by Jack Whitney
Lex chuckled under her breath. “Funny. He said the same.”
Aydra stopped and stared at her. “You saw him?”
“Passed him on the way up to your room,” Lex answered. “He is also looking rather delicious today. This will be fun.”
Upon their reaching the doors of the Chamber, she paused and turned the ring on her finger over three times as she’d started doing. She nodded at the Belwarks, and the doors opened.
Gold reflection bounced off her crown from the windows’ lights as she walked inside. Heads turned, and they bowed upon her passing. Her eyes found her sister on the other side of the room, and she and Lex made their way over.
Aydra grabbed a wine on the way over, downing it before even reaching her sister.
“Drae!” Nyssa exclaimed, crossing the space between them. “You’re early for once.”
Aydra laughed. “Ready to get this meeting over with, more like,” she answered.
Nyssa began talking to her about something, but Aydra’s attention faltered completely. Her heart skipped upon doing a double-take at his cool figure across the room.
Draven was standing by the window, gold goblet in his hand. His teeth tugged on his bottom lip as he took the drink away from his lips. One of the Nobles was standing in front of him trying to talk to him about something, but she knew he hadn’t heard any more of the man’s conversation than she was hearing of her own sister’s.
His gaze found hers, and he stilled. He looked over her deliberately, and she watched as his tongue darted over his lips, jaw clenching distractedly as his weight shifted.
“—hear me? Drae?” Nyssa’s voice entered her ears, but Aydra shook her head.
“I’m sorry, Nys. I just need to speak with the Venari before the meeting. About the Infi,” she lied.
Lex almost choked on her drink, and Aydra glared at her.
Draven was already moving across the room to her. She met him halfway, and the noise of her heart thudding in her chest nearly made her ears bleed.
She didn’t know what to say.
His eyes traveling up and down her figure didn’t help matters.
Another jagged breath filled her lungs, and she felt her mouth open just slightly to let out the air she could barely breathe in the first place. She wanted to reach out and touch him, feel the burn of his skin against hers. A small smile rose on her lips as his eyes finally locked with hers.
“You know this would look a lot less suspicious if the two of you would say something instead of simply eye fucking each other,” came Lex’s nudging voice behind Aydra. Aydra nearly jumped at her suddenly appearing behind her, and Lex gave her smile upon pressing a drink into her hands. Lex left them just as quickly as she’d appeared, and Draven smirked at her as she sauntered away.
“She’s right,” he said.
Breath left Aydra, and she gulped at the red wine in her cup. “She usually is,” she muttered.
He took two steps forward, his shoulder meeting hers as though he were going to walk past her. Her breath caught in her throat, and she felt her hair fall over her face as he leaned down.
“You’re mesmerizing, Aydra,” he whispered. “I’m not sure how you expect me to hear anything these people have to say with you sitting across from me like this today or any day hereafter.”
The growl of his words sent a shiver down her spine. She tucked her hair behind her ear and looked up at him.
“The same, but about you,” she managed breathlessly.
His jaw tightened distractedly, and his eyes flickered down at her. “Aydra—”
“Is there something happening here that I should know about?”
The sound of her brother’s voice made Aydra jump. She felt heat rise on her chest as Draven turned fully towards him, his body tensing at Aydra’s side.
“Not at all, brother,” Aydra said with a tilt of her head. “Draven was just telling me of the Wyverdraki mating ritual,” she lied, regaining the confidence in her voice. She took a full step back and wrapped her hand around her brother’s arm. She felt her shy facade fade and the wall she so desperately clung to with the crown on her head veil over her face.
“Sounds barbaric,” Rhaif said with a glare at Draven.
“It’s actually quite beautiful,” she mused, smiling genuinely at Draven’s softened features. “Should you like to hear it?”
Rhaif’s gaze danced over Draven’s figure just noticeably before turning his attention to Aydra. “Take your seat, sister. We need to end this meeting on time for once.”
