Queen's Rules 2: King of the Castle

by Treva Harte

They stared back, looking baffled.

  “Men!” Ara carefully unwound herself from the bedsheets. Let them look at her naked. A look was all they’d get with an attitude like that.

  Pig heads.

  “Let me know what you think you’ve decided for me and my sisters.” Ara tossed her hair out of her face. “Then we will let you know what we think.”

  Quinn found himself distracted, as the last twitch of her butt left his tent.

  “Women.” Mio shook his head.

  “Too bad they’re so tempting.” Ulrich shook his head, too.

  “Indeed. Women.” Quinn cleared his throat. Tried to empty his mind of Ara’s nude image. “But, more specifically, what terms shall we come to about them?”

  * * * * *

  “Maryam.” Ulrich’s square face hardened to unyielding stubbornness. “Most likely she’ll flay me alive because I bargained only for her, but she’s what I want and what I will have.”

  Another man could use Ulrich’s single-minded goal to his own advantage if he had a mind to. But did he need to? Quinn narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. All that was required was one female to hold off a huge bear of a man and his soldiers. Did he really want to bargain for more?

  “Jewel.” The younger of the two intruders had the slightest edge of desperation in his voice. “What about her? I told you what was going on. Ulrich, I got you here. You owe me Jewel.”

  Ulrich merely grunted.

  “Is she the healer?” Quinn tried to remember, to sort them all out by name. Purple hair, sparkling color to her skin. Ara had called her Jewel. “Sorry, boy. I have a need for her.”

  “A need?” The stripling’s dark face turned darker. Quinn realized the young man was a thread away from attacking him, ridiculous as that might seem. Then again, females could make a man ridiculous. “What need? You already had one to your bed.”

  “Not that need. This Jewel has other skills. She’ll heal my men.”

  “But --”

  “Mio, be done with it.” Ulrich’s rumble silenced the pleas. “I’ll fight to the death for Maryam, but I’m not equipped for an all-out war with the Hinterlands for just any female.”

  “Jewel is not just any f--I’m not done with this.” Mio’s face set in as unyielding lines as the bigger man’s.

  “But I am.” Ulrich turned his head. “We have a deal then, Bellizan?”

  “If they pick just one of us then --”

  “I don’t go without Reina.” Leesha clutched Reina’s hand.

  “You were never in consideration.” Ara sniffed. “Ulrich doesn’t care about any of the rest of us. After all, we haven’t given him a child.”

  Everyone looked at Maryam. Maryam touched her stomach lightly. “It’s too soon to be sure of anything. The big brute knows that.”

  “Maybe he just likes you, baby or not.” Jewel touched Maryam’s stomach, too.

  Maryam’s smile flashed. “Maybe. Maybe I like him myself.”

  Like? Maybe the two of them were…were besotted with each other. Ara remembered the looks the two of them gave when Ulrich was forced to leave Castle Bloomingdell earlier than he’d expected.

  “I don’t care for kidnapping, but I could wait longer until I go home. As long as others are safe.” Jewel looked at the others.

  “Easy for you to say you don’t mind not going home right now.” Reina glared at Jewel. “You have a home to go back to, however long it takes for you to get there. We have nothing!”

  Ara sucked in a breath. How would she feel if Quinn bargained her away to live with females again? Oh, Goddess. He knew she hadn’t borne any children yet, no matter how hard she’d tried. Jewel said she could cure that. But Quinn didn’t know she could be cured. What if he had second thoughts about her value as a wife?

  “Yes. Maryam goes.” Ara spoke up firmly. “No matter what else is decided, Maryam should be allowed to leave. She may be pregnant and more travel would be no good for her. Besides, she’s the only one who could surely control Ulrich.”

  “Of course I can make Ulrich mind.” Maryam hesitated. “Well, I almost always can.” Another smile flashed out, then disappeared. “But how could I leave all of you behind?”

  Reina began to wail, “Don’t leave us here!”

  “How do we make them choose Maryam?” Jewel ignored the sobbing. “And Stefani, of course.”

  “I’d never leave without Stefani,” Maryam agreed.

  “I’m not sure how he’d manage it.” Ara frowned. “But if you tell Ulrich to jump over the moon, Maryam, most likely he would try.”

