The Rising

by Kristen Ashley

  “Sleep,” he urged.

  Teddy let out another breath.

  And in no time, he was asleep.

  135

  The Training

  Queen Farah

  Guest Bedchamber, Sky Citadel, Sky Bay

  AIREN

  I should have known my husband would not allow it for long.

  And he didn’t.

  No matter how much I enjoyed moving atop him with him inside me, my gaze on him lying before me, his smooth, muscled chest, his eyes a vibrant green, the vines our combined magic created snaking up the bed.

  No, True did not allow this for long.

  He knifed up, took my mouth, rounded me with an arm at my hips, the other hand going to cup my breast, his thumb rubbing my nipple.

  “True,” I gasped against his lips.

  “Mm?” he murmured, his arm about my hips taking over, lifting me and bringing down upon him much faster.

  And harder.

  “True,” I whimpered. “Lie back. I like to watch you as I take you.”

  He did not lie back.

  I cried out softly in protest as he lifted me off, shifted us, coming to his knees behind me. He grasped my hips in both hands, tipping them. Then he took his cock in one hand to guide it to me and thrust inside me again.

  I arched into him, my head falling back, and he drove inside, both his hands gliding over the skin of my belly, one heading up, to my breast, one down, to work between my legs.

  My hips jerked as he found my nub.

  “Amore,” I whispered.

  “Damn, you’re beautiful,” he growled.

  His finger between my legs combined with his shaft there…

  “True,” I panted.

  “Why do you always hold back, darling?” he asked, sounding amused.

  “Because…I like…how…you feel…and…I don’t…want it…to end,” I answered, my voice a staccato, each thrust of his cock pushing out the words.

  “Mm,” he murmured, taking his hand from my breast to pull my hair from one side of my neck so he could run his tongue all the way up it.

  The ivy was coiling up our legs, binding us to the bed as the sensations gathered, my sex clutched his, he groaned his pleasure in my ear at the feeling of it, and I could hold back no more.

  I climaxed before him.

  When it left me, he was still thrusting inside, his hand between my legs now cupping me there, his other arm about me, fingers curled around the side of my neck.

  I listened to his quiet grunts in my ear until it overtook him, and his hand moved to under my jaw, pressing my head back, as he shoved his face in my neck and rumbled his climax into my flesh.

  I knew it left him when he slid his hand to the middle of my back, pressing me gently down so my cheek was to the bed. And then—so True, all True, but this part only my True—he continued to take me as his fingers glided over my skin at hips, bottom, waist, the small of my back, our vines receding, until he started losing his hardness.

  Only then did he pull out, roll me to my back, and settle upon me, lifting the covers up to his hips, but he was my blanket.

  His body was hard, but it was warm, and it was the best blanket in the world.

  I ran the fingertips of both hands over his beautiful face, his cheekbones, his eyes, his jaw, his lips, his temples and forehead as my eyes watched.

  When he was done allowing this, he captured one of my wrists, turned his head, and pressed a hard kiss in my palm.

  After he released me, I slid my arms around him, and my husband dropped down and took my mouth in a slow, soft, wet, lovely kiss.

  When he finished it, he touched his lips to my nose before he looked into my eyes and asked, “What do you do today?”

  “Elena has a gown fitting.”

  “Ah,” he said on a grin.

  “Have you heard tales of her gown?” I asked, having seen a fitting the day before, and having been shocked to my core at the frothy wonder of it.

  Elena was not frothy.

  But her wedding gown was a vision.

  A vision of beauty.

  A vision of hope.

  “No, though maybe I have, and I ceased listening due to experiencing profound surprise after I heard she would wear a gown to her wedding. I felt certain she’d wear a Nadirii battle tunic.”

  “You’ve seen her in a gown before, True.”

  He looked perplexed. “I have?”

  I studied him then reminded him. “Yes. At Catrame. That night. Early on when we all had just met. She came down wearing that stunning black gown.”

