Banished Pt. 20

"Joke about it? Someone should punch him in the fucking face," he replied.

Jordan smiled a little at that, and I nodded in agreement.

"I'm on board with punching him in the face, though maybe I have my own reasons," I said, chuckling as I did.

Jordan sighed.

"You know, I don't really hate him for it," he said. "If he really loves her, then what can I do, you know?"

"Some good that's gonna do him, though," I said, chancing a glance back at the fire.

"You really love her, don't you?" Jordan asked, and I nodded.

"It didn't start out that way, but I'm sure I do now. I'm just worried about how losing our first child is going to affect things."

"I'm sorry," Jordan said.

As I looked at him, I noted that his expression seemed to indicate culpability in the loss.

"I don't think any of us could have done much about it," I said, but he shook his head.

"I know; but while I was tracking him, it was almost as if I was hoping we wouldn't find anything," he admitted, and I rested a hand on his shoulder.

"No-one would have expected you to take him on. It was, what? You and Leanna?"

"And one of the hunters," he said, nodding.

"I understand," I said, sighing. "Part of me feels the same way. Like if we're better off if Ethan stays gone. At least, until I know I'm strong enough to fight something like him and that monster of his, I mean."

Jordan nodded.

"I'm glad you're not just tearing off after him. I'm not sure we could keep doing this without you," he added, and Raul quickly nodded in agreement.

"I dunno," I countered. "I'm sure you'd manage. You're a good bunch."

"Maybe you don't remember what these people looked like when I first hunted you," Raul said. "But they were hopeless losers; no offence."

"None taken," Jordan said, raising his hands as Raul continued:

"You turned these hopeless losers into what they are today. No groups make it this far with this many survivors. And I mean none."

I knew they were right, of course.

But I knew how to play the modesty card.

"Give yourselves some credit," I countered. "I might have given things the right push, but we are here today thanks to all of our efforts combined."

Raul and Jordan seemed to concede at that point, and we stood in silence for a bit.

"Is that rum?" Raul asked, eyeing my drink, and I nodded.

"Miss your drink, do you? What was your poison?" I asked, passing him the bottle.

"Tequila, my friend. Tequila."

I laughed.

"Way to be a stereotype," I joked, and Raul scoffed.

"If it's a stereotype, it's only because it's a damn good drink," he said. "Mi abuela hated it though. She used to say, 'if the devil first fails to lead a man astray, he will offer him a drink'."

Jordan laughed.

"Have to say, I never really believed in the devil," he said.

"Well, when your very existence is considered a sin, it does make him a bit of a... problematic figure," I suggested, and Raul tilted his head.

"Hm. Never really thought about it like that," he said. "In my mind, sin was always just... doing harm to others. Who someone chose to love never really factored in there for me."

"Well, if more people thought like that, it wouldn't be so bad," I said, and Raul studied me with a wry smile.

"Not a man of faith, I'm guessing?" he asked, and I laughed.

"I'm incapable of feeling guilt. Most faiths presume that to mean I am more evil than anything imaginable," I said. "Never mind that it's through no fault of my own."

"Well, it's too bad we don't have glasses; I'd toast to not being hated for existing anymore," Raul said.

"Shit, I'll drink to that," Jordan said, taking the bottle from Raul.

He took a swig, then passed it to me, and I raised the bottle before taking a drink as well.

"Nymphadora really hates that," Jordan said, laughing a little.

"Yeah? Does she speak into your mind, or something?" I asked, and he shook his head.

"It used to feel that way, but now it just feels as if her feelings come to me from time to time," he explained. "It's kind of like having a second opinion on my conscience."

"Please tell me you guys aren't over here getting wasted," Casey said, and I smiled as I turned to spot her coming over.

I held the bottle up, showing that it was barely touched, and she sighed.

"At least someone is exercising good judgement for once," she said.

"Hey, you say that like if it's a rare occurrence," I replied, and she scoffed.

"It is. Do I need to remind you that you once told an aufhöcker that it's mother was a whore to make it come down from a tree and attack you?"

"But did it work, though?" I asked, and she rolled her eyes as Jordan and Raul laughed.

"Sometimes I can't tell which one is really your girlfriend," Raul said, and I bit my lip as a pained look flashed across Casey's eyes.

Before I could say anything, however, I suddenly became aware of Lucia running across the courtyard towards us, and I shook my head as I caught the expression on her face.

