Surprisingly, she didn’t force herself down on his tool, instead hovering so his tip was merely grazing her hot, wet folds. Ari’s hands instinctively went to her waist, and he felt a surge of primal lust at the thought of how easy it would be to pull her down and impale her.
“Forget it,” said Ari.
“Your mouth says one thing…” Rin undulated her hips, letting his tip nestle a little deeper. “This part of you says another.”
“That part of me doesn’t get a say,” said Ari. “Besides, I already took the herbal medicine earlier tonight.”
“Liar,” whispered Rin.
She lowered herself down a few inches and Ari let out a low groan at the sheer pleasure of it. She felt different from Eva and the other women he’d been inside of. She wasn’t tighter, not exactly, but there was a pulsing quality to the experience, as though he could feel her heartbeat against the skin of his erection.
“Oh,” moaned Rin. “Your girth is… impressive, chala.”
Ari pulled her down a little lower, feeling betrayed by his body at how much he enjoyed the sensation.
“We’re only doing this for a second,” said Ari. “A few thrusts, and then I’m pulling out.”
“It’s likely that it’s been years since the last of my people mated with yours,” whispered Rin in between pleasured breaths. “We’re making history, chala.”
She started riding, leaning forward to give him a passionate kiss. She let out tiny little moans that almost made her sound like she was in pain, and her wings seemed to move with a mind of their own, flapping in a cumbersome manner that made conspicuous noises against the canvas of the tent.
Ari felt a sudden need to take control. As Rin leaned forward to kiss him again, he rolled to the side, manhandling her body into place underneath him. She let out a small, humming noise and briefly attempted to struggle her way back on top. Ari pinned both her arms and her wings, feeling both turned on and weirded out as his fingers interweaved with the feathers.
“That’s it,” she whispered. “Oh… chala. Keep going.”
Ari glared at her in the dark. “Forget it. I’m not giving you what you want.”
“Give me what I deserve, then,” whispered Rin. “I want you to… what is it you say? Make me dirty?”
Hearing that phrase escape her mouth in such a lewd, breathy tone of voice was almost enough to push him over the edge. Ari pumped into Rin hard, enjoying the wavering moans that she started making with increasing volume.
He cupped one of her breasts and licked the nipple of the other. He could feel his cock pulsing as the strange sensation he’d noticed earlier intensified, squeezing his tool in perfect rhythm with Rin’s beating heart.
“Yes…” said Rin. “I’m bad, chala. You’ll need to punish me again, and again.”
Ari kissed her, slamming into her as hard as he could and wishing that he wasn’t so aware of the fact that he was playing directly into her hands.
“Every chance we get,” whispered Rin. “I’ll let you take me. Anywhere, any time. I’ll give you my body to use and abuse.”
“Shut up,” muttered Ari.
“Make me,” moaned Rin.
He pressed down on her harder, knowing that he’d never try a similarly aggressive and punishing posture with Kerys, or even Eva. Rin was crying out now, and he felt a sudden tightening as the sensation surrounding his cock clamped into a firm squeeze.
He was right there with her. It took all of his willpower, but he managed to pull out as he felt himself begin the inevitable tumble into a massive, disorienting orgasm. He let his seed blast out onto her stomach and breasts. Rin let out an audible scowl.
“You said you wanted me to make you dirty,” said Ari. “You should have phrased your request a little…”
He trailed off as he heard the sound of someone coming awake in one of the other tents. Ari rushed to pull his underwear back on and was relieved when Rin also hurried to dress in her tunic and leggings, which she’d apparently taken off inside his tent.
The entrance flap opened a second later and Kerys poked her head in, shooting both of them a suspicious glance.
“It’s my turn to take the watch,” she said. “Aristial, what is Rin doing in your tent?”
“Uh…” Ari had no good answer, not that he’d ever been able to lie to Kerys easily.
“I was merely going over some of the details of our ongoing quest,” said Rin.
