A shudder ran through her, and Ari tell that Kerys was as unsure about what they were doing as she ever had been about kissing. He let his hands cup her butt, slowly guiding her hips in a gentle, building motion.
It reminded him of his first time with Eva, except with the roles reversed. He led Kerys through it as softly as he could, even though he was brimming with long-suppressed primal urges, feelings that went back to their time in the Hollow.
“Oh…” moaned Kerys. “Oh, Ari.”
“Kerys,” he said. “I’m never letting go of you.”
They rolled about on the bedroll, and Ari landed on top. He made love to Kerys, thrusting with considerate movements even as he sped up, kissing her constantly. She made him feel his age again. Like Ari, the troublemaker of Golias Hollow, instead of Lord Stoneblood with the responsibilities and stress of leadership.
“I—” gasped Kerys. “Oh! I— think I’m—”
She let out an altogether-too-loud scream as she came. Ari pulled her mouth against her shoulder, trying to muffle it as he kept going. He sped up, suddenly appreciating his luck, her body, and everything that had led to that moment. A moment he never would have dreamed of before coming to the surface.
He didn’t pull out. Nothing could have convinced him to. If anyone was to bear his child, it would be Kerys Weaver, his first love, his wife.
“Did you mean it?” she whispered, once they’d come back down from the clouds.
“Of course,” said Ari. “I’m never letting go of you, Kerys.”
She let out a noise that he almost couldn’t identify as a laugh or a sob.
“I’m so happy,” she whispered.
“Me too,” said Ari. “The only thing that would make this better is if Eva was with us.”
He said it in a teasing tone, but the way Kerys blushed at the words made him suddenly realize that she might also have been thinking something similar, or at least been open to the idea.
“Kerys.” Amber’s voice cut through their reverie from just outside the underchamber. “I sent you in there to wake him up, not to have a sexual awakening.”
Kerys scowled at the door. Ari would have thrown something, had any objects been within convenient reach. She rolled off his bedroll and began pulling her dress on.
“Amber sent me in here to check on your condition,” said Kerys. “I just thought I’d do a more thorough check than what she intended…”
“You did the right thing,” said Ari. “You did the honorable, heroic, self-sacrificing thing. The type of thing we need to start doing a lot more often.”
She giggled, and Ari sneaked another quick kiss before putting his arm around her.
“Are you okay?” he asked her.
“Me?” Kerys furrowed her brow. “I’m fine.”
“Kerys, I saw the way the Sai were holding you and the others hostage,” said Ari. “It’s not exactly a pleasant experience to have someone put their sword to your neck.”
“Ari, I am made of stronger stuff than I think you give me credit for,” said Kerys.
“Are you?” asked Ari.
Kerys scowled at him and playfully slapped his shoulder. “Yes, I am. But I appreciate you asking.”
“Never again,” said Ari, sneaking another kiss. “Kerys, I will never let anyone take you like that again.”
She held his gaze, blinking as one side of her mouth pulled up into an oddly embarrassed smile. Ari kept his arm around Kerys as he headed for the door. Amber was waiting with her arms crossed, frowning slightly, and she looked him up and down as he stepped out into Etheria’s main chamber.
“Ari,” said Amber. “How are you feeling?”
Ari rolled out one of his shoulders. “My tongue hurts, and I have a headache, but other than that, I’m alright.”
“How long do you think you’ve been resting for, if you had to take a guess?”
“A couple of hours?” he ventured.
“Almost an entire day,” said Amber.
“The look on your face makes me think that you’re about to tell me that there is an issue with that,” he said.
“Be serious for a second,” said Amber. “The Weathersense Potion appears to be taking more of a toll on you each time you imbibe it. Eva described to me the level of seizing and thrashing about you did. I feel as the only one with any healing ability, and as the producer of that potion, I have to warn you against using it indiscriminately in the future.”
Ari shrugged. “It’s not as though we have an unlimited supply of it to begin with. I’ll be careful.”
“You sound remarkably unconcerned about your own health,” said Amber.
