Sword of the Gods: The Chosen One (Sword of the Gods Saga)

by Anna Erishkigal

  She gave him that black stare that reminded him of hunger. The hunger he'd felt in his heart ever since the day Ninsianna had told him she wasn’t in love with him anymore and had broken off their engagement.

  “I want you to leave Shahla alone,” Gita said. “She doesn't deserve what you're doing to her.”

  Her words were so quiet, he could barely hear them above the crowd as they dug into the lavish feast his father had laid out for -his- betrothed's wedding! And the enemy who had stolen her from him! Jamin turned to watch, hatred welling in his heart as he plotted revenge against those who had done this to him. Betrayed! By his own father!

  His cheek twitched, causing a cruel sneer to appear upon his face. He turned to cut Gita down the way he was feeling all cut down inside right now.

  His words met with empty air. The peculiar black-eyed girl had disappeared…

  Chapter 93

  August – 3,390 BC

  Earth: Village of Assur

  Colonel Mikhail Mannuki’ili

  Mikhail

  Mikhail surveyed his ship as he circled in for a landing. Ever since they'd left, he'd made weekly trips up here to check its status. Although knowledge of the ships systems was aided by paper technical manuals that didn't require power to read, he still had no idea how to repair the fractured hull on a planet with no technological resources. Or how to get the engines back online, which he suspected had been damaged beyond repair. The ruined ship did, however, make a superb honeymoon getaway.

  “My wife … your bower for the next two weeks,” he said the moment their feet hit the ground.

  “My husband,” she said, “do we ever have to leave?" She grabbed the lapels of his dress uniform and pulled him down for a kiss.

  “If you keep kissing me like that,” he growled. “We are not going to make it into the ship." He scooped her up in his arms and ordered “watch your head!” as he carried her over the threshold.

  Ninsianna gasped when she saw the inside. It was her first time back and he'd been diligently making repairs. If not for the crack in the hull or fact he couldn't get the engines to fire, the interior was restored to the condition it had been in before he'd been shot down. The ship would have appeared ready for duty if not for the flowers he'd gathered to decorate the sterile interior of his ship, a suggestion given to him by Yalda and Zhila in one of their tipsy ‘advice sessions’ before the wedding.

  “Well?” he asked, waiting to see her reaction.

  “Oh, Mikhail,” Ninsianna cried, reaching up to give him a hug. “It's beautiful. Is this what your ship looked like before you crashed?”

  “I can assure you, ma’am, that there were absolutely no flowers on my ship before it crashed,” he said with a deadpan expression that he might have pulled off had a smirk not snuck past his poker face.

  “I mean, all this work,” she said, trailing off. “You did this for me?”

  “Of course,” he said. “I couldn't bring my new wife back to an un-shipshape ship now, could I?”

  Ninsianna wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down for a hungry kiss. Her fingers trailed through his hair as she pressed up against him. Every instinct screamed to take her right there on the floor and make her his, but he wanted to do this right. He couldn't remember whether or not he'd ever lain down with a woman before, but knew down to the core of his being this would be the first time he'd ever made love to one.

  “There is more." He reluctantly pulled himself from her embrace. “Come…" He tugged her past the galley, decorated with flowers and set for dinner for two, to their sleeping quarters.

  “What did you do to the beds?” she asked.

  He'd disassembled the four bunks, knocked out the supports that would have prevented the mattresses from touching, and reassembled two frames to make a single large bed big enough for the both of them. He'd lined this room with flowers, as well. And tallow lamps. Dozens of tiny clay lamps to light up every corner of the room in a soft, romantic light. He'd darted back only minutes before the ceremony started, his wings enabling him to pull off a feat of romantic engineering no human could have accomplished without missing the ceremony.

  “Does it meet your approval, my love?” he asked, pleased at her reaction.

  “Oh, yes!” she cried. “Now … kiss me…”

  His surprises done for the day, Mikhail gave himself permission to do what he'd been wanting to do ever since he'd opened his eyes and found a beautiful young woman on his ship, unable to speak his language, but able to communicate all he needed to know simply by placing the palm of her hand upon his cheek.

