by Lacey Thorn
“Farrah, put it out,” Asme told her in a firm but quiet voice, seeking to draw no other attention to what Farrah held.
Farrah looked at her aunt with confusion.
“Now is not the time. Here is not the place,” Asme told her before lifting her own hand over Farrah’s and with a wave of her palm, the ball of flames disappeared.
Farrah watched as Asme returned to Solame, watched as they spoke in hushed tones, looking occasionally to where Farrah stood. Then her mother came to her and took her gently by the hand and led her home. That was the day that Farrah learned she was a Guardian with the power of fire in her veins. She was one of the five marked by the goddess as those who would save Altair from the constant battles that ensued upon the island shores.
Farrah studied hard to learn the full extent of her powers. She could bring fire forth in the palm of her hand and by the time she was fifteen she had learned to throw these balls where she wanted without incident. By the time she was eighteen Farrah was already a warrior’s dream. She stood five foot eight and already had the lush body of a woman with her full breasts and hips that swayed enticingly when she walked. Her reddish-gold hair fell in a thick braid past her hips but curls were always escaping to bounce around her face. Her green eyes flashed fire as more and more warriors seemed to take notice of her.
Most left her in peace because of the long braid that hung down her back as a reminder that she was not yet of an age to be claimed as a mate. Yet one warrior had dared to follow her into the woods when she went to gather more wood. He had cornered her against a tree and Farrah was not naïve enough to believe that he wouldn’t hurt her. Although rare there were instances when women were claimed before their twenty-first summer was reached. If a warrior wanted to claim a woman prior to then all he had to do was mate her. Once her virginity was taken, then by Warrior Law she belonged to the one who had claimed her. It was a rarely used way for a warrior clan to ensure they mated with the woman they wanted.
When the Latoni warrior went to touch her, Farrah let her anger consume her. She felt no fear, for by then she already knew that fear could prevent her gift like a door shutting and blocking it from reaching the surface. It was only when the Latoni warrior reeled back from her, screaming about his hands that Farrah realized she had the power to burn with her flesh. She had literally singed the top layer of skin from his palms and fingers when he gripped tightly onto her arms. She never heard for sure what Kiva Latoni told the other warriors but from then on all gave her a wide berth and Kiva was never seen without black gloves covering both of his hands.
When she was a few weeks from passing her twenty-first summer she was called to see her Aunt Asme. Farrah waited as long as she could, somehow sensing that her entire world would change with this one conversation. It was frightening just how right she was. Asme was waiting for her in the old temple gardens. She greeted Farrah with a hug and kiss before leading Farrah to a bench that was hidden in the interior of the gardens and slowly sitting down. Asme waited for Farrah to take a place on the bench beside her before she spoke.
“I am glad that you came. There is much that must be done and little time to see it accomplished.”
“What…what do you mean?” Farrah asked with a heavy feeling of unease.
“You are beginning your claiming summer and if what has reached me is true then we must get you away from here as soon as possible.” There was no misinterpreting the urgency in Asme’s voice.
“What have you heard, Aunt Asme? What do you fear?”
“It is said that when the day of your claiming comes the Latoni warriors will come for you. No one will challenge them for you. The Latoni have long harbored a grudge against you for what happened with Kiva in the forest, for the burns you left on his hands. None will stand in their way,” Asme informed Farrah with a heavy heart.
“Sweet goddess. What do they plan?” The feeling of unease was becoming full-fledged fear now and Farrah was almost afraid to hear her aunt’s reply.
“They plan to claim and mate you in the square and once you are officially theirs they will make your life hell. I know not what horrors they have in store for you but my sons have heard that the Latoni plan to take you with them wherever they go and provide you as pani.”
Farrah gasped with horror. Pani were women who were offered to others by their mates. The Latoni brothers planned to let other warriors use her body in exchange for something the Latoni wanted or simply because they felt like sharing her. Such practices were not unheard of but they were frowned upon. However Warrior Law was clear that a woman belonged to her mates once she was formally claimed. If the Latoni bonded with her there would be no one who would help her. She could not let that happen.
“What do I do? I will not let them claim me! I will burn them to a crisp before I allow them to touch me,” Farrah spoke sharply, enjoying the thought of Kiva Latoni awash in flames.
Asme cupped her face. “You will not have to do that. It has come to my attention that another Guardian has been found. I am hoping to persuade you to seek her out and stay with her. I believe that you will be well protected with her. I hear a calling in the wind, an urgency for you to go there.”
“Another Guardian?” Farrah asked with awe. It would be incredible to meet someone who also wielded the powers bestowed by the goddess.
“Yes, she is said to have power over the very earth.”
“But I have not heard anything of her,” Farrah stated.
Asme smiled. “I have my spies everywhere. There is much that I know that others don’t.”
“When do you want me to leave? Where am I to go?” Farrah asked, accepting in her heart that this was the only way to be free of the Latoni.
“You will leave this very night. I pray that it will be soon enough. You must travel quickly to the village in the north. The Guardian of Earth lives there with her warrior mates. You will know her by sense. She will know you as well.”
