The Duelist

by Eric Vall

  Shay’s hips were a bit wider than Zoie’s, but her waist was twice as narrow, so she had the perfect Jessica Rabbit body shape. She walked in a graceful, yet seductive, roll that somehow perfectly synced up with my own natural stride. It felt like we were already matching each other’s wave lengths, and there was a palpable energy suspended between us as Shay led me to the stern of the ship and up to the quarter deck.

  A racoon-looking man in a tri-corner hat was looking at a map and awaiting further instructions when we got there, and he glanced up at Shay and me once before returning to his task.

  “Fly strong, Roofus!” the phoenix-woman said and double checked the scroll on the crow-moth’s scaly leg before she launched him off her forearm.

  The gold-seeker took to the wind as if he never even had a broken wing, and he zipped toward the horizon so fast, his figure disappeared in the inky backdrop almost instantly.

  “Captain Nemis,” Shay then said to the dark-eyed man, and he stopped looking over the map. “Has my brother disembarked the Soaring Light?”

  “Aye, milady,” Captain Nemis said.

  “Then weigh the anchor, and take us home, Captain,” Shay instructed, and he saluted her by thumping his right fist over his heart.

  “Aye, milady, we shall be at the harbor by tomorrow,” he said and then instantly began barking orders to the handful of crew scattered about.

  “I must stay here and talk to the captain about a few more things, but for now you must return to your loyal wife,” Shay said and bowed her head respectfully. “Although, I would ask if… never mind.”

  “What?” I pressed, and I had a feeling I knew what she wanted to ask, so I placed my palm against her smaller one to give her a chance to work up the courage.

  If I was reading things right, I could tell the phoenix-woman wanted to kiss me, and I really wanted to show Shay even just a small amount of affection, given the fact that we basically just got betrothed with her brother’s blessing. But I wasn’t sure of the boundaries, especially since I was already married, so I waited for her to take the lead.

  Instead of asking anything, she lifted my chin with one thin finger and pressed a kiss lighter and sweeter than spun sugar on my lips.

  “I am very glad you exist outside of my hopes and dreams,” she whispered and then pulled back in a cloud of heady scented perfume.

  “Everything will work out,” I promised and brought her back toward me so I could wrap my arms around her.

  She went willingly and tucked her head right in the center of my chest where she could probably hear how powerful my heart beat was banging against my ribs.

  My head was spinning, and that conflicted traffic jam snarled up my thoughts again since part of me still wanted to feel guilty for holding another woman while my sick wife slept below deck.

  I just had to keep reminding myself this wasn’t the world I was used to, and it was my own indoctrinated belief in monogamy that was getting in the way.

  Because the reality was, I could feel my heart expanding with every beat, and there was something about Shay that pulled me into orbit and ignited my blood. No other woman had made me feel so strongly in such a short amount of time.

  Zoie came close, but we’d at least had a little time to feel each other out and let our feelings develop naturally and easily.

  Falling so quickly for Shale-Lea was like jumping out of a plane without a parachute. It was as terrifying as it was thrilling.

  As I stood there letting her ginger-lily scent fill my nose, I felt just as exhilarated as if the ground was rushing up toward me, but I didn’t even care because the free-fall was like actual flying.

  “You must get some rest, now,” Shay whispered as she looked up into my face with her petal-like lips parted ever so slightly on an exhale.

  “Yeah,” I said, and yet neither one of us made a move to break our embrace. Instead, I lowered my head so I could press a kiss of my own to her pale pink mouth.

  And just like that, any remaining qualms about what my old society said about fidelity and cheating evaporated at the rightness of her soft breasts pressing against my hard body.

  Shay trembled and whimpered in the back of her throat, and that little sound was dangerous, so I pulled back before I could lose my mind completely and make a spectacle on the quarter deck.

  As it was, I’d somehow already crowded her against the wooden bulkhead much to the embarrassment of the raccoon-captain, who darted his masked Zorro eyes away when I glanced around.

  Shay sank back down to her heels from where she had to stand on tip-toe to kiss me, and the height difference between us was so endearing I almost said ‘fuck it’ and threw my self-control to the wind just so I could get my hands around her narrow waist again and lift her up with my sheer strength.

  “Ahem,” the phoenix-woman cleared her throat as a pretty patina of rose-colored blush bled into her pale cheekbones.

  She was a contradiction sometimes because one minute she could blaze brighter than a fiery bonfire, and then the next she could flicker as fragile as a candle in the wind.

  I wanted to both shelter her and stand back and let her shine.

  For now, I settled for taking a step back so the cool night air could clear both of our heads.

  “My Lady,” I said and bowed like a cordial gentleman.

  “Rest well, Asher,” Shay breathed and curtsied formally, but she somehow couldn’t regain the regal coolness of her expression. Her emerald eyes suddenly smoldered with seduction, and her petal-lips fluttered up into a smirk. “You will need it because your training begins when we make it back to my estate, and I will ride you hard.”

  “Um, what?” I blurted out as some of the blood flow to my brain was diverted south.

  “I have to properly teach you how to win in the canterfly races,” Shay said and raised a thin red eyebrow. “Unless you are familiar with riding winged steeds back where you come from?”

  “Ah, no,” I said and shook my head at myself. “This will be a first.”

  “Well, then,” Shay said with a cheeky nod and left it at that.

  There was that spicy-sweet whiplash that spun me around in an exciting way. I never saw the obsession with fire some of the burnouts used to have, but if bantering with Shay was anything like playing with fire, I would gladly become a pyromaniac.

  “Looking forward to it,” I said, and I let my eyes rake over her pleasing hourglass form that teased me from under the flowing gold gown she wore.

  I bowed again before I jaunted down the steps to the main deck and then down the stairs to where my cabin was.

  Hopefully, Zoie was still resting peacefully, but just in case, I tried to open the door as soundlessly as I could.

  When I turned around to face the dark room after closing the door, I just stood in the silence for a bit and watched Zoie slumber in the moonbeams pouring inside through the window.

  The sight of her was like a cool drink of water for my parched eyes, and I didn’t realize how much I’d been burning until I saw her.

  Where Shale-Lea was all fire and scarlet-gold warmth, Zoie was cool and steady blue like the ocean. Her complexion mirrored the starlight in radiance, and her tangled ebony locks cascaded like rivers across the stark white pillows, over her shoulders, and between her perfect breasts. They swelled as she took a deep breath, and in that moment, I felt the need to be close to her like I needed water in the desert.

  I dropped my armor and gear, kicked off my boots, and crawled under the blankets so I could lay on my side propped up on my elbow.

  With my other hand, I moved the hair away from where it was obstructing my view of her swan-like neck. Then, with my fingertips, I tickled my way down to the hollow of her throat and watched her slowly come awake.

  My wife’s midnight blue eyes fluttered open, and she gave me a smile that could chase away every last shadow.

  “Hello,” I murmured, and she reached out a hand so she could grab my shirt and tug me forward.

  I took
the hint and cuddled up next to her so her head was pillowed on my arm under her neck while we wove our legs together.

  “Are we moving?” Zoie asked with a sleepy blink.

  I lifted my head so I could see through the window and noticed the sailing vessel was pulling out of the cove.

  “Shay is taking us back to her estate before Ren is finished with his business in Gatetown,” I said as I settled back down so I could look at her. “How do you feel?”

  “Still very tired,” Zoie said and then yawned for good measure. “You can tell me the plan tomorrow, but I trust you are happy?”

  “Very,” I said and cupped her face. “Our plan is going to work, Zoie.”

  “Well, of course, it is, because it’s you,” Zoie said and put her hand over my breastbone like she did whenever we embraced this way. “But I wanted to know if Shale-Lea makes you happy.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “I can smell her perfume on your skin,” Zoie said, and my knee-jerk reaction was to still ask her if it was okay, but she soon put my last lingering doubts to rest when she nuzzled under my chin with a sexy purr. “I remember the scent from the party. It’s very nice.”

