“I won’t let that happen.” He wiped away my tears.
“You can’t save me from everything. Anyway…it doesn’t matter. Ezeru went away. I…think it probably is for the best.” I said it, but I didn’t feel that way at all. I felt as if I’d been denied something important. “You and your crazy ideas.”
He cupped my face. “If I didn’t have crazy ideas, would I be here?”
“Probably not.”
He wrapped his strong arms around me, and I settled against him with a sigh, trying to forget what I couldn’t control. I ran my hand down Oszin’s back and felt some tension in him loosen, and nuzzled my face against his neck. I let him take care of me the way I think he would have years ago, if only he could.
“You’re so reliable,” I said.
“Is that a compliment? It sounds like I’m a trusty steed.”
“Mm…maybe you are a trusty steed.” I trailed a finger down his shirt.
“You really want that horse, huh?”
He lowered us back onto the bed and we were kissing gently, slowly building up to more. Very slowly. Where we had been awkward and hurried when we made love before, we were learning patience now, savoring small things: my finger grazed his collarbone, he dropped soft kisses on my palm, I gazed at the way his black hair curled behind his ear the same way on both sides, in a line that seemed so perfect.
When it was finally time to speed up instead of slowing down, Oszin stopped and got one of the protective sheaths so I would not have his child. I saw the tension in his back and I thought of how I had just felt that tension when I touched him. He certainly had not forgotten that my husband was the dragon king, whoever that might be, and not him.
I am the queen, I thought. No matter who is the king, I have no competitor. I suffered under the dragon’s tear for almost twenty years to fulfill this prophecy. We thought the prophecy was about Aurekdel. Then Seron. Now, it’s possible that even Ezeru could have broken my curse.
What if that is intentional?
Oszin pushed into me, filling me. I rubbed his back again, my fingers stroking deep.
“Mm…that feels damn good,” he said, stroking me slowly on the inside to mirror the way I touched him. Our rhythm was still slow but so intimate…the feeling that built was explosive.
Seron knocked on the door. “Sounds like you’re having a nice nap,” he said.
Oszin tried to pull back but I clutched him to me, not letting him go, unexpectedly aroused at the thought of Seron joining us. “Come in,” I said.
Oszin was very tense. The door slid open. Seron was blushing, but trying to look like he belonged there.
“Nap,” he repeated. “Well, then.”
“Are you demanding your kingly privileges?” I asked wryly, since he looked so pale and uncomfortable.
“Aurekdel said—” He broke off. “Yes. Yes, I am. And what was all that about? You were looking at Ezeru as if—I mean, the whole scenario was awkward. I’m afraid the court saw the way he was looking at you.” Still blushing. “And the way you looked at him back. Do you—I mean—this heat he’s in doesn’t go both ways, does it?”
I wasn’t entirely sure how to answer.
But something inside me seemed to have stirred.
“Come here,” I said. “What did you think of my speech?”
“It was very good,” he said, walking up to the bed. “I’m sorry the dragons got a bit unruly.”
I reached up, my hand weaving past layers of clothing, and found his cock, already mostly erect. “No underwear today?” I noted. “You’re planning ahead these days.”
“Moth, are we still—”
“Yes,” I said. “Go on.”
I tugged Seron closer and stroked his cock with my hand as Oszin plunged deeply into me again.
“Mm…” I guided Seron’s hand to my breast, running my fingers over his scales as he started carefully circling my nipple with a claw.
Even now, I couldn’t banish the thought of Ezeru, no matter how hard I tried.
Clearly, only one of my men liked to share. And up until now, I had let Aurekdel take the lead. But I was the queen now. I knew I couldn’t tell Seron that I wanted to see Ezeru again. He wasn’t ready for that. But today was my first speech, my first step toward rising to my position. It wouldn’t be the last. And whatever this prophecy demanded of me, I knew that sooner or later, I would have to reckon with it.
Chapter Twenty-One
Aurekdel
“Let me see how strong you are now.” I brandished a hand at Himika, as if to arm wrestle.
The moment her frail hand smacked against mine and tried to shoved it aside, I grinned. “Yes, I think you can keep carrying Irhonda for now. Our goal will be for you to grow out of it.”
“Right. Because Irhonda is stronger when I’m weak,” she said, sounding a little miffed. “And I’m still not strong at all.”
“Well, of course not. You haven’t had a chance. Let’s work on some basic strikes and blocks first. That is, if you still want to learn to use a sword at all. I wouldn’t blame you if you—”
“No!” she interrupted. “I still want to learn!”
“Good. I do enjoy this time together. And—it’s wise.”
“You told me to bring my knife today,” she said.
“I thought after sword practice we could work on knife throwing a bit.”
I had her moving until her breath was coming in hard, strained pants. “Make sure to drink enough water,” I said. “Breathe deeply.”
“I wasn’t complaining,” she said.
“I didn’t say you were. It’s not a weakness to need to breathe. But you do need to take care of yourself. I wonder how long we’ve been here already.”
“I think I heard the bells for the fifth hour a little while ago,” she said.
“Fifth hour already. Seron wakes up so early. But I suppose we’ll all adjust.”
