Born To Rule

Chapter Twenty-Two

The sound of clashing weapons woke me. I looked out my window to find a dirt paddock and fence in the area behind Sidelle’s personal stables. Neither of which had been there last night. Balis wielded his ax like some fierce and beautiful form of art, and the sight stirred something warm low in my belly. I was tempted to tend to that need myself, but getting a closer look seemed to be way more fun.

I perched on the wooden crossbeams and dipped my chin. “Someone had a busy night.”

But Balis stalked by, still pissed about our plan, and pissed at me for coming up with it. His stare was hard, jaw feathering at the temples, and the brown tips of his hair gleamed with sweat. My gods, how could Eurok be so cruel?

“And here I planned on giving you a gift,” I called.

He stopped with an aggravated halt, then faced me. “What?”

“Testy, are we?” I taunted, then hopped from the fence. I held his glare as I flicked open the top two buttons of my black-lace tunic.

He stared, fists clenching. “We can’t.”

“All that loyalty, and what do you get in return? Punishment.”

“I’m not the one asking to be punished here, princess.”

The growl in his voice did little to deter me.

“No? You mean it doesn’t feel like a punishment when you watch me do things like this?”

His chest heaved faster, as if he wanted to pounce. Whether to stop me or to replace my hands with his, I couldn’t be sure. Regardless, I savored the confliction painting his features as I lifted my leather skirt. My touch traced delicate trails up my thigh, over my holster, then between my legs.

His jaw relaxed, only for his mouth to form a hard line as his emerald eyes tracked my every move. My fingers, glistening from my arousal, charted a course up my body, over the bare skin at my chest, up to my lips. Warmth coiled in my middle, watching him lose the war within himself as I slid my tongue up my finger, then motioned for him to come to me.

With the faintest hint of a smile, a breathy, dark chuckle purred from his throat. My blood roiled, and time danced at the edge of a blade as I waited for him to move.

He stalked toward me, his expression dripping with predatory intention. The fence creaked when he grabbed it, bracing an arm on either side of me. He towered over, my back pressed against the rough wooden panels, utterly consumed by him. And yet, it wasn’t enough. I wanted more.

But his gaze tore away from mine, dropping to our feet. “We can’t,” he repeated.

“Can’t we?”

I slipped a finger under the waistline of his pants, pulling him closer. His expression pinched, tortured, as if denying me was physically painful.

“The way I see it,” I mused, “as soon as I step out onto that field, you are my trainer, my superior.”

He clenched his jaw once more. Something about that word excited him. His cock hardened beneath his dark brown trousers.

“But there’s still a little time.” I flicked the next two buttons on the flimsy blouse, letting my shirt fall open.

“Fuck, Mira,” he growled.

His gaze shot behind me, checking if anyone was around. But only the stillness of morning surrounded us, and I knew I won.

“Once your training begins, though, Eurok is right. We can’t be distracted.”

“If you say so.”

I lifted onto my toes to silence him with my mouth. His fingers tangled in my hair, twisting and gripping hard enough to send shivers over my scalp. He tasted of salt and crisp wind—an intoxicating savor that I lost myself in. If this was to be the last time I had his hands on me, I wouldn’t hold back.

His tongue slid along mine, taking me in like I was the air he was desperate to breathe. I raked my touch up his body, over his chest, memorizing every dip and bulge, every ridge, and valley of those honed, dangerous muscles.

He pulled away, both of us panting. That wicked need I’d been searching for flecked his jade irises.

“So what is this gift you mentioned, princess?”

The heat in his gaze was damn near tangible as I clutched onto the clasp of his belt, tearing at the materials like they were a nuisance. He grasped my wrists, staying my attempt, and my eyes flew to his face. His tongue peeked between his full, soft lips.

“I can’t. No matter how badly I want to.” He lowered his forehead to mine. “No matter how badly my cock aches to feel your pussy pulsing around it as you come. But if I fuck you today, I’m not sure I’ll have the strength to hold back tomorrow.”

He wrapped my hair around his fist and pulled, giving him easy access to my throat. He pressed soft kisses against the sensitive line of my pulse, quickening at his every touch. The contrast of his warm breath and the cool morning sent shivers skittering over my skin.

He tipped his head, finding my gaze. “But–”

The barest flicker of light flared across his gaze as two winding vines caressed my thighs, embracing my curves as gentle as a lover’s touch. They lifted me, tightening around my body as he forced my skirt up, baring my middle to him.

“I’ll be godsdamned if I don’t taste this pussy one last time,” he said. “I’m going to savor the way you tremble against my tongue.” His voice was low, timbered with dark desire. He slid a finger inside of me, coaxing a soft moan from my lips.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” I managed to breathe out, arching my back, my body whining for another touch.

He grinned up at me, a sight so beautiful that I committed it to memory. Then he wrapped his arms around my thighs and tore through me like a rogue wave. My head tipped toward the sky at the first forceful lick against my clit, my body going lax under the binding vines. His tongue and his mana worked me, filling me in every place I ached for it.

