by T. S. Ryder
“The second is that the second any Kinai can prove beyond reasonable doubt that you’re working against us, your life is forfeit, and you will be executed on the spot.”
She let go of the sheet and sat down on her new bed.
“Wow... that’s...” she began, but nothing coherent could come out of her mouth.
“I know, and I’m sorry,” Kenner told her, walking over and squatting on his haunches before her. He took her hands and gently rubbed his thumbs over them to soothe some of her newborn anxiety. “I should’ve anticipated something along these lines would happen, but I have very little experience with these types of situations. I was still a youngling the last time I did something so impulsive... and not one of those events affected as many people as buying your freedom and bringing you here did.”
Feeling the need to reply to Kenner’s tenderness with her own, Teresa entwined her fingers with his. She had never felt such a profound connection with anyone before in her life, such a sense that another person could understand any emotion she expressed. Somehow, it did not seem strange that this man would be the one to elicit such a response from her.
He was her dragon, ready to tear into anyone who would harm her – and her knight in shining armor, too, rescuing her from the short, brutal life of a gladiator slave.
Was it so strange, then, that she already felt such strong feelings for him?
“So who decides which rule will I live under?” she asked, her voice not as strong or as stable as she would like.
“You do,” he replied, “I managed to win that much for you, at least.”
Teresa nodded, thinking her options through. “It would be wiser to choose the first, wouldn’t it?” she said, hoping for some advice.
“Indeed,” Kenner agreed. “Though I hate how much it would limit you,” he added. “Still, there are far more areas you would be allowed into than not, and you’ll show them how wrong they were soon enough.”
She couldn’t help but chuckle. “Such faith you have in me, Kenner Darkwing,” she teased him, but there was no malice to it.
“What can I say?” he replied sheepishly. “I’m a big softie at heart.” She outright laughed to that, and the almost boyish grin on his face told her just how much he enjoyed it.
He let go of her hands and stood up.
“I’m keeping you from sleep,” he said, and Teresa rose as well.
“No, no,” she assured him. “I’m glad you are here.” She looked at him, a little nervous. “The past two days have been full of such twists and turns that I fear sometimes this was all a dream and I’ll wake up in my cot in the Pit...” She waved her head, expelling those thoughts. “You... you make me remember it’s all real.”
Kenner lifted his hand to her cheek, softly running his calloused knuckles along her jaw, and Teresa couldn’t help but tremble at the touch. “It’s real,” he whispered, “I’m real. And I’m right here if you need me.” For a moment, he looked at her as if he had more to say – or as if he might kiss her, a prospect Teresa was surprised to realize she would not mind at all – but then he left the room and quietly closed the door behind him, leaving her somehow both at ease and even more mystified than she had been before.
Chapter Six
If he had any sense of decency, Kenner thought, as he walked into his bedroom, he would find someone to take Teresa first thing tomorrow... but the thought of her sleeping anywhere but under his roof made the beast inside him furious.
Oh, how badly he wanted to press her into that mattress and push himself inside of her, to taste her pliant flesh and make her scream his name and score his back with her nails!
And she... she would’ve let him, he realized, which only made him more determined that he must not let it happen. She was much too vulnerable at the moment, and he was the only remotely familiar thing in what must’ve been a terrifying step to take into a completely new and unpredictable life. It made sense that she would seek him out for comfort, and it was so tempting to take advantage of that.
But that would make him no better than the monsters who had forced themselves on her when she was a slave, and he wanted something better, more pure, for them.
Even so, when the morning came, he found himself incapable of sending her away. Instead, the two of them fell into an easy routine, as if they had lived together for years. They’d breakfast, and then Kenner would leave for a training session, a recon flight, or whatever other business he and the Darkwings had set for that day, while Teresa cleaned up and went to attend to Elder Fanag. The old woman had taken a shine to her and was now introducing Teresa to her new home, teaching her the language, the history and the customs (to the extent the limitations Teresa was forced to endure allowed, that is). In the afternoons, she’d usually find someone who needed an extra pair of hands for this or that job, but if not, she’d travel from island to island in the areas she was allowed to move freely, getting to know Kinai and letting the people get used to her presence.
