by Jack Whitney
Aydra felt Draven’s hands grasp her hips, and she allowed him move her until she could feel his length teasing between her cheeks. She inhaled sharply, and he sat up behind her, his fingers teasing her wetness. “Relax,” he whispered in her ear.
The deliberate chill ran down her spine, and she nearly melted into him as he slipped a finger into her ass. It was a different sensation that made a restlessness fill her body, and for a moment she forgot about Lex being in the room.
But his hands grasped her hips again, and he slowly lowered her cheeks down onto his length. An audible gasp left her. Lex didn’t seem to notice. She kissed Aydra’s throat and made her way down her front. Aydra’s heart fluttered in her chest at the feelings happening to her, her breaths shortening. Draven grasped her hands in his and held her up as he gently moved his hips up and then torturously down inside her.
It was when Lex’s mouth suddenly pressed to her clit that she saw stars. The flickering of her tongue made her whimper as Draven continued his own. She heard him groaning familiarly behind her, and his hands tightened around hers. Aydra looked down and watched Lex play with Draven’s sack as she continued to tongue her.
“Fucking—” Draven’s words didn’t finish. Lex pressed a finger inside Aydra, and Aydra’s breath completely ceased.
They fell apart together with screams that would have awoken Arbina herself.
Aydra practically fell onto the bed at Draven’s side and stayed there a moment, unable to gather herself together as her heart started to beat again. Lex sat back and leaned against the poster of the bed opposite her, a wide smile spread over her lips.
After a few moments, she felt Draven move, and he clasped her butt cheek in one of his hands upon sitting up. She watched him take Lex’s hand and kiss her knuckles.
“Fair enough, Venari,” Lex managed, flipping her hair out of her face.
“Satisfied with my performance enough I can keep my Queen?” Draven asked Lex.
Lex chuckled under her breath. “Exceeding expectations,” she said with a wink. She stood from the bed then and started to pick her clothes up off the floor. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ve need to refresh myself before banquet.” She shoved her pants on and grinned at them. “I’ll be back soon. Try not to squander that time doing more of this while I’m gone.”
Aydra met Draven’s eyes, and he laid down on his stomach beside her, the grin he had been wearing now softened. He reached out, his fingertips delicately tracing her hip. Her eyes fluttered. She didn’t know how he made her want him more by just the touch of his thumb, the wanton of his gaze.
“Did I hurt you?” he asked.
Her eyes flickered over him, and a small smirk rose in her features. ”Leather two nights ago, and you’re worried about hurting me with a bit of ass play, Venari?” she mocked.
A huff of amusement left his lips, and his fingers tightened around her flesh, and then he smacked her backside facetiously. He pushed himself up onto his hands, hovering over her body. A serious gaze quickly replaced the playful one, and the air intensified around them as she raked her hands up his chest, threading her fingers into the hair on it. She wanted to take him again, to feel the pleasure of his filling her once more, but she wasn’t sure they had time.
“Stare at me much longer and we’ll never make it tonight,” she informed him.
He leaned down, his lips pressing softly to her throat. “I thought you wanted ropes,” he muttered against her skin.
Her fingers entwined in his hair as she inhaled the forest scent of him, her legs instinctively bending up on either side of his waist. The feeling of his rippled back muscles beneath her fingers made her eyes close, her hips arch upwards against his.
She reached for his length and gave it a tug, stroking it back to life. “Quickly, my King,” she whispered in his ear.
He groaned into her neck, and she felt him stiffen in her grasp. He nipped down her collarbone and sucked on her breast, teeth tugging on her hardened nipple. But she pushed on his chest, legs gripping around him, and she turned him on his back. Her hands grappled to the poster behind his head, and she sank herself onto his hardened cock with a rock of her hips. He cursed under his breath, eyes tightening, and she surrendered breath as his hands splayed over her hips, fingertips digging into the thick flesh of her backside.
