by Shawn Keys
Callistia started to speak. She stopped. Then, started again, trying to find the right was to say it. “Maybe…” She cleared her throat. “… maybe it wasn’t.” Certainty grew with every word. “Maybe I’m done caring what I’m supposed to want. Helleanna told you about my kind. Not all of us feel the same, but…I do. You know that. You’ve seen that side of me. The side that’s a little… wicked.” She flushed with embarrassment, but pressed on. Honesty welled in her eyes. The vulnerability hadn’t left. She was embracing a side of herself that had always terrified her a little. “When that surfaces… maybe it needs to be… punished… a little.”
Ajax had never walked so fine a line in his life. She needed him. She had just admitted something that could destroy her if he rejected her. But the animal of his lust wasn’t a subtle beast. Her trembling lips brought out his concern, his empathy, but also a surge of something far more primal. He could break her by saying yes, and he could break her by saying no.
Following his instincts, he tried to find a middle ground. “Shall I awaken your maid? Her tongue eased the way last time. She would gladly do so again for you.”
Callistia shook her head: fast and quick. Her eyes sparked, trying to get him to understand. “Ajax, please hear me. If she was here, it would be sweet.” Her fingers clenched on the ship’s railing. Dark passion clung to her words. “I don’t want this to be sweet.” She glared up at him. “Want to know a secret? The thought of a brutish human having his way with a sun elf maid?” She shivered in need. “It’s not a fear. It’s a fantasy.” She swallowed away her nerves. “Be… that.”
He glared back, needing to know she was sure.
She didn’t flinch.
He seized her and spun her against the ship’s rail. He dug his fingers into her dress and ripped outward. The fabric tore. Not even along the seam. He put such violent energy that the fabric simply split down the middle, unable to resist the force. “Shall I make you mine, Princess?”
The cool night air washed over her bare legs. Callistia clutched at the railing, barely keeping to her legs as a storm of fear and thrill raged through her. “Pl…plea –”
His inner animal was off its chain. His other hand smacked hard into the flesh of her exposed ass. The impact cut off whatever she was still stammering to say. Somewhere inside, he knew she was probably pleading for him to keep going. He embraced the dark game she wanted to play even further. He smacked her behind again, raising a cry from her. Then another, changing angles. With her bent over the rail, he grasped hold of her hair, forcing her back into an awkwardly beautiful arch, and spanked her until she was sobbing.
He snarled at her from behind, “This is what you deserve, isn’t it? Such wicked, naughty thoughts are filling you. You need this, don’t you? A firm hand. This is exactly what a bad, bad girl like you deserves.”
She hissed in submissive need. “Yeessss! Please. Harder. Punish me. I’m… oh, such… such a bad… bad… girl. Oh elements, please, I need it harder…”
Her answered her dark need with ferocity. He tore open his own trousers, baring his phallus to the wind. Spitting a gob of thick spit into his hand, he coated the meagre moisture over his tip. He summoned a second glob and smeared it between the clefts of her pert, upturned ass cheeks. His fingers found the crinkled, defenseless anal rose and dug the moisture inward.
Callistia rocked forward, an instinctive attempt to escape. Her eyes widened and a slightly panicked gasp rushed from her lungs. Ajax clung to her, pinning her in place. He grasped hold of his own cock, dragging it down and through her untainted sex. There was no more certain proof of what she wanted. She was dripping juices down her leg in a wave of excitement. She wasn’t supposed to want this. But she so very much did.
Ajax rubbed his cock through her dripping sex again and again. The rugged contours only drove her passion higher. Slick with the proof of her need, Ajax shifted higher and wedged his thick tip into the tiny entrance to her dark tunnel, then pierced inward.
She threw back her head and screamed as pleasure and pain merged in her mind. Cum spurted from her body, her orgasm caused as much by the rough handling as the penetration of his shaft.
“Take it, Princess. Take me deep!” Ajax plunged in, stretching her open as he had last time. But where the last time he had ensured her enjoyment, this time he selfishly harvested pleasure for himself. Her ass, reddened from his spanking, squeezed around him in a frantic need to both push him out and hug him tighter inside. He felt both, the physical expression of the princess’s conflicted nature.
