Chapter 4 #2
Like rