Rising Thunder (Dynasty of Storms Book 1)

by Brandon Cornwell

  As he took one of her small, hard nipples into his mouth, he could feel her thighs shuddering. She let out her breath in a long, low moan of pleasure, and it was over for him. He arched his head back as he climaxed, pushing her onto him, filling her entirely with himself and his essence.

  She gasped, clutching his chest as her tremors subsided, and he leaned back against the tree, wrapping his arms around her.

  She rested her head against his shoulder, her eyes closed, as her breathing slowed. Elias stroked her hair, looking out to sea, the afterglow of their passion almost palpable in the afternoon air.

  “You have bested me, sir.” she murmured into his shirt. “The spoils must go to the victor.”

  He reached down to kiss the top of her head. “Then you shall take all.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Elias and Coral walked side by side along the path, hand in hand. There was a secluded beach near the papaya grove. Coral felt like going for a swim, and Elias felt like joining her. The path descended steeply, but was wide enough for them to keep walking abreast. High brush surrounded the path on either side, making for a very private location. Not that Coral cared, but Elias was more self-conscious.

  The sand was hot under their bare feet, so they sprinted to the wave slope. Coral got a head start, but Elias quickly caught up with his longer stride. He scooped her up in his arms as he caught her, and kept running, dodging around the rocky sections, staying on the sand. She wrapped her arms around his neck and laughed, holding on for dear life.

  He slowed when his feet touched cooler sand, setting her down. They both stripped, leaving their clothes draped over a large stone outcropping near some tide pools, and waded into the warm, shallow water. It swirled around them as the waves surged, lifting them with the swells. Coral floated effortlessly next to Elias, who had to actively tread water to stay afloat.

  Coral giggled as he swam next to her. “You paddle! Why do you swim that way?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You paddle like a hound! Do you know how to swim like elves do?”

  Elias scowled at her. “I'm an elf! I swim like this! That means this is how elves swim!”

  Coral laughed as she swam around him. “Come on, I'll teach you. It would be easier at the Seagate, but this will do for now.”

  They spent the rest of their time in the water swimming, Coral teaching him how to make longer, measures strokes, how to control his breathing to increase his buoyancy, and how to ride the surf. The sun was moving lower in the sky as they stepped out of the waves, tired from swimming for so long, and sat on a rock in the sun to dry.

  As they were warmed by the sun, Elias looked over at Coral, who was laying on a section of smooth volcanic glass, her blue skin covered in tiny goosebumps. Her skin was quite a few shades darker blue than the rest the sea elf tribe, and Elias was curious why.

  “Were you born with skin darker than the rest of your people? Neither your father nor mother have skin as dark as yours.”

  She looked back over her stomach. “It's how our skin reacts to the sun. You and your human friends get tanned, your skin darkening that way, while ours turns darker blue.”

  Elias turned towards her, tracing circles on her stomach around her navel. “Why are the rest of your people so much more pale? You all live here on the same island, shouldn't you all be tanned?” He tickled her abruptly before going back to running his fingers over her skin.

  Coral squirmed under his tickling fingers. “Stop that!” she giggled. “Most of us wear hats and covers to shield our skin while on land. It's considered beautiful to maintain your fair skin, like a sign of not having to work in the sun. I don't find such a thing shameful.” She turned her arms back and forth, looking them over. “I like this shade, and I like the sun.”

  A rustle in the bushes behind them drew Elias's attention. Three men, dressed in green and tan, two armed with cutlasses, one with a boarding axe, came out of the brush. One of them pointed at Elias. “He's the one. Kill him, and take his head. We'll share her when we're done.”

  Elias stepped in front of Coral. “You go! I'll hold them off!”

  “With what!? You're naked!”

  “I don't know! Just go!”

  “They'll kill you!”

  The men advanced down the path as Elias stepped to the edge of their perch. “If you don't go they'll kill both of us!”

  The pirate who had spoken before laughed. “No, we're not going to kill her. She's got other uses. Sea elf quim starts out tight and stays wet!”

