The Azra-El Series Ch. 19

"Hey, Brija!" he said. "What brings you here? And, you can just call me Blaze."

Brija threw a hesitant glance at the other angel.

"You can leave. Brija is a friend," he said to the Xian. "Also, can you give us some privacy? Er... knock before you come in," he added, hoping that there would be some action.

"Yes, prince."

"Have a seat," he said to Brija, as he tried to get out of his covers.

"No, please rest," Brija said, rushing to a chair, and pulling it over to his bedside.

Blaze settled back into the covers with a sigh. Would it be easier to get her into bed if he was already in it?

"How have you been?" he asked.

"Well. You?" she asked, overlapping her long, tan thighs over one another. He caught a glimpse of something lacy and black.

"Good, I guess..."

Brija had never been an angel of many words, but currently, she seemed a little awkward, and it made Blaze feel the same.

"I did not know you were a princess when I met you at Cali..."

"Neither did I."

"..."

"Why don't you tell me the reason for the visit," Blaze said, after another brief, awkward pause. "You don't have to feel reserved just because you've found out that I am a prince, now."

Brija let out a heavy breath. "My dream is to become a general and fight for Aranya and the Heavenly Union," she said.

"An admirable goal."

"I wish to join the armed forces at some point, but I cannot enlist until I am a hundred. That is another six years away."

"There is no rush, is there?"

"No, but after this tournament, I will have a lot of free time until my final year at the academy. I always wished to visit other countries, including Xian. I am also in need of some money. So, I was wondering if you, in your capacity as a princess, would hire me as your personal guard? I am still only an angel, but I can hold my own against weaker archangels. I do not expect any more pay than a regular soldier. Less is fine, too. I will trust in your judgement," she said, the words rolling out of her mouth in a hurry.

Blaze was a little taken aback. Why would an angel with such potential as Brija want to serve as a mere guard? Was it simply to build a rapport with a princess? Musing, he reached for a jar of water by his bedside.

Brija reached for it before he did, and filled the ceramic cup, before serving it to him. He took it wordlessly and drank, before he spoke.

"Are you spying for Aranya?"

"No!" Brija said, a little too loudly. Blaze did not miss her eyes widening for a tiny moment.

He reached for his copy of the Aranyan Weekly, but once again, Brija went for it first, only to present it to him.

"Stop it. I don't need a servant."

"Sorry," Brija said, glancing down.

Suddenly, Blaze understood why she was being so meek. It was guilt combined with a sense of duty. It was also possible that she was a little affected by her connection to him. "Bottom right of the first page," he pointed at the paper.

If someone was able to get to Brija, it must be someone with a lot of power, he wondered, as she read.

"Oh..." she said dumbly, after finishing the article.

"Who made you do this?"

"I cannot say."

"Look, Brija. Unless you are being coerced by someone, you might as well say it. I just want to pass on a direct message to whoever it is you are working for. As I said, I am also a citizen of Aranya. Is it Princess Kaur?"

Brija struggled with it for a moment. "Princess Ila," she finally said.

Blaze was surprised. Princess Ila was a forty-something-year-old daughter of Princess Kaur, the oldest daughter of the Queen of Aranya. He had met the young angel at her party in Sekat. She had not come across as the scheming type.

"She is quite intelligent, despite her dislike for politics. She does not even want to be a princess, but she realizes that she has an obligation. But, that is why I chose to serve her. She is kind and forthright," Brija defended, noticing the look on Blaze's face.

"But, why does she even want to spy on me?"

"She wanted me to keep an eye on you for a few years, to know where your allegiance truly lies; to see if you would still be amenable to Aranya and its interests."

Wheels began to turn inside Blaze's brain. He never wanted anything to do with politics or royalty, but if he decided on being a prince, he needed to fully embrace all of it. He couldn't pick and choose his responsibilities.

"Do you have a VP that connects to Ila?"

"I do not have it on me, in case something untoward happened."

"That's smart. Okay, tell her this. I am currently unsure if I even want to be a Prince of Xian. However, if I do decide on it, I don't see why the two of us can't work together. I don't have the most amicable of relationships with the Malakim, and I am guessing that the princess doesn't really care for them either. Otherwise, it doesn't make sense for her to seek out my allegiance. Anyway, if things work out, you can be the liaison between us. I would also like to talk to her face-to-face at some point. But, all of this is in the scenario that I do choose the duty of being a prince. If not, I will remain a citizen of Aranya, and a prince only in name."

