The Destroyer (37 page)

"I know. I know. I have been explaining that to the king. He agrees with me as well. Hell, even Maerc thinks it is a fictitious proposal and is putting more worth into you now. There are envoys from all of our allies demanding you to be turned over though." She lifted up the hem of her left pant leg and exposed her boot. It climbed high up her calf. With a practiced move she undid the knot at the top and began to loosen the leather laces.

"The truce isn't going to do anything. A piece of fucking paper won't stop their arrows or their magic," she said angrily as she grabbed the heel of the boot and slid it off of her foot. There was a thin silk sock that remained on her foot, but that too shortly joined the boot on the stone tile next to her chair. Then she reached for the knot on her other boot. Her eyes avoided mine as she went at her task.

"What do you think will happen?" I said as I watched her take off her boots with fascination. My skin tingled with anticipation. The water was probably too hot for her so I turned the small wheel that added more cold water to the mixture.

"I honestly don't know. The king will stand firm, but Nanos argues with him daily and has other noble supporters." Her other boot and sock joined their mates on the floor. Her bare feet had high, beautiful arches and I wanted to rub them. She carefully stood up out of her chair and faced down to me. Her heart was beating fast and her cheeks were as red as I had ever seen them. Her firm and perfectly round breasts pushed up against the smooth fabric of her blouse and I could see her erect nipples push out into the material.

"Turn around," she said as she waved her pointer finger in a circle motion toward me.

"Why?" I raised my eyebrow

"I am going to take off my clothes."

"And?"

"I don't want you to see me," she sighed in frustration.

"I am going to see you naked in the bath when you get in here with me. Then I am going to see you naked in my bed when we make love for the rest of the night." She gasped and I couldn't stop from grinning. She had a very odd sense of modesty, but now there was no question for her as to what would be happening if she got into the water with me.

"I can't believe I am doing this." She bit her lip and looked down at me. Her eyes were on fire with lust as she slowly began to unbutton the front of the shirt. She removed her top, exposing the breasts I had been fantasizing about since our first campfire conversation. Her stomach and chest were the same light tan as her face. Her breasts almost didn't need the support of her blouse; they stood firm and high on her chest. Below them were vertical rows of perfect abdominal muscles that I was going to be running my tongue down and exploring within the half hour.

She undid her belt and pulled down her leather pants with a slow wiggle. Her eyes still locked with mine, judging my reaction to her naked body. Like her upper body, her legs were composed of long, toned muscles that were only acquired through disciplined exercise. I had seen Shlara naked several times and the similarities between her and Nadea's body compelled my erection to become even harder. She had a small strip of dark hair above her entrance that she tried to cover up with her hand. She seemed to realize that it was a futile attempt and she moved her hand away so that I could see.

Her heart was beating even faster now, her breathing was almost labored. I drank in the sight of her lithe form and then looked into her face. She was still biting her lower lip and her eyes were excited.

"Oh Nadea," I purred from my spot in the warm water. "How can I have any worries with your perfect body in front of me? Come in here so I can taste you." She let out another gasp of pleasure and took the two steps required to reach the side of the bathtub.

Her left leg lifted up to get over the edge of the tub and I got a perfect look at the moist pink entrance that led into her body, then her pointed toe broke the top of the water.

"Oh shit! It's hot!" she said, startled.

"Go slow," I reassured her as she put the rest of her foot and then leg in with a hiss. My right hand came up and stroked the flank of her thigh. She gasped again as my fingers danced across the smooth skin.

"It's really fucking hot. Damn. How do you stand it?" Instead of answering I pressed my lips and tongue against the skin of her upper leg, just slightly under her hip bone. For a few seconds she seemed at a loss for what she should be doing other than moaning. Finally, her left hand went to the back of my head and her fingers rubbed against my scalp through my hair as my tongue licked in slow circles across her sensitive skin.

"That feels really good Kaiyer," she whispered between labored breaths.