  Elias leapt down from the rock as Coral crept backwards towards the sea. The three men spread out, blocking off the trail. Coral might be able to swim to safety, but Elias wasn't strong enough of a swimmer yet. He cast about for a piece of driftwood, anything he could use as a weapon.

  “Elias! Here!”

  A rock about the size of a large cannonball flipped through the air towards him. He caught it easily in one hand, and faced off against the three men. They looked amongst each other and laughed.

  Elias hurled the stone as hard as he could at the man closest to Coral's location, the one with the axe. It collided with him above the sternum with a sickening crunch, deflecting upwards into his jaw, shattering it. He fell to the ground with a strangled cry.

  The other two men rushed Elias, brandishing their cutlasses like machetes. Elias jumped and dodged them as best he could, staying out of striking range while frantically looking for something to defend himself with.

  Another stone, about the size of his fist, struck one of the pirates in the shoulder, making him flinch and curse, turning towards Coral.

  Elias seized the moment, rushing the other pirate, catching his hilt mid-swing. The momentum of the blade carried it into his shoulder, though most of the force was spent. The edge sliced into his skin, but the wound was shallow. His other hand caught the pirate about the neck and squeezed, cutting off his air.

  He kept the flailing man between him and the remaining man, who backed away, looking between Elias and Coral. Elias advanced on the last man, using the pirate he held as a human shield. The third man looked again at Coral, and rushed towards her.

  Shoving the man he held to his knees, Elias stripped him of his sword, and charged after the third man, who was scaling the rock Coral perched on. As she turned to leap off of the rock, he caught her by the hair and drug her back, causing her to scream.

  Elias's vision turned red. He scaled the rock as the pirate whipped Coral around to stand between himself and Elias. He started to bring his sword around towards Coral's chest. “One more step and I swear to the gods I'll-”

  He caught the blade of the cutlass in his left hand, and hooked a punch around Coral, striking the pirate in the head with the brass basket hilt of the cutlass he had taken from the second man. The pirate dropped, releasing Coral, who leapt out of the way. Elias's blade flashed down, slashing through the man's neck, striking sparks against the stone as it severed his head.

  Elias whirled, jumping off the stone as the second man scrambled towards the first man's axe. Elias threw his cutlass, which struck the man in the ribs, but not with the blade. The blow was still formidable enough to slow him, letting Elias reach the axe at the same time the pirate did.

  He stepped on the axe handle just as the pirate grabbed it, pinning his hand to the ground, and proceeded to stomp on the man's face until he rolled to his back. Stooping down, he grabbed the axe himself, and with two heavy downward swings, he let sunlight into the rib cages of both men.

  Elias stood, covered in blood, most of it not his own. His shoulder throbbed, but didn't really hurt right at the moment. He started searching the bodies.

  “Elias! Elias, you're hurt!”

  He turned to see Coral climbing down from the rock. She had blood splashed across her chest, and her hair was disheveled. He rose from the corpse in front of him. “You're covered in blood! Did he hurt you?”

  She shook her head. “No, just pulled my hair a little, maybe bruised me. But
you're cut! We need to get that cleaned and dressed! And your hand!”

  Elias shrugged it off. “We need to get back to port, immediately. Who knows if there are any others out there. Quickly, let's get this blood off of us.”

  They rinsed off in the surf, taking stock of Elias's wounds. The cut on his shoulder, while long, was not deep or especially serious. The cut on his hand, however, would need to be looked at by a healer. He could flex it, but it hurt, and needed bandaging.

  They dressed while still wet. Elias searched the bodies, looking for any note, and orders on parchment, anything that might give a hint as to who sent these assassins, but found nothing. They grabbed the weapons and hurried along the path, Coral carrying both cutlasses, while Elias wielded the axe. They couldn't afford to stay there any longer if there were more pirates in the bushes, and Elias had to let the rest of his companions know that they were being targeted.

