The Mercenary's Bounty

by Kristen Banet

  “I take it this means you’re going to start training me in a different weapon.” She took her sword back, feeling stung from the loss, but also proud of his compliments.

  “This.” He held up the curved blade. “This is a morok. It’s a weapon only we Andinna use. While we each tend to get weapons that suit us most, I make sure everyone is trained in our heritage. I think your style and the morok would do well together. And if you do well, maybe Varon and I will still tell you how we fight so well together.”

  “May I?” She nodded to the blade, hoping he would let her try it for a moment. He didn’t answer, only held it out. She handed him her sword and took the morok. She spun it in her hand, testing its weight and balance. It was heavier at the tip than the gladius but she was satisfied with the way it felt. It had a force thanks to the weight, but it seemed sharp enough to slice through bone. She did a few practice swings, and when she enjoyed those, she couldn’t stop a small smile.

  “I think she’s in love. Mat, you need to get better at cuddling or my sword is going to replace yours.” Nevyn snorted. Matesh groaned.

  Males are always so cocky. At least he seems to be a good sport. Two can play at that game.

  She began to chuckle, still swinging the sword a little. She glanced over at the male, raising an eyebrow. Casually, with purpose, she looked him over. Standing behind Nevyn, Varon was grinning, his shoulders shaking with silent laughter. Nevyn spread his arms, welcoming the inspection.

  “There she goes with the ‘I’m going to eat people’ face again,” Zayden muttered.

  She held Nevyn’s sword back out to him. “I like the blade, but it’s a bit on the small side like the gladius. I like my males to have bigger swords than mine.” She delivered it with a straight face and got the reaction she was looking for.

  Nevyn’s jaw dropped, obviously shocked she had come back with a sly insult. Varon gasped, looking shocked and amused, maybe even a little impressed. Alchan and Luykas were both coughing, leaning on each other for support and covering their faces to hide laughter, proving how alike they really were. Matesh and Zayden began to laugh, the sailors joining them. She looked past her opponent to see Leshaun smiling across the deck. He inclined his head to her and she felt like she did something right.

  The males continued to tease each other as she walked back to the older male. Matesh followed her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She was glad that he felt comfortable enough to touch her like that in public, and even more glad she felt comfortable when he did it. It all made her feel like she was finding her place.

  “I think you’ll fit right in with time,” Leshaun said, still smiling.

  “Thank you. So, what’s next?” She felt strangely ready for anything.

  9

  Luykas

  Luykas had to grit his teeth and bear it. He watched her spar with Matesh and was a little annoyed at just how easily she could take him out. He knew they had trained together in the pits, and honestly expected more from Matesh. Then there was Nevyn, who made a comment and got called out.

  But did she gut him like a fish? No. Instead she sparred with him too and then started making cock jokes like it was another day.

  Something thumped him on the back as he watched the scene unfold. Mave and Matesh walked over to Leshaun, striking up a conversation with the old male. Luykas couldn’t take his eyes off her, even though he wanted to. He really wanted to.

  Another thump made him growl.

  “Don’t start that with me,” Alchan snapped. “You’re being very obvious with the whole ‘I can’t control the blood bond’ thing right now.”

  “Fuck,” Luykas muttered, turning around to see his brother. That put her behind him, completely out of sight.

  Sadly, not out of mind.

  His heart tugged and pulled with a force that was practically unbearable. In the weeks since he did that bit of nearly regrettable magic, he realized he had a serious problem. He thought he had blocked her from feeling the effects, and for the most part, he did. The blood bond, however, decided to have a sense of humor. It’s what he deserved, really, for playing with the blood magic of their gods the way he did.

  “It’s not my fault,” he growled, trying to rationalize what was happening to him.

  “You did it, so yeah, it is.” Alchan snorted. “Think you can make it inside?”

  Luykas considered that. She was only fifteen, maybe twenty feet away. All he had to do was turn around and he’d be able to see her. Maybe going inside, where she wouldn’t be so easy to watch, would help.

