A new determination filled Talon. As God Draka was his witness, Mia would not fail in her quest no matter how impossible that goal may seem at the moment. Not with this first quest and not with the next two quests to come after it. No, she would not fail as long as he had even one more breath and one more heartbeat left in his body. At least he’d do his utmost to see her succeed. That was, at least, until he could assure himself Alistair Von Daggertoss or his father would not callously take from Mia what she desired the most in all of Albrath, her right to rule.
Oh, yes, Alistair with his perfect pedigree, his pretty blue eyes, and girly golden curls, along with every single bear on Bane’s massive tundra, could just go to VoT. For today, anyway, Mia was still his.
He threw open the door to her chambers with a flourish and stomped inside. He might not be able to declare his love with words, but with his lips, his tongue, his hands, his body, and his cock, he could certainly show her how he felt.
It was on the very tip of his tongue to shout her name and declare his intention to fuck her brains out this very moment when he noticed the three women staring up at him, as if he’d somehow grown two heads in the last few minutes and turned blue with yellow polka-dots.
Queen Lizbeth Hammerstrike, Mia’s mother, along with Lady Briarlarn Dragonheart, and Mia’s aunt, Lady Lark Sunwalker sat sipping tea upon a couch in Mia’s sitting room, as if it were an everyday occurrence.
He clamped his mouth shut and did the only thing in his power to do. He bent a knee to his queen, and humbly greeted their guests. Fucking Mia’s brains out before they left on the quest, unfortunately, was going to have to wait.
****
What on Albrath were they doing here today of all days?
Mia sat on the edge of her bed and pondered the predicament of how to gently get rid of her unexpected company without hurting their feelings. And knowing the excuse that she really had to pee wasn’t going to buy her much time to come up with a solution.
Not that she wasn’t happy to see her mother and her aunts, because she was. It was just that she hadn’t wanted to see them today of all days. Today she needed to stay focused. Today she needed to wipe every single crumb of emotion from her plate and be the strong barbarian who would one day be queen.
After all, hadn’t today already started off traumatic enough without having to add an argument with Mother to it? And that’s exactly what would happen if Lizbeth Hammerstrike had gotten even a small inkling of what this first quest entailed. And as if confronting her mother wasn’t bad enough, the queen had brought Aunts Briar and Lark along with her for reinforcements.
Three against one simply wasn’t fair.
Mia rubbed her temples where a dull ache had begun. The day started with Talon’s deception about a stupid hunting trip and had only gotten worse. Then there had been the declaration of the first quest and the sudden reappearance of Alistair Daggertoss into her life. And now Mother?
Mia shuddered. Though Lizbeth Hammerstrike loved her daughter and wanted only the best for her, of that there was no doubt, she’d also made it abundantly clear, she didn’t really believe in Mia’s chances of completing Queen Adrina’s Challenge successfully.
Though their goodbyes had been peaceful with smiles and hugs, their last full day together at the castle in Alaria had been filled with Mother crying and pleading for Mia to change her mind. Telling her over and over there was no disgrace in simply choosing a barbarian male to rule in her stead. Guilting her, even, with the idea of how it would devastate her parents if she were somehow to become hurt or worse.
She couldn’t do this, not today. She couldn’t fight with Mother and Aunts Briar and Lark and then simply go on her merry way and quest as if she didn’t have a care in the world. She didn’t have the energy for it. She didn’t have the heart.
She shook her head and rose. God Draka help her, if she couldn’t even face her own mother, how in the VoT was she going to face a Bane Bear? She didn’t wish to disagree with her family, but if a fight was what they wanted, then a fight was what they would get. This quest meant too much to back down now. And what kind of a queen would she make if she did?
Mia straightened her spine and headed toward the door. Hiding in her bedroom wasn’t going to accomplish a thing, and it sure as VoT wasn’t going to get this quest under way. She plastered a smile on her face and opened the door.
The sight that met her eyes turned the smile almost genuine. There sat great big, barbarian Talon Starkweather upon a chair two sizes too small for his substantial frame, sipping tea from a delicate rose embossed teacup with her mother and aunts, as if it were an everyday occurrence.