"I haven't even started yet." I gave her a small chuckle and was rewarded by another soft moan of anticipation from her throat. "Let me turn on more cold water," I said as I reached over with the hand that had been stroking her leg. I spun the cold wheel more and tightened up the hot wheel.

With a hiss of displeasure, she submerged her right leg up to her mid-thigh in the hot water but didn't sit down into it. I slid forward and wrapped my hands around the back of her legs and grabbed firmly onto them. Then I continued to run my mouth over the smooth, taut skin of her thighs for a few minutes.

"Hum mm. Okay. This was a good idea," she muttered under her breath. I chuckled again in between licking and kissing her legs. She was holding them tightly together so I didn't have access to the lips around her entrance, but it would only be a matter of time before I would get there. I would savor the road to my final destination.

My hands moved up to the back of her legs and cupped her muscular buttocks. My lips climbed higher on her hips as I began to rub the muscles gently. She let out another long sigh.

"Kaiyer," she whispered while she ran both of her hands through my hair. "Let me get in the rest of the way."

I moved back to my end of the tub and watched her slowly lower her slender form in the pool. The water came up to her breasts and they seemed to try and float on the surface. Her arms hung along the edges of the rim on the tub as she leaned back against the far wall. Her legs stretched out almost the length of the space and lay on top of mine.

"Ah . . . this does feel really good." Her eyes closed briefly as she relaxed and then opened to meet mine. The candles gave them a yellowish glow and her lips twisted into a smile of lust and desire. She inhaled deeply and exhaled with contentment.

My hands reached down to her feet and began to knead the muscles in her arches with my thumbs. I was going to touch, rub, and lick every part of her tonight. This would be a good place to start.

Her hands tightened around the rim of the tub and she let out another moan of deep enjoyment. Her mouth formed a perfect round expression of pleasure and surprise as my fingertips massaged her feet.

Suddenly a thunderous chime echoed in our room. We both sat upright in surprise. The bell rang out again, defiantly loud. I heard voices crying from a distant hallway.

"What the hell is that?" I said as I pushed my hands against my ears, spraying water out of the tub. I hadn't expected the noise and my brain felt like it had been drop kicked.

"It’s the alarm!" Nadea screamed as she got out of the steaming water, her smooth, wet skin reflected the glow from the dozen candles in the room. "We are under attack!"

"You sure he wasn't in his room?" Iarin screamed over the chorus of angry and confused people as we ran toward the stairs leading to the Main Hall.

"Yes I'm sure! He wasn't in his room!" I shouted. The tall man dodged to his right and pushed his back up against the wall. I took his cue and did the same as four guardsmen ran past us, their faces hard and resolute.

"What is the news?" Iarin called out to them but they didn't say anything.

He took off down the stairs. I ran after him, unsure what else to do. If I was going to follow someone besides Kaiyer in this emergency, Iarin seemed like a good choice. The woodsman had been consistently calm and capable during our quest, I trusted his judgment, but I wanted to know what was going on.

"Why are we going to the Main Hall?" I yelled after him.

"What would you do if you were him? You'd want to find out why the alarm sounded. The guards will be coming and going through the Main Hall and into the courtyard." I nodded as we forded a group of angry servants. I was pushed against the wall and bumped my elbow painfully before we swam free of them.

The stairs were even more of a mess as people ran in all directions screaming. The alarm bell rang again and I covered my ears. I worried about Grandfather, but imagined that he would either be sleeping through the racket or stay locked up in his room.

"We get the fucking point! Someone tell them to stop sounding the alarm!" Iarin shouted. I couldn't help but smile even though my ears were ringing.

Finally, we made it down to the main level of the castle. My body was soaked with sweat and my lungs were on fire from trying to run down the stairs. I shouldn't have consumed so many sweet cakes. The food in the castle had been amazing, much better than what I had ever eaten at home with Grandfather. I found the sugar coated cinnamon and custard cakes hard to resist.

