“If I never had feelings for Myna, my Life Bond with her wouldn’t grow into love?” Sean asked.
“Yes. For instance,” Myna added, “the Queens’ guards are known to be Life Bonded, and they are never treated as anything other than property, as far as I know.”
“The most powerful nobles are like that as well,” Fiona added as she poured the last of the tea into her cup. “It’s rumored that the Queens can even break Life Bonds, theirs and others.”
Sean frowned as he thought that over. It would require yanking half of the energy from a person. He shook his head, as the idea of a person having the ability and strength to do that was staggering. “Good thing we aren’t going near them, then.”
“Once we get to town, I can show off my Bindings. People will still disparage me, but it won’t be as bad as my Shame,” Fiona said after a few minutes of silence.
“That doesn’t make much sense,” Sean told her.
“I will be viewed as property, instead of a person. Damaged property is still property, so no one will be overly harsh, as it could incur the wrath of my Bonded,” Fiona said. “They won’t treat me much better, but they will deal with me as if I were Myna, at least.”
“This world is weird,” Sean said bluntly, setting his empty cup aside. “I’ll be back in a minute.” Pushing aside the blanket curtain, he found the world lightly dusted with white. “I see it snowed.”
“Just a dusting, luckily,” Myna said from behind him. “We’ll need to move quickly to get to town; the Queen might unleash a blizzard soon.”
Sean looked at the heavy clouds above them and noted the lack of wind. “Good point. Can we make it to Pinebough any faster?”
“I have an idea, but we’ll talk when you get back,” Myna told him.
Leaving the hut, Sean wandered into the woods to find a spot to deal with nature’s call. When he came back, Myna and Fiona were sitting just inside the hut nibbling on bread, cheese, and jerky. Their packs sat nearby and they were clearly waiting for him.
“What’s the plan?” Sean asked as he took the sandwich offered to him.
“We should be coming to a river in a day or two,” Myna said. “It runs through the middle of Pinebough. We can make a raft and float down the river…” she trailed off, looking at Fiona.
“The issue with that is if there are Naiads in the water,” Fiona finished for Myna. “They will want kisses to pass.”
Sean nodded. “Fine, I can do it.”
“If they convince you—” Myna began, before Sean cut her off.
“Not an issue, their voices don’t affect me,” Sean told Myna.
“He’s right,” Fiona added. “He resisted the urge of one of the older ones in Oaklake.”
“What?” Myna asked, obviously confused.
Sean started to tell Myna how he had come to the world and how he was unusual. He continued the tale as they packed up and started walking. By the time he finished with his story, Myna was looking more at him than at their path.
“That’s my story,” Sean told her with a shrug.
“I never would have guessed. Your whole body is different?”
“My skin is normal, I think. But with the increased healing, which can be accelerated with extra energy, it patches itself up pretty quickly.”
“That explains how you’ve been able to do so much, so easily,” Myna mused. “I will never regret my choice to Bond with you, but you should make sure no one else knows about how you got here.”
“Only you and Fiona know,” Sean told her, “so it won’t be an issue.”
“Shall we try to ride the river?” Fiona asked him.
“It will take a couple of days to get there, right?” Sean asked.
“We should get there sometime tomorrow,” Myna clarified.
“We’ll figure out when we get there, then,” Sean said. “It would be faster than walking.”
The walk was mostly quiet and the overcast sky made all of them a little depressed. Fiona walked hand in hand with Sean for a while. Sean reached out and gave Myna a gentle head rub when she glanced at them.
When they finally stopped for the night, Myna sent Fiona and Sean out to hunt while she set up their camp. Once they were away from Myna, Fiona pulled Sean to a halt. “I want to tell you something, Sean.”
Seeing her nervousness, Sean pulled her into his arms. “Go ahead.”
“I’m still going to demand your attention, even with Myna around,” Fiona told him.
“That’s fine,” Sean smiled. “I’ll give you all the attention you want, my pretty Shaper.”
“This was my idea, Bonding with you like this,” Fiona said as she leaned against him. “I wanted to ask after we ran from Oakwood, but I felt you wouldn’t accept it.”
“I’m still not comfortable with the idea of Life Bonding,” Sean told her.
“But you did it,” Fiona murmured, her hands lightly stroking his back. “I never thought I would, but with you, it just feels right for some reason, like you will always be there for me.”
“I will be,” Sean said, dipping his head to claim a kiss.
The kiss lingered, then began to heat up as their tongues began to duel. With a moan, Fiona pushed Sean back into a tree, her leg rising up on his side. Grabbing her ass, Sean lifted her off the ground as the kiss continued. Turning around, he pinned her to the tree and pulled back from the kiss.
“Maybe we shouldn’t do th—” Sean began.