He glanced up at her as if pleading for help. Some of the tension of the day slipped off her shoulders, and she giggled. It felt good.
“Daughter, would you like tea?”
Her mother smiled and patted the seat beside her. “Do come and sit. Talon has been filling us in on the details of your first quest.”
Mia gulped. “It’s not as bad as you think, Mother. Really it isn’t.”
Queen Lizbeth Hammerstrike continued to smile. “Relax, Mia, dear. I didn’t come here today to try and talk you out of the course you have set. You’ve made your decision, and for better or worse, your father and I stand by you and it. Anyway, I’ve had my snit, and more than one good cry. It didn’t work, and I’m over it.”
The queen took a deep breath while Mia held hers.
“Your aunts and I have come bearing gifts.” She held up a hand. “And before you say anything, yes, we do realize you are not allowed to accept outside help from anyone. If you could, your father would be here to fight your battles. But our gifts are not direct help, I checked to make certain we weren’t breaking any rules.”
Mia allowed herself to breathe, but just barely.
Her mother held out a jeweled dagger, its hilt layered with blood red gemstones and its blade sparkling like crystals in the room’s soft candle light. It was, without a doubt, the most beautiful weapon Mia had ever seen.
“I hope you like it,” her mother said as she laid the dagger in the palm of Mia’s hand. “I enchanted the gems with perseverance and imbued the blade with the power of ice.”
Mia gasped as warmth from the blade’s hilt sunk deep into the tendons and muscles of her hand while tendrils of icy cold air swept across her fingertips. Tears filled her eyes. “I—I don’t know what to say, Mother. It’s beautiful. It’s…it’s wonderful.”
Aunt Lark stood. “And I brought you something to offset the cold of the dagger.”
She sprinkled a small amount of bright red powder from a leather pouch into her hand and flicked her wrist. A ball of fire immediately formed, first burning red, then yellow, then blue as flames leapt up and encircled her wrist. “It’s from your Uncle Sarco’s private stash of dragon’s breath. I simply added my own version of spiritmaster magic to it, and there’s no substance hotter in all of Albrath. Though it does not harm the one who wields it, it will burn a fire hot enough to keep you warm no matter the temperature around you.”
Mia took the small leather pouch and tucked it into her tunic pocket. “Aunt Lark, I don’t know what to say, except for thank you. It’s perfect.”
Larksong Sunwalker, wife to the elfin leader Sarco Sunwalker and sister to Mia’s father, smiled. “You just go and complete your quests and earn the right to rule someday. That’s thanks enough.
Mia wiped a pesky tear from her eye.
Lady Briarlarn Hammerstrike stood and held out a small clear vial with a smoky looking substance swirling inside. “I know this isn’t much, and to tell you the truth, I’m not even sure it will work or, if it does, exactly what will happen or how long it will last. This is my very first attempt at making a brand new never seen before potion in a very long time, and I didn’t have time to do proper testing. But I can tell you, no matter what the potion may ultimately do, it will for certain increase your knowledge in one way or another, and it was crafted with all my love. Though you
may not truly be a niece of my blood, Mia, you’ve always been Kit’s very best friend and a child of my heart.”
Mia was mesmerized as Lady Briarlarn handed her the vial. Ribbons of gray and blue smoke danced back and forth hypnotically.
“What’s in it,” she asked.
Briar beamed. “I call it the Potion of Extraordinary Knowledge. It’s one drop of a mother’s tears, two drops of woe, three drops of laughter, stirred four times in a row. Five drops of sunlight, six drops of dew, seven drops of moonbeams, in eight different hues. Nine drops of whirlwinds, ten drops of fire, and eleven drops of summer rain, all kissed with desire. I mixed them all together with magic, love, and lore, and formed a potion just for you of a knowledge that will soar.” She took a deep breath. “The moonbeams were especially hard to capture, but with Laura’s and Tawny’s help, we did it.”
