19
The steady incline on the road made me grateful I was riding a horse rather than walking alongside one of the supply wagons. Even the seasoned warriors were red-faced and huffing by the time we paused for a break. The horses’ hides were sweat-soaked, and thankfully, we’d been able to lighten the load for them since we left Osijek so we weren’t forcing them to pull an overstuffed cart for the miles and miles that remained between us and Uzhhorod.
Pulling from my waterskin, I allowed the cool liquid to wash over my tongue and renew my strength. The air was thinning rapidly along our ascent, only worsening the breathlessness of the footsoldiers.
“Jaku,”
I called out to the passing Százados, “where will we stop tonight?”
He approached, giving my horse’s neck a pat before turning north. “You see that flat bit over the next hill?”
“Yes,”
I replied, squinting and following the direction of his finger.
“There should be enough room for all of us if we pack in tight. We might have to double up on tents, but we’ll see when we get there,”
he commented. Glancing around at those under my charge, he nodded. “You’re doing good work, Vagach. I am grateful you’re under my command.”
His words shocked me and I barely managed to keep my face neutral. “Thank you, Százados.”
I offered him a respectful salute, which he returned before turning to walk back toward the front.
Pride bloomed in my chest as I looked at the males, wondering how I’d changed so much since our departure. The confidence I used to possess before my marriage had returned, and though I had to be harsher than I wanted to be with them as Vagach, they had come to respect my command. I’d dug us out of one situation after another to earn it in addition to putting in equal efforting alongside them in training. We’d learned to work together as a small unit, along with Izgath’s, especially after the times we’d had to dig a wagon out of the mud, or the treacherous river crossing that left one with a broken wheel.
The Incubus drew my attention as he approached on horseback. Once he was close enough, he dropped his voice low. “Do you have enough magic to push the wagons forward if needed?”
A momentary perusal of my magic well was all it took to know that I had the barest amount to spare. And with the possibility of a bed partner that night, I couldn’t risk overextending myself. So I shook my head. “Jaku mentioned that our stopping place does not have a lot of room, so we might have to double up.”
“We’ll share, then you don’t have to worry about using your magic or waking before me to conceal your identity. Assisting the wagons might be the only thing that gets us to the crest anyway,”
Izgath said grimly.
After our interaction in the fallen house and the moments of intense tension since, the thought of sharing a confined space with Izgath sent a shiver through me—though if it were lust or fear, I wasn’t sure. Perhaps it was both. The male had demonstrated time and time again since his promise to protect me that he would. Priestess Anara’s warning rang out in the back of my head, but since my world had opened like a blooming rose, some beliefs I’d long held wilted.
Maybe I can trust him with my body too.
“Okay,”
I breathed, and then I cringed at how wrong it sounded coming from Vagach.
To be out of this form permanently will be a gift.
Heat bloomed in my core, licking its way up my spine and settling itself around me like a lazy tendril of smoke. As I held Izgath’s gaze, I wondered if I’d even be able to slip away into the night, never to see him again. A moment stretched between us, then two, before I tore myself away and turned toward the road again.
I busied myself studying the landscape, still acutely aware of Izgath’s presence beside me. From this vantage point, the Vago River was visible in the distance, growing fainter the higher we climbed into the Skala Mountains. The area was breathtaking, and after living so long on the grassy plains, a welcome change.
“Move out!”
Jaku called in the distance, and everyone in the squad rose or took a step forward. The drivers of the wagons commanded their horses onward, and with a groan, the wheels rolled their burdens toward the packed dirt road once again. Izgath and I fell into line behind the two slowest ones, whose horses seemed to struggle the most with the incline. I called out to a few of the males in my unit to hang back, keeping my attention firmly on the one in front of me.
Each revolution of the wheel was slower than the last, and as I was forced to lean forward into Blaeze to keep my balance, I understood how steep the road had gotten in such a short time.
“Prepare yourselves to call on your magic,”
I shouted at my companions. They said nothing, merely nodding their confirmation as they too struggled to breathe. Guilt panged in my gut from my position atop Blaeze, but I couldn’t let my thoughts drift, not when reaching the crest of this hill was paramount.