“By sense?” Farrah asked her aunt, her expression conveying her confusion.
“Like will recognize like,” Asme informed her softly. “The goddess has touched you both and that will allow you to know when another Guardian is around. The only one you won’t recognize will be the Mystic, who is shielded by the old magic even from the Guardians. Only when she is ready will the Mystic finally call to you and reveal her presence. That is when you will know the true calling of what it means to be an Island Guardian,” Asme told her.
“So north through the woods to find the other Guardian? What if I run into someone else, someone other?”
“I will guide and protect you on your journey as only the Mahiki can. Trust in that and you will stay safe on your journey,” Asme assured Farrah.
“Then I must hurry and say my goodbyes.”
Asme shook her head. “There is no time. I have supplies for you at the edge of the garden closest to the woods. You must leave now, immediately. There is no time to spare.” Asme hugged Farrah tightly as she took in the sorrow and fear on the girl’s face. “I am so sorry, my love, were there any other way I would search and find it.”
Farrah steeled her resolve and rose from the bench. “I am ready. I will not disappoint the Goddess of Altair,” she looked at her aunt, “or the Island Mahiki.”
Asme walked with Farrah to the edge of the garden, making sure Farrah found the sack of supplies. They would last just long enough to ensure her journey but not to interfere with what was destined to be. With another quick hug Asme watched as Farrah turned and disappeared behind the trees of the forest. The princess felt more than heard her noble warrior come to stand behind her.
She has departed? Godar asked in her mind.
“Yes, Farrah has started her journey.”
Did you tell her of the other Guardian?
“Yes.”
And did you tell her of what else waits for her there?
“No.” Asme turned in her lover’s arms and hugged him tightly. “There are some things that a woman should not know
in advance. To forewarn Farrah might be to alter what must be, what is destined to be. I will not take that chance.”
Godar eased his woman down onto the grassy earth beneath them. And should I warn you of what I have planned? his voice whispered in her mind as he made quick work of her clothing and his.
She spread her legs wide for his thrust and, arching her back, offered her breasts. “I know exactly what you have planned, my love,” she whispered into the air as her noble warrior once again claimed her, body, heart and soul.
Chapter Two
It had taken Farrah eleven days to travel through the forest to where she assumed the village must lie. She had been compelled to stop often and seek shelter in one of the many caves. She had run out of supplies yesterday and prayed to the goddess that she would make it to her destination before her hunger and thirst overtook her. Farrah heard a noise in the copse of trees ahead of her and moved quietly forward. She could feel a slow hum in her blood and remembered her Aunt Asme’s words that like would recognize like.
Farrah stood silently in the trees, unwilling to disturb the threesome making love in the grass. There was a dark-haired man lying upon his back on the earth. A brown-haired woman was on top of him and there was a brown-haired man behind her, kneeling between the legs of the other two. Farrah could see the slide of cocks as the two warriors rode in and out of the woman’s pussy and ass. The woman seemed to wallow in the feel of the two warriors taking her body at once. Farrah had traveled a long way to find this woman. At least she was fairly certain that this was the woman, the Guardian of Earth. This woman would be the one who would help Farrah to hide from the Latoni brothers.
She had not meant to come upon them while they were so obviously occupied with other things. She had hoped to find the woman alone and speak with her quietly with no one else aware that Farrah was even there. Farrah silently slipped back through the trees, thinking to hide until the threesome was through and only then approach them. Instead she backed into a very hard, very large, very warm body. A hand was quickly clamped over her mouth and her hands were held captive against her body. She could not bring flames without her hands and she could not control her sudden fear enough to heat her skin. She knew that she it was possible if only she could concentrate and control the fear, which was something she was hopeful to learn from the other Guardian. What could Farrah do now? She could do nothing as they moved with her deeper into the trees until finally coming to a stop only when they were so far away that they could neither see nor hear the threesome at play.
Alexi held the squirming beauty close to his chest while Marcus stepped out in front of her. Bannen would be upset that he had missed this. Alexi and Marcus had come to congratulate the Savari warriors on the birth of their twins. The babes had been delivered hale and hearty just six weeks earlier. Instead, the brothers had stumbled upon this beauty. The woman had a rope of reddish-gold hair that hung past her hips and her eyes were almost the exact same fiery green as Erika’s. In fact except for the hair color the two women could have been twins. The face was the same shape, the skin the same shade and texture. Marcus didn’t know what to make of it. He did know that the girl was not yet claimed. He could clearly see her unmarked flesh above the band of her skirt. More promising still was that she wore the red top of the very caste of his mother. He did not recognize her, though, as one of the women from their village. She was not from here which meant that she had traveled to get to them. There were five small villages that lay at different points within the interior of the island and many small camps hidden in the trees along the shores. Marcus did not know which one she came from and at the moment he didn’t really care. He had other things on his mind as he studied her from head to toe, taking in every tiny detail including the small red mole that lay on her neck, the only blemish he could see on her otherwise creamy skin.
He and Alexi glanced at one another and then quickly looked around, searching for whoever must have traveled with her but they could see no one. It was unheard of for a woman to travel unchaperoned, especially one who was as yet unclaimed as her braid and unmarked flesh proclaimed.
