Kerrigan's Race (The Syreni Book 1)

by C. M. Michaels

  I’m not myself, Ris. Part of me still cares for you, but my loyalty is to my queen. Out of love for our daughter I’m going to try to allow Taleoek to tie me up but he’d better fucking hurry. I can’t tell you how strong of an urge I have to kill you right now.

  And here I thought you weren’t a romantic, I teased as Taleoek set to work binding her wrists behind her back with a long stretch of canta vine. As soon as she was neutralized as a threat he applied a field dressing to her arm, packed her nose and treated her torn apart cheek. He’d barely finished bandaging her when she began to fight against her restraints. Taleoek bound her upper arms behind her back as well and tied another rope around the base of her flukes, securing it to her wrists to prevent her from being able to swim. Figuring it couldn’t hurt if she was also blind, he slid the hood back over her head—being careful not to rub it against her injured cheek—and tied it beneath her chin.

  I was treated to a nonstop onslaught of curse laden, impressively creative descriptions of what she was going to do to me the moment she was free as Sennika helped him load her bound body into her cage. She could threaten me all she liked. I’d seen enough to know my compar wasn’t dead. Now that she was safely secured, all I could do was pray to the gods that Johnna and Damille would be able to figure out how to free her and her sisters from the queen’s compulsion.

  Taleoek placed my broken arm in a sling and applied a field dressing to the long gash across my back before we joined Sennika and the remainder of our troops. Killing the treacherous slithering pig who’d orchestrated her abduction wouldn’t do anything to release Cami from the Fae queen’s spell, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to thoroughly enjoy it. Unlike his Fae coconspirator, I had no need to drag him back to Halon’s Gate for interrogation. Who knows, now that I only had one functioning arm I might even be able to convince the coward to fight me.

  The other warriors formed a semi-circle behind me as I swam to the crevice entrance and drew my sword. For your numerous acts of high treason, the ruling council has stripped you of your command of the Ceraspian Mountain Region and sentenced you to death. Either come forward and face me so you can die as a warrior or die cowering in fear with our enemy. Decide.

  I wouldn’t have thought it was possible for me to respect the unkempt, immoral sloth any less than I already did until I watched him place his sword on the sandy ground and formally bow before me like a female with his tail high above his head. I know how to free your compar. Grant me a pardon as our future king, with Commander Sennika and Commander Taleoek bearing witness to your oath. Allow me to return to my home in San Gria to live out the remainder of my days in peace. Once I’m safely within my palace walls I’ll send word on how to release Camithia from her bond to the Fae queen. I know how badly you want to kill me, but you need to ask yourself, Aristos, which would you rather have, the eternal love of your soul-mate, or a few seconds of meaningless vengeance?

  I couldn’t help but laugh. He was truly delusional if he thought he could convince me to pardon him just by dangling some bullshit promise in front of me. After thoroughly interrogating Lanipas I had no reason to believe Bulrigaard had any knowledge of how to free Cami from the queen’s control. And even if he did, once he’d fled the area he sure as hell wouldn’t share it with me. I briefly debated taking him back to Halon’s Gate to be interrogated, just in case he was telling the truth for once in his miserable life, but there was no guarantee we’d uncovered everyone behind the kidnapping plot yet. If there were still people loyal to him in our midst he might escape. If you know anything of value, share it now. Should it prove effective in releasing my compar and her sister’s from the Fae queen’s control, I will grant you your pardon and allow you to live out the remainder of your days in exile far from our cities. Just know that if you are ever spotted within the borders of Halon’s Gate or any other town under my rule you will be killed on sight. That’s the only deal I’m going to make with you, Bulrigaard. Start talking or I’ll behead you now and end this charade.

  The Fae queen began to dig her claws into his neck, back and arms like a wild beast until he wheeled around, pinned her against the stone wall by her throat and punched her several times in the head, knocking her out cold. Interesting. She seemed pretty keen on shutting him up. Maybe he really did know something.

