First Queen of the Gryphons (Ishtar's Legacy Book 5)

by Lisa Blackwood

  It would have been a great boon if they’d been looking to build a fire. Amata glowered at the bounty. By morning, if it snowed in the night, Amata might just be another piece of stiff driftwood.

  “Since I need not gather firewood, I’ll see about finding a good spot to bed down for the night while you go hunt up yourself some dinner.” Amata gave Hillalum’s shoulder a pat like she’d done each time she dismounted, and then wandered higher up the riverbank, heading toward the tallest grass.

  “I’ll forgo hunting,” Hillalum said as he padded up behind her. “We have enough trail rations to get us to the temple and back again. If you must eat a cold meal, I will too.”

  She grinned at his chivalry. It was sweet. He wasn’t fond of cold rations, but he didn’t want to partake in a warm meal—raw though it was—if she couldn’t share. And there was no way she was eating raw meat.

  There was a second benefit if he didn’t go hunting. He might come and curl up with her while they slept like he had last night when the fire had burned down. His large, fur-covered body put out a lot of heat and his wings were like warm blankets.

  “If you’re not going hunting, do you mind sharing your warmth with me? Otherwise, I’ll be just another frozen lump on the ground come morning.”

  “Of course.” As soon as he said the words, Hillalum padded over to her and gave her an affectionate rub. “Go make up the nest. I’ll be along in a moment.”

  Amata took the packs from his harness before freeing him from the rig. Once she had that done, she gathered up everything and carried it to the spot she’d thought looked like a good place to bed down.

  After trampling a small section of grass, she harvested more to form padding. She was just arranging the bottom blanket when a naked and human Hillalum joined her. He knelt by the pack and pulled out his loincloth and fringed wrap.

  She’d really been looking forward to snuggling against his heat. She tried not to let her disappointment show on her face. “I thought you would stay in your gryphon form tonight.”

  “My gryphon doesn’t care for human food. I’ll enjoy the meal better in this form.”

  “Oh. I hadn’t thought—”

  “We can share our meal under the blankets.” Humor glinted in his eyes. “Then I’ll share my body heat with you.”

  Amata arched an eyebrow. “Why do I have the feeling you have something else in mind?”

  He shrugged and crawled into the nest she’d built, dragging the pack with him. Amata was tired, cold, and hungry. Muttering to herself, she joined him. Even if he was planning some courtship, she didn’t fear him. And he’d even made an attempt to put her at ease by dressing.

  She’d just settled cross-legged when Hillalum moved and sat behind her, his legs to either side of hers.

  “How are you supposed to eat like this?” she asked, just to have something to say.

  Hillalum merely drew her more firmly against his body and then wrapped his arms around her waist. “You can feed me while I work to warm you. I’m not sure if I’m holding a person or an ice spirit.”

  Amata chuckled and relaxed against him as his hands rubbed feeling back into her body. It was so very lovely she drowsed. Hillalum gave her a little shake.

  “No sleeping yet. Eat first.”

  “Fine,” she muttered and reached into the sack and pulled out some cloth wrapped rations.

  They ate in silence, listening to the sounds of the night for a time. Eventually, Amata lost the battle against sleep.

  She woke up many hours later feeling warm and content. Hillalum still held her pressed tight against his body as they lay curled on the ground, their blankets tucked around them. He was dreaming, and to go by the hard lump trapped under his clothing, his dream was a very heated one.

  At least he was still in human form, which made this less awkward than it might have been. But just then he pressed himself tighter against her hide-covered rump. His hips ground against her, and he hissed out a moan.

  The sound did things to Amata, and she flushed with a sudden heat. Her eyes drifting closed, she shifted against him, enjoying the feel of his larger body pressed up against hers.

  Eventually, the need to touch him overruled her uncertainty, and she brought one hand to caress the bare skin of his leg. She enjoyed running long strokes from his hip to his knee.