“He’s always been a fool like that,” said Kerys with a warm sigh.
She leaned her head against Ari’s shoulder. Amber rolled her eyes and headed back toward her own room.
“Well, I heard her out,” said Ari. “It’s still early. Come on, if we’re quick, we can get back to my bedroll before it gets cold.”
Kerys smiled as though he was joking and shook her head. Ari could feel the attention of other members of his small community on him, and momentarily set his boyish urges aside.
Rin was the first to make it over to him. Leyehl and a second Ravarian followed on either side of her, almost like bodyguards, and she still carried Varnasaria in one hand. She gave Kerys a deferential nod as she approached and then proceeded to give Ari a quick kiss anyway, eliciting an annoyed groan from the other woman.
“It’s good to see you up and moving, chala,” said Rin.
“It’s one of those aspects of life that I no longer take for granted,” said Ari. “What’s the situation? How many did we end up losing during the battle?”
Rin ran a hand along the length of her silver spear. “Two of my people were killed. Three were injured. The mercenary you brought with you took a cut across the face, but he is otherwise fine.”
“That’s all?” asked Ari.
“That’s all.” Rin grinned at him. “A good plan goes a long way, chala. You did yourself proud.”
She set her hand on his shoulder for a moment and then headed toward the tunnel. Ari looked around the main chamber, noticing where the cleanup of the remnants of the battle was still taking place. The firetraps had all but incinerated most of the bodies, but there were still bloodstains to be scrubbed away, weapons to be stockpiled, and a rather unpleasant smell, though it was bearable.
Someone had triggered the ward to close the roof overhead, likely to keep the rain from getting in that Eva had mentioned when he’d last been awake. From what he could see of the far end of the tunnel, it didn’t appear to currently be raining, though Ari still felt too disoriented to say for sure.
“Lord Stoneblood!” Virgil was next to make his way over, pulling his fist to his chest in a salute that Ari smiled at and reciprocated. “Ah, and Lady Kerys.”
He blushed and gave Kerys a somewhat awkward, though very sweet, bow.
“It’s good to see you, Virgil,” said Ari. “How did you fare during the attack?”
“I managed well enough,” he said. “Selene is fine, too. She was a little scared after what happened with the tower, but she’s since calmed down.”
Ari nodded slowly, glancing past Virgil toward the rear of the main chamber where the tower sat occupying its usual position.
“We should avoid spending more time than necessary within the tower for now,” said Ari. “Just in case Diya decides to try his trick a second time.”
“That’s exactly what we’ve been doing,” said Kerys. “We moved the children into one of the underchambers and found places for the essential supplies we have stored within.”
“Good, good,” said Ari. He ran his hand through his hair, still feeling tired and a bit out of sorts.
“What I wanted to speak with you about was the tree fence, Lord Stoneblood,” said Virgil. “We’ll need to get started restoring it as soon as possible, and I was hoping you could speak with Rin and her warriors about helping with the digging and
transportation of the trees.”
“Yeah, of course. How much damage did it take during the battle?”
“Not as much as I had initially assumed,” said Virgil. “The larger trees were scorched by the flames, but they did a remarkably good job of withstanding the blaze. It shouldn’t take nearly as much work to repair as it did to build in the first place.”
“Good,” said Ari. “I’ll let Rin know to send help as soon as I see her.”
Virgil nodded and started to leave. His eyes lingered on Kerys, and she gave him a kind smile.
“Virgil?” she asked. “Is there something else?”
He hesitated, bringing a hand up to brush back some of his blond curls.
“Ah, no,” he said. “I just wanted to say that I’m glad to see Lord Stoneblood has recovered so thoroughly.”
A flush came to Virgil’s cheeks, and Ari felt a little bad for the Sai youth as he watched him hurrying off.
“He’s so sweet,” said Kerys. “We need to find him a girlfriend. Maybe Rin?”
“Rin would eat him alive,” said Ari.
“And you don’t think he’d enjoy every second of it?” asked Kerys.
