“Oh,” moaned Eva. “Milord.”
“Looks like I’ve scored a hit,” whispered Ari. “But don’t worry. The bout isn’t over yet.”
He kept still for a moment, running his hands across the flawless, pale skin of her back and sweeping them around to cup her breasts. They were small, but Eva’s slenderness made them seem perfectly suited to her. Eva arched her back as he played with her nipples, pushing her butt back into him.
One of her hands clasped his forearm, and Ari took a firm hold of her waist. He used his free hand to grope her butt a little harder than he needed to as he began to pump into her. It was hard to go slow, but more than anything, Ari wanted to take his time. He wanted to stretch the encounter out and properly spend the night with her. He wanted…
He felt a flutter of emotions that he’d thought he’d reserved for Kerys. Ari swallowed and tried to distract himself from them by focusing on the movement of his hips and the punishment of Eva’s slender, perfect body. It didn’t work.
“Oh, Aristial!” moaned Eva. “Yes… that is… good.”
Ari pushed her down flat on the bed, leaning over her for a moment to kiss her neck and smell her hair. He thrust into her while she was lying prone and then pulled back a bit too far, losing his angle.
Eva shifted in a flash of movement, spinning out from underneath him, grabbing him by the shoulders, and pinning him on the bed. Ari let out a small chuckle and tried, without success, to reassert control.
“It is my turn,” she whispered. “As I said. You could do with some instruction.”
She kissed his lips, his neck, and his chest, and then she straddled him and lifted up straight. She was a fraction of an inch from the tip of his cock, so close to riding him that Ari found it painful to endure. He watched as she reached up to her hair, which was in a bun, and undid the tie, letting it fall loose across her shoulders in all its silver-blue glory.
Ari ran his hands up her body, holding eye contact with her as she sank down on his tool. They both let out matching sighs of pleasure, and then Eva slowly began to ride. Her hips swayed back and forth in a sensual grinding motion, as though she was trying to rub the hardness out of his cock.
He let her show off for a little bit, sinking into the sensation. He was close to his limit, but he wasn’t willing to admit it, not after all the teasing. Instead, Ari waited for Eva to lean forward to kiss him, then took a firm hold of her buttocks and began to add his own rough, upward thrusts into the mix.
It was hot, loud, and wonderful. Eva became more vocal as she gave in to the pleasure. Ari gave into something else. It was emotion that he felt surging through him as much as a sexual thrill. A sudden realization of the fact that Eva, mysterious as she was, had become special to him.
Eva gave him a deep, passionate kiss and then let out a cute moan and buried her face in his shoulder, her hips continuing to ride him automatically. Ari caressed her hair with gentle fingers as he continued to pump upward into her with rough, punishing strikes.
He looked over at the door. It was partially open, and someone was peeking in through the crack.
Kerys was watching them.
Ari felt his heart skip a beat. His body kept moving even as his mind froze, fucking Eva as though it was a matter of survival. He stared at Kerys, his eyes roving over her face. He expected her to be mad, or at least upset. Hurt at the level of intimacy he and Eva were engaged in.
None of those emotions were visible, or at least, they weren’t predominant. Instead, Kerys looked curious, embarrassed, and a little guilty, like a little girl up after her bedtime.
“Oh, milord!” moaned Eva. She started moving faster, shifting so that she was moving up and down and bouncing on Ari’s shaft.
“Eva…” said Ari. He needed to tell her. He was afraid of telling her. He was afraid of even letting Kerys notice that he’d seen her.
He took the path of least resistance, flipping Eva underneath him so that Kerys couldn’t see his face and thrusting into her with all the hard determination he could muster. It felt weird knowing that Kerys was, in all likelihood, still watching him. It made it extremely hard for him to hold out.
“Eva!” Ari pumped into her hard, feeling himself cross over the line. He heard a small gasp come from the doorway, followed by the creaking of the door as it closed. Eva didn’t seem to notice.
