Sky and Storm (Warriors of Vis, Book One)

by Alina Popescu

  Sky woke up during the night, too exhausted to do much else than snuggle closer to Storm. On a normal night, he wouldn’t have wasted the opportunity of enjoying his husband’s body, but the grueling training Eagle, and now Storm, put Sky through pushed him well beyond his limits.

  Storm seemed to feel much the same, as he only slightly stirred, enough to wrap a strong arm around Sky, setting his entire world in proper order. Soon he drifted off again, only to awake every couple of hours. Sky couldn’t tell why he was jolted out of his slumber, a fierce need to reach out for Storm making his finger tingle.

  Sky knew the monarchs weren’t that taken with him or Storm’s stubbornness to marry him. That was how things went, they tried to belittle him, he pretended not to be affected. Since finding his way back to Storm, he didn’t care what they thought. But before that, during that awful, dark year of loving Storm from afar, their words had cut deep.

  He’d thought he’d moved past all that, but he’d obviously been wrong. Sky pushed himself closer to his husband, needing to feel Storm’s heat everywhere on his skin. He sighed and tried to clear his mind in hopes of falling back asleep.

  “Why are you awake?” Storm’s words rumbled, thick with sleep and a little muffled.

  Sky shivered and turned around, wrapping his arms around Storm. “Not awake by choice, my love.”

  Storm moaned at the embrace, kissing Sky’s forehead. “What are you worried about?”

  “Nothing in particular,” Sky said, not wanting to unburden his worries on Storm.

  “Then it’s my parents, concubines, and a little worrying over the next time I have to leave?”

  Sky chuckled and nodded. “Why can you read my mind?”

  “Because you’ve loved me enough to show me who you are.”

  Sky moaned and buried his face in the crook of Storm’s neck. “I do love you. That is why I worry.”

  “It’s all going to be all right. I am going to make sure of it.”

  Storm always made bold promises like that. Still, Sky believed him. To him, Storm was a god-like force. If the Dragon wanted something, he knew how to go about and obtain it. When Storm considered something important, he was ready to pay whatever price was needed to achieve his goals. His conquering the world just to be able to marry Sky was example enough of what Storm was capable of when he set his mind on something.

  ***

  By nightfall, Sky knew why he’d been on edge. Maybe he’d guessed it, that Storm would have to leave that soon. Sky’s instincts might have pushed him awake to spend whatever time he could with his husband. Annoyed as he might have been at first, he was grateful now. At least he’d managed a morning of lovemaking, followed by a hearty meal, and a brutal training with his husband.

  Now, as he was standing outside the castle gates, watching Storm get all his men ready, he could barely control his need to follow.

  “Next time, you’re coming with me,” Storm whispered in Sky’s ear as he hugged him tight enough to cut his air.

  “Why not this time?” Sky pouted and looked down, ashamed of his own failure to comply with the Dragon’s decision. How would he be able to follow Storm in battle if this was so hard?

  Storm placed his forefinger under Sky’s chin and pushed up until their eyes and lips met. “Because I want you to work on your stamina a while longer. I want you healthy and in top shape. And after that you’ll follow me anywhere I go.”

  Sky smiled, shy at first, fuller after a few beats of staring at Storm’s dazzling grin. “I love you. Please be safe.”

  Storm nodded and kissed Sky again. “Always. And I have my men to keep my head screwed on properly. Don’t worry about me, love.”

  “I will, just like you would.” Sky winked and shoved at his husband’s chest. “Now go before I change my mind and hide in your supply cart.”

  It took them a few more kisses and fierce hugs, but they eventually parted. Storm jumped on his steed and off they were. All of them. Storm had taken every available soldier within a half-day’s ride from the castle of Vis. The Montes city states had united in a rebellion against Vis. They were perched up on their mountain tops, well defended and hard to conquer. They posed a threat to all of Vis’s trading routes, so it was no wonder all armies were directed to the rebel lands.

