The King's Raven

by Kristen Cobb

  Hearing the sound of horses’ hooves on the dirt road beside her Nessa looked up to find Conri and Rory next to her. Conri had the same cold, unreadable expression on his face as always. Lowering his right hand seemed a silent order to mount the beast behind him. His left hand gripped the mane of the white stallion.

  Nessa smiled up at him. “No thank you, I prefer to walk.”

  “Well I do not. Get on the horse.” Conri’s expression remained unchanged.

  It might be childish but she wanted nothing more than to make him angry. “Then you should certainly ride but I really must decline your kind offer.” She would refuse to ride even if she were not in such a foul mood. It was deplorable the way humans enslaved horses simply to avoid having to walk. She had been known to ride when the situation required it. Today would not be one of those days.

  “It was not an offer it was an order, similar word, vastly different meaning.” Brown eyes bore down on her in a silent form of intimidation.

  Her smile beamed even brighter. It was the most fun she’d had since arriving. “I do not think you get to give me orders. If anything it is the other way around.”

  “That is an interesting but inaccurate way of looking at the situation. Get on the horse.” Conri’s voice retained a calm but commanding tone. His eyes told a different story, mounting aggravation could be seen in the depths of those brown orbs.

  “Rory ordered you to guard me, just as you would guard him, did he not?”

  “That was not exactly what he said, but yes, he did order me to guard you.” Conri seemed to nearly choke on the words.

  “As his guard you do not get to order him about. You are basically his servant. Is that not correct?” She turned to Rory for confirmation.

  A smile lit up the high-king’s dark eyes, obviously amused by the turn of events. “An excellent point.” Rory slapped Conri on the back. “Looks like you will be walking back to Connaught.”

  A few of the men behind her snickered. Conri’s glare proved sufficient to quell their amusement.

  The annoyingly arrogant warrior slid down off his horse, patting the animal’s neck. Rory and his guards rode toward the front of the procession, kicking up small rocks and bits of dirt as they left.

  A very large man appeared beside her, extending his hand. “Sedric”

  She clasped his hand, allowing the enormous warrior to shake it heartily. “Nessa.” Sedric’s brown eyes revealed a warmth and kindness rare in this world of war and death, making her feel instantly comfortable in his presence.

  “Did the king really order Conri to follow you around?” Sedric leaned in close as if they were sharing a secret.

  “He did.”

  “Enviable job that.”

  She looked closely at Sedric. Unkempt brown hair and a moderately long beard gave him a mentally unbalanced sort of appearance. A smile spread across his face but there was nothing lewd about the way he looked at her. Nessa found herself smiling back.

  “You would not say that if you knew her.” The animosity in Conri’s voice provided a clear indication of his aggravation.

  She did not even bother to glance at the impossibly handsome warrior standing beside her. “Ignore him. He is in a bad mood because he has to walk.”

  Sedric laughed out loud. It actually took him a fair amount of time to collect himself. Nessa could not imagine what she said that could be considered so funny.

  “Conri is angry because he does not like girls.” Sedric’s eyes were bright with mischief, his mouth quirked in a subtle grin beneath the beard.

  Nessa thought about that for a moment. It would explain a lot. “Women are just as useful as men. I cannot abide…”

  “No, I mean he does not like girls as in your lady parts are safe with him. Probably why Rory assigned him to guard you.”

  Nessa’s eyes opened wide as she turned and stared in near open mouthed astonishment at Conri. She heard talk of men that liked having sex with other men but never known one personally. How could a man so incredibly handsome not like women? It did not seem fair to the female population.

  “Stop staring at me like that. I have a perfectly healthy appreciation for the female anatomy. Go away Sedric.” Conri shot Sedric an angry glare meant to wither any resistance.

  Sedric did not even seem to consider leaving. “Then why has no one ever seen you with a woman? You turn them all away.”