My legs quivered, and I dug my fingers through his hair, urging him closer, further, deeper. To my surprise, he let me. No vines restricted my hands as I held onto those brown tendrils, fooling myself into believing I had power here. I bucked my hips, riding out the coiling pressure against his tongue and savoring the grit of his stubble scraping my soft thighs. This would never be enough.

I cascaded toward that brink. His fingers pumped into me at a punishing rate, tongue swirling to gather all the slick need pouring from me, devouring it. I struggled to keep my moans locked down with every panting breath, every nerve centered and pulsing with my building orgasm. It threatened to break past my lips.

Balis reached up in a flash, cutting off the sound at my throat. His eyes narrowed in warning. I challenged him with a mischievous smirk, and he squeezed. The sweet pressure of his fingers digging into my skin sent another torrent of pleasure. My body trembled against his tongue—just as he promised.

Dizzy from the mind-numbing wave he just coaxed from me, my chest heaved, legs shaking, as his vines eased me onto my feet. I drew a deep breath as the tide receded. Gods, I needed to make him feel this way—taste him on my own tongue. It was all I could think about.

I tore at the buckles and clasps of his gear and belt, letting them fall to the ground with muffled thuds. I sank to my knees and pulled down his pants. The length of his cock sprang free.

“It’s so fucking hard,” I said, peering up at him, stroking his satin skin, and running my thumb over the precum dripping from the tip.

The faint glow of his mana tracked through his veins as I dragged my thumb down the length of him, then back up.

He fell forward, bracing a hand against the fence, cupping my cheek with the other. “That’s what you do to me, princess.”

His touch slid to the nape of my neck, fingers gripping the hair at the base of my skull as I ran my tongue from base to head. I held his gaze, giving him something to miss on a lonely night.

“Fuck.” A tremor rolled through him. “You’re not gonna make this easy, are you?”

With my tongue still dangling at his tip, I shook my head. Then I took his cock into my mouth, forcing him down my throat.

The way he gripped the fence, like boiling madness, told me he wrestled with restraint, resisting the urge to force himself deeper. I would have let him.

I increased my efforts, sucking and licking him until he could hardly stand. A crack splintered behind me, the fence shattering beneath his grip—a reminder that his control was necessary after all.

I pulled away, my eyes watering from both the stretching ache in my jaw and the lack of air, but his head snapped down at me.

“Don’t you dare stop, princess. I’ll wreck this whole fucking arena if I want to. Put my cock back in your mouth.”

That demand had me clenching my thighs, my arousal buzzing again. I laughed, opening wide and resuming to take him in.

“Good girl.”

The first involuntary jerk in his movements told me he was getting close to that blissful edge. A red-hot swell of pride bloomed at the thought of bringing this powerful warrior to this point, of affecting him this way.

I dipped low and stayed there this time, working him with my tongue until the head of his cock pulsed. His whole body tightened above me, the warmth of his come coating my throat. Another splintering crack laced the air and a fence post fell beside me, rattling the earth below my knees. Unflinching, I swallowed, the motion making him pull back, unsteady.

He blew out a sharp breath, grinning at me as I stood, buttoning my shirt.

“You really will be my worst punishment yet.”

Then he took me in his arms for a final kiss.

My legs were about to fall off. Balis, who seemed as if he barely worked off his breakfast, sauntered beside me. We had our first training session after our morning discussion, in mutual agreement that it might be the most productive practice we’d have for a while. At least until we got used to being around each other without wanting to rip the other’s clothes off. It’d be difficult, considering how few shirts he seemed to own, but I figured I would do my best to respect his and Eurok’s wishes. For now.

I fingered through the selection of daggers on the training racks. A new blade was a priority. So far, none that I currently carried nor found here at Sidelle’s would make up for the loss.

“So,” Balis began, “there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask.”

“Mmhmm?”

“Why didn’t you tell me who Eurok and Sidelle thought you to be?” he asked.

I paused, lifting a brow. “That’s kind of obvious, isn’t it?”

“No, not really. You shared some pretty personal things, and I never felt like you were holding back. But with this, it seems like you did.” His tone wasn’t accusatory, rather a casual observation.

I debated the short version, telling him, ‘I just didn’t want to.’It was bratty, of course, but with anyone else, I wouldn’t have cared. I would have thrown up those walls and waited for whomever was asking to tire and leave. But Balis? He had a way about him that made restraint difficult. He was perceptive and irritatingly persistent—enough so that he’d never buy my shallow answer, nor would drop the subject.

So I gave him the most honest answer I could think of. “Sometimes, I don’t like the way she looks at me.” I tried to sound more indifferent than I knew myself to be.

“Sidelle?”

I nodded.

“I saw it in her the day I left. It’s like she’s waiting for me to disappear—for Annorah to surface.” I paused, wanting to continue, but stopped myself.

