personality, Katsuki was, for the most part, a rule follower, not a rule breaker. When you knew the rules, you knew how to successfully skirt around them. Loopholes were his best friend. He acknowledged the mistake he made with that last spell. Katsuki would start with simpler ones. They wouldn’t destroy his body if performed incorrectly, and it would be easier to convince Kaminari that he was following the king’s orders.

Kaminari was like a buzzing fly Katsuki couldn’t quite swat away. He was an ever-present shadow over Katsuki’s shoulder, asking what he was doing and if it was safe. Katsuki batted him away on several occasions for being nosy and reassured him that he was following King Eijirou’s orders.

“But how do I know,” he whined. Kaminari was blessed with learning to read as a peasant, but ancient spells were not written in the common tongue. “If you’re lying and the king finds out it’s going to be my head for not stopping you.” His nervous energy was electric, and it made the hairs on the back of Katsuki’s neck stand on end.

Katsuki rolled his eyes as he flipped through the pages of one of the books. “Look at me,” he said, drawing Kaminari’s attention. “Do I look like I’ve been delving in ancient magic?”

Kaminari frowned, arms folded across his chest as he studied Katsuki carefully. Golden eyes flickered with magical energy, then faded back to their usual hue. “No,” he said finally, defeated. “At least there are no outward changes.”

“I’m fine,” said Katsuki. “So, you can run back to your king and tell him you’ve been doing your job properly.”

“He’s your king, too,” said Kaminari.

Katsuki snapped the book shut and leveled Kaminari with a stern gaze. “No,” he said, “he’s not.” Just because King Eijirou had been a little bit nicer as of late didn’t mean Katsuki forgave him for abducting him and forcing himself on him. That was not his king. As a nomad, he had no king. He was not bound to a single nation or ruler. Katsuki would never say it aloud, but Prince Shouto was the closest thing he had to a king and that asshole hadn’t yet succeeded to the throne.

Kaminari gave a forlorn sign and moved to another section of the library to find a book to read, anything to occupy his time while he waited for Katsuki to finish for the day.

Katsuki felt unusually tired one afternoon when King Eijirou decided to make a surprise visit to the library. His heavy footsteps cued Katsuki into his presence, and he tucked away the tomes he had been rifling through. The king peered down at him, his form ever imposing as he towered over Katsuki’s seated body. He was cross-legged on the floor when King Eijirou found him.

“Come with me,” he said without preamble.

Katsuki started to stand but hesitated. “Where are you taking me?” he asked.

“The courtyard,” said King Eijirou. The courtyard was still within the immediate castle walls, but it provided the illusion of going outside, second only to the balcony in the king’s bed chambers. Katsuki nodded. King Eijirou held out a hand to help him stand and Katsuki reluctantly took it, dusting himself off as he stood.

Following King Eijirou to the courtyard was a strange experience. They never went anywhere together. They either saw each other in the confines of the king’s bed chambers or not at all. Katsuki wasn’t sure what to make of it. He trailed a pace behind the king, just out of reach of his tail. The castle’s staff bowed or nodded their heads as they walked by, and King Eijirou greeted them politely. Most royalty wouldn’t spare a thought for those beneath them. Katsuki had seen it enough times in the Todoroki castle and on the rare occasions he was asked to accompany the prince when he visited foreign nations.

Prince Shouto was the only exception until now. He had watched the prince help servants pick up dropped items or offered them food. No one else had ever done that before. Watching King Eijirou reminded Katsuki of the conversation with Kaminari, and how the king insisted that the entire kingdom learn to read. Now, Katsuki watched how the king interacted with servants in the castle.

It didn’t take long to reach the courtyard, and when they did, Katsuki relished in the warmth of the sun’s rays on his skin. He tipped his chin up, face pointed at the sky, and soaked it all in. He felt the embers of his magic flicker on his palms as he was rejuvenated by its source. Katsuki hadn’t realized how thoroughly depleted his magic reserves were. When he opened his eyes, feeling invigorated, he found the king’s gaze on him.

