“How is it possible I want you more now than I did before … even before the first time? That should not be possible. And yet it is. The more I learn about you, the more I see and experience you … the more I desire everything about you.”
“Surely not everything,” she argued. “I must have some fatal flaw?”
“You mean besides being irrevocably attached to the physical well-being of a wyvern? No others that I can see.”
“My willfulness? My temper?”
“Vexing and charming, I agree, but hardly fatal flaws. Turn over.”
She did so slowly, feeling vulnerable again as he watched her with famished eyes. He exhaled a hard breath.
“No. No flaws,” he said, touching her shoulder where he had shot her with an arrow before that very first meeting. The healings of the mems had worked and there was little more than a puckered pink spot where the bolt had been. “You were very lucky I did not have poison on my arrows that day. I do not like to use it, but I will when I must. Poison can be a tricky thing though. One careless move and the poisoner finds himself poisoned.”
“I am lucky you did not hit my heart.”
“It turns out that it was my good fortune to not hit your heart. Else I never would have known this.” He bent his head and placed a kiss on her skin. “I was always a lucky man. I usually make my own luck, but I will take it where it is given with ease as well. The bennesah was a fool for putting you out on the wall where you could be seen and targeted. I would have kept you far out of reach of a warmonger’s weapons and yet in the open air so you could guide the wyvern.”
“Is this really what you wish to talk about just now?” she asked, her eyes light with amusement and fondness.
“No. You are right. There are better things to do with my tongue.”
“Oh! That is not what I meant!” she said with a gasp as he boldly tongued her across one of her pointed nipples.
“Shall I stop?”
“No,” she sighed.
“What about now?” He took the same nipple between his teeth and tugged gently on it.
“No.”
“And now?” He pulled a little harder. She moaned her reply. He then soothed the abused area by closing his mouth over her nipple and sucking at it first gently, then more strongly. She arched her back, feeding him her breast more deeply. She felt him move, felt him working his body in between her knees, his hips driving up between her thighs. She immediately embraced his legs with her own, opening herself up to him, only to be disappointed when she realized he still had his breeches on.
“Why aren’t you naked?” she complained.
“Would you like me to be?”
“Yes, very much so.”
“Then let me up,” he said with amusement.
“Oh!” She untwined their legs, letting him up. He stripped himself of his breeches and came back to her. She had been chilled by his departure; now she delighted in his return.
For an endless amount of minutes, he made love to her with his hands and mouth, moving his body up and down along hers, constantly turning her one way and then another way for her pleasure and for his. He took his time, chased down her every little sigh, every little moan. It was all about her. He refused to let her touch him in return, forced her to enjoy being catered to. She couldn’t shake the feeling that his behavior was some kind of apology. Perhaps for not letting her in. For not allowing her to see the part of him he was keeping hidden.
Regardless of his motivations, she lay back and let him pleasure her. She really didn’t have much of a choice, it seemed. And when he finally breached her body with his, she had already come for him multiple times. She was almost exhausted by the time he took his first stroke. But the moment he was inside her she revived, coming to life in his arms again. Never once did he change his slow and steady pace, almost to her frustration. But in the end, it seemed he knew best.
Falling asleep in his arms some time later, she couldn’t help the feeling crawling over her that told her she was in trouble. That her emotions were now at stake when it came to this man. A man who was not free to give his heart or his full attention to anyone but his warrior goddess. She felt a moment of pure jealousy toward that aggressive woman. Why? Why should Weysa be the only one allowed to have him? Why couldn’t she have him for the rest of her life too? She wouldn’t get in the way of his goals. In fact, she could travel with him, bringing with her the power of the wyvern. What a mighty weapon that would be for his armies!
But even as she thought it, she knew it was not possible. She would not take Koro from his beloved nest and his home for her own selfish reasons. She could not travel in an army camp with the twins. She would be tethered to one place, probably this place, until the twins were old enough to fend for themselves.
And for some reason the thought brought tears to her eyes.
CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN
“Brother! We are in danger!”
A thundering fist on the door woke Sarielle from an unsettled sleep, then the door to Garreth’s room burst open to admit Dethan, who strode up to the bed and thumped his brother on the back. Sarielle, meanwhile, had scooted down under the warm covers, ensuring her naked body was covered and hidden from Dethan’s judgmental glare. Garreth was roused with some difficulty, until he saw his brother and registered Dethan’s presence in his bedroom. He was up like a shot, his arm crossing protectively over Sarielle.
“What are you doing?” Garreth demanded of his sibling. “Get out!”
“I will as long as you come with me. There is an army at our gates.”
“An army?!”
“Yes. Come see for yourself.”
Garreth flew out of bed and into his clothes. As soon as the brothers had exited the room, Sarielle bolted into her rooms and did the same.