Brija looked upon him strangely as she tried to memorize his words. "I thought you were just a child... It seems like you have grown quite a bit since we met at Cali, or maybe you have always been hiding behind a façade, just like princess Ila."

"A bit of both, I guess."

"I guess, I will not be visiting Xian with you, then," Brija said, finally giving him a genuine smile.

"I don't see why not," Blaze smiled back. "If I become a prince, I would love to have you as my personal guard. However, you'd also have to swear your allegiance to me."

"I would never betray Aranya."

"I wouldn't ask you to do that, but in all other regards, as long as you work for me, you will have to serve my interests. That includes keeping my secrets, just as you will keep Princess Ila's. Think over it and discuss it with Ila."

"O-okay."

"By the way, does Ila know about my... unnaturality?"

"She does not. I did not see how it would be relevant to the good of Aranya. Also, it was your secret, given to me in confidence."

Blaze let out a breath of relief. He wouldn't have held it against Brija if she had revealed it to Ila. She had no obligation to keep his secret. "That's the sort of thing I'd ask of you, if you work for me," he said.

"Good. I will relay your words to the princess," she said, but gave no indication of leaving or being done.

"Anything else?"

Suddenly, Brija's cheeks turned a shade darker and she began to fiddle with her fingers.

Astrid's hypothesis about how his thing worked on other angels came to Blaze's mind.

"You seem a bit cold," he said, his impishness returning to his face. "Why don't you join me under the covers for a bit.

"I am not cold..."

"Oh, that's too bad. I was hoping I could warm you up a little, like I did at Cali."

Brija finally took his hint. "Oh... Will your folks not be returning soon? It doesn't seem proper to be seen."

Blaze checked the clock on the wall. If Elyssa's opponent was half as good as she was supposed to be, they had at least another twenty minutes.

"I can work very fast," he grinned. "But, just to be safe, place that stool against the door's handle."

Brija followed his instruction and returned to his bed. Trying not to catch his glance, she reached for her dress to disrobe, but Blaze caught her hand and pulled her onto his bed, swiftly dragging her under the covers.

Then he simply lay beside her, resting his head beside hers. "Are you warm now?"

"I guess? What now?"

"Now, we take a fifteen-minute nap," he said, looking at her face with utmost seriousness.

"Er..." she murmured, not knowing what to say.

"I am just kidding," Blaze laughed.

"Kidding?" she asked.

"It means 'joking'."

"You use a lot of strange words. Do you make them up?"

"Sometimes," he replied, reaching for the lock of white hair that had fallen over her cheek. He felt its flax-like texture for a moment, before brushing it past her ear. "Brija," he asked, looking into her guileless green eyes, "what do you feel when you think of me?"

She was surprised by the question, but her eyes quickly narrowed in thought. "I do not know why, but ever since that day, I have felt a sense of closeness and trust for you."

"Is that strange?"

"A little. I can understand the sense of trust, as you are a young Righteous Fury, but I don't understand this closeness. It is almost like you have been dear to me for a long time."

Blaze sighed. Now, he was sure that Astrid's pet theory had some validity. However, he did not wish to use his ability to manipulate angels, at least not anyone as straightforward as Brija. Well, I just have to live up to that trust.

He leaned forward and kissed her.

Unlike her first time, Brija was quick to reciprocate. Her mocha-colored lips were soft, full, and velvety, and Blaze breathed in a deliciously sweet aroma that reminded him of mangoes. Mangoes were a difficult fruit to unravel, but once one learned how to handle them, they were exquisitely sweet and beautifully exotic- just like Brija.

Suddenly, a sharp spike of pain shot through a muscle in Blaze's neck. Wincing in pain, he clutched his cast and turned over on his back. Brija quickly pulled up a pillow and sneaked it under his neck.

"You should rest," she told him gently, but the reluctance on his face was obvious. "Let me try to do this on my own," she said, dragging the covers away and straddling him.

The hem of her white dress drifted up her well-toned thighs, and Blaze couldn't keep his hands away from them. She leaned forward, and holding his head between her hands, she began a deep, lustful kiss. Her long fingers coursed through his red curls, kneading his head.