Her brother took her arm then and began leading her towards the table, but not before she gave Draven a smile over her shoulder. Her heart fluttered in her chest upon seeing the crooked smirk he returned.
Aydra hardly heard what the meeting was about.
Every time Aydra’s eyes met his, she had to shift in her seat. The stare he gave her across the table had her dripping with the fantasies of what he would do to her later. She could see the vein straining on his neck, the short breaths he would take when he shifted in his own seat.
The only thing she remembered was when her brother began to adjourn the meeting without bringing up the safety of their kingdom.
“Wait—” Aydra called as her brother tried to stop the meeting. “We have to talk about the ships.”
Draven’s brow raised, and he sat up in his chair as the rest of the room began to murmur together.
“Ships? What ships?” Councilwoman Reid asked.
“Are there ships on the shores of Magnice?” another member asked.
Aydra’s eyes darted between Ash and Draven, then landed back on Rhaif’s flared irises. “Well, no, but—”
“Ships arrived on the shores of the Honest Sea a few weeks ago,” Ash cut in then. “The Venari King and his Honest friends handled the incursion. I was there with the Queen myself and witnessed the strangers be taken down.”
“There is no need to concern yourselves, Council, Nobles,” Rhaif cut in. “The Queen has a slight obsession with these ships,” Rhaif said with a laugh. “You’ll excuse her paranoia. The Venari and his men have the situation under control, do you not?” he asked Draven pointedly.
Draven’s jaw tightened as he looked around the men and women at the table. He finally took a deep inhale and met Aydra’s gaze. “The ships have arrived twice on our shores. My men and the Honest have battled them both times. I will not pretend to know when or if they will be back.”
“Who are they? What do they want?” one of the Ambassadors asked.
Aydra swallowed hard and chanced a glance at Draven. “We’re not sure.”
Murmurs broke out around the table.
“You’re not sure what they want? You’ve simply met them on the beach and killed them instead of asking what they wanted?”
“The man said ‘Long live King Aeron of Mathis, ruler of Man’,” Aydra cut in.
Voices paused around the room, and they all stared at her.
“What does that even mean? Who is King Aeron?” asked one of the councilmen.
“I don’t know,” Aydra said. “That’s the point. These people are not to be trusted. They obviously want our lands.”
“The Venari should bring some of them in for torture and questioning if there is a next time. Find out information rather than simply killing them as you’ve done so recklessly these last times. Perhaps these men could be useful,” said Reid.
“Of what use could people not of our own be? They are clearly not Haerlandian and come from somewhere high across the seas. We don’t know from where they were born, what they did to their land there, or why they would be traveling so far away from their homes,” argued Aydra. “You cannot take this lightly. We must—”
“I’m not sure I understand why we are having this discussion,” Ash interjected. “The strangers are not on the shores of Magnice.”
“The captain is right,” said one of the Nobles before he turned to face Draven. “Do you have this situation handled or are you and your men
as worthless as the Chronicles say you are?”
Draven’s fist curled in on itself, and his jaw tightened. He glared at the standing people around him.
“We have it handled,” he growled. “For now.”
Rhaif clapped his hands over the table and said something, but Aydra didn’t hear it. Her nostrils flared at the ignorance of the people around the table as they stood and began chatting with each other absentmindedly. She fought the urge to slam her fist in to the table.
A glass of wine was sat down in front of her then, and she turned just in time to see Dorian sit in the chair beside her.
“They’ll figure it out when they’ve an army taking over their towns,” he said to her.
Aydra lifted the cup to her lips and drank it in one swift gulp. “Idiots,” she mumbled. “You would think an invasion would alarm them.”
“They don’t care unless it’s on their land,” Dorian insisted. “Also, Reid is right. We really should find out what they want.”
Aydra sighed. “Yeah. Yeah, fine.”
