by Stacy Reid
When Ajali had said no to torture, his brother and blades had gaped at him in appalled silence. They were wary of the feelings she evoked within him. Triton had wondered if she was a witch because Ajali’s interest had been instantaneous. He had calmly explained it was lust. Acheron had tried to reach out to her with the witch’s power buried in him and had felt nothing.
Ajali had admitted to his brother that Tehdra held him entranced by the way her lashes fell against her skin, the curve of her mouth, the lusciousness of her lips when she smiled. She made him feel... A state he had not existed in since the last war. It had always been too dangerous for him to endure strong emotions for one individual, not when he could make a similar mistake of placing that one life, no matter how important, over the lives of thousands in his kingdom.
She was to be a simple distraction while he laid plans for the enemy, but somehow, he ached to know her. He glanced over his shoulder, seeking signs that she was a mole but all he met was a naked need in her gaze. It aroused the hell out of him. But it was more than a craving for her body; it was for her smiles and the wicked passion that lurked in the darkness of her gaze. He wanted to learn her, as well as understand who she spied for and why.
He had gleaned Gavyn’s thought to execute her instantly. Ajali understood his blades’ feelings. They believed he was reckless, knowing she was the enemy, yet he still allowed her to live. Worse his desire for her did not lessen. Since her arrival in Nuria, he had found his thoughts straying to the enigma that she represented and trying to unravel it. He fucking hungered to unleash the heat he felt within her for him and bury his cock deep within her tightness.
Tehdra made him yearn for more than strife, war, and succession planning, and Ajali wondered if that was worth exploring, adversary or not.
Tehdra grasped Ajali’s waist as the wraith flew over the lands. Her breath caught at the majestic city they soared past. The wraith dipped and twirled as they sped into the hills. Miles of hills, valleys, and gushing waterfalls rushed by.
She had never been on an encounter so ordinary, as mundane as a picnic. The aroma that seeped from the basket made her mouth water, and the smile that curved her lips was filled with sweet satisfaction. An entire day spent with her leki. She would treasure the opportunity and remember the experience when haunting loneliness descended.
She detected three wraiths like distant dots on the horizon following them. Also, some of his blades followed on Kuns. They were very serious about his protection, yet instead of irritating her, it engendered warm feelings towards them.
She was every bit as resolute about his well-being as they were.
Tehdra inhaled his scent and snuggled closer to his back, abolishing any space between them. She liked the rough chuckle that rumbled through him, leaving tingling desire in its wake.
“Hold on.” A gruff command.
With a flex of his powerful thighs, the speed of the beast increased ten-fold. Instead of inspiring fear, the dizzying pace caused excitement to pulse through her, and unfettered laughter spilled from her throat.
The beauty of the land was almost daunting in its sheer perfection. Several frenzied cries reached her ears, drawing her gaze to the magnificence of the city they approached. It scintillated like rubies and diamonds as the sun glinted off its many walls, turrets, baileys, and mezzanines.
Within minutes they had passed over the city into sheer wilderness splendor: mountains, valleys, and terrain that held a cruel elegance within them. The rhythmic movements of the wraith beneath her soothed her. She inhaled the crisp coldness of the air into her lungs as peace unlike none she had ever known, crept into her being. She felt contentment. Tehdra stirred against his back, startled at her thought. She had not claimed Ajali, yet she was content just being with him. Darkans were the only citizens of Amagarie that mated, and when they did, it was for life. It was their darkness, the animalistic beast inside of them that allowed them to mate. For years she had wondered if she would find her other half, the one capable of soothing and making her beast complete until her brother had committed his treachery. Since then she had only envisaged atoning for his treason. She was capable of having lovers until she found her mate, yet she had not done so. There had been room for nothing else but giving her life to her kingdom.
She’d found hers at three centi old and had a lifetime of loneliness anticipate. For now, she would bask in the brief time she had with him and allow herself to be seduced. Then, when the chills of loneliness tried to dominate her, she would have heated memories to keep her warm.