  He turned to address us as he retrieved his sword. You have all born witness to the sworn pact Aristos and I have reached. It’s your duty as Syreni warriors to enforce our agreement and prevent him from killing me.

  Fulfill your part of the pact, and I pledge on my honor as a warrior that he won’t harm you, General, Taleoek assured him as he drew his sword and moved up next to me. Sennika quickly did the same, positioning himself to my left with his blade at my back.

  Bulrigaard picked up the unconscious Fae queen by her crimson hair, pinning her head against the wall with his left hand with her wings crushed against the uneven stone. With three hacking swings of his sword he beheaded her.

  Cami, Naome and Serienne let out terrible shrieking cries the moment her headless body slumped into the sand as if they’d physically felt her death. After a few seconds of wailing loud enough to be heard by our gods my compar and her sisters fell silent. The eerie calm was even more unnerving than their screams. What if killing the queen while they were bound to her meant they’d die as well? Shit. Why would I ever fucking trust Bulrigaard?

  I was just starting to full out panic when Cami’s somber voice entered my mind. Please tell me I didn’t slit Kelvin’s throat and slaughter seven of our warriors, that I didn’t break your arm and slice open your back, or have sex with that… creature. Because if I really did those things, there is no saving me, Ris. I’m an adulterer, a traitor and a murderer. Let me confess my high crimes in front of the council and our priest, bow before the king and be beheaded so I can at least die with whatever tiny shred of honor I might have left.

  I’d never felt so contradicted in my life. Knowing she was herself again made me want to drop down to the ground and praise the gods for giving me back my compar. But that also meant the full weight of what she’d been forced to do had just come crashing down on her. It was going to take some serious counseling from Johnna in addition to the love and support of her new family to keep her from taking her own life once she was freed. You did none of those things, my brave and beautiful compar. What you did do was resist the Fae queen’s commands to kill me in spite of being bound to her. None of us believed that was even possible. Think of our beautiful daughter growing inside you, Cami. We owe it to her to deal with this head on so you can recover and be there for her growing up. Not a single warrior who witnessed what happened here today blames you for any of it. This was all Bulrigaard, Lanipas and the Water Fae queen’s doing. Two of them are already dead, and the other will be shortly.

  I broadcast the last two sentences so everyone could hear. Bulrigaard’s eyes all but bugged out of his head. You bastard! You gave me your oath that I wouldn’t be killed!

  I met his frantic, accusatory glare, motioning Taleoek and Sennika forward. He looked like he was about to piss himself as he tried to press back further into the tiny crevice. I lied.

  Sennika’s sword sunk through his chest armor into his heart only moments before Taleoek’s blade sliced clean through his neck, severing his head.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Return to the Throne

  * * *

  You call that helping? I arched my brows and shot Aristos an accusing glare in the mirror as my chastity belt fell open—the clasp in the back having been unlocked—and his hands snaked around my waist beneath the jewels to cup my breasts. Up until this point he’d been remarkably patient since my return, allowing me to focus on my recovery without constantly pressuring me to be intimate. After three weeks without sex, his testosterone was clearly winning out.

  His answering dopey, impish grin made me laugh just like it always did. I allowed his wayward hands to complete their not-so-stealthy mission and lay
claim to my humongous boobs—they’d grown at least a full cup size as a result of my mid-term pregnancy—stroking and twisting my nipples until they were fully erect, rock hard pebbles. Even with one arm partially constrained in a cast he had no trouble stoking my desire.

  Not that I felt desirable any longer. Or worthy of his affection.

  Armiele had been rigorously scrubbing my body each morning and again before bed, but there was still a faint grayish hue to my skin that dulled the bouquet of white flowers spread across my forehead and down my jaw line and made the larger buds on my cheeks look almost brown along with my crimson shadowed eyes, burgundy tail and gill covers. It was going to take several more weeks—if not months—for the dye to fade completely. I’d tried to convince Damille to peel off the outer layers of shimmering black lips and use bio salve to return them to their former color but she refused to do it, arguing it was an unnecessary procedure that would be incredibly painful long after I awoke. I’d had to settle for having Armiele line them in burgundy and add some accent coloring for contrast. There was nothing either of them could do for my gruesome black tongue.