Blaze hands moved up her thighs, trying to reach her butt, but Brija was seven-feet tall, and his reach wasn't enough. So, he wrapped his arms around her supple waist and began to pull her dress. The hems of the dress dragged over her tight behind, revealing it to the room, but not to his eyes. He began to caress the small of her back, running his fingers along the deep hollow of her spine.

Through the course of the kiss, their bodies began to grow warmer, and their breaths heavier. Finally, Brija decided that she wanted more. She could feel his stiffness through his shorts.

She broke the kiss and rose. Grabbing the hem of her dress, she pulled it off and chucked it aside, revealing her relatively small but beautiful breasts, with large honey-colored areolae and pink nipples. She was wearing black lace panties, which teased Blaze with what lay beneath.

Then, she shuffled back over his thighs and pulled his shorts down, bringing the LCpl back into active duty. He was quite excited to be back and itching to explore another trench.

Brija raised his legs to pull his shorts off, before once again climbing on his thighs.

"Er... your panties," Blaze reminded her, seeing Brija distracted by his member.

"Oh, right," she said, leaning back and pulling down her panties. Blaze helped her to get rid of them in a hurry.

She spread her legs, revealing her puffy, brown lips, and the pink between them. Shuffling towards him, she took his member into her hand and pressed it against her vagina, feeling his firm length against her slit.

"Use your saliva to wet it," Blaze said.

Brija spat on her hand and rubbed it over his length, while still keeping him pressed against her. She felt his heat and couldn't part with it. Her pre-release mixed with her saliva to form a shiny slick coating over his prick.

She glanced at him for confirmation, before raising her hips and lining his member with her crevice. Biting her lower lip, she brushed him across her slit, feeling a little nervous.

"It has to go in, eventually," Blaze commented, sagely.

Brija took a deep breath, and while looking at him with her piercing green eyes, she gingerly lowered herself onto him. Her lower lips parted for his girth and her upper lips oohed. And, just after she swallowed his head, she pulled it out, to try it once more. She liked the feeling of his head spreading her lips.

"You know, I don't mind doing this all day, but we've only got about ten more minutes," he said.

Brija glanced at the clock and looked a little disappointed.

"You know what? I shall include this as one of the perks of working for this peerless prince," he offered, as if he was offering her the best deal of her life.

Unlike most Aranyans, the ingenuous Brija wasn't very clever at making deals. So, she thanked him for his generosity, and descended on his prick.

Their groins kissed, and she placed her hands on his knees to slowly grind back and forth. "Mmh," she groaned as his groin tickled her nub, sending a shiver across her body.

Blaze pulled more pillows under his head, before reaching for her breasts. Brija's body was exceptionally toned, but her breasts were very soft. He began to gently massage them, feeling her areolae, and occasionally giving her nipples a soft pinch.

Every pinch made Brija shiver, as she alternated between rocking and grinding, her body undulating and arching like a bow. Instinctively, Blaze tried to sit up and reach for her beautiful unblemished mounds, but she leaned over him and pushed him down with her hands on his chest.

"You rest, princess," she breathed, hoarsely.

"Prince," Blaze corrected her, giving her a wry grin. He was in no mood to rest, but he didn't mind her taking the lead.

Brija used her hands as leverage to slowly raise her butt and then go down on him. A strange vocalization, which sounded something between a laugh and a moan, escaped her lips, as his dick seemed to tickle some magical spot inside her vagina.

She raised her butt again and went down on him. A similar moan crept out again, this time a little higher pitched. Brija's sparkling, green eyes lit up on the discovery of this new and wonderful sensation.

Did she find her magical G-spot? Blaze wondered. He put his hands behind his head and watched her changing expressions. Simply hearing her voice and watching her blissful face gave him all the arousal he needed. There was something deeply arousing about watching a woman at the height of her pleasure. Brija's constricting walls, which squeezed his dick every time it flicked over the little ridged area inside her vagina, were only an added bonus.

Soon, she began to pick up speed, her butt loudly smacking against his thighs, while their groins thwacked in the wetness between them. Blaze began to feel the urge to blow, but he controlled himself. It wasn't that hard, as that was all he needed to focus on in that moment.

