Madina gave him a quick hug as the kiss ended, squeezing Mauve’s face against her large, shapely breasts. She kissed him on the lips again, and then the neck, paying no attention to the burn scars there. Then, she lowered herself down, dropping to her knees in front of him, almost hidden underneath the desk.
“Your release valve,” she said again, smiling.
Mauve glanced up at the door and then around the room, as though there might have secretly been someone inside who’d escaped his initial notice. Madina was already pulling his trousers down. She lowered them just far enough for his cock to slip loose. Mauve felt himself hardening as he looked down at her, the way she licked her lips, the caress of her hands on his inner thighs.
She was tender, her fingers and hands touching his shaft so gently that it almost seemed like she was afraid to break it. She looked up at Mauve with a curious expression on her face. There was vulnerability there, a need for approval that belayed her usual confidence. Mauve reached a hand down and cupped her cheek.
Madina kept that same gentleness as she extended her tongue and prodded it against the underside of Mauve’s cock. He groaned, leaning back in his chair and focusing on the sensations. She did it again, this time letting her tongue trace a pattern. Her lips grazed against the tip of his manhood, and then she opened her mouth for him.
Mauve shivered from the pleasure of it. It was exactly what he needed. It was everything the smoke filled men’s lounge hadn’t been. It was Madina, using her luscious, soft lips, in a way that only she could. She leaned her head forward, engulfing his shaft with her wet, hot mouth. She leaned back, opening wider and letting her tongue trace a trail along his erection’s underside.
Mauve pressed a single finger against the bottom of her chin, using it to guide Madina forward and back. There was something about the way she followed his movements that said more than any of her assurances to him could have. She wanted to please him, and though Mauve wasn’t entirely sure why, he loved her for it.
A knock came at the door, and Mauve almost fell out of his seat. He nervously glanced down at Madina, who didn’t seem to care in the slightest.
“Voiceman Broven?” called a female voice. The door opened before Mauve could tell whoever it was that he was busy, and he hastily slid further into his desk to keep Madina hidden.
“What… uh, what do want?” he asked. Madina had stopped sucking, but she still kept one hand on his hard shaft. It felt like a somewhat possessive gesture.
A young, female aide walked in. Mauve recognized her as one of Voiceman Jonah’s. She had blonde hair done up in a bun and wore round spectacles. She looked to be about Mauve’s age, though the scars and his position as a voiceman made him feel much older.
“Voiceman Jonah had a few ideas he wanted me to run by you, if you have the time,” she said. She had a nice voice. Madina’s hand was running up and down his shaft again, and it was making it extremely hard for him to focus.
“A few ideas?” asked Mauve. Madina began stroking faster, almost at exactly half the speed of his racing heart.
“He understands why you reacted the way you did,” said the aide. “We’ve experienced our own tragedies at the hand of these… creatures, in our province.”
Mauve nodded, trying to keep his thoughts where they should be as he felt Madina’s hot, wet tongue pushing out to polish the tip of his cock. Mordona, Voiceman Jonah’s province, was directly north of Cardvale, also along the eastern border of the Collected Provinces.
Madina’s lips closed around his shaft. Mauve set a hand down on the desk, accidentally making eye contact with the aide as his gaze darted around the room.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
Mauve cleared his throat. Madina didn’t let up, slowly sucking and bringing her mouth back and forth. It felt ridiculously good, and he silently damned her for it.
“What are these ideas you mentioned?” asked Mauve, hoping his voice didn’t sound as pleasured as he thought it did.
“An expedition,” said the aide. “The electorate may not include your funding provision in the military budget, but each voiceman is allowed to accrue a certain amount of travel expenses over the course of a year.”
Mauve nodded. Madina was bobbing her head up and down, and he was close.
“So…” said Mauve. He couldn’t focus enough to see where she was going with her reasoning.
“So, if you and Jonah pooled yours, you could fund the expedition without having to use much of your own money,” said the aide. “Of course, both of you would also be required to go along with it.”
