Queens' Warriors

by Mari Byrne

  “Warrior Rayan. Use those legendary skills to get control of yourself. That is an order!”

  A movement from the bed turned Shan Lin’s attention for a split second. It was all Vincent had been waiting for.

  * * * * *

  Shari sat up suddenly unsure how she had come to be in bed when only seconds before she had been sitting at a table staring into Vincent’s eyes. No sooner had the thought flashed in her mind then she watched as Vincent attacked Shan Lin.

  The brothers grappled, each trying to find the best possible hold on the other to bring him down. It was to no avail. The brothers grunted, cursed, and went around in circles, but neither went down.

  “Stop it.” The husky voice came out softly.

  Both men ignored it.

  “I said, stop it.” Shari tried to put more strength in her voice, still to no benefit.

  Taking a deep breath, Shari screamed.

  “Stop it!”

  Both men, who had been communicating in grunts, snarls and grappling, suddenly fell to the floor letting go of each other and rolling apart. Panting from exertion, both men turned to stare at Shari.

  “What’s going on? Last thing I remember, I was sitting at a dinner table, horny as hell. Now, I’m here. You two are fighting, and I’m a bowl of Jell-O. Somebody care to explain?”

  Vincent got to his feet and walking around Shan Lin came to stand beside the bed. He opened his mouth to speak and Shari watched as his face suddenly turned red and he quickly closed his mouth.

  Shan Lin stayed where he was, but explained.

  “It was the dessert. Are you feeling…” He paused as if searching for a word, but Vincent beat him to it by asking bluntly.

  “Are you feeling as if you’ve had a pleasant orgasm?”

  Shari blinked up at him.

  “Are you serious?”

  “Yes. The dessert, Tine Chocolate Tort, is what is traditionally served at the dinner the night of the wedding. It is served to the females only. As we were married recently and Winters hadn’t a chance to serve it earlier, you received it tonight.”

  Shari thought for a moment then remembered the feeling she’d had when she looked at Vincent. She blushed saying in a small voice.

  “I guess I did.”

  Shan Lin got up from the floor and came to stand next to Vincent.

  “It is an aphrodisiac. It is used as an enticement for the wedding night. I’m sorry to say I had forgotten about it until after Vincent said something.”

  Shari nodded not really understanding. She wanted to complain, but at the moment was feeling too relaxed. Maybe when she had some sleep…

  A jaw-popping yawn stole over her and she slid down in bed, a feeling of sleepiness descending.

  “Okay. But why were you fighting?” Even as she snuggled into the bed, her mind becoming fuddled, she knew the answer was important.

  “Try Nas Ayn.” The brothers said the words together.

  “Umm. All right.” Shari agreed around another yawn. Shari should probably ask for an explanation, she knew she should, but sleep claimed her too quickly.

  * * * * *

  Shan Lin and Vincent made their way to the front door wanting only to get the meeting with Queen Sara over and done. It was not to be. Theresa waylaid them before they could leave.

  “I told you. We have to talk.”

  Vincent made as if to object but Theresa overrode him.

  “It’s Aranak business and you won’t be leaving until you hear me out.”

  Sighing, both brothers’ emotions still highly volatile, they nodded briefly and listened.

  * * * * *

  “…overheard it at the Vid/Sync depot. Mercs making their way toward a town east of Naralin, but I couldn’t hear the rest of the conversation. Something’s going down and you two need to be on the look out for it. I can’t be everywhere you know.”

  Theresa tried to make a joke to lessen the tension emanating from the two men and failed miserably. Shrugging, she finished her report.

  “It wouldn’t look strange for the Queen’s favorites to ask around, and I wanted you two to get a heads up about the prisoners I had to release.”

  The two Warriors waited before speaking.

  “It’s started, hasn’t it?” Shan Lin asked softly.

  “Yes, brother mine, it has.”

  Theresa looked from one to the other perplexed.