  Quinn said we were engaged. He said that meant I was Lady and he was mine to command. Even if he meant it, though, Quinn isn’t a tame pet. He hated telling me what his people believe. They may follow those ways, but I doubt he will. Not when it matters. He isn’t Ulrich. He does what he chooses. What if he chooses to send me away? For some good and noble reason of course. For his men. For my sake.

  He may think he’s escaped death but if he dares try it, I’ll kill him myself.

  “Lady Maryam?” Ulrich’s harsh rumble filled the tent.

  Reina stopped sobbing.

  “Yes?” Maryam raised an eyebrow.

  “I came for you.” Ulrich filled the entire tent. He glared at all of them, but particularly Maryam, as if they’d asked to be snatched away and dragged about the countryside. One hand rested on the hilt of his war sword. His scowl was black. Ulrich would have looked fearsome, but Ara could see his hands were shaking, just a little.

  Ara had a sudden need to sniffle. She’d never had much use for Ulrich but that trembling was sweet. Really sweet.

  “About time, too. I expected you days ago.” Maryam stood up. “What took you so long?”

  “Overbearing woman. I should have stayed peacefully back at the keep.” Ulrich’s voice suddenly choked. “Are you all right?”

  Before anyone could blink, Maryam and Ulrich were embracing. Ulrich’s head buried in Maryam’s shoulder. Maryam’s face screwed up, almost as if she were in pain.

  “I’m fine, Ulrich. Truly.” Maryam whispered the words.

  “They didn’t hurt you?” Ulrich whispered back. “I’ll have their guts out if they so much as breathed heavily on you.”

  “Oh, please. As if I would let anyone hurt me.” She patted his back.

  “You are a most formidable woman. It’s a wonder any of the enemy survived.”

  “Formidable? What does that mean, pray tell?” Maryam suddenly sniffled. A definite sniffle.

  Ara turned her head away. She didn’t really want to see tough Ulrich or self-possessed Maryam show such longing. She didn’t want to see either of them cry. Oh, Goddess. The two were obviously perfect together.

  If only she was as sure of Quinn as Maryam was of Ulrich.

  “It was very ill-bred to simply pick me up and walk away. And to commandeer Quinn’s tent was sheer effrontery.” Maryam’s scolding inexplicably soothed the tension that had gripped him from the moment he heard she’d been taken away.

  For a moment he’d thought she might burst into tears. If she had, Ulrich was dreadfully afraid he would have sobbed along with her. But listening to her tell him what to do meant things were just the way they used to be. Ulrich fought a sudden, equally unmanly, desire to giggle.

  “Where else can we be together?” He gently placed her on the bed he had thrown Ara and Quinn out of not too long ago. “I know you think politeness is important, but sometimes you lose sight of more important goals, woman. Remember your priorities.”

  Maryam opened her mouth, then shut it again. “You might possibly be right.”

  Ulrich let his smile escape. “What did you say?”

  “Possibly. This one time. You might be right. After all, we are alone now.”

  “Ha! You did miss me.” Ulrich leaned forward to kiss her, hard.

  She leaned forward, into his kiss, and pushed his lips open with her tongue. Ulrich shivered. Ah yes, she had missed him. Perhaps almost as much as he had her, if t
hat was possible.

  Her breasts pressed against his chest and he kept from whimpering with an effort. He began to unfasten her laced-in bodice. He’d brought her here to talk, but he was more a man of action anyhow. Besides, unless he hurried, she’d do enough talking for them both in a few minutes.

  “Are you even slightly concerned about whether I might be pregnant?” While she spoke, Maryam pulled open his sword belt and cupped her hands against his balls with just a few deft movements.

  Ulrich tried to remember what she had just asked as her fingers found the vein leading up to his cock. She had asked something important. He’d forgotten Maryam could speak and act.

  “Of…course.” He tried breathing through his nose to keep from losing control entirely. “Are you?”

  “I can’t be sure.” She tightened her grip on his cock and he did whimper. Just a little. “Even though I am.”

  “Eh?”

  “Don’t reason with me, man. You can’t do it anyhow. Just fuck me.”