  Chapter Fifteen

  10th Waning Grain Moon, Year 4368

  Elias sat at a table in a tavern, his left hand outstretched, resting on the tabletop. Jenna was applying a dressing to the cut on his palm, while Geoff applied a sticky paste over the cut on his shoulder. Coral was seated to his right, while Delain and Jonas were sitting across from him. Martin sat between Coral and Jonas, a mug of ale in his hand.

  Martin scowled. “We need to strike back, hard and fast, before they know that the assassins failed.”

  Delain shook his head. “Who do we attack? The pirates or the Felle Army?“ He tossed a pendant on the table. It was a black iron eight-pointed star on a steel chain. “They all wore one of these. I sent one to the temple with one of Marl's warriors, and one to the Port Authority. Hopefully, one of them can tell us more. Until then, I'd advise caution.“

  Elias scowled. “The four soldiers on the ship we took today, and now these three. What on earth are the Felle Army doing here in Greenreef?”

  Delain shook his head. “I don't know. Like attracts like, perhaps the pirates have struck a deal with them. Perhaps they were defectors. We can't question dead men, unfortunately, so we'll likely never know.”

  Geoff spread more of the warm, sticky mixture over the cut on Elias's arm. It stung a little but the mixture seemed to have some sort of painkiller in it, so the pain was short lived. “So we're just going to let them try to kill one of ours, and not retaliate?”

  Jenna put another turn of linen around Elias's palm, tucking the ends the wrap where it extended to his wrist. “Our retaliation will be to survive, and cleanse their ilk from these islands until they are nothing but a bad memory.”

  Coral had said very little since returning to town, mostly just answering the general questions of if she was okay, was she hurt, so on and so forth. Most of her answers were short, one or two word sentences. She stayed very near to Elias at all times, which worried him. He had never seen her this subdued before.

  Delain had noticed too, making sure that the young elf maiden had water and fresh bread rolls nearby while Elias was being tended to. He reached out and patted her hand. “Don't you fret, young miss. Elias will be right as rain in a few days. He's a great stout lad, and those scratches won't even slow him down.”

  Jenna nodded. “The callouses he had from rowing protected his tendons... none of them were even nicked. It was just a cut through the skin. It'll leave a pretty scar, no doubt, but he'll heal up to be just as good as he was before.”

  Coral nodded, but withdrew her hand from Delain, wrapping her hands around the ceramic cup in front of her. Delain furrowed his brow. “What troubles you?”

  “It's nothing.”

  Jonas and Delain exchanged looks. Delain stood, stretching. “Well, I think I'm going to go look over the repairs to the ship we captured. Martin, Geoff, I'll need some help moving some of those crates.”

  Martin grumbled. “I'm not done with my ale. Get one of the deckhands to help you.”

  Jonas kicked Martin's chair, nearly causing it to topple. “Get off your ass, boyo. Make yourself scarce.”

  Taking the hint, Martin hastily drained his cup and left. Geoff tied off the bandages around Elias's shoulder, and took his leave as well, following Delain out the door. Once they had left, Jonas patted Elias on his good shoulder. “Mend swiftly, you great prick. We need you well.”

  Jonas exited, leaving Jenna, Coral and Elias alone in the tavern, save for the barkeep, who was busily polishing glasses. Coral didn't look up from her cup of water. Jenna moved to sit next to her. “Is there anything I can do?”

  Coral shook her head again. “No. Unless you can guarantee this won't ever happen again, no.”

  Jenna set her hand gently on Coral's wrist. “This is the way of battle. People get wounded, people die.”

  “I know that.”

  “It's unavoidable.”

  “I know that too.”

  Jenna was silent for a moment, at a loss for words. Elias wanted desperately to say something to set Coral at ease, but didn't know the words to say. Jenna perked up suddenly, a smile on her face. “Do you believe in your prophecies?”

  She looked up at her quizzically. “Yes, of course. That's why we're doing all of this.”

  Jenna shrugged. “Then it's settled. Until Elias fathers a son, he can't be killed. Practically immortal.”

  Coral furrowed her brow. “What do you mean?”

  Jenna spread her hands. “Your prophecy says that he is your promised, and you will bear his son, right?”