Fiona silenced him with another kiss as her fingers dug into his back. Sean stopped trying to argue. There was nothing dangerous nearby, and they both obviously needed some relief. Giving in to their desires, the couple engaged in a quick but vigorous fuck. Fiona tried to stay quiet, but she was still loud enough that Myna’s sharp ears caught the sound.
Myna stared into the woods, stifling a pang of jealousy. She was now on equal footing with Fiona, or as close to it as she was going to get. “He won’t do that with me. Not yet... but I can wait,” Myna murmured as she listened to Fiona’s stifled cries of pleasure.
When the two returned to camp, Myna was sitting by the fire, waiting for them with a pleasant smile on her face. “Was the hunting poor?”
Fiona nodded. “Sadly, we didn’t find any animals to bring down.”
Sean’s cheeks heated, but he just shrugged.
“I see,” Myna said. “I was waiting to start a stew, hoping you’d bring in fresher meat.” She hung the pot over the fire, then poured tea for them. “It won’t be long,” she told them, handing out tea.
“What are we practicing tonight?” Fiona asked, looking away from Myna’s smile, which hadn’t faltered even a little.
“Maybe we can spar again? One-on-one battles, with the loser sitting out for the next round,” Sean suggested.
“That sounds good,” Myna said, her smile growing wider. “How about a small wager on it?”
Fiona’s eyes sharpened at Myna’s tone. “What kind of wager?”
“The one eliminated the most has to do any one thing that the person eliminated least wishes,” Myna said, her eyes glittering.
Sean frowned, as he knew he was likely to be the one eliminated the most out of the three of them. They could easily distract him and that would break the zen state he needed for fighting. “I’m not—”
“I think that is a good idea,” Fiona smiled broadly as she cut Sean off.
Glancing from Myna to Fiona, he could feel the tension between them. Even with their promises, it seemed that they were still going to compete for his attentions. A deep sigh preceded his acceptance. “Fine.”
The soup was much better than yesterday’s. The meat was still tough, but the roots had some crunch to them and the seasoning was a bit more potent. Sean and Fiona both complimented Myna on the meal. Once they were finished, they moved off to the side and brought out their weapons.
“I’ll sit the first round out,” Sean said, as Myna and Fiona squared off against each other. He settled where he would watch them easily. “Begi
n.”
Myna vanished as she rushed at Fiona. “Oh, so you want it like that, do you?” Fiona snapped, stepping back and swinging her staff in a wide circle. “You won’t hide from me.”
Myna came out of Camo, her twin blades flashing through a complicated attack that walked the staff up and to the side as Fiona tried to defend herself. Grinning as she made the opening she wanted, Myna darted inside the reach of the staff.
The sound of wood hitting wood echoed in the clearing, as Myna was just able to bring one of her swords up to block one of the two Fiona suddenly had. Springing back, Myna frowned at Fiona. “During combat?”
“It’s hard to do, but I have a lot of energy right now,” Fiona chuckled. “Are you ready now?”
Myna’s face became unreadable and she bowed her head. “Yes.”
This time, Fiona came forward in a rush. Myna settled onto her back foot as she waited. Hissing as Fiona’s blades came together and a spear shot toward her, Myna batted it away and slid to the side.
The women circled each other, shutting out all outside distractions as they each looked for an opening. Sean watched them intently, an inner impulse letting him know what attack was coming just before one or the other launched it. A number of different counters to each attack presented themselves as options in his mind before the two backed away to start again.
The fight went on, neither of them willing to over-commit to any attack, lest they be caught off guard. Sean yawned, watching them as the minutes went on. Idly thinking of surprising them by launching an attack of his own, he almost missed the moment when the fight was decided.
Fiona launched an attack very similar to the flowing dance she had shown Sean almost a tenday ago. When she was transitioning to the smaller blades, having pushed Myna back, and possibly off balance, Myna stumbled. Fiona thought she had Myna finally, but the stumble was a feint and Myna came forward with a bound very much like a cat pouncing. Her blades flashed in six strikes; the first four forced Fiona’s blades out and the next two struck both thighs, eliciting grunts of pain from Fiona.
Stepping back, Myna bowed her head to Fiona, her chest rising and falling rapidly. “Good fight.”
Panting herself, Fiona grunted, but bowed her head in return. “Well fought.”
Sean got to his feet as Fiona walked over. “I’ll give you a minute to catch your breath,” he told Myna.
Myna looked up when Sean stopped a few feet from her. “I will win today,” she said evenly.
Sean grinned at her. “I wouldn’t expect you to do anything less, but I’m not going to roll over.”
Myna’s eyes sparkled. “Good.”
“First person to three wins the bet,” Sean said, changing the rules slightly.
Myna paused. “Three? That’s all?”
Sean nodded. “Otherwise, we might be here all night.”
Myna snorted, “Not going to get much training in this way, either.”
Sean chuckled and bowed his head to Myna, “That’s what you think.”
