“Where have you been?” he snapped.
“Outside,” said Rin. “I would have thought you could guess that much, chala.”
“We needed you here,” said Ari. “You talk about things that should be obvious. We almost just lost people to the mud-damned storm, Rin!”
She gave him a shrug that was mirrored in her wings as much as her shoulders. Her black hair hung loose and unbraided, and it wasn’t that wet.
“I had things to attend to,” said Rin.
“Things to attend to,” repeated Ari. “And these things are more important than those little Ravarian children? Are you trying to find a way to go around blaming yourself for their deaths, too?”
Rin’s face turned cold, and then violently hot. She rushed Ari, moving in a blur of feathers and twisting limbs. He felt her fist strike his jaw, but he never saw the blow coming.
“You…!” shouted Rin. Ari fell back a pace, watching as she prepared another blow.
Eva was suddenly in between them. She slapped Rin across the face hard enough to knock the other woman off balance and assumed a fighting stance.
“You do not strike him,” said Eva, in a flat tone.
The two women stared at each other, and Ari felt himself gaining new appreciation for just how dangerous they both could be. He was already searching for the right words to reel the situation back in, but Kerys beat him to it.
“Enough!” said Kerys, stepping into the mix. “We aren’t enemies. Quit acting like children.”
Ari ran his hand over the spot on his face where Rin had punched him, wincing at the surprising tenderness of it. Rin watched Eva for a few seconds before turning to look at him, her expression still stubborn and self-righteous.
“You asked me what was so important, chala,” said Rin. “Does this answer your question?”
She reached into her tunic and pulled out a small, somewhat withered flower, which she set into Ari’s hand.
“Hester blossom,” he muttered. “Were there more where you found this?”
“Just the one.” Rin turned and started walking away from the tunnel, back out into the night.
“Rin!” shouted Ari. “Hold on for a second. Mud and blood…”
She stopped, which surprised him. Ari walked over to her and set a hand on her shoulder.
“You don’t have to push yourself this hard,” he said. “And we really could use you here. Not just for your spear, but for, well, your presence. I’m sure the children would be comforted by you stopping by to see them.”
Rin shrugged again and let out an exaggerated sigh. “Fine. You win, chala.”
CHAPTER 17
The night settled down as Ari and the others headed back into Etheria. Eva diligently insisted on remaining on watch, but Kerys retired to bed with the children, and Rin headed for the underchamber she typically used when she slept in the arena. Ari heard a shout come from that particular underchamber right as she entered, and only then did he remember Lady Prestia.
“My name is Lady Preanor Prestia, and I will not be spoken to in such a manner!”
“Try not speaking at all, chala,” said Rin. “It would be well appreciated.”
“You heathen!”
“Easy,” said Ari, as he stepped into the doorway. “What’s going on here, exactly?”
Lady Prestia was already lying down on a sleeping pad, swaddled with an unnecessary number of blankets. She’d let her hair down, and it made her look very young in combination with her tone of voice.
“She threatened to kill me!” cried Lady Prestia.
“She kept making demands of me as though I was her servant,” said Rin. “I told her that if she didn’t stop, there would be consequences.”
“How am I supposed to sleep when I presently fear for my life?” cried Lady Prestia.
“I think that’s a little over the top,” said Ari. “Ah, maybe a lot over the top?”
“She’s welcome to the chamber,” said Rin. “I’ll take what I need and go.”
Rin had already stripped out of her tunic and leggings and didn’t bother putting either back on as she rose to collect her things. Ari took her by the arm as she slipped past him in the doorway.
“You can share my chamber for tonight,” he said.
A slight smile played across Rin’s lips. “Is that wise of you, chala? Don’t you usually bed with your sword maiden?”
“Eva’s on watch, and Kerys is sleeping with the children,” said Ari. “If you can avoid punching me again, you’re welcome to join me.”
“What about slapping?” asked Rin. She pulled her hand back and made the gesture of striking him with an exaggerated motion. Ari caught her wrist as it came.