  “Oh. Right. Yes, she was wearing a gown that night.”

  She wasn’t wearing a gown that night.

  She was wearing a stunning gown that night.

  He had been in love with Elena then.

  He had…

  I felt my eyelids get lazy for he had.

  But now he was in love with me.

  “You look like a cat who got her cream,” he murmured throatily, his tone telling me he enjoyed my expression.

  “This is because I am indeed a cat, my love, who just got her cream.”

  For a second, his body stilled over mine.

  Then he burst with laughter.

  I smiled at him as he did.

  He continued laughing as he shoved his face in my neck.

  When he stopped, he worked his mouth there.

  I liked the feel of this so much, indeed I simply liked my True so much, I held him tighter with my arms and added rounding his thighs with my legs.

  “What do you do today?” I asked.

  “There was an attempted prison escape yesterday.”

  My limbs tensed about him.

  Sadly, he lifted his head out of my neck. Not sadly, he looked into my eyes so I could again witness the green of his.

  I would never tire of looking into his eyes.

  Then again, I would never tire of anything that was True.

  “Some supporters of Gallienus tried to free him,” he shared. “They failed. It very much did not go well to the point two of the eleven conspirators lost their lives. The other nine have now joined Gallienus in his accommodations.”

  “And what does this have to do with you?”

  “Cassius jailed a lord before he left to take Elena to Ophelia prior to…”

  “Yes,” I whispered when he trailed off.

  True cleared his throat, and along with him in that moment, I quietly lamented all of our loss, so much of it, in so short a time.

  True continued, “He has asked for an audience with Cass. Apparently, he is one of the instigators and feels that the best way forward in hostilities at this time is to enter negotiations.”

  “I’m sure he does, ambushing Cassius and Elena, only for them to ride out of the mountains fighting, to be joined by two nations’ armies. Unicorns transporting all of us to thwart their evil doings at The Enchantments. Your soldiers now camped out on the grazing fields outside Sky Bay. Mars’s approaching The Enchantments to assist in guarding them, his others running roughshod through AG strongholds in the south. Aramus’s ships blockading every harbor and bombarding Dunlyn with cannon fire. If I was so thoroughly losing a war I should not have waged within barely a week of starting it, I’d wish to enter negotiations too.”

  True was grinning down at me throughout my diatribe, and he gave it a few moments before he replied.

  “Well, I go with him and Aramus to Slán Bailey to speak to this Lord Felix.”

  I frowned.

  “If we can manage it swiftly and without more loss, it will be good to have it done, Farah,” he said. “Cass and Ellie’s wedding is in a few days. And I wish to take you home. I wish to have some quiet time with you. I wish for some calm before we face another storm.”

  “I wish for that too,” I said softly.

  “Speaking of that, I need to ask your advice.”

  “Hmm?”

  “I’ve received word from a constabulary in the Arbor.”

  “Yes?
”

  “They’ve arrested Johan on suspicion of treason. Apparently, he hired some prostitutes to spy on Mars and Silence when they were there.”

  I blinked up at him, thrown by this extraordinary, and extraordinarily stupid news.

  “He was arrested in a brothel, after having sex with one of the prostitutes. All three who were paid to spy, as well as management, attest that he is a regular, and even frequent visitor and has been for years. As such, although infidelity is not a criminal offense in Wodell, it does carry penalties if a spouse wishes to press it, it is proven, and it has been long established. As such, Vanka has petitioned for the dissolution of the household. Which means they will remain married, but they no longer will reside under one roof, he has no claims to her, her bloodline or her progeny’s person, properties or monies, and she can demand restitution. She has. In an astronomical amount that will be crippling to Johan.”

  “Er…” I mumbled, uncomfortable, for I had a feeling this befalling Johan was not a coincidence.