  Wrapping his arms around her waist, he kissed her like a thirsty man drinking cool, clear water from a spring. Ninsianna moaned and fumbled with his buttons as she removed his constricting jacket off. It slid down to the floor. Slipping his hand down the back of her shawl, he cupped her firm, round buttocks in his hands and pulled her closer, gasping with pleasure as she rubbed her abdomen against his manhood. He used the convenient handholds to lift her so that her body would align with his.

  Two buttons from his dress shirt hit the floor as she gave up trying to manipulate the unfamiliar fastenings and simply broke the threads. She pressed her lips to his chest, tugging at his shirt as he kissed her from earlobe to collarbone. Feathers rustled with pent-up desire. He groaned and nipped her ear as she slid his shirt the rest of the way off.

  Slipping her shawl off, he marveled at her breasts, her brownish-pink nipples standing erect and ready for his inquisitive tongue. Ninsianna gasped as he bent down to suckle first one, and then the other, simultaneously working apart the button and zipper to his pants. Kicking off his boots, he nearly fell over as she reached beneath the waistband and touched his manhood.

  “So that’s what this is all about?” she asked, fondling the tip of his erection with her tantalizing healers hands.

  “If you keep doing that,” his wings slapped against the wall as they involuntarily convulsed. “This will be over before it's even started. I want to be sure you're satisfied.”

  She stood like a fine marble statue, her eyes glittering with desire as he touched the delicate string which held her loincloth to her hips. This was not the rawhide string she used every day, but one braided with flowers and the first stalks of grain from the summer harvest, a prayer to She-who-is that their union would be a fertile one. Slipping down her loincloth and marveling at the sight of her furry mound, he quivered in anticipation as she slid his underpants the rest of the way down.

  It was Ninsianna, as always, who took the lead…

  “Are you ready?” she led him towards the bed.

  He lay her down beneath him as though laying out a fine silk scarf upon the covers, supporting his weight on his hands and knees so he wouldn't crush her. With the upper-level bunks now gone, he had room to flare his wings, a more natural mating position to a winged creature such as himself than scrunched up at his sides. Advice given by his tipsy elderly friends flitted through his mind. Urgency lit a fire in his belly and burnt like wildfire through his veins. He fought to keep control as Ninsianna explored his body with her fingers and instinctively tilted her hips up to meet him.

  “Ninsianna … have you ever…?”

  “No,” she blushed.

  “I'll try to be careful." He kissed her to increase her level of arousal. “There might be a little pain at first.”

  The shadow of fear crossed her face as stories about first-time pain clouded the moment. She'd never done this before. Heck … he couldn't remember if he'd ever done this before, though from the ribbings of the other males, they found incredulous that a man of his age wouldn't have engaged in the sex act before. Whatever his level of experience, he was afraid he might hurt her badly enough that she would be afraid of future matings. The widow-sisters had told him he must delay his own satisfaction and pleasure his new wife before breaking the barrier that would transform her from maiden into married woman. Kissing her until the cloud of fear left her eyes, he kissed down her
neck, past her breasts, and down to her abdomen, caressing her inner thighs with one hand.

  “That tickles,” she giggled, squirming beneath his touch as he awkwardly ventured into uncharted territory.

  He nibbled on her belly-button, relishing the tremble of muscle beneath her soft skin. Taste. He licked her sensitive naval, his tongue darting into the tiny cavern and eliciting a giggle of delight. Flowers. Whatever she'd bathed in this morning, she smelled of flowers and the scent of soap root he would forever associate with her. As his lips moved down towards her furry mound, she grabbed his hair and pulled him away from the ticklish area. Working down a second time, he paused, moving his hands across her thighs, closer to the folds of her feminine mysteries, to give her time to grow accustomed to his touch. He stared at that most secret place, fascinated, as if he had never seen such a wonder before.

  Ninsianna moaned as he kissed her inner thighs. His manhood sent insistent shudders through his body as his libido attempted to override his self-control. Determined her first release would be a pleasurable one, he reined in his own desire. She shifted, opening herself fully to his inquiring tongue. He kissed the folds of her female mystique and spread them apart, relishing her pleasant, musky scent. There. A tiny little button beckoned to him, pulsating in anticipation of his touch. This was where he'd been told a woman liked to be pleasured.

