Loyalty and War

by Devon Vesper

When Valis rested his forehead on the cool, smooth wood, Tavros nipped the back of his neck again before trailing kisses from one shoulder to the other, leaving fire in his wake that Valis never wanted quenched.

  Valis whined when Tavros teased his crack with slick fingers, wriggling the digits until he found Valis’s tight hole. He nosed the side of Valis’s neck as he wormed one finger inside and started a slow, shallow thrust. He licked from Valis’s shoulder to the tender skin behind his ear, nipped Valis’s earlobe.

  He eased a second finger in to join the first and crooked them just right, hitting Valis’s prostate hard enough to make him shout.

  Tavros chuckled, low and dark as he returned to that slow thrust that had Valis panting. “Quiet, love. Do you want the entire garrison hearing what we’re doing?”

  Valis snorted. “As if they don’t already know.” Then he huffed a laugh that turned into a moan as Tavros hit his prostate again. “As if they don’t hear what you do to me every time we fuck.”

  Tavros swept Valis’s hair aside, pushing it forward over Valis’s shoulder. “And more when you top me.”

  Valis let out a feathery breath and wiggled his ass. “You are rather noisy, yes.”

  Tavros grunted and withdrew his fingers. “Gods, I want this to last until we have to leave, but I need to be inside you.”

  Wiggling his ass again, Valis grinned over his shoulder. “We both have pretty decent recovery times. Fuck me, husband. Make me come.”

  Tavros sucked in a sharp breath, and his pupils expanded. He shook as if a shiver wound down his spine.

  Then he was on Valis like a wolf on an unsuspecting rabbit. He bit the corded muscle between Valis’s shoulder and neck, just enough for Valis to feel the sharp bite of pain without breaking the skin. Then Valis felt the slick, broad head of Tavros’s cock delving deep between Valis’s ass cheeks until it pressed against his anus.

  Moaning, Valis pushed back against it until the head breached him, then he relaxed into it with a shaky exhale, thudding his forehead against the wall again.

  “Rough or gentle,” Tavros asked as he slid home. The glide came easy as Valis bore down on him.

  “You’ve been pretty rough with me today,” Valis teased. “Maybe we should continue that.” Then he winked. “Unless you’d rather have soft and sweet to balance out how rough you’ve been since we got here.”

  His husband grunted as he withdrew and thrust back in with enough force against Valis’s prostate that he saw stars and shouted in surprise. “I don’t think I can do soft and sweet. Not today.”

  Valis already knew that would be his answer. He reached back and laced his fingers with his husband’s and squeezed. “Fuck me. Don’t hold back.”

  Tavros changed the way they held hands and pressed Valis’s hand to the wall, their fingers still linked. He withdrew, then thrust back in so hard Valis’s knees went weak even as he went up on his toes from the force. Valis took a careful step back and widened his stance as he rested his forehead against the wall and closed his eyes. A steady string of moans vibrated his chest, and he stuck his ass out for more.

  With one hand holding Valis’s and the other clutching Valis’s hip, Tavros set a pace that had Valis’s eyes rolling up in their sockets and his body going pliant and yielding. And the more Valis relaxed and gave all control to Tavros, the harder Tavros fucked him until they were both dripping with sweat, and their breathing came in ragged gasps when Valis wasn’t crying out or moaning like a Haianan whore.

  He slipped so far into that trance that his orgasm startled him. His back bowed sharply. Tavros nailed his prostate so hard that when Valis came, it felt like it was being ripped out of him. His whole body clenched so hard that Tavros shouted as Valis nearly expelled him.

  “Fuck!” Tavros squeezed his hand and hip. “Gods, love. Fuck, that’s beautiful.”

  Valis’s knees went weak, and Tavros pulled out and eased Valis into his arms. Valis drifted on the high, the world soft around the edges and his mind trying to figure out what the fuck just happened.

  When Tavros laid Valis face-down on the bed, Valis spread his legs and lifted his ass. “Yes, please.”

  Tavros chuckled fondly as he crawled between Valis’s legs. “You are such a slut.”

  “Only for you,” Valis mumbled.

