by Clayton Wood
“It’s planned,” she answered. “We’ll wait for your brother to return, then storm the kingdom.”
Vi pulled away from Hunter, putting her hands on her hips and eyeing him critically. “In the meantime, we’ve got work to do.”
“Huh?”
“You went and got yourself a pair of wings,” she explained. “So now I have to teach you how to use them.”
“Pfft,” Hunter scoffed. “What would you know about flying?”
“You doubting me?” Vi shot back. Hunter grimaced. He’d done so many times in the past, and she’d always proven herself right. “That’s what I thought,” she stated.
“Can you train me too?” Sukri asked. Vi considered this.
“We’ll talk,” she decided. “I need to get to know you first.”
“Thank you for considering it,” Sukri replied.
“Don’t kid yourself, Sukri,” Vi retorted. “I might just be keeping you around ‘cause I’ll get to look at that ass all day long.”
“I’ll be sure to give you a show then,” Sukri replied. “Consider it payment for services rendered.” Vi smirked, giving Hunter an approving look.
“I like her,” she exclaimed, slapping him on the side of his shoulder…hard enough to nearly knock him off his feet. He’d forgotten how strong she was. “Follow me, both of you,” she added, making her way toward one of the tunnels off the main cavern. Hunter glanced at his mother.
“Go on,” Neesha urged. “I’ll see you later.”
“Bye Mom,” he replied. “Love you.” He turned about, following Vi and Sukri.
“Love you…ugh, those wings,” Neesha groaned. Hunter grinned, spreading his wings out all the way just to torture her. It must have had an effect; he heard splashing, and glanced back to see that his mother had returned to the island beyond the waterfall.
“Well then,” he declared. “That went better than I expected.”
* * *
The sky was overcast when Hunter, Vi, and Sukri emerged from the front entrance of the Ironclad lair, passing a few dozen Ironclad guards surrounding the entrance, then turning rightward. The grass was jet-black, each blade crunching under their feet as they walked. A consequence of the Ironclads’ will exerting itself on the grass over time. The grass had died long ago, the beetle shell covering each blade preventing them from absorbing sunlight. A reminder that, as with the Deep, not all combinations of wills were survivable.
“How’re you doing?” Hunter asked Vi as she followed them further into the woods.
“Busy,” Vi answered. “I’ve been working with your mother to organize the attack on Tykus.”
“Wait, you’re…?” Sukri asked, glancing at Hunter.
“Yeah, we’re taking Tykus down,” Hunter explained. “They were planning on destroying us, but there was some sort of attack on the kingdom a few days ago.”
“It was the Guild of Seekers,” Vi revealed. “They were caught smuggling illegal artifacts. The Kingdom raided them and jailed High Seeker Zeno, so the guild struck back. And hard, from what our scouts have reported.”
“Wow,” Hunter murmured. “They really attacked Tykus?”
“Yep,” Vi confirmed. “Some people think they even made it into the Acropolis, although the Kingdom denies it. But according to one of my sources, all the dukes were murdered.”
“Damn,” Sukri said, giving a low whistle.
“Wait,” Hunter interjected. “Even Dominus?”
“That’s right,” Vi confirmed.
“How do you know all this?” Hunter pressed.
“I…interrogated a high-level military officer leaving the Kingdom to return to the military base in the Deadlands,” Vi explained.
“Ah.” He paused. “Did he survive your interrogation?”
“That would be a no.”
They reached a familiar wide dirt path leading up a steep slope ahead. It was the same path Vi had led Hunter to when he’d first reunited with Xerxes. She walked up it, Hunter and Sukri following behind.
“Where are we going?” Sukri inquired.
“To the top of this hill,” Vi answered. “I need to see what Hunter can do with those wings of his.”
“He glides pretty well,” Sukri offered. She described her harrowing plunge from the bridge, and Hunter’s heroic actions in saving her.
“Not bad,” Vi had to admit. “Not many people would’ve been able to pull that off. You kept calm under pressure Hunter. I’m proud of you.”
