Illyan Daughter

by Bryn Colvin

  “Hardly a connection at all.”

  “I gather there was a time when they lived and died by such things.”

  “I don’t believe he is my blood father.”

  “No?”

  “Liss, I don’t talk about my parents. I was never claimed. What lineage I have is poor. My mother came from this land; she was little and dark and never learned a word of our language. I can still remember some of the things she taught me, in her own tongue. It’s a funny way of talking, but it’s all I have on that side. She died before I came of age. The household I was in had no use for me once she was gone; I was taken in by the master of horses.”

  Liss nodded. She had heard of such things happening before. The slaves they took did not tend to live long into adulthood and she wondered if that was just the way of it for them. As a half-breed, Dothrin might not live long either. Households usually kept the children of their slaves, but it was not unheard of for them to go elsewhere.

  “I have made my own way and proved my own worth. That’s why Flash wants to acknowledge me; he’s got no sons of his own, that I know of, nor daughters for that matter.”

  “There are worse reasons. His name would give you standing.”

  “There is more to it. My mother belonged to a man who is now dead. He had other women of course, but the trouble started when Math foisted Pallan off on him. He and Flash were friends, he died during the attack on our camp.”

  “I know. I was there when it happened.”

  “Were you?”

  Liss nodded.

  “I look back and wonder how I survived the night,” she added.

  “What do you think it means?”

  “Usually the child of a slave belongs to her owner, most don’t quibble over paternity, especially not where a son is concerned.”

  “I know.”

  “Would Flash take his friend’s slave? I don’t know. I don’t really know the man. Does it matter? You need a name, if he will give you one, why not take it?”

  “Oh, I mean to, have no fear on that score. I’d swear blind I was the son of any powerful man who wanted to put his name to me. I don’t mean to spend my days on mindless watches and patrols.”

  There was real passion in his voice and she could see how brightly ambition burned within him.

  “Then?”

  “I would like to know who I am.”

  “Who would not? So this is why you’ve brought it to me. You’re a half-breed with a nameless father; I have a father, but the rest of my existence is a mystery. They told me my mother was dead and so she must be. If my hair was not so dark, I’d know she came with my father across the sea and died while I was too young to remember her. He will not speak of her.”

  Liss could hear the anger in her own voice and fought to tame it. She hated talk of lineage and ancestry when hers was incomplete.

  “I thought you might…”

  “What? Sympathise; tell you some magical formula for finding the truth? Live with it, that’s all there is to do.”

  “You are angry with me.”

  “I am angry with the world, with this cursed rain and those fools downstairs, with this town and this room and yes, I’m angry with you. Now go away.”

  “No.”

  “Get out of my room!”

  “No.”

  She stood, reaching for the knife on her belt. Dothrin lunged for her, grappling her calves so that she collapsed back onto the nest of cushions. He sprang towards her, meaning to pin her, but she rolled to one side and kicked out at him. Dothrin responded with a sharp punch to her shoulder, then tore the blade from her hand and flung it across the room out of harm’s way, sending his own knife skittering after it. The time he took in this gave her the advantage and she lashed out with a booted foot, winding him.

  They traded blows, pushing and wrestling each other across the room. Liss caught Dothrin across the face, the one ring she wore opening a bloody gash down his cheek. The sight of his crimson blood, stark against the honey tones of his skin returned her to her senses and the anger started to slip away, leaving her mind clear and finally calm.

  “Better?” he asked.

  She laughed.

  “I haven’t fought in days.”

  “You can always spar with me, you only have to ask.”

  Breathless and sweating, she looked him up and down, watching the way his chest rose and fell and noting the flush of colour in his cheeks. A tiny tremor shivered through her guts, working its way down through her body to inflame the unexplored regions between her legs. She advanced upon him, aware that he too was experiencing rising temperature and flickering desire. His restraint was powerful and she found herself wanting to have that pent up passion engulf her.

  When she stood only a thumb-length away from him, Liss pulled her tunic off over her head and undid the padded garment Sena had made to contain her breasts. Dothrin’s face softened into a smile and he placed his fingers lightly on her naked shoulders, stroking his hands over the mounds of her breasts. Liss arched her back, pressing her nipples against his fingers and surrendering herself utterly to his touch. Everything he did there made her feel hotter and wetter between her thighs and she ached to have him transfer his fingers from her swollen nipples to her virgin cunt.

  “Strip for me, Dothrin, I want to see you naked.”

  His body was firm and hard, tight muscles made ripples under his skin with every movement. Every part of him was taut and lean, with dark hair sprinkled across his chest and thighs. The rod between his legs stood tall and proud and the tip of it was already glistening with moisture. For a while Liss stood transfixed and then, hardly looking at herself she pulled off her own remaining garments and let his eyes rove freely over her exposed body.

  He kissed her, then—his tongue plunging deeply into her mouth as his hands explored her waist and hips. She pressed against him, feeling the hardness of his cock against her stomach, conscious of the desire to be filled that was growing within her. She could feel his desire now—a palpable thing that burned without control. He pushed her down into the cushions, smothering her body with his and reaching his hand between them to stroke her already sodden sex.

  The touch of his fingers on her body made her writhe. Liss opened her legs, wanting nothing to impede his access to her. She felt his fingers testing at her untried opening, pushing slowly inside her. All of her attention focused in on that single feeling, on the slow insertion of his finger as it opened her up.

  “You’ve not done this before, have you?” he said and she felt the ardour in him waning.

  She wanted to claw it back, to re-inspire his hungry passion, but her innocence had taken the fire out of him and she felt chilled and grieved by the loss of it.

  “No,” she admitted.

  “I would have thought you’d have plenty of offers.”

  His finger continued to move slowly back and forth within her, making it difficult to keep track of his words, much less answer them.

  “I have,” she managed, “I just never wanted to before.”

  “I’m flattered.”

  “Take me?”

  “You aren’t ready. I’d only hurt you and I don’t want that.”

  “You have done this before.”

  “Oh, yes.”

  She was glad—at least it meant one of them should have some idea what was going on.

  “Do you like what I’m doing?”

  “Oh, yes.”

  “Good. Now, how about this?”

  Liss felt his finger move within her and a wild surge of sensation washed through her entire form. It was as though the heat that had burned within him was now engulfing her. She pushed her hips up towards him, trying to take his finger deeper in as each movement of his digit sent new ripples of delicious vibration through her body.

  Dothrin lowered his head and began to lick at her clitoris. This was more familiar sensation, she knew how to please herself that way and liked what she did well enough. His tongue was lighter than her
own fingers had ever been and slick with saliva so that it glided back and forth across her throbbing clit. He licked and swirled his tongue, pulsed it and pressed it against her and, all the while, his finger worked in the depths of her body, sliding back and forth, the tip never far from that most sensitive spot. He raised his head.

  “Have you come before?”

  “I know how to get myself off.”

  “Good.”

  Liss felt him ease a second finger into her, until she felt stretched and engorged. The pressure within her was greater now, the sensations more intense. She wondered if his cock would feel like this. From the look of it, its length would reach deeper still and she tried to imagine what pleasures that might generate. Fantasising about taking him, she came, her muscles clenching down upon his fingers as she worked her hips against his hand, fucking his fingers as hard as she could.

  “Do you want more?” he asked.

  She knew he was enjoying this, but she wanted to set him on fire as she had before.

  “Yes. Let me get you off.”

  She pushed herself up into a sitting position.

  “Sit facing me. That’s it. Now I can get at you.”

  She reached for his cock, remembering the things she had seen her company doing to one another on various occasions. She rubbed the foreskin back and forth across his tip and, at his suggestion, slowed her strokes, taking long, leisurely pulls on his firm erection, pausing to give the tip a little squeeze each time. He kissed her, his tongue sliding between her teeth as he worked his fingers back into her dripping cunt. She leaned close against him, resting her head on his shoulder so that she could watch the way his cock swelled and twitched under her ministrations. Although lust raged in her, she felt strangely peaceful. This, she realised, was what she had been looking for.

  Chapter Four

  For days Math had been patrolling the walls, looking for some sign of the spies his people were reporting. The waters had retreated, although the river ranged far beyond its usual banks and there was rain enough to keep it dangerously swollen. He watched his fighters taking their turns on the wall walks and, from time to time, his attention was drawn down into the town, to the shouts of children or some other noise that rose above the general mutter of life. This was a small kingdom indeed—far inferior to the vision of his youth. He had known for a long time that he could not conquer this land. There had been a time when he dreamed of ruling his own country, carved out with genius and slaughter. The company that had followed him into exile was too small to hold any land they took. There was no structure here and the countryside was barren save for scattered villages and warring locals. It was a wilderness; and he was forced to admit he could not tame it. The wound in his chest still ached and a grim weariness had settled over him. Math was tired of the endless journey that would never carry him anywhere that mattered. He speculated that perhaps the time had come to settle.

  His daughter approached from one of the small towers. Her stride was purposeful and her head held defiantly high. Liss was turning into a striking young woman, blessed with poise and presence. He wondered if she would want to be queen of such a small domain as this or if her ambitions would force her out into the world once more. Math found he was inclined to let her do as she saw fit and realised then how old he was feeling.

  “Looking for our spy?” he asked.

  He supposed she had felt the same persuasive call and feared the implications of finding her here.

  “In part. I wanted to see the sky, to look beyond the walls.”

  “You aren’t meant for a settled life, you have the wind in your heart,” he said.

  Liss said nothing.

  “You won’t live in my shadow forever, nor should you. In time you will seek your own life.”

  “I wasn’t planning on leaving,” she said, looking out at the water in preference to meeting his eyes.

  “But you will in time. I was young and restless once, I remember how it feels.”

  “They are saying you are becoming soft.”

