He unfastened his belt and his scabbard. The practice sword landed with a thump against the rocky ground. Not even bothering to reprimand him for his ill treatment of the practice weapon, Enkara made her escape back to the fire before Kuwari could treat her to a distracting show.
“Gods! The water’s colder than Ereshkigal’s teat! Bah. And I don’t even have soap.” Kuwari hissed and moaned and then started cursing Councilor Nakurtum. There were further mumblings about the injustices he had suffered, but eventually, the sounds of splashing drowned out his mutterings.
After longer than she’d thought he’d last, he eventually returned to the fire, water dripping from his body. His linen wrap was again around his waist, though its golden fringes were a little worse for wear and the fabric wrinkled and damp, but he was blessedly dressed. Enkara wasn’t ready to see him naked.
The long night had taken its toll upon her as well, his hormones seeming to reach into her body and stir her gryphon nature to full wakefulness. More than once she’d had to fight the powerful urge to shift to her gryphon form and roll in his delightful scent.
It was a mercy that she hadn’t eaten any of the tainted food during the dinner.
But what was to stop this from happening again? Nakurtum wouldn’t be given a second chance, but that didn’t mean others wouldn’t try something similar to achieve their own goals.
It was a distraction she and Kuwari couldn’t risk. They had greater dangers on the horizon that needed their full attention. Her gaze cut away from the flames to study him.
He was sitting cross-legged beside her, his fingers working his damp braids back into order. A moment later he turned to study her. “What are you thinking so hard about? This close I can sense your worry. I don’t even need to touch you to feel it.”
“Nothing important.” She looked away and gave the fire a savage poke. “I’m going to go wash up. Stay here and tend the fire.”
She stood before Kuwari could question her further. Striding over to the small pool, she shed her clothing. The water was as cursedly cold as Kuwari had said, but she didn’t care, and waded into the deepest point, which wasn’t very deep. The water only came up to her waist, but it was enough to wash the sweat from her body and clear her mind.
Looking over her shoulder, she studied Kuwari as she bathed. He didn’t turn away from the fire to catch glimpses of her nude form. He was behaving himself, which told her he was indeed free of the last vestiges of the fertility potion. Otherwise, he would have been watching, or more than just watching.
Once she’d washed the sweat, sand, and other grime off her skin, she emerged from the water but didn’t bother with her clothing. Walking forward, she came to a halt behind Kuwari.
“I see you behaved yourself.”
He huffed but didn’t take his eyes off the fire. “I figured you’d already been ogled enough by me tonight, likely more than any woman should have to suffer in her entire lifetime.”
“It wasn’t your fault.” She touched his shoulder and then slowly came around to stand in front of him.
The fire’s warm glow illuminated his startled expression.
“Ah, I managed to surprise my rebel prince, I see.” Enkara lowered herself into his lap, straddling his thighs with her knees.
Shock only held him frozen for a heartbeat and then his hands came to rest on her hips. “Enkara, are you…”
“Yes.” She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his in answer to his hesitant question. The kiss deepened and Kuwari moaned, his hands slowly exploring. She broke the kiss and pulled away enough to look him in the eye. “But only if it’s what you want.”
“I have always wanted you.” And his caresses showed her just how much.
Sighing, Enkara allowed herself to touch him in turn, exploring and savoring every one of his contours and slopes. He was all hard muscle and hot, firm skin.
“So soft,” he whispered in her ear as his caressing hands slid up her sides and brushed feather-light over her ribcage. When he hesitated, she guided his hands up over her breasts. He chuckled. “And so demanding.”
He didn’t seem to mind, so she urged one of his hands lower. He needed no farther encouragement, and soon Enkara was arching her back and moaning out soft sounds of pleasure. She barely recognized her own voice. Surely that wasn’t her?
But it was, and when Kuwari began kissing his way down her torso, pushing her back to the ground and parting her thighs, he showed her just what other sounds he could force from her mouth. Soon her gryphon nature rose, demanding more and she tugged him back up for a kiss, her own hands exploring him with determination. Stroking down his chest, her fingers fluttered against his abdomen, dragging a moan from deep in his chest. She discovered she liked the power she had over his body.