“Why did we come out here?” he asked, knowing there had to be a reason for it. This wasn’t a leisurely stroll. Nothing they did together was ever just for fun.

King Eijirou’s lips curled up into what Katsuki assumed was a smile, but it felt sinister and intimidating. He gestured to the open courtyard and pressed his palm flat on Katsuki’s back between his shoulder blades. “I thought we could spar,” he said.

Katsuki cocked a brow, eyeing the king skeptically. Spar? Now? After all this time? “Why?” he asked. Did the king want to display his power as a reminder to Katsuki that he was the stronger one of the two?

“You’re a fighter, aren’t you?”

Katsuki ground his teeth together, jaw clicking from the tension. “I am,” he said slowly.

“You seem like the type who finds fighting as essential as breathing. I don’t want you to feel suffocated.”

“Now you care?” Katsuki snapped. He couldn’t hold his tongue and was sure to lose it. “You’ve done everything in your power to make me feel small. Now you want to let me breathe?”

Whatever the king thought of Katsuki’s outburst he did well to hide. His face remained neutral and instead, he asked, “Do you want a weapon, or will your magic suffice?”

Katsuki wanted to run him through with a sword, but he was itching to test the strength of his magic now that they had a supposed bond. He wished he were wearing something more appropriate for combat, but at least the flimsy garment King Eijirou insisted he wore allowed proper room for movement. He squared his shoulders and spread his legs, taking a fighting stance. “I don’t need a sword to beat you,” he said. Maybe then the king would set him free.

King Eijirou nodded. He flicked his braid over his shoulder and drew his wings in tight behind his back. Scales rippled down the length of his arms and legs and he looked more beast than man. Fire sparked from Katsuki’s open palms. He felt the heat of the sun kiss his skin and welcomed the warmth, making his flames hotter in response to the sun’s warm embrace. It felt good to flex his magic like this after so long. There was a difference between using the magic that came naturally to him and practicing a magic that his body was incompatible with. This magic was an extension of his being, an invisible limb that only became visible when he manifested it.

His body would never forget the way it felt as he lobbed explosive balls of fire at the king. King Eijirou gracefully dodged the spells. His wings twitched behind his back, but he stayed grounded. If it were a true fight, and not some bullshit sparring session, King Eijirou would undoubtedly be in the air. It gave him the tactical advantage and more room to maneuver. He was holding back and that did not sit well with Katsuki. Quite frankly, it pissed him off to high heaven.

Katsuki launched himself in the air. If the king wasn’t going to take the high ground, he certainly would. It might even serve as the opportunity he had been waiting for. It would be a shame to leave all those ancient spellbooks behind, but if that were the price for freedom, he would be willing to pay it tenfold. With Katsuki attempting an aerial assault, raining explosions down on the courtyard, King Eijirou set to the sky as well. He beat his wings twice to take off, then flew straight through one of the explosions towards Katsuki. King Eijirou appeared unphased by the assault. The fire had no effect on him. Did the king also have a fire affinity?

Was that why he said they were so compatible, and that their newly established bond strengthened both of their magic? He knew the king could breathe fire, but he assumed that was standard for all dragons. That was usually how they were depicted, but Katsuki had assumed King Eijirou would have an earth affinity. It’s what felt right.

Once they were both in the air, it was a struggle for Katsuki to keep up. He had to use his magic not only to attack but to keep himself aloft. The king didn’t have that problem. His wings kept him in the sky with minimal effort, leaving the rest of his body free to do as he pleased. Katsuki set off repeated explosions, pushing him higher into the sky. He used one hand to keep him from falling and the other to send a pointed blast at King Eijirou. The king weaved in and out of the explosions, dodging them with ease. His skin was almost completely covered in glittering red scales, shielding him from the onslaught of explosive magic. Anyone else would be dead by now with the way Katsuki relentlessly sent volley after volley.