  His husband took his time, drawing out their pleasure, but he found his orgasm quickly, and after he cleaned them both up, Tavros rolled Valis onto his side and cuddled against his back, petting Valis’s hair. “You okay?”

  Valis chuckled. “I am so very okay.”

  “Did I hurt you?”

  “Mmm…” Valis turned so he faced his husband and kissed the tip of his nose. “Only in the best ways. Riding later will be a bit of a pain in the ass, but it was so worth it.”

  As Valis drowsed, Tavros kept him in a trance, petting his hair and just playing with it, causing tingles to flow all over his scalp and down his back. But after a few minutes, he groaned. “We’d better get bathed while we can still soak without worry of missing anything. The lunch hour isn’t all that far off.”

  Valis snickered and poked Tavros in his side. “Separate tubs, or we’ll be late.”

  “And it would be all your fault.”

  Tavros smacked his ass, earning a yelp from Valis. Then he kissed Valis softly. “Or maybe your fault, since your ass should be too raw for me to have another go at it. But let’s rest a bit. I’ll wake you up when it’s time to go bathe.”

  With a soft sigh, Valis cuddled closer and stuffed his face into the curve of his husband’s neck. “If you insist.”

  Chapter Eleven

  They had only been gone a week, but Valis missed that border garrison so bad he wanted to turn back around and ride hard toward a bed. The snow had almost all melted. Mud made everything slick and disgusting. They had only encountered trouble with a few floods if you could call them that. Streams that had grown wider and spread out over their banks to make small but fast-moving rivers. Even with the excess water, not a drop was drinkable. It ran thick with mud and debris that washed down from the hills and the small mountain range to the north.

  It was more of an annoyance than any real threat. With Shyvus and Jintas’s help, the army mainly stayed on elevated land, riding the high ground as much as they possibly could, and going slow through the muddy valleys.

  Nor did it help that it kept raining. If they could just get a few sunny days, the ground might start to dry out and give them a bit of a reprieve.

  Until then, though, they had to live with dirty horses, filthy boots, and terrible camping conditions because pitching a tent on muddy ground was harder than it sounded. Then rolling the tent back up in the morning was a nasty mess where they had to rinse off the bottom of the “floor” before getting it rolled up to tie to the backs of their saddles.

  Eventually, that meant mildewed tents, which was unpleasant for everyone, especially those allergic to mildew.

  Valis sighed as he followed the mercenary leader, Jintas. He’d taken to riding point so that Valis didn’t have to guess where to go next to find the best ground for the army to pass over. He stared at Jintas’s back, his mind going blank.

  Then he remembered that he had magic, and he palmed his face as that realization came over him.

  “Jintas.”

  He turned around in his saddle. “What is it?”

  “Come ride abreast with us. I’m tired of the squelching. And for fuck’s sake, remind me tonight to do the same thing to the campsite.”

  Jintas gave him a strange look but slowed down until Valis and his line caught up. Then, with the way clear, Valis started casting the pyre spell on the muddy ground. And just as Valis knew it would, the ground hardened. Sure, it blackened what little grass had grown, but riding on solid ground was better for their horses.

  The mercenary leader chuckled. “You couldn’t have led with that?”

  “Shut up,” Valis teased. “You do better next time if you can.”

  “Never.
”

  Grinning, Valis let their banter lapse into comfortable silence as he cast the pyre spell. Tavros cast in tandem and ordered Shyvus to set up the rotation again. At least turning slick, deep mud into hard, cracked roads was somewhat easier than melting snowbanks. It took less concentration, and having a difference in scenery—mud brown instead of snow-white—made for an easier, more enjoyable ride.

  Valis let his mind wander, surprised that Roba stayed so quiet. He called upon his father and smiled when Roba huffed. It is about time you remembered me.

  Chuckling, Valis grinned so hard it hurt. Sorry, Dad. But it’s done now. Why don’t we do language drills?

  Roba hummed as he thought about that. Then he paused and whispered, What is that?

  A far-off roaring slowly grew louder. Vodis shouted, magically augmenting his voice so Valis could hear him from the center of the army’s lines. “Flash flood! Valis, brace for impact!”

