Tony and the Queen of Iziral
Tony Johnson Novel 03
Author: D. R. Rosier
Copyright 2017. This is a work of fiction. Names, Characters, Places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission.
Table of Contents:
Table of Contents:
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Epilogue
Afterword:
About the Author
Other erotic fantasies by D. R. Rosier:
Non-erotic Fantasy titles:
Book Description
Chapter One
The sun creeped toward the horizon, but I was sure that we’d reach the shore of the island before darkness completely fell. My mind was stuck on the battle from six weeks ago.
The killing. Even when just and right, and in the protection of others, gets to you after a while.
It had been at dawn, and we’d come in at the island with just over thirty ships. The kingdom had long since duplicated my ward strategy. This also wasn’t a small island, there were close to thirty thousand people on it, as well as close to fifteen hundred guards.
The defender’s vessels had been few, just fifteen to our thirty, but they’d had the advantage, holding the ground where only their magic, and mine, would work. It kept us at a distance, or the wielders in our fleet would be helpless and cut off from their magic. I couldn’t do it all myself. They’d sent a barrage of the heated shockwaves at us, which we defended against quite easily. We didn’t bother to respond, for one, they were between us and the island.
We couldn’t afford to destroy the city behind them, which is what would have happened. Plus, they’d have defended against it anyway. Just as we did. It’d be a wasted effort.
So our ships defended, as we circled the island, while I destroyed the ward one piece at a time. I couldn’t bend the magic, it would self-repair, just like my networked ward would, once I got out of range. I had to twist and suppress the magic in such a way that the enchantment completely failed.
It had taken hours, to circle the island three times to destroy the wards, the kingdom’s ships had found themselves in a smaller band of protection each time. It was the standard procedure to do it this way for the last five islands, the defenders being outnumbered had no chance of overcoming our defenses during the long process, and once we took out the last band, we’d all attack.
Simple right?
Except this time, that time, they’d done something differently.
We were all in a staggered line, and the ship I was on was in the middle of that line. I could feel ten ships behind me, and ten in front. I couldn’t feel the four in the front, or the back five, they were more than two hundred yards away.
I’d felt the water wielders coming, under the water. They all carried a spelled object that I read in just moments. It would take a page from the battle after Aramore, and create icebergs, pointy ones, to tear a ship apart.
No one else would have felt them coming, at least, not until they got close enough that the ship wards picked them up. By then it would probably be too late, as soon as they got under the ship, they’d activate the spell. It was clever, but also disturbing. There was no way the ones that held the spells would live through it. So both a new tactic, and suicide bombers.
Another first.
I was tired from hours of work, so I just reached out with my magic, and activated the spells early. It was the best I could come up with on short notice. It was… interesting, to have icebergs fill up a harbor.
I channeled air and shot off the deck, and toward the front of the line. I activated all the spells as soon as I got within reach, but they were moving extremely fast. Water wielders could move quite quickly under water. The last one was precipitously close and damaged the front ship.
I turned in the air and raced back to get the ships in the back of the formation, but I was too late. It wasn’t just the last five either, it was the last seven. The curvature of the radius might have let me see those furthest two ships, but I hadn’t been close enough to catch the swimmers coming in from ninety degrees.
Almost a fourth of our attacking fleet died quite spectacularly, while I stared in absolute disbelief and horror. Over the last two years we’d lost sixteen guards protecting the queen, and even a ship or two during our battles, but we’d never taken so many casualties at once.
I’d… lost it.
I channeled water magic, and not from just Sharon either. I managed to connect to at least eight water wielders within my radius, and also enhanced their magic. Then I channeled it all.
I picked up the multi-ton icebergs one at a time and threw them at the enemy ships in a rage.
I knew that our people on the seven ships had died for their beliefs, but I’d much rather make the enemy die for theirs.
None of their ships had water wielders powerful enough to catch them. It’s why they were using spells in the first place, and not just having the wielders do it directly.
In my anger, and tiredness, I’d miscalculated, and the ice bergs smashed through the ships like they weren’t even there, and into the water, which created a group of very large waves, straight toward the island. Our ships dipped and swayed rather alarmingly just from the backwash wave.
The good thing, was that the buildings were stone, and there were no citizens anywhere on the shoreline. The guards however, were. Some created walls of stone, and they actually managed to live. Others though, creating air or ice, did not live, as the wave devastated the port, if not the actual city.
I felt a small amount of relief as well, that there were no merchant vessels in the harbor. They had all left very fast, when our fleet was spotted coming in. We let them all go.
It had taken me a while to get over doing that, and it had taken all my mates to pull me out of it.
I’d underestimated them, and seven ships had paid the price. Worse than that though, I’d acted with rage and anger, lost control, and destroyed fifteen vessels and killed over a thousand guards in seconds. A lot of those were probably evil rapists, but not all. The plans had been to capture them, not kill them out of hand.
Plus, we usually did our best to capture ships as well, but all that was left of them was kindling.
I shook my head, and tried to chase off the dark memory of that day. Yes, it was war, and people died in wars. Still, our aim was to free the islands, not to mindlessly destroy them. I feared I was too close to the edge after the last two years. I needed to rest, recover, and so did many others.
For the first time in just short of two years, we were returning to sorceress haven. We were all fairly burned out, it had been a hard two years, and things were actually running ahead of schedule. Daphne’s rule now encompassed seventeen islands, just over a third of the islands that had once comprised the kingdom of Iziral. That was about one every six weeks.
We’d gotten far more efficient about setting up a government by the third island, but training was the major limitation th
ere so we were about as fast at it as we’d ever be now. Still, that meant just four more years, instead of six.
I’d take it.
So we’d decided it was time to take a break, and recharge the batteries, before we made a stupid mistake. Make that another stupid mistake. Just two weeks before we shipped out again, but that should be long enough. I imagined I’d be chomping at the bit after that much rest and relaxation.
We had our own ship now, sort of. The grand council now numbered seventeen, and Melinda’s ship just didn’t have the space for all the politicians, who had dug in their heels about being separated from their monarch. A monarch who they absolutely had to have access to at all times. It drove me batty sometimes.
The captain of this ship was Lia, one of my mates.
We still saw Melinda a lot though, she’d accepted the post of admiral of the fleet a few months ago. We had close to ninety ships now, and had almost reached parity with our enemies. We had three ships posted at each island, which was just over half the royal fleet, plus the local patrol ships. The rest of the ships were around us right now, and part of the primary invasion fleet.
Word of our coming helped move things along as well. The last few islands there’d been no hesitation on the part of the population, and the suppressed sorceresses had just short of lined up at the dock to get their magic back, and just as quickly swore fealty to their new queen.
Even on that last island, when I’d lost it, the population seemed more than okay with the guard assholes finally getting comeuppance.
The best part of that of course, was I didn’t have to give anymore speeches.
Things were going rather well, but we still needed a break. The grand council also wanted to visit their homes, and they’d been granted leave. Outside of Caroline, and the council here at sorceress haven, Daphne would be getting a well-deserved rest as well.
I smiled as I felt elven magic, and turned to take in Amara.
She still looked exactly the same, while everyone else more or less, looked two years older. She had long shiny platinum blonde hair, beautiful creamy skin, and an exotic beauty that to this day still took my breath away.
She said, “I’ll be gone about a day, I need to visit with father while were here, might as well do that first so we can enjoy the rest of our time.”
I nodded, and wrapped my arms around her. She felt good in my arms, like she belonged there. She did belong there. I’d have liked to go with her, but I knew my father in-law didn’t care for humans, at all. At least he respected the bonds of those promised by magic, which meant more to him than his dislike for humans. It could’ve been worse.
“We’ll miss you,” I said softly, including my other mates in my statement.
She kissed me, and looked over at the island, and then caressed my cheek softly before she stepped away.
“See you soon my love,” she said.
Then she jumped over the railing, there was a burst of nature magic, and she was a dolphin before she hit water. That the elves could shape change never ceased to fascinate me, though my wife never did so for frivolous reasons, so I never saw it much.
I also didn’t mind too much that she’d be gone a day, I knew this time she wasn’t running from what we had together, and would be back soon.
Still, it would be the first night we didn’t spend in the same bed for over two years, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t bother me a little.
Lia walked over with a wistful look on her face.
At twenty-four now, she hadn’t changed much at all. She still had a pixie like beauty to her, and her warm light brown hair shone in the waning sunlight. Her body was petite, athletic, and curvy.
“Why do you suppose they always choose dolphins?”
I frowned in thought, “Maybe because dolphins are mammals, and not fish? We can ask her tomorrow.”
That made me wonder if they could be whales.
She nodded at my answer, as Sharon came over to join us, and pulled my arm around her.
Sharon was just as beautiful as well, and although she looked slightly more mature, she was if anything more stunningly beautiful than two years ago, with her strawberry blonde hair, and vivid light blue eyes.
Sharon said, “I’m looking forward to seeing Marie. She’s rejoining us right?”
Lia replied, “Last I heard yes, she’d weaned her baby just a couple of months ago. I heard Maria is pregnant again too.”