  “It’s been going on for a while. What do you mean it’s started?”

  Shan Lin shook his head sighing.

  “Never mind. We’ll keep our ears open. Now, enjoy the hospitality of our home and leave our bride to sleep. Love you, Bricka.” Shan Lin hugged her and walked away.

  “Be careful, cousin and keep your ears open. Love you too.” Vincent hugged her to him then set her away and followed his brother.

  “Back at you two!” Theresa yelled, walking after the two men who strode out the front door.

  “Even if you are secretive frechies,” she mumbled, veering off to rejoin her crew, back at the table.

  * * * * *

  “Well, that went…” Vincent trailed off as the brothers left their home.

  “There are the horses. Let’s just go and see what she wants. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can come back to Shari.”

  There was no anger in Shan Lin’s voice, but Vincent knew he would have to apologize. As they gained their saddles, Vincent made up his mind he would do so now.

  “Brother mine…” he began only to have Shan Lin stop him.

  “No. It is the Try Nas Ayn. I know it. I felt it. The only thing you have to do is control it. What we both have to do now is convince Shari she is the only one who can stop it. This might have started out as a ploy, but it has become more important than that. Don’t apologize for who we are.”

  Vincent nodded as the brothers kicked their horses into a trot.

  “You’re right. I know now she is the one. She is our chosen, our soul-mate. But it’s been what? Two days? And for those two days, she slept for part of them recovering from the accident. Her feelings may not have been…”

  Vincent emitted a sound of harsh frustration.

  “You’re thinking of Syne and Asnan, the two twins whose mate never accepted them, thus sending them spiraling out of control, killing their intended, and eventually each other.”

  The legendary tale of Syne and Asnan was told to every set of twins as a warning the moment they were old enough to understand.

  Two mighty Warriors believing they had found the woman who would allow them to achieve juniane, went into Try Nas Ayn. The cycle to claim their mate began quickly and accelerated at a rapid pace. Unfortunately for the brothers, the woman they believed to be their mate, when confronted with effects of Try Nas Ayn, rejected the brothers in disgust.

  Fleeing in horror, the lady eventually settled down with another man. The brothers on the other hand obsessed about the woman incessantly, continuously heaping physical violence on each other when the Try Nas Ayn was at its worse. The destruction they created wasn’t always confined to each other. There were rumors started that some of the ruins of Aranak were actually caused by these twins.

  When neither Syne nor Asnan could stand the physical or mental anguish any longer, the two brothers went after the woman and her mate. There were patches in Aranak where the ground lay open and bare, no crops would grow there nor would buildings remain erect on these sights. It is said this was the path the twins took to first slaughter the woman they had loved, then turn on each other for a final fight and kill each other in an unstoppable rage.

  Vincent nodded closing his eyes, a slight shudder raking his body, as he remembered the gory details his father had gone into. If he and Shan Lin...

  “You can’t think like that. This may have started out as a means to deceive Queen Sara, but we both knew somewhere inside, she was the one. It was the only way we would have picked her.”

  “She was the first woman we saw. There was no way we could have k
nown she was ours,” Vincent argued.

  Shan Lin shook his head.

  “No. She was not the first woman we saw. When we left the house on Earth, we must have passed by a hundred women and you know it. For one reason or another, each of us had a reason for not choosing any of them. Too tall, too short, not enough stamina. I touched as many as I could and felt nothing. You know the only one we agreed on was her. It wasn’t the orgasm we gave her at her door. It was the fact I couldn’t feel anything from her when I touched her. It was the reason we chose her.”

  Shan Lin’s voice had risen in intensity as he spoke, and Vincent heard the surety in Shan Lin’s words as the brothers remembered. Vincent had to face facts. She was indeed the one and they had known it from the start.

  Sighing in disgust at himself because he hadn’t seen it clearly to begin with, Vincent admitted to himself, Shan Lin was right.