  But something kept him pinned to his spot, resisting the idea of having her behind a wood wall. He could hear her talk and laugh, attempting some broken, beginners’ Andena with Leshaun and Matesh. Such a change in such a short time. He knew it had to do with the close quarters of the ship and the time they were required to spend together. He couldn’t discount Brynec’s attentions on her. He seemed to relax her while they worked on her wings. Luykas wished he was the one who had volunteered for that job. It would give him the ability to just be next to her.

  Regrettable that when he wanted to ease the bond in any way he could think of, she refused to get near him.

  “Come inside, Luykas,” Alchan ordered. “Come inside and try to stop thinking about her just for a minute. You need to step away.”

  “I can’t,” he snapped, wincing as he realized he’d yelled that. He hoped she hadn’t heard him.

  Suddenly, Varon was in front of him, cutting between him and his brother. Alchan stepped back, looking offended at the sudden intrusion of the mute. Varon searched Luykas’ face intently before grabbing his shoulders. With a swift yank, Varon had him moving towards the door and Luykas didn’t fight it, knowing it was the best chance he had of going inside and getting some distance. Nevyn opened it for them, glaring at Luykas like he’d committed the great sin of hitting on Varon or something. He wasn’t really sure why Nevyn was so pissed off.

  They were in the dining area when Alchan finally caught up.

  “Excuse me you two, but my brother and I were having a conversation. You can’t drag him off.”

  “Oh, we know, and we’re joining it. It’s about time Luykas gets a fucking piece of my damned mind.” Nevyn’s response was strained, as the male tried to hold back weeks’ worth of anger. Luykas had known this was coming. Weeks of dancing around the nasty business of an argument with two of the older members of the company. Two people who firmly held on to every tradition they could, every edict from the gods the Andinna had.

  Luykas had been hoping it would wait until they were off the boat.

  They didn’t stop moving until they were down in the cargo hold, the most private place on the ship.

  “What the hell? I’m tryin’ to sleep down here!” Bryn exclaimed, seeing all of them walk in. Luykas looked up from his feet and watched the rogue’s eyes go wide. “Aye…I’ll go.”

  “Good idea,” he agreed. He wished he could.

  Within seconds, Bryn was gone, hauling ass up the stairs towards the deck. Luykas wished he could follow. The direction Bryn was going was towards her. His heart felt like it was being yanked from his chest. He collapsed on the floor the moment Varon let him go. He hadn’t been expecting the sudden lack of support. He didn’t bother getting up, leaning on a crate and looking up at the other males.

  “You need to chill out,” Nevyn growled, leaning down to say it right in his face. “She didn’t ask for the blood bond. She didn’t ask for you to be like this or the shit she’s probably feeling. Varon and I don’t behave like you when we’re apart. Get over it.”

  “He’s been getting…night sweats,” Alchan said, maybe trying to buy him some sympathy. “If she’s awake, he is. He-”

  “Hold on,” Nevyn cut him off. They all turned to Varon, knowing Nevyn wanted his priest lover to chime in.

  Varon watched Luykas with thought as his hands began to move, spelling out words in Andena. “What did you do? The magic you put in the bond. What exact
ly did you weave in that blasted spell?”

  “I blocked as much as I could. She doesn’t get the same thing as the rest of us. She feels the slight pull, but she’s not getting-”

  “Slight pull?” Nevyn snarled. “You’re acting like it’s a thousand times worse than normal and she thinks of it as a slight pull? That’s what your damned magic did?”

  “She can barely feel my heartbeat under hers.” Luykas needed to explain. “I couldn’t let her go into a full blood bond, I couldn’t. She knows what she feels is…dampened. She doesn’t know I’m feeling this strongly. I can’t find the time to tell her because she won’t speak to me.” He had told them this before, but this time he knew he was in for it.

  Nevyn’s nostrils flared in barely contained frustration and rage. Luykas had known that if he pissed anyone off, it would have been these two. Together and blood-bonded since before he was born, or close to it, they were also devout.