Ari scowled at her and playfully flicked her ear with his finger. He glanced across the chamber, noticing another group making their way over. It was Durrien and Grena, along with Fuscia and one of the other Ravarian children.
“I’m sure you’ve had your fill of being fussed over by now, lad,” said Durrien. “Thought you could do with some breakfast, though. It’s sweetbread, the children helped with rolling the dough.”
The two Ravarian children bounced forward, each holding one end of a long loaf of deep brown bread. They both grinned at Ari, looking so earnest and happy to see him that it almost made his heart melt. He brought his fingers to his mouth and made a ridiculous face while tapping his lips, eliciting a round of giggles.
“Thank you,” said Ari. “I’m starving. This is exactly what I needed.”
The bread was still warm out of the ovens. It had a flaky crust and fluffy interior, along with a taste that reminded him of black maple sap from down in the Hollow. Ari devoured it, smiling as Kerys chastised him for getting crumbs on his tunic.
“Where is Eva?” he asked, in between mouthfuls.
“Where do you think?” asked Kerys. “She’s on watch. I tried to tell her that it’s not really necessary, given that we have Rin and her warriors to fly scouting patrols now, but she wouldn’t listen.”
Ari and Kerys made their way down the tunnel, and sure enough, Eva was watching over the surrounding area from just beyond the damaged tree fence. It was early morning, and the sky was again overcast, though only a thin breeze blew across the steppe.
“Lord Stoneblood,” said Eva, turning and flashing a small smile.
“Lady Eva,” said Ari in a teasing tone.
He kept his arm around Kerys as he reached his other hand out to pull Eva in close enough to kiss. Her lips were cold, but incredibly soft. Ari found himself appreciating the newfound balance of intimacy between himself, Kerys, and Eva more than he could put into words.
“How are you feeling?” asked Eva.
“Well enough that I’m sick of answering that question,” said Ari.
“I only ask because I was there to witness what you went through,” said Eva. “I stayed with you until it was necessary for me to take over the watch out here.”
“I’m just teasing,” said Ari. “I appreciate your concern.”
“We were all worried about you, Aristial,” said Eva.
“I prefer that to me being the one doing the worrying,” he said. “What about you? How are you holding up?”
The question wasn’t about her physical condition, and he could tell from the way Eva hesitated before answering that she understood his meaning. He’d seen her expression during the battle, the way the violence had almost exposed a side of her that she was rightly afraid of.
“I am managing,” she said. “It is only during the actual fighting that I… struggle. Thank you for asking, milord.”
Eva set the Feathermace down and slid into place on Ari’s other side. They spent a minute like that, the three of them silently watching the surrounding area, feeling each other’s warmth in the face of the cold.
He was about to suggest that the three of them head back inside when one of Rin’s scouts came barreling out of the sky a few feet away from them. The scout was out of breath, and he only took the time to say one word before sprinting down the tunnel to sound the alarm.
“Saidicans!”
Ari reached for his sword, only realizing then that he hadn’t bothered to put it back on upon waking. He had the option of summoning Azurelight, but that would have been a tradeoff, depriving him of Eva in her incarnate form.
As he soon discovered, he needn’t have bothered. Ari saw the Sai army slowly forming into a thin, somewhat destitute line in front of the copse of trees to the south. Emperor Diya had apparently survived their harrowed retreat, and he glided out ahead of the army on his rune sled, alone and unarmed.
“Hold on,” he said. “They aren’t here to fight.”
CHAPTER 51
Ari spent a few minutes discussing the situation with Eva and Rin, eventually bringing them around to the same conclusion he’d come to. He resisted Rin’s suggestions to take advantage of their position and force another battle, feeling as though it would be too risky.
He was also sick of fighting, and it was for that reason that he accepted Diya’s implied offer, riding his own rune sled out to meet the Saidican Emperor in the no man’s lands between Etheria and the remnants of the invading army.
He took Azurelight with him, grateful for both the weapon and the woman behind it. Knowing that Eva would be in his ear to offer advice, if needed, gave him an extra bit of confidence. He slowed the rune sled to a stop as he came within a dozen or so feet of Diya, climbing off it to face him directly.
The Saidican Emperor was clearly not there for a fight, or even for the purpose of intimidation. He’d stripped his armor off at some point, and the simple white tunic and leggings he was currently wearing were stained with blood in places. Bandages poked through a hole in the shoulder of his tunic, the spot where Ari had used his bond ability to run him through with Azurelight from behind.
“Do you know why I’m here, Lord Stoneblood?” asked Diya.
“Of course,” said Ari. It was an obvious lie, and he almost smiled at how easy it came to his lips. The tables had turned. He felt as though he was the one with the options, the one standing in the position of power.
Diya reached into his tunic and withdrew a missive with a red ribbon tied around it, passing it to Ari, who stared at it for a moment before unrolling it. He continued to stare as he read the words written in clean, simple Subvios, and examined the basic map sketched across the bottom of the page.
“This is… a peace treaty,” said Ari. He opened his mouth, and then closed it, for once remembering his old friend Milo’s advice about when it was best to stay silent.
“It’s fairly straightforward,” said Diya. “The map at the bottom represents the border that we would both establish and honor. Troop movements would be forbidden across it without express permission. This includes manipulation of the Weatherblight, be it for military purposes or espionage.”
“Aristial…” said Eva, through the bond. “You should consider this carefully.”
Ari took a closer look at the map. He’d done enough exploring across Maiya to understand that the border Diya had drawn up would hand over hundreds of square miles to Etheria, perhaps a tenth of the entire continent. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickling with suspicion and took a closer look at the written agreement.
“As I said, suspicious movements of Weatherblight would also be considered a provocation,” continued Diya. “It’s fairly easy for my guards to detect when you’ve taken control of one of the monsters, so I wouldn’t expect you to take that risk.”
“Interesting…” said Ari. “You’re making quite the offer, Emperor Diya. Would you like to know what I think of it?”
He gripped the treaty in his hands and slowly tore it in half, and then into even smaller pieces, letting the wind take them from his hand as he opened his fingers.
“You forget your position, Lord Stoneblood,” said Diya.
Ari forced himself to ignore the sweatiness in his palms and the tension that reached all the way to the hairs of his neck. He drew Azurelight and pressed the edge of the sword to Diya’s neck, noting the way the other man’s injury prevented him from reacting in time to stop him.
“Aristial!” hissed Eva.
“I know my position,” said Ari. “I forced your surrender, not the other way around. I’m open to the idea of peace with the Saidican Empire… under certain conditions.”
“You…” Diya’s face went red with rage, and he gritted his teeth loud enough for the grinding to be audible. “Who do you think you are?”
Ari couldn’t resist, and he felt a smile creep onto his face as he spoke words that he felt like he was borrowing. “An old friend. Someone who knows enough about you to know that this should have happened a long time ago.”
“You forget yourself, Lord Stoneblood,” said Diya. “I’ll see you and everyone you love dead! I’ll—”
“Let’s add a more reasonable voice into the conversation, shall we?” said Ari. He took a step forward, reaching out a hand to rummage through Diya’s pockets. He kept a careful eye on the rest of the Sai army behind the Emperor, but they seemed chastened, both from battle and from the knowledge that they would never make it to save their Emperor in time if Ari did decide to kill him.
“What are you doing?” snapped Diya.
Ari found the Messagem and handed it to the other man. “Get your daughter on the line.”
“…What?”
“Xenith,” said Ari. “She’s the one that I wish to negotiate with.”
Diya’s eyes flickered with anger for a moment, until he saw that Ari was serious. He took the Messagem and seemed to spend a minute reaching his will into it. A quick, quiet conversation took place as he instructed the guard carrying it to bring it to his daughter, and then Ari was staring into the pretty face of the young heir to the Saidican Empire.
Reborn Raiders (The Weatherblight Saga Book 4) Page 32