Emboldened, she reached down farther until she encountered the linen wrapping his waist and hips. It did little to block her fingers from finding what she sought and soon she was learning the shape and feel of him through the fabric. Kuwari groaned and thrust his hips forward.
Finding his belt, she made swift work of it, and then she was unwrapping what her hand had explored earlier.
Chuckling, Kuwari settled his hand over hers. “Not so fast, my eager one. I didn’t just suffer through the longest ass-kicking of my life only to have you retake command so soon. I’m not done with you yet.”
He clasped both her hands in one of his and then gently shoved her back with one hand pressed against her shoulder. Enkara allowed herself to be pushed down. She could have broken his hold easily enough, but he did deserve a little sympathy after what she’d put him through to cleanse his system.
Surprisingly her back didn’t hit the bare stone as she’d expected. Somehow, he’d maneuvered their clothing under her while she’d been distracted by his touch. He didn’t give her long to contemplate how he’d managed it before he was settling down next to her, the warmth of his body delightful against her skin.
“I’m going to kiss every bit of that glorious expanse of body and only when you’re begging me will I give you what you truly want.”
“Is that a promise, a challenge, or a threat?” Enkara asked lazily as she pressed herself closer to him, rubbing up against him suggestively.
He hissed at the friction but continued to grin at her. “A promise. Nothing I do to you would ever be a threat.”
“I know. Come here.”
He did and they kissed for long moments before he broke away to place soft, barely felt brushes of his lips against her jaw. From there he moved down along her neck and over the curve of her shoulder before reversing course and nuzzling at her collarbone.
Enkara closed her eyes and sighed out in pleasure as he settled his weight more firmly on top of her. He licked, kissed and nipped a fiery trail down between her breasts, all the way to her belly button, then down and to the side to nibble at the protrusion of her hip. When he worked his way back up her side, her frustrated sigh soon turned to giggles.
“Stop!” she laughed and twisted in his embrace.
“Never,” he replied and kissed his slow way up. “Rebel princes never do as we’re told.”
But his lips soon left the ticklish skin of her side and moved back up toward her breast. He nipped and teased all around her areola until at long last he took the nipple in his mouth.
She sighed out encouragements and arched her back. Once one was thoroughly ravaged he moved on to the other. But Enkara grew frustrated with this slow, pleasurable torture and twisted her hands free of his clasp and moved them along his back, pressing and urging him closer.
When he still didn’t get her meaning, she twisted one leg up over his hip and dug her heel into the fleshy muscle of his ass.
“Is my Blade really so very eager for her rebel prince?” he half purred, half laughed.
“Oh, Goddess. Shut up and get on with it or I’m going to flip you on your back and take what I want.”
He settled between her thighs but kept his weight supported on one arm
while the other stroked an errant lock of hair off her face. “Perhaps we can do it that way next time? I think I’d enjoy that very much.”
Enkara only grimaced at his humor and drew him down to her for another kiss. This one was hotter and more urgent than the early, playful ones. Her prince was done being playful. So too was she. Reaching down, she grasped him and guided him to her entrance. As he slowly slid home, she stared into his eyes and reached out for his mind, enveloping him in her deep love.
“Goddess! Kara, you’re so beautiful. Body, heart, and soul—each more beautiful than the last.”
“My prince, my lover, my friend, I shall always be your solace in times of need.”
And then he soon proved to her that he could soothe every one of her needs too.
***
Nergal, god of war, plague and the underworld, looked upon the two entwined lovers in what could only be a dream or a vision. They looked so peaceful and innocent. Well, perhaps not as innocent as they had been, he mused with a grin. The Blade had finally claimed her prince.
As was right and true. Blades were always supposed to claim their monarchs. Something that most mortals living in New Sumer misunderstood. Come to think about it, it was something most Blades did not understand either.
The monarch did not claim a Blade. The Blade claimed their monarch.