His magic was incredibly strong but ineffective against the king. Katsuki was losing stamina fast. Blood pumped loudly through his veins and his ears rang from his explosions. His cheeks burned and sweat dripped down his brow. He couldn’t draw in air fast enough, lungs begging for oxygen as he panted. Katsuki never tired this quickly, but he felt unusually run down as of late. His explosion faltered and suddenly he was descending to the earth at an alarming rate. Part of him welcomed the fall, excited to finally be free of his captor. The other part, the one made of stubborn self-preservation, struggled to keep him airborne. Small explosions popped off his hands, but it wasn’t enough to slow his descent. He started to panic, afraid of what would happen if he hit the stone walkway.

Katsuki didn’t have to be afraid for long. Strong arms caught him, and he watched as King Eijirou’s body shifted from the hardened red scales back to tanned skin. “I’ve got you,” he said. They landed on the ground a moment later. Katsuki stood, wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. King Eijirou eyed him, looking for any sign of injury. “Are you okay?”

Katsuki grunted in reply. He was ashamed of himself for running out of energy that quickly. He fought in wars. He could battle for days if necessary. “M’fine,” he finally said, when it was obvious the king wouldn’t let up until he received verbal confirmation.

“You’re incredibly strong,” praised King Eijirou.

“Not strong enough,” quipped Katsuki. He glared at the king’s body, taking note of how flawless it remained. Not a single mark was left from Katsuki’s fire power. He needed to get stronger.

The king licked his lips and closed the distance between them. He lightly squeezed Katsuki’s shoulder and turned him back towards the castle’s interior. “You should get some rest. You look exhausted.”

Exhaustion was just the beginning. As Katsuki continued to dig deeper into the magical tomes in the castle’s library, his body took on noticeable changes. He tried to pass it off as being tired from sex. The king was back to being gentle in the bedroom but that didn’t make his appetite any less voracious. It was subtle at first: fatigue, pale skin, dark circles under his eyes. It was easy to say, “I’m not sleeping well,” when it was just those side effects. King Eijirou looked skeptical, rightfully so, but he kept his mouth shut.

Kaminari hovered less when it appeared that Katsuki wasn’t going to self-immolate again any time soon. He went back to his usual duties rather than playing babysitter, leaving Katsuki alone more often for long stretches of time in the library. As he became more adept at the spells, Katsuki started to lose weight, and his hair lost its usual luster. His real problem was when the effects became less subtle.

“What is this?” King Eijirou snapped, snatching Katsuki by the wrist. He turned Katsuki’s hand over between his fingers inspecting the blackened marks that had tattooed themselves on his fingertips.

Katsuki drew in a breath and shook his head as attempted to keep a casual demeanor. “It’s an ink stain. I couldn’t get my hands all the way clean after I spilled a jar.”

King Eijirou didn’t seem to buy it, but the marks weren’t like last time. Before, Katsuki’s fingers were almost like the charred remains of a corpse. This time, the spell didn’t eat away at his insides, scorching him from the inside out. He hadn’t touched that spell, just as he’d promised.

“I told you not to practice that spell.”

“And I haven’t,” said Katsuki. He pulled his hand back. “It’ll go away on its own.”

It didn’t. Weeks of practicing ancient draconic magic and the marks that were originally only on the tips of his fingers now stretched up the lengths of his arms, intricately woven patterns stained his skin black, a permanent reminder of what he had done. They reminded Katsuki of scales and brambles twisted together. He grew indifferent to the king’s anger over his blatant disregard for his personal safety, thoughts too consumed by magic.

Katsuki was curled up in a different corner of the library, back pressed against a bookshelf with a magic circle drawn on the floor in front of him. He was barely conscious, too exhausted from all the magic and its effects on him to keep himself upright. He lay down on the floor, resting his head on the back of his hands and let his eyelids drift closed for a moment. A nap would be good. It didn’t matter that there was a faint glow from the magic circle as it hummed with life. He didn’t hear the king’s heavy footsteps as he approached, his senses dulled from the magic.

“You lied,” he said bitterly.

Katsuki cracked an eye open, staring up at the king. He no longer felt panicked in his presence. It was inevitable that he would end up here eventually. “I didn’t,” he said.