It was a half hour more before they were both dressed in their banquet garb again. He mocked the entire time they were dressing, telling her of the dances he was sure the Blackhands would try to teach them. She’d just finished twisting her hair when she heard the words he was speaking trail, and she did a double-take at his face as he stared at her, the smile on his face faltered, replaced by the dilated pupils and look of inherent surprise that she’d only seen on him a few times.
“What?” she asked.
“You’ve no idea how powerfully striking, yet diabolically terrifying you are, do you?” he said to her.
The words caught her off guard, but the smile rose on her lips nonetheless, and she sighed into the swelling in her chest. “Do you not realize you’re the same?” she asked him, almost chuckling under her breath. “Beautiful, dominating, and amorous all at once. Wrapped in shadows of inherent angst and carnal desire, poised to strike at any moment.”
A small smirk grew just at the corner of his lips, hair falling over his face as though he wasn’t used to anyone saying such things about him.
“Now who’s being ridiculous?” he bantered in such a low quiver that a chill pulsed down her spine.
Her smirk widened as he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her waist, and she almost closed her eyes at the sweep of his hands digging into her hips. He didn’t say anymore as the thunder clapped outside, and she began to run her hands up and down his arms, surrendered into the quiet of their shared ardor, the content of their equality.
“Are you ready for this?” she whispered.
Draven’s weight shifted in front of her, and he looked past her out the window. “Thunder. Clouds. Lightning. Rain… Looks like as good of a day as any to die.”
She smirked and shoved his arm. “Be serious. For once, Venari.”
His hair fell over his face, tickling her shoulders, as he pressed his forehead against hers. “I am serious. My Queen.”
The door opened then, but it didn’t startle them.
“Well. You two are certainly looking to make an entrance,” Lex said as she crossed the room. “Is there some sort of joint venture that I should be warned about?”
“The less people who know, the better,” Draven said as Aydra took a step back to look at herself in the full length mirror again.
“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t even know,” Aydra said with a raised brow.
Lex shrugged. “All right. Keep your secrets. But hurry it up. We’re late.”
Aydra’s stomach knotted as she stared at herself in the mirror, blocking out Draven and Lex’s bantering beside her. She looked down at the form-fitted black and gold gown, the twisted dark golden vine pattern wrapped within the stark black velvet material glistened of the waning sun outside. It fit around her curves and flared out below the knee as her favorites usually did. The sleeves hugged her arms and the golden pattern leapt off the black fabric around her shoulders, wrapping up over her collarbone and neck like tree limbs.
Her hand reached for her ginger curls. The fire had returned in her eyes in the last few days that she’d felt more alive than she’d ever felt here in this castle. Draven appeared behind her then, the black high collared gambeson he had bought fitting snugly around his form. The collar cut low on his chest, revealing the bottom edge of the taut muscles of his pecks, the dark hair creeping up on his skin. The leather of his skinny pants glimmered in the sunlight coming through the window. The great sword on his belt hit his leg when he moved. His black and ivory boned crown already sat embedded in his dark sun-streaked hair, as though it had been made to fit on his head and his head alone.
He reached for the thick gol
den twigged crown in her hands, and she turned towards him. It was placed on her hair, and she rubbed her hands against his chest up to his face as his arms slid around her waist.
“I love you,” she whispered.
His brows raised. A look of startled surprise pressed into every pore of his features. “What?”
She bit back the smile threatening her lips. “I’m sorry, I forgot I hadn’t told you.”
He swallowed hard and the weight shifted on his feet, eyes still blinking as though he couldn’t believe what she had said. A short inhale caught in his throat, and he shook his head just noticeably. “That’s not…” She heard a deep growl-like exhale leave him, and he pressed his forehead against hers, eyes closing. “I am going to pretend you didn’t say that… And we can circle back later,” he suggested.
She almost laughed at his nervousness, but she reached a hand up to his cheek instead, pausing a moment to savor the look in his eyes, the look of overwhelming disbelief that she’d said what she said written in them. A twinge of pink rose on her cheeks, and unfamiliar amorous words filled her core. She couldn’t help but to sigh into the feeling, allowing them to release from her lips.