“How are you feeling?” she asked, and even though it was Himika, I snarled before I caught myself.
“My gem, you are the object of my highest affection and respect, but as I told the maids earlier, I will kill the next person who asks. Don’t make me include you in that number.”
“So…not great,” she said.
“Well, I look forward to the day you’re good enough to spar with me,” I said. “Then you’ll know how I feel. However, I will work to master my personal feelings. They’re selfish and unproductive. If you weren’t my wife, I wouldn’t even tell you.”
“Raia said to me this morning that a lot of people still think of you as the king,” she said, tentative.
“Yes. That’s exactly the mood I need to squash.” I felt for her hand. “Shall we go throw some knives?”
When it came to throwing, Himika was not strong but her aim was better than mine, not that this was really a surprise. I would never throw knives in battle; I had no hope of striking the vulnerable spots, but it was still satisfying just to pitch a knife and hear the thunk of the blade sinking into the target instead of an awkward clatter when they missed entirely and hit the target sideways or grazed the wall and fell on the ground.
It was more satisfying to hear her hit the target, and bounce on her feet. “Yesss! That’s more like it! But—I doubt I could hit a moving target.”
“You have to be patient with yourself,” I said. “I can see I’ll be reminding you of that a million times. If you rush training, where will that get you?”
“Dead?”
“Well, I meant it as a rhetorical question, but actually, yes. It will get you dead.”
“I understand,” she panted. “I know Rin would say the same thing. So what next?”
“You want more?”
“I don’t have anything else to do this morning.”
“You never fail to astonish me,” I said. “Lift up your arms.”
“Ungh.” She did. I ran my hands up and down them. They were shaking like noodles and so willowy that I could easily close my thumb and finger around the e
ntire length.
She will never be a great warrior, I thought. She doesn’t have the build. Her illness has set her back years as far as even working with what she has. And she can’t turn into a dragon.
But far be it from me to tell her that. I would never be a great warrior either, but Seron still sparred with me anyway, and he didn’t insult me by letting me win. Once in a very rare while, my instincts and remaining senses seemed to find a perfect moment of unity and I could get a good strike in on him. But I never won. It wasn’t about winning.
“What am I raising my arms for?” she cried.
“No reason,” I said. “I can see that you are utterly exhausted. I just enjoy your determination. I want to make you stronger. But we’re done for the day, my gem. You don’t want to hurt yourself. We’ll go to the baths and I’ll rub your shoulders.”
She was putty in my hands down there in the warm water and I took advantage of it fully, working my fingers deep into her back and shoulders. At first, she could only groan as my hands slid over her arms and shoulders before my thumbs dug into the muscles behind her shoulder blades.
“Nice and relaxed…” I encouraged her. “But let’s sit you a little farther back.” I slipped my hands around the top of her legs, lifting her in the water to sit on my cock. Her core was hot as fire, tight around me, as her head lolled a little with how much I had worked her to a pleasurable exhaustion. I kept working my hands over her muscles, feeling every little shiver of pleasure from my touch rippling all through her.
“Aurek…can I ask you something? It’s okay if you say no. I know it sort of upset you last time.”
“Well, maybe I’d rather you didn’t. How are you still capable of speech?”
“When we spar, would you ever consider drinking my tea first?”
“You mean that tea that makes you feel what’s around you.”
“Yes. I just wondered if it would make it easier for you to fight. You said you didn’t want to ever take it before a real battle. I understand that. But when we spar, I want you to know where I am.”
“If it worked like that, you would never win,” I said. “As it stands, you have a chance.”
“Well, I don’t want to win,” she said. “Because I know you’re a hundred times better than me except that you can’t see me. It seems unfair.”
“It’s not unfair if it’s true.”
“But why not take advantage of magic?”
“For you, perhaps I will, though you might regret it.”
“I doubt it,” she said, with a satisfied sigh.
I moved her hands to the rim of the pool, and took my pleasure in her. It was nice, after all, to have just one woman, because I was getting to know all her signals, the way her breath changed when she enjoyed the angle or when she didn’t, the way her back arched when she wanted me to touch her between the legs. I had so feared that my human queen could never match my appetite, but this girl was always ready for me. For all of us.
“This is your first of the day, hm?” I said, provoking her.
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t smell Seron or Oszin on you yet…as I sometimes do…”
“Oh! You—!?”
“I always know. And Seron always knows. And if you let Ezeru get too close, he’d know too…just how much you can handle.”
She gasped with more desire than horror.
As I suspected.
“My hungry little dragon queen…”
Between my ridged cock and skillful hands, I made her sob as she crashed into a climax.
And then when it was over, she stayed close, her fingers skimming over my hair or tracing around my fingers with great affection. When I had dallied with a variety of palace girls, I always expected they would leave, and they did, but Himika would never leave. She often wanted to talk. She wasn’t just hungry for sex; she was hungry for everything.
“It’s so beautiful down here,” she said. “I do love the moonstone. Maybe Lady Minna was right. The light here is so clear but soft…it reminds me of being outside under the moon and stars.”