She raced out of her rooms and after the men, guessing they would go to the upper walls of the keep, which rose above the city walls. She was right. She found them in the chill morning air, looking at the army that had moved into place overnight outside the walls. Thank the gods the men had ordered the city gate closed each night at dusk; the only person allowed to pass was Garreth himself as he came from … well, whatever it was he did.
Garreth was watching the army through a telescopic eyepiece. Then he saw Sarielle and handed it to her. “What do you make of them?”
She put the telescope to her eye and looked at the men running around the tents that had been pitched. “Zizo! And rylings,” she said. The Zizo were dwarfish creatures, men and women of small stature known for their big noses. The rylings were more fey but just as small as the Zizo. The rylings and the Zizo had worked in concert to build a city and economy of comfort in Zandaria. The bennesah had made enemies of them several times over by refusing to deal with them fairly and insulting them on more than one occasion. “They must have heard the bennesah was dead.”
“And thought a newly conquered city would be weak. They are not entirely wrong,” Dethan said grimly.
“But the wyvern still protects this city as far as they know. Why would they move against it?” said Garreth.
“Perhaps they are hoping that is no longer the case. Koro was very visibly injured during the attack. Scouts may have taken note of it,” Dethan said grimly.
“Very well. They want a war? We will give them one,” Garreth said. “We have the whole of a conquering army within these walls. We need only open the gates and we will engage them.”
“But the rylings have magic,” Sarielle reminded them with a warning tone in her voice.
“And we have mages. Three. They came in last night while you were away,” Dethan said to Garreth.
“What sort of mages?”
“I have not had the opportunity to discover this. But I suggest we acquaint ourselves with them with much haste.”
“Agreed,” Garreth said, taking the spyglass from Sarielle. “Stay inside.”
“Perhaps I should call Koro. If they see he is alive and well, they might flee.
”
“Not a chance I am willing to take,” Garreth said. “If Koro were to be injured … so would you be too. I will not risk it.”
“But …”
“I will not argue with you about this,” Garreth said harshly. “I have made up my mind about it.” He turned on his heel and marched away from her.
Infuriated, she gave him chase. “Don’t I get any say in the matter?”
“You do not,” Garreth said.
She was shocked that he would be so blunt about his high-handed treatment of her. “Well, can I at least come and interview these mages with you?”
“No. It truly is none of your concern. Please go back inside and remain with the twins. This could be a very long siege or a very short battle. We need time to figure out which approach is best for tackling this.”
“A siege would mean a city that starves. We have barely recovered stores from the last one, if indeed we have any at all. Not to mention we now have an army to provide for living behind these walls.”
Garreth stopped and looked at her hard. “You think I don’t know this? I have made battle in one form or another all my life. Dethan has fought more wars than can be remembered. You have been a cloistered slave for many turnings. You are not qualified to question us on this.”
She looked at him aghast. She felt tears welling up in her eyes. Furious and frustrated, she pushed past him and ran for the stairs.
“Shit,” Garreth swore.
“You spoke the truth, brother,” Dethan said quietly. “She has no place in this.”
“She lives here and therefore has a place in this. She commands a powerful beast that might come in handy if used wisely. And we wanted her to become leader of this city not two days ago. A leader would need to be included in these matters.”
“But she turned down that offer. Resoundingly so. She made it clear she doesn’t want to be in control of this. She needs to remain inside, safe and out of sight, just as you said. Now, come on. We have much work to do.”
The brothers headed down into the main hall and began to send runners for their lieutenants. They called the mages to them. Davine appeared and began to serve the gathering of men wine and smiles and as much helpful information as she could. When Sarielle walked by and saw this, saw her leaning over Garreth with her hand on his back, her anger only intensified.
To her mind, she had every bit as much right to be in that room as Davine did. She could be of use to them. She had control of an enormous fire-breathing beast, for the gods’ sake! But she would not go into the room. Her pride demanded she not allow him another opportunity to make her feel small and insignificant.
She racked her brain as to how she could be of help otherwise, but after a while she had to admit that there was little she could offer.
At first.
Then she realized there was something everyone was forgetting. Even she had forgotten it. She hurried into the main hall.
“Magic!” she ejected loudly.
Garreth and Dethan and several of their men looked up at her.
Garreth frowned. “What about it?”
“I’m the only one here who can see through it!” Her tone was triumphant. “You need me where I can see their army at all times, where I can see through any glamours that might be cast. Otherwise, they can trick you. They are fairies. Glamours are their speciality!”
Garreth looked at Dethan. “She has a point.”
“Surely the mages can see through that,” Dethan said with a frown.
“Not all mages. Mages like Vinqua could,” Sarielle said. “But you don’t have Vinqua, do you?”