  It wasn’t enough. Carefully, she rolled until they were front to front, and then she pressed her face against his chest.

  Goddess, his scent.

  Pressing her lips to his warm flesh just seemed natural. One thing led to another, and suddenly she was kissing him awake. He jerked in surprise at finding her lips against his, but after a brief hesitation, he returned her touch, caressing her through her clothing and dropping several gentle and somewhat uncertain kisses upon her lips.

  His hands ran along her spine. Instinctively, she arched her back, pushing her sensitive breasts against his chest. The sturdy material of her riding leathers and his loincloth stopped her from experiencing the glide of skin against skin, but it still felt fantastic. She brought her hand up to caress the skin along his sides. When that got loud purrs in reaction, she rewarded him by stroking more of his chest.

  She was just flicking a thumb across one of his nipples when she remembered something. Gryphons mated for life after a long courtship. This was courtship, but she wondered if she was moving too swiftly for his gryphon nature.

  While she desperately wanted something more, she didn’t want to ruin this between them.

  “Hillalum, tell me if I do something you don’t want. I know nothing about gryphon courtship or how to proceed. I’ll stop if you want.”

  “I want this,” he arched up against her. “I want you, my Blade.”

  “How far should this go?”

  “As far as you want,” he whispered brokenly. “I’ve been in love with you for years.”

  His surprising confession gave her pause, but then he was gently tugging up the hem of her linen shirt. She didn’t stop him, didn’t want to stop him. When one of his large hands slid lower and curved over her leather-covered ass, she arched into him.

  As far as I want? She rolled that seductive utterance around in her mind. He’d given her permission to take this further, so she would. Just a bit more, then we’ll stop.

  She moved her hands lower down his chest, her thumbs stroking across his abdomen.

  Goddess! The sounds he made. His deep purrs broke into guttural moans when she reached down to run her fingers along the hot, hard length of him trapped in his loincloth.

  She returned to his waist, her fingers finding the ties.

  “You’re truly okay with this, Hillalum? I haven’t forgotten what you said about gryphons and how I’ll needed to win over that side of you before we become mates. I’ll understand if we need to slow this down.”

  “My beautiful one. I’m more than fine with this.”

  Amata’s hands loosened the ties and then slid aside the fabric. When her fingers closed around his flesh, he groaned and froze, allowing her to familiarize herself with his body.

  “Tell me what you need, my King.”

  He grunted and then pressed his face into the curve of her neck, nipping at her skin. Unable to help himself, he began to thrust hard into her strong grip.

  “Harder,” he ordered, his voice shaking with strain.

  She did as he instructed and together they found the perfect rhythm. He was beautiful. Just watching him caused a new flood of heat and dampness between her thighs.

  She ground herself against one of his powerful thighs, riding him. She was growing increasingly restless, needing something more. A betraying little sound of frustration escape her.

  “I’ll look after you,” he whispered, and then he was unlacing her riding leathers and slipping a hand down between her legs. Suddenly his fingers were there, just where she needed him. He stroked her reverently, his intense gaze softening as he met her eyes.

  “So warm. So soft. I’ve dreamed of this
. Spent countless nights imagining touching you. I will make it good for you.” Then he set out to prove the truth to his words.

  If her own hand faltered upon him for a few moments when he drove her into a realm of mindless lust, he didn’t seem to mind.

  It wasn’t until her thighs were trembling each time his fingers found that one spot deep inside her that she remembered he had needs as well. Suddenly, it was important that he reach the same magnificent peak he was helping her climb. She closed her fingers around him and stroked him with long firm pulls. Again, he made that delightful moan that fanned the flames of her lust. And just like that it was imperative they peak together.

  “Both of us together.”

  “As my shepherdess wishes,” he rasped.

  His thumb and fingers worked in unison to drive her closer to her end.

  “Now, my beautiful queen.” His voice was deeper than she’d ever heard it. Something in his tone shattered her control, and she was flying apart.