  Coral nodded, catching on. “And according to my father's prophecy, he will shatter the Hollow Island.”

  Jenna nodded again. “So, if those prophecies are true, then he can't be killed until those things happen. If anyone in this war has a guarantee to survive, it's Elias, and you as well. I don't see you cradling a son in your arms yet.“

  Coral smiled. “That makes sense. I like that thought.”

  Elias chuckled slightly. “I'll admit, I'm fond of it myself.”

  Coral shoved him affectionately with her shoulder. She frowned again, just slightly. “Still. The prophecy says nothing about you remaining intact. Men can still be horribly wounded, and father children.”

  Elias grinned at her. “But can they destroy islands and capture pirates?”

  Coral rose from her seat, standing behind him. Draping her arms over his shoulders, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “Tempt not the gods, my love. Prophecies are not things to be taken lightly, nor spoken of lightly.”

  He was taken aback. Never had she used the word love with him before. They had been together for a few weeks now, since the work on the Iron Oar had taken some time. He had spent much of his time with her, when he wasn't busy with other tasks, and had grown very fond of her. However, he had never told her he loved her. He didn't want to lead her along, nor push her too fast, and he honestly didn't know how he felt. He knew he liked her, very much, but he didn't know if what he felt could be called love.

  He turned his head to look into her expectant green eyes. “I'm sorry, Coral. I will be careful.”

  She smiled, a disappointed look crossing her face for a moment. “I know you will.“ She kissed him again, a quick peck on the lips. “I'm going to bed. The sun rises early. Don't be too long?“

  “I won't.”

  After Coral left, Elias and Jenna sat in silence for a moment before Jenna rose, and brought two cups of ale. She set one gently on the table next to Elias, then took a seat across from him. She leveled a look at him that told him he was in trouble.

  “I agree with her. Be careful.”

  He took a drink from his cup. “I already said I would,” he replied, defensively.

  “I don't mean in battle. Apparently, you can handle that well enough, even if you get yourself cut to ribbons. I mean with her.”

  He spread his hands. “What am I supposed to do, lie to her to make her feel better?”

  “It would be the manly thing to do. Maybe you should man up.”

  He set the cup down, frowning. “That would be imm
oral. I'm not going to lie to her. I like her too much to do that to her.”

  “Do you? You like her too much to lie to her, but not enough to spare her heart?”

  Angrily, Elias drained the cup of ale, and slammed it down, shaking the table. Jenna had to grab her cup to keep it from tipping.

  “Then you tell me what to do! What to say! How I can make her know how I feel without lying to her, without leading her to believe something I don't know that I believe myself?”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Figure your shit out.”

  Elias clenched his fists. “That's easy, then. It's settled. I'll just say what I need to say and absolutely no care whatsoever about the truth. Is that what's expected of me? Is that what I should do? Just damn the unsurety, and go ahead and tell her what she wants to hear, no matter whether or not it crushes her if the truth turns out differently?”

  Jenna leaned back, crossing one leg over the other, setting her ankle on her knee, a very unladylike posture, save for the fact that she was wearing trousers. She regarded him levelly, draining her own mug of ale.

  “No. That's not what you should do. I'm not going to tell you what to think or say, but I am going to repeat this; figure yourself out. If not for her, then for you.”

  She rose from her chair, and left the tavern, leaving Elias alone at the table. He sat for a while, brooding into his cup. He was angry with Jenna, angry that she seemed to accuse him of daring to feel how he felt... or didn't feel. He had no idea what it felt like to be in love, so how could he say that this was or wasn't it?

  He took his mug back to the bartender and left a few silver coins on the counter, and headed up the stairs to the room that he and Coral shared when she was in Port Greenreef. It was on the third floor of the tall stone structure, on the seaward face, with a breathtaking view of the bay.

  He opened the door gently, the hinges creaking in the wan candle light. Coral sat on the edge of the bed, naked, brushing her hair with large, coarse teasel. She looked up as he entered, and smiled. “That wasn't long at all.”