  “I absolutely refuse to talk about this. My sexual habits are none of your business.” Conri stared straight ahead, trying to appear unaffected by Sedric’s comments. His efforts were entirely unsuccessful. She could tell it bothered him. When Conri claimed to appreciate the female anatomy he looked into her eyes for the briefest moment, imploring her to believe him. The moment passed as quickly as it came and he looked away again, pretending to be above it all.

  “I just thought she should know why you are being so inhospitable, although come to think of it you are not much nicer to the rest of us.” Sedric appeared to be seriously considering the issue.

  She wanted to laugh but one glance at Conri stopped her. The strangest thing happened without any warning, a sudden desire to protect him. While trying so hard to pretend it did not matter his true feelings were revealed in the rich depths of those brown eyes. She could literally feel his distress over the topic. An odd sensation considering she barely knew him and had no reason to feel anything other than animosity towards the rather obnoxious warrior.

  The procession of men, carts, and horses started moving. She watched Conri begin walking next to her, doing his best to ignore her very existence. His horse ambled along slowly beside them.

  “I heard Eion’s Alana took all her clothes off, offered herself to Conri, and he told her to go away.”

  “She is not my Alana.”

  The men currently speaking stood directly behind them. Nessa turned her head to look at them. A scrawny young man, no more than twenty, glared angrily at the back of Conri’s head. She assumed that was Eion.

  Nessa turned and walked backward for a moment. The man standing next to Eion held out his hand. “Allister.”

  “Nessa, pleased to make your acquaintance Allister. Perhaps Conri just has very particular requirements in a woman.”

  Conri glanced at her, clearly surprised by her defense. Quickly hiding his initial reaction the arrogant warrior looked away as if they were all entirely inconsequential.

  “Alana is beyond gorgeous. No man in his right mind would turn her away.” Sedric sounded awed by the mere mention of the woman.

  “Do not let your wife hear you say that.” Eion pushed Sedric from behind.

  Sedric bumped into Conri, who then turned around and glared at Sedric. “I thought I told you to go away.” Conri focused angry eyes on her. “They are not listening and it is all because of you.”

  Any desire she had to protect him from their teasing fled with that statement. “If he did like men he would not want to admit it. We will simply have to figure it out for ourselves. Now, let me see, oh, I know. If you had to kiss me or Sedric who would you pick?”

  Conri’s glare reached epic proportions. “Neither because I do not particularly like either one of you right now.”

  “But if your life depended on it who would you pick?” She could not seem to help herself. The desire to make him lose control proved too great a temptation.

  “What about me? Perhaps I am more his type.” Eion chimed in from behind.

  “You might have something there. Perhaps we have not given him enough choices. We already know he does not want to kiss Alana so we will not add her to the list of choices.” She glanced at Conri before continuing. His body appeared to be held so rigid she was surprised he managed to walk. “So here are your choices…”

  “What about my sister Moira? She is widely considered to be a great beauty.” Allister’s deep resonant voice was unmistakable.

  Eion and Sedric both nodded their head in agreement.

  “Probably a wise idea. I might not be his ty
pe. He should have more than one female choice as well just to be fair.”

  “Might not be my type?” Conri looked at her as if he might strangle her right on the spot.

  She smiled at him as if they were having a pleasant conversation. “So here are your choices, Eion, Sedric, Allister’s sister Moira, or me. If you absolutely had to kiss one of us who would it be?”

  Conri was so angry she could actually see him breathing, nostrils flared, chest rising and falling rapidly. She apparently pushed him past the breaking point. The question now being what would he do?

  Conri stopped walking. She stood rooted to the spot next to him, holding her breath. Sedric, Eion, and Allister stopped as well. Everyone behind them simply walked around their small group. Then Conri kissed her.

  At first shock kept her from reacting at all. His lips pressed hard on hers, strong hands holding her head in place. Once the initial surprise wore off she decided to play along and give as good as she got. She closed her eyes, opened her mouth to his, and wrapped her arms around his neck. When Conri’s tongue plunged into her mouth it felt as if she were drowning, momentarily giving herself over to the sensation of his tongue mating with hers.