The result was utter bliss. Stroking into her hard, he fed the inches of his cock into her darkness again and again and again, pounding recklessly toward climax. His previous love-making with the other elfish women gave him stamina he wouldn’t otherwise have had inside her tightness. In the end, it was her half-sobbing, half-laughing, entirely lustful cries that echoed off the open ocean that put him over the edge. His seed exploded into her, greasing his way and letting him ravish her for a dozen more thrusts until he had nothing left to give.
As his primal urges receded, his concern for her reawakened. Still buried inside of her, he drew her up off the railing and cradled her into his chest.
Tears poured down her cheeks. But before he could worry more, she raised her hands and cupped his cheek. She found her voice, raw from screaming. “Th… thank you… oh fury, I needed that! Thank you… accepting this part of me. I couldn’t let anyone else see it until now.”
He hugged her as powerfully as a bear, unwilling to let her go. Their clothes might be shredded and torn, but peace clung to them. “You can tell me anything, love. If everything else becomes shifting sand, trust in that. You can trust me with anything.”
Including your heart, he added silently. If only you were free to give it.
Chapter 11
One day blended into the next with a mixture of rising tension and joy. Each of them secretly hoped they were nearing the line beyond which Lyvarress’s ships dared not tread. Would he risk a war to recapture them? Callistia did her best not to kill their hopes, but she clearly believed Lyvaress’s hunters would follow them to the ends of the world, whatever the risk.
As their nervous energy built higher, their eyes strained toward the horizon for hour after hour, fearing the sight of another sail. To fight the tension, they shamelessly burned off the energy by giving in to lust. With the barriers torn down between them, the entire ship became their playground. They had bonded through work in the first half of the voyage. Now, they bonded far more physically. They ceased having separate sleeping quarters, tumbling into whatever bed was convenient in whatever mix their desire spawned. Nothing made Ajax happier than the first time he saw Callistia claim Helleanna again for a night of pleasure. The next day, Ajax stumbled on Krizzilani ravishing Jyliansa with a wooden phallus she had carved and strapped to her pelvis. Knowing they were developing a need for each other helped Ajax sleep soundly.
Only Callistia remained somewhat aloof in their play. Helleanna shared with her on occasion as they always had, but Callistia mostly kept out of the way and helped them find the space to indulge. With understanding smiles, she even took watch for entire nights so that the rest of them could delve into a wanton little orgy. Both times, Ajax came to her after, ravaging her under the moonlight, making it clear she would not be forgotten.
Perhaps as satisfying as the sex was the other signs of their mingling. What had started out as hobby gifts to each of them was starting to spread. Callistia was teaching both Jyliansa and Helleanna how to paint. Helleanna’s pipes were joined by a crude drum Jyliansa fashioned with Ajax’s help, strapping more of their spare canvass around a sliced rum barrel. Weaving some of their fishing line together allowed for the crafting of a lute whose tone left much to be desired but got the job done. Ajax was getting better at strumming each day. He enjoyed how even simple tunes could get the spirited elfish women dancing. Krizzilani had explained her joy of finding stories and patterns in the stars. Now even
Callistia had taken to scanning the sky on night shifts, creating patterns from the brightest stars, and then writing down and sharing those stories with the others around breakfast the next day.
They were becoming a family.
A part of Ajax wished they would never find land again. Or better yet an island, where they could ignore the rest of the world and live in this blissful state. Only the burden he wore inside his braid kept him from convincing his lovers to consider sharing that dream into reality.
The inevitable truth was: dreams ended. It was in their nature.
“Sail!” called Helleanna from the crow’s nest. Of them all, she was the boldest when going aloft up the masts. Krizzilani was equally sure footed, but the sunlight could blind her at bad moments. Jyliansa knew the most of sailing, but she was far more comfortable in the water than the open air. Callistia far preferred to do her work on the main deck. She was no coward, and had done her part to ascend and change the sails, but she would never be comfortable with it.
Ajax was at the wheel when the call came. He bellowed back, “Where to, lass?”
He saw her hand dart toward the horizon behind them. “Aft! Can only see the top-sails right now! But…” She faded off, then shouted with more urgency, “More than one! Three. No, four!”
Damn. They came in force, Ajax cursed.
He glanced at Jyliansa, who had been lounging on the deck drying after her most recent swim. Now, she was at the rails peering into the distance. “Is there any more speed to be found in the sails?”
She didn’t break her search, answering without turning from the ocean, “I’ve done all I can.”
“Aye, and you’ve kept us alive this far. No one could fault you. That doesn’t change the fact that they’ll be faster than us.”
Callistia scaled the ladder, summoned from her cabin by her maid’s warning call. As she stepped onto the raised wheel deck, she added grimly, “And the mages to conjure wind we don’t have. They’ll be on us in a few hours.”
Ajax got worried; the sun elf was looking in the wrong direction. “They’re off to the stern of us, Callistia.” None of them had called her by her title in days, except for Helleanna.
The sun elf raised a curious eyebrow. “Is that so? Then who are they?”
Ajax stepped up beside her and brought one of the spyglasses they had found to his eye. A quick scan, and he found another grouping of sails creeping over the horizon to port. “Good eyes.”
“May the sun continue to bless me so,” she answered demurely.
“Those are red sails. Red with white chevrons stitched in.” He clenched his jaw to stop another vile curse.
Callistia understood. “Lyvarress would never outfit his sails in red. His colors are lavender and sunlight-gold.”
Ajax fixed her with a grim stare. “Aye. Those are the colors of Tyvanthelam.”
Her sun-tinted skin went as pale as a moon elf. “Two fleets?”
Ajax shouted up to the crow’s nest, “Can you see the color of the sails behind us, Helleanna?”
Her answer wafted down, “Purple and gold! I’ve seen them before being mended on the docks. They’re the colors of your brother for sure, My Lady!”
Ajax growled. “Two fleets, then. Not cooperating, surely. There must be traitors in your brother’s court as surely as Adamat betrayed my old liege. When you brother surged his fleet, Tyvanthelam’s ships were probably not far behind. They’ve been pincering in on us ever since.”
Jyliansa quipped, “Maybe they’ll destroy each other and leave us to sail free.”
“Our luck isn’t that good,” Ajax replied darkly. “Could you rouse Krizzilani? She’s hiding from the noon sun, but we’re going to need her on deck. Soon.”
The sea elf nodded, darting down the ladder.
Callistia was shifting her focus from one fleet to the other, now able to make out both from their vantage point. They were closing fast. “Even if they get embroiled in fighting each other, we can’t survive this.”
Ajax hated that he agreed. It can’t end this way. We were so close! How’d they find us in the middle of this damned ocean? Magic. They must have magic to find this ship of theirs. And Tyvanthelam’s fleet could have been shadowing them, waiting to find us so they could fight over us.
Aloud, he growled, “We’ll have to do what we can. We’ll keep out of their reach as long as we can. Angle ourselves so both fleets reach us at the same time. Don’t give either of them a chance to snap us up without fighting their rival. Once they rip into each other, maybe we can manage to sail clear. It’s our only chance.”
A fragile chance. But there was no need to linger on something so obvious.
Soon they were all on deck. Ajax personally saw to the loading of all four of the ballistae. He didn’t bother with blank ones for gaining range. Time would be short. If he missed, they would probably die. Missing was not an option. The women splashed water over every surface to cut down the chance fire could spread. They prepositioned as many barrels of seawater as they could. Blankets. Sand. Anything that could fight fire and keep them floating long enough to escape.
Working was hard as they watched the two fleets closing on them. Ajax counted again. Tyvanthelam had sent eight. Lyvarress had sent ten. Ajax once again wondered if he should feel flattered at the resources they were willing to commit. He could have done without this particular compliment.
He brought his spyglass to his eye, scouring the various ships until he located the two flagships. From this angle, he couldn’t make out the names on the back of their ships, but he could tell from the presence of elves. Only the most powerful ships had elfish captains. And only the flagship of a royal task force would have a sun elf at the helm.