“I know, sister. It’s one less instantaneous spill of blood your sword will meet,” he mocked, “but you might find diplomacy can be an option.”
“Killjoy,” she bantered.
Dorian almost laughed at her. “Perhaps you should take Nyssa with you next time they come,” he added.
A frown slipped onto her face. “Why?”
“Because she might be a twat half the time, but her negotiating skills have come to rival Rhaif’s,” he answered. “And she could use some time away from this place. See the land. Meet the people. Just remember to bring a bottle of nyghtifyr.”
“Why’s that?”
“She gets a bit shy in front of crowds.”
Aydra almost laughed, but the serious face Dorian had strewn across his own made her pause. “Oh, you’re not joking.”
“I’m not.” He traded out his full cup for her empty one then and stood, holding out his arm. “Come on. Don’t give them the satisfaction of your being bothered by their idiocy.”
Aydra made her rounds with full glasses of wine, putting on the facade her crown so demanded she wear in front of the Council she knew would take it from her if given the chance. No one spoke of the ships. No one spoke of politics. The only thing they seemed to want to speak to her about was she and Rhaif’s birthing moons coming up in the next month, wanting to know if they’d decided on a party theme or decor. She had to lie and tell them all she was looking forward to it, that they’d planned a grand celebration for it.
Her reprieve came in the smell of herb once she escaped their clenches.
“There you are,” she said in relief when she found him by the open window of the hall.
Lust rose in his eyes as he puffed on the pipe and looked her deliberately sideways. She felt her jaw tighten upon reaching him, and he held out the pipe to her.
“Careful, Venari,” she uttered as she took the pipe from his hands. “Your gaze deceives you.”
“Funny,” he mused, turning back to the window. “I’m sure I saw you climax at least twice simply sitting at that table.”
“Mm… Only the once actually,” she said, feeling the swim of the herb and wine through her veins. “You’re losing your touch.”
“I doubt you’ll be saying the same later.”
The jagged breath left her lips, and she swallowed hard at the look he was giving her. Her arms hugged her chest. “Promise?” she managed in a quiet voice.
A huff of amusement left his lips before he took another inhale, and he shifted his weight against the window. “Seems your brother is still in denial about the ships.”
“It would seem he believes us to have killed ghosts of our own men.”
“Pretty sure Belwarks’ heads would just turn to ashes upon their beheading. Duarb would have claimed the bones of any of my men. Their ears would have been pointed had they been Dreamers. And the Honest… well their necks would have had gills.”
“Don’t you think I’ve said all of these things to him?”
“Have you?”
She gave him a sideways glare and wrapped her arm over her chest, swirling the wine in her cup. “You’re just trying to get a rise out of me,” she muttered.
“I’m not,” he replied simply. “Simply wondering what you’ve been doing here for a month when your brother acts as though—”
“You know he will not listen to me.”
“Then make him.”
“How exactly do you propose I do that? Ash told him the strangers were barely swordsmen. I showed Rhaif my own battle scars. Had Lex recount and affirm my story—”
“You could summon Nadir,” he interjected.
She balked at him. “Summon Nadir? As if he would ever step into this kingdom without use of force.”
Draven shrugged. “He might. Offer him something he can’t refuse.”
“Like what? His life?”
He chucked under his breath. “I said summon. Not threaten.”
“He’s your friend. You summon him.”
“I cannot summon anyone to a kingdom that isn’t mine.”
She paused and stared at him a moment. “Could you bring him to the meeting with the Nitesh if I asked it of him?”
His brows raised. “You mean escort the favored son of Lovi Piathos and commander of the Honest Army across the Preymoor and Bitratus Hills all the way to Magnice to ambush a meeting with the most powerful woman in all of the land?”
She raised an expectant brow at him and tilted her head.
He contemplated it a moment.
“Yeah, all right,” he gave in with a shrug.
She almost laughed at his nonchalantness.