“Tell him I’m onboard.” Mauve would have said anything to get the girl out of his office, but he meant his words. He reached under the desk and took hold of Madina’s hair, thrusting forward with his hips.
“Uh… yes sir,” said the aide. She was looking at him strangely. Mauve made eye contact with her one last time as she left the room. He grunted, thrusting forward into Madina’s face. She kept a tight seal with her mouth as he released, excitement and pleasure flooding through Mauve’s body.
His release valve.
CHAPTER 24
Hal awoke alone in his own bed the next morning. Zoria had been cuddled up with him when he’d fallen asleep, after several more hours of “filling his heartgem”, but she’d apparently snuck out in the early morning.
Laurel still wasn’t back, and Hal wasn’t sure what to do with himself. He fed Karnas, and spent time practicing with his spark ring and short sword to make sure that he wouldn’t repeat the mistakes of the previous day’s fight.
It was a drab, overcast day. The streets were as crowded as ever, but the people seemed less lively than usual. Hal wondered if it was just the weather, or something else. He was still tired, the toll of two lackluster nights of sleep beginning to wear on him, and his ribcage and chest hurt whenever he tried to take a deep breath.
He made it out of the city and down to the arena grounds without incident. It was early, and the crowd was still filing in to watch the first fight. Hal headed for the combatant’s tent, and was surprised to see Laurel waiting outside of it.
“There you are,” he said. “I was starting to worry, you know.”
He was more annoyed than he’d let himself admit earlier, but also incredibly relieved. Without really thinking about it, Hal pulled Laurel into a tight hug.
“Apparently I’ve been missed?” she said, in a teasing voice.
“You didn’t tell me you’d be out all night,” said Hal. “I was left wondering if something had happened.”
Something like what happened the night before. Something like a husk attack.
“Sorry,” said Laurel. “I had a lot more catching up to do with Precia. And I figured, well, you know… That it might help if you and Zoria had some alone time. For your heartgem.”
She said the last two sentences with a detached, matter of fact tone. Hal nodded, but noticed that she also wouldn’t meet his gaze. It reminded him of Lilith, and how bad she’d been at keeping her face still when she was holding something back. He decided to let it be.
“I should check in with the tent overseer,” said Hal.
“Right,” said Laurel. “I already checked the schedule. You’re the third battle of the morning.”
Hal nodded and glanced toward the flap leading into the tent. What would he do if Golden Helm was inside? Would he have the self-control to bide his time and wait for an appropriate opportunity to settle the score? Or would his rage take over, and force him to attack right there and then.
“Hal?” asked Laurel. “You have a weird look on your face.”
Hal glanced at her, and she immediately looked away. He smiled a little.
“So do you,” he said. “I should get moving. Let’s talk more after.”
Golden Helm was not inside the tent, and Hal wasn’t sure whether it was the outcome he’d been hoping for. The tent overseer greeted him as “Just Hal”, and spent a few minutes quizzing him about the important facts of h
is life.
After that, Hal took a seat and waited, only half watching the fights ahead of him. He was nervous, much more nervous than he’d expected to be. He’d only won the first fight by the skin of his teeth, and each new opponent he faced would be more challenging than the last as he got deeper into the tournament.
Hal looked around at the other fighters waiting in the tent. At least a few of them wore gemstones openly. He hadn’t considered what it would be like to go up against another gem holder. A sapphire, diamond, or even a topaz used properly would render his own magic ineffective without the same necessarily being true in reverse. Ruby magic was only good defensively for countering fire, or other rubies, which was something else that he needed to be prepared for.
“Just Hal!” shouted the tent overseer. “You’re up!”
The sun still hadn’t found its way through the clouds, and Hal walked out into a colder and dimmer arena than he had the day before. His opponent stood on the other side of the circle, an ogre, like Vrodas.
Unlike Vrodas, this ogre had a completely shaven head and all four of his hands. He wore no armor, which made Hal feel strangely uneasy. He carried two daggers and two long, metallic whips, the latter weapons coiled and hanging from straps at his waist.