  Aristos had tried valiantly to suppress his negative thoughts, but I’d felt his repulsion when my tongue slid into his mouth shortly after he’d released me from my cage. I hadn’t kissed him since. Every time he touched me I thought of how I’d thrown myself at that beastly creature. I may not have been able to prevent the kiss that bound me to the Fae queen, but that didn’t mean I was off the hook for the rest of what I’d done. Naome and Serienne hadn’t slept with her. And since I’d never ventured outside the Hive without being blindfolded, I wasn’t even able to help pinpoint the location so we could rescue the hundreds of Syreni who were trapped in the prison chambers and wipe out the Water Fae before they realized Willoe was dead and retaliated. All I could say for certain was it was somewhere in Bulrigaard’s region. That left a search area of over ten million square miles. Even if we deployed our entire army the prisoners would be dead long before we found the entrance. He deserved so much better than me.

  I’d only been back in Teresolee for a matter of hours—just long enough to receive a complete physical for me and Vanessa under heavy sedation—before Athena had whisked me away to Mt. Olympus. Separating my soul from my body made it impossible for me to even attempt to harm myself, and was a far safer approach than keeping me drugged given my pregnancy. It also gave Damille a chance to stitch together my shredded cheek, repair the bone deep gash in my arm and reconstruct a nose out of the mangled cartilage and bone Aristos’s lethal punch had left behind without forcing me to endure the worst of the pain.

  Athena and Deannie sympathized with the shame I felt for the deaths of our warriors, but neither of them was about to let me mope around. I was required to perform all of my regular duties as a priestess and even cover the chores for my sisters, maintaining the entire temple so I’d be too busy to have any time to sulk. My morning training sessions with Athena were more brutal than ever. She forced me to reenact my battle with the Syreni warriors blow by blow, pointing out the flaws in my technique in each encounter as she capitalized on them, inflicting horrific wounds before she finished me off with a fatal blow. When she was satisfied I’d learned what I could from that experience she moved on to battle hammer training. I lost track of how many times she crushed my skull like it was a piñata at a child’s birthday party.

  At night, the sexual fantasies I was cast in were no less creative than before. Neptune and his wife were more determined than ever to have me service them—regardless of how fiercely Athena protested. Rather than continue to fight a losing battle she chose to join me, taking on a fake name and dressing in the style required for priestesses visiting Salacia. Being bound to her in compromising positions while we were both pleasured and punished by our masters was the most erotic thing I’d ever done. She never broke character, not even when Salacia flogged us both for failing to climax on command for her husband. We slept naked on the foot of their sprawling bed as their slaves, with silver chains running to our black leather collars, curled together to try to keep warm.

  By the end of the rigorous week of chores and training I’d come to terms with the soldier’s deaths and had put aside my desire to end my life, even if I’d never accept that I wasn’t at fault. In addition to compensating the families of the seven fallen warriors, I pledged to serve their loved ones for a week each year as their personal servant and handmaiden. Life-sized marble statues of the warriors were being erected in front of Castra Athena so their sacrifice would always be remembered.

  I’d also learned why Athena hadn’t been able to warn me or intervene after I’d been captured. Unlike Syreni, humans and Snow Elves, all of whom possessed a soul, the Water Fae—and those bound to them—were hidden from the Fates and our gods. They couldn’t see beyond any actions or decisions that depended on the Fae, either, leaving them blind to the impact they’d have on others. The only reason they’d been able to warn me about the Elvin uprising was that the uprising itself was going to occur regardless of whether the Fae agreed to the deal the Elves proposed. And once the Elves transferred their spirits into the Fae to fulfill their end of the bargain, the modified Fae—containing Elvin souls—appeared on the Fates radar, allowing them to see how they’d conquer the Syreni, open the portals and enable the Snow Elves to convert all human kind. My Goddess sight had returned the moment Bulrigaard beheaded Willoe, releasing me from my bond, but I saw the world through the eyes of Athena, leaving me blind to the Water Fae as well.