“You did.”

Katsuki struggled to sit up, grabbing his knee to get the necessary leverage to right himself. “I didn’t. You said not to practice that spell. I haven’t. There are hundreds of other spells.”

“Your body is not equipped for ancient magic no matter how adept you are. Practicing any will kill you. Just look at you!” He waved his hand at Katsuki and even without looking at himself, Katsuki knew he was a shell of the man he used to be. “I brought you here because I respected your strength and magical power. There’s nothing left of the man from the woods.”

And then the fire burned in Katsuki once more. With significant effort, he pulled himself to his feet. He was unsteady and had to hold onto the bookshelf for support, but he leveled his angriest of glares at the king. “And I didn’t ask you to bring me here! I didn’t want to be here. You did that on your own. The knowledge in the books and scrolls here has been the only thing to make me feel somewhat at home in this prison you call a castle. I’m not allowed outside, there’s someone always watching me, you fuck me with no regard as to how it makes me feel—!”

He coughed, the kind of cough that encompasses your entire body, shaking you to the very core as your lungs begged for air and your throat ached for water. Katsuki lost his balance and almost fell into the magic circle. King Eijirou caught him. He scooped Katsuki into his arms, cradling him against his body, as he dispelled the magic that threatened to spill out of the circle. The king let out a heavy sigh as he steered them away from where Katsuki had been studying. He kept his eyes focused straight ahead, not looking down at Katsuki as he said much softer, “You cannot continue practicing those spells unless you want to die.”

And maybe he did want that.

Chapter Text

Treasured gifts of gold
Shining, glittering, beauty
Unwanted by one

It’s a strange thing when magic consumes your every thought, the way it deteriorates your mind like a cancer, eating away at the cells until everything is tainted and there is nothing healthy left for your body to thrive on. An incurable disease with no remedy for it. It’s a drug, an addiction, one Katsuki fell victim to thanks to his present circumstances. He refused to listen when told not to go to the library or use magic, making everyone’s life more difficult. He was banned from the library. Everyone was banned from the library. The doors were magically sealed by the castle mages to prevent anyone from going in or out.

Katsuki’s hands and arms were a macabre tapestry of tattooed magic. It reached his shoulders, mirroring the veins in his body as it slowly crept towards his heart. The ancient magic was made up of pure, raw power. With the way he was forced to dress, everyone could see exactly what the magic had done to him—what it was doing to him. It ate away at his very soul, drank his essence, and consumed his flesh.

He was rarely left alone. It was the only way to ensure Katsuki didn’t practice magic of any kind. His body needed to rest, but the rush he felt when he cast the spells and the ancient magic flowed through his veins was an adrenaline high like he had never felt before. It egged him on, urging him to do it again and again. He didn’t leave the king’s bed chambers. He wasn’t allowed. Not that it mattered anymore, he didn’t have the strength to go wandering the halls. And with the library sealed off, he had no interest in exploring the rest of the castle. Katsuki used what little strength he had to climb off the bed and draw magic circles on the floor by the bed or practice incantations.

King Eijirou looked at Katsuki like he was something fragile, like a gentle breeze would be enough to make Katsuki shatter into a million pieces left to drift away with the wind. He didn’t lay his hands on Katsuki anymore—not unless he had to. Like when Katsuki would collapse on the bedroom floor or grow sluggish in the bath. He didn’t fuck Katsuki senseless because he was already without sound mind. Katsuki could see guilt etched in the king’s expressions. Some distant part of Katsuki wondered if King Eijirou finally understood what he pushed Katsuki to become. The rest of him wanted Katsuki to skip meals so that he could train his magic to be stronger, to withstand the effects of the ancient spells.

The king tried to distract him. When he would leave Katsuki in Kaminari’s care so that he could manage his royal obligations, he would come back with gifts. He offered Katsuki jewels and trinkets, but he had no need for fancy jewelry or hair pieces. He was a man, a nomad, he thrived on having minimal possessions. The shiny, golden rings and bracelets made Katsuki question where they came from.