  “The feelings have rebounded. You are feeling the effects of both of you, aren’t you?” Varon’s hands were moving fast now. “You know, if you had ever listened to me, you would have known that our gods love to meddle. They aren’t cruel, but they keep their hands in our lives as best they can, even if they can only do small things. What you did was offensive, no matter the reason, and this is what you deserve. There’s no saving you.”

  “Varon…” Nevyn leaned towards his lover. “What if there is? I hate it and she doesn’t deserve it, but he’s one of our bosses. Is there anything we can do to help?”

  “He would need to convince Mave to let him remove the spell. Good luck with that. She hates you. I can’t say I blame her, and shit, it might not even work.” Varon shook his head. “She’s going to have two males in her mayara before winter and here you are, getting in the way. She’s a female who deserves males who deserve her. You don’t, and yet you have the blood bond I’m certain Mat would kill for. You went too far this time, Luykas, and you need to deal with those consequences.”

  “Two?” Alchan asked innocently.

  Luykas wanted to roll his eyes. He thought it was obvious. It galled him, but he knew that was the blood bond. The bond was screaming for him to get closer to her and find a way to stay next to her. He was certain it wasn’t all because of the blood bond, but the bond was making it much more extreme.

  “Brynec. He’s enamored and hasn’t realized it,” Varon answered, still signing so fast Luykas was having a hard time deciphering it. “And I’ll be damned, Luykas, if you get in his way.”

  Message received. The priest will have my balls if I fuck up Bryn’s shot.

  “Here, here,” Nevyn agreed, grinning. “Those two are made for each other. Give them the first mission, watch it happen. It’ll be fun.” Nevyn sounded more innocent, but with a smirk showing off a canine, the soldier was just as serious as his lover.

  And so will Nevyn. They’ll each take one and probably wear them like those fucking human friendship necklaces.

  “With how new Matesh is to her, do you really think she’ll take a second so quickly? She could be like her mother and stick to the one.” Alchan was trying his best to be pragmatic. They all knew that wasn’t the case.

  “No, she’s going to have a large mayara. We’re certain of it.” Nevyn shook his head at Alchan’s suggestion. “As for Bryn and Matesh, they offer her different things.”

  “You think too much about this,” Luykas muttered. “This is why Alchan never wanted females in the Company.”

  “I’m lover to a priest of Amanora. You know her. Our goddess of love, fertility, and the arts. Of course I think a lot about the ways of love.” Nevyn said it in a way that made it seem very obvious that he put a lot of his time into it. “And Varon can’t come out right and say it, so I do. Plus, this isn’t why Alchan didn’t want females in the Company. He didn’t want them here because they challenge him in a way none of us will. Females change the dominance dynamics.” Nevyn shrugged. “I can’t blame you for that, Alchan.”

  “I didn’t think you would. She’s here now though, and there’s no other good options. She’s in the Company.” Alchan grumbled, sitting down on a crate. “So, now that you’ve yelled at him…you really don’t have any way to help him?”

  “Nevyn is nicer than me. I don’t even want to help him. I just wanted to yell at him,” Varon signed, ending with a shrug and look of disinterest. “Thirty-four hundred years on this earth and flying these skies, and yet, I can still be surprised by the absolute arrogance of the Elvasi. It’s always worse when they toy with things they don’t understand.”

  Luykas felt the sting of that rebuke. It hit him in a nasty way, making his shame into an anger that was pure Andinna. A snarl escaped him, echoing in the cargo hold as the others remained silent. Nevyn took a step back from him. Varon didn’t seem affected, which pissed him off more.

  “Take that back,” he demanded.

  Varon shook his head, his hands moving. “No. Sometimes you need to be reminded that you carry two natures. I don’t think the Elvasi in you is bad, just that it has its faults. The Andinna aren’t perfect, but we also don’t pretend to be.”

  Luykas looked away, the growl in his chest refusing to stop. It rumbled, an indignant anger directed at the truthfulness of those words. He’d been able to stop this lecture from Leshaun, but then, Leshaun was an old soldier first. Varon was a priest, with all the training the Andinna had to offer at looking into the soul of a person and picking them apart. He was a soldier second, and only because he fell in love with Nevyn. His heart belonged to Nevyn, but his soul belonged to his goddess and always would.