Marie had left us six months after Aramore, she’d gone home to have her baby, and to spend time with her family. That was sixteen months ago. It would be good to have her back on the team. We’d had a few temporary replacements from the guard so I had access to earth magic, but it wasn’t the same.
Jenna said from at least twenty feet away in a loud voice.
“She’s definitely coming.”
I looked over, Jenna was one of our close friends as well, and had been best friends with Marie. Out of all of us, Jenna had missed her most.
She was fire on our team. She had light blonde hair, and brown eyes, and she was a bit mischievous at times still. She hadn’t grown up much despite being the same age as our captain. But then, twenty-four was amazingly young for that post, and Lia made it look easy.
Daphne came up on deck, and she was the one that had changed the most. Sixteen to eighteen, had changed her a lot. Well, almost eighteen, her birthday was in a couple of weeks. They didn’t celebrate birthdays here though, as it was more a yearly holiday where everyone celebrated together.
Her body had… developed even more nicely than her nascent beauty had promised. Her face had thinned slightly as she sloughed off the last of her childhood, giving her a mature fresh-faced look of a budding supermodel.
Her long honey blonde hair hadn’t changed, and although her green eyes were still piercing and intelligent, there was more wisdom and the weight of responsibility was there as well after two years of ruling and the campaign. Her breasts had grown a couple of cup sizes, and had been already more than generous to start with. Her body although already curvy at sixteen, had become even more curvaceous as she fully matured.
She was without a doubt, stunning. She was also a handful.
Somehow I’d managed to keep our friendship intact over the last two years, and had even grown closer to the queen as she became even more decisive. She felt like family.
Our arguments about her security had tapered off, it was very rare when I needed to anymore. Usually she just acceded to my paranoid preparations. However, when she put her foot down, I’d learned to just grin and bear it, and then over plan to protect her. She usually didn’t do that unless she had a valid reason, so it all worked out. I was still extremely protective of her. I imagined given my position that wouldn’t change for the rest of my life either.
Daphne sighed as she looked at the rapidly approaching shoreline.
“Any chance I’ll get my old house back?”
Lia laughed, “I doubt it Daphne, they’ll put you in something palatial. It wouldn’t work politically now that you’re their queen too.”
Daphne frowned, “I was afraid you’d say that. I was kind of looking forward to just being me for two weeks. With the grand council away…” she trailed off for a moment and then added, “I won’t get the opportunity to let my hair down very often.”
I turned away to cover my smile. The ladies had loved that expression when I’d mentioned it, and it had caught on here pretty well. Sometimes it was still a little startling to hear colloquial expressions from my old earth spoken here. But it happened more and more often.
“We’ll probably need a big place anyway, for all of us.”
Daphne tilted her head, but I couldn’t quite read her face, “All of us?” she asked.
I nodded, “Assassins don’t take vacation.”
Her face fell, and she turned back to the island, “Of course.”
I sighed, “The guards will be at a minimum, and posted outside. It won’t be so bad.”
Daphne n
odded, but didn’t say anything, or look back.
I’d thought she was over that kind of thing, apparently not…
Chapter Two
The next couple of weeks were great, for the most part.
I spent a lot of time just resting, and spending time with my three mates, as well as Daphne.
The council mostly left us alone, after the first night where they’d thrown a kind of dinner party, anyway. The place we’d stayed in was a rather large mansion, and there was more than enough room for all of us. I truly didn’t think Daphne was in danger at all from any residents of this island, but on the other hand I wasn’t about to let down my guard.
Assassins had gotten close before, who’s to say there were none on the island?
My only real worry had been Daphne those two weeks, I wasn’t sure if she enjoyed the vacation at all. She was rather waspish at times, and short tempered even at the best of times during those two weeks. Daphne wasn’t like that at all usually, not as a rule anyway, she’d never been a snotty throw a tantrum kind of girl, now a woman. Even at sixteen she’d been… royal, poised, and thought before she spoke.
If anything over the last two years she’d become even more serious, and only let her guard down in private. Even then, it was in a fun happy way, usually to tease me, or one of my mates. Really, alone with the four of us was the only time she felt safe enough to just be Daphne.
When I’d asked my mates about it, they just said it was the timing of the vacation. Whatever that meant. They’d had that tone that said I should know what they were talking about, except I hadn’t. In retrospect, it was then that I should have asked more questions, but I didn’t. I was too used to not understanding everything about the women around me, so I shrugged it off as just one of those things.
I mean, sometimes women got upset when men didn’t know things, so it just seemed safer that way. At the time, I had no idea what a big mistake that would turn out to be.
There were so many things I’d missed, or misinterpreted, and not just recently either, but from the very start.
It was all about to blow up in my face…
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