“I had a good teacher,” Hunter replied with a smile, putting an arm around Vi’s shoulders and giving her a squeeze. She smiled, tousling his hair affectionately.
So you know how to glide. Can you fly?” Vi asked.
“No, haven’t gotten there yet.”
“We’ll watch you glide first,” Vi decided. “Then we’ll work on flying.”
“How do you know how to fly?” Hunter asked.
“I don’t,” Vi confessed. “But I’m gonna figure it out.”
They reached the top of the hill, and Vi stopped, turning to look back down it.
“Okay,” she stated, gesturing down the hill. “Glide.”
Hunter nodded, unfurling his wings. He braced himself, feeling a slight breeze against him; even this threatened to pull him backward. He leapt upward and forward, feeling his wings catch the air instantly, the downward-sloping path dropping away gradually as he glided down the hill. Soon he was a good thirty feet in the air; despite his previous experience, he still got butterflies being so high up. The thought that one wrong move might send him plummeting to the earth still terrified him. He ignored his fear as best he could, remembering to rotate his wings backward to slow himself as he neared the bottom of the hill. There was forest ahead; he rotated his left wing, circling gradually to the left, spiraling downward. Eventually he straightened out, touching down at the base of the hill.
Nice and easy, he thought, feeling rather proud of himself.
Then he had to walk all the way back up.
“That was pretty,” Vi exclaimed as he reached the top again. “Not bad, Hunter. Not bad at all.”
“Thanks.”
“You actually learned that pretty quick,” Vi admitted. “I know a few bird-people from the Kingdom of the Deep. It usually takes a long time to get used to your wings.”
“I kinda had to learn or die,” Hunter replied ruefully. Vi grinned.
“Best way to learn.”
“It’s pretty much her teaching method,” Hunter told Sukri with a wink. Vi ignored him, gesturing down the hill again.
“Alright, now I want you to start gliding down a few meters, then beat your wings and fly backward and land right where you started.”
Hunter took a deep breath in, then nodded.
“Alright.”
He stepped to the very edge of the slope again, unfurling his wings, then leaping down as before. Again, his wings filled with air, and he started gliding down, picking up speed quickly. He rotated his wings back to slow down, then beat them like he was doing a chest fly at the gym, bringing his wings together in front of him. He launched upward and backward…and promptly began to fall.
Hunter swore, spreading his wings out to his sides again…and started gliding down the hill.
“Beat ‘em!” Vi shouted from behind.
Hunter did so, beating his wings once, then again, feeling himself launching backward and upward as he did so. But the minute he stopped, he started to fall again. He grimaced, beating his wings again and again, sweat dripping down his forehead and into his eyes. Then he realized he was directly over Sukri and Vi.
“Good!” Vi exclaimed. “Now get down here.”
Hunter complied, beating his wings a few more times, then gliding in a tighter circle than before, landing on the hilltop a few yards away. He strode up to them, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
“That’s hard,” he admitted.
“That’s what happens when you beat it,” Vi quipped. Hunter rolled his eyes, and Sukri smir
ked. “So you can glide, and you can gain altitude,” Vi continued. “We’re getting there.”
“What next, master?” Hunter inquired.
“Now you glide all the way to the base of the hill and fly back here without touching the ground,” Vi answered. Hunter nodded, facing the edge of the slope again, then spreading his wings and leaping down. The ground dropped from beneath him, and he picked up speed rapidly, the wind howling in his ears. He was well above the treetops when he reached the end of the slope, and he turned gently to the right, circling around until he was facing Sukri and Vi. He was about halfway down the hill altitude-wise.
Okay, he told himself. Here goes.
He tried rotating his wings back a little, then beat them, and felt himself rise up a little bit…but he also lost some forward momentum.
You’re not trying to fly backward, he reminded himself.
He rotated his wings back to neutral, then flapped them again, and this time he gained altitude without sacrificing much speed. Again and again he flapped, flying a little higher each time…all the while careening toward the slope ahead.
Uh oh.