  “Oh Goddess, …that’s perfect.” His groan and the sudden flood of warm wetness against her palm told her he’d reached the same peak.

  They were both still shivering with the aftershocks from what they’d just shared when he leaned back enough to look her in the eyes. “Thank you for this gift, my Blade. I will cherish this moment always.”

  Amata grinned up at him. “While this wasn’t what I’d meant by you helping to keep me warm, it worked delightfully. And I think I should point out that the winds are picking up. It’s going to be a long cold night.”

  He chuckled, merriment lighting up his eyes. “I’ll see what I can do to keep my Blade warm.”

  Chapter 18

  The storm had lasted all night, and they’d gotten a late start the next morning, but Amata hadn’t minded the delay. Hillalum hadn’t either since it involved another round of lovemaking. If they didn’t have a time sensitive quest to complete, she would have spent the day making love to him. But they had a duty to a goddess to fulfill.

  There was only one thing that clouded her happiness. That was the fact her lover had been holding back. More than once she had encouraged him to align their bodies and bury himself deep, but he’d been hesitant to take the love play and turn it into a true mating, saying he didn’t want her to be sore today.

  But for once in her life, she wasn’t sure if that was a truth or a falsehood. Now that she could look back on events with a cooler head, she feared she might have pushed him into something his gryphon nature hadn’t been ready for, that he would have waited until there was more of an emotional bond forged first.

  When she questioned him about it, he’d laughed and said no one could force his stubborn gryphon nature into something if he didn’t want to be there.

  She accepted his words as the truth but promised she’d take things slower next time.

  After breaking camp, they walked for half a day before stopping once to eat and alter their appearance to blend into their surroundings better. Amata had dressed in the drab tan colored robe the priestess had given her. And at another of Ereshti’s suggestions, she’d used ash collected from their last fire, clay from an exposed stream bank, and loam from the valley floor to stain the garment in such a way to blend in with her surroundings. She’d then painted Hillalum’s fur and feathers in the same mixes.

  She had been doubtful of the priestess’s suggestion, but once she finished painting Hillalum and the gryphon hunched down, he blended in with his surrounding surprisingly well.

  That done, they had consulted Ereshti’s map and judged they were deep in raider territory. Now all they had to do was find where the raiders had holed up.

  As it turned out, they discovered the answer to that question at the end of another long day’s walk when they came upon a temple just as the sun disappeared behind the mountains.

  This then was where Ishtar wanted them. The presence of scruffily dressed men stationed at different points around the temple’s exterior showed it had been occupied by the raiders. They’d made one of Ishtar’s temples into their den.

  Sacrilege.

  ∞∞∞

  Amata and Hillalum waited for full dark before sneaking closer. Their plan depended on stealth. If possible, they would kill the sentries first and then work their way inward, taking out the other raiders as they circled the temple.

  “How many do you think are down there?” She’d counted nine guards. But earlier, seven raiders had ridden in, their horses laden with stolen goods from some hapless merchant caravan. But there could be many more of the thieves inside.

  Hillalum huff softly. “I count twelve outlooks on watch.”

  “Twelve? Damn, I only spotted nine.”

  Hillalum pointed out the three she’d missed. One man was nearly directly below the ledge where they perched. Only the gryphon’s sharper hearing had picked up the sound of another heartbeat below them.

  Two other guards were hidden in the tree line. She had to take Hillalum’s word they were there.

  “I’ll take out the one below us first,” Hillalum hissed as he started forward. “See if you can hit the guard on the left. He’s in direct line of sight of my target. I don’t want him looking over and calling a warning.”

  Amata nodded and strung her bow. “I’ll need a better angle. Give me time to move into position.”

  “I will.”

  Amata paused and looked over her shoulder at him. “I won’t fail you.”

  “I know you won’t, my Blade.” Then Hillalum was dashing back to her side to nuzzle her affectionately.