“Draven, I… I feel as a Noctuan in your arms,” she whispered, meeting his gaze, “and you… you’re the rise of the dying moons. Breaking the curses this land has shrouded us in. My freedom and my salvation. The King I never have to fear inequality of. My King.”
She watched as his chest rose, and he shifted again, a swell of something in his eyes when he opened them that she hadn’t expected. Another great exhale left his body and he cupped her neck in his hands again. The kiss he pressed to her lips was gentle, and she felt the tremble of his mouth against her skin.
“You shouldn’t have said that,” he managed upon pulling back.
Her smile faltered just slightly.
“Why?”
“Because now I’m really going to burn this kingdom to the ground.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
DRAVEN COULD NOT escort her to the great hall. He was intended to meet Balandria and Nadir before walking in, and so once they left Aydra’s room, he paused in the hall before her, to which Lex laughed and leaned on the wall to wait.
Draven kissed Aydra’s cheek. “Don’t let the Blackhands charm you before I’ve arrived,” he told her.
She smiled and gave him a full once over, feeling herself bite her lip. “Find me for a dance later.”
His brows raised. “A dance?” he repeated. “I hope the scribes have their quills ready,” he continued, glancing fleetingly back at Lex. “We’re re-writing history tonight.”
“No,” Aydra said with a shake of her head. “We’re breaking the Chronicles at the spine.”
Draven’s head tilted at her, and before she could blink, his lips pressed hard against hers. She wavered on the spot at the ferocity exuding from him into her, and when he pulled back, his hand pressed into her cheek.
“I fucking love you,” he growled.
She didn’t have a chance to respond. He kissed her again, and once more with such an intensity that she had to grab his waist to stay steady. After a moment, he let her go, and he backed away from she, continuing to shake his head and look the whole of her body over. Words refused to escape her lips as she watched him, and then when he finally turned on his heel and walked down the hall, the breath she’d held inside finally exhaled from her body.
Her balance staggered, and she felt Lex’s hands on her arms to keep her on her feet. A mocking grin had spread on Lex’s face when she came to stand before Aydra, hands still holding onto her.
“Have we recovered?” Lex bantered.
Aydra was still staring at the door Draven had left through. “I may have to go back in my room and take care of something before banquet,” she breathed, eyes widened up at Lex.
Lex snorted and wrapped an arm around Aydra’s shoulders, staring at the door as Aydra was. “Same, my Queen. Same,” she agreed with a grin. “But we are late. So I think the both of us will have to go with mental release until the night.”
Aydra nodded and squeezed Lex’s hand. “Right. To our inevitable deaths, then?”
“After you, Your Majesty,” Lex mocked.
“Dance with you?” Nyssa repeated, brows furrowed. “What—”
Aydra grabbed her hand and pulled her to the middle of the floor. “Don’t worry, I’ll lead,” she told her with a smile.
A short squeak emitted from Nyssa’s lips when Aydra twirled her and then pulled her back in. The wild look on Nyssa’s face made Aydra laugh.
“What’s wrong, sister?” Aydra mocked. “Should two women not be allowed to dance together for fear of mockery or scorn?”
“It is quite unorthodox,” Nyssa said.
Aydra chuckled under her breath. “Since when has anything I have done been by the rules?”
Nyssa seemed to relax, and she squeezed Aydra’s hand as she smiled at her. “Never.”
A full grin spread on Aydra’s face, and she pushed Nyssa out to twirl her once more. “Besides—” Aydra wrapped Nyssa into her and then twirled her back out “—this dress favors much better with the wind in it.”
The laughter that emitted from Nyssa’s lips made Aydra’s chest tighten, and when Aydra pulled her back in and held her hands, she felt her head shake at her younger sister.
“You should get to know more of these people, especially Balandria and Nadir,” Aydra told her.
Nyssa’s eyes narrowed before flickering past Aydra to where she knew Nadir was standing on the other side of the room. “I thought I was to stay away from Nadir.”