We still had a few hundred yards of hallways to go, but I could not see any servants around, only guards with swords drawn. They nodded at Iarin and me as they ascended the stairs.

"News?"

"Ancients broke into the castle. Half a dozen of them. Killed some of our men and spread out through the halls. You're better off in your room," he said as he ran up the stairs.

"Shit. Kaiyer is going to go fucking crazy," Iarin said. "Let's continue and see if anyone has seen him." The alarm rang again and we grimaced at each other.

The acrid iron tang of blood and ordure hit my nose before we reached the Main Hall. The bodies of Nia’s guards lay in pools of blood, not just slain but grotesquely maimed, stab wounds gaped, limbs were torn off and lay oozing on their own across the room. A few guards were alive, screaming in pain and writhing against their anguish as physicians and their assistants tried to stem bleeding. Runir supervised the mess. I felt the bile rise in my throat but took a few deep breaths to try to calm myself. There was no time for me to indulge in my weakness.

"What is the news?" I asked him from behind Iarin.

"Paug! Why are you down here? You need to get back to your room," Runir said with concern.

"Have you seen Kaiyer?"

"No,” he said flatly. "I've had other things to worry about." A scream echoed out in the hallways behind us.

"That came from the North Halls!" Runir ran back through the stairs with three of his men behind him. Iarin and I looked at each other before we chased after them into the area where the king resided.

More bodies of guards littered the Royal Halls like pieces of trash in the poor quarter. Their blood ran in rivulets of crimson, pooling in a sickly reflective brown lake in the middle of the floor. Here no one screamed. Runir and his fellows gave but momentary glances at their fallen brethren as they splashed through the puddles of gore. Within a few minutes we had made it to the Royal Receiving Room and heard sounds of the scuffle beyond the doorway.

With a mighty shout, Runir kicked open the door to the large room and the group ran in to defend the king. I realized that I didn't carry a sword, or really know how to use one. Even if I did have a weapon, I would be no match for an Ancient warrior. What was I doing here?

"Ah ah ah," a voice sung, incongruously melodious in the midst of the brutality it had wrought. There were three Ancients wearing skin tight dark gray leather: two women and a man. They all had hair that matched the color of the night sky and eyes that glowed like the gold of the chandeliers. One of the women held Jessmei from behind and had the sharp point of a dagger to the beautiful throat of the princess.

Jessmei's blue eyes flashed hysterically as she tried to grasp the dark woman's arms while she was pulled backward off balance. "New visitors! Stand over by your friends, humans or I'll cut the princess a smile that will not bring much cheer," the woman holding Jessmei continued as she twitched her head toward the corner. There stood the king, queen, Nadea, Maerc, the prince, the duke, Greykin, and a handful of the tough royal guards. Everyone that possessed a weapon had it in their hands. Greykin's face was red with anger and spots of white foam were at the sides of his mouth. The queen looked like she was about to faint from fear.

"Your O'Baarni has been killed by now, but we are going to be taking a bit of insurance," the woman spoke again. Her voice was rich and velvety. She might have sung at our banquet a few weeks ago. She began to pull Jessmei back against the wall toward the door through which we had just entered. Jessmei wore only a thin night gown and her body shook in terror. Where was Kaiyer?

"Where are you taking her?" Greykin asked. He sounded like a bear preparing to eat a deer. His axe and shield twitched in anticipation. He didn't have armor on, just clothes that looked to be his night attire.

"We'll be taking her to meet our empress. Worry not, she'll be treated quite nicely." The dark-haired woman leaned in close to Jessmei's shoulder and ran the tip of her long tongue down the princess's neck passionately. Jessmei's eyes started to water and tears streamed down her cheeks, but she didn't cry out. The other two Ancients snickered at us and smiled like hyenas. "The empress will let her write to you, I am sure. Of course, if you try to follow us we'll be forced to cut and run." She tugged on Jessmei's arm again and they backed through the door.