  It took me far too long to realize Aristos’s hands weren’t on my body any longer. I glanced in the mirror and discovered he’d left our bathroom and retreated to the bed we used to share before I’d been taken. The crippling sorrow and painful sting of rejection I felt through our bond and saw in his despondent dark chocolate eyes made my heart want to burst. Each time I rebuked his advances I hurt him far worse than I had when I’d broken his arm. Damn It. I made my way to the bed and settled down next to him on top of the padded netting. He didn’t even seem to notice when I took hold of his hand. I’m sorry, Ris.

  For the love of the gods would you stop fucking saying that. There’s nothing for you to feel sorry for. Your irrational guilt is the whole god-damned problem.

  Sparing him from the worst of the details regarding my adultery—along with the candid feelings I’d sensed from him that confirmed how grotesque he found me now—was only pulling us further apart. If we had any hope of salvaging our relationship I’d have to come clean, even if it meant making him realize how much better off he’d be if he left me behind. You don’t understand, Ris. She didn’t command me to fuck her. I seduced her, flirting non-stop from the moment I woke up in the hive until she finally had sex with me just to get me to settle down so she could finish dyeing my skin. And don’t give me any bullshit about how helpless I was. I didn’t see Naome or Serienne throwing themselves at her. I’m an immoral, disgusting person and an unworthy mate. It’s no wonder the thought of kissing me repulses you now—which don’t even bother denying, since I’ve felt it—my soul is just as black as my tongue.

  I’d never been happier to feel his arm wrap around my shoulders and pull me against his chest. I nuzzled in, resting my head against his shoulder. You think I’m repulsed by you? For the love of the gods, woman, I feel like a horny teenager the way I’ve been chasing you around the house the last two weeks. The kiss we shared when we first got back might have screwed with my head a bit given how much you looked like the Fae at the time, but I would’ve gotten past it even if your coloring hadn’t faded like it has. You look almost like yourself again. To be honest, I think your glistening black and burgundy lips and sparkling black tongue are sexy as hell. But don’t just take my word for it.

  Before I could comprehend what he meant by that, the tip of his tongue was gliding along my lips, sending spine-tingling sparks into my skin that made my whole body quiver. When I opened my mouth for him I was rewarded with a series of tender kiss
es, our lips gently pressing together as our tongues danced around each other like they were courting. I ran my hands into his blessedly loose storm grey hair, leaning in to deepen our embrace. His love and desire was pouring into me. He wanted me with every fiber of his soul. But I cheated on you, Ris, I offered weakly as my hands trailed down his silky smooth, muscular chest.

  That’s a bunch of shit and you know it, he growled. After settling me onto my back his teeth bit down on my nipple and tugged, his sexy, savage eyes locked on mine like a predator claiming its helpless prey. My soulcras began to glow like a supernova as they sprung to life, weaving around every inch of his throbbing cock and thick, aching balls in the blink of an eye. I cried out in pleasure as he drove himself into me in one powerful thrust.

  As a priestess and consort, your servitude requires you to pleasure our gods. You were just applying what you’ve been taught in service to your new master. Everything you did was a result of being bound to her. You did nothing wrong, Cami. I want to hear you admit it before we go any further.

  My body yearned to feel him move inside me, my breaths becoming more like anxious pants as my heart pounded against my ribs like a jackhammer. I didn’t feel like I deserved to let go of the guilt, but if my compar could find a way to forgive me after what I’d done I’d be damned if my own self-loathing would tear us apart. I did nothing wrong.

  Louder, babe, Aristos commanded. His hands gripped the netting on both sides of my head as he pulled back and plunged into me again and again.

  I pressed my tail against the netting to lift my hips in perfect rhythm with his thrusts, allowing him to drive even deeper into me. I did nothing wrong!