“And, here we are!” shouted the announcer. “Two of our most surprising victors from the first day matched up against each other in the sand circle. The brash, young ruby holder versus the mysterious, wandering stranger!”
The crowd let out a roar in unison. Hal searched the stands for Laurel’s face, but there were too many people for him to pick her out.
“To my left, we have Maniac, the famous maug warrior,” shouted the announcer. “Born on the island colony of Jarst, he came to the mainland as a mercenary to raise money for the advancement of his people. A noble cause that’s allowed him to serve under the banner of Great House Morwell as a captain in the Ostreach city guard!”
The crowd’s reaction to that was mixed, but the cheers were predominant.
“And facing him, we have the young, the bold, the unpredictable, Just Hal!” The announcer was grinning as he glanced down at the scrawled notes he’d taken on Hal’s background. “Born in the ‘Collected Provinces’, Just Hal was brought to Krestia’s Cradle by a dragon who carried him across the Sand Way. And he clearly isn’t lacking for imagination, I’ll tell you that much.”
The crowd laughed. Hal felt more irritated than he had any right to. Would he have believed someone claiming the opposite, had he come across them back in his homeland?
“Let us not belabor this any longer,” shouted the announcer. “May your blood seed the harvest!”
Hal stepped a few feet deeper into the sand circle, anticipating the minute of faux fighting that he and his opponent would do for the crowd. He pulled his short sword and dropped into a fighting stance. Maniac frowned, and then glared at him.
“Do you make mock of me with that stance?” shouted the maug.
Hal frowned, not understanding what he meant until he looked down at his positioning.
This is one of the basic stances from the Kye Lornis…
He almost laughed as he shook his head. Raising an eyebrow, Hal went through a few simple, standing steps, demonstrating to both his opponent and crowd that he’d been a dancer long before he’d ever been a fighter.
The look of shock on Maniac’s face was beautiful. The maug lowered his weapons, and then, after a few seconds, also began moving through steps of the Kye Lornis. Hal grinned and met the maug’s eye for a moment. Holding his sword with very careful positioning, he dove forward, rolling across his shoulders and coming up to one knee with an exaggerated flourish.
The crowd cheered in delight. Maniac hopped, skipping from foot to foot, and then charged at Hal, throwing himself into a flip over him at the last second. Hal stood up, spinning and hopping, and threw an exaggerated kick. Maniac caught his foot, and just as Mauve had done so many times back in the Collected Provinces, he prepped once and then levered upward, throwing Hal into a kicking backflip.
He landed with solid footing, knees bent to absorb the impact. Flips had always been one of Hal’s specialties. He waved to the crowd, still moving through dance steps, and turned to face Maniac again just as the arena official threw the flag for the actual fight to begin.
There was no hesitation from his opponent. Maniac charged forward, pulling loose his whips and striking out at Hal with them. Hal rushed to deflect with his sword, only managing to stop one of the snaking, metallic strikes. The other left a stinging cut across his shirt and arm, blood immediately pooling to the surface in tiny droplets and staining the garment.
Well, then. I guess we’re fighting, now.
Hal fell back, minding the edge of the circle. Maniac rushed him, trying to take his advantage and exploit it for a quick win. Hal moved quickly taking Cadrian’s advice and running his spark ring across his sword’s crossguard to create the catalyst spark he needed.
He pushed into a Ruby Trance as he channeled his spell, feeling his heartgem warm against his skin from the amount of essence he was pulling from it. Red hues overtook Hal’s vision, and he felt a sudden rush of unexpected emotion.
Maniac was in his way, and it made him furious. Hal knew that his real opponent was Golden Helm, and his real goal was to win the tournament and take the prize. Maniac stood between him and both, and it felt impossible to take it as anything but a personal offense.