The sharp dip of the wraith pulled her from her musings. Its landing was graceful and seamless. The area Ajali settled on was secluded, intimate. The trees formed a canopy, birds chirped, the brightness of the sun welcomed them as it rays highlighted the beauty of the land.
She slid off the wraith, filled with exuberance, and went from flower to flower, inhaling their fragrance. Water spewed from underground and glided over rocks to form a shallow pool that invited play.
With a harsh scream, the wraith launched into the air.
“How will it know to come back?”
“Kezriel is trained to respond to my needs.”
“Kezriel…a curious name.”
Tehdra sank onto the blanket that Ajali laid out without ceremony. She arched a brow at the food unpacked from the basket.
“I do not think that even if we were here for a week, we would be able to eat all this food,” she murmured. She had observed cakes, cheeses, roasted meats, baked apples, spiced custard, peaches, fruits and at least three types of wines amongst their supplies.
“My blades will give us a few hours alone before hunger drives them closer to the food.”
She glanced in all directions. His blades were noticeably absent.
“They do not obey your orders unquestionably?”
His slow smile warmed her insides most deliciously. “If protecting me means disobeying my orders, that is what they will do it seems.”
What did they know that she did not? “Protect you from what? I see no threat on the horizon.”
He glanced at her with an expression that she could only call censorious.
"My enemy desires to see my kingdom fall. I am my kingdom.”
She did not see arrogance, just knowledge reflected deep in his emerald gaze.
“Are you saying if you were to perish your kingdom would fall?”
She shivered slightly as his heated stare caressed her face, seeking what, she could not decipher.
“Let’s eat.”
Tehdra arched an eyebrow. "Will you ignore my questions?
A smile tugged at his lips. “Kingdoms and kings are intertwined, dependent on each other to succeed, to flourish. If I fall, my kingdom will survive. My lieges, my parents, fell before me, yet our nation has flourished exponentially. To avoid the painful transition Nuria would undergo, it is best I die a natural death.”
She understood. It was the same for her realm. “Your people would avenge your murder, fanning the flames of the next war. The grief and torment of your demise would drive your people to do almost any act to satisfy their honor, their pain,” she murmured into the silence that frothed with a deceptive kind of intimacy.
“A perception that a hari, ignorant in taijiu, should not possess.”
“I do not claim ignorance in strategic warfare, simply the art of killing. I contend that if one can read the tomes that great kings and lords have written, one can infer and make assessments using their wisdom.”
The sensual smile that slashed his face invited her to smile with him, so she did. The gentle flutters in her stomach felt beautiful and strange. Ajali dipped his head and licked the dribble of juice from the corner of her lips, and then his tongue invaded her mouth with decadent hunger. Sweet and utterly intoxicating. Her skin ignited beneath his touch and desire fanned between them. His hands threaded into the silky length of her hair, and he anchored her to him firmly as he thoroughly explored the recesses of her mouth. Teh
dra growled in greedy passion beneath his kiss, and she responded with sensual greed.
He drew away from her, holding her gaze with somber intensity.
What was it?
A shadow crossed over his features. “Present yourself in my chambers after the evening dinner.”
“I am here now.” She wanted the restless need that ate at her assuaged.
“I did not peg you for an exhibitionist.”
“An exhibitionist!”
“We are within sight and sound of all my blades.”
“Impossible.”
“Acheron is on the high rise to your left about a mile out.”
“That is sight, not sound.”
He arched his brow sharply.
“Are you implying that you are comfortable with my blades seeing me take you?”
A blush instantly splashed across her entire body. The surprised laugh that came from him worsened it, infuriating her. “That is not to what I allude. I wondered how is it that your blade Acheron could hear us from such a distance.”
His hand stroked her thigh. "Interested in my blades’ skills, hari?’
“Of course not, merely… curious.”
“What else are you inquisitive about, hari?