****
Talon sat on the edge of the bed watching Mia stuff, unstuff, and restuff her traveling bag with all manor of things. Tunics and breeks, books and baubles, lacy undies, and at least three pairs of shoes all inadequate for the landscape she’d be facing. And no sooner would she slip an object into the satchel, then she’d remove it again and replace it with something else. An extra hairbrush alone had made at least five trips back and forth.
At this rate, and with the untimely visit of Mia’s mother and aunts, they weren’t going to even come close to meeting Mia’s self-imposed deadline of two turns of the hourglass. That was, unless he did something drastic to get her moving. And they really needed to get moving if they hoped to reach the faraway shores of Bane by the next morning.
She shoved the hairbrush back into the bag, gulped twice, and closed her eyes.
“What’s wrong, princess?” Gently, he grasped her hand and immediately noticed how cool her skin felt beneath his fingertips and how she trembled. “Talk to me, Mia.”
Her eyes overflowed with unshed tears when she opened them. One slipped down her cheek followed by another and then another. “The thought of this whole quest thing was so much easier when I only had myself to disappoint,” she sobbed. “What if I let Mother, Aunt Lark, and Aunt Briar down? Oh, my God Draka, what will Father and Zander think of me if I fail? What will all of Alaria and the barbarian nation think?”
He wrapped his arms around her and brought her in close to his heart. “You won’t fail.”
“But what if I do?” She sobbed louder.
He sighed, ran his fingers through her hair, and rubbed the back of her neck. He nuzzled a spot right below her left ear with his lips, kissing, licking, and nipping as he went. He knew his actions would distract her from her present course of thought, counted on it even. “If by chance you don’t succeed, princess, you’ll simply choose a mate. There is no disgrace in that.”
She lifted her face and looked at him solemnly. “If I don’t succeed, if I end up being forced to choose a mate, what would you say if I chose you?”
He held his breath. Had he heard her correctly? She couldn’t really mean, could she?
He slowly shook his head. “No, not me, princess. You can’t pick me. I’m not worthy and will never be. I’m the great, great, whatever grandson of a famous traitor, remember? The barbarian people would never accept me as their king, and I don’t blame them.” He cupped her chin. “You can do better than me, much better.”
Mia sniffed and buried her face in his chest. She trembled in his arms, and it broke his heart. “But what if, by chance, I do succeed? Would you consider becoming my mate then? I know I promised not to, but I’ve begun to care for you, Talon. A lot.”
His heart constricted painfully in his chest. She hadn’t come right out and said she loved him, but it was plain she was headed in that direction and he had to stop her before she fell over that dangerous cliff. He didn’t want to hurt her tender feelings, especially since he’d developed more than a few of those same feelings for her over the last few weeks. But wasn’t it kinder, more noble even, to gently discourage her now, than it would be to see her devastated later?
He kissed her forehead and looked her straight in the eye. “I care for you also, princess, probably more than I should. You’re kind of like a bratty little sister to me.” She cringed in his arms, and Talon knew he was on the right track. “That’s the reason I can’t do as you ask, not ever. We’d end up hating each other when the entire barbarian kingdom turns its backs on us. After all, and as you well know, I’d refuse to sit idly by your throne like a pet while you rule or take your name or even keep my mouth shut like a good little concubine should. I’m a man, Mia. And for better or worse, I’ll live and die with my dignity intact. I don’t belong with you and I never will. I belong at Zander’s side, as his friend, his general, as it’s always been.”
She shook her head. “In time, I could make you happy. I know I can. And I can force our people to accept us together. There must be some way.”
Talon sighed. “There isn’t. Even if you staked me out bare-assed naked in the middle of The Academy’s arena and declared with your own words and body your intention to have me as your husband before an audience of every single person in residence and the barbarian council, it still wouldn’t work. Neither one of us can change the fact I come from a traitor’s linage.” He rubbed her shoulders. “And what of your father and mother? Would you really put them through such an ordeal for your own selfish wants?”