  “Shari is our chosen. She is the woman we will love for the rest of our days. There will be no other. Riad help us if she doesn’t realize it herself before we destroy her.”

  Nudging the horse into a canter, then a flat out race toward Aranak, Vincent tried to ignore the words his brother pathed into his mind.

  Riad already has. He showed us to our soul-mate. What more could you ask of him?

  Chapter Eleven

  Both men stood before Queen Sara who was half dressed and lounging on the royal bed surrounded by seven naked men and women in various stages of coupling. Hiding their disgust behind years of training, both Warriors waited to be acknowledged.

  A cry of painful satisfaction came from one of the couplings before Queen Sara chose to speak to the brothers.

  “That’s it, Roola. Make sure the pain is equal to the satisfaction. That’s a good boy.” Petting the man’s rapidly diminishing penis, the Queen turned to her Warriors.

  “There’s a rumor you’ve been joined. I’ve felt the presence of a new mind in Aranak and I’ve had to wonder what the reason was for your not presenting her to me?” The Queen paused before adding delicately. “Or him.”

  The brothers stood steeling themselves to show no emotions at the taunting.

  “I must say, I’m hurt. I would have thought you could have brought your bride here at least to introduce her to your Auntie Sara. Are you ashamed of me?”

  The brothers waited, knowing the question, asked so innocently, would soon be followed by an order. No matter what, the Queen seemed bound to provoke Shan Lin and Vincent.

  “Your Majesty. It was not our intent to slight you in the least. As our Auntie Sara, or as our Queen. However, our bride, upon arrival to Aranak, was suffering from a recent accident. We found her in the Earth Realm and a vehicle had struck her. We only wanted her to recover first, thus allowing her to be at her best, before presenting her to you.”

  Vincent, never one for the diplomatic speeches, listened as his brother spoke so eloquently.

  “I see. Has she recovered?” the Queen asked sweetly.

  Vincent looked at Shan Lin knowing they would have to present their bride to their aunt before Shari had accepted them, and almost shouted no. Gritting his teeth against the denial, he waited for Shan Lin’s answer.

  “Mostly, Auntie Sara. Thank you for your concern. If you would like…”

  She quickly cut off his reply.

  “Yes. It’s what this is about. What I would like. Or, if you prefer, what I want.”

  A scream sounded next to her and their aunt turned to look down at a man under two women.

  “That will be enough, Marek. You must learn to turn the pain into pleasure.” As she instructed the now whimpering man, she reached over to a small tray next to her and picked up a pair of pincers.

  “Clamp these onto his balls and twist them back and forth. If he screams again, gag him. I’m having a conversation with my family.”

  Her voice never changed from the syrupy sweet tone she had used as she spoke to her nephews.

  “Now. Where was I? Oh yes, my marriageniece. When will she be here?”

  A look passed once again between the brothers before turning back to their aunt.

  “Before you speak, know this. She will come before me and now. I don’t care if you must wake her from a drugged sleep. You will present her to me. Also, I have an assignment for the two of you, which we will get into in a moment. But for now, path her and have Winters arrange for her arrival immediately.”

  Vincent nearly smiled with glee as Shan Lin pathed tightly to his brother.

  Thank Riad for Winters and the Tine Chocolate Torts.

  Bless him indeed. Vincent answered back just as tightly knowing that if they kept the contact brief their aunt wouldn’t hear the conversation.

  “Your Majesty, Auntie Sara. I’m afraid that won’t be possible.” Vincent answered, schooling his features carefully into a look of painful denial.

  “Just why the freching not?” the Queen burst out. “You would deny a command from your sovereign? You would deny me what I asked for? Why you little…”

  Both men dropped to their knees, their foreheads in positions of obeisance toward the floor interrupting the Queen’s wrath before they began to speak a formal apology.

  “Auntie Sara, please. She was given Tine Chocolate tonight for the wedding night. You know she will not function before the morning, if we are lucky. We have truly exhausted the woman beyond her endurance. After all, we are our Queen’s Warriors.”