“In the middle of the night?” asked Kerys. “While you’re supposed to be guarding the camp?”
Rin shrugged. “I made sure the fire was stoked.”
Kerys seemed rather unconvinced. Both she and Rin left Ari’s tent, and he slowly fell back to sleep, expecting to get an earful the next morning.
CHAPTER 33
They ate a small breakfast around the fire the next morning. Ari wasn’t surprised to find that Kerys was a little irritated with him, but Eva also seemed concerned and standoffish. It made sense that Kerys would have confided what she’d walked in on with Eva, but usually Eva didn’t seem to mind the fact of Ari’s occasional bouts of promiscuity.
“Aristial,” said Eva. “May I speak with you alone for a moment?”
“Of course,” said Ari.
They walked down the beach, away from Kerys, Rin, and Leyehl. Eva had a small frown on her face, and she wore the pale green tunic and trousers she’d been given back in Varnas-Rav.
“I have some concerns about you pursuing an intimate relationship with Lady Rin,” she said.
“That’s the last thing you should be concerned about,” said Ari. “Trust me.”
“I’m worried that she may attempt to gain influence over you in order to pursue her own goals,” said Eva. “You are rather open and trusting when it comes to women. I feel the need to remind you that we do not understand the motivations of any of the Ravarians, not just those of the Vereshi.”
“I don’t need a reminder of that,” said Ari. “I know what Rin’s game is. For the record, I think the game she’s playing goes both ways. I can influence her just as easily as she can influence me.”
He felt fairly confident in that, though there was a small flicker of doubt that he did his best to keep from his expression. Rin was rather ruthless and efficient in the way she pursued her goals, and in his experience, people of that type were capable of faking loyalty.
“Lady Kerys and I have discussed this in great detail,” said Eva. “We have come to the decision that your judgment on the matter is at least partially compromised. For now, we both have agreed that it is unwise for you to spend significant amounts of time alone with either of the Ravarians traveling with us.”
“Uh, what?” asked Ari. “That’s not really how this works. You and Kerys can’t just decide who I interact with.”
“Of course not, milord,” said Eva. “We would never assume to. What we have decided is that one of us will stay by your side, and share your tent, for the rest of the duration of our journey, to help you make the wisest possible decisions.”
Ari opened his mouth, and then closed it. He felt a little annoyed at the fact that they were essentially treating him like a child, but the idea of having either Eva or Kerys sharing his tent did seem like a good idea. Not just because of how much fun it would be, either. He had, admittedly, gone further with Rin the previous night than he probably should have.
“Fair enough,” he said. “But next time if you have concerns, I’d appreciate it if you included me in the discussion.”
He made it clear with his tone of voice that he meant what he was saying. He wasn’t interested in having the two closest people in his life conspiring to make his choices for him.
They rejoined the others by the campfire, which Leyehl was now adding clumps of scrub bush too in order to create as much smoke as possible. Rin smiled at Ari as he arrived back, a fact that both Eva and Kerys seemed to notice of.
“Good timing, chala,” she said. “Leyehl says she spotted one of the Fairweather Fleet’s outer
scouts on the cusp of the horizon. They should be here within a few hours.”
“Is there anything we need to do to prepare?” he asked.
Rin shook her head. “The Sailmaster of the fleet trusts my sister. It’s a significant thing, given how slow and reluctant they can be to accept outsiders.”
“Your sister mentioned that relations have warmed between them and Cliffhaven,” said Ari. “Does that mean they also trust the Baron that we’re on our way to attempt to meet?”
“It would seem so,” said Rin. “I’m sure that’s part of why Tialese thinks now is the appropriate time to begin our outreach anew. It would not be wise for us to allow ourselves to be in a position of being on the outside of any agreements they make between each other.”
Ari nodded slowly, though the concerns of the Ravarians were, admittedly, secondary to him. What he cared about was getting to Cliffhaven and figuring out if it was the kind of place where he and Kerys could settle down.