At least Enkara and Kuwari understood what Ishtar had intended when she created her Blades. Unfortunately, that wouldn’t protect them from what Ereshkigal had planned.
The thought of Enkara and Kuwari coming to harm disturbed him.
He’d grown soft. Or, at least, Kuwari and Enkara had found a way to worm their way into his heart without even trying. A rare thing indeed. But somehow it had become truth. He cared for these two young beings and now needed to find a way to protect them from what his beloved Ereshkigal had planned.
The irony wasn’t lost on him. To protect them from his beloved was to continue his own peculiar enslavement. But somewhere in his last few hundred lives he’d grown a conscience and couldn’t stand aside and let innocent lives be ruined.
Of all the things he could have gained being reborn as a mortal repeatedly, he’d had to have gone and gained a conscience.
What a pesky thing for the King of the Underworld to acquire.
Chapter 36
Of course, his Shadow guards had found him shortly after dawn, but at least the Lamassu had warned him of their coming. That didn’t mean he’d had his fill of Enkara. He’d have preferred more time alone with her.
He’d even come up with the idea to have the Lamassu lead the Shadows off on another long chase, but Enkara had deflated his magnificent plans with the flat of a practice sword across his rump and an order to behave.
“Just so we’re clear. It’s really all your fault that we’re here,” he gestured broadly at the corridor around them as they walked toward the great hall. “Surrounded by grumpy, watchful Shadows instead of enjoying ourselves on a beach.”
Enkara winced and he knew he’d struck a chord.
“Ah! You do regret your hasty decision to allow the Shadows to find us.”
She scowled at him, which if he was honest wasn’t the look he’d been hoping to receive.
“It looks bad.”
Kuwari rubbed his chin. “What looks bad?”
“That I abducted you when you were under the influence of the fertility potion, and now we’re mates.” Enkara’s look darkened farther. “I should have waited until after all the ruffled feathers had been smoothed before—”
“I don’t care what others think. I know the truth and so do you. If Pirhum and Ninsunu don’t believe us, it doesn’t matter because Iltani and my father will know the truth.”
Just then they walked into the great hall to discover it occupied by only six people: Pirhum, Ninsunu, Kurumtum, Uselli, Kullaa and most disturbing of all, Nakurtum was present and not bound in rope or chains. The group was too busy arguing amongst themselves to note his and Enkara’s arrival.
“Why is Nakurtum free?” He bellowed as he entered. Then something else occurred to him. “Where is my father? The royal party should have returned by now.”
Kuwari looked around the hall as a nagging sensation of dread coursed through his body. Something was wrong. Surely, he would have seen it in a vision if they had come under attack?
Councilor Pirhum recovered first. “Your father and the royal party have been delayed. A minor sickness broke out at the festival. I’m glad you’ve returned safely.”
There was an unasked question at the end Kuwari decided to ignore. “A sickness? You’re sure it wasn’t poison?”
“The messenger informed us that the healers say it’s nothing more than a natural illness. A fever, some dizziness. Your father is staying long enough for the healers to clear his party to return. He doesn’t want to bring anything back to Nineveh.”
Diseases were rare in the kingdom of New Sumer. Partly because of the isolation of the kingdom and partly because gryphons were not susceptible to many illnesses, and those they did contract were usually treated swiftly by the magic of the healers. In turn, benefiting the human population as well.
But a breakout, even a minor one, at the Spring Rite was not a good omen for the coming year.
“I don’t care what lies she’s been spinning since I’ve been gone. Have Nakurtum tossed in the dungeon. And summon me once my father returns. I would have a word with him.”
“Have no fear,” Ninsunu said with conviction in her voice and a dark look aimed at Enkara. “We will explain all that has happened while the King has been gone. As for Nakurtum, her warnings proved sound.”
With a nod of her head, an aid waiting by the door scurried out into the hall, where the murmur of voices and the stomp of feet could be heard.
Now what, Kuwari wondered but was answered a moment later by the arrival of thirty of Nineveh’s city garrison. They approached the Shadows with an alert caution but didn’t back down when his escort of Shadows drew their blades.