The wagon stuttered, and I immediately pulled shadows forth and shoved them against the flat back panel. The males around me threw up their hands and contributed more, offering the beasts at the front a reprieve. Blaeze halted, and sweat poured down my neck and back from the exertion.
One of the drivers shouted something indecipherable, and I wasn’t sure if his words were meant for us or for the horses. So I poured more into it, hoping to give them the nudge they needed to continue because my well was running dangerously low. The wood groaned as it moved again, bouncing over a rock in the road, but it kept rolling.
“Keep pushing,”
I gritted out, sparing a momentary glance to the males walking and wielding.
No one relented on their magic, though each poured sweat faster than I was. Tunics clung to chests as they dug one foot into the ground, then another, fighting the uphill battle as much as the horses. On my other side, Izgath and his charges fared no better. The wooden boxes in front of me blocked my view, but it was unlikely that the wagons ahead of us ascended with any more ease.
What seemed like such a short distance from our perch on the side of the road now felt like an eternity. My every thought, every ounce of energy I possessed, was focused on one more revolution, one more step, one more drop of magic.
Should these horses and our magic fail, we’d be crushed beneath the weight instantly, helpless as the wagon continued to tumble down the side of the mountain. Moving off to the side would force me to twist in the saddle, putting even more pressure on Blaeze’s ascent.
Shouts rang out from ahead, but I ignored them. The shadows slipping from my palms were graying, and the tiniest bit of my crafted form slipped away.
“Vagach!”
“Vagach!”
“VAGACH!”
On the third ring of my dead husband’s name, I recognized Izgath’s voice. Whipping my head to the side, I caught his worried gaze. His garnet eyes roamed from my face to my hands and back. “We’re almost there.”
I nodded, needing to save every drop of energy for my magic. Izgath shouted at two of his males to assist me, and tears nearly sprang to my eyes. The two angled themselves in my direction, not difficult when Izgath’s wagon was moving faster than ours. More inky shadows mingled with the rest, and I allowed mine to fall away, chest heaving. But my breathlessness would do no one good.
“Just a little further,”
I called out. It was as much an encouragement for myself as it was for the males pouring magic into a forceful wall behind the wagon.
“I see it!”
one of Izgath’s soldiers shouted.
The driver steered the supply wagon to the right, and the males automatically shifted the placement of their magic to support that side, maintaining the forward momentum. Within a few revolutions, we flattened out, and the wagon jolted, the horses still pulling with all their might. They slowed to a crawl, and I pulled back on Blaeze’s reins, stopping him while I surveyed what we had accomplished.
From this plateau to the one below, the road appeared to be vertical. How the wagons descended without crushing the horses was a mystery, but I was grateful to have summited without incident.
Dromak and Uzadaan directed the wagons to form a perimeter around the chunk of land we’d sleep on that night, while others pulled supplies from the stationary ones and arranged places to eat and places to sleep.
Izgath was among the ones pitching tents. I dug my heels into Blaeze’s side and directed him through the throng of males, trying to reach him and rush the process along. Already, my feet were shrinking in the boots, and if it weren’t for the muscle I had developed from riding all these weeks, I likely would have lost both. I gripped my mount’s belly like my life depended on it.
Because it did.
Izgath must have sensed my rising panic, because he doubled his efforts as I stumbled to the ground. “Get inside,”
he hissed, using his shadows to raise the canvas.
“Sure, I can handle the poles inside the tent,”
I said a little too loudly and hobbled inside, leaving my horse aimless among the chaos. Izgath tossed them to me, then allowed the flaps to close behind them. I dropped my magic immediately while also fixing the poles so Izgath wouldn’t have to drain himself any more than necessary.
Within moments, the tent stood sturdy and strong, and I breathed a sigh of relief. From outside, Izgath’s voice drifted in, along with the din of a settling-in camp. “I’ll take care of Blaeze and bring you some food. Try to rest.”
“Thank you,”
I whispered back, hoping only he heard me. Though with the increasing volume and the others’ proximity, I wasn’t sure my words reached him.
