Pregnant by the Prince of Lust(BL)

Azriel

"Your orders, Your Highness?" Malachi asked, his head bowed low in deference before me.

​I ignored him for a moment, lifting the long-stemmed tobacco pipe to my lips and taking a slow, deep drag.

As I exhaled, the thick, pale smoke curled lazily into the crisp air, swirling toward the ink-black expanse of the Katula night sky before dissolving into the darkness.

​"Is Seraphel with Thamiel now?" I asked.

​"Yes, Your Highness."

​I turned back to face the endless sky, letting out a heavy, weary sigh.

After witnessing the brutality in the Hall of Justice, I had immediately ordered Seraphel to Thamiel’s quarters to be examined.

I had caught the shaking fear in his eyes back in the hall, and it irked me. I despised seeing him look so rattled—so fragile. Yet everything I had done, every drop of blood spilled on that marble floor, had been executed solely to ensure his absolute safety.

​"Good. Ensure the royal guards are hidden and positioned throughout the inner perimeter at all times. Report any suspicious movement directly to me. If so much as a hair on his head is harmed again, Malachi, I will hold you personally accountable."

​Malachi bowed his head even lower. "Understood, Your Highness."

​He turned to melt back into the shadows, but I raised a hand to stop him, recalling the uneasy doubt Seraphel had voiced earlier.

​Slyven hadn’t been acting alone. He lacked the backbone and the cunning to orchestrate such a scheme by himself. There was someone backing him, pulling his strings from behind the curtain.

But Lumiel’s mind search had revealed nothing beyond Slyven’s direct actions, which meant he was merely a disposable pawn. The true mastermind was still lurking right under our noses.

​"Establish a strict perimeter around the concubines’ hall," I commanded, my tone cold with every word. "And announce a total curfew tonight. No one leaves their quarters."

​"Right away, Your Highness," Malachi answered before vanishing seamlessly into the night.

​I turned back to the balcony railing, taking another slow pull from my pipe.

A quiet gnawing in my chest refused to settle.

I could feel the strange, uncomfortable shifts happening within myself lately, and the realization that my own thoughts were so consumed by a single human was beginning to grate on my nerves.

​"There you are, brother. I was certain you would be off hunting for your newest hole to fuck," a smooth, mocking voice Sounded from behind me.

​I didn’t bother turning around as Sariel’s footsteps approached. "You must be terribly disappointed, given that your own sex life has turned out to be as barren as a virgin’s."

​Sariel scoffed, leaning casually against the marble railing beside me. "Oh, please, Azriel. I have fucked just as many holes as you."

​"Yet none of them ever stay, do they?" I drawled, tilting my head sideways. "You chase them away by the next morning. You’ve never managed to keep a single one around."

​"Touché."

​A brief silence settled between us, save for the crackle of the embers in my pipe, until Sariel spoke up again, his tone practically dripping with green envy.

​"Seriously, though... it isn’t every day one finds the Prince of Lust wallowing in brooding pity, staring hopelessly at the dark sky. In the past, you would have thrown a massive, decadent banquet by now—flooded with human omegas just to satisfy your appetite."

​I rolled my eyes in annoyance, exhaling a plume of smoke before turning my full glare onto him. "Seriously, what the hell is your problem tonight, Sariel? Why don’t you just fuck off and go pick a fight with Luceriel? You two are a match made in hell."

​"That arrogant, egoistic bastard irritates me to no end," Sariel muttered with a sneer. "The man can barely sustain a conversation without spending three quarters of it praising himself."

​"And you’re envious of his pride?"

​"I can’t help it! I am the Prince of Envy! And Luceriel certainly doesn’t help matters," Sariel groaned, dragging a hand down his face before crossing his arms. "I caught a heavy whiff of your restless energy while heading to my quarters and decided to pay my dear brother a visit. Is a little family bonding too much to ask?"

​I chose to ignore him, returning my gaze to the dark clouds drifting over the palace grounds.

​"I heard what transpired in the hall," Sariel continued, his tone shifting slightly. "I refrained from attending because Lumiel’s dramatic methods are rarely to my taste. The man has a truly unhinged flare for theatricality."

​A quiet chuckle escaped me. "Typical Lumiel."

​"You seem absurdly concerned about the human," Sariel noted, the mockery fading into sharp curiosity. "I could sense your chaotic emotions the moment I stepped onto this balcony. And the one emotion suffocating all the rest is worry."

​I turned my head, taking the pipe from my lips and narrowing my eyes into a hard frown. "Seriously, Sariel. Stop using your sight to pry into my internal state."

​"You pry into people’s thoughts."

​"Yet I can’t read yours, because you managed to erect a block around your mind," I countered coldly.

​"Unlucky for you, there is no spell in existence that can block my sight from seeing what lies beneath—unless you care to gouge my eyes out."

​I let out an irritated groan.

Arguing with Sariel was always a losing battle.

​As the Sin of Envy, his Celestial Sight was unmatched. He could peer across vast distances, unearth hidden truths, and see straight through a soul’s emotional core.

It was thanks to that very Celestial Sight that we had uncovered the traitorous servant in the first place.

​"Touché," I muttered, returning the pipe to my lips.

​Sariel fell quiet for a long moment, his striking eyes locking onto me. I could feel his gaze cutting through my skin, peering straight into my soul to analyze the swirling chaos within, but I didn’t bother stopping him.

​"Well?" I asked, rolling my eyes. "What else did your sight pick up?"

​"You are genuinely worried about that human, Azriel," Sariel said softly, a trace of genuine surprise in his voice. "That is entirely unlike you."

​I shook my head, exhaling a slow cloud of grey smoke into the night. "There are many things you don’t know about me, brother."

​"Are you worried simply because he is carrying your child?" Sariel pressed, leaning closer with an inquisitive squint. "That must be the reason, right? Because you marked him, you’re bound to feel an artificial connection toward him."

​I frowned even deeper, my jaw tightening. "What absolute nonsense are you blabbering about?"

​"If you’re wallowing out here, there is only one person causing it," Sariel said plainly. "You have never worried about a living soul in your entire existence. You’re only acting like this because of the child and the instinctual bond created by your mark... right?"

​I rolled my eyes at him, letting out a long, heavy breath as I stretched my arms back against the railing.

I drew one final, deep pull from the pipe, staring up at the moonlit sky while his words echoed in the silence.

​Was I truly only worried for him because of the child... or was the mate bond twisting my heart in ways I refused to admit?