  The situation seemed rather strange to Sky. The city states of the Montes region, where two mountain ranges so old they had no other name than the Great Mountains crisscrossed, had not been conquered by Vis. They’d pledged their allegiance soon after Storm had taken control of Vis’s armies. It had been their way to show gratitude after the Dragon had negotiated a favorable trading agreement with Estas. Estas had always made the rules in the region, but after every free land around them had been conquered by Vis, Storm’s troops surrounding the kingdom, Estas had changed their song. They knew they’d be lost if they reached for the vinegar, so they offered honey instead.

  The new agreement was fair to everyone trading with Estas, and the city states of Montes prospered from the gold, silver, and ore dug from the bowels of their mountains. Why they would risk losing their peace and prosperity now, rebelling against Vis without as much as a request for negotiation, was beyond Sky’s comprehension.

  “Your highness,” a shy servant greeted, saluting him with an exaggerating bow. “Her majesty, the queen, sent for you. She’s waiting in the small council room.”

  “Thank you.” He sighed and tried to compose himself. Parting with Storm was difficult. A conversation with the queen was the last thing he needed on such a dreadful evening.

  “Sky, wait a moment.”

  Sky turned to face Sera who’d stepped out of the shadows of the large corridor.

  “Anything to delay seeing the queen.” Sky waited for the old woman to reach him.

  “Take this.” She slipped him a small dagger. “Keep it hidden, but within reach.”

  “Sera,” Sky tried to give the blade back. “There are no weapons allowed in the throne room, you know that.”

  “Hide it well and none will be the wiser.” Sera took the dagger from his hand and concealed it with astonishing ease. “Think of an old woman’s heart and take it. I’ve heard whispers everywhere today. Strangers moving about the castle.”

  “You worry too much. I am the Dragon’s husband. No one would be that insane, to attack me in his own castle.”

  “It is still his father’s castle. And his wife rules the king’s house.”

  Sky tilted his head, his cheerful mood faltering. He might have laughed at Sera’s over-cautiousness, but her words rang true. Storm was gone all of a sudden, after an attack that had struck like lightning, and Sky was walking into the lion’s den. Alone. He squeezed Sera’s hand and walked away, running his hand over the spot he’d hidden the small blade. He might be alone, but he sure wasn’t helpless.

  CHAPTER XV

  The Disaster

  STORM PACED THE HEALER’S tent, his eyebrows creased, his fists held tight against his body. How bloody long could it take for Eagle to wake up? He’d reached their army’s tents at the crack of dawn and it looked like he’d been riding without stopping all the way from Vis. The exhaustion and open wounds on Eagle didn’t herald anything good.

  The Dragon’s army had only made it to Ferras a day earlier. The biggest, most influential of the Montes city states had been waiting for them, gates open, leaders kneeling. A weird, yet clever plot had forced the Montes rulers to declare their rebellion. It seemed all heirs of the city states had been abducted, their lives threatened. The rulers had done their part, rebelled on paper, to keep their offspring alive. Yet those who had taken their young hadn’t counted on the honor of the Montes. They had trusted all the epic stories of the Dragon’s murderous rage too much.

  The city state rulers knew better, they knew Storm to be a fair ruler. He’d listened to them, and the evidence of the plot had been revealed. A long, drawn out siege of all city states had never happened, hindering, at least partially, the carefully devised abd
uction plans.

  It had been clear to Storm someone had wanted him and most of his army away from Vis. The city could hold out for weeks, so he had time to go back and defend it. Still, he’d decided to leave the very next day, the Montes representatives offering the better part of their armies to join him.

  Eagle’s arrival only hours before his planned departure hadn’t sat well with Storm. He knew his elite riders as well as he knew himself, Eagle wouldn’t have wasted a trip for no good reason. Storm’s best bet was to wait it out, hold his position until Eagle was healed enough to awake and share his news.

  The healer had tried to send Storm away, but after a few grunts and a drawn sword he’d left Storm alone. He’d tried sitting quietly and waiting, but that hadn’t worked at all. Pacing wasn’t much better, but at least it meant more than mimicking a statue while Storm’s eyes and ears tracked every breath.

