Feel the Burn

by G. A. Aiken

“But now you are here, instead of hunting your cousin.”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “I met a sword-for-hire on the road, and what she said . . . resonated with me.”

  “Resonated?”

  “Made sense,” he clarified. “Even my sister tires of thinking about Vateria. Worrying about her. She told me that Chramnesind’s cult killers had been pushed out of Annwyl’s territory and into ours. I came to the temple closest to me to take them on, and found you. I’m a firm believer in signs, Kachka Shestakova. This was not an accident. We should do this together.”

  “Just two of us?”

  “Well . . . more like you, me, Brannie, your team, the Mì-runach—”

  “And Zoya, of course!” Zoya announced, patting them both on the back before walking off. Singing.

  “Does she grasp that it hurts when she does that?” Gaius asked.

  “No,” Kachka said with a shrug. “Not even little bit.”

  Roland Salebiri kissed his wife’s long neck before slipping out of their bed and walking to the large doors. He opened them and stepped out onto the balcony, gazing down at his troops preparing for the upcoming war.

  There were many nations who wanted the Whore of Garbhán Isle brought to heel and were ready to join Salebiri, whether they believed in his god or not. Although he didn’t worry. They too would take the blood oath and give their souls to the one true god. In time.

  But, until then, Salebiri cared for only one thing. The destruction of the Whore Queen and her brood of Abominations. He’d kill them all in the name of his god.

  Hands slid around his chest and soft lips pressed against his neck. His wife was as tall as he, but it had never bothered Roland.

  “Come back to bed,” she purred, tempting him as no one else had ever been able to do before.

  “How I’d love to. But I can’t. I had a dream.”

  “A dream? About what?”

  “About you, my love. About you traveling from these lands.”

  “Me?”

  He turned and faced her, sliding his hands around her waist. “It’s sweet. That you pretend my connection to our god is as strong as yours.”

  “Roland—”

  “No.” He kissed her cheek. “I have faith in him and he has faith in you. Take what you need. Leave as soon as you can manage. I will not question.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I do not deny our god anything. That includes you.”

  Vateria had just pulled on her boots when her niece walked in.

  “You ready?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  Vateria stood, smoothing down the gown that covered her leggings. “Our people ready?”

  “Handpicked by me. They’re ready to move when you are.”

  “Good.”

  Pulling a fur cape over her shoulders, Vateria walked across the room. As she neared the doors, her niece asked, “Are you sure about this, Auntie? Once Uncle Roland finds out the truth about—”

  Vateria stopped by her niece, pressed her middle and index fingers against her lips. “Sh-sh-sh,” she whispered. “One must have faith.”

  “Yes, but—”

  Vateria stepped into her niece, quietly enjoying the way the young She-dragon immediately backed up, her head banging into the door.

  “Faith,” Vateria said again. “Understand?”

  “Yes. Yes, Auntie Vateria. Faith.”

  “Good.” She petted her niece’s cheek. “Then let’s go. Once we have our prize, all will be well.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Once the two groups had moved out that morning, they’d separated, traveling along different routes to a spot predetermined by Gaius. The suns had already gone down when they met again. But the Riders came with several freshly slaughtered boars, ready for Aidan’s flame, and Ivan Khoruzhaya boiled up some potatoes.

  While the food was being made, the Riders tended to their horses. Taking them to a nearby lake, getting them fed, and checking them over for any injuries due to the hard ride.

  The dinner itself was a surprisingly friendly affair, with stories of Outerplains tribes and dragon clans. The only one who didn’t offer anything was Aidan. He listened. He laughed. But considering they were heading toward his family for help, he’d said little about them.

  That’s when, after spending eight months with the dragon, Gaius realized he knew little about Aidan the Divine. Instead, Aidan was brilliant at getting others to talk. At getting others to reveal much about themselves. Even Gaius, who’d learned early on in his life to keep things to himself or between him and his sister, had told stories about life with Thracius and some of his kin.