"Nathan! Nathan~! Byaka won't let Lucia drink. Lucia is warrior, right? Lucia is goddess? Why can't Lucia drink?" she whined, stomping her feet as she did.

"Oh boy," I muttered, stooping down to look at her. "Drinking is an adult thing, kiddo."

"It's not fair!" she complained, and I chuckled again as she seemed on the verge of tears.

"I say let her at it," Raul cut in, and Casey stared at him incredulously.

"She's a child," Casey replied.

"So what? I had my first sip of beer when I was, what? Seven?" Raul said. "Besides, I hated the taste so much I didn't try it again until I was much older."

"That... certainly makes a good case for it," I said, rubbing my chin as I considered the suggestion.

A sip wouldn't kill her, obviously.

"Just a sip, okay?" I said, and Lucia quickly nodded.

She wrapped her hands around the neck of the bottle, and I helped raise it up for her to take a little drink, but it'd barely even touched her tongue when she coughed, spitting up some of the warm liquid.

"Ugh~!" she complained. "It burns~! Lucia hates drink. Lucia is never drinking again."

The girl ran off towards the fort entrance, and I chuckled as I watched her go.

"Mission accomplished. Hopefully she keeps that attitude up until she's twenty," I said, and Casey tutted at me disapprovingly.

"And what'll you do when she brings a boy home?" Casey asked, and I scoffed.

"She's a goddess. Daughter of a God-king? A princess, technically. I'm going to very carefully decide who she marries," I declared proudly, and Casey shook her head at me disapprovingly.

"By the way, did she really copy Bianca's skill?" Casey asked, and I bit my lip nervously.

"She did what?" Raul asked.

"She used Bianca's skill, but I'm not sure about the copy part. I mean, I checked her and she definitely doesn't have my ability," I said, and Casey frowned.

"So how did she learn it?" she asked.

"I dunno. She does train with Bianca a lot. Maybe she just learned it with her without Bianca realizing she was doing it? I mean, her prodigy skill helps her to learn skills much more quickly, right?"

Casey nodded, biting her lip as she did, but as I caught the worried look on her face, I raised an eyebrow at her.

"You aren't considering her a threat, are you?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"Well, I mean she's no threat now, obviously. She's a child. But she is a Kobalt-"

"She's my daughter," I said, more warning in my tone than I had perhaps intended, and Casey quickly shook her head.

"No. No, of course. I didn't mean anything by it," she said, but something inside of me still didn't feel satisfied with that response.

"I know your instinct it to keep a lookout for threats, Casey, but when you treat everything like a threat, you have a tendency to find what you're looking for," I said, and Casey swallowed uncomfortably.

"I- I know, Nate. I'm sorry," she said.

I could see that the sentiment was genuine, and as I gestured to her, she moved over, pausing to look back, before easing into my arms.

"Can't we sneak off just a bit?" she whispered, but as I looked up, I spotted Francesca approaching.

"I'll try," I replied, and as I stepped back, Casey followed my gaze to Francesca.

"Hey, Nate. Can we talk?" Francesca asked, and I nodded.

"Sure," I said, gesturing for her to lead the way.

We walked a short way from the wall to the nearby bridge, and as we got there, I noted that Francesca seemed a bit fidgety.

"So, what's up?" I asked.

"I've... been thinking about things," she began, and I chuckled nervously.

"Uh-oh. Why does it feel like if you're breaking up with me?" I asked, and she bit her lip, before taking a deep breath, and holding her hand out.

I looked down, then suddenly noticed that she was holding out her token.

"What-?"

"I... want to give this back to you," she explained, and I shook my head.

"Look, you had a hard time in that fight. Anyone would have-"

"No, Nate... it's more than just Leona," she said. "I just- I don't think I can fight anymore. At least... not right now..."

I studied her carefully, and she took another deep breath before continuing:

"I was really glad that I was good at something, and all of the talk of being a lioness and all that. It felt... good. But Leona showed me I was just a... kitten, maybe, because in the moment that you needed me, I failed you..."

"Francesca..."

"No, I really did. You stood as much of a chance as I did, but you went up against her anyway. You didn't fall apart like I did, and... I thought I wanted to be like that, but now I'm not sure anymore... I'm sorry," she said, but I quickly shook my head, taking her hand with the token in it, and bringing it to my lips.

"You don't need to force yourself to be anything except you," I said.