On Tyvanthelam’s most powerful ship, he recognized the arrogant, proud-chinned son of the King; Faarlinashin. His knighthood sponsor. Ajax figured that only made sense. His ‘betrayal’ would be a stain on Faarlinashin’s honor. He had spoken for Ajax’s quality, and he had been wrong. Now, the proud sun elf was coming to kill the human he had blessed and take back his father’s slave property.
None of them had any doubt who would be leading Lyvarress’s fleet. Rasharann stalked back and forth on the forward deck of the Ocean’s Rapier, his next fastest interceptor after Wavesword. His obsession for Jyliansa was undying. He was only a moon elf, and his interceptor class ship was not the largest or best armed in the fleet. But once again, it was more about pride for him. He was there to undo the embarrassment Ajax and his companions had caused. Lyvarress was demonstrating his support; one of his personal gendarmes was standing at Rasharann’s elbow, dressed in the attire of a marine soldier. The sun elf warrior was giving the moon elf the legitimacy to lead the fleet and win back his honor.
Of course, neither Rasharann nor Faarlinashin were acting as proper fleet commanders by remaining aloof at a proper distance while directing their fleet to carry through on the action. They had both driven their ships right to the vanguard. Rasharann especially was forging ahead of his fleet, while he himself stood on the fore castle ballista deck, practically salivating with the need to impose his will on them.
Ajax saw their chances diminish even further. For these two fleet commanders, this was personal. They would never let the Wavesword slip through their fingers. No matter the cost to their own losses.
He scoured his mind for options. Any trick his imagination could dream up was a long-shot, and totally impossible with their skeleton crew. He needed sailors to reef sails and trim them perfectly into the wind for any fancy maneuvers to work. He didn’t know how. Not even Jyliansa could refine them so well. They were trapped.
He glared across the ocean at Rasharann. He didn’t even know the moon elf, but Ajax hated him. Faarlinashin was misguided, but at least they had fought and bled together. There was respect there. But this Commodore elf was trying to enslave one of the women Ajax loved. If he was going to kill anyone, then Ajax swore it would be this waste of skin. If he was going to die, Rasharann was going int
o the deep right beside him.
They were close. Five more minutes, and the enemy would be firing ranging shots with their ballistae. If they got lucky, elementally-charged power would be raining down on their decks.
A sudden idea occurred to Ajax. Ocean’s Rapier was pursuing them recklessly close to one side. They weren’t making any effort to stand off and engage in pitched battle. He could already see grappling hooks laid out on their deck. They were intent on boarding. Rasharann wanted Jyliansa back; he wanted his prize and to gut the ones who had taken her away.
Ajax bellowed his command. Not a path to victory. There wasn’t one. This is simply the only way to make them pay a price. “Spill the wind! Cut all the stays!” With a dozen bounding strides, he ran to the anchor windlass. Winding up a mighty blow, he chopped away the lock on the mechanism. Chain rattled as the massive anchor dropped into the sea. The Wavesword shook as the unhinged weight ran free, then lurched sharply as it pounded to the end of its chain, dangling many fathoms deep in the water below.
Not stopping to question what he was doing, the knives of the elfish women flashed. Setting the sails had taken them days. They undid their work in seconds. Once they realized what Ajax was trying to do, they flung themselves at the task, robbing the ship of its speed.
Wavesword’s planks actually groaned under their feet. It no longer rode the waves neatly, now lolling and bobbing to one side as the ocean rolls caught them badly.
Ajax roared again, “To the weapons! Fire as you will!”
Surprised by the sudden deceleration, the ships of Lyvarress stormed past them. The ones right behind scrambled to haul out to either side to avoid colliding. As they swarmed around the Wavesword, their bulks blocked the direct view from Tyvanthelam’s fleet.
But Ajax knew Faarlinashin for the uncompromising bastard he was. The gendarme wouldn’t care one bit about collateral damage. The sun elf’s piercing voice screamed the order to launch. Forty magically enhanced ballistae hummed in a dreadful harmony as they fired their bolts into the air.