  Yet Aidan revealed very little. And if his brother Mì-runach knew anything about him, they didn’t reveal it either. They talked of their own lives, but never about Aidan’s. Nor did they ask questions.

  Gaius didn’t think Aidan was hiding anything bad about himself, though. His silence made Gaius worry about how difficult it would be to deal with the Southland royals maintaining that area. And about his chances of getting in to see and successfully negotiate with the Western Mountain Dwarves.

  But they had at least another day’s ride before they even reached that territory. And Gaius didn’t want to spend all his time obsessing over what might or might not happen. He preferred to leave the fretting and obsessing to his twin and Aunt Lætitia. They were really good at it and Gaius was pretty certain they sort of enjoyed it.

  After the meal was finished and the chatter died down while weapons were checked and sharpened and readied, the Khoruzhaya siblings took first watch. The pair separated and disappeared into the trees like the ghosts the rescued priests and priestesses called these Riders.

  Gaius spread out his bedroll and quickly went to sleep until he was lightly kicked in the shoulder.

  He might normally have woken up, ready for battle, but he was certain if someone wanted to hurt him, they’d have kicked him somewhere with more potential impact. So Gaius turned over and saw Kachka motion to him before fading into the trees. He quickly got to his feet and followed, already getting hard at the mere thought of Kachka Shestakova. A reaction he hadn’t had since he’d first begun to have sex and gone through a time that his father had called “The wind blows and you get hard” phase of male dragon growth.

  Gaius stopped when he reached a boulder where Kachka’s armor and furs were neatly stacked. Not only did he stop moving, his heart kind of stopped. But it started again at a hard, rapid pace as soon as Kachka moved out into his line of sight. She was completely naked, walking past him and over to another, bigger boulder.

  His mouth dried up as he watched her turn and, using only her arms, lift herself onto that boulder and brace her hands behind her. Then, slowly—gods, so very slowly—she opened her legs for him, inviting him into that wet pussy that was practically calling his name.

  Attempting to swallow, Gaius walked over to her, gawking while he pulled off his fur cape and chest armor and chain-mail shirt. He tossed his gauntlets away and placed his weapons off to the side. Still within arm’s reach, but he really hoped he wouldn’t need them for quite a bit.

  He left his leggings on for now, needing them to keep himself from immediately burying his cock inside Kachka and coming within seconds. He didn’t want to do that. Not yet. He wanted this to last.

  Gaius stepped close to the boulder until his thighs pressed against the cold stone. As he stared Kachka in the eyes, he slid his index fingers from the base of her feet, up her calves, and down her thighs. He gently stroked his fingers against her pussy, watching it tremble under his touch and become wetter by the second.

  Kachka’s breathing got deeper, but she never turned from him. She didn’t look away. There was no teasing. No insecurity. No pretending sex was something she needed to be drawn into. That was the way of human women in his Empire and some of the Southlands. But not for the Daughters of the Steppes. When they wanted something or someone, they just made those in
tentions known.

  There didn’t need to be games between them, and Gaius couldn’t believe how knowing that made him harder still.

  He dragged his fingers, now wet from her, back up Kachka’s thighs until he reached her knees. Slowly, he pressed her legs down, making her even wider for him.

  Letting out a breath, his mouth no longer dry but watering at the thought of tasting her, he brought his mouth down and pressed it against her, licking her long and deep, using his tongue to explore every bit of her. And the more he enjoyed himself, the wetter she became.

  Kachka finally lay back against the boulder, pressing her hands deep into his hair, holding his head against her.

  Her hips began to move, making circles as she tried to follow his tongue, her breath now coming out in hard pants, her toes gripping the rock beneath her.

  “Yes,” she growled beneath him. “Yessss.”

  Gaius lowered his hands a bit, so they rested on the inside of her thighs and he gripped the strong muscle there, squeezing and releasing. Her buttocks tightened as she raised her hips like he was already inside her.