She noted the soft threat beneath his question. “I am curious about you. I want to know you, Ajali. I desire to learn about what makes your people revere you so much. How it is that wraiths exist within your kingdom, and how it is that your mother defeated a Darkan.”
Ajali met Tehdra’s gaze with a calmness that hid the deep suspicions that flared within him. Her method as a spy was unorthodox. She did not approach him with subtle subterfuge; no spy would stare at him with such raw hunger, such thrumming lust. She did not even try to hide her reaction. He could see it—naked, intense, and honest. It could be a ploy, but somehow, he knew it wasn’t. He looked at the pale, silken softness of her skin, the seductive poutiness of her lips, the dark temptress that lurked in her obsidians eyes.
All of it waged war with his resolve. The need for her gnawed at him, yet when she presented herself to him tonight he would not bed her, he would leave her under Acheron’s care.
He would not let his kingdom fall due to his desire for a woman.
She would be tortured until she spilled all her secrets.
Denial sliced through his blood like poison, and Ajali gritted his teeth. How had he come to this? He sat with a known enemy, yet the notion of imprisoning her and doing all in his power to learn her secrets was fucking unbearable. The thought of her writhing and screaming in pain killed his appetite, and he shoved away the food.
Fuck!
No words were spoken further. Her pull on him, even in silence, was intense. How she ate, licked her fingers, scrunched her face when a taste she did not enjoy burst into her mouth, the charming smile when she savored something she appreciated. The companionable quietness lulled him into speech. “Kezriel means descended from kings. My mother gifted him to me. It was the last tribute she had bestowed on me before the enemy took her from us. There was a message in giving me a beast that all other kingdoms shunned.”
Raw emotions flared in him, and he ruthlessly buried it.
She slid across the blanket so that their knees brushed. “Mevians took your queen?” The naked emotions that had flickered in his eyes ensnared her stronger than the sensuality of which he reeked.
“Darkans took my mother.”
Tehdra flinched, spilling her wine.
“Are you well, hari Tehdra?”
Blank, cold eyes clashed with hers.
“You startled me. Darkans are not people I hear about so casually. All know that Mevia has been an enemy of Nuria and has been since the second Great War. Darkans did not participate in the Great War according to our history tomes.” It was hard for her to hide her disbelief.
“My mother was assassinated by Darkans.” His tone throbbed with such cold menace Tehdra had to subdue the answering surge within her.
Her people had assassinated the queen of Nuria, which her king and nation knew nothing about? “There is no whisper, no knowledge that Queen Xie lo died of anything but natural causes,” she said hoarsely.
“Is there a reason you are so rattled, hari?”
The menace had disappeared as if it never were. Her honed instincts flared to life. The soft, lazy, indulgent tone that remained was meant to lure her into a false security, intended to entrap her.
Tehdra struggled for an answer in the midst of her sudden turmoil. If he perceived Darkans as Nuria’s enemy, her people could not be found in his kingdom under any circumstances. The imperativeness of her mission increased. Darkans at war with Nurians. Her King might be drawn into warring with her mate. Tehdra’s soul burned cold then hot, as feelings which were turbulent and unfamiliar in their intensity clashed inside her.
“You are disturbed, hari.”
Laced with latent sensuality, the smooth drawl drew her into a slow awareness as the most dreaded thoughts echoed inside of her. He could not be her enemy. The notion was unbearable. Tehdra ruthlessly buried her emotions and met the ice in his gaze. The intense green of his eyes blazed, turning them almost black. His voice invited her to confide in him, offering warmth, security in the midst of profound confusion. It was a trap. She couldn’t speak around the crushing sensation behind her ribs. “You startled me. Darkans are never talked about within my village. Their very names are taboo.”
“Ahhh…in Nuria they are our most important enemy.”
Important. She had never heard an enemy described as important before. Tehdra wished she had her essence to ferret out his feelings. The indecipherable look in his eyes made something akin to fear well within her. Her kingdom was threatened, and she was picnicking with that threat. “Would you care to elaborate?”