“Aristial!” She wrapped her legs around him and squeezed tight. Ari thrust his entire length as deep as it would go and gave her one last passionate kiss as he erupted inside of her.
They stayed like that for a time. It was a peaceful embrace, though Ari’s thoughts were anything but. It wasn’t until he finally rolled off her and Eva cuddled up against his shoulder that she finally seemed to notice something off about him.
“What is wrong?” she asked.
He should tell her. He knew he should. She had a right to know that they’d been being watched during the most personal of times.
“Nothing,” he said. “I should probably head back to my own bed.”
“Of course,” said Eva. “Sweet dreams, Lord Aristial.”
CHAPTER 30
“Why do you keep looking at me like that, Ari?” asked Kerys.
Ari shifted his gaze away from her, looking out the window at the early morning sky instead.
“I just think your new dress looks good on you,” he said.
“Are you teasing me?” asked Kerys.
“No,” said Ari. “It really does.”
That was, at least, true enough. The strips of tan leather that Eva had sewed onto Kerys previously ragged grey dress had brought the garment back to life. It even fit her better, with a strip of leather around the waist serving as an adjustable belt to better cling to her form.
“Thanks,” said Kerys. “Evastria, I can’t thank you enough for your help with it. It means a lot to me.”
Kerys set a hand on Eva’s shoulder, who flashed a small smile back at her.
“Of course, milady,” she said. “I’m just glad to be of service.”
Ari tapped his fingers against the common table. He had a small pile of carrots and red berries in front of him, which made for a filling, albeit simple, breakfast. He tried to turn his focus to the food and away from his conflicted thoughts.
He’d stood outside Kerys’ door the previous night for several minutes after leaving Eva’s room, trying and failing to think of a way to confront her. It wasn’t as simple as pointing out what she’d done and demanding an explanation. He had no idea how she would have reacted, and the last thing he wanted to do was upset Kerys by blundering into a conversation that needed to be handled delicately.
Ari had also considered telling Eva about it. As far as he was concerned, she had a right to know. A different side of her came out whenever she and Ari were making love, and it didn’t seem right for her to unknowingly show it to Kerys when it was meant for him.
He brought his hand to his chin and scratched at the thin, patchy stubble he’d slowly been growing. Kerys was smiling, and she seemed as happy as Ari had seen her since they’d first come up to the surface. Eva was the same as ever, and she was in the middle of explaining to Kerys how her clothing worked and how she managed to keep it so clean.
“There is nothing magical about my bodice,” said Eva. “The fabric is a Saidican weave, designed to be extremely resistant against stains and damage.”
“Really?” said Kerys. “I had just assumed that it was enchanted, like you were.”
Eva smiled and shook her head. “If I took it off before changing into my sword form, it would remain behind. Any other clothes I put on in their place would come with me instead.”
“That’s so interesting,” said Kerys. “If you were closer to my size, I’d beg you to let me try the bodice on. Just to see what it would look like.”
Eva laughed.
“You still can, though I make no promises about the fit,” she said. “We’ll make a night of it once things get a little more settled, milady. Hope
fully by then we’ll have found more clothing for us both.”
Why had Kerys been watching them? Ari felt like if he could just find an answer for that, he’d be able to approach the situation with the necessary tact to put his concerns to rest.
Had she been brought to the door by jealousy or anger at Ari’s lack of concern for her emotions?
Had it been simple curiosity about the nature of his and Eva’s bond and the level of intimacy they reached in pursuit of strengthening it?
Had Kerys been watching them for her own erotic reasons? Ari felt particularly reluctant to let himself consider that, given how inexperienced and guarded Kerys was when it came to sex. Perhaps she’d decided that she enjoyed watching more than participating?
“Aristial Stoneblood!” snapped Kerys. “You’re looking at me weird, again.”
“Sorry…” he said. “I, uh, thought you had some berry juice on your cheek.”
Kerys and Eva shared an exasperated look. Ari cleared his throat and drew his focus back to the tasks of the day.