“No. We don’t. But that would require you to be within easy visual sight of the battle, which means putting you on the city wall. I don’t want you that close to the action. You could be hit by a stray arrow or a purposeful one.” The look Garreth gave her was pointed.
“Then put me in armor. I can settle in low where I cannot be seen. I can report everything I see to you. And we can bring Koro to bear as well. I know you do not want to see me hurt,” she said quickly, raising a hand to forestall his coming argument, “but I do not wish to see you hurt either … and yet you will still be on that wall defending this city. My city. My home.”
Garreth was silent a long minute and Sarielle took heart. At least he wasn’t ejecting her from the room and shutting her down immediately.
“Very well. But if we use the wyvern, you must call him from atop the keep, not the city wall. And he must not land at any time. If he stays in the air, he cannot be injured. Landing on the city wall allowed him to fall to my blade. It can happen again.”
“All right. When he retreats or sets down it will be on the keep, well behind the city walls,” Sarielle said.
“Very well. We have decided to attack them immediately. This city cannot withstand another barrage or a siege. We must attack while we are at full strength and before they get the chance to settle in fully. We plan to do this as soon as the men are armed and ready. These are our mages.” He indicated two men and a woman, both men wearing light leather jerkins and the female wearing light leather armor. Nothing too heavy or restricting, since mages often needed to be able to move their arms in wide gestures to work their magic. “This is Sona, an earth magess,” he said gesturing to the elfin female. She had a pointed nose and slightly pointed ears, her entire face narrow and her short shock-white hair spiking in all manner of directions. “And this is Froom, another earth mage.” He pointed to the old mage, whose long beard and bent back made him look every bit the magician. “And Dru, a spirit mage,” he said indicating a strong-looking younger man. He looked to be about Garreth’s age and weight, and was only slightly less handsome to her eyes. He was clean-shaven and had hair as fiery red as hers. All were white skinned, although Dru was tanned and Froom was weathered and spotted with age.
“No mind mages?” Sarielle asked. But she was glad of it. A mind mage like Vinqua could see through illusions and having one would mean there was no use for her. She wanted to be useful. She wanted to be a part of defending her home.
“No. You will be the only one able to see through illusions,” Dru said. “I can call up spirits and the dead and other fortifying spells that can create trickery, but I cannot see through trickery.”
“None of us can. You will be crucial,” Froom said, his old voice cracking with age.
“The rylings will be many, but their magic is limited to illusions and earth magics. So it is fortunate we have earth mages to counteract that. But there will be three mages against many rylings,” Sarielle said with a frown.
“Then we must disrupt their magic whenever we can. We can use the wyvern for that. The fear he instills makes it hard to concentrate, and the fire he breathes can take out many players at one time. But I want him to come from behind the army,” Garreth said to her, pointing to the map of the city she had seen Dethan using the day before. “They are focused to the north, beyond the north wall. If Koro comes in from behind them, it will squeeze them up against the army as we come out of the gates.”
“We can have Koro come first to lure them into turning their backs on the city. Once they have engaged Koro, we open the gates and send the army out to overwhelm them,” Dethan said.
“You earth mages can build walls of earth to the east and west, creating a narrow channel that will force them to fight, leaving them no retreat. Being closed in with no escape tends to make people panic,” Garreth said.
Sarielle had to admit she was impressed. The men truly did know what they were doing. If they pulled this off, they would have planned the whole business perfectly.
It seemed plausible in theory, but executing it would be something else entirely. It was possible the rylings would not panic. They would probably be expecting Koro. But by having Koro attack the army from the rear, and not allowing him to fly over the entirety of the enemy forces to approach from the city, the brothers were giving the enemy less opportunity to attack Koro’s vulnerable underbelly.
/> “And what if you win the day?” she heard herself asking. “What then?”
“The day will not be won until they are all dead or running for the Asdar Mountains.”
“Not quite the direction of home,” Sarielle noted.
“I don’t want them to go home. I want them to know they are cut off from their direct route home. I want them to feel the fear that, should we desire it, we could next turn on their home, which they have left abandoned and defenseless.”
Dethan was cutthroat, to be sure, and his words only solidified that about him. But she honestly didn’t blame him. She took offense at this attack, just as he did, although she had more reason to because this was her home. But she supposed the city was the spoils of his war, and to his mind, no man had the right to take that from him.
“Put on your armor, brother. We go to war,” Dethan said as he moved to leave the room.
“Surely you’re not going to be in the thick of it,” Sarielle heard herself saying nervously.
“Surely I am,” Garreth said with a small frown. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“You are a leader. You must be seen. And if anything should happen to you …” The words were tumbling out of her without her control. Her hands twisted together before her as true, unadulterated fear seized her.
He came up to her and settled calming hands on her shoulders. “I cannot be killed,” he reminded her in a soft voice so others could not hear him.