  He knew he ought to feel insulted. He would, just as soon as he finished obeying her absolutely brilliant suggestion. Ulrich groaned and thrust at the same time. Ahhhh. Her sheath was wet and clinging. Demanding him. This was something the woman didn’t have to say. Lady Maryam was willing to demonstrate that she had missed him. Quite desperately.

  Her legs twined around him and they grappled, almost as if she would wrestle him.

  Ulrich decided it was time to assert himself. Just a little. She smiled as he shut his eyes and bit into his lower lip while he withdrew, just a fraction of an inch. He waited.

  And waited.

  Maryam said nothing. Not even a little plea for more. Where were her words when he wanted them?

  Instead her vaginal walls began to clench. Hard. Ahh, that felt wonderful. Ulrich breathed hard through his nose and quivered, refusing to budge. Not a quarter of an inch. Not the tiniest bit. Even though his cock was pounding with the need to continue.

  “Well?”

  “Yes, Ulrich?” Maryam sounded far calmer than he.

  “Oh, never mind.” He thrust again, a quick, delightful slide. Out.

  Was that a whimper? Was that his whimper? Ulrich wasn’t sure, but he moved faster, every muscle in his body tightening with anticipation. Ah, Maryam.

  “I did miss you.” Her body arched like a bow. “Terribly. My dearest.”

  The roar in his ears barely caught the muttered words, but he heard. With a strangled cry, he poured into her.

  * * * * *

  “Why do you bother with me, Jewel?”

  Jewel ran her tongue across the salty dark skin of his cock. “Mmmm. That’s why.”

  Mio pulled away. “I’m serious.”

  Apparently he was. They both sat up from behind the bush they’d chosen for their reunion. Jewel tried to ignore the cock she’d been playing with moments ago. Men. Apparently they wanted to talk at the most inopportune times.

  “You’re intelligent and brave and excellent in bed.” And you love me. Jewel still wasn’t sure how to react to that, so she didn’t say the words aloud. “Why shouldn’t I bother with you?”

  “I’m worthless. No other man will listen to me or what I say about you. I can’t get you back to your home. Jewel, I’m a cripple. An outcast and a cripple. Why don’t you just throw me away for someone who can protect you?” Tears glittered in his eyes.

  “Mio, you have protected me. Over and over. How else could I have reached the keep? How else could Ulrich have gotten to us?” Jewel ignored the tears and stroked his hair.

  “Jewel, I’d die for you.” He wasn’t crying now. “You know that.”

  “Yes. I know.” Hadn’t he almost died when the mewt attacked them? Hadn’t he risked himself over and over? “You ‑‑ I could never throw you away, Mio.”

  He gripped her upper arms. “Then I’ll come with you. Ulrich can care for Mother better than I can. I’ll journey to the Hinterlands with you. I’m not going to let you stay there forever. Not without me.”

  “Oh, yes!” A fear that Jewel hadn’t even acknowledged to herself eased. “I wouldn’t mind anything then. You know I’m not desperate to get back to my own castle. I wanted to run away to Bloomingdell. To anywhere else. I needed to get outside. If you were with me outside, everything would be…perfect.”

  I want to stay with you no matter where we are.

  She wasn’t going to say those words. They meant too much to Mio and she wasn’t sure they meant anything but escape from the keep for her. But she didn’t need to say them. Mio’s eyes glittered with something other than tears now. Jewel began to edge away, fighting a smile, as he moved toward her.

  He had fast moves. She knew that. His hands were on her shoulders before she could really run. If she had really wanted to run.

  “All right then. We’ll see how much we like being in a city together. It will be noisy. Dangerous.”

  “As dangerous as here?” Jewel gestured to toward the camp. “I’m already a prisoner. A helpless captive.”

  She grinned at him and made herself look as helpless as she could. Truthfully, it wasn’t too difficult. Mio had shoulders and arms of steel. She couldn’t move.

  “True enough. I’ll stay close to you and protect you. Now let’s make love.” Mio pushed her down.

  Now! Now when she was worried over hurting Mio’s feelings and what the future might bring.

  Men.

  Jewel gave a happy sigh.

  * * * * *

  Ara tried not to stare too openly as they filed down the narrow streets. In fact, soon she decided not to look at anything at all but the shoulders of the male in front of her. There was just too much! Too much noise, too much stench…too many eyes staring and bodies jostling.

