Queen Yavara Ch. 38

I slurped as I pulled him out, then rested my face upon his wonderful manhood, enjoying its pulse against my cheek. I smiled drunkenly up at him. "What were you saying?"

"Don't you have a job to do?" He asked.

I gently grasped his balls. "This is my job. Queen Yavara wanted me to make you feel at home, and so I am."

"Surely you have other duties as governess."

"I'm an excellent delegator. The others do their duties, and I step in when something needs to be changed, but Alkandra basically runs itself." I kissed the tip of his cock, and sighed, "But you are right. It is autumn, and the harvest has taken place, and we must prepare for winter. After today, I will not be in your bed until the spring."

His brow furrowed. "We live in the same castle. Is it too much to walk down a few flights of stairs?"

I smirked at him. "When the snows come, many will live in this castle, and it will be my duty to make sure that the peace is kept. You and yours can walk naked in the winter night without feeling its chill, but I will have to keep the rest warm and content."

"With your flesh?"

"I am Adrianna Alkandra, Titus. My flesh belongs to all, and I give it freely."

He cupped my cheek, and raised my face from his lap. "In all my years, I have never tasted something as sweet as you. I'm a greedy man, Adrianna. Maybe your flesh belongs to all, but I would have a piece of you that belongs only to me."

"What do you mean?"

Titus reached up, and rang the bell above his headboard. A moment later, a young faun woman stepped into the doorway, her complexion pallid, her throat pocked with fang marks, but she smiled without fear. It was the arrangement I'd made with the vampire lord. He would never want for blood in Alkandra, but he would have to pay the citizens for it. If he wanted to hunt for kill, he would have to do so in the Great Forest with the feral vampires that lived there.

"Would you share her with me?" He asked.

"She's not a whore."

"That's not what I meant." He muttered, stroking my throat, "You're unobtainable, untamable, and unrepentant, and I wish I could have all of you, but then I would have none. You were right about your kind. All I did when I changed those women was taint perfection. I always thought creating half-breeds was to create an abomination, for why would I sully my blood with someone who would but use the gift as a novelty and revert to their lesser form? But with you, I can only hope that you would accept such a humble gift. I would understand if you don't want it, but—"

Before he could utter the next word, my mouth was on his, devouring his lips and tongue, my hands reaching backward to aim his cock against my slit. He entered me, splitting my moist channel, stretching the walls against my lewd muscles until his tip pressed against my bottom, and my netherlips sucked about his base. I groaned into his mouth, subduing him expertly in our oral combat, then I parted with a smile on my lips and in my eyes, and I tilted my head to expose my throat.

"Take me... Father." I whispered, and he looked close to weeping. He reverently brushed my hair from my neck, and planted a kiss on the bow of my throat. Then he bit, and I felt a liquid chill seep into my chest. I sighed helplessly, and dropped against him as he poured his transforming venom inside me. My heart slowed. The world dimmed. My breath left me, and all was black.

When next I regained awareness of myself, I tasted blood in my mouth. The faun woman was unconscious on the bed, a pair of fresh wounds in her throat. I reached out to help her, and stopped. My hand was long-fingered with elongated nails and pure white flesh. I looked down, and my short bronze elven body had become a splendor of alabaster and muscle, my robust feminine curves perched atop toned legs and contoured abs, every inch of me honed for desire and murder. There was a cock inside me, and it awoke not just the pleasures of flesh, but the primal desires of violence. I turned to my new blood father, and grinned with my new fangs. He grinned back, and my eyes fell upon the pulsing vein in his throat. We came together, clawing at each other, biting, grabbing hair and pulling until the roots seared with delicious pain. We drew blood, we merged our bodies violently, and we made love with the rapaciousness of the apex predator.

ELENA

"...he said his name was Gorlok." The girl said, her voice dead, "He said he was sent from the bowels of hell to punish the Highlands for our sins."

I wore a veil to court, and arm-length gloves to cover my flesh. I did not want to bring attention to my Alkandran blood when the Feltianan village girl gave her testimony before the nobles.