  Amata returned his love with a gentle scratch behind his ears, and then they were both moving toward their targets.

  While she’d never killed in cold blood, these men had to die. They were dark, soulless creatures. Her actions would save countless innocent men, women, and children. She could live with that.

  Now to keep Hillalum safe from the raiders.

  She made her slow, cautious way to an outcropping of rock that would hide her from view of those down in the valley, while still allowing her to have a line of sight on her target.

  Watching and waiting for the perfect moment, Amata rose up from her hiding spot and loosed an arrow. The bow was designed to take down large-bodied predators at a distance. It should be sufficient to kill a man before he could call out a warning if her aim was true.

  Still, there was no guarantee of success. The wind could shift. Her target could move at the last moment. Any number of things could go wrong.

  But Ishtar was with her, and Amata’s arrow found its mark, impaling the man in the chest. She dropped back down out of sight to wait. When no cry rang out, Amata breathed a sigh of relief.

  There was no time to feel anything else as she moved to a new position.

  At first, she didn’t see Hillalum even though she knew where to look. Then suddenly a piece of the cliff grew wings and drop down upon the human below. A life was snuffed out that swiftly. A moment later the big gryphon was belly crawling toward his next target.

  Amata moved to the next location as if guided by an unseen power.

  Another raider fell to her bow, and she continued, the sensation of being guided growing stronger. Power and purpose flooded her body. Later, she would look back at this moment and either be proud or horrified at how easily she could take a life.

  Now, she only had to kill the next target before the man saw her or Hillalum. She didn’t like their odds if they lost the element of surprise before they evened the numbers.

  She wouldn’t even think about Hillalum getting injured or killed. She’d only known him a moon’s turning, but it felt like she’d known his soul forever.

  No, these raiders would not steal any more of her loved ones.

  Chapter 19

  Amata met up with Hillalum on the eastern slope behind the temple after having each taken down six of the sentries. She gave the gryphon a searching look, but none of the blood seemed to be his. For herself, Amata didn’t have a scratch on her, but that could
change as they moved deeper into enemy territory where they’d be forced to fight in close quarters.

  “I don’t like the open ground between here and the temple,” Hillalum growled softly.

  It was a full moon tonight, and the ground between them and the temple had been cleared of vegetation.

  “There are too many window slits overlooking the surrounding slopes and too little cover to hide our approach,” she agreed. “Should we fly in? Reduce the length of time they have to spot us?”

  Hillalum studied the land at length before answering. “I could fly and enter by way of the roof. If I can get in and take out the guards facing this slope, you could then join me. After that it should be easy enough to work our way deeper into the temple, clearing one level at a time.”

  Amata snorted. “Never going to happen, my King. A Blade is supposed to protect her monarch. I did pay attention to that part of Ereshti’s tale.”

  “It’s too dangerous until you’ve been anointed in a blooding ceremony.”

  Folding her arms, she glowered at him. “We don’t have time to fight. I’m coming with you. It’s up to your highness whether I’m on your back or if I make the crossing on my own two feet. The choice is yours.”

  Hillalum snarled something low in his native language, but after he was done cursing her stubborn nature, he met her gaze.

  “Fine. You’ll fly in with me. We clear the temple one level at a time. Don’t get separated from me and don’t you dare get killed.”

  Narrowed eyes and tufted ears tucked against his skull spoke of how much he hated agreeing to her idea.

  Amata leaned forward and kissed his feathered cheek. “Same goes for you. If you get yourself killed, I’ll nag you in the afterlife for half an eternity.”

  Hillalum dipped his head in acknowledgment and lowered his right wing. She mounted in one fluid motion.

  Then Hillalum turned to face the temple and leaped off the cliff ledge and out into the night sky.

  Chapter 20

  For a creature the size of a small horse, Hillalum was stealthy and silent on the wing. Although, that he was gliding at the moment likely had something to do with his present stealth. As soon as he had to beat his wings, the sentries on the roof would hear.