  “I know Mars is behind it, Farah. I also know Johan did not spy on Mars and Silence for Wodell or other reasons regarding state affairs or personal ideals, but so he could find some way to drive a wedge between them. It was a faulty play and if Mars was not Mars, and he did not feel as he does about Silence, upon discovery, it could have made things very touchy between our two realms.”

  At least I could agree to that.

  Thus, I did, saying, “Yes.”

  “So, what do I do?”

  I was confused.

  “What do you do?”

  “It has been made clear I’m overprotective when it comes to Silence. It’s also now known that Johan is not blood to her. I know what Mars will say if I ask him, since he maneuvered this, but I want to shield Silence from hurt. And because of that, I do not want to ask her. So, do I get behind Mars’s play? Or do I show leniency in order not to upset Silence further than she already is about her father…and mother?”

  “You get behind Mars’s play,” I stated instantly.

  His brows rose slowly. “You answered that quickly.”

  “What does it mean, fully, to do that?”

  “The missives are from ravens, so they are not thorough, but he is admitting to the spying, and why. And there is no recourse about the infidelity. It was witnessed. Even by Vanka.”

  My heart sunk for Vanka and my expression must have shown that for True spoke on.

  “He has always been arrogant and acted like he could do anything he pleases. He had a more kingly manner than my father, and not in noble way. If she did not know this was a good possibility, she is a fool. Vanka has been turning the other cheek far too long. It sounds unkind, but I do not have much sympathy for her.”

  I could not argue that either.

  Thus, instead, I noted, “True, you are king.”

  His brows inched together. “Pardon?”

  “Take Silence out of this equation. If another member of your gentry spied on a visiting monarch without your knowledge or approval, what would you do?”

  His lips thinned.

  “Do that,” I said.

  “What I would do is relieve him of his landed title, Farah. Which means relieving him of his land.”

  “Do that,” I repeated.

  “It is only just recently we’ve come to know he is not Silence’s father. She has grown up thinking he is. And he is my uncle.”

  “He spied on a visiting sovereign, True. It doesn’t matter the reason. It cannot be abided. And, yes,” I conceded, “this is precisely what Mars has maneuvered for you to do. But Mars didn’t spy on himself and his wife. Johan did it. And you, as a monarch, who I have personally seen work very hard, very long, and with not a small amount of frustration to establish healthy alliances with the other nations of Triton, cannot have a member of your gentry for any reason imperiling that.”

  I took a breath while I watched True reflect on this.

  Then I went on.

  “Actually, it’s worse. For it’s so bloody foolish as to be obnoxious. It was not for crown and country. It was simply to be horrid. As you say, if Mars was not Mars and he did not feel as he does about Silence, you know how he’d react to being spied upon. His warriors would ride. It could have had very dire consequences, including the loss of life, just because Johan is an arrogant bastard.”

  He seemed to be studying my ear.

  “Silence will understand,” I whispered.

  His gaze came to mine.

  “You are certain?” he asked quietly.

  This was his issue.

  He did not wish to cause harm to his cousin.

  I laid a hand on his cheek. “I am certain.”

  His body moved with the deep breath he drew in and it moved again when he released it.

  “I hate this time,” he said.

  I was confused. “Sorry? What time?”

  “This time, of a morning, when we have to leave our bed and let the world into our lives.”

  “Oh, mia vita,” I murmured, lifting up to press my lips to his. I dropped my head back to the pillows and told him, “Me too.”

  “But I suppose we must do it.”

  “Yes, and in just hours, we will retire back to this bed and it shall be you and me.”

  He touched his lips to first one eyebrow, then the other, my nose, and then he said, “Until then, my beloved.”

  And alas, he pulled us from our bed.

  “Bravo!” I cried, clapping my hands.

  “My little sister is a markswoman!” Jorie boomed, moving with his big man grace to his sister to engulf her in a massive hug.

  I glanced at Ha-Lah beside me, who was looking at the brother and sister dotingly, before I turned my attention back to Silence, who had her head well back to beam up at her big brother as he squeezed her in his bulky arms.