"...they made me wear a necklace of my little brothers' and sisters' hands," the girl said, "he told me it would keep others like him from harming me. He told me to walk to Bentius and ask my liege why he did not protect us." She turned to Lord Feltian. "Why did you not protect us, my lord?" She asked, her eyes seeming to look through Feltian, tears rolling down her cheeks, "Why did you not protect us, my lord? Why did you not protect us, my lord? Why did you not protect us, my lord? WHY DID YOU NOT PROTECT US, MY LORD?! WHY?! WHY?! WHY?!" And she was carried screaming from the court, her question echoing in the annals behind her.

Yanas Feltian looked so pale that I wondered if he had any blood in him at all. He staggered to his feet, and left the court. His hobbled gait and hunched back belied his frailty, and everyone in there knew he'd just been broken. The next time his seat was filled, it would be by his son, and I would have my second noble.

Lord Ternias stood. "Do you need to hear more, good noblemen and women of the court? The Dark Queen sends her mongrels across our border to terrorize us into surrender!"

"Gorlok was stripped of his lands, titles, and family name following the battle of the Tundra." I said, "He is a rogue actor, and there will be more of them! If we do not make peace with Alkandra soon, more and more of their outlaws will take advantage of our weakness and flow across the Knife River. Do you think Ternias's regiment at Castle Thorum can patrol the entire border? They are not rangers!"

"This is an underhanded attack, make no mistake!" Ternias countered, "Gorlok acts upon the bidding of the Dark Queen!"

"Even if that is true, it does not change the fact that there are marauding orcs moving uncontested within our borders!" Sofia yelled, "With all our resources spent on fighting a losing war, who is to protect the home front?"

"The marauding orcs are not a failure of our military, but a failure of its leadership." Ternias said, "Too long has the queen's lacky been at the helm of this disastrous stalemate, and for what? To make sure that the king's uncle is in charge of the military, nothing more!"

"Field Marshal Shordian has proven himself on the field. He was the hero of the Tundra." Leveria answered from her throne.

Ternias scoffed. "Even a broken clock is right twice a day. What results has he gotten us since then? Has the enemy been pushed back? No! They stay upon our doorstep, and wait until winter to freeze us out!"

"And how would you win the war, Lord Ternias?" Leveria asked, "If you have a grand strategy, then by all means, share it! Not doing so would be tantamount to treason, and we know you would never partake in that!"

Ternias guffawed. "My generals tell me there's a way to win this war quickly and decisively, but not with the command structure that is in place. We have but one chance, and it will be wasted in the hands of the queen's bumbling idiots."

There was a murmur around the room, and nods of concurrence. I thought about standing to object, but there was no use. Ternias had once again made the debate about how the war was being fought, not if it should be, and the nobles loved nothing more than the comforting idea that victory was still possible. Even after the girl's testimony, they did not feel the terror. She was just a country girl after all. And so the hours passed while Leveria and Ternias exchanged meaningless diatribes until Leveria finally stood up, and adjourned court.

I organized my notes as the nobles walked out, Ternias smirking at me. No doubt he thought that Yavara and I had callously orchestrated the attack, but I believed Yavara when she told me she knew nothing of it.

I connected eyes with Huntiata as he crossed the room. I smiled at him from beneath my veil, and he sneered back. Yes, he was an ornery, racist, avaricious, despicable bastard, but he sure knew how to treat a lady like me.

"Any word from your friend?" He asked me.

"Your delivery will be in nine days. Any word on that mining project?"

"The outlet is on the edge of Xantian's province, and he's awfully curious about why I asked for a permit to prospect the mine." Huntiata growled, "Used to be he wouldn't dare, but since he got his contracts back with the dwarves, the fucker's been uppity."

"He has a nose for gold." I chuckled.

"He's a cheap whore; why haven't you paid him yet?"

"He hasn't accepted my invitation yet. He's skittish. I'll wait until he's ready."

"Fat, soft, weak little shit. Are you going to give him a little something extra too?"

I grinned. "Would it make you jealous?"

"No. It'd just be a pity that you'd have to endure that." He got a little too close for public, and whispered, "I know how you really want it."

"Save it for when the doors are closed, my lord." I whispered back, "So that no one can hear me scream."

He might've taken me right then and there if he didn't have so much self-control. Instead, he walked away, strategically ruffling through a bag placed before his waist.