“Don’t dragons hoard?” he asked.

King Eijirou stared at the jewels in his hands; the same ones Katsuki had rejected moments before. “Usually,” he said.

Katsuki sat with his back against the headboard. A sheen of sweat dampened his brow and his eyelids were heavy. Kaminari had just forced a meal down his throat for dinner before King Eijirou returned to the room. The king set the jewels down on the nightstand and sat at the foot of the bed. His thumb grazed Katsuki’s ankle, softly caressing bone beneath the thin layer of skin, and it sent a shiver up his spine. “You don’t?” he asked, tired. King Eijirou’s lack of possessions always confused him.

“I didn’t have anything worth hoarding until now,” he confessed.

Something stirred within Katsuki, but he resigned himself to sighing in exasperation. “I don’t need or want jewels and jewelry. Trinkets are a waste of money and bag space.” Not that he needed to worry about bag space anymore. Katsuki let his gaze settle on the small pile of jewels on the nightstand frowning. “Leave the lapis lazuli,” he said, “get rid of the rest.” He could use it to channel magical energy.

King Eijirou’s eyes widened, surprised that Katsuki accepted even a fraction of his gift. Katsuki couldn’t help but notice the way his tail swayed slightly on the mattress as he hopped to his feet, scooping up all the jewels but one. “I’ll dispose of these,” he said, and drew in a breath.

“What are you going to do with them?” asked Katsuki, alarmed.

The king froze, letting out his breath and turned to Katsuki. “Melt them down? There’s no reason to keep them if you don’t want them.”

Katsuki almost laughed at how absolutely absurd the situation was. The king was so out of touch that he planned to— What? Breathe fire on a handful of precious gems to dispose of them? The fortune in King Eijirou’s hands could feed a small village through the winter.

“Put’em back!” he barked. The king hesitated, then slowly lowered them back down onto the nightstand. Katsuki would have to find something else to do with them. Maybe he could give them to Kaminari to take back to whatever village he hailed from.

King Eijirou looked pleased with himself, which only pissed Katsuki off further.

The jewels were just the beginning. A whole ass boar, similar in size to the one Katsuki hunted when they first met, was dropped onto the floor in front of the bed. King Eijirou had to come in through the balcony doors in order to bring it into the room.

“What the fuck is that?” he asked.

“Meat,” said the king. The boar was still warm, less than an hour old and hadn’t been butchered. Katsuki missed his spices from his homeland but before he could say anything about the gift, Kaminari of all people stepped in to lecture the king.

“What are we supposed to do with that?” he barked, waving his hand at the boar carcass.

“Eat it,” said King Eijirou, brows knit together in confusion.

“And how is Katsuki supposed to eat it?” Kaminari chided.

“You shouldn’t refer to him so casually,” said King Eijirou.

“Fine,” snapped Kaminari. “How is Lord Katsuki supposed to eat that giant boar when Doctor Monoma said he needed to be on a liquid and soft food diet until he got his strength up? He can’t eat that!”

Katsuki tried to interject that he could eat whatever he damn well pleased, but the two of them bickered back and forth until King Eijirou’s wings flared out behind him and smoke plumed from his nostrils.

“Fine!” King Eijirou huffed. “I’ll get rid of it.”

“Take it to the kitchen!” shouted Kaminari as the king tossed the boar effortlessly over his shoulder. “Maybe the chef can make a stew or something.”

They watched as King Eijirou carried the boar back onto the balcony and flew off the ledge to the ground floor. Katsuki stared at Kaminari in wonder. “Since when are you so assertive?” he asked.

Kaminari folded his arms across his chest and sighed. “I can speak my mind when I need to. The bath is ready.”

“I can walk myself,” said Katsuki, getting up from the bed with shaky legs. He couldn’t, and Kaminari had to walk him slowly to the tub.

Katsuki was mid-incantation when the door to the king’s bed chambers burst open with a bang. He startled, dropping the stone of lapis lazuli he had been using to channel his magic on the bed. King Eijirou stepped into the room looking absolutely ridiculous. “What is all this?” Katsuki asked, taking in the armfuls of swords and daggers he carried. There was a bow and quiver strapped to his right hip and a mace to his left. He looked like someone headed off to war that had never seen a fight before.