“What’s going on?” Kuwari snarled out, his hand going to the hilt of his own useless practice sword. Of all the times not to have a weapon.
“We are aware Shadow Enkara abducted you while you were under the influence of the fertility drug,” Ninsunu explain. “And Shadow Kurumtum and a select few of the other Shadows went along with her plan. Kurumtum will not explain his reasoning and neither will the others with him. We can only assume they have thrown in their lot with Enkara.”
“Enkara did nothing wrong. She acted to protect me.”
Councilor Pirhum heaved his narrow and ancient frame off the bench where he had sat for the entire exchange so far. He cleared his throat and Kuwari hoped the oldest of the Council wasn’t as easily fooled by Nakurtum’s lies as the younger and more inexperienced Ninsunu.
“The timing of Nakurtum’s ‘newly’ discovered information about Enkara’s heritage is too thorough and too convenient to be a coincidence. She’s likely been holding this over you both in the hope of securing a personal boon.” Pirhum squinted his eyes at Nakurtum. “I can only guess that when Crown Prince Kuwari didn’t agree, or things weren’t progressing to Nakurtum’s satisfaction, she used the fertility drug to hurry things along. That sound about right?”
Nakurtum’s expression darkened, but she didn’t respond with words.
Pirhum just chuckled. “Didn’t work out so well, now did it? At least not for you.” He glanced at Lady Kullaa. “And you, dear. Are you content with Uselli as your future mate?”
“I am most pleased.” Lady Kullaa and Uselli shared a loving look before she turned to peer at Kuwari. “And I must thank the Crown Prince for being astute enough to know what my heart longed for even though I tried to hide my feelings. Thank you, my prince.”
“You are most deserving of love, Lady Kullaa. May Ishtar and Tammuz bless your future union.”
“Ah, I enjoy seeing young love.” But Pirhum’s grin vanished when he glanced at Enkara. “Unfortunately,
it must now be overshadowed by a turn of unpleasantness. I do personally believe Enkara acted to protect Kuwari. And yet she went against the King’s orders and put the prince’s life at risk by taking him from the protection of Nineveh and your Shadow Guard. Enkara, do you deny this?”
Kuwari hissed in anger. “Wait one moment—”
“I don’t deny it. I gave my word to him that I would protect him from getting mated to one he did not want.” Enkara stepped forward to face the ancient councilor. “I answer only to him.”
“I believe you. But the fact remains, by abducting Kuwari, you committed treason against the crown and broke your oath as a Shadow.”
“She did no such thing,” Kuwari snapped.
Ninsunu circled the table and came to stand directly in front of him. “Shadow Enkara convinced you to wake a Lamassu so that none could track you down before she’d had her way. And in your befuddlement, you agreed. Your judgment was impaired. Do you deny any of what I said?”
“Befuddlement? Had her way with me?” Kuwari’s voice grew louder until he was yelling at the woman. “Enkara was my choice! My betrothed!”
His outburst had her stepping back physically, but her narrowed eyes said she wasn’t backing down. “Do you deny that you and Enkara are now mates?”
“Yes, she ‘had her way with me’ if by that you mean she kicked my ass in sword practice for most of the night. She knew that if she sweated the drug from my system, I would be well come morning and not mated to some random priestess you’d selected to be my queen.”
Pirhum cleared his throat in a way that made Kuwari think the old male was trying to hold back a laugh. Yes, old man, the situation was more a comedy of errors than a true danger to me. Now side with Enkara!
Then Enkara started to laugh, startling them all. “None of you have the entire picture. Let me show it to you.”
With that, she turned her back to the councilors and tugged her tunic up her back until she exposed a large portion of Ishtar’s Mark.
While the two councilors were shocked speechless, the guards of the city garrison brought their spears against their chests and stamped their sandaled feet against the floor and then dropped into deep bows.
Queen of the Gryphons: Ishtar's Legacy: Books 1 & 2 Page 50