Kenner was happy she was so active and independent, but, at the same time, he treasured the moments when she sought him out. It gave him a primal kind of pleasure to take care of her needs, whether it was to cook her food or offer an empathetic ear in the times when her confidence faltered. He did his best not to crowd her or isolate her in any way, letting her find her own way, but always close enough to catch her if she stumbled.
Days passed, one by one, and before he realized it, spring had turned into summer. There were still reports of Skatian ships circling the Obsidian Ridge, but they were fewer and farther between. It still worried him, not knowing what they were up to, but he allowed himself to relax a little even as his Squadron remained vigilant in their surveys of the land. What made him especially happy was that Teresa, though still treated as a stranger, eventually became more and more welcomed, and had even made a few friends. It didn’t surprise him one bit that so many people began opening up to her. It was hard not to respect the effort she put in to prove she was worthy of their trust, or how quickly she mastered their language, though her accent still needed work.
Alas, there were still those who categorically maintained the opinion that Teresa was a viper in their midst. Though he loathed to admit it, his Second Lieutenant, Mara, was the driving force behind those suspicions.
It had started off with a few snide comments upon hearing the news about the slave girl Kenner had purchased with close to half of all the assets he possessed, but he had waved them off as teasing since the entire Squadron was on his case about it at the time anyway.
But then they arrived at Kinai, and she spoke with such fervent animosity against Teresa, even accusing her of being a spy – something Kenner was forced to shut down harshly. It was not only ridiculous and untrue, but also a direct challenge to his authority as Squadron Commander, and if Mara began having ideas above her station, he needed to quell them in the root.
At first, it seemed she had got the message, and she became careful about showing her animosity openly, but she also began to gather like-minded people around her. Their words and actions became a constant source of grief for Teresa – and, more than once, minor damage or injury.
Eventually, she even began agitating within the Squadron itself, trying to affect the unit’s cohesion, and Arul was the one who brought it to Kenner’s attention one afternoon as he poured over the recon reports. “You need to send Mara away,” he insisted. “Relocate her to another Squadron if you have to, but get her out of our hair, because if you don’t, these jealous fits of hers are going to be our ruin.”
“What do you mean, ‘jealous fits’?” Kenner asked, confused.
Arul rolled his eyes at him. “Oh, come on! You know she decided a long time ago you are hers, and reality is damned. Why do you think she’s so aggressive in her persecution? She knows you’re in love with Teresa.” Kenner flashed his second a cutting look, but Arul just scoffed it off. “You fell head over heels for her at first sight, and don’t you dare deny it,” he stated matter-of-
factly. “It’s actually kind of pathetic, how Teresa and you are the only two people in Kinai who don’t realize you’re a married couple in every way except literally.”
“I am not discussing my love life...” Kenner began, and Arul interjected with an ‘or lack thereof’, which made Kenner ball one of the papers on his desk and throw it at Arul, hitting his forehead before he continued, “...with a subordinate, even if you are my best friend. But you’re wrong about Mara. We tried going for a relationship, she and me, you know that, and you know how quickly we proved to be completely wrong for each other. I don’t know what her issue with Teresa is, but she’s not nearly so petty or so volatile to attack someone just because she believes I might have romantic intentions towards them.”
Arul stood up from his chair. “You know what? Be in denial, I don’t care. But transfer the bitch. Now.” And, having said his mind, he left Kenner to his work.
That evening, when he returned home, Teresa was already in, setting the table for dinner. At first, she smiled when she saw him walk in, but her expression quickly changed to that of concern. “Well, you look like you had fun today,” she teased him, as he slumped into his usual seat at the table.
“Trust me, you don’t wanna know,” he sighed, and she poured him a cup of chilled fruit wine.
