“Standing seven feet does not make us giants,” Finn spoke up. “It just makes us tall.”
“All warriors are tall,” Alea scoffed. “Seven feet makes you very tall.”
“You’re incorrigible, Alea,” Bram said with a shake of his head as he joined his brothers back on the ground.
“That is why Mother makes us watch over her so closely,” Tanner added.
“Princess Asme makes you watch over me to keep you out of trouble,” she informed them with a smug smile but it only made them laugh harder.
“Think what you will, little cousin,” Bram told her. “You will reach your claiming age soon and we watch to protect you.”
Alea sighed, not relishing the thought of the approaching months and reaching the age of twenty-one, making her a claimable mate for interested warriors. Her mother
Larksan had died when Alea was young and Alea had been raised by her doting warrior fathers. She had never known the influence of any island women.
She had only met her aunt and uncles recently. Alea hadn’t known that her fathers were the younger brothers of the prince so she had been ill-prepared when they had informed her that she was being sent to the temple home of the Princess Asme to learn the ways of a woman before she reached the age of claiming. Alea had fought tooth and nail, not wanting to leave the remote shore she had called home but her fathers had both stood firm on the decision, for the first time in her life not giving in to her.
Now she had to admit that it wasn’t so bad to live with the princess in the temple and her Uncle Godar was wonderful. This was the first time that she had met the prince, her Uncle Micah Verbani, and truthfully she found him a little intimidating but she wouldn’t admit that to anyone. Mostly she enjoyed spending time with her older cousins, Bram, Finn and Tanner. They certainly brought fun and laughter to her days with their constant schemes and foolery. She knew that there was more to them than most people saw. Alea had seen them kill to protect those they loved and held dear.
Unfortunately it seemed that death was dealt more and more by the island men as the invaders flooded the shores of the Isle of Altair in ever-increasing numbers. It was a life that no one wanted but all were fated to. That thought brought her attention back to the woman she had seen hidden in the trees. Alea had left the woman there, not knowing what she hid from or even what danger might exist around them. There was a fierce tingling on her skin that she had never experienced before and that alone made her nervous of this stranger. But with her cousins now beside her she felt easier about approaching the woman.
Alea had just opened her mouth to invite the woman to join them when two things happened almost simultaneously. Two warriors walked into the glen, obviously searching for someone. They were tall, maybe six feet ten, with long brown hair and eyes as green as Alea’s. She felt more than saw her cousins jump to their feet and form a
wall behind her as the warriors approached. But there was no need for their show of protection.
Vulcan chose that moment to return as well. His piercing cry rent the air as he circled above her, waiting patiently until she held her arm out for him to land. He was a magnificent creature with his wide wingspan of bright blue feathers that tapered to lighter shades of blue as they flowed down his back to his tail. He landed smoothly on the covering on Alea’s arm and deftly folded his wings behind him, looking at the men around her. His eyes were as black as night, his face snowy white. His silver beak was long and pointed, evidence of his status as bird of prey, along with the long vicious talons of the same color that he sported on each foot.
The two warriors who had just entered the glen gasped in surprise at the bird and backed away.
“Is that an aqua-phoen?” one of the warriors asked, making the Verbani brothers laugh. Every one stopped and stared with wonder and disbelief at the sight of Vulcan.
“Yes,” Bram answered. “Vulcan is one of the last of his kind left.”
“I thought that they were all extinct?” the other warrior spoke up.
“No,” Alea answered, softly stroking her fingers over the soft feathers of her friend. “They are still around if you know where to look. Who are you?”
“I am Drago Mederra and this is my brother Ulrik,” Drago spoke up.
“We are looking for our mate,” Ulrik explained. “She came this way looking for firewood or so she would have us believe,” he added under his breath. Both he and Drago were well aware of Willow’s call to be near the water.
“I am Bram Verbani,” Bram spoke up then indicated those around him one by one. “These are my brothers Finn and Tanner and our cousin Alea.”
“Verbani?” Drago questioned, recognizing like others the name of their prince.
“Yes,” Finn answered with a long-suffering sigh. “We are the sons of the prince.”
Silence fell until another joined them.
“As you believe indeed,” Willow spoke from the trees behind them as she entered the glen. “You knew exactly where I would be headed to and why.”
Alea looked at the woman and felt the zing along her skin strengthen, jolting her with a charge of recognition, a soft call to her soul though she had never even seen, much less met, this woman before. “Who are you?” Alea asked softly.
“I am Willow,” she stated as she approached the woman, careful to stay on the side away from the huge bird. “What an incredible bird you have.”
“Vulcan is no more mine than I am his.” Alea smiled at the bird and Willow was startled when it appeared that the bird smiled back. “He is my friend, my watcher if you will.” Alea shook her head and stared at Willow like she was looking inside her. “Who are you?” she asked again.
“I am who you think I am,” Willow answered, making the men around her wonder just what they were missing in this conversation.
“I feel as if I know you yet I would swear that we have never met,” Alea confessed, confused.