Considering his overarching goal stirred up unavoidable thoughts of how little time he ultimately had left. It still didn’t seem real to him, and part of him held out hope that he’d find a solution in time, be it in the form of an enchantment or some other treatment.
It wasn’t something he could count on. He’d seen people die before in person. When the fishers had attacked Jed’s camp of survivors weeks earlier, he’d seen life snuffed out in a manner that had almost seemed incidental. It had inundated him with a sense of realism about his own mortality. He wasn’t invincible, and death wouldn’t show mercy regardless of how many people were counting on him.
The Fairweather Fleet came into view over the next few hours, with the sails appearing on the horizon before the actual ships. Ari was impressed by the size and scope of the aquatic setup. There were at least four or five dozen ships surrounding a massive platform composed of wooden rafts connected by rope, which flexed and shifted as it floated across the waves.
The platform had at least as much walking surface as all of the larger caverns in Golias Hollow combined. Hundreds of wooden shanties were built on top of the rafts, and it seemed like nothing so much as a floating, traveling city. Ari could see people pressed up against the rope railing that cordoned off the edge, watching the coast as the fleet slowly drew near.
The fleet didn’t come all the way up to the shore, of course. A single smaller boat with paddles in place of sails broke off from the rest, rowing the remaining distance over to the wooden pier. It wasn’t until it had secured its ties and one of the men had climbed off onto dry land that Ari got a sense of why the Fairweather Fleet had the reputation it did.
The man had sandy-blond hair and tanned skin that made him look older than his youthful face suggested, and he wore stained cloth overalls that left most of his chest and arms bare. He was a chewing a sprout of some kind of thin, green vegetable, and at his full height, he stood about even with the lower edge of Ari’s armpit.
The other sailors who stepped onto the pier to accompany him were armed with curved hooks that looked as though they doubled as sailing tools when not in use as weapons. They were just as short as the sandy-haired man, and Ari blinked with surprise as the group of them slowly made their way over.
The sandy-haired man said something in a language that was a mixture of mouth pops, tongue clicks, and whistles. He frowned and made a tisking noise as he looked at Ari and the others. Rin put her best smile on her face as she moved forward to speak with him.
She said a few words in the same language, but from the speed of her delivery and the expression of the sailors, it was clear to Ari that she was anything but proficient. The sandy-haired man shook his head and let out a sigh. He began repeating himself, slower this time, and then gestured toward Ari and the others as though inviting Rin to confirm the details with them.
“What’s he saying?” asked Ari.
Rin shrugged. “I have no idea.”
“What?”
“I know four phrases in Akkavish,” said Rin. “Hello, let’s trade, thank you, and I’m sorry.”
“Mud and blood,” cursed Ari. “How do you expect us to explain what we need, then?”
“He already knows,” said Rin. “My sister is much more proficient in the language than I am and sent a courier to deliver her message to the Sailmaster. This is likely the Sailmaster’s son, if I had to guess. He’ll be diplomatically aware enough to help us along.”
The sailor headed straight for the group’s packs. Ari scowled a little as he saw them rifling through their supplies, but he didn’t press an objection. He wondered what they were searching for, given that their weapons seemed to have been totally ignored.
One of the sailors found Ari’s stash of sarkin flower and let out an amused series of clicks and pops after giving it a whiff. One of the others burst out into laughter. The sandy-haired man snapped out a few words, and the sailors immediately went silent and moved on to a different bag.
It took no more than ten or so minutes. The leader of the group seemed satisfied, and he gestured for Ari and the others to climb aboard the small boat they’d arrived on. It was smaller than it looked and lacked a sufficient number of free seats, leaving Ari and Eva to stand in between columns of rowers in order to fit.
He saw the fleet in more detail as they slowly approached a large galleon on the edge of it. There was a patchwork quality to everything he looked at, from wooden ship hulls with wood of different ages and origins in spots, to multicolored sails that had clearly been mended. Even the clothing of the people had that same, long-worn, mixed-and-matched characteristic.