  “I didn’t know there were this many men in the whole world!” Stefani piped up behind her.

  “Hush,” Maryam muttered, pulling the scarf up higher over Stefani’s face.

  Trust the child to say exactly what everyone else was afraid to say. Ara suddenly felt very lonely. There were too many men. It was dark, a time when she imagined normal folk slept. Still there seemed to be hundreds of them, all pressing in at their group. Those on the outer parameter of their group were having difficulty keeping them back.

  Perhaps these weren’t normal folk. She could half-hear the comments and she fought not to cringe. Men here begged for everything from money to sex. When that didn’t work, they threatened.

  Even with Ulrich’s and Quinn’s men combined, there didn’t seem to be enough of a guard to keep them safe. She’d never properly imagined a city in her small keep. How could she?

  “Where is the inn?” Ulrich growled the words to Quinn. “And how safe is it?”

  “It’s the inn my House uses whenever we come to the City of Thieves. It’s as safe as any place can be in this snake pit. I know the innkeeper and he knows I pay promptly. That means something here. I also know all the exits and entrances, including the hidden ones.” Quinn half-drew his sword when one bystander got too close. “Turn the corner here. Ladies, enter quickly. We need to attract as little attention as possible.”

  “This is a little attention?” Ara gulped. The heavy wooden door to the inn looked secure, but she wondered.

  “As little attention as any group of females will attract.”

  The last soldier stepped through the huge, open door and Ulrich himself manhandled it shut and barred it.

  “Flame it, man, you’ll keep my customers out!” A burly male, his face crisscrossed with a mix of shimmering streaks that were natural, and tattoos, which were not, stepped forward.

  “We’re all the customers you’ll have for now.” Ulrich stared him down. “There are enough of us to make it worth your while.”

  The man sputtered, eyed the giant, and then nodded. “Welcome.”

  Ulrich didn’t nod back. “Precisely.”

  “Gor!” Quinn called. “Are you able to go fetch the sheman you spoke of? We’ll need his aid as quickly as possible
. I’m afraid rumors of all the women we have are already spreading.”

  “Send Mio as well and some of my men.” Ulrich glanced out the slitted window to the street. “He’ll need some men at his back.”

  “‘Tiz bad enough to be housed with Sylvanianz. Must I work with them so closely?” Gor hissed the words out in heavily accented Sylvanian.

  Ulrich growled, then glanced at Quinn and fell silent.

  Quinn glanced outside. Ara could only imagine the sights out there.

  “Yes. And be grateful for the aid, Gor.” Quinn’s tone was absent as he stared out the small window, but his shoulders were stiff with tension. Trouble was outside. They all knew it. “We have something the whole City of Thieves wants.”

  Chapter Five

  “You summoned my unworthy self?” The sheman’s voice was soft. So soft, so tentative, that Quinn looked over at his second-in-command uncertainly. This was the infamous Ka?

  The sheman looked as if a harsh look would bowl him over. He wasn’t tiny, but somehow the paleness of his made up face and his delicate hands made him appear fragile. Quinn almost wanted to lay his hand on the exposed shoulder and assure the creature all would be well.

  Gor nodded emphatically behind Ka’s head. Yes, indeed, this was one of the trickiest, most expensive prostitutes the city had. Quinn fought down his foolish protective urge. Ka was neither female nor helpless. Quinn would do better to draw a sword on the sheman than offer comfort.

  “We want to make a deal with you, Ka.”

  “I await your pleasure, mighty sir.”

  Quinn fought a laugh. In his country, men were never mighty sirs. All honorifics were saved for the Mistress of the House. But in the City of Thieves, all kinds of people lived in a sort of wary no man’s land, where no creed or race or nationality was important. Money was mighty there. Money and power. Humble deference to everyone was safest if you didn’t know who you were toying with.

  From all he had heard of Ka, the man could toy with anyone. He and Gor were just soldiers. Ka was a master of others’ weaknesses. He could easily best them.

  Well, no point in trying for subtlety. Ka would ferret out what they wanted quickly enough. Quinn thought he saw a glint of speculation before Ka humbly cast his gaze downward. He was almost sure he caught a glint of metal half-hidden in the sheman’s sleeve.