  “Ah, you’ve upset him, love.” Nevyn sighed. “Luykas, we’re pissy because we know how important blood bonds are. We know better than anyone. Most don’t blood bond at all and very few keep it up like we do. We know all the ins and outs of it in ways others will never comprehend.”

  “And I know the educational version,” he said, agreeing with Nevyn. “I know. I knew that when I did it, but I had nothing else.”

  “It doesn’t matter to the gods why you did it. Just that you did and then fucked with it.” Nevyn shrugged. “At least she’s a great fighter. She’s an outstanding addition to the Company, no matter the reason she had to join.”

  “You kicked her ass,” Alchan reminded him, snorting. “She can’t be that good. She’s efficient, and better than most foot soldiers, but she’s no somaro like you and Varon were.”

  Luykas wanted to agree with his brother but kept his mouth shut. She’s not an elite warrior, but I have a feeling Nevyn wants to make her into one.

  “She could be. Look at who her parents were.” Nevyn went back to a smirk. “You should actually be jealous, Alchan.”

  And I was right. Luykas wanted to grin. Nevyn was an easy man to know. He loved Varon and didn’t tolerate others disrespecting that. He respected the gods and Andinna tradition. Lastly? He loved war. He loved the fight, the battle, and he was always on the lookout to train others who had that same spark.

  “Why?” Alchan looked disgusted with the idea.

  “When you were a thousand years old, you couldn’t land first hit on me. She did. Stung a bit. I wasn’t expecting it. I corrected quickly, but she’s obviously talented.”

  “Fine. She’s good.” Alchan groaned. “I don’t really care. I’m not sure why I even came down here. If I wanted to talk more about her, I would have gone to see Matesh. He can’t shut up.”

  “You just have a stick up your ass. Get laid.” Nevyn chuckled. “You might be easier around her.”

  “You offering?” Alchan asked, raising an eyebrow. “I’m more than willing at this point.”

  “No. Varon and I aren’t into your type of bedroom activities. You bedru males have a weird definition of fun.” Nevyn wrinkled his nose. “There’s a male in port right? Someone you like to go see?”

  “Yeah, and I plan on it.” Alchan sighed. “I wish there was an ahren anywhere in Olost.”

  “I’ve never met one,” Nevy
n commented, almost a little sadly. Varon shook his head as well.

  Luykas didn’t offer a comment. Most of the bedru issues of his Andinna bloodline were mellowed out or missing thanks to his Elvasi half. He didn’t need to find an ahren female to tolerate him. Then again, he wasn’t like Alchan in most bedroom ways. Luykas very much preferred females of really any type while Alchan would never really give a damn what was in his bed as long as it wasn’t more dominant than him and didn’t challenge him all the time.

  “They’ve always been rare, and that’s just the way it is. You could try and tolerate it like some other bedru males I’ve met,” Varon signed slowly. Luykas was honestly glad to have the topic change to Alchan’s sex life. It meant he wasn’t being hounded for the blood bond and Mave. “I knew several who made deals with less dominant females that they loved. Time shares where only he can have her at certain points and her other husbands couldn’t come around. They have two homes, two beds where he doesn’t have to mix with the others and the female doesn’t have to banish him from her mayara.”

  “You know why I don’t want a female unless it’s an ahren.” Alchan chuckled darkly. “It’s not just about me being a bedru, Varon. You know that. There can’t be other males.”

  “Your situation is more complicated than most, I will give you that. We’ve talked about this before and will again one day.” Varon spread his hands in a defeated gesture. “I still think I’m right.”

  “About?” Luykas was missing something. He didn’t know what Varon was mentioning and he wanted to.

  “He thinks I should find a submissive male that’s willing to be more…permanent than most of my liaisons. Someone who might like what I can give them, whatever the hell that is.” Alchan shook his head. “I travel too much, Varon. Finding someone who can handle what I am, handle my traveling, and promise not to take anyone else to their bed is a near impossibility.”