  “I kissed her tonight,” I admitted, but not in a guilty way.

  “Good,” she said and rubbed her face against mine. “I wanted her for you because I also thought she would be pleasing to you.”

  “You were right, she’s beautiful,” I said and smoothed my palm along the valley of her waist. “But she’s also warmhearted and compassionate, just like you.”

  “Being Varthan did not afford me many teachers who could show me how to be anything other than strong or dutiful, so if I have these traits, I have learned them from you,” Zoie said and then lifted her hand so she could bring my face in for an achingly sweet kiss. “Now, if you would, please hold me.”

  “Of course,” I said, and I wrapped us both up with the luxurious blankets and held my wife until the rocking of the ship swayed us both to sleep.

  Our hostess greeted us in the morning when her mouse-girl attendant summoned us for a nice breakfast of fresh exotic fruits, and more of that soft cheese and crusty bread. There were even soft-boiled eggs sitting in little gold egg cups that came from a creature that was definitely not a chicken due to the bright pink yolk. It tasted just like what I was used to, though, even if it was under salted, and I tucked in with enthusiasm, but I noticed Zoie was picking at the food on her plate instead of eating it.

  She looked a little pale, too, and the dark circles under her eyes were still present despite the fact she’d slept deeply all night.

  “I trust you slept well, Lady Zoie?” Shay spoke up after we all settled into our meals.

  “Yes, thank you, milady,” Zoie said as regally as always. “My gratitude for your aid. I was told you are the one I owe my current health to.”

  “Please, if it does not bother you, may we forgo with the formalities?” Shay asked and set down the silver egg spoon she was using. “I should like to think that in time you might like to view me as a friend.”

  “Then you must call me Zoie,” my wife said with a small smile. “And hopefully I can call you more than a friend soon.”

  “And you must call me Shay,” the phoenix-woman replied with an answering grin on her delicate lips.

  “Since I was recovering below deck, I’m afraid I do not know what our current strategy is,” Zoie said and set down the piece of bread she was nibbling on. “Why is it that we are going to your estate, Shay?”

  “Because, sister of my heart,” Shay said and shook out her hip-length crimson hair. “We must prepare our Alex for the races.”

  “You are in luck because he is an admirable student with a hard… resolve,” Zoie said, and her voice came out in a purr, which made me snap my head in her direction. “He is quite dedicated and won’t stop until he reaches the desired result.”

  “Excellent,” Shay trilled in a sinful tone that echoed the heat in Zoie’s, and my gazed whipped to her playful green eyes. “I’m known to be a taskmaster who can be hard to satisfy.”

  I looked back and forth between these two beautiful women, each so different in contrasting yet complimentary ways. One was fiery passion, and one was cool and deeply rooted. They were not so much as polar opposites as they were resonating in harmony at different frequencies.

  So, it was no wonder it was so easy to love them both without restraint… even though I knew they would be the death of me multiple times over.

  But if I had to die, what a way to go.

  Chapter 19

  The sun was just starting to dip in the sky like a ripe low-hanging fruit when Shay’s sailing vessel, the Soaring Light, reached its port-of-call. The worthy sea craft approached a man-made canal cut through the eastern ridge of the island, and then we flowed into a part of Mec Valley I hadn’t really seen before.

  It was too bad Zoie and I had to stay in the parlor below deck as we traveled through the locks of the canal, but Shay explained it was too risky to be up top in case Ren’s spies were on the lookout.

  At least I could look at the city through the hand-blown windows in the parlor, and from what I did see, I was impressed.

  This area was definitely more metropolitan than the rustic village where I spent most of my time. Mec Valley City was a modern feat of industry and agriculture with marble columns, shining white terraces, and lily-padded irrigation tables that reminded me of a combination of ancient Greece and rural China.