  Storm had put tremendous effort into enticing the best healers to come and practice in Vis. He’d set up a proper school, just as big and well-funded as the Military Academy. Builders, inventors, scholars, he’d made sure they all found Vis to be the homeland of learning and advancements. His father and his dreadful wife had dismissed it as a waste of money, but Storm had used all his persuasion and strength to show them how better warfare, a chance to save wounded soldiers, and knowledge of those they were conquering would help them spend more in time.

  “Storm.”

  He leapt to Eagle’s side, taking the wounded man’s hand in his. “I am here.”

  “Sky,” Eagle whispered then moaned in pain.

  “What happened to Sky?”

  Only ragged breaths and grunts came out of Eagle’s mouth. Storm cursed under his breath and left him, going to find the healer. Eagle was no use to him if he was in too much pain to even speak. If the medicine put him to sleep again, then so be it. A few hours of waiting would make no difference.

  The moans stopped once the healer got Eagle to drink some concoction he’d made. Storm crinkled his nose at the pungent scent. They worked though, so Storm never complained.

  “Storm, where are you?” Eagle’s voice was stronger, despite his eyes being firmly shut.

  “Here, Eagle. I am here.” Storm took his friend’s hand in his. “You got yourself hurt again.”

  “Sky, they have Sky!”

  Everything around Storm faded, until complete darkness surrounded him.

  “Who?”

  “Don’t… know. Infiltrated the castle. Near throne room.”

  “Your highness,” the healer said, placing a reassuring hand between Storm’s shoulders. “Please don’t break his hand.”

  Storm wanted to lash out at the meddling healer. Yet the words triggered something. The room, the bed with Eagle lying in it, the hand Storm was gripping and squeezing, they all came into sudden focus. Storm weakened his hold on Eagle and took a deep breath.

  “When?”

  “Late at night. After you left. Forgive me. I tried.”

  “Do you know who?”

  “No. I killed some of them. Sky too. He fought.”

  Storm placed his hand on Eagle’s forehead and held it there. “You did well, soldier. Now rest. We’re leaving in a few hours.”

  Storm rushed out of the tent, and the moment the cooler air outside hit his face, he shouted one word. “Riders!”

  They knew, his elites, they knew he needed them. Birds would be sent, riders would spread through the lands of Vis, and by the time Storm’s army was moving, information would start reaching them.

  Wherever Sky was, Storm would find him. He’d find his husband, bring him back, then kill everyone who’d touched him.

  “Where to, my Dragon?” said one of his elites.

  “We’re heading to Vis.”

  ***

  There was little word on what had happened to Sky. To Storm’s dismay, the least detailed report had come from Vis. His home had been eerie lacking in details of a kidnapping that had happened on its premises.

  In times of war, Vis was an impenetrable fortress. In times of peace, when rules were lax and guards got complacent, it was easy enough to breach by a spy or two. A group of trained men, fighting their way out of the castle with Sky bound? That was far more difficult. Were they able to move about undetected? What did that say about Vis’s security?

  Vis’s own network of trackers and spies had been set in motion. They’d found clues to where the abductors had fled to, but other information was lacking. As they’d be heading the opposite way of the Montes, passing close by the castle, Storm had decided to stop in Vis. They’d get more supplies, exchange the most exhausted horses, then decide who stayed in Vis and who followed Storm in his search for Sky.

  The Montes leaders and their generals banished themselves to the back of Storm’s army. They felt they’d lost their honor, after been used to distract their liege, while his husband was being attacked. They’d chosen their families over someone else’s. Despite his anger and pain, Storm knew they were wrong. They hadn’t known. They’d protected the innocents being threatened in the moment. He’d let them punish themselves until they reached Vis. After that, a few formations of their best fighters would have to suck it up and join Storm. The spies all agreed, the kidnappers had headed into the Dark Mountains. Storm’s riders were excellent, but they’d never match the Montes’ skill at tracking and fighting on rocky mountain terrain.

  “Where’s Fury?” Storm asked, his eyes trained on the road ahead.

  The man, tall and solid like a mountain appeared next to him, his horse falling into rhythm with Storm.

  “What orders have you, my Dragon?”