"My lady." Lady Droughtius said as she approached me.

"I was glad to see you stand in court today."

"I only parroted your point." She smiled coyly, "I felt rather foolish, actually. You're a much better orator than I."

"All it takes is practice."

"I think my talents are much better suited behind the scenes. Speaking of which, I have a proposition that you might like."

"I'm all ears."

She pointed to Feractian's faction. The lord himself had been absent at court to deal with a problem in his province. Apparently, the townsfolk of some farming village had beaten a taxman to death when he went to collect the monthly bill. That didn't bode well. "Do you see those six men?" She prompted, "Those are Feractian's barons I was telling you about. They've all come to court today because of what's happening in their territories. There are whispers of rebellion, and without any garrisons to quell it, those whispers could become shouts in no time at all."

"And?"

"You are making a deal with Huntiata, and he has two-thousand men at his disposal. It would only take five-hundred to kill this rebellion in the crib. I imagine Feractian would be eternally grateful if you could arrange this."

I nodded. "See if you can set up a meeting with those barons."

"I already did. Eleven o'clock tomorrow night at your estate. They were incredulous, but then I told them about how... hospitable you can be."

I smirked at her. "Are you my ally, or my pimp?"

"I'll be there too. I need to practice acting like an Alkandran, after all." She tittered.

I smiled back, hoping none of my pity was betrayed by my eyes. It wasn't, for Sofia Droughtius shared a secret wink with me, and walked away. If I survived this shit, I didn't know how I'd be able to look at myself in the mirror again.

LEVERIA

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, YES!" I screamed, and Elena drove into me one last time, her breasts squishing against mine, her muscular abdomen forming against my soft belly, her cock pumping thick hot loads deep into my starving womb. I kept my nails dug into her back as I stayed rigid with ecstasy, all my worries leaving me in a moment of pure bliss. Then she collapsed atop me with a sigh, and the world came surging back.

"Xantian." She gasped.

"What?"

"You wanted to know who the secret factor was in Ternias's conspiracy." Elena said, peeling herself off me, "It was Xantian the whole time. Huntiata told me he got his contracts back with the dwarves, and I know you didn't get them."

"That fat little piece of shit." I muttered, too sapped of energy to give much to anger.

"If you didn't have Feractian and Feltian, that probably meant Ternias had them too. If you had won that battle, they would've struck the next day."

"So I was doomed either way." I snorted, "Hooray for me."

She chuckled, got up, and washed her cock in the bidet.

"Busy day ahead?" I asked, "Does Lady Droughtius not like my flavor?"

She smirked over her shoulder. "I love it when you get jealous."

"You're cheating on me, you whore."

"You're one to talk. At least I'm not married. By the way, where the hell does Eric even sleep? It's not only that he doesn't sleep in the royal bedroom; he doesn't even sleep in the high tower!"

"He mostly lives in his estate. The only time we ever see each other is during court functions."

"Ah, true love."

"I'm actually quite fond of him. We're not a partnership, we're a team, and I'm the captain, and he understands that."

"Perhaps I should try to woo him to my team, hmm?" She grinned, "I see the way he looks at me in court."

"Perhaps I'll have the Droughtius house replaced by one of their barons. Would you still let her visit you then?"

"Yes." Elena snickered.

"Fuck you." I laughed, and helped her button her dress. When she left, I felt the familiar loneliness, and went about distracting my mind. I drew a sigil on the mirror, and palmed it.

"You Highness?" Field Marshal Shordian asked.

"Battle report?"

"Our casualties are down fifty-percent for the week."

I raised my brows. "That is good news. What changed?"

"We began operating under the cautious assumption that the Dark Queen has no intention of invading as of now. We've begun practicing evasive tactics instead of engaging the enemy directly."

"You said 'as of now;' does that mean you believe she intends to invade in the near future?"

"The preliminary actions were taken to assault Mid Fort, but they didn't get past the first phase. I have not seen any concerted effort by the enemy to marshal an invasion, but we should be wary. If we're lulled into thinking we know their tactics, we will be unprepared when they change them. The increased supply train through the marshlands would intuit an intention to prolong the engagement through the winter, though the enemy has shown a propensity for trickery before."

"What do you think she'll do?"