  Looking up the length of her abdomen, her beautiful, golden eyes glittered with anticipation as watched him pleasure her. She placed her palms on either side of his face and nodded. Watching her eyes, he licked her, watching her expression as shudders wracked her body. Her scent changed. Grew muskier. More earthy. As though she were fertile earth waiting for him to plant his seed. She threw back her head and arched her back, pushing his head down further towards the part of her body screaming for release.

  Suckling the tiny mound to increase her level of arousal, he couldn't help but smile at the funny little happy noises she made with each lick of his tongue. He sent a silent thanks to his two elderly friends who'd suggested such a thing in the first place. Truth be told, at the time he'd thought it obscene. It was their advice he relied upon now, not instinct, as he gently slid one finger into her feminine mysteries to give her time to adjust to the feel of him inside of her body. She stiffened, and then relaxed as she realized there was no pain.

  “Mikhail." She hesitantly arched her hips to give him greater access.

  Wait. He must wait until she became acclimated to his touch. He pushed down the insistent twanging of his manhood and focused on what she was feeling. She tilted her pelvis to meet his tongue. Wait. He gently stretched the thin membrane that partially obstructed the entrance to the mysteries within. He waited until she began to move herself along his fingers to satisfy her own desire.

  He could sense she was close to release by the way she writhed and made adorable little mewling noises like a kitten seeking out its mother's breast. Removing his fingers, he licked her mound until she began to shudder. Her sweet juices exploded onto his waiting tongue. Panting as though she had just run a marathon, she sighed and stretched out spread-eagle on the bed, grabbing his hair and pulling him back up to kiss her on the lips, a satisfied smile upon her face.

  “So that's what that was all about…?” she asked with a husky voice. “That didn't hurt at all.”

  “That was just the teaser." He kissed her as his throbbing erection pressed insistently into her abdomen. “Are you ready for the main event?”

  The shadow of fear crossed her face as concern about pain made her fret. He caressed her until she became aroused a second time. Wait. He suppressed the frantic twang his manhood shrieked throughout his entire body and took her to the edge. He wanted her even more aroused the second time so desire would override the pain his first entry would cause as he broke her maiden head. She pleaded for release from the torturous pleasure he was giving her.

  “Please, Mikhail!" She gasped for breath as she tried to capture his manhood with her hips. Frantic with desire, she bent up and sank her teeth into his neck as she grabbed his buttocks and pulled him closer to her hips. It was time.

  Maneuvering his manhood to the entrance of her feminine mysteries, he maintained eye contact as he rubbed it against her wet, moist entrance until it had become thoroughly bathed in the juices of her desire. Her warm wetness made him shudder in anticipation. The wetter he was, the less he would hurt her.

  Memory loss was a beautiful thing. Nothing about this felt familiar. He was relying entirely upon the embarrassing advice his friends had given. Pausing to make sure he was lined up so awkward movement wouldn't increase her pain, he kissed her and pushed through the barrier preventing his entrance. She froze as he slid with a single, smooth movement into the place some ancient god had designed so mortal creatures would fit together.

  “It hurts,” she whispered, pain clouding her eyes.

  He forced himself to remain still. Wait. He must wait until she took the lead or the mating would be … would be …

  A shadow flitted through his memory and was gone. He must wait for her to bond properly with him or the lifemate bond would be incomplete. She kissed him, causing the errant thought to fly out of his mind. Wait. He must wait or he would hurt her.

  Keeping still, he deepened his kiss until he felt her body relax around his manhood. She began to writhe, adjusting to the feel of him inside of her as she grew bolder and moved herself along his shaft. Distracting her by nibbling down her neck, he arched his back and slowly slid partway out, then even more slowly back in until the full length of his manhood had been absorbed. He felt her shudder, pain mixing with pleasure as she cried out and moaned.