Heeling out of my boots, I readied the tent for occupancy for both of us, unrolling the mats we’d sleep on, spreading blankets over them, and scooting bags out of the way so there was room to move. At least the tents offered to the Vezet? were larger. Those belonging to the recruits were barely large enough for one male, let alone two. And with my small frame, my head did not brush the ceiling, though Izgath’s did, and he normally had to duck to move about. Jaku’s tent was the only one tall enough to move freely.
When Izgath finally returned, he carried two plates piled with food. The smell assaulted my nostrils and elicited a loud growl from my stomach. I pressed my lips together to hide the laugh that wanted to bubble free. Grasping the edge of one of the flaps and stepping out of view, I freed space for Izgath to enter without disturbing his prizes. Then, I secured it in place again.
“Thanks,”
he said, offering a plate to me. I accepted it with a nod. Understanding settled in his garnet eyes as he too heeled off his boots and settled cross-legged on the floor. “If you speak in a whisper no one should be able to hear you,”
he told me. “It’s pretty loud out there.”
I mirrored his position and rested the plate in my lap. “Are you certain?”
Chewing on a strip of dried meat, he nodded.
My chest loosened, and I tucked into my food as well, too hungry to converse. In minutes, both Izgath and I had finished our meals, and my stomach protested when I swallowed my last bite. “I needed that,”
I admitted, rubbing my belly.
“If you need more, let me know and I’ll get it for you. I told Dromak and Uzadaan you were worn out after that last push so you wouldn’t train tonight. Though they were thinking about skipping anyway. No one fares well at this part in the road. Better to rest and acclimate than push the recruits too hard.”
“Can you really call us recruits anymore?”
I grinned, settling the plate close to the entrance and then lying on my side. I propped my head on my closed fist, my attention never leaving Izgath.
“Perhaps not,”
he replied. “You certainly don’t fight or behave like freshlings anymore. In fact, most of the villagers from Stryi took to army life faster than I presumed.”
“That’s because we’re used to hard labor. The capital has to get its food from somewhere.”
With my free hand, I played with the end of my braid and the leather strip that bound it in place. Izgath’s eyes snapped to it, then roamed over the curves of my body before returning to my face.
“You truly are a beautiful female, Assyria,”
he said, a smoothness to his words that had become almost as comforting as the scent of Bordova roses.
Heat bloomed across my skin despite the colder air in the mountains. Izgath set his plate to the side, then mirrored me in his position on the ground. His garnet eyes reflected the lust and apprehension in my burgundy ones.
“Thank you,”
I whispered, gaze drifting to where my fingers twisted in my hair.
“Ever since we left Stryi, I’ve felt this…draw to you. At first, I thought it was because my magic read strangeness from you. But now that I know the truth, I wonder if it’s the Fates pushing us together,”
Izgath murmured. “We’re not mates. The bond would have been sealed the moment our eyes locked. And yet there is an undeniable pull from me to you. Don’t you feel it?”
“Yes,”
I breathed, because it was true. “The Fates…who knows their plans for me, for us, for you. I’d always thought that the Reaper had cursed me with Vagach for a husband, but now, I’m starting to think the Weaver has a different path in mind for me.”
Vagach was merely a stepping stone to put me on this insane trajectory, hurtling toward a war that had felt like a distant story more than anything. Maybe, just maybe, I wasn’t meant to be the wife of a Kormánzó and fill my womb with offspring. Plenty of the girls from my village aspired to have a brood of their own and a loving husband. Many accomplished that and were utterly, blissfully, sickeningly happy. I wanted that feeling for myself. Perhaps my destiny waited beyond what I’d always been told was my purpose, and all I needed to do was stretch out and claim it.
“Tell me what you want, Assyria.”
Izgath scooted ever so slightly closer.
My heart skipped a beat. Izgath’s magic must have been stronger than Priestess Anara warned us, because suddenly I wanted nothing more than to spill all my darkest secrets to him, to have him touch me like Dromak had touched the fallen female.
I’d been instantly attracted to Izgath, and then as we worked together over the past weeks, I’d only grown more interested. After he discovered me bathing, that had only intensified, on both our parts. And then our encounter in Osijek. Day by day, this tension had grown between us, and in this moment, I was poised on the precipice of falling into him.