“Come on,” he said with a sigh.
Rin was still in her underwear, and Ari playfully pulled her along behind him as they started toward his underchamber. She slipped ahead to be in front as they reached the doorway and blocked his way, with the same small smile from before dancing across her lips.
“What happens if I can’t sleep?” asked Rin.
“I’m sure you’ll find a way to keep yourself busy,” said Ari.
“Would you stop me if I tried to leave right now and run into the dangerous night?” asked Rin.
“You go out of your way to be insufferable sometimes, don’t you?”
“Of course,” said Rin. “Are you going to do something about it, chala?”
He stared at her, feeling what little space separated their bodies suddenly roil with heat, despite the cold of the night. Ari seized her by the waist and tossed her over his shoulder. Rin let out a gasping laugh and kicked her legs against him playfully.
He threw her down on his bedroll and kissed her, pinning her arms to his pillow. Rin kissed him back and bucked her hips upward with suggestive motions. Ari slipped out of his own clothing in record time and then straddled her, pawing at her ample breasts. He pulled them both free of the fabric of her underwear and slid further up her body.
His cock came to rest against her bosom, and he felt it growing as hard as it got as Rin’s hot breath tickled against the tip. He still had her hands pinned, and he smiled as he saw her expression, a lewd mixture of lust and defiance.
“Maybe Lady Prestia was on to something when she tried to treat you like her servant,” said Ari.
He pushed his cock into her face and stifled a gasp of pleasure as it mashed into the soft flesh of her lips and cheek.
“If you try to put that in my mouth without an invitation, I will bite it off, chala,” whispered Rin.
She almost seemed to contradict herself then, as she pushed her tongue out and swirled it in a circle over the tip of his shaft. Ari held her gaze, bringing a hand to her cheek and holding it there with a firm tenderness that seemed an analogy to how he so often treated her outside of the night.
“Open your mouth, Rin,” said Ari.
She did, but there was a dangerous gleam in her eyes. She brought her head forward and let the edge of her teeth drag across his cock, just hard enough to warn rather than hurt. Her lips closed and she gave him a single, glorious suck, leaning forward to take most of his length and pulling her lips and tongue back slowly, like she was polishing a dirty sword.
Her mouth separated from his shaft with a lewd popping noise, and then Rin was in motion. She grabbed Ari by the waist and twisted, trying to vie for control with an aggressive takedown. Ari wrapped an arm around her shoulder and wing as she spun into his grasp. He pushed her down to all fours and Rin let out a tiny, pleasured moan before lifting her butt for him.
She let out a matching sigh as Ari slid his cock into her, as though by filling her up in one place he’d forced her breath out in another. His first thrust was punishingly hard, and there was an echo of the movement in the way Rin’s wings fluttered out to the side, as though she was considering whether to fly away.
She stayed right where she was, head down and butt up, as Ari took her. He was still a little annoyed and frustrated with her, and those emotio
ns bled into his movements. He held onto one of her wings for extra leverage, driving his cock deep into her as though giving a naughty little girl the spanking she deserved.
He slapped her ass. Rin let out a small squeal.
“Oh yes, chala,” she moaned. “Mmm… show me what you’re made of.”
Ari leaned further forward, pressing down on her. He sped up, slamming into her and losing himself in the rhythm. He took her for all she was worth and felt the instant when the pleasure became too much for him to handle.
He pulled out, as he always had to with Rin, and finished on her firm buttocks. She lay prone on his bedroll, her entire body limp like a piece of well-tenderized meat. Ari spread out behind her, and he heard Rin let out a satisfied sigh.
“I think…” she whispered. “That was just what I needed.”
She set her hand on top of his, and their fingers intertwined. Rin stayed where she was for a few minutes before getting up, dressing, and leaving the chamber.
CHAPTER 18
Eva was asleep in the bed next to Ari when he awoke the next morning. He kissed her softly on the cheek before slipping out from under the covers, wondering if Virgil or Durrien had taken over the watch.