He flapped harder and faster, rotating his wings back as he did so to slow down…and promptly smacked feet-first into the slope. He stumbled, landing belly-first onto the dirt.
“Well damn…” he began – and then a gust of wind struck him, filling his still-open wings and flinging him backward. He panicked, spreading his wings out desperately…and gently glided back onto the slope. This time he folded his wings immediately behind his back.
And heard Vi’s laughter from ahead.
He sighed, hiking up the path back to the top. He’d made it about three-quarters of the way up, he found. When he finally reached Vi and Sukri, Sukri patted him on the shoulder.
“You’re doing great,” she reassured…holding back a smirk.
“Actually that was terrible,” Vi corrected. “But you’ll do better next time. One piece of advice…keep your legs up and behind you.”
“Huh?”
“You’re letting your legs hang down,” Vi explained. “It’s creating way too much drag. Keep ‘em up and together. Or pull your knees to your chest. You know, like a bird.”
“Right, got it.”
He waited to catch his breath for a moment – flapping his wings wasn’t too hard, but walking up that damn hill was – and then leapt from the edge again, spreading his wings out. He started gliding down again.
“Legs!” Vi shouted.
Hunter grimaced, realizing his legs were hanging beneath him. He kicked them backward, straightening his legs and pulling them together so his knees touched, as if he were diving.
And felt himself immediately pick up speed, accelerating rapidly!
“Whoa!” he blurted out, pulling his legs down reflexively. He slowed, tilting upward a little. Then he steeled himself, throwing his legs back again…and immediately sped up. He lost a lot less altitude this time, sailing well above the treetops at the bottom of the hill. He turned, being careful to do so gently at such a high speed, then made his way back up the slope.
Okay, he told himself. That worked.
He beat his wings experimentally, making sure to keep his legs up this time…and felt himself gaining altitude smoothly. He broke out into a grin, feeling positively giddy. Beating his wings slowly and powerfully, he gained more and more altitude, this time nearly making it to the top of the slope before having to slow down abruptly, landing on the slope side. Thankfully he managed to keep his balance.
“All right Hunter!” Sukri cried, running up to him and giving him a big hug. “That was awesome!”
“Yeah it was,” he agreed. “That really worked. Thanks Vi.”
“And you questioned me,” Vi quipped, grinning at him. He gave her a rueful smile.
“All right, I admit it. You were right.”
“Never get tired of hearing it,” Vi replied. “Now go and land all the way at the top like I told you to.”
Hunter did so, repeating his performance…and this time sailing well over Vi and Sukri’s heads on his way back, landing a good thirty feet behind them.
“Good,” Vi stated, clapping him on the shoulder when he’d walked back to them. “Easy part’s over now.”
“Huh?”
“Take my bow,” she ordered, slipping her bow off her back and handing it to him, then securing her quiver to his waist. “Time to make you dangerous.”
Chapter 23
Dominus’s hips bucked as his will broke, hours of Camilla’s maddeningly slow, ceaseless seductions bringing him past any ability or desire to hold off, to deny her that which she most desperately wanted: to see him lose control. To see Dominus, the former Duke of Wexford, give in to her at last.
He moaned, his hips bucking again and again, sweat pouring from his body, his heart pounding in his chest.
It was ecstasy.
At last the waves of pleasure ended, and he looked down, watching as Camilla met his gaze, her eyes twinkling. She would have given him that maddening smirk of hers…if her mouth had not otherwise been occupied.
She lifted her head, letting him slip out, and his member fell hot and slick against his belly.
“Mmm,” she murmured, sliding upward sinuously, her breasts and belly sliding against his skin. She leaned down, kissing him on the lips…or at least trying to. He turned his head to the side, making her pout. “Awww…after all that, not even a kiss?” she inquired.
“You got what you wanted.”
“And so did you,” she retorted with a smile, sitting back, resting her groin against his. “Or are you going to pretend you didn’t want that?”
“The crude desires of the body do not reflect the desires of my mind.”
Camilla stared at him…and promptly burst into laughter.