“They’re for you,” he said, dropping a harpoon on the bed.

“Why?” Katsuki asked, rightfully confused.

King Eijirou shifted out of his half-dragon form, appearing a head shorter and dumped the rest of the weapons on the bed. “You like practical things, right?”

“Yes,” said Katsuki.

“And you like weapons?”

“As much as any man,” Katsuki confirmed.

Satisfied with Katsuki’s answer, the king nodded his head at the gemstone on the bed. “You didn’t want the jewels so I thought you would appreciate these more.”

“What am I supposed to do with all of them? I’ve never even used a mace.”

King Eijirou pushed the mace aside and found a spot on the bed free of sharp and pointy objects. He grabbed Katsuki by the hand and looked him sternly in the eyes. “When you get better, we’ll train together. So, you have to get better,” he added. “Whichever weapon you prefer.” He waved his hand at the weapons, gesturing for Katsuki to choose.

Katsuki’s blood sang with excitement. He had been interrupted mid-spell and his body screamed to finish the incantation. He wouldn’t be able to calm down until he did. He let his gaze fall on a great sword in the middle of the bed, with the hilt wrapped in purple leather. “That one,” he said, pointing a shaky finger at the great sword. In his current condition, he doubted he could even lift it, let alone wield it.

Crimson eyes burned with excitement as King Eijirou scooped up all the other weapons to rid the bed of them. “You seem like the type to master a great sword,” he said.

“What does that mean?” asked Katsuki.

King Eijirou shook his head. “Nothing. Just that you’re strong.” He dumped the weapons unceremoniously onto the floor with a clatter and picked up a pair of daggers. “I rarely use weapons, but I’ve always been fond of short swords.” It was the first bit of personal information King Eijirou had ever truly shared with Katsuki. Why did it make him feel floaty?

“What. The. Absolute. Fuck. Is. That?” asked Katsuki, standing weakly next to the changing partition.

King Eijirou stood before him in all his regal glory, holding a small, black and white animal. “It’s a skunk!” he declared proudly.

“I can fucking see that! Why is it in here?” Was the king planning to eat it? In all his years alone in the woods, Katsuki had never had skunk before. He had no idea if it tasted any good.

King Eijirou’s smile fell with his shoulders. He was sulking, upset by Katsuki’s reaction. He was steadily becoming easier to read. Katsuki wasn’t sure if that was because he had spent so much time watching the king or if King Eijirou had finally let his guard down around him. Both answers created more questions he didn’t want to ask.

“I caught it for you,” admitted King Eijirou. “I thought you might like it as a pet. It’ll help take your mind off the magic.” He stared at the markings that now covered Katsuki’s entire body, all converging on one central location: his heart.

Katsuki tightly gripped the partition to keep himself upright, chin quivering as he clenched his jaw to the point of aching. “Why the fuck would I want a skunk for a pet?” he asked.

King Eijirou cocked his head to the side, staring at Katsuki perplexed. “Because it’s cute like you.”

A mixture of anger and embarrassment flared in Katsuki’s chest and his cheeks burned red. “I don’t want a fucking skunk. Get rid of it!” He waved his hand at King Eijirou and the skunk wriggled free of the king’s grasp. It took five steps forward, standing perfectly halfway between Katsuki and the king, then turned and lifted its tail. “Stop it!” Katsuki bellowed, but it was too late. Before King Eijirou could grab it, the skunk released the liquid in its scent gland and sprayed Katsuki.

He stood there dumbfounded and gagging for air. The entire room, but especially Katsuki, stunk. Kaminari was summoned to help Katsuki with his bath and clean the king’s bed chambers. King Eijirou carried the skunk away looking apologetic and shameful. What he did with the skunk, Katsuki did not know. Nor did he care to ask. He wouldn’t entertain any more of the king’s ideas for what made good gifts.