“Anyway,” he said. “We should get off to an early start. Now that we have enough food to last for the next day or two, we should turn our focus to gathering essence through any means possible.”
“I think that would be prudent,” said Eva. “The labyrinth underneath the city’s ruins seems like the ideal place for us to return to, given what we found there on our first foray underground.”
“I agree,” said Ari.
“I’ll come along this time, too,” said Kerys. “Nothing good ever seems to happen when I stay behind.”
Ari hesitated before nodding. It made sense to keep Kerys close, but he couldn’t shake the weirdness of the previous night off. Still, she and Eva seemed to be getting along better than he’d ever seen before. Maybe the issue of her peeping was one that would work itself out?
“You seem troubled this morning,” said Eva. “Is something wrong?”
“I’m fine,” said Ari. “We should get moving. I’ll carry the pack.”
They filled the waterskin, somewhat inefficiently, from the stream of clean water in the shower, and they also packed half of their remaining carrots to snack on as they got hungry. Ari shouldered the pack over the empty sword scabbard, and the three of them set out.
It took them about an hour to reach the ruins. Kerys let out a whistle of appreciation as they passed through the outskirts and entered the city proper.
“Are those the mesmers?” she asked, pointing to one of the glowing blue spheres.
“Yeah,” said Ari. “These ones are relatively docile. They’ll take on the form of a ghost if you get close enough, but they won’t attack.”
“Fascinating,” said Kerys. She’d brought a small writing pad with her, complete with parchment and a charcoal pencil. Ari heard the sound of her scribbling and glanced over at her pad to see her making a small sketch of the city’s buildings and the locations of the mesmers.
“Can you keep doing that once we’re down in the labyrinth?” asked Ari.
“Make a map, you mean?” asked Kerys. “Of course!”
They reached the entrance to the labyrinth. It was easier to pry up, having been opened recently, and Ari climbed down into the hallway below. He waited until Kerys and Eva had joined him before starting forward.
“I figure it makes sense for us to take the same route we did last time,” said Ari. “It should be easy since we already know what to expect…”
He trailed off as they pushed through the dark and into the first large chamber. There was a mesmer waiting for them, and not the one that Ari had encountered last time. Instead of purple, this mesmer had a crimson red glow to it.
“The mesmers do occasionally shift locations of their own accord, if I remember correctly,” said Eva. “It is, in part, why the labyrinth is a place unsuited for habitation. The mesmers would be impossible to deal with, as they cannot be cordoned out through normal means.”
“Damn,” said Ari. “Well, I managed against the purple mesmer without too much difficulty. This one can’t be that much harder, right?”
Eva furrowed her brow a little but didn’t otherwise answer him. Ari reached his hand out, and she took the hint, flashing with light and shifting into her sword form just as his fingers closed. He lifted Azurelight in both hands, but he didn’t start forward immediately.
“Kerys,” he said. “Try to stay as far back as you can.”
“I thought you said that the mesmers are relatively docile?” said Kerys.
“Only the blue ones are,” said Ari. “The ones down here attack whenever you get close. They don’t have a physical presence, but their attacks still hurt, and they sap at your soul essence.”
“Which is bad?” asked Kerys.
“If you run out of soul essence, you die,” said Ari. “It’s basically the magical version of blood.”
“Lord Stoneblood, I feel I must point out the issues inherent with that analogy,” said Eva, through their bond. “Essence is a form of magical energy, and comparing it to blood is—”
“Shhh,” said Ari. “You can lecture me on the fine details of magical metaphysics later. We have a mesmer to deal with.”
He could sense Eva scowling at him without needing to see her actual face. Ari stepped forward slowly, keeping his entire body tensed and ready for whatever the mesmer decided to do first.
It manifested as a ghostly body as he came within ten feet of it. It looked different from the purple mesmer and significantly less threatening. It wore no armor and carried no weapon, and the hooded red cloak it had on seemed more like the garb of a traveler than a warrior.