Aydra paused, her gaze squinting at her sister. “You think he’s cute, don’t you?”
“Yes,” Nyssa answered quickly. Aydra’s brows raised, and Nyssa’s cheeks flushed. “I mean… I do— Have you seen him? He’s—”
Aydra cut her off with a laugh, and she shook her head. “No,” she told her.
“But he’s gorgeous,” Nyssa argued, eyes flickering towards him in the corner.
“Nyssari!” Aydra laughed.
The twisted disappointed smirk Nyssa gave her then reminded Aydra of the time she’d taken away Nyssa’s first sword at the age of nine. Aydra shook her head and hugged Nyssa tightly, inhaling the scent of her sister’s cinnamon hair. When she pulled back, she pressed her hands to Nyssa’s cheeks and scrunched up her face amusedly at her. “No,” she laughed. “He’s the worst sort of man.”
Nyssa frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Well… He’s handsome. Smart. Confident. Leading commander of an army.” Aydra chanced a glance across the room towards where Nadir was leaning against a column. “And he’s quite funny,” she finished. “You’ll be in love with him before you realize what’s happening.”
A lone laugh left Nyssa’s lips, and she sighed as she smiled fondly at Aydra. “I’m glad to see you so happy again,” she noted.
Aydra paused, allowing the grief of her actions the last month to wash through her. “I know I’ve been intense lately with the training and pushing you… Believe me, I do. But, preparing you and your brother for the possibility of what’s coming on our shores has overwhelmed my mind. I cannot stop thinking about the weapons on their ships. What the man said to me. How armed they were just to be sailing over an ocean. Dorian thinks I should bring you the next they come. To chat with them instead of beheading them on the beach.”
“Dorian said that?” Nyssa asked.
“He believes in you,” Aydra affirmed. She reached over and pushed Nyssa’s hair back off her face. “You’re going to be such a Queen, my sister. Beauty. Grace. Honor. Compassion. You and Dorian will rule in the fairness and equality this crown has been absent of for years now.”
Nyssa’s head tilted, and she eyed Aydra. “Why are you telling me this?”
A long sigh emitted from Aydra, and she took a turn looking around the room at all the faces watching them, finally landing on Rhaif’s shadowed facade as he flirted with one of the Bl
ackhand women. His eyes met hers, and she squeezed Nyssa’s hands once more.
“It’s nothing,” she managed, meeting her sister’s gaze once more. “Now, tell me, what is it you and Dorian want to do for your birth moons coming up?”
Nyssa told her excitedly about the plans she’d been trying to put forth in the next week for their birth moons. Aydra memorized the happiness in her sister’s face. She wanted to remember this day for as long as she could, just as it was.
It was after another dance that one of the Blackhands came between she and Nyssa to ask her sister for a dance. Aydra gave her sister a wink and let her go. Her eyes wandered a bit around the room, finding Dorian dancing with one of the Scindo twins, Lex chatting with Balandria by the buffet…
But it was the sight of the three most handsome men she was sure Haerland had to offer standing in the corner together, laughter on their faces, that a smile rose on her lips, and she shook her head at them.
Draven’s gaze met hers as Hagen clapped his shoulder, doubling over at whatever joke it was Nadir had just said. She felt as though he were fucking her in the back of his mind, taking her somewhere she hadn’t been before. His hand tightened around his drink, and his other shoved into his pocket. When he winked at her, she forced a jagged inhale to her lungs, gaze darting over him deliberately as her thighs squeezed, and then she finished crossing the space between them.
“Why do I get the feeling you three together is more trouble than any town knows how to deal with?” she asked upon reaching them.
Draven’s chin rose, and he looked down at her with a sly smirk that made her heart flutter. Nadir and Hagen were still laughing, but they straightened upon her words, the pair of them shaking their heads.
“Mm… wouldn’t you like to know, Sun Queen?” Hagen bantered, swirling his drink in his hand.
“I would, actually,” she admitted.