He headed for the tower after pulling his clothes on. The door was already open, and the smell of cooking food wafted out from inside. Ari’s mouth watered as he slid into the somewhat crowded common room. The children had taken all of the seats around the table, and a few of them smiled and giggled when they saw him.
“It is I, the mighty Lord Stoneblood!” said Ari, thumping his chest. “I’ve come to grace your presence for the sake of breaking my fast for the morn!”
Most of the little Ravarians couldn’t understand what he was saying, but that didn’t stop them from breaking out into laughter and jabbing their fingers to point at him. Grena was carrying one of the younger ones across the room, and she smiled along with the rest of them.
“Please try not to get them too riled up, Ari,” said Kerys. “Here.”
She was carrying a clay plate with chopped apples and gazelle bacon on it. Ari let out an audible groan as he took in the heavenly smell.
“You’re a miracle worker,” he said. “This looks so good.”
“It’s just the usual,” said Kerys, with a shrug. “Grena and Selene did most of the work.”
She sighed, and she reached over to rub at her injured arm with her good hand. She was wearing a maroon gown with long sleeves, one of which had a button which she’d closed over the end of her arm.
“I stand by my statement,” said Ari, putting an arm around her. “You’ve been putting in so much effort to make this settlement work, Kerys. Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”
“I wouldn’t call it effort,” said Kerys with a smile. “It’s the same as what I would have been doing down in the Hollow. Looking after the children, helping out wherever I can.”
She kept smiling, but her expression became a little distant, filled with a near-forgotten longing. Ari pulled her in a little closer to him, but he was already fighting to keep her attention as Selene and one of the other children began tugging at her skirts.
“Let’s go back eventually,” said Ari.
Kerys furrowed her brow. “Uh, what? Go back where?”
“To the Hollow,” said Ari. “Hey, don’t look at me like that. I’m serious. Between what we can accomplish now through the tower and enchanting, I see no reason why we couldn’t find a way to pay our old home a visit.”
“Ari…” said Kerys. “You aren’t just saying that, are you? You really think we could… go back?”
“I mean, if we wanted to,” he said. He scratched his head, realizing that his offhand suggestion might have stirred a curious mixture of emotions within her.
Ari hadn’t really missed the Hollow in his time away from it, but it was different for Kerys. She still had family: her mother and father, her brothers, along with countless old friends. Ari felt an odd pressure against his heart as he considered whether she might choose to go back not just to visit, but to stay, if actually presented with the opportunity.
“I’d have to think about it,” said Kerys slowly. “As much as I’d love to make time to visit, we have so much going on here. We also don’t know how everyone in our old home would react to us doing something that’s so outside of Dormiar’s teachings.”
“That’s true,” said Ari.
“It was really sweet of you to suggest, though,” said Kerys.
“It was sweet, wasn’t it?” Ari grinned at her. “Keep that in mind the next time we’re fooling around and I try to—”
“Aristial Stoneblood!” said Kerys.
Ari cackled and scooped the rest of his food into his hand as he headed back outside. Most of the other members of their small community were already up and engaged in various projects. Ari did a slow circuit of the arena, stopping by to check on Amber, who was working with her alchemy equipment, and Durrien, who was resting after filling in for the watch.
He found Virgil directly outside the tunnel, already deep into getting his hands dirty in a literal sense. He’d taken his shirt off to keep it clean while he transplanted trees into position around the arena’s entrance, mostly small ones to start.
Surprisingly, Lady Prestia was also sitting on the grass nearby, watching Virgil with a smile on her face. They were talking Saidios, and though Ari couldn’t understand what was being said, Virgil’s somewhat-awkward body language and short responses told him much of the story.
“Good morning,” said Ari.
“Lord Stoneblood!” Virgil immediately saluted, and Lady Prestia let out a small giggle.