“Do not let your guard down,” said Eva. “I cannot remember specifically what red mesmers are capable of, but I sense that they are dangerous foes.”
“We’ll see,” said Ari.
The mesmer turned to face him at the sound of his voice. Ari gripped his sword tighter and started forward, waiting for his opponent to make the first move.
That proved to be a mistake. The mesmer lifted its arm and brought it down through the air in a quick, cutting motion. An arc of fire extended outward from it, flying toward Ari at high speed. He threw himself to the side to avoid it and watched as the ethereal fire spell collided with the stone wall behind him, releasing a splash of sparks and flame.
“Fire magic?” muttered Ari. “Was this mesmer one of the Sai who had The Power?”
“It appears so,” said Eva. “The Power manifests in a variety of different forms. Fire conjuration was a relatively common one.”
“But the flames won’t actually burn me, right?” he asked. “Only drain my essence?”
“I… believe that is the case,” said Eva.
Her tone didn’t inspire much confidence in him, but Ari still made another slow approach toward his opponent. The mesmer fire mage stood with both his arms outstretched, a fireball hovering over each palm.
“Good luck, Aristial!” shouted Kerys.
“Thanks,” he said, feeling oddly touched by her encouragement.
He darted forward, poking and then slashing with his sword. The red mesmer was quick, dodging both attacks and responding with a quick fireball.
Ari got out of the way of it, but it forced him into awkward footing, and he half-stumbled to a stop. The red mesmer launched two more fireballs at him. He spun again, dodging the first one, and he could only lift his sword in a feeble attempt to block the second.
It hit him square in the chest, and it was more painful than anything he’d experienced. It was a burning sensation so intense that it made him feel numb an instant after it began, and then the pain returned again, prickling underneath his skin and making him feel like his blood was boiling.
He fell to the ground, screaming and writhing. He could hear both Eva and Kerys calling out to him, but their words didn’t reach him through the fog of excruciating pain that had clouded his awareness.
It went on like that for several of the longest seconds of Ari’s life before he
finally managed to pull himself back to his feet. He looked down at his tunic, expecting to see charred fabric and blistered skin. But as far as he could tell, there was no visible damage.
“Okay,” he muttered. “Let’s not do that again.”
“You do not have much of your soul essence left,” said Eva. “I would not advise allowing it to hit you again. At least, not if you value your life.”
“Just don’t get hit,” said Ari. “Genius. Why didn’t I think of that?”
“Careful, Ari!” called Kerys.
He forced a smile onto his face and nodded. The red mesmer was watching him and waiting patiently, and he was a little impressed by the amount of respect it seemed to be giving him.
Ari feinted forward, hopping to the side on reflex as he saw the mesmer extending its arm out toward him. The resulting fireball missed, and Ari seized the opportunity. He slashed at its ankle, scoring a shallow cut that made the mesmer stumble.
Ari tried to finish the fight there and then, but as he drew within distance for the final blow, the mesmer’s entire body flickered with flame. A defensive sphere of flame surged around it, forcing Ari back. He waited for it to fade from existence before pressing forward and trying his approach a second time.
He feinted twice instead of once, dodging two fireballs before striking. He missed and quickly pulled back, narrowly avoiding a blast of fire into the space where he’d just been. Ari spun with what remained of his momentum and pulled his sword into a horizontal slash.
His blade caught the mesmer at waist level and didn’t slow down as it passed through it, which almost made Ari lose his balance again. He felt a sudden flood of absorbed essence as the mesmer fell to the ground in two halves, flashing red and disappearing from existence.
“Nice work, Ari!” shouted Kerys.
“Thanks,” he said, sheathing Azurelight and wiping sweat from his face.
“Milord, not to sully your victory, but I think you could use some instruction on swordsmanship when we find the time,” said Eva.
“This isn’t more teasing on your part, is it?” asked Ari.
Sword Sirens (The Weatherblight Saga Book 1) Page 20
