88. Rorax
It was early. So damned early. If after the war with Lyondrea ended and she somehow managed to survive it, Rorax was going to sleep in every day for the rest of her life.
Rorax laid back in the bleachers of the arena, her elbows up on the risers behind her, watching Ayres and the prince do their early morning workout. It was almost erotic the way Ayres’s muscles moved under his deeply tanned, tattooed skin as he tried to lay bruises down on his friend.
Jia was lounging next to her, mostly inspecting the fletching on her arrows, but sometimes watching the men train below, albeit with about a third of the enthusiasm as Rorax had.
Jia and Rorax had finished their own work out a half hour earlier but had decided to watch the men for a bit.
“Technique research,” Rorax claimed to her fellow Heilstorm, but at this point Rorax had to admit to herself she wasn’t researching much of anything besides the male anatomy. Her core still ached with the ghost of Ayres’s cock inside her, and her fantasies had gone wild. Last night, after she’d finished her sweet roll, he had walked her back to her room, leaving her only after her lock slid into place.
Now Rorax should go take another bath and go immediately to the library, but the idea was about as appealing as a splinter in the eye. She was exhausted, mentally and physically, and she was getting tired of sitting in the dark, dusty library. Her hopes of finding anything useful dwindled a little more every day and it took more of her willpower to linger down there. If she was about to die, she wanted to spend her remaining moments in the sun.
“Enna wants to come sit with us,” Jia murmured, her gaze locked on something down below. Rorax followed Jia’s line of sight where Enna stood. She was hesitating at the foot of the arena’s steps, her nervous glance flitting from one Heilstorm to the other.
Rorax caught Enna’s eye and jerked her chin, motioning for Enna to come over. Enna visibly swallowed, before slowly walking up the arena steps to greet them.
“Hi,” Enna breathed. She tucked a long strand of hair behind her ear and stood there for a long, awkward second.
“Take a seat, Firebreather,” Jia drawled. “Or walk your sweet ass back down the stairs. You’re blocking my view.”
Enna frowned, but immediately plopped down onto the bench next to Rorax.
“Is it true?” Enna asked, her innocent brown eyes wide and slightly disbelieving. Rorax didn’t say anything, waiting for the woman to elaborate, but Jia beat her to it.
“Greywood is a lot of things, Firebreather, but a mind reader isn’t one of them,” she mocked, making Enna’s light brown cheeks blush.
“Relax Jia,” Rorax admonished, keeping her eyes on Enna, and trying to make her features friendly and comforting. “Is what true, Enna?”
“Is it true that they’re training me so hard, and you’ve saved me so many times . . . so that you can give me the throne to be the next Guardian of the North?”
Jia snickered at the same time Rorax’s eyebrows came down over her eyes in confusion.
Hadn’t Elios already told her the plan? Hadn’t he and Kaiya been preparing her?
“Yes,” Rorax confirmed slowly. “It’s true.”
“Oh.” Enna’s big brown eyes went huge with bewilderment, and she leaned back in shock. “Oh. It all makes so much sense now. But . . . why?”
“Because can you imagine Isgra being the new Guardian? She’d have everyone in the Realms enslaved and making her wine or carrying her around within the week,” Jia snorted.
“A week?” Rorax scoffed. “I have more faith in her than that she could do it in an hour.”
Enna watched their back and forth as they chuckled darkly together before Rorax turned to give Enna her full attention. “I want you on the throne because I think you’re the best. Out of all of us, you are the kindest, most aware, one of the bravest, and one of the most educated. You’re smart, and you will care about what’s best for the Realms and her people.”
Enna swallowed hard, like she had something stuck in her throat. “What about you?”
Rorax’s face darkened. “I’m not worthy.”
Jia made a displeased grunt from behind Rorax. Enna just looked long and hard into Rorax’s eyes; a deep crease formed between her eyebrows until she finally gave Rorax a short nod. “Okay.”
Jia stood abruptly from her seat. Rorax looked up at her from over her shoulder to see a cold look on her friend’s face. “Before that though, we need to find a way to free Rorax from the Choosing, so she doesn’t have to die to give you the throne. So, if you’ll excuse us, we have things to do.”
Jia turned and started stomping her way down the stairs.
“Have I done something to offend her?” Enna asked as they watched Jia’s purple ponytail swish behind her as she descended the stairs.
Rorax sighed out of her nose. “She’s scared I won’t find a way out of the Choosing.”
“Would you really die, if sacrificing yourself was the best thing to do for the Realms?”
The note of disbelief in Enna’s voice made Rorax turn back to the Contestar, her mouth tight. “Yes.”
“Of course. But I guess . . . I guess it’s surprising. Coming from . . .” Enna bit her lip and color bloomed over her light brown skin.
“Coming from the Pup?”
“Yeah.”
“I would do anything for my home, for my house, and for my family.” Rorax meant it now more than ever as she looked from one of Enna’s big brown eyes to the other. Rorax pushed herself up to follow Jia, who was now waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs.
“Come on,” Rorax said, motioning for Enna to follow. They descended the stairs in silence, and as Rorax hit the grass on the ground floor of the arena, she looked up to see Ayres walking towards her. He was still shirtless, and she couldn’t stop her eyes from hungrily drinking in every inch of exposed, tattooed skin.
Gods above, this man was beautiful.
Ayres stopped in front of her, and Rorax jerked her gaze up from the deep gutters of his abdominal muscles to his face. He gave her a little smirk, and her cheeks started to burn.
“I saw your workout with Jia, you’re getting faster in your armor,” Ayres said.
“Thank you, Lieutenant.”
He stepped closer, filling her senses with him as he whispered in her ear. “How long do you think you were staring at me today, Contestar? The full hour I was down here?”
Rorax’s cheeks burned even more but she still rolled her eyes, not bothering to hide a small smile curling up the side of her mouth. “I have eyes, Lieutenant. You not wearing a shirt and expecting me not to look is like bringing me something sweet and then expecting me to share it.”
Ayres smiled down at her like she was absolutely adorable.
Not a grin, or him brandishing his teeth threateningly at her.
A full blown, happy smile.
Bright, unfiltered joy and admiration shone down on her, and his smile felt like the sun was caressing her, or like she was a blind man seeing colors for the first time.
“I didn’t know you could smile like that,” Rorax muttered, slightly awestruck.
Of course, that only made his smile pull at the corners even more, this time with smug satisfaction.
“It seems that I am a man of many talents, Ror.”
Gods, the straight white teeth, the light stubble framing those lips . . .
Ayres winked at Rorax before he turned and walked off the arena field, starting the trek back to the castle.
“Holy shit.” The unadulterated awe in Jia’s voice made Rorax a laugh bubble up in Rorax’s throat. “Holy fucking shit, what was that?”
Rorax tore her gaze away from Ayres’s retreating ass to look at Jia from over her shoulder. She pressed her lips together and raised an eyebrow as if asking her what? But Rorax knew. She fucking knew.
“The first and last time I saw a penis, I threw up,” Jia said, starting to fan her slightly pink cheeks with her hand, her gaze still focused on Ayres. “One smile from that man, and my ovaries just gave the signal that I might need to give cocks a second chance. Gods, he needs to give out warnings before he flashes that thing. He could decimate civilizations.”
Jia continued fanning herself with her hand.
Enna grabbed Rorax’s arm, and they stared at each other for half a beat before they were both bent over at the waist laughing.
“What? Am I wrong?” Jia asked, which only made Rorax laugh harder. Because no, she was not wrong, and gods it felt good to laugh.