  Valis whipped his head around to look up the mountain, and all he saw was a wall of water cascading down. It uprooted large trees as it crashed into them. Boulders moved, some tumbling down the side of the mountain, some getting caught in crevices in the mountain face. The swift-moving water flowed almost black from the mud and debris it had accumulated. As it rushed toward them, roaring loud enough to hurt Valis’s eardrums, it grew darker, and the splashes took on a tarry appearance instead of clear like water was supposed to be.

  “Fuck!”

  Valis turned in his saddle and yelled, augmenting his voice. “Leaders! Shield your men! Add the waterproof parameter!”

  While all the leaders scrambled to get their shields in place, Valis stretched a shield around the entire army, stretching himself thin since his mind was shattered by the cacophony of snapping trees, boulders crashing together, and water—so much water—stripping everything away, including Valis’s focus.

  The moment Valis locked the shield around his army, the water crashed into it. Valis wasn’t prepared. The power behind the water was so great that it moved the entire army down the mountainside. Horses screamed in distress as the floor shifted beneath them. Some went down. Valis caught Tavros by the back of his armor and jerked him off his horse as the beast went down. Bless Rasera for being steadier, but even he was having trouble staying on his hooves.

  “Get off your horses!” Valis screamed. Tavros turned, and Valis dropped him. The moment Tavros’s feet hit the floor, he fell on his back.

  Valis leaped off Rasera’s back and pulled Tavros out from under Rasera with a savage jerk. He ran to the very front of the line to get away from the unsteady and falling horses.

  “Sit your asses down! Get out of the horses’ way!”

  His army did their best, but Valis heard screams of agony as horses landed on riders, or riders slipped and fell, hitting their heads, breaking bones, and flailing in terror as they tumbled with the rushing water.

  Valis took a deep breath. He couldn’t see the sky. Only water and the odd tree as it smashed against the shield. His fear grew as he searched out his men and women.

  With a thought, Valis added the parameter to cast golden light inside the shield to alleviate the darkness. Everyone still did their best to get away from the horses and to safety. Valis widened the shield to give his army room to maneuver.

  “How long do you think we can keep falling?” Tavros shouted.

  “No idea,” Valis yelled back. “Just keep calm. I need to think.”

  Just then, the shield hit something, and the capsule that contained the army spun around twice like a tossed twig. The screams of his men jolted Valis’s heart and made it even harder to think. Once they settled, the capsule was at a ninety-degree angle, going down the mountain backward instead of sideways as they initially started.

  Heart in his throat, Valis looked around. He struggled, racking his brain, trying to find a solution. Especially one that wouldn’t paint a target on their backs. They were so close to their destination that the element of surprise would be lost if Valis wasn’t careful.

  “Valis—”

  Valis hushed his husband with a kiss and pulled away. He lifted his left hand, pooling black magic into it, and sprayed it upward. He forged a black shield around the gold and added the invisibility parameter. Once it formed around the army from front to back like a sausage casing, he lifted his right and, with a deep breath and a prayer to Sovras that he not fuck this up, Valis diverted a thread of thought to levitation.

  When nothing happened, Valis remembered to break the black shield off from himself. He took another breath, and with all that he had, Valis connected back with the golden shield and forced the levitation spell to spread. By the time it encompassed the entire army, sweat ran down Valis’s face and neck, soaked into his uniform and armor padding. He panted from the exertion. But he steadied his breathing as much as he could and lifted.

  The horses and army screamed as Valis lifted them out of the water and into the air. Valis looked around, gathering his wits and plotted a course. Once he had his bearings, he swallowed hard and added another parameter to the shields—one to keep the inside of the shields stable.

  In the next breath, Valis translocated the entire army, using the shield so he only phased one thing. He did this three more times before they cleared the raging flood.

  Valis kept going, moving the capsule slower and without phasing, but still faster than they could move by horse. And once he found a spot where they could camp that was in no danger of flooding, Valis cast the pyre spell on the entire area to harden the mud, and carefully lowered the capsule until everyone stood on solid ground.

  As everyone slowly got to their feet or called out for help, Valis collapsed where he stood.