  “It is funny, do you not think,” Ha-Lah began, and I looked again to her. “How, when this journey began for all of us, we had so very little, and even if we have lost so very much along the way, what we have gained is beyond measure?”

  How right she was.

  “Yes, funny,” I murmured. “In a very lovely way.”

  She cast a smile to me.

  I returned it.

  “Can I learn to throw daggers now, Ellie?” Dora asked.

  She, along with Aelia, had returned to Airen with Ha-Lah and Aramus.

  And she was now sitting on a low, stone fence at the side where we were in a courtyard amongst the expansive citadel grounds.

  In my short time there, I had noted someone along the line in the history of Airenzian kings wished for beauty in this dark place.

  Thus, amongst the twists and turns of the sprawling edifice that was designed to daunt, there were surprises. These included small, secluded gardens, courtyards and large balconies, as well as ornate fountains tucked in hidden corners or thin beds of tidy shrubs along walls.

  Though, the most recent king clearly wished order. All outside space was formal to the point it was regimented. Shrubs, trees and potted plants were clipped precisely, with only pyramids, spikes and spirals as choice. There were no flowers, and this was not only because it was winter.

  Although spartan, there was still beauty.

  It could, as True told me Elena had accomplished inside the citadel, sharing she’d made great change in a short time, use a woman’s touch.

  I had no doubt, come spring, Ellie would see to that as well.

  “And me!” Aelia cried. “Can I learn now too?”

  “You will begin to learn daggers when you’re twelve, like all Nadirii,” Elena said to Dora and then turned her eyes to Aelia, and I saw her face was soft with having to deliver bad news to the girls. “Which means a long time to wait for you, sweets.”

  Both girls assumed expressions of mutiny.

  “I’m afraid I haven’t practiced near as much as Silence,” I said to Serena, who was standing at my other side.

  By “near as much,” I meant “not at all.”
But I did not share this.

  “Mm,” was all Serena said on a dip of her chin across the courtyard.

  She then headed toward Silence.

  I looked across the courtyard and saw Chu move from where he was there, standing by Kyril.

  “If you’d step to the edge, Silence,” Serena requested as she walked past her, heading to the large, upright target some feet away, where all of Silence’s five daggers were very close to the middle circle.

  She pulled the daggers out, and without preamble, started running about the courtyard.

  As, without warning, Chu started throwing stones at her.

  They were not large, they were not small, and he darted about as he did it while Serena bobbed, weaved, ducked, rolled, was sometimes hit by the stones, and intermingled with this, she threw the daggers at the target from a variety of positions. Side arm. From resting on her knee. Even one of them she let fly while flat on her back.

  When she was done, all but one had hit the center circle.

  She turned to a wide-eyed Silence who was standing beside a frowning Jorie.

  “Was it necessary for you to show off to diminish the excellent display my little sister treated us to?” Jorie demanded of Serena tetchily.

  “I wasn’t showing off, I was making a point,” Serena replied to Jorie then looked to Silence. “It does not take away from your practice or that you have honed your skill admirably,” she stated. “But in battle, you do not stand alone, throwing at a target. Perhaps in future, you can practice with some distractions.”

  “If you think I’m throwing stones at my queen while she tosses daggers, you’ve lost your mind,” Kyril called.

  Everyone laughed, and even Serena smiled.

  But her attention went back to Silence.

  “Though I would say, this is not what you should be practicing. This…”

  She suddenly started sprinting toward Silence, and Jorie moved to round his sister in order to put himself between her and the approaching Nadirii warrior.

  But just as suddenly, Serena leaped in the air, twisting at the waist, doing this flinging out her arm.

  A fizzing line the color of lilacs shot from her hand, and in a sizzle as the line scored across it, the target was shorn into two parts, the top teetering for a moment before it fell to the ground.