“Relax, Virgil,” said Ari, saluting back. “I’m just checking up on everyone. No plans for today other than the usual, so you’re free to do what you want as long as it’s productive. Have you seen Rin anywhere?”
“She headed out to the drake skull,” said Virgil. “I made her promise to check in with you before straying any further.”
Ari raised an eyebrow. “I’m surprised she’d commit to that.”
“Well, I mean, she was a little sarcastic about it,” mumbled Virgil. “Lord Stoneblood, I also wanted to apologize for failing you yesterday.”
Ari slowly shook his head. “Virgil, your definition of ‘failing’ could use some work. You did exactly what was required of you. No apology is necessary.”
“He’s a modest one, isn’t he,” said Lady Prestia. “It’s such an admirable thing. You even have a mystica, Lord Virgil. There’s no need for a strapping young man like you to sell yourself so short.”
“I… uh, well…” Virgil scratched his head and shrugged awkwardly.
“Are your shoulders tense?” asked Lady Prestia. “I have experience giving massages, you know.”
“Oh, no, really.” Virgil let out a forced laugh. “I’m fine!”
Ari grinned and clapped him on the back. “You should consider it. Might help you loosen up a little.”
“I could give you one too, Lord Stoneblood,” said Lady Prestia. She winked at him and Ari cleared his throat, feeling a slight flush come to his own cheeks.
He made his way back into the tower and headed up the stairs to the third level. It was quiet and still, with only the noise of the children occasionally being chastised by Kerys or Grena faintly audible.
Ari felt as though the settlement deserved a day of rest, but there was still work to be done. They’d need to make a trip to Cliffhaven to pick up long-overdue supplies, which meant that they would need money. The best way to go about earning that money would be through taking advantage of the essence he and Eva had gathered by means of making enchanted items.
He spread his supplies. He and Eva had collected eight daggers, two short swords, a longsword, a spear, the two-handed mace, and the enchanted whip. He also had the copper hand he’d taken from one of the steam golems, though that would need careful examination before he could put it to its intended use.
The pocket of his pa
ck that he’d stored the essence vials in clinked as he opened it. He carefully took them out and stored them along one of the shelves above the enchanting altar. They had twenty-three of them left, which was a fair amount. Each teleportation the tower made used up the equivalent of slightly more than three vials of essence. Ari suspected that he could make a weapon with a simple enchantment with about half a vial, though that would vary depending on the strength and whatever spell he used as a base.
He started moving his materials into place, setting the enchanted whip down on the center of the enchanting altar triggering the ward that stored magic for later reapplication. The ward flashed once with light, confirming that he’d done the process correctly. Ari moved the whip aside and reached for one of the daggers to replace it with. He pulled out one of the vials of essence, popped off the rubber lid, and brought the container to his lips.
The taste was even worse than it had been last time, and his body attempted to rebel against what he was trying to do, half-triggering his gag reflex. Ari grimaced and forced it down, banging a fist against the enchanting altar in hopes that he might be able to distract himself from the awful experience through knuckle pain.
It clung to his mouth even after he’d finished swallowing, leaving him to struggle with the echo of the horrible liquid and reminding him that there would be more to come.
“It’s work,” he mumbled to himself. “Just like shoveling the pit. Work.”
He took a few slow breaths and decided that, at the very least, he should have some water on hand. A quick trip downstairs to find a clay water urn and fill it up, along with waving off a few concerns expressed by a worried-looking Kerys, and Ari was back at his craft.
He wasn’t sure how many vials of essence his stomach would be able to tolerate, so he decided to focus on the enchanted items he valued the most. He started with the silver spear, which he planned on eventually giving to Rin.
It was far too nice of a weapon to let go to waste, and Ari got the sense that if he applied the dazzling spell imbued into the whip onto the spear, it would fit her fighting style perfectly. She could drop in, score a few hits that blinded her opponent, and then pull back before they realized what was happening.
Reborn Raiders (The Weatherblight Saga Book 4) Page 11