His weight shifted, and he straightened to stand over her. “You wanted danger in your life, my Queen… allow me to oblige.”
“Knew there was another reason I kept you around,” she grinned.
A huff of amusement left him, and he took one step closer to her, allowing his hair to fall over his face when he paused at her side. “Do you know what I’m going to do to you later?”
The chill ran deliberately down her spine with his breath tickling her ear. She turned around as he leaned his shoulder against the wall on the other side of her, and she took the pipe from his hand again.
The shyness she’d felt upon first seeing him had long faded with the swim of the herb and wine pulsing through her body, and she felt back to her regular self at his banter.
“Do tell, Hunter,” she said wickedly.
His gaze deliberately danced over her as she exhaled the smoke from her lips. “Your Second will have to carry you to breakfast once I’m done.”
“I’d rather have breakfast in bed.”
Draven’s brows raised, and he allowed a smirk to rise on his lips. “Have you ever begged, my Queen?”
“Never.”
The corner of his lips rose higher. “Not even for your end?”
“The last time I needed such words, I threatened to hang the woman from her thumbs in the tower, and then I finished myself.”
“You’ll be too tied up to finish yourself tonight.”
She raised a brow. “Tied up?” She huffed amusedly under her breath and nodded towards the buffet table. “I suggest you gain your strength, Hunter. You’ll need to eat before such a night.”
“No need. I’ve my feast right here in front of me,” he purred as he leaned down to her ear. “I can smell your wetness, my Queen,” he whispered. “You’re lucky there are other people in this room.”
Her thighs squeezed together as her fingers gripped the stone, eyes fluttering involuntarily at the vibration of his voice. Her hair raised on her arms and on the back of her neck, and she looked up at him through her curls. The servant’s door in the shadows caught her eye.
“What people?” she uttered.
On her heel, she turned, leaving him standing there to stare after her as she disappeared through the back doorway.
Her back planted against the stone w
all, and she waited for him to join her, feeling her thighs already squeezing together as the fantasy of him ripping her to shreds in the servants hall flooded her mind.
So when the door opened and shut quietly ten minutes later, her breaths quickened, and he wasted no time in pressing his lips to hers. The desperation of his kiss poured into her core, and she couldn’t stop herself from devouring him as she’d fantasized about doing for weeks.
She could already feel him firm against her abdomen. His hand quickly moved the slit in her dress to the side. He pulled back just briefly, the darkened smirk on his features making her wetter than she already was.
“Dirty girl,” he uttered upon finding she’d worn no undergarments.
“Stop flirting and fuck me,” she growled.
A brow raised on his face, his lips smiled, and he tugged the roots of her hair, causing her chin to lift towards him. His finger slipped torturously inside her. She leaned forward to kiss him, but he pulled back, keeping his face an inch away from hers as his thumb caressed her clit, two fingers plunging slowly in and out of her. She hardly realized her leg pulling up around his hip, granting him further access.
She tried concentrating on the moons light outside the window to keep herself from emitting the audible moans threatening her throat.
His hand moved from her hair and clapped over her her lips. “Quiet, my Queen,” he growled into her neck.
The warmth of his growl sent a shiver over her flesh. Her hands found their way to his neck, and he pressed himself flush against her, still torturing her with his hands. Her muscles tensed, and she gripped his hair in her fingers as she felt her undoing come so close to radiating through her core.
But then he stepped back and let her go, leaving her standing breathlessly against the wall, unfinished. She had to grip the stone with her fingers to keep from stumbling forward.
His brows heightened in a dominating manner as he stared at her from across the walkway.
She swallowed hard as she caught her breath. “If you think I’m going to beg…”
“I think that’s exactly what you’ll do.”
She gave him a full once over, and then brought her finger to her lips, sucking on her middle finger. “I told you, Venari—” she reached between her own legs and felt her hardened clit, continuing to stare at him as she threatened to finish herself. “—I am perfectly capable of finishing myself.”