But could I do it? Could I trust him?
I sucked in a breath as my gaze collided with his. “I’m not sure what I want, or how to do it,”
I whispered, my own voice sounding so foreign after disuse.
“Let me guide you,”
Izgath purred, closing the remaining distance between us. I jerked when his fingers brushed against the bare skin of my throat and then trailed down to the buttons on the front of my shirt.
“Okay,”
I breathed, nodding. Every place his fingers brushed my skin was like fire, and so slowly, the fabric fell away, revealing the swell of my breasts. My nipples peaked against the band that bound them, drawing Izgath’s attention, as the shirt fluttered to the floor. But when he swept his gaze to mine again, my breath hitched.
“You are the most exquisite female I’ve ever seen, Assyria. I don’t give compliments like that lightly. You saw where we were in Osijek. I’ve been to many of them. But never have I felt so inexplicably drawn to someone as I am to you.”
His fingers brushed the skin above my navel, trailing up the center of my chest until they worked around the back of my neck and twisted in my braid.
“Are you certain it’s not your magic?”
I managed to wring out, heart working in overdrive. His face drifted closer, and my eyes were drawn to his lips.
“I’m certain,”
he said, his breath ghosting over me and causing a shiver. “I know the difference between lust and divine attraction.”
Unconsciously, I’d tangled my fingers in his shirt. The heat from his body radiated into mine, and he groaned, long and low. His hand splayed across my lower back, then tugged me closer so my bound breasts brushed against the hard planes of his chest.
With his free hand, he wrapped up my braid and directed my head to the side, his nose trailing down my neck to the crook of my shoulder. “Izgath,”
I panted, not quite sure what I was asking for.
He smiled against my shoulder, teeth scraping it ever so slightly. “Assyria.”
My name in his mouth was decadent.
A tendril of that sensual magic caressed the bare parts of me, and I bit down on my lip to stifle a moan. Izgath lowered his lips to my ear. “It is best that you keep as quiet as you can.”
I nodded, and Izgath withdrew. He guided me upright until we knelt in front of each other. Izgath unfastened his leather armor, tossing it to the side, and then pulled the white tunic beneath it over his head, revealing those cut abs that I couldn’t help but admire every time we ran.
“Fates,”
he groaned, eyes roaming my body. “Lie on the bedroll.”
Hesitantly, I rose, glancing between Izgath and the pile of blankets on his side of the tent.
As if he sensed my hesitation, Izgath grasped my hand in his and tugged. “We stop when you want to stop. My magic senses everything sexual about a person, and I feel your nervousness.”
Swallowing, I nodded. “I am a bit nervous, yes. I want this. I just…”
“You haven’t been with anyone besides Vagach,”
he stated.
I nodded again.
Blowing out a breath, he reached out for my other hand and back stepped toward the makeshift bed. “Trust me to make you feel good. Tell me to stop if it gets to be too much. I promise we won’t couple tonight.”
Confusion dipped my brows together. “But that’s what I’m for? To bear children. Why wouldn’t you want that opportunity, especially with my power?”
Izgath reclined on the blankets, resting his head on the small pillow, then tugged me on top of him so I straddled his waist. “Because I know the risks of you, of us, getting caught. And because now is not the time for children. There will be plenty of time once we’ve slaughtered the Angels and made homes in their land.”
“But why would we—if we’re not going to?—”
Izgath moved his hands to my waist, then rolled his hips beneath mine, digging his hardness into my center. I pressed my lips together to smother a gasp. “Coupling is about more than children. It’s about pleasure, too. Though I’m sure your priestess did not teach you that, being female.”
The tip of his finger touched the bottom of my chin, lifting it from where I had been ogling his abs. “Trust me.”
“Okay,”
I whispered, chest heaving. Without warning, he flipped us so that I was flat on my back beneath him, hands pressed to his chest. For a moment, his face gave way to Vagach’s and I tensed, sucking in a sharp breath.
Izgath smoothed my hair back and crooned, “You’re safe with me, Assyria.”