  Now that I was approaching the city in the daylight, I could see the Lord Asher’s palace as it towered over the valley right before a very familiar-looking forest started.

  Despite how fascinating the Valley City was, my gaze couldn’t help but be drawn to the patch of trees where I knew my ivy-covered manor house, and everyone in it, was waiting for Zoie and me to return.

  Home.

  Ever since I’d arrived here, I’d always talked about home as if it was a place back on Earth. But that was just the thing. It was only a place, and I realized I’d lived my whole life up until now moving from place to place without really understanding the concept.

  But the estate with Jenner, Arvid, Rylan, and the rest was my home.

  Zoie in our bed for the first time, sweaty and sated and glowing from pleasure, was my home.

  And the way Shale-Lea fit perfectly into my arms and fell straight into my heart was also my home.

  “We will be arriving shortly,” the resplendent phoenix-woman said as she entered the parlor. She wore jade-colored robes that had large sweeping bell sleeves and a large gold belt that showed off her petite waist and full hips. She looked every bit the young noblewoman she was, but she appeared a little naked without her head circlet.

  “Won’t it tip off Ren if he sees you without your rare herald core?” I asked her and then gestured to her unadorned head.

  “He will not miss it,” she said and clasped her hands in front of her. “If a wife is obtained through an alliance or a trade, the heirlooms she brings to the Prospective marriage are not listed or appraised as an asset, so my husband thinks it was just a pretty trinket I was fond of.”

  “You were married through an alliance?” Zoie asked.

  “My father married me to Ren for societal reasons. He is only a second-ranked Asher, and he figured an alliance to Ren through marriage would be ideal considering--” Shay abruptly cut herself off as if she was about to say something she wasn’t supposed to.

  Zoie took a breath and stepped toward her, but Shay turned her back on us.

  “Shay?” I asked, but before I could approach her, that crimson curtain of hair shook from side-to-side, and she turned around once more as if nothing was wrong.

  “Please,” she said with a graceful smile, and she was once more perfectly composed. “Join me up on the upper deck.”

  Without saying anything further, Shay headed up the stairs and didn’t wait to see if we were following or not.

  Zoie and I exchanged concerned glances
, but I didn’t have a chance to try and sort out that weird glitch in our conversation or why Shay closed down so fast.

  I figured all would be revealed in due time and put the flash of pain I saw in her verdant eyes out of my mind for now.

  “Shall we?” I asked Zoie and offered my arm.

  “Lead on, husband,” she replied and tucked her hand into the crease of my elbow.

  We both then climbed the stairs to the upper deck just as the Soaring Light was pulling in next to a stone pier, where a bevy of servants were already lined up and waiting for instructions.

  Commands were being shouted by the raccoon-like captain as a wooden ramp was lowered from the bulkhead of the ship. When the ramp was set, the servants ran up the wood plank so they could load their arms with various parcels, suitcases, and paper-wrapped paintings.

  “Can I take your pack, sir?” a stout older woman with the face markings of a badger asked when we all followed Shay off the vessel.

  “No, thank you, ma’am,” I said with a polite smile.

  “But you are milady’s guests, I really do insist,” she pressed as she clasped her paw-like hands in front of her.

  “It is alright,” Shay said with a melodious chuckle and then turned to Zoie and me. “You’ll have to forgive her, she is my most loyal attendant, but sometimes she can be a little hen-peckish.”

  “Oh, you,” the badger-woman said with a fond roll of her eyes. “Everyone needs a little mothering now and again.”

  “As you wish.” Shay smiled.

  “Where will the guests be staying, milady?” the badger-woman asked.

  “Please turn down the room in the boathouse. We will be at the stables if you have further need of us.” Shay dismissed her portly maidservant and then led us to a large circular courtyard covered by a jade dome supported with marble columns.

  The courtyard looked like a giant stone lily pad as it sat in the center of the clearest water I’d ever seen, and pale pink and lilac lotuses the size of beach balls floated around on top of the water, along with flickering rock lanterns in wooden bowls.