“Trust me, I do,” she told him. “But if you don’t feel like talking about it, I won’t push.”
Kenner looked at her, and Arul’s comment about how they behaved like an old married couple suddenly didn’t seem so farfetched to him.
He took Teresa’s hand in his, entwining their fingers as had long ago became their custom, and kissed her knuckles. “No, I don’t feel like talking about it,” he told her. “But I feel like breaking some rules if you’re feeling adventurous.”
Teresa gave him a curious side-glance and sat down by his side. “I’m listening.”
Kenner’s lips stretched into a mischievous, crooked grin. Half an hour later, he landed on one of the many perches atop the hill on the Isle of Ponds with Teresa safely tucked into his beast’s enormous front paw. He carefully put her on the ground, and then shifted his form back to the man and slid down the mid pole of the perch to meet her.
“It’s so beautiful,” she gasped, her eyes wide as she tried to absorb all the wonder around her. “You know, I more or less have an inkling about I’m banned from most of the areas off-limits to me, but I never figured out why this place,” she mused aloud.
“Because it’s a vantage point,” Kenner replied, deciding this was a harmless enough bauble of knowledge to share with Teresa. “This hill is the second-highest ground in all of the Kinai, and you can not only see all of the areas you’re not allowed in but how to get to them as well.”
Teresa nodded. “You know, I don’t mind the limitations as much as being kept in the dark,” she told him honestly. “It’s pretty frustrating when someone has a slip of the tongue in front of me and then scrambles to change the topic. The other day, I complained about it to Elder Fanag, and then she had a slip as well, telling me I’ll understand after my Joining – and then clammed up about it no matter how much I begged!” Kenner laughed. “It’s not funny,” Teresa pouted, annoyed.
“Oh, yes it is,” he teased her. “And you’d be laughing as well if it weren’t happening to you.”
She scoffed and punched his shoulder lightly, which only made him laugh more and draw her into an embrace, resting her back against his chest and his chin on the crook of her neck and shoulder.
“She’s right, though,” Kenner chuckled. “If the Elders allow you a Joining, and you complete it successfully, you’ll understand why we guard our secrets so closely and help us guard them just as ferociously.”
Teresa sighed, seemingly resigned to let fate take its course. “Will you tell me what a Joining is?” she asked, but her tone made it clear she expected him to refuse her.
And yet, he didn’t. “Joining is what makes Kinai who and what we are,” he told her and pointed to the volcano in the distance. “Every twenty-five years, all Unjoined Kinai men and women older than twenty and younger than thirty spend the winter at the Rookery,” he told her. “That is when the beastlings hatch.”
Teresa turned her head, astonished by this new information, but though he could tell she was dying to ask more questions, the only things she said was, “You shouldn’t be telling me this.” And she was right. He shouldn’t.
But he just shrugged his shoulders, ready to stand by his decision to trust her just as unconditionally as she trusted him. “I won’t tell anyone if you won’t,” he said.
She watched him, apprehensive yet full of the desire to learn. In the end, her curiosity won. “So you are not born shape-shifters?” she asked, and he shook his head.
“How we discovered the process of Joining, no one knows for certain. There are religious texts that speak of prophecies and mystical revelations, but who knows how accurate they are. In any case, the benefits of a successful Joining are such that they make the risk of entering the beasts’ territory worth it, and though the beasts aren’t very fruitful, there are always more beastlings than there are pilgrims, so a few always remain to keep the cycle going.”
“But not all Joinings are successful?” she asked, in a strained voice.
“No,” he told her. “We don’t know why it happens, but the beast sometimes overpowers the host and they lose all control over it. They can commit horrendous acts of destruction in such a state, and must be put down.”
She looked so sad in that moment, her gaze returning to the volcano, now barely visible in the night.
“But, wait.” She livened again as she remembered more questions. “Why do you think the Elders might let me try for a Joining? I’m not Kinai.”