“These people live on their ships, don’t they?” asked Ari. “There’s no village they go back to when the voyage is done.”
“Of course,” said Rin. “That’s how they survive.”
It brought to mind Golias Hollow and the rigid rules and habits that had allowed the community Ari had grown up in to eke out a living underground. Everything that could be was recycled. Every person had a job, and every conceivable resource had a use.
The small boat they were on drew to a stop next to a galleon. Several members of the Fairweather Fleet tossed ropes down from over the edge, which were quickly secured to the small boat by the oars. A massive, net-like rope ladder was tossed down next.
The sandy-haired man said something to Rin and then gestured to the hanging rope, grabbing the edge with one hand and climbing with slow, deliberate motions.
“I’ll go first,” said Rin.
“Can’t you just fly onboard?” asked Ari.
Rin rolled her eyes as though he’d just asked the stupidest question. “It’s a symbolic gesture, chala. Dropping the ladder is like… opening the door for someone. Do you dive through the window when someone invites you in through the front?”
“If I want to make an entrance, I do,” said Ari.
The rope ladder was wide enough for several of them to climb at once. Ari was the last over the railing, and he was impressed by what he saw once he made it up.
The galleon was alive with activity. People moved about the deck, some cleaning, some tending to the currently windless sails. At least one was up in the crow’s nest, observing the surrounding waters.
The deck was high enough above the water’s surface to give Ari a view of some of the other nearby ships. The galleon was one of the largest he could see, and it was also a little apart from the main bunch. The floating mass of rafts was filled with people, far more than Ari would have expected, with mothers hanging clothing from drying lines and children wrestling with one another.
The attention that Ari was giving the Fairweather Fleet was very much reciprocated. Half of the short men and women onboard the galleon were staring at him and the others openly. He saw suspicion in most of their eyes, interspersed with the occasional glint of hostility here and there.
An older man, perhaps in his late fifties, with a bald head and grey beard made his way up from below decks. He walked with a slight limp and was flanked on either side by
the tallest members of the Fairweather Fleet Ari had seen so far, both of whom still stood about a head shorter than him.
The sandy-haired man who’d led the pickup party hurried over to the old man, the two of them sharing a whispered conversation of clicks, pops, and whistles. Rin gestured to the rest of their group, drawing everyone’s attention.
“I’m relatively certain that he is the Sailmaster,” said Rin.
“You would be correct about that, young lady,” said the old man. He spoke in the Lower Tongue, his words slow, accented, and full of confidence. “The official title, in this language, translates to ‘Sailmaster of the Octavium.’ I suspect it will be far easier for you to pronounce than my given name.”
“Octavium?” said Rin, looking baffled. “I hope I don’t overstep my welcome, but is it true then?”
The Sailmaster laughed, nodding his head up and down.
“Yes, in fact it is,” he said. “I left the womb a decade before the cult took hold, but Octavium worship has become popular amongst much of the fleet. Most of the fleet, to be honest.”
Ari’s curiosity got the better of him. “What’s the Octavium?”
“The eight gods who watch down on us from the Endfate,” said the Sailmaster. “I won’t bore you with a list of them, but rest assured, your Dormiar is included as one of them, young hollowman.”
Ari’s next question was to ask how, exactly, the Sailmaster knew that he was from a hollow, but Rin’s tongue was quicker.
“I take it my sister has explained the arrangement to you?” she asked.
The Sailmaster nodded. “She has. We will expect the drop-offs of wood and meat promised as payment at regular intervals. You people are an honest lot, which is the only reason I was willing to allow you to be in my debt.”
“We appreciate it, Sailmaster of the Octavium,” said Rin.
“The voyage will take about a week,” said the Sailmaster. “We’ll be on strict water rations once we split off from Seaspray Village in two or three days. At that point, each of you will still be allotted enough water for drinking, but all cleaning and bathing must be done in the salt.”
Vision Voyage (The Weatherblight Saga Book 2) Page 20