Nodding, I forced myself to unwind. Izgath’s muscles rippled as he languidly lowered himself. His face hovered over mine, lips so close I could easily lift my chin and kiss him.
My eyes drifted closed as that soft sensation swept across my skin. I moaned, long and low, body arching of its own accord when it swept up my thighs. “Let my magic envelop you,”
Izgath purred, his hot breath pulling goosebumps to my skin. He planted a featherlight kiss on my collarbone. Warmth bloomed from the spot, spreading through my body like a lazy river, taking all tension lingering in my muscles with it. By the time it reached my toes, I was relaxed in a way that I’d never been, well, ever in my life. I wanted nothing more than to remain in this blissful state for eternity.
Then his lips met with mine.
The kiss wasn’t earth shattering, but rather a slow, sensual build like a thunderstorm rolling in from the distance. The first few passes of his lips against mine were teasing, exploratory. The tendrils of his magic pressed against my skin, eliciting a shiver, and then something between us broke. His hands slipped beneath me, one on my lower back and the other on the back of my neck, crushing me against him. A low whimper escaped me unbidden, and then he stole it from my mouth with an insistent swipe of his tongue.
I’d never been kissed with such passion, and I lost myself to the taste of smoky herbs on his tongue, the heady scent of his musk, and the heat from his touch. My tongue twined with his in a natural dance, and with a masculine groan, he sucked my lower lip into his mouth and then released it with a pop.
“Wrap your legs around my waist, Assyria,”
he instructed in my ear, the smoothness of his voice making me tremble in the most delicious way. I did as he bid, feeling his hardness against my core. A small gasp left me as he kissed the spot below my ear and ground into me.
Already, I enjoyed this moment of intimacy far more than any time with Vagach.
Tilting my head, I silently requested more of Izgath’s lips on my neck. He obliged, planting slow, languid caresses along its length. Beneath my palm, his heart pounded, increasing its pace like that of a horse breaking into a gallop. Those strong hands released me, coming to brace on either side of my head. With the newfound space, his tongue traced a path to the swell of my breasts.
I tipped my head back and savored every touch.
Fingers skimmed along my ribs, finding the knot I’d tied in the strip of fabric and giving it a tug. In moments, the band loosened, slipping away and revealing my breasts. Izgath cursed, and I lifted my head, finding him staring with rapt fascination.
Then, his eyes met mine. “May I?”
“Yes,”
I breathed, moving my hands from his chest to his sculpted shoulders to give him more room.
A hunger pierced his gaze, and without hesitation, he dropped his head to one nipple and sucked it into his mouth. He anticipated the noise I would make better than I did, for not a second after, he slapped a hand over my mouth, stifling my cry. His eyes glittered with amusement.
“I’ll try to be quiet,”
I whimpered around his hand, but the sound came out more muffled than anything.
He released the nipple with a drag of his teeth, then slowly removed the bind from my mouth. “How I wish I didn’t have to muffle your cries, Assyria. You deserve to sing your pleasure to the world.”
My core dripped with those words. Involuntarily, I ground against the hard length pressing into it. Izgath’s eyelashes fluttered with the movement, and his chin tipped up as he inhaled sharply. “Do you like that?”
I whispered.
“Very, very much,”
he groaned, the sound rumbling and low and fueling my desire to continue to move like that.
So I repeated the motion, again and again, while Izgath grabbed the back of my head and crashed my lips against his. My sensitive nipples brushed against his hard chest. Our tongues battled and fought for space with one another, and the exchange of air between us made my head swim. Every nerve was thrumming under his touch. His magic deepened as my pleasure heightened.
Izgath broke our kiss far too soon. Looking up at me with pupils so large they almost blotted out his garnet irises, Izgath said, “Tell me when to stop.”
“Don’t stop,”
I pleaded, body brimming with tension. My mouth popped open in a silent cry as he ground into me, muscles flexing where he braced them on either side of my head.
