Trinket (Reverse Harem)

Trading In Kisses

"I want to see the consorts I actually like," I snapped at him once we were back in my room.

"In time," he said.

"Fuck your time. Did you know I was your consort?"

Ormiss said, dryly, "I very much hoped not, considering they hoped you were my lost cousin, and explaining that would have been quite awkward for someone."

Ouch, that was right. The lost hippocamp princess was Ormiss' cousin. Time to scale back the snottiness. "If you thought I was your cousin, why didn't you say so?"

"I didn't think you were my cousin. Or, like I said, I hoped not, otherwise I was having some very perverse feelings for some very perverse gods, or I'm not my father's son."

Explained (maybe) his bad disposition about all of it. I still didn't like him, but this was his cousin we were talking about, so I needed to not be a complete hateful bitch. "That must have been really stressful."

He frowned a bit. Blood stained both sides of his handsome jaw from where the Queen had smacked him, coming to a strange point on his chin where the last drops of blood dried and did not fall. "I am sure you don't care."

"Actually, I do. You're still an obnoxious horseyfish and I don't like you, but it is your cousin we're talking about." Also explained why I was getting so hot between the thighs for him. But I wasn't about to confess that.

He touched the thorn intermingled with all his other jewelry. "What makes you so special, little no one, that the gods have given you so many consorts? Do you enjoy your collection?"

Here I was, trying to be nice to him and give him some leeway, and he was still trying to out-asshole Asund. "You and Asund can compare notes on why I don't care for either of you."

He managed a little smile. "You don't like the wolf-shifter? Why not?"

"I have my reasons. But he's also the proof that I'm not crazy and we have to find the Pantere Priestess of dreams. Tell me you know where to find her."

"I know exactly where she is. Gaining an audience with her? Very different."

"So let's go. You can get my—"

Ormiss sighed, annoyed. "I can't release your consorts. They're prisoners. The Queen has ordered them held, and I can't countermand that. If you had been my cousin them returning you to us... perhaps something could be done."

"They haven't committed any crimes!"

"That's not really the point."

"Oh, I get the point. You hate land-dwellers."

"Hate is a strong word. I personally do not hate land-dwellers. I just don't like you very much."

"Care to share why?"

"Because the land-dwellers have made it clear they have no use for us," Ormiss folded his arms across his chest. His upper body seems to bow like a horse's regal neck as he stares down at me. His arms shift the multitude of necklaces he wears. His hair is a mixture of black and bright red, spilling around his shoulders and chest in waves. "We have been left out of everything. And the one time in generations we are able to gain a voice on the Seat worth having, our princess is killed. Now the Ravens squawk at us, the world is rotting and poisoned, and the land-dwellers ignore us. Once the sea-serpents withdrew into the sea the hippocamp were forgotten. We are the descendants of sea-serpents and unicorns, and here we are, forgotten? We are one of the most ancient of the hybrids. We are older than the hippogriffs and wolves. As you can see, we live in human form and breathe air, but it is as though none of us exist. We send ambassadors and are ignored or pushed aside as if we have nothing to offer simply because we have always chosen to live here under the ocean instead of on land, as is also our birthright."