“Darkans are our natural enemies and the only kingdom in Amagarie that will never be allied with our kingdom. They are our enemies until the end of time, and it’s an inheritance we will pass down to all our generations.”
Unshakable resolve stamped his eyes, his face. The soft hope that maybe, if he fell in love with her—if she could eventually claim him as her mate—then they could overcome the kingdoms’ hatred of Darkans, died its death without much ceremony. It was a good thing she had not dwelled on the fantasy. “It is untenable to think that Darkans would assassinate your lieges. To what end? Are you at war with the shadow realm?”
Flat eyes caressed her face like a sharpened blade. “You seem distressed at such a thought.”
And at that moment, even without her beast, Tehdra recognized the raw danger and brutality of the man before her. “If you hear distress, it is only for you. The thought of you possessing such an enemy only brings forth concern for your kingdom. Do you have proof that Darkans murdered your queen?” Her voice strangled on the word ‘murder.’
“We have enough. Come, let us not ruin our picnic with talk of assassination and war,” he silkily commanded.
Tehdra’s equilibrium had never been so shifted. It was a struggle to portray calmness as emotions rioted within her. She concentrated on not spilling her wine. The most important enemy of her mate was her people. Their most important enemy.
“Why are they your kingdom’s most important enemy?” She needed to understand that. She subdued all emotions lest he picked up an inkling of her distress.
“They are our most important because the combined goals of all Nurian generations will be the destruction of the Darkage for what they have inflicted upon us,” he said softly. So low she strained to hear.
He raised a goblet of wine to his lips and sipped. “It is admirable, hari Tehdra, the concern that you feel for a king and a nation with whom you recently made acquaintance.”
She forced a smile. “I assure you, your majesty; there is no artifice or duplicity in my intentions. I would feel deep concern for any kingdom that proclaimed Darkans as their most important enemy.”
Eyes devoid of warmth perused her face with startling intens
ity. “Your concern is noted, Tehdra.”
She smiled, trying to ease the tension that had crept between them. “Ahh, you finally refer to me as Tehdra, not hari Tehdra.”
“I find it wise to use your title as a reminder.”
“Of what?”
“That you are a hari, thus reminding me of your place in my life and kingdom lest I lose myself in your cool beauty.”
He believed her a cool beauty? “Would it be so bad to lose yourself in me?”
“In you, hari? Most assuredly not. I would gladly do so for hours.”
Heat dusted her skin.
“Ah, another blush, a concept that intrigues me. A hari who claims to be trained in the sensual arts glows at the mere mention that I want to sink my cock into her as deep as possible.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I assure you it is the sun.”
He cupped her cheek with one of his hands and dragged the rough pad of his thumb across her lower lip. “I assure you, it is the thought of me fucking into your tightness that has your delicate skin flushing so becomingly.”
A rough, low chuckle echoed from him and swept down her spine, creating a hot, tingling awareness. An awareness that she might be out of her depths playing with the king of Nuria. The cold tension that had been ripe with danger disappeared, leaving a thrumming sexual need between them. It singed Tehdra and blazed deep in Ajali’s gaze. Tehdra offered up no resistance as he tugged her to him. She felt boneless as heat invaded her blood, creating a depth of need she did not think possible to experience without the presence of her beast.
His lips were so soft, silky, the possibility of becoming addicted to him occurred to her. The hazy thought drifted away as his tongue licked hers. His taste, smoky and masculine, made her moan in wantonness as she responded to his kisses with flaming sensuality. His groan echoed in her mouth, traveling through her body to stir a carnal ache in her center that Tehdra desperately needed to assuage.
He chuckled at her roughness, and she whimpered in frustration. Her impatience for more had her struggling to wrench command of the kiss. She only became more aroused when he bit her lips to slow her down. Her mouth plunged and teased beneath his, still trying to take over. Tehdra ripped her lips from his and pushed him down on the blanket. Panting, she straddled his hips and pinned him down.