"Are you sure? I feel like if I'm giving up... letting you down again," she said, and I shook my head, brushing my lips against her knuckles as I did.

"Take as long as you need. There will always be a place at my side for my little lioness, but if you want to just be Francesca, there's a place for that beside me as well."

"Are you sure?" she asked, her eyes wavering a bit in the dark, and I nodded.

"Positive," I said.

I leaned in, kissing her tenderly, and as she slipped the token into my hand, it emitted a small pulse, and a connection between us seemed to sever in that moment.

Francesca turned and headed back to the fort, but as I looked up, I spotted Cameron's eyes on me, and her gaze flicked in Francesca's direction as she walked past.

Cameron started walking towards me, and I caught her just as she stumbled, giggling a little as she moved to wrap her arms around my neck.

"Did you two just break up or something?" she asked, her voice just slightly slurred, and I let out a little sigh as she swayed a little in my arms.

"Worse. She gave this back to me," I said, holding up the token.

"Oh~. I've seen those around. I thought they were lover's tokens until I saw Nolan with one. What are they?"

"Artifact," I answered. "I gave them to the members of my 'elite squad'," I explained, and Cameron frowned.

"And she gave it back? I would think she'd be on your squad for life," she said, and I sighed.

"She took a beating, and I think it made her realize she just wants to be a regular old eighteen-year-old girl for a little bit," I said.

"Does that mean she's gonna stop courting psychopaths a decade her senior?" Cameron teased, and I shrugged.

"Maybe," I said, letting out another sigh, and Cameron smirked a little.

"Aww, you know it always pissed me off when you did anything with her, but now that I see that sad look on your face, I think I actually feel bad," she said, and I eyed her warily.

"Really?"

"Just a little," she replied.

"My wife shouldn't need to comfort me for losing my girlfriends," I teased, and she shrugged.

"Maybe all these other wives need to get on my level."

I closed my eyes as she leaned in to kiss me, and I felt myself just melting into the moment.

When we broke apart, I stole a quick glance around.

"Is girl's night already done?" I asked, and she nodded.

"Everyone's still exhausted from last night, I think," she said.

"What about you?" I asked. "You gave birth, what, just yesterday?"

She shrugged.

"Maybe it's these enhanced bodies, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. And I healed pretty quickly too."

She looked around a bit, before eyeing me with a naughty look.

"Maybe you should come examine me. Make sure everything's in... 'working order'," she suggested, and I snickered in response.

As I looked back, however, I caught sight of Casey, and I quickly mouthed, 'I'm sorry' in her direction.

It's fine. I understand, she said into my head, and I turned and followed Cameron into the fort and up to our room on the second floor.

As soon as we were inside, Cameron began to press me.

She kissed me hungrily, backing me up to the bed, and eventually, pushing me down onto it.

"Lose the shirt," she said, as she hurriedly stripped out of her own clothes.

I took my own shirt off a little slowly, trying to get a read on her expression, but as soon as the piece of clothing was off, she climbed on top of me and began to kiss me again.

We kissed for a while, before I broke away from her lips, and began to kiss my way down to her neck.

"God, I missed you," I moaned, as I nuzzled my lips across the soft skin, and she cradled my head affectionately.

"I'm not sure I believe you," she teased. "Our 'girl talk' made me realize you get around way more than I imagined. A lot of them are in love with you, you know."

I shook my head.

"None of them can replace this," I said.

I looked up and claimed her lips again, and she cooed into my mouth.

"What if I said I wanted the 'extracurricular activities' to stop?" she asked.

"I'd do it," I answered, and she eyed me, a wry smile on her face.

"Even if it leads to some fallouts?"

I shrugged.

"From what I can tell, I've fulfilled my obligation to the princess. I still care about Bianca, but intimacy isn't really necessary for me to keep control of her. The biggest problem would be Casey."

Cameron eyed me.

"You care about Casey a lot," she said, and I nodded.

"I do."

"And you'd give her up if I asked you to?" she asked.

"Give up intimacy? Sure. She'd still be my advisor," I said, and Cameron bit her lip.

"You know... I'm tempted to say yes just to see if you'd actually do it..."

"Do you doubt my commitment to you?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"No. But if you're promising me things like exclusivity, then that must mean you're really worried about us," Cameron said. "Am I that easy to read?"

I shook my head.

"We lost something important..." I said, and she nodded, bringing her forehead to rest against mine, before letting out a sigh.