  The kiss turned almost frenzied after that, as if they were each trying to devour the other. She ran her hands through his hair as he lifted her off the ground, pressing her body against his. Without any warning he released her, pulling away. The cool air in place of his hard male warmth forced her eyes open. She felt almost paralyzed by the wave of emotions crashing over her. The urge to grab Conri and force him to keep kissing her nearly overwhelmed any good sense she possessed.

  Everyone around them stopped walking, staring slack-jawed.

  Conri’s breathing was still heavy, but now for a completely different reason. Their eyes locked for an intense moment before he turned and started walking again.

  Somehow she managed to make her feet move, following along beside him.

  No one in their small group uttered so much as a single word for quite some time after that.

  Conri watched Nessa slowly lift the hemp satchel off her shoulder and over her head. The woman had not voiced so much as a word of complaint all day. He could not even remember the last time he marched on foot with an army. His feet were killing him. Was this normal for her or done simply to annoy him? It seemed a very high price just to aggravate him.

  Nessa set her bag on the ground and sat down. He slipped his own satchel over his head, sitting down on the grass next to her. She closed her eyes and sighed, stretching out long legs. He had never seen a woman wearing men’s clothing. Oddly enough it suited her, showing off long, lean, muscular legs. Nessa seemed entirely unlike any woman he ever met, moving about in a man’s world of warriors and kings as if she belonged, confident in her ability and intelligence, reputed to be a weapon for one of the most vicious kings in Ireland. He watched her confront Rory as if it were something she did every day. “Do you generally walk instead of ride or was this horrible day designed specifically to annoy me?”

  “Not everything is about you.” Her eyes were still closed.

  “I could teach you how to ride if that is the problem. There is nothing to be afraid of.”

  “I am quite capable of riding a horse.” She finally opened her eyes but continued looking elsewhere.

  “So this is normal behavior for you?” He found it rather unbelievable that someone with her status and reputation would be walking while on campaign.

  Nessa leaned back on her arms, looking up at the sky. “I always walk with Dermot’s men. I am not so frail that I require a horse to carry me.”

  Nessa’s eyes were so deep a green they reminded him of emeralds. Hair so light a blonde it appeared almost white made the color of her eyes even more pronounced. Easily the most beautiful woman he ever laid eyes on, his shaft hardened every time he so much as glanced in her direction. He would love to pull her hair free from the strip of cloth binding it, running his hands through the silken tresses as she moaned into his mouth. After completely losing control and kissing her it was all he could think about. A small moan of pleasure had escaped her lips as he kissed her. He wanted to hear it again as he…

  Conri forced himself to look around the camp, anywhere but at her. Fires were being lit to cook dinner, barrels of ale unloaded from the wagons and Rory’s red tent set up. The sun was just beginning to set, coloring the horizon a brilliant shade of orange tonight.

  He barely remembered his life before becoming a soldier. This felt normal for him but he could not imagine a woman feeling the same. “How long have you been traveling with Dermot’s army?” Getting to know her might be a horrible idea but he could not seem to stop himself.

  “I think I was about fifteen the first time he took me into battle.” She sounded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

  His jaw nearly dropped to the ground. “He took a fifteen-year-old girl into battle? You could have been killed.”

  “Every warrior who goes into battle risks death. Someone must tend to the wounded.” The choice had been an easy one. Owing Dermot a debt that could never truly be repaid, using her talents to help him seemed the least she could do.

  “Is that all you do for him? Tend the wounded?” He heard tales of the woman they called Dermot’s druidess, a woman with eyes as green as an Irish field. The tales involved much more than just tending the wounded. Her prowess in battle was legendary. The stories about her traveled all over Ireland. They said her eyes glowed, giving her the strength of ten men. She could heal Dermot’s warriors with nothing more than a touch, allowing them to rise and continue fighting. He assumed many of the tales were false, probably started by Dermot to make his enemies fear her wrath.