  “Perhaps it is true.”

  The confession startled Liss and she turned, her expression full of unvoiced questions.

  “If there’s one amongst them who dares challenge me to my face, I shall be surprised.”

  “True enough.”

  They both turned to look out at the water, lost in thought and silence.

  “There is one thing I would ask of you Liss. When you are ready to go your own way, go with my blessing and go as your own woman.”

  It was an uncharacteristically cryptic statement and she wondered what was on his mind.

  “How could I go as other than my own being?”

  “By the coercion of others, in anger or taken against your will.”

  “I doubt that,” she laughed carelessly.

  “We have enemies beyond these walls.”

  Liss froze, seeing a figure out on the water. It looked as though the person was walking upon the water, but after a few seconds she realised that in some places the land was higher and the flooding would not be so deep. The disturbing illusion was broken. Beside her Math was utterly still. The figure approached to a distance slightly beyond the range of a long bow and stopped there, facing the town.

  It happened so suddenly that the vision seemed unreal. In a moment the figure had gone, evaporated into the air like a phantasm. In its place a dark-winged bird took to the skies, letting the air currents carry it high above father and daughter where they stood together. The harsh cry of its voice filled the cloudy skies as it wheeled, buffeted by the wind. Math pulled his eldest child close, wrapping his powerful arms around her as though seeking to protect her. Fear gripped Liss. She had never seen her father troubled, never known him to hold her in such a fashion, not even when she was in infancy.

  “What is that?” Liss asked.

  “A woman who can change her form and wear dark feathers.”

  Math relinquished her and she stepped back, unsettled by this unusual intimacy with her parent.

  “The other locals do not seem able to do it.”

  “Most cannot, I think.”

  “Yet she can?”

  “Yes.”

  “You fear her,” Liss asserted.

  Math’s face darkened in response to this accusation, then he sighed.

  “Yes,” he admitted, “she is a powerful enchantress and a deadly enemy. I fought her once a long time ago when you were but a child. I thought I had killed her then, but it appears not. She is cunning and more evil than I can tell you.”

  Liss digested this, comparing it with her own impressions. She did not need telling that this shape-changing woman was powerful and dangerous.

  “Be wary of her. Her feud with me is personal—she may seek to harm me through you.”

  “What happened?” she asked, wanting to exploit this unusual openness.

  Math shook his head.

  “I would rather not speak of it.”

  The barriers between them had closed once more, ending all further scope for truth and confession. Liss was conscious of the secrets she was keeping from her father and wondered what role this crow-woman had played in his life. They stood in silence, watching the dark speck of the soaring crow as it vanished into the distant hills.

  Chapter Five

  The meadowland was waterlogged when the first of the fowl came. From the town walls they could see the great flocks feeding in the drowned landscape and the birds’ continual cries made it impossible to forget their presence. The rainy season had been worse than any siege for depriving them of fresh food. There were stores to see the original inhabitants through, but they had been skilled fishing folk. With the boats mysteriously lost, Math’s people had been able to take little from the floodwaters. Flash’s one reclaimed boat was not enough to keep them supplied. Several of the horses were butchered and eaten before Math swore that anyone caught in such activities would pay with their lives. Horses were a vital resource and could not be spared to sate empty stom
achs.

  In the pale light that came before dawn, Liss and Dothrin crawled through the tattered grasses. They had worn little, knowing that they would inevitably be soaked. Liss could feel the mud congealing on her bare arms and thought that it would camouflage her well, even if it did make her skin feel tight and uncomfortable. Others had already tried to take the birds, but they were wary and watchful creatures, their calls alerting every flock across the plains if danger threatened. The mere sight of a figure with a bow was enough to send them into the air and it was hard to bring down a moving bird. So far no one had got close enough to even try. Dothrin had thought that darkness would give them the advantage, even if it did make the journey more dangerous. There were hidden pools, invisible at the best of times and potentially fatal.

  It was just possible to make out the forms of the nearest birds as they slumbered, innocent of approaching danger. Taking care to make as little noise as possible, the two hunters raised their slings, loading them with the stones they had brought.

  They took four before an alarm cry shattered the morning and startled birds flapped into the skies, seeking freedom.

  “Better than anyone else has done,” Dothrin said, as they gathered their prizes.

  They walked in silence as the dawn rose, crimson beyond the town, making the walls and towers look unearthly and magical.

  Flash had a cook amongst his household and Dothrin roused the woman from sleep. She was startled by the presence of the mud-encrusted youth, but when she saw the freshly slaughtered fowl her irritation soon turned to delight.

  “Can you dress them?”

  “Of course. From the size of them, they won’t be good for eating before midday and we’ll need wood for a good, long fire. Best cook them slowly.”

  “I’ll see to it,” Dothrin said.

  He commanded warm water for bathing and wood for a great fire. The sight of those feathered bodies had been enough to inspire the lower-ranking members of the household and, by the time Flash emerged from his bed, he found his home in an unusual state of activity.