  “Valis!”

  Tavros dropped to his knees next to Valis and patted his cheek. “Valis, what’s wrong?”

  “He magically exhausted himself,” Shyvus said. “He’s done for the day. Possibly done for a week until he’s recharged.”

  “Fuuuuck.” Valis groaned and thudded his head against Tavros’s breastplate as Tavros sat him up. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.”

  “You did the right thing, lad,” Shyvus said. “But did you hit your head? Is fuck the only word you know how to say now?”

  Valis huffed a laugh and rolled his eyes toward the reliquary guard. “Fuck you.”

  “Good enough,” Shyvus teased.

  He looked at Tavros and nodded toward Valis. “Get him situated while we get the tents put up. Someone else will deal with the camp shield—”

  “No.” Valis pushed himself up into a more upright position and swayed with a wash of dizziness. “No. We need a black magic shield with the invisibility parameter set to fool any Qos adherents who may be nearby. Then have a golden sphere just inside it.”

  “Valis—”

  “That’s an order, Shy.”

  “Little bastard.” Shyvus sighed and lifted his hands in defeat. “Very well. Just try not to die while casting them.”

  “Promise.”

  “You sure you can get up to get it done?” Tavros asked gently. “You dropped like a sack of potatoes.”

  Valis huffed a laugh and pushed every ounce of strength into getting up off his ass and get vertical again. Tavros helped, and between the two of them, Valis managed to get his feet under him.

  “Stay close,” Valis said. “I’m not feeling very steady.”

  “Always, love.”

  It took a while, but Valis managed to make it to where the edge of the shield should be to give his army enough room to move around with the horses while triaging and healing those who fell during the initial blast of water. Once he reached that spot, he dropped to his knees a little too hard and placed both hands on the ground in front of him.

  “Shit, Valis,” Tavros muttered. “Are you okay? You scared the fuck out of me.”

  Valis hung his head. “I was supposed to go down slow, but my knees had other ideas. I’m okay.”

  Tavros knelt next to Valis and laid a hand
on the back of his neck. “Come on, love. Let’s get this done and get you out of your armor so you can rest.”

  Nodding, Valis closed his eyes and concentrated as hard as he could. Once the black shield fixed in place with the invisibility and permanence parameters, he borrowed some of Tavros’s gold magic to add a second, stronger shield underneath the black one. The moment the sphere completed and Valis broke the magic off from himself and Tavros, Valis almost fell face-first into the baked dirt.

  “How are you both doing?” Seza asked. When Valis turned, she frowned and mumbled, “Fuck.” Then a little louder, she said, “Tav, get him on a light litter. I’ll set up your tent.”

  Valis groaned. “Use a variation of the pyre spell to burn the mildew off the tents. Just be careful that you don’t set them on fire. Wet them and boil the mildew off. Just blast it until the water evaporates.”

  “Aaaand, you couldn’t come up with that a week ago,” Seza admonished. “Though, I guess I can’t bitch. It just means we’ll appreciate a fresher tent tonight.”

  She walked off, and once she got closer to where the army congregated, Valis heard her shout to those within earshot of her. She passed on Valis’s directions for the tents with a demand that they spread the word. Then she found Rasera and started work on their tent. And as the word spread, Valis chuckled as he heard cheers rise from the ranks. Apparently, everyone was tired of the mildew.

  Tavros pressed a kiss into Valis’s sweaty, dirty hair and laid him down. Valis didn’t have the strength to fight him, so he went without a fuss. Then, with a soft smile from Tavros, Valis felt his gentle magic pool under him, and Tavros lifted the litter off the ground and moved him toward where Seza worked on their tent. He set the litter back on the ground and started unburdening their horses. Thankfully neither had been seriously hurt, but Tavros’s horse still had wild eyes from the earlier terror. Rasera, on the other hand, seemed relaxed as normal. The Kalutakeni breed of horses was definitely hard to rattle.

  By the time the tents were up and the horses unburdened and cared for, Valis could barely keep his eyes open. He couldn’t even roll over. With his armor still on, Valis might as well have been a turtle. He ended up flailing his arms. “Help! I can’t get up!”