Somehow saying, ‘And I didn’t want to see the same look in your eyes.’felt like crossing an emotional line in the sand that would cause more harm than good at this point.

His face fell like he sensed I held back again, but then the corner of his mouth lifted in a half-smile. I almost expected him to lift a hand and place it against my cheek, but he didn’t.

“We’ve survived nearly a thousand years without Annorah, but I’m not so sure we’ll survive another thousand without you, Mira.”

My heart pounded. His words flooded my mind, but the effect was immediately dimmed by the weight on my chest, like an anvil forcing the breath from my lungs. The pressure of fulfilling others’ expectations was becoming more pronounced and difficult to bear.

I never wanted this—recognition, responsibility.

I lived in a world where I was better left faceless, hidden in plain sight from both targets and other bounty hunters. Keeping myself alive was hard enough in those first few years. I wasn’t in a hurry to add others’ lives to the mix.

But since my mana had shown itself, somehow, the idea of being a part of all this had rooted itself in my soul. And though I still didn’t believe I was Annorah’s reincarnation, Eurok’s words from last night were sinking in. Fate has a funny way of finding us, no matter how far we run from it.

What if I could do some good here?

A serene wave washed through my body. I paused for a breath before realizing it was Balis’ energy. Those smooth, icy tendrils from last night gave way to firm, sturdy crests. Still cool, but more like the dampness of the earth than of dry silken sand. But still, undoubtedly, Balis.

“Well,” I started toward the house, unwilling to let him see how his words affected me, “I don’t seem to have much of a choice in the matter.”

He chuckled and fell into step beside me, gravel crunching beneath our feet as we trekked up the hill.

“Venomous even when touched by a tender hand.”

I rolled my eyes, letting the jeer die between us, and rubbed at the sore muscles of my upper thighs. They complained in heavy knots as the incline grew steeper. I bet Eurok’s healing could spare me from this radiating ache.

I was growing more accustomed to the convenience of mana, though learning to wield it myself was another story. Thank the gods, my mana flared while on Vylandrian soil. There was no end to the trouble this power could’ve gotten me into had I continued with my plan to leave. And I doubted I’d learn to control it, much less use it, without these druids’ help. But as badly as I wanted to tell myself that was the sole reason for me being here. It wasn’t.

Perhaps the water from the Star Hewn caused this shift in me. Or maybe it was sharing energy with the earth for the first time, the way it responded on that lakeshore. Whatever it was, something in me had snapped into place. When I saw those flowers, all those fleeting things that made me human seemed to take a sigh of relief. Because despite how jaded or broken I’d become on those streets, how ghastly my soul came to be—I wanted to belong here.

We walked the rest of the way in silence, and I reached for the door but stopped before opening it.

“I will do whatever it takes to find that journal.” I leveled with him. “Whether Sidelle knows it or not, her mission is now mine, too. None of this has been easy for her, either.”

“Which part?”

I thought for a moment. “If this king is as bad as he sounds, probably the last fucking nine hundred years.” I pushed open the quarter’s door and strolled through.

The place seemed empty as I headed to the bar cart. I poured myself some always-cold water from the pitcher. As it cascaded down my throat, coolness spread through my empty stomach. I turned, still holding the glass to my mouth, and noticed Balis’ curious stare.

“What?”

“What do you mean, you’ll do whatever it takes? You already mentioned your plan to seduce him into talking about the ash weapons and poachers, but how far are you willing to go? You wouldn’t actually fuck him, would you?”

I wiped my mouth on the back of my hand. “I need to get into his private office alone. What would you recommend?”

“You would give yourself to him, just like that?”

“It’s not the first banner I’ll be waving, but yes, Balis. It’s just sex.”

I attempted to laugh off his unflinching stare, refusing to disturb these last few moments of normalcy before he strictly became my trainer. This was a side of me he hadn’t seen before, and his ambivalence toward it was obvious.

While hunting, I did what I had to do, and sometimes that meant giving myself over to the most primal parts of a man for information. It wasn’t something I had to do often, but the only thing that mattered was success. The idea that someone would actually care what happened to my body in some virtuous way was laughable to me. So it surprised me to see him physically darken at my words.

I made one more attempt to lighten the mood with humor. “You can’t convince me you don’t enjoy a random fuck here and there. Not with those skills I just experienced. And if you haven’t, then I might consider that a crime to society.”

Balis was having none of it. His jaw ticked. “This isn’t some random fucking stableboy you use to get your rocks off, Mira. He’s a snake in the grass—a dangerous one. He’s our enemy.”

“You think I don’t know that? I saw that slaughtered village, too. I’m well aware of who the enemy is.” My brisk stride closed the distance between us. “And maybe you don’t realize this because you’ve never had a pussy, but I guarantee you it’s the only thing a king like Atreus hasn’t warded against.”

There was no give in his expression. Without another word, he turned on his heel and stormed out of the quarters. He let the door slam shut, rattling the sconces and punctuating his disapproval.