Myna bowed her head in return. “It is what I know.”
Sean dropped back and held his staff in a defensive stance. “Well then, can you beat me faster than you beat Fiona?”
Myna rushed him with an eager smile on her face. Sean waited, hoping he was right about what he’d seen during the last fight. Myna came in just as she had four times previously against Fiona, and Sean countered just like he thought he should. Myna’s eyes widened as his staff slid right past her blades, thumping her chest.
Falling down as the air was driven out of her, Myna blinked in utter confusion. “Wha—?”
“You attacked with that same move four times against Fiona,” Sean told her as he held out his hand to her. “Something to keep in mind, if you know an opponent is watching you.”
Taking his hand shakily, Myna got up slowly, wheezing, “I will remember that.”
“Are you okay?” Sean asked.
“Just winded,” Myna gasped.
“Come on. Let’s get you settled, then me and Fiona can go a round,” Sean said, leading her over to where Fiona waited. “You ready?”
“Yes, and I will remember what you said to her,” Fiona gave him a sharp smile.
“Oh… damn,” Sean said.
Fiona roundly trounced him, even managing to get in close enough to blow a kiss at him from just a foot away, which pulled him out of the flow of combat. Myna lost to Fiona in the next round, but again it was a very close fight that took a while to finish. Sean approached Fiona, who was grinning and bouncing from foot to foot with trepidation.
“I’m going to beat you and win,” Fiona grinned.
Sean nodded. “That is very likely. I haven’t forgotten that trick you pulled.”
Fiona smirked. “It worked once, I bet it works again.”
“I’m a sucker for your kisses,” Sean said, settling into a defensive stance and bringing up his Mage Sight. He fought to keep the smile off his face, because now he couldn’t see Fiona’s face. “Ready when you are.”
The fight was slow to start, then Fiona exploded at him. Their staves locked up for a moment and Sean heard the kissing noise he expected. Instead of faltering like he had before, he let go of his staff with one hand, using his superior strength to keep hers at bay as he grabbed her and pulled her in for a kiss. Banishing Mage Sight, he Shaped the staff in his hand into a dagger and brought it around to her back.
Gasping as the dull dagger poked her spine, Fiona realized that he’d turned her trick around on her. “Well played, Sean.”
“I learned it from you,” he told her, letting her go and forming Dark Cutter into a staff again.
Myna got to her feet slowly. “If you win this one, you win the contest.”
“Yup,” Sean said with a grin. “I know you’ll do your best to stop that, though.”
Myna bowed her head. “I will never willingly throw a fight.”
“Good,” Sean said as he fell into his defensive stance. “Ready?”
“Yes,” Myna said.
Sean held his stance, waiting, as Myna stared at him unmoving. “Well, come on,” Sean said.
Myna vanished and Sean pulled up Mage Sight. He got it up to find her still in the same spot. He was about to speak when he felt something hit his chest hard, bouncing off and eliciting a grunt from him. Dropping Mage Sight, he saw Myna smiling at him, and one of her two wooden blades at his feet.
Fiona was laughing and clapping, “The point hit you right over the heart.”
Sean grunted again, annoyed to have been tricked. Picking up the blade, he walked over to Myna and extended it to her. “That’s a win. I didn’t expect it at all.”
“I had hoped to use it against Fiona,” Myna told him. “But I couldn’t risk losing to you.”
“Good luck,” Sean told her and went to take a seat.
Fiona gave him a kiss as he passed. “I’ll win this.”
“Whoever wins, the other has three losses,” Sean said. “It will be interesting to see what the winner has the loser do.”
Both women looked at him, then at each other. “He played us,” Fiona said.
Grinning broadly, Sean began laughing.
“So it seems. We were each so intent on being the winner we didn’t see what he was playing for,” Myna said, nodding.
“Shall we?” Fiona asked.
Myna’s grin broadened. “Yes.”
Sean was wiping tears from his eyes when the two women charged him. He shouted in surprise as he swatted away their weapons with his bare hands. “What the hell?”
“We decided that you lose,” Fiona said as she dropped her staff and grabbed his right arm.
“And we win,” Myna said, dropping her blades and grabbing his other arm.
“This isn’t right,” Sean protested, as the women used their bodies to pin his arms to the ground.
“I would say we both win, and Sean’s the loser. Do you agree, Myna?” Fiona asked.
“I agree, Fiona,” Myna grinned back.
“I think you both lose,” Sean said, flexing his arms with all his strength. Both women came off the ground and slammed into each other over his chest, then dropped on top of him. “I win,” Sean laughed.
All three of them began to laugh as they lay in a pile. Eventually, their laughter tapered off and the women looked at him with speculative gazes. Sean felt a moment of trepidation. “What?”
“You won, and we both lost, which means you won the bet,” Fiona said.
Life Bonds Page 6