“Like will know like,” Willow whispered softly to her with a gentle smile. “When the time is right you will know where to find me and with me the others.”
“When the time is right? The others?” Alea questioned.
“You will know,” Willow assured her before turning and heading to her waiting mates. “We will leave you now but I think we will see each other again very soon,” and then Willow spoke softly issuing a blessing in the tongue of the goddess. If she was not mistaken the call would come soon for this girl and fate would reveal Alea for what she was.
Willow went to stand between Drago and Ulrik and the two men immediately placed their hands on her as much to reassure themselves as to show their claim to the other men present.
Tanner laughed softly, “It was nice to meet you, Drago and Ulrik Mederra and you too, Willow Mederra.”
“And you as well,” Ulrik replied, nodding his head as he and Drago each took hold of one of Willow’s hands and led her out of the glen back into the concealing foliage of the trees.
When they were a short distance away Ulrik spoke softly, “What did you mean by those words you spoke? Like will know like?”
Willow sighed softly, wondering what to disclose as the girl’s secret was not hers to tell and one that even Alea didn’t seem to realize yet. Yet her warriors were believers in the Island Guardians, knew and accepted Willow as one, so a lie would not be readily believed.
Drago cupped her face and brought it up so that he could look at her. He read the emotion on her face, the knowledge in her eyes and answered for her. “She is a Guardian. The warrior’s clothing, the presence of the aqua-phoen. I would say that she is the Guardian of Air. Did she not call the bird, Vulcan, her watcher? I would bet that she can see through the bird’s eyes when the right words are spoken.” Willow said nothing and so Drago continued. “But my guess would be that according to the rest of what you said to her that she does not even know yet that she is a Guardian.”
“How could you possibly know that just by looking at my face?” Willow asked him, stunned by his insight.
“Because I know you,” Drago told her and kissed her softly, tenderly on the lips. “Because Ulrik and I have watched over you, waited for you and fallen in love with you.”
Willow blinked her eyes, rapidly fighting back the tears as she was overwhelmed by the intense emotions that assaulted her at his confession of love. She pulled him down for a more thorough taste, plunging her tongue into his mouth and sucking his back into hers. Drago groaned deep in his chest and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her more snugly against him. Ulrik moved up behind her, placing Willow
firmly between his and Drago’s bodies. He moved her hair aside and nibbled along her neck and shoulder, rubbing his burgeoning erection along the small of her back.
It was Willow’s turn to moan. She rubbed her body along the length of theirs, reveling in the feel of bare chests, bulging muscles and the long, thick rods that were rubbing so blatantly back against her. Darkness had now fallen completely over the island and they were well hidden in the shadows of the trees around them.
Willow felt someone’s hands move to her hips and slide her skirt down to fall in a pool around their feet. Her blue top was the next item to be removed with Drago untying it from her neck while Ulrik took care of where it joined at her back. The top joined her skirt and the hands of her warriors grew restless as they sought to caress every inch of newly exposed skin.
Willow cried out when Drago stepped away from her but Ulrik used his hand to tilt her head back onto his shoulder, enabling him to possess her mouth with a searing kiss that robbed her of breath and thought. His lips were firm and warm, his teeth hard and nipping, his tongue a blade of pleasure. His hands attended her breasts, drawing her nipples into tight pebbles of need. She wanted him—them—and she wanted them now.
Drago stepped back to them and Willow was delighted to find him naked, his thick cock glistening with the wet proof of his desire. She pulled from Ulrik’s embrace and fell to her knees between them, taking Drago’s swollen shaft between her hands and stroking firmly up and down its long length before slowly dancing her tongue around the large head.
“Sweet goddess,” Drago cried out, placing his hands on her head and clenching them tightly in the soft waves of her hair.
Ulrik watched with hooded eyes as their mate pleasured his brother’s cock, licking and teasing before finally sucking as much as she could into her mouth. He made quick work of his own weapons belt, pants and boots and joined them, coming to stand beside his brother, stroking his hand up and down his shaft as he continued to watch.
Willow looked so good on her knees before them her mouth reddened and swollen from the huge cock she fed on.
Willow let her eyes drift from Drago’s to Ulrik’s before they slid back down to the hard, thick length of Ulrik’s rod that called to her. She let go of Drago’s cock with one last deep pull into the back of her throat that had him gasping for breath. She continued to stroke her hand up and down Drago’s length but moved her mouth to Ulrik’s glistening erection. She licked over the swollen head, running her tongue along the moist slit, tasting the evidence of his desire for her. It was salty and sweet and made her hungry for more, for everything.
Drago pulled away from her and moved behind her, dropping to his knees just as Ulrik took up the same position in front of her. Willow dropped down to her hands and knees and opened her mouth wide for Ulrik to guide his cock inside. She sucked vigorously at him, working him all the way into the back of her throat before slowly releasing him and starting all over again. His hands were wrapped around her head, her hair like an intricate web that held him entwined.