"With all due respect, Your Highness, she is your sister. I think you should know that answer better than I."

I lit a cigarette, and sat back. "There's talk in court that there is a way to win this war quickly and decisively. Is this rhetoric, or is there a working theory amongst some of your generals?"

Shordian scratched at his beard. "General Florence Krakis believes that attacking Alkandra directly could win us the war."

"With a naval assault? Only the Lowlands has that kind of naval power."

"Our cavalry division remains wholly intact and stationed at South Fort to act as reinforcements between there and Mid Fort. The old imperial highway travels from there to Alkandra. The theory is that sending a fast-action invasion force to Alkandra would force the enemy horde into a chaotic inward retreat across the marshland bridges, and we could cut them down as they tried to head off our cavalry."

"You don't agree with it."

"The enemy doesn't have the cavalry to match ours, and they know it. Brock Terdini is no idiot. He will not pursue. He will write Alkandra off as a loss, and invade through the empty South Fort. A contingent would be left behind to head off our cavalry's retreat, and the Highlands would be razed without quarter. Perhaps you could evacuate a thousand people on ships before Bentius was burned to ash."

I sucked on my cigarette, contemplating the idea. Despite what Ternias had said in court, Shordian was not an overly-cautious man. He had sacrificed his own regiment to save the army, and I believed his assessment about Brock, who had gambled his entire horde to bait the Highland generals into a trap. Neither men were fools, and both men were willing to do whatever was necessary.

"This idea is very dangerous, Field Marshal." I said, "If pitched right, it would play right into the nobles' fantasies of a quick and victorious end to the war. How many of your generals agree with Krakis's idea?"

"Around a quarter think favorably of it."

I flicked the ash compulsively. "Silence them or replace them, Field Marshal. I will not have this idea gain legitimacy. Tell Krakis that I want to speak with him personally."

Shordian nodded, and I palmed the glass. I stood up to leave, then stopped myself.

A new sigil appeared on the mirror, one I had never seen before. I drew it upon the glass, and waited. After some time, a face appeared. He was a young boy, no older than ten. He stared at me with a confused expression upon his face. I surveyed him, then his surroundings. My father once said that the greatest talent a diplomat could have was to keep her face passive during moments of great revelation, and so, it was my greatest talent. But in that moment, when the puzzle fell into place, and the path I had sought was finally revealed, I nearly broke. Nearly. The endgame was laid out before me, all the moves made so clear, all the pieces ready to shift at my command. Ah, but what was the most dangerous position to be in when playing chess? Two moves away from checkmating your opponent, because you were never quite sure if your opponent was one move ahead of you.

Caution, Leveria, I thought, and smiled at the boy, know who you are playing.

ZANDER

I was looking up at the tallest man-made structure on Tenvalia. The Jonian Spire was a twisting tower that stood three-thousand feet high. It had taken a full academy of mages forty years to build it. Much like Castle Thorum, it was an engineering miracle carved from necessity. Alkandi had cut off communication between the Lowlands and the Highlands by destroying the mirror relay that spanned the Great Forest. To counter that, the Highlands built the Jonian Spire in the eastern-most part of Jonianas, atop an uplift called Mount Lucia. The mirror that topped the spire could see clear across the neck of the Great Forest, and connect with the mirror that topped the Ardeni palace. There were way too many ancient protection spells for me to even contemplate destroying it, and I wouldn't if I could. This tower was great and unique, and the world be lesser without it, but I wasn't above a little tampering.

I transformed into an eagle, and flew to the top of the tower. In my talons, I clutched an astral gemstone I'd made myself. I flapped to the mirror, got on to the service platform, and transformed back. Careful not to disturb the orientation of the mirror, I placed the gemstone directly beneath its bottom lip, and jumped off the tower. After transforming, landing, and transforming again, I rested my staff against the tower's base, and pulled out the hand mirror I'd brought with me.

Mirrors were two-way instruments, and so I could not listen in on a conversation, only intercept the sender. I could, however, see which specific sigils were active. Few people had access to enchanted mirrors, and even fewer were connected to the international relay. Only the rich and powerful used this tower, and with Yavara cutting off all trade through the Midlands, only the truly powerful used it now.