  He finally snaked his way to her clit, circling his tongue around it. When her legs began to shake, he held her down harder and pressed the tip of his tongue right against her clit, moving it while at the same time releasing his hot dragon breath against it.

  The sound that came out of her then was a cross between a growl and a stifled cry, her fingers gripping his hair tighter, her legs struggling against his hands to close. To control the strength of the sensations flooding through her.

  Gaius didn’t stop until he was sure he’d made her come, and her entire body was shaking beneath him, her cries muffled as she pressed her mouth against her shoulder.

  When he felt certain he’d wrung her dry and he knew he could no longer wait, he pulled back long enough to shove his leggings down past his knees and yanked her down so that he could push his cock into her while lifting her up into his arms. He heard Kachka scream against his neck, and he wished he could say he was dragon enough to stop and make sure she was okay. . . .

  Sadly, at the moment, he was anything but an etiquette-minded dragon.

  The dragon’s big cock pushed inside her and Kachka let out a scream of satisfaction against his neck. All she’d been thinking about, all day, while riding on her oversized horse, was having this dragon’s cock inside her.

  And now that she did, she was unbelievably happy about it. It felt good. Right. Like she didn’t think it should be anywhere else but inside her.

  She pushed against his shoulder. “On your back,” she ordered.

  Without a word, the dragon complied, taking her place on the boulder, stretching out beneath her.

  Kachka placed her knees on either side of the dragon and rode him as she’d ridden her horse. Rocking against him, squeezing his cock each time she did. Gaius reached up, his hands almost around her breasts—exactly where they belonged—when a voice behind Kachka announced, “Hello, my fucking friends! I am on watch now and wanted to make sure you are doing okay!”

  Snarling, filled with rage, Kachka reached down and grabbed the small axe that Gaius had placed next to his other weapons. Grasping it, she turned and flung it at Zoya Kolesova.

  The large woman ducked, barely missing getting her head split open by the weapon. With that, Zoya spun on her heel and headed back toward camp, tossing over her shoulder, “I see you are both well. Call if you have trouble! See you in the morning!”

  Satisfied she wouldn’t be coming back, Kachka faced Gaius again, pressing her hands against his shoulders. Now that she was angry, she fucked him harder, but he didn’t seem to mind. Instead he gripped her breasts with his big hands and squeezed them, briefly stopping to play with the nipples before squeezing them again.

  Kachka continued to ride, clutching the dragon’s cock with her pussy until his back arched and he released her breasts so that he could grab her waist and power into her from beneath.

  When he started to come, Kachka went down on his chest and pressed her mouth against his, swallowing his yell and kissing him as if she hadn’t kissed a male in eons.

  She finally pulled away when she was sure she’d gotten all he had.

  Kachka sat up, his cock still inside her, and grinned down at him.

  “I don’t know why you have that look on your face, Kachka Shestakova,” he said as he wrapped his arm around her waist and stood. He pulled her off and turned her, placing her face down over the boulder, and roughly entering her pussy from behind.

  “We are not nearly done,” he rasped against her ear before he began fucking her again, burying himself deep inside her with each thrust.

  “Good,” she told him between gasps, “I was . . . about to . . . be . . . disappointed.”

  Gaius shared his flask of water with Kachka before putting his arm around her shoulders and pulling her naked body in close to his side.

  He was afraid that she would try to pull away, but she didn’t. She relaxed into him but didn’t cling, which he definitely preferred.

  “I thought you never went back,” he reminded her.

  She dismissed that with a wave of her hand. “You are not even human, so shut up.”

  “I have to admit, I do enjoy fucking you.”

  “Thank you. I can promise, the feeling is mutual.”

  After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Kachka lifted her head and asked, “Did I kill Zoya Shestakova?”

  “No. But you did try.”

  “Yes. I could not quite remember. But she ducked in time. That is good.”

  “I didn’t think she could move so fast.”