Mia gulped, and even though they were alone, she whispered, “Well, if you won’t allow me to consider you for a mate, would you at least be willing to toss me down upon this bed and fuck me as fast and hard as you possibly can? Even though you consider me more a bratty little sister than a woman. Just a quick tumble to take the edge off and relieve my nerves before we set out?” She wrapped her arms about his waist and rubbed herself against him seductively.
It was Talon’s turn to cringe as he inhaled the fragrance of flowery, prissy princess combined with sexy, erotic, barbarian temptress. A sister, bratty or not was the last thing he would ever consider Mia Hammerstrike. “Oh, I think I can put it out of my mind and do as you asked. I’m at least willing to give it a try.”
It took exactly fourteen heartbeats to divest himself of his clothing and another twelve to relieve Mia of hers. He knew precisely how many heartbeats it had taken because he’d counted them. It was the only thing he could think of to take his mind off of the fact his cock was already standing at attention, stiff, and demanding immediate penetration into her awaiting hot pussy.
Though Mia had alluded to the fact she wanted it fast and hard, he was pretty sure she at least meant for them to be naked and lying down first. He chuckled, well, perhaps not both of them lying down precisely.
He grinned and backed her up until her knees hit the frame of the bed. With a gentle push, he had her flat on her back with her feet dangling over the side and her legs spread wide before she even had the chance to realize what he was up to.
His mouth watered at the sight set before him. All that sweet, juicy, pink flesh for his dining pleasure, yet he didn’t dare partake of a single taste. She’d said fast and hard, and there could never be anything fast or hard about loving Mia’s pussy with his mouth. Oh, no, doing her justice with his lips and tongue and teeth would take a whole lot more time than they could afford to spend at the moment. Even a lifetime of afternoons like this one wouldn’t be enough.
He settled for grasping her thighs, positioning himself against her opening and thrusting forward quickly. Warmth enveloped him as he slid home. In response, her muscles clenched tight holding him in place, daring him to withdraw.
Talon took a deep breath, drew part of the way out, before slamming all the way back in. She gasped beneath him, laughed, and then rocked against him once more, hard, demanding he continue. He closed his eyes and quickened his pace. Glorying as tendrils of excitement ricocheted back and forth through his lower back, his balls, and his cock, and finally landing deep within the pit of his belly. His throat constricted, his breath caught in his chest, and
his toes curled.
She locked her feet behind his back and grinned up at him impishly. “You call this fast and hard, barbarian? I bet my grandparents could fuck faster and harder than this.”
Her tinkling laughter shot straight through his heart, and with a grin matching her own, he answered, “As you wish, my lady”.
With that, he doubled the rate of his thrusts, and then redoubled them again, his breathing coming fast. Giving no quarter, Talon slammed his cock home as deep as it would go, kissing first her womb, and then caressing her soul.
If Mia truly wanted fast and hard, then that was exactly what he would give her.
He closed his eyes and allowed the red fog of barbarian lust he normally kept at bay to take them both where it would.
Waves of pleasure overtook him. They crashed down upon him like a man drowning in a sea of pure emotion. Lightning fast tremors of electricity tingled the length of his cock as his balls expanded and contracted with spasms of delight.
He heard her cry out her release somewhere beneath him and marveled in the walls of her pussy clenching tight about him, but he was too far lost to the red fog to slow down now.
He fucked her faster, and then faster still, pounding into her unmercifully as the pressure of his own release continued to build.
She cried out again as yet another orgasm overtook her, and then again only moments later. Had that been three or four or possibly five? He wasn’t sure, and he didn’t care as long as he was giving her what she’d asked for.
The only thing Talon Starkweather cared about in all of Albrath was making love with Mia Hammerstrike so passionately she’d never be able to completely forget him. Not even when she was a very old lady, long married to a worthy barbarian who was not him. Not even after she’d become the mother to a passel of some other man’s children. And not even after she’d become a queen and he’d remained nothing except the grandson of a traitor.
But then, wasn’t that exactly what he wanted to happen? What he was tasked with accomplishing? In the end, wouldn’t she be better off with someone like Alistair Daggertoss and forgetting Talon Starkweather ever existed?
Tested by the Night Page 13