“Anyone can try for a Joining,” he replied, “There have been cases in the past of a joining with Firuzians and Garn, but very few. We simply make the most out of being the closest nation to their only territory on Elamaren.” He let go of her, put his hands on her shoulders and made her turn around to face him. “This is our most guarded secret, Teresa. The beasts would defend the Rookery, but a good enough thief with a good enough navigator on a good enough boat could sneak in through the Ridge and steal the beastlings. Skatians have always fantasized of Kinai slaves, trained to carry them around and burn their enemies to the ground – the kind of money they would pay for just one beastling would be worth the risk to anyone brazen enough. The Joinings keep the number of the beasts low enough that they are not the kind of danger to Elamaren they could be if they were left to multiply freely, and we take good care to limit any damage from an unsuccessful Joining to our lands alone. Perhaps we are selfish and insular, but we nevertheless do a great service to this planet, whether the other nations are aware of it or not.” Kenner cupped Teresa’s chin and looked deep into her eyes. “No matter what, this information cannot leave Kinai islands. Do you understand?”
“I do,” she replied solemnly. “I truly do.” And Kenner believed her.
However, the conversation had made the atmosphere between them heavy, which was the exact opposite of the effect he was trying to create, so he took her by the hand once again, and smiled softly. “Come now... I want to show you why I brought you here.”
She followed him down the hill to the ponds of warm mineral water, which were milky white from the sediment and beautiful to behold. They seemed stacked atop each other like a misshapen honeycomb, water trickling from the springs above the upper pools to fill them all to overflowing. “This is where our newlyweds spend the first five weeks of their marriage,” he explained, as they reached the first set of stone stairs leading into the ponds. “Though, when unoccupied, the ponds are mostly full of couples with children and old people tend to come by during the day... and lovers by night.”
“And which category do you and I fall into?” Teresa asked, a wicked grin on her face, all of the strain from their earlier conversation lifted off her heart.
This was it, Kenn
er realized. Either he took his chance now, or he could say goodbye to the dream of having Teresa for himself, because even though she teased him, he knew she would accept it without protest if he claimed he had brought her here as a trusted friend.
But he had made her a promise, all those nights ago in Wallaria, and if it happened, it had to be her choice.
“I don’t know,” he grinned back at her, as he undid the buckles of his uniform. “You tell me.”
A minute later, and he was naked before her, waiting for her reaction.
He didn’t have to wait too long.
Teresa walked over to him and laid her palms on his massive chest. Her touch made his heart race, and he could feel himself begin to harden in response as she slowly ran her fingertips up, burying them in his hair, and gently pulled him in for a kiss.
She tasted of fruit wine, and her lips were soft, warm and full. She did not torment him with a playful introduction, but opened up for him fully right away, and he replied in kind, their tongues dancing together, playing their mating game.
With a low growl, Kenner tugged at the stays on her garments, the silky ribbons melting away under his fingers and the clothes slipping off Teresa’s body, revealing her in all her glory to his eyes. He had spent more nights dreaming of this moment than a grown man really ought to admit to, yet his fantasies came nowhere close to the beauty she possessed.
Breaking the kiss and taking a step back, he drank her in with his eyes, molten hot from desire, loving the little uncontrolled responses of her body to the attention it received – the rosy flush of her skin, the shiver in her breath, the way her nipples puckered up into little pearls he could not wait to run his tongue over.
And, even more, he enjoyed the way her eyes darted across his body, from the planes of his powerful shoulders to the slopes of his hard stomach, and lower, to his now fully erect member, throbbing with the need to be inside of her.
Biting her lower lip, Teresa stepped closer again and, unbidden, lowered herself to her knees. He gasped loudly when she wrapped a hand around his shaft and began to run it up and down at a maddeningly slow pace. Her eyes were firmly on his face, and he could tell what a rush of power she felt at this proof that she controlled his pleasure. It made Kenner’s lust for her burn stronger, brighter.