  Their voices carried through the room. Vincent would not have been surprised if those with ears to the door didn’t hear their boast. Both he and Shan Lin were equally glad they had indeed worn out their bride throughout the day with lovemaking. When he opened his mind to allow Queen Sara to see himself and his brother pleasuring their bride thoroughly, the tension in the room dropped appreciably.

  The silence that had descended on the room was only interrupted by the occasional groan from one or more of the thrashing bodies on the bed.

  “Oh, do get up. As you’ve been so kind to show me, your boast of your prowess is indeed legendary. The woman is lucky indeed in her choice of you both.”

  The disgruntled tone of her voice relieved the brothers, but only until she opened her mouth to speak once more.

  “Fine. I will give her two days to recover, but that is all. In the meantime, I will send an escort for her alone on the second day. She will see me alone.”

  The brothers started to protest but the Queen rolled over their objections as they got to their feet.

  “No. I have spoken. That is all. I want the two of you to go somewhere else. This is Aranak business and it always comes first.”

  “Yes, Your Majesty.” Vincent and Shan Lin resumed the formal speech as their Aunt once more became the Queen.

  “Now. There has been trouble in Hurok.”

  The command performance had turned into business, and this was one area the brothers intended to pay close attention. There was very little they could do at the moment about the command given to present Shari in two days time, but this business was what they had been trained for. This conversation they would record and burn into their minds.

  * * * * *

  “Do you believe the woman?” Shan Lin nearly bellowed as the men made their way back to their home.

  “What? You mean you weren’t yet sure she means to destroy Aranak at all costs so she can retain the right to the throne? I’m surprised at your naiveté, Shan Lin. Really, brother, it was you who convinced me of what your dreams spoke. Why, now, would you think differently?”

  The sarcasm so heavy in Vincent’s voice, was due to the fact their Queen had finally lost complete control of her faculties.

  The conversation the brothers had before leaving with Theresa had only confirmed what they already knew. The conversation with their aunt had confirmed in Queen Sara’s words the evidence the men needed to show Queen Stephanie the lengths to which their aunt would go to keep the throne.

  “Don’t take it out on me. I know you’re angry. I know we have been
given orders. At the moment, we have to decide if we’re going to disobey one Queen’s orders to obey the other’s.”

  It was not a hard decision in the end. So their careers as Warriors would be gone forever. Treason would be spoken of. They would need to leave Naralin, probably never to see their home, family, and friends again. It was not a choice at all.

  They would do the only thing they could and still live with themselves.

  They would protect their bride and survive.

  * * * * *

  “They think they’re so smart, standing there so smug as if I haven’t just learned they’d gone to meet that cunt Stephanie. My marriagedaughter. My beloved sons’ bride. The woman who would presume to take what is mine.”

  Sara sat in front of a mirror as one of the men she had summoned off the bed combed out her hair. Admiring its beauty as the man stroked the bristles against her scalp, Sara fumed.

  “I am still the ruler of this world. I will soon take over Horrd and demand reverence from another Monarch’s people. It is I who has brought Aranak to the notice of the universes. I, who have built up relations with others of power. If the little whore thinks she can just step into my shoes…”

  Sara stopped speaking abruptly reaching up and snatching the gilded brush from the hands of the naked male behind her.

  “Stop it!” she shrieked, standing swiftly. She turned to look at the man and began shrieking in a high-pitched voice.

  “Vincent thinks I can’t hear them. What a crock. I hear everything.” Sara began walking around the one who had brushed her hair.

  No, you don’t. You’re lucky if you hear bits and snatches of conversation from them. And you cannot even hear your own sons. The taunting voice mocked Sara.

  In fury, she turned on the man behind her.

  “Why are you not at attention? Why are you flaccid? Have you not been instructed to be ready to frech me at a moment’s notice?”

  “But Your Majesty… It is…” The man cried in helplessness.