  Fury was a combination of extremes. Deep, powerful voice which he molded into kind words and a soft-spoken manner. Huge and strong, yet warm and kind-hearted. Slow to anger and quick to let go of his sorrows, despite his name. A sort of gentle giant, until thrown into a battle field. Storm’s most trusted general was pure fury unleashed on Vis’s enemies.

  “What’s the mission?”

  “Spread my riders throughout Vis. Have them question everyone, especially the servants and those who were on guard.”

  “You suspect treason?”

  “Sky was taken from Vis after a bloody fight. We’ve had no birds carrying messages from Vis before he came.”

  Fury grunted and fell silent, his eyes searching the horizon. Storm knew that look, and knew to wait for the man to reach his own conclusions.

  “Unless they knew he’d left to bring you news, you are right. There’s betrayal in Vis. But I don’t believe the servants are responsible.”

  “There were servants involved, even if not by choice. Someone knows something. Find them and take them with us.”

  “For questioning?”

  Storm shook his head, his lips pressed tight together. “To make sure they don’t disappear. I reckon those involved directly are long gone.”

  Fury growled. “There is no hiding from the Dragon’s riders.”

  “Not that kind of gone, my friend. The cover-tracks gone. Eliminated.”

  Fury’s face twisted in a disgusted grimace. “Murdered.”

  “Yes. And their killers will pay. Every one of them.”

  Fury clapped Storm’s back and disappeared, leaving the Dragon alone. If anything ever happened to Sky, he’d fall apart. In a way, he had, on the inside. His heartbeat was erratic, his body permanently drenched in sweat, a relentless fear gripping and squeezing his heart. His mind, though, was clear. Storm’s everything was focused on how to retrieve Sky and how to punish those responsible.

  And underneath, guilt lingered. If Storm hadn’t been so stubborn and afraid, Sky would have ridden with them. But no, he insisted on keeping his husband safe from one more battle, one more war zone. What he’d done was push him off a safe boat into shark-infested waters. Storm would make sure he dulled all those shark teeth before killing them. It wouldn’t appease his guilt, but it would quench his anger.

  ***

  It was midday
when Storm’s army reached Vis. The head of the guards came to greet him, a full report falling from his lips. Storm asked why they hadn’t sent any birds, and the man looked shocked. It was a good sign that he wasn’t part of this.

  The next to greet him was Cloud. To Storm’s surprise, she looked disheveled and exhausted. Red-rimmed eyes, messy hair, and she’d abandoned her fine silk for what looked like a small sized warrior’s outfit.

  “Brother,” she muttered, giving him a curt nod. “Follow me.”

  Storm didn’t get a chance to ask anything, as Cloud’s determined steps took her further down the castle corridors. He ran to catch up with her and followed in silence. He expected to be taken to see his parents, but realized they were going through the bowels of the castle, headed somewhere towards the south wing, far away from the throne and council rooms.

  “Cloud, what’s going on?”

  “If I knew, you idiot, I wouldn’t be leading you through filthy passageways, would I? I’d have people bound and gagged for you to punish.”

  When Cloud’s voice broke and she started sobbing, something within Storm exploded. A dam that had kept everything he felt at bay. His steps faltered, but he pushed himself further, until he was within reach. Storm caught Cloud’s shoulder and squeezed. “There is no hiding from me and my riders. I will find him and bring him back.”

  Cloud turned on her heel, tears, snot, and a fiery anger marring her beautiful face. “It’s been days. There’s been no ransom call. What if they kill him? What if they already have?”

  “Sky is my husband. Do you believe anyone would risk my wiping out entire nations just to kill him? No, they intend to use him against me. There’s been no ransom, but they want something from me. Vis’s reign is not one where secrets can stay buried for long.”

  Cloud used her sleeves to wipe her face. “True, you’re right, as always. Storm, this wasn’t a small-time affair. Someone important played a part in it.”

  Cloud turned and continued her journey through the bowels of the castle. Storm followed, his mind lost in possibilities of who had taken Sky and why. They reached a small, hidden room. Despite the dampness of the underground corridors, the air changed when they entered. On the top side of the Northern wall there were several small windows, letting light in.