Drago ran his cock along her moist slit several times before thrusting home with a forceful stroke that had Willow gasping around Ulrik’s mighty stalk. The men stole control from her then, thrusting and retreating with fast, hard strokes that had her keening on the edge of orgasm in a matter of seconds. She couldn’t see, couldn’t hear, couldn’t breathe, wrapped as she was in the sensations of her two mates and the intense pleasure that their loving blanketed her in.
With a soft grunt of pleasure Ulrik’s seed spilled over her tongue and down her throat in short, hot bursts of salty cream. Willow drank greedily of it, sucking for every drop she could, as though it was nectar fit for a goddess. Her pussy contracted with her release and milked Drago’s cock for everything he had. He came with a harsh groan, holding tight to her hips and thrusting deep into her womb, filling it with the fierce jets of his seed.
Ulrik and Drago collapsed to their backs on the lush blanket of grass beneath them, gasping for breath. Willow sat up between them on her knees, her eyes flicking back and forth from Ulrik to Drago and back again. “So how soon will you be ready again?” she asked with a coquettish twist to her lips.
“By the goddess, woman,” Drago moaned. “You’ll be the death of us yet.” But he and Ulrik were both grinning with delight as they took in the naked splendor of their woman, their mate for life. Her lush breasts were flushed red and capped with hard pink nipples. Her stomach was flat and with her knees slightly opened they could just see the curl-covered mound of her sex. Her hips were lush and full. Drago had found great pleasure in mounting her from behind and holding on to them. But it was her face that captured them and held their attention. Her green eyes dark with passion and lust, her checks flushed with color and her lips red and swollen from pleasure. And yet they had little doubt that even after the fierce loving they had all just shared Willow would be ready to go again as soon as they wanted. She was insatiable with them. They were lucky men indeed.
Chapter Four
The meetings began the next morning and Willow found she was alone for the better part of it. She managed to slip away to the shore while Drago and Ulrik were occupied with the prince and other warriors. Everyone knew what the meetings were about, though, for there was no longer a way to hide the increasing number of men who swarmed their shores, searching for ways to penetrate their defenses. Soon it would be a call to arms for everyone. No longer would there be men left in the village to protect the women and children.
She knew that the prince was expressing the need to move all the women to the central village where the Princess Asme stayed. His thought was that if they were all together in one spot it would be easier to protect them. The prince’s home had once been the Temple of the Goddess of Altair and home to a majority of the island women so there was no doubt that there was room. Willow had a feeling that all of the warriors would agree with this logic and that before long they would all be heading to a new home.
She was sitting inside the tree line, watching the water, keeping a discerning eye out for anyone who sought to approach the island this morn when she heard the sound of someone behind her. She started to move then felt the tingle along her skin and knew without a doubt just who approached.
Alea moved through the brush and came to settle on the grassy ground beside her.
“So what brings you to the water’s edge?” Willow asked the beautiful redheaded Guardian.
“I have been looking for you,” Alea replied, pulling a blade of grass and bringing it to her lips. “I would like to ask you some things if I can.”
“I will answer what I can, Alea,” Willow assured her with a smile.
“Does your skin tingle when we are near?” Alea asked.
“Yes, I feel it too,” Willow stated, her eyes still on the shore before them.
“Why?” Alea demanded to know. “Why do we feel so connected to one another?”
“Like will know like,” Willow whispered, “and the four shall be as one.”
“I don’t understand,” Alea spoke, exasperated.
“You will,” Willow said softly, glancing briefly at the girl and offering her a smile before her eyes turned back to the waves crashing over the shore. “When the time is right you will know and understand everything.”
“I want to know now,” Alea demanded. “I don’t want to wait.”
Willow laughed and the sound carried on the
air through the gathering of trees surrounding them. “I wish that I could tell you more. I really do. But I can’t. It is something that you must discover for yourself.”
“When will I discover this?” Alea wanted to know.
“When the time is right and not a moment before so quit asking me,” Willow stated firmly. “Instead tell me of yourself and your great bird, the aqua-phoen.”
“There is not much to tell about me,” Alea said blandly. “My mother died when I was young and my fathers raised me. We lived in the mountains here.” Alea glanced longingly up to the mountains and sighed. “My fathers still do. I live with my aunt, the Princess Asme, now.”
“Your fathers are watchers?” Willow asked, intrigued. She had never met a watcher before but she had heard of them many times. Watchers were the men and women who took to the mountains and, climbing to their highest points, built towers so that they could watch and see all of Altair and the water that surrounded her. These were the people who would know how many invaders came and how soon they might arrive. Birds were used to send messages to the villages, birds that were taken care of and nurtured by the women in white. It was one of the old island ways that the prince had been happy to keep though he had made his warriors the watchers.
“Yes, I grew up in the mountains.”
“You are the cousin to the sons of the prince and princess,” Willow stated, already knowing it for fact.
“Yes,” Alea replied softly, shaking her head. “My fathers are the younger brothers of Prince Micah and Uncle Godar. I never knew of them or my relationship to them until my fathers sent me to live with them.” Her displeasure about that fact was clear in her voice. “They wanted me to learn the ways of a woman before I reached the age of claiming in just a few months.”
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