"I wish I'd gotten drunker," Cameron said, chuckling a little.

"I'm surprised you didn't," I admitted, and Cameron eyed me.

"Yeah? Well, I have my reasons," she said.

"Like what?"

"Like... maybe I knew what I was bringing you up here to do, and I needed to be sober enough to do it," she said.

I eyed her a little.

"You want another baby," I guessed, and Cameron blushed a little, nodding. "Are you sure?"

"About as sure as I was about the first one," she said, and I shook my head.

"Things are different now. We can take our time," I suggested, and she scoffed.

"Oh, you silly man. If you don't give me my baby, I'm not sure you can stop me from going out to hunt Ethan," Cameron said, and I eyed her.

She was serious.

I could tell from the look in her eyes.

But was this really the way to give her the baby that I'd seen in my vision?

A lot could change in another three weeks.

Maybe she'd even be happy about it by then?

Yet something in my gut told me that this wasn't the path to the vision that I'd seen.

"Are you going to deny me?" Cameron asked, and I shook my head.

"I'm not sure I could if I tried," I replied, and Cameron smiled.

"I'll take it," she said, as she eased me down onto my back, and leaned in to kiss me.

She helped me out of my pants, then stripped off what was left of her own clothing before climbing back on top of me.

I let out a soft moan as she reached down and gripped my part, but as I felt my cockhead brush against the softness of her slit, she twitched, and a shudder ran through her body.

"Nate, could you use that thing again?" she asked, and I nodded.

Your body forgets the trauma inflicted upon it, I suggested, but as Cameron lined me up, her breathing became raspy and shallow again.

"Nate?"

I bit my lip, as I considered the predicament.

"Forget the pain of what you've lost," I suggested, and as the energy flowed between us, Cameron looked into my eyes, her breathing evened out, and a soft moan slipped from her lips as she eased herself gently down my length.

She took me half of the way in, before withdrawing to the tip of my cock, and this time, she wrapped both of her arms around my neck, and she brought her face to mine, pressing our lips together as she took me all the way in.

"Mmh."

She purred into my lips, breaking the kiss to let out a soft sigh, before nuzzling her nose against mine.

"I love you, Nathan," she whispered, kissing me again, and I broke the kiss, and held her gaze, as our bodies melded together into one form.

"I love you too, Cameron."

She laughed a little, eyeing me with a show of surprise.

"Oh? Was that a confession from Mr. 'I'm incapable of love'?" she asked, and as I nodded, she smiled. "Must be some girl," she added, and I smiled back.

"Not just any girl. The most amazing woman in the world."

She eased up off of me just enough to begin moving up and down along my length, and I let out a little sigh before moaning pleasurably.

I eased myself upright a little, then wrapped my arms around Cameron's body, nuzzling my face into her neck as the spaces between us disappeared.

Being inside of her was as pleasurable as ever, but holding Cameron in my arms as we made love was an indescribable kind of bliss.

"Jesus, Nate. You really did miss me, huh?"

"Mhm," I mumbled into her neck, and she ruffled the hair at the back of my head as she held me in place.

"I'm sorry... I mocked you," she said between moans. "When you said... I was your... queen. You really... made me feel... special, you know?"

"Mmm. You are a queen," I moaned. "Whether I declare it so or not."

I placed a hand on Cameron's hip, bringing her slow, steady riding to a halt, and at my direction, I brought her legs around me as I sat upright, then bringing my hands around her, I aided her in moving against me again.

My face was level with her bosom, and I dove in, running kisses all along the supple mounds of flesh while our bodies ground pleasurably together.

"This is new," Cameron moaned. "Did one of your little bitches teach you this?"

"My other queen," I answered, and Cameron let out a sharp, little laugh.

"What was she like?" she asked, and I released one of her breasts from my mouth to answer.

"Every bit a queen as you might imagine."

Cameron cradled my head as we made love, eventually resting her own face against the top of my head.

"Put another baby in me, Nate. Make me feel... whole, again."

I felt a little worrying twang in my chest, but I nodded into her bosom nonetheless as I fixed my grip on her body and helped her to move more roughly along my shaft.

I was on the verge of an orgasm myself, and I was sure that her own climax would spur me on, so I began to devour her breasts as we fucked, and soon enough, her moans ascended to that orgasmic pitch, and I moaned into her chest as I began to unload inside of her.