“You must miss the sky sometimes,” I said.
“All the time,” she said. “I really miss the seasons.”
“Seasons?”
“Yes. In my world, everything is changing all the time. In spring, the trees bloom with pink and white blossoms and the air is full of the smell of life. Then it turns bright green and warm. All the plants grow really fast and there’s a ton of fresh food to eat. Then, in fall, the air smells like woodsmoke and the leaves turn red and gold, and then…it’s cold and snow falls.”
This all sounded entirely alien to me. “That sounds like a lot to happen in one year.”
She laughed. “It is. But it’s exciting. I look forward to every new season. There are a bunch of small changes in between those, too. The first frost, and the summer rains…” Her voice turned more subdued. “I try not to think of all those things I miss so much.”
“You don’t speak of it very often.”
“I also wish I could take you to the orchestra. I think you’d like it. Culture here is more…what we would probably call primitive. I do like it, though. It’s very raw and it feels like everyone is invited. Dragons seem more clannish. Everyone in the castle is a family, whereas the opera and orchestra are only for the rich. Still…the music paints an entire picture and tells a story, and sometimes it just sounds like a mountain, or like winter, so I wish you could hear it. I could tell you what snow looks like, but it would be better if you heard the music of the Snow Maiden ballet.”
I can’t say I had been especially eager to go to the sky kingdom. I preferred places I knew, where I felt in control. But the idea of experiencing something entirely new, beyond the scope of my imagination, was intriguing.
“It will get much easier to travel,” I said. “Still, I’m glad it hasn’t been entirely miserable for you to share my world.”
“There is something warm and soothing about the crystal light. I didn’t expect that at all. It doesn’t look like the sun but maybe it’s healthy. I thought I might feel weak and wasted like a shut-in in this world, even if the curse was lifted. You dragons don’t have the healthiest pallor. But maybe I was wrong about that too.”
“Do I have an unhealthy pallor?” I asked, displeased.
“No, you’re actually rather warm and golden. You look like sunshine. Your crystal affinity is like that too.”
“I feel like I get a new view of my world when I talk to you.”
She trailed her fingers along my cheek. I felt like she was comforting me. More importantly, I felt like she understood my need for comfort without making me say so. It wasn’t something I asked for. But it was nice to have.
“Aurek,” she said, “I like making you stronger too.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Aurekdel
“I went to the village today,” Seron said, several days later, interrupting my afternoon contemplation over a cup of (non-magical) tea. “And this lady cursed and spat when she saw me.”
“Did you arrest her?”
“I dunno…”
“You don’t know?”
“I mean, no. I didn’t. I felt weird about it. I think the guards scolded her a bit.”
“Seron, for gods’ sake, you’re the king. You can’t let people curse and spit at you.”
“It was under her breath. And she probably just heard some rumor that isn’t true. There are a lot of ‘em flying around.”
“I didn’t say to execute her, just have one of the guards cuff her and speak to her so she doesn’t disrespect you again.”
“She had a baby with her,” he said.
“So, you can play with the baby while they speak to her,” I said sarcastically. “You did quite well the other day during the coronation of Ezeru. You sounded thrillingly authoritative.”
“I was doing what I knew was right,” he said. “In this case, I wasn’t so sure. You’ve been the king for this woman’s entire life
. And then one day I simply take your place.”
“I would never let anyone curse your name,” I said, grinding my teeth. Gods, but Seron frustrated me sometimes. “You have to act decisively. That isn’t just for the battlefield. Every moment of life is its own battlefield. Act first, worry over it later. If you’re unsure of your decisions, well, just don’t do anything you can’t undo.”
“I feel like an impostor!” he said. “Like I am my own kind of traitor king. I just want to handle the armies. Every day feels like a bad dream. Everyone looking at me, wanting me to say things… Aurek, you’re so damn charming and I would rather lose my teeth than willingly attract attention.”
It does feel like a bad dream. I calmly poured us each a cup of tea now.
“We need a good time, is what we need. And Himika has never gotten a chance to dance in her life. Do you remember those musicians from the village?”
“The brothers? With the ouka and the pipes?”
“You know the one. We could have them come and play, and invite all the people in the valley so the idea of you as the king doesn’t seem so strange. We’ll dip into the best wine stores. I’ll talk to Irda about the food, but we’ll keep it simple. Open tables, nothing sit down. Should we arrange a few games, or…” I paused. “Yes, I know. We still have some unclaimed Gaermoni silk. Let’s have a few games and give that out as a prize, just to direct everyone’s more combative energy into something less fraught.”
I felt the table tilt as he dropped his big elbow on it. “I hate parties,” he said.
“Why?”
“What do you mean, why? I’ve always hated parties.”
“Yes, I know. I just wondered why that is.”
He was quiet for a little while. “When we came back to the court it was so strange to be around lots of people. I think a part of me had thought that you and Tiriana were the only people in the world, besides our enemies. Even as a commander, I don’t feel like I’m really talking to people, so that’s all right. I listen to the reports and then say, do this, do that, what about that, etcetera.”
The Kingdoms of Sky and Shadow Box Set Page 41