Lowering himself, he hovered over my breasts, watching me as he flicked his tongue over one, then the other. When he’d wetted them thoroughly, he blew cold air across them, eliciting a smattering of goosebumps across my skin. Then, he set to work on them, sucking, tugging, licking, nipping, until I was a puddle of pleasure beneath him. Dromak hadn’t taken a third of the time Izgath had to pleasure the fallen female in Osijek, and Fates, I never wanted Izgath to stop.
My thighs were slick and my core throbbed with need in a way I’d never imagined possible. “Izgath,”
I whispered, the sound so filled with need, and yet I did not care.
He stilled, then lifted his gaze to meet mine. A noise of protest slipped out of me. “Yes?”
“I want more,”
I panted, body so taught it might snap at any moment.
A grin settled across his features. “More what?”
“Pleasure.”
I grasped one of his hands and moved it toward my center. He ground into me once, hard, and my eyes rolled to the back of my head. Then he left me bereft, sitting back on his heels. Heat swept across my chest and cheeks as he remained still, an expression of something I couldn’t quite place on his face. “Did I do something wrong?”
I asked, brows dipping into a frown.
“No, Assyria. I am in awe of you.”
Without dropping my gaze, he reached for the waist of Vagach’s pants, loose now that they were around my own hips. Grazing his thumbs against my heated skin, he tugged them down, stopping momentarily so I could lift my rear and help him remove them completely. “How Vagach could have caged such a beautiful creature is beyond my comprehension.”
Bracing his hands on either side of me, he dropped his lips to the bone and kissed it. My breath hitched as he repeated the action on the opposite side. Then, he dropped his mouth lower, hovering it so his breath brushed against my dripping center. “So wet, Assyria. I bet I could make you come with a curl of my finger. Tell me,”
he paused, looking up at me, “have you ever orgasmed before?”
“No,”
I breathed, so filled with want that I wouldn’t relax again until this tension inside me broke.
A rumble threaded with disappointment vibrated in his chest. “We will have to change that.”
Air stuttered in my chest.
One hand shifted and traced a fiery path along the outside of my thigh before dipping between and trailing up to my center. It passed through the slickness and stopped before the spot I really needed it. “Do you want me to touch you here?”
He brushed my slick folds with the barest of touches.
“Yes,”
I stuttered out somehow.
I could almost feel his grin against my skin. He traced a featherlight path up to my clit.
“Oh!”
I gasped as he pressed. My hips bucked at the flood of sensation. Rather than continue to touch me there, his hand drifted higher and settled me down.
“Quiet now,”
he hummed, and then he rested his hands on the sensitive skin inside my thighs and spread my legs wider. My core clenched as his hot breath brushed across it. His fingers crept closer until they swiped at the wetness gathered there.
Another wave of Izgath’s magic swept over me, and I relaxed again with a sigh. Using two fingers, he parted me, and then one slipped inside. Air fled me as he pushed into the third knuckle and curled it before dragging it all the way out again.
I bit my lip as he continued the motion, legs trembling as pleasure built and built. Then, his thumb pressed into my clit, and bliss burst from the motion, filling me with a trillion tiny stars. But Izgath didn’t stop, didn’t let me gather myself. I lost all sense of time or reason as he wrung every ounce of my first orgasm from me.
“Izgath,”
I panted, finally returning to my body and realizing I’d twisted my fingers in his blankets in an attempt to ground myself.
He grinned against me, then rose, wiping his mouth. “I’d say that was a long time coming.”
I was molten but quickly cooling into a mushy goo. Every muscle in my body was limp, and exhaustion pulled at every fiber of my being. I blinked up at Izgath and that triumphant grin he wore. “It was incredible.”
He huffed a laugh, then shuffled around so he rested behind me. An arm draped over my waist, pulling me flush. His hardness dug into my back, but he made no move to relieve it in any way.
“Don’t you want to–”
I began, but he cut me off with a nip on my shoulder.
“No, you’ve had enough fun for one day. Can’t give you everything all at once or you’ll tire of me, Assyria.”
The way Izgath said my name sent a shiver skittering across my skin. His voice caressed that word much the same as his magic had caressed my skin.
I huffed a laugh, eyes growing heavy. “Thank you, Izgath. For everything.”
If he responded, I did not know, for sleep sank into me the moment the final word slipped past my lips.