He let out a snarling shout as he unleashed a Flame Blast, the fireball leaving his hands at twice the size it would have been without the amplification of his Ruby Trance. Maniac immediately shifted into defense, dodging the blast as well as he could. Hal had aimed it at his feet, and flames exploded outward from the point of impact, singeing Maniac’s clothes.
“Impressive!” shouted Maniac. “Very impressive!”
The maug began moving slowly along the edge of the sand circle, forcing Hal to stay across him on the opposite side. The intensity of the Ruby Trance was overwhelming, and his emotions surged back and forth between pride and anger.
He cast Fire Blast a second time. Maniac dodged more easily than he had before, falling into a Kye Lornis roll and keeping his balance as he rose to his feet. The maug rushed into attacking range, swinging his whips wildly and trying to draw Hal closer in.
They repeated the exchange twice more, with both Maniac and Hal relying on their agility to keep clear of the other’s attacks. It felt as much like a dance as it did a fight, and Hal understood better than ever why the Kye Lornis was a dance taught to all young maug children.
He was starting to grow impatient. His thoughts were stuck in a loop, and it was becoming hard for him to think clearly enough to formulate a proper strategy. He was getting angrier by the second, the ruby essence of his heartgem flowing into him and clouding his judgement.
Maniac feinted forward. Hal hesitated before casting Flame Blast again. He needed to find a way to make the maug stand still for long enough for him to get a direct hit, and in a flash of insight, he realized how he could do it.
Hal charged his opponent, pulling his sword back as though to ready it for a strike. Maniac grinned at him and attacked with his whip. Instead of dodging, Hal ran into the strike, lifting an arm and letting the coiling weapon wrap around his wrist.
Maniac laughed and began pulling Hal in, like a fish caught on a line. It was exactly what he’d been hoping for. Hal waited until he was nearly within range of Maniac’s daggers, and then unloaded with Flame Blast. The maug realized his mistake a second too late, and the fireball struck him in the side of his abdomen.
The force of the blast knocked him out of the sand circle. One of the arena officials immediately rushed to pat out the flames, preventing the attack from leaving more than a few painful burns. Hal grinned and lifted his sword in the air as the crowd let out a massive cheer. Despite his victory, his emotions roiled, and he still felt them surging as he left the Ruby Trance and his vision returned to normal.
> “Most impressive!” shouted the announcer. “Most impressive, indeed!”
CHAPTER 25
Laurel was waiting for Hal just outside of the combatant’s tent. He felt his emotions swirl as he looked at her, his eyes running across her body as they never had before. His heart was pounding with passionate excitement.
“That was awesome!” said Laurel. “You did so well! It was even better than… Hal? You’re looking at me weird…”
“Laurel…” said Hal. He pulled her in close to him, his hand cupping her cheek. She felt so soft against him, and before he could stop to think about what he was doing, he was leaning in, bringing his lips toward hers.
“Halrin!” Cadrian’s sharp voice cut into the moment, followed by her arm, which physically pulled him away from a very surprised looking Laurel. Hal turned, his expression furious, in time to see Cadrian lifting a water flask up over his head. The cold water made him tense up, but it also splashed some sense back into him.
“What…?” He shook his head, suddenly confused by the path his thoughts had been on.
“The Ruby Trance,” said Cadrian. “You’re still feeling the emotional effects of it. There is a reason why we were always careful about what we did afterward when we used it in our training.”
Usually we had sex afterward. Ah.
“Sorry,” he said, wincing as he looked at Laurel. “Wow. I’m not sure what I was just doing.”
Laurel was blushing, and she gave an odd shrug rather than offering her own opinion on the matter.
“You must always be aware of the effect gem magic has on your emotions,” said Cadrian. “At Baseline, it isn’t as pronounced, but the effects of the Ruby Trance can be distracting, and even dangerous.”
“And what about Ascension?” asked Hal. He’d never seen anyone actually achieve Ascension, the third gem magic state beyond Trance. Whenever Cadrian mentioned it, he became intensely curious as to how it worked and what it would allow him to do.
Harvest Tournament (Sexcraft Chronicles Book 2) Page 14