  “The Mountain Movers do not let their size stop them. I am glad I missed her. She has turned out to be good for our group. I would feel . . . bad if I had taken off her giant head.”

  “That is so big of you.”

  “It is.”

  Gaius chuckled. “The suns will be up soon.”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you want to go back to the camp? Get some rest before we have to ride?”

  “No.”

  “Okay.”

  “Why? Do you?”

  “Actually no. I’m comfortable here.”

  She peered up at him. “Do you want to go on being comfortable?”

  Gaius took in a deep breath. “Not particularly.”

  “Good.” Then her head was in his lap and her mouth was swallowing his cock whole.

  Gaius’s eyes crossed and he dropped his head back against the boulder they rested against.

  His toes curled and that’s when Gaius realized he’d never actually taken his leggings completely off.

  Of course, he wasn’t about to bother with that now. Not when he could barely put two cohesive words together. Instead, he just stroked the back of Kachka’s bobbing head and thanked the gods for taking such excellent care of him the last few years.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Dagmar held up the dried bit of meat and watched her dogs watch her. They sat tall, proud, and drooling in the courtyard. She wasn’t a fan of the drooling, but it was the one thing she couldn’t get rid of through breeding. And reason knew she’d tried.

  Still, they were strong, they lived nearly a decade longer than most dogs their size, and they were loyal until death.

  So if Dagmar had to put up with a little drool, that’s exactly what she would do.

  “Where is she?”

  Surprised, Dagmar turned and saw Rhiannon standing there. And she was seething. She didn’t think she’d ever seen the Dragon Queen seething. Not like this.

  “Where’s Bercelak?”

  “At home. Where is she?”

  Dagmar sighed. “Annwyl? What did she do now?”

  “No. Not Annwyl. But take me to her.” Rhiannon walked off, barking over her shoulder, “Now, Northlander!”

  Dagmar tossed treats to her dogs, then followed the angry queen.

  Rhiannon was substantially taller than she so her strides were long. Dagmar h
ad to run to catch up with her, her dogs running alongside her.

  By the time she reached the Dragon Queen, she was panting and Dagmar didn’t like it one bloody bit.

  Rhiannon lifted her robes and charged up the stairs and into the house.

  Morfyd and Talaith were chatting on the stairs—probably gossiping—but they stopped when they witnessed Rhiannon storm by.

  “Mum?” Morfyd asked her mother’s back, brows raised at Dagmar.

  Dagmar threw up her hands and continued to follow, while Morfyd and Talaith fell in line behind them.

  Rhiannon cut through the entire house, and continued out the back and into the forest. She didn’t stop until she reached a small clearing.

  Dagmar saw Annwyl and Talwyn sparring with short swords and shields. And watching them were the three giant Riders.

  “What are those Riders doing?” Talaith asked.

  “They never leave her side,” Dagmar pointed out. “They escort her to her room at night . . . which apparently is freaking out poor Fearghus.”

  “I can’t blame him.”

  “I think Annwyl likes them, though. They’re quiet when she reads.”

  Talaith glared at her. “Are you saying I talk too much?”

  “Everyone says you talk too much. You’re only outdone by your own daughters.”

  As the mother and daughter moved around, swords clashing, Rhiannon suddenly stalked between them, separating the pair.

  Annwyl looked at Dagmar. “What’s happening?” When Dagmar’s only reply was a shrug, Annwyl rolled her eyes. “Are you still playing that game with me?”

  “I really don’t know what she’s doing.”

  “Where is she?” Rhiannon demanded.

  Annwyl faced her fellow queen. “Where’s who?”

  Rhiannon crossed her arms over her chest. “Mingxia.”

  Dagmar had no idea who that was until Morfyd asked, “The war god?”

  “The Eastland dragon war god.”

  Talaith made a tsk-tsk sound. “Is there any god you’re not involved with, Annwyl?”

  “She’s just been helping. Teaching me new battle skills. I don’t see the problem.”