“Who are you?” he asked her. “Where are your travel companions?”
“I traveled with no one. I am by myself,” Farrah mumbled, trying to speak around the hand that still covered her mouth.
“If my brother removes his hand, do you promise not to yell?” Marcus could clearly see the fear in her eyes. “We wouldn’t want to see anyone get hurt.” He nodded his head back the way they had come, indicating the glen where he knew she had to have seen the Savari warriors loving their woman Erika. This girl didn’t know that he and his brothers were friends with the Savari warriors and that was more than okay with him. She seemed to want to protect the bonded Savari mates for some reason and that intrigued Marcus.
Farrah nodded her head in acceptance and Alexi slowly removed his hand. The Donan brothers all stood at six foot seven and this girl must stand at least five foot seven or eight, judging by where her head rested in the middle of Alexi’s chest.
Marcus looked into her eyes. “I will ask you again. Who are you?”
“I am Farrah.” When she refused to add more Marcus continued.
“Where do you come from?”
“I am of the fire caste.” Marcus already knew that by the color of her top but once again she refused to add more. Marcus knew that she could not tell that he and his brother Alexi were also of the fire caste. Warriors did not wear caste colors as their women did. Marcus began bombarding her with questions faster than she could focus and answer them.
“Who are your people? Where do you travel from? Why are you here? Who do you seek? Why do you travel alone?”
Trying to catch her unguarded, Alexi quickly asked, “How old are you?”
“I will pass my twenty-first summer in a few days.”
Marcus passed his hand over the unmarked flesh of her lower abdomen. “You are not claimed and yet you travel without protection.”
Her eyes widened as she realized what she had given away but Marcus gave her no chance to speak. Moving quickly, he pulled the cylindrical weapon from his belt and knelt before her. Alexi realized what his brother was preparing to do and quickly grasped her hands in his and crossed them over her chest. Marcus held the weapon against her lower right abdomen just above her skirt and used it to place the head of the wolf on her, marking her as the bonded mate of the Donan brothers from now on. They had played by the rules once before with Tamya, the sister of the Savari warriors, and in the end had lost her. This time they would claim first and worry about consequences later. Besides if the girl was truly traveling alone then there would be no one to protest this action. Once she was marked and bedded there would be nothing that could be done anyway.
“From this moment forward you will belong to us. You now bear the mark of the Donan clan,” Marcus informed her. “From this moment on, Farrah, you are the bonded mate of the Donan warriors and none will dare to interfere with our claim.”
Farrah looked from the mark on her abdomen to the fierce warrior in front of her and wondered how everything had gone so wrong. She had done everything just as her aunt had told her. The warrior before her was huge with bulging muscles. Unlike other warriors his blond hair was cut short, just barely brushing his neck in back and shaggy over his ears on the side. He had gorgeous blue eyes that were filled with lust as he looked over her body. She could already feel the stiff erection of the warrior holding her against him. It was like a club pulsing on her back.
And now when she was so close to her goal she was taken. Now she belonged to these men. No one would do anything to help her now since these warriors had marked her here where no one else was present to challenge their right. It would be their word against hers and she could tell by the sensual passion she saw in the one before her and her own traitorous body’s response to it that she wouldn’t stand a chance against them.
All she could hope for was that she could still get to the other G
uardian while they were so close to one another. Without any further concern for interrupting the pleasure of the three people in the glen, Farrah opened her mouth and screamed at the top of her lungs.
Instead of looking angry, the warrior in front of her just grinned and she could feel the laughter rippling through the chest of the one behind her.
Marcus leaned down and spoke with his lips just inches from hers. “No one can save you from us now, little one. We will not let any one take you from us. But if you require an audience for our first mating then far be it from me to deny you.”
Farrah gasped in shock as she looked with dawning horror at the enormous bulge in the warrior’s pants. They would kill her with their lust. She would never be able to survive a mating with such a man, never survive a mating like the one she had stumbled upon in the glen. And her death would be the end before there ever was a beginning. Faint with hunger and thirst and tired from her long, arduous trip, Farrah gave in to the darkness that called to her, fainting dead away against Alexi’s chest.
Alexi lifted the girl into his arms while Marcus called out to the Savari men that they could hear rushing toward them from the glen. Marcus could only hope that Arik and Galen had been able to finish what they had started with Erika. He knew there would be time to learn more of their new mate, Farrah, when she awoke.
For now Marcus and Alexi would continue with their plans to visit with friends and celebrate the birth of such unique twins. Never before had a warriors’ woman given birth to a set of twins who consisted of one boy and one girl. It marked a new change in the ways of old. It would be interesting to see what happened now for all around them.
First he would see that Bannen was sent a message of their new mate. He looked for his brother to arrive quickly. Tonight they would all find pleasure in the woman Alexi held cradled so gently against his chest. Marcus grabbed the end of her braid and began undoing it while they waited for the arrival of the Savari warriors and their mate. He was eager to have their sweet beauty bedded and fully claimed. Tonight would have to be soon enough.