Brija's voice kept getting louder and higher, until she was forced to cover her mouth with her hands, the fear of alerting an attendant or a guard pushing her to stifle the noise she was making. Yet, she still bounced on his dick, using merely the strength of her thigh muscles.

Finally, her body was triggered into an orgasm. She fell on Blaze and clutched his head to her bosom, as pleasure coursed through her body in slow, all-encompassing waves. She shuddered and laughed and came, all at the same time.

Blaze let himself go and burst inside her, shooting streams of pent-up liquid energy to mix with Brija's release.

Once their orgasms subsided, Brija took his face between her hands. High on raw and intense emotion, she began planting kisses over his face as she spoke. "Princess," she kissed, "this is all I need. But, I would appreciate a little money too. I am quite poor."

"Prince." Blaze corrected her absentmindedly, before simply laughing and letting her adore him.

A knock at the door finally brought them out of their little world.

"Just a moment," Blaze shouted, as Brija scrambled off his body.

He quickly pulled his shorts back on, while Brija hastily threw the white dress over herself. Then, she hurried to the door to open it, and Blaze drew the covers back over himself.

Jie Er and Rebecca walked inside with curious expressions on their faces.

"How was the match?" Blaze asked them, quickly.

"It was a fluctuating game, but Elyssa eventually won. She may have lost by points alone, but she managed to break through her opponent's reinforcement, just a minute before the fifteen-minute mark," Jie Er answered.

"What were you doing?" Rebecca asked. The ruffled appearance of the two younger angels wasn't lost on her. Plus, there was that scent in the air.

"Just having a deep conversation about Azra-El politics. Didn't want anyone to drop in on us. Right, Brija?"

"Y-yes!"

"Ivka, you should clean yourself up before you leave. Trust me, you don't want to walk or fly around like that," Rebecca said, pointing at Brija's awkward stance.

That day, Blaze learned that brown-skinned angels could blush just as deeply as light-skinned angels.

oOo

Over the next couple of days, Blaze became very familiar with his room at the Xian embassy, while the rest of the matches of the tournament proceeded without a hitch.

The Xian quickly built a coop for Sky, and he was brought over to the Xian embassy the very next day. Claudis and Tonya visited Blaze along with Sky. Finally free, Sky spent most of the day lying at the foot of Blaze's bed, and eating all the delicacies that the Xian brought for him. And, when night fell, he refused to leave Blaze, digging his claws into the bed as Claudis and Tonya tried their best to take him to his coop.

Nikolett Lovag dropped out of the tournament and vanished, with only the Malakim knowing about her whereabouts. It would've been a lie if Blaze claimed that he did not think about her when he was alone, but he was rarely left alone. There was always someone around, including CG and her mother, both of whom seemed entirely convinced that they were his aunt and cousin by energy. Since Jie Er didn't want to correct them, Blaze didn't bother correcting them, either. Moreover, he had always felt a strange kinship with CG.

Eitani Aziza, the angel from Alkebulan who had bested Siofra in the group stage, won the USMAT final.

On the same day as the USMAT final, the YAMAT candidates had their semifinals. Elyssa won her match against the fourth seed, and Brija managed to pull off an upset against the second seed, an angel of the Caledonian Empire.

Thus, arrived the much-anticipated finale of the tournament. Though there had been much drama around Blaze's match, from a purely martial perspective, the angels had more interest in the YAMAT.

As angels started pouring into the stadium, Blaze, Siofra, and Anastasia Marigold stood by Elyssa, while the students of Tir and the merangels, who had been quick to jump the bandwagon from Blaze to Elyssa, made a ruckus behind them.

"This is only the first of many, Elyssa. Do not worry about the result. Enjoy yourself and fight to your heart's content. Even I have never won a tournament," Anastasia told her daughter.

Elyssa simply smiled and nodded at her mother, but Blaze knew she had to win.

"Ely," he said, taking her hands into his. "I may have lost the USMAT, but I still plan on winning all of my YAMAT tourneys. Perfect record, remember? I don't want to be the only one to have four YAMAT titles."

"Am I a joke to you?" Siofra wryly commented from the side. Siofra's confidence had been growing ever since she befriended Blaze, but her victory over Nikolett did wonders to it. She no longer viewed herself as inferior to Blaze or Elyssa.