  She finally looked directly at him with those otherworldly green eyes. He almost wished she hadn’t. The rest of the camp seemed to fade away. All he could think about was kissing her, undoing that strip of cloth and running his hands through her hair. He would lay her down on the thick grass and cover her with his body, pressing his now engorged shaft between her legs. Conri took a deep breath trying to get himself under control. No woman had ever affected him this way.

  Sedric, Eion, Allister, and Nolan chose that moment to appear, their timing both atrocious and perfect. Nessa’s eyes met his, their gaze locked intently on each other. She wanted him to kiss her again. He seemed to be in a great deal of trouble and it had nothing at all to do with the thousands of armed men milling about their temporary camp.

  Conri never liked Nolan. The man had always been a troublemaker and all around nuisance. His presence did not bode well. The sly grin on Nolan’s dirt streaked face told Conri he was definitely up to no good. The man desperately needed a bath and a new personality.

  Conri stood up, walking over to Nolan, standing between the foul warrior and Nessa. “Do we have a problem?”

  “If the lady is truly Dermot’s druidess she should not need your protection.” Nolan stepped closer to Conri.

  “We tried to defend her but he is a stubborn dolt.” Sedric glanced at Nolan with disgust. “He thinks she is here to turn us all into rocks or some such silliness.”

  And so it began. Conri knew word of her presence would spread. He glanced at Sedric and Allister while drawing his sword from its sheath. The pair understood his silent command, moving behind him to flank Nessa.

  Nessa stood up the instant Conri drew his sword. She tried to reach out and touch him but Sedric stepped in front of her. Sedric and Allister drew their swords, creating a second line of defense behind Conri. A crowd of men began to collect around them. Allister moved to stand behind her while Sedric remained in front of her. She glanced around the ever-growing circle of warriors. Thankfully no one else openly brandished a weapon but they still felt threatening.

  Taking a few deep breaths to try and regain some measure of inner peace her gaze returned to Conri and the man he seemed intent on battling in her defense.

  Nolan had his sword drawn, watching Conri intent
ly. “No one is safe with her here.”

  “And so you have taken it upon yourself to kill her? I cannot allow that.” Conri made certain his voice projected loud enough for everyone to hear.

  “She is probably here to kill us all. I for one will not wait around to die.” Nolan moved his sword ever so slightly.

  The thought of Conri being hurt bothered her a great deal. She wanted nothing more than to stop this confrontation but knew better than to distract two armed warriors ready for battle.

  “To reach her you will have to kill me.” Conri raised his sword.

  Nessa tried to step around Sedric to get a better view of what was happening but he put up an arm to block her. She could feel her body starting to collect power. Anger, and fear at the threat to Conri were making it impossible to hold back the tide of energy swelling into her body, the desire to protect him beyond her control.

  Sedric looked down at her apologetically. “It will only distract him if he has to worry about your safety.”

  She closed her eyes as the clang of swords started, trying desperately to stop the flow of energy into her body. If she collected too much her eyes would begin to glow. It happened every time she stepped onto the battlefield to fight for Dermot. She could still remember the first time, at the battle she mentioned to Conri. After wandering onto the edge of the battle looking for wounded she became embroiled in the fighting. As the battle closed in around her she instinctively began drawing in energy to gain strength. Taking the sword from an injured and dying man she proceeded to fight her way out. Some of Dermot’s men later told the tale of her superhuman strength and glowing green eyes. After that Dermot had another use for her. She was not only his healer with magical powers but his greatest weapon on the battlefield. Thus far she had never been mortally wounded.

  She tried taking slow deep breaths and thinking about something peaceful, like a meadow of flowers on a warm sunny day, to no avail. The clang of swords refused to allow her any peace. To make matters worse the trees were silently whispering in her mind, telling her Conri was her mate, sparking her ire that anyone would dare threaten him.