  The sensation did things he was certain he'd never felt before. Wings slapped against the sheets, feathers flying as he instinctively tried to carry them into the air. Wishing desperately to climax together, he held onto a shred of self-control long enough to coax her ahead of his own desire. The feel of her moving against him caused warmth like he'd never experienced before to emanate from his heart, out to his outer extremities, and into his brain.

  She cried out. Her muscles clutched his manhood as she began to climax a second time. Stars exploded inside his mind. He cried out, feeling his consciousness slip beyond the confines of his mortal shell as, just for a moment, he experienced what it must feel like to be a god. His mate. For life. In his mind, he shouted his intentions to the universe that come what may, nothing would ever part him from her. Not even death. Exhausted, he collapsed against her, shifting his weight to one side so he wouldn't crush her.

  “Ohmygods,” she panted. “That was…..”

  “Amazing….." He silenced her with a kiss.

  “Tell me that you love me?”

  “I love you more than life itself,” he pulled her to his chest and entangled his legs with hers. “And I shall never be parted from you." He couldn't remember his past, but he was certain that he'd never felt so happy in his entire life.

  He shifted one wing so that it covered them both. With happy exhaustion, they drifted off to a pleasant, dreamy sleep in each other’s arms.

  Chapter 94

  Galactic Standard Date: 152,323.08 AE

  Tango Sector: Command Carrier 'Jehoshaphat'

  General Abaddon aka ‘the Destroyer’

  Abaddon

  Three grey hairs. With the happiest feeling his old heart could ever remember feeling, he counted them again. Three grey hairs. Not two. Not four. But three of them. Exactly. Three grey hairs graced the ebony tresses which cascaded from her scalp down to the small of her back.

  He sank his nose into her neck and inhaled, the scent of hCG growing stronger each day. After 630 years of failure, her scent was so intoxicating that he couldn't bear to be away from her for more than a few minutes. More and more he found himself delegating the more mundane tasks of running the Air Force to one of the lower-ranking airmen so he could get back to her as quickly as possible. He pressed a hand against her abdomen, still flat despite the child h
e could smell growing in her womb.

  "Has the sickness passed, mo ghrá?" He touched the bluish shadows which had appeared under her eyes about the same time she'd begun to stumble to the toilet each morning and vomit. Morning sickness was rare amongst Angelic females, but the ship's doctor had reassured him her pregnancy was progressing normally. Unable to fight this battle for her, he did the only thing he could to show his support. Held her while she suffered dry heaves, pulled back her hair, and wiped her face when she was done before carrying her back to the bed and cuddling her until the color began to creep back into her olive complexion.

  Mahogeny brown eyes smiled back at him, the tiny crow's feet at the corner of each eye telling him what words didn't. She felt better. She muttered something unintelligible, followed by the word 'okay.' Lucifer had insinuated the root race was not very intelligent, but already she'd learned dozens of core phrases to communicate. He suspected she could understand far more than she could yet verbalize.

  Three grey hairs. And a smattering of crow's feet. He had no idea how old she was or whether or not her species was as long-lived as his, but he found them oddly reassuring, those hints of age that indicated she, too, had experienced frustration in the past with failed matings? Perhaps she saw him as more than the washed-up old geezer that female Angelics had spurned every time he'd begged to be put back into the queue for a mating attempt and been turned down cold. It gave him hope that perhaps it had been She-who-is who had brought the two of them together across the vast distance of the galaxy and not merely the manipulations of one old god against another?

  "You have made me the happiest man alive," Abaddon whispered in her ear.

  Her lips turned up in a smile as he nibbled on her earlobe. Yes. She definitely felt better. An hour or so after the morning sickness started, it went away just as mysteriously as it had come. He trailed kisses across her high cheekbones to the lush, pink lips he loved to kiss. The Emperor had stolen this from his species, this exquisite feeling of being joined as one heart and soul with your mate. He better than anyone remembered the real reason the Emperor had forbidden his species to take a mate. He was, after all, one-quarter Seraphim, the bloodline diluted just enough that he wouldn't form the lifemate bond inadvertently. He could sense it happening now, and he allowed it, for it was something he hadn't even realized he'd wanted until he'd met her.