“What?” Dominus demanded.
“You,” she answered, shaking her head. “You’re so…quaint.”
“Quaint?”
“Mmm,” she replied, shaking her head and smiling at him. Her long hair fell over her shoulders, draping across her ample breasts. “So repressed. Tell me Dominus…how many women have you slept with?”
Dominus grimaced.
“I don’t have to justify that with an answer.”
“That’s answer enough,” Camilla countered. “Poor Dominus. Wasting all your gifts following Tykus’s regressive laws. Think of all the pleasure you could have.”
“A distraction,” Dominus shot back.
“Is it?” she inquired. “I seem to do quite well despite all my…distractions.” She leaned down, kissing him on the neck. “In fact, I find it clears my mind.” She smiled at him again, trying to kiss him on the lips. He turned his head away again, and she nibbled on his earlobe instead.
“Camilla…”
She sucked his earlobe into her mouth, biting it gently, then letting go, kissing his neck again. He tried to ignore her, but he felt a familiar stirring in his groin, his member somehow – impossibly – awakening. It grew, hardening against her groin…and she slid her pelvis against it rhythmically.
“Dominus,” she stated incredulously, her eyes widening. She looked down, watching as he grew to his full length. “Oh my,” she murmured. “I wonder if it works?”
She slid her hips up to his belly, then slid down, and Dominus felt her body engulf him in hot, tight wetness. He gasped, not expecting it…and she moaned, taking him in completely.
“Oh Dominus…”
She ground her pelvis against his, riding him slowly. She rested her head next to his on the bed, her breath hot against his ear.
He felt the unmistakable rise of his pleasure, coming as readily as if he hadn’t just orgasmed moments ago. Its power and urgency surprised him, and he stiffened.
“Stop,” he ordered.
But she didn’t stop, grinding against him even harder, her breath coming in short gasps. He felt his pleasure rise with hers, and tried to push her away from him. But his arms were weak, his muscle
s still in the process of healing.
“Camilla!” he snapped.
She gasped, her whole body stiffening, her breath catching in her throat. Moments later, he felt a rhythmic pulsing around his member, contractions so powerful that they threatened to push him out. Still she ground against him, his pleasure rising dangerously high, approaching the unthinkable.
“Stop!” he cried.
She did stop then, staring down at him, her skin glistening with sweat.
“What is it darling?” she inquired.
“If you don’t want a baby, I would suggest releasing me,” he replied. She took a moment to process this, then smiled.
“I wouldn’t worry about that,” she reassured. Still, she slid him out of her. “I didn’t realize you were so close.” She gazed down at his erection. “Were you always so…virile?”
“No,” Dominus answered truthfully. It had to be the Ironclad’s strange power, he realized. Allowing him to recover almost instantly from being spent.
“This,” Camilla murmured, shifting the angle of her pelvis, then sliding it down on top of his member, “…could be interesting.”
He felt himself pressing against her flesh, then felt him slide into her again. Except this time it was even tighter. He grunted.
“Camilla,” he blurted out, but she put a finger to his lips.
“Relax,” she soothed, bringing him into her fully.
He moaned, that single movement nearly bringing him to completion. Dominus looked down, seeing himself within her…but most definitely not in her womb. He stared as she began to ride him again, hardly believing what was happening. What they were doing was illegal in Tykus, an abomination for which he would have been stripped of his Duchy.
But as she moved expertly on him, he became lost in his pleasure, resting his head back on his pillow and closing his eyes. And moments later, when she brought him quickly to his second of many orgasms to come that day, he cried out in ecstasy, not even bothering to hold back anymore.
* * *
Dominus pulled on the last piece of armor that Camilla had given him, a fine metal breastplate. It was quite comfortable, as was the rest of his armor. He gazed at his reflection in the full-length mirror in his suite’s master bathroom, hardly recognizing himself. For he had almost no gray hair at all, and his skin was that of a young man, now in his forties at most. After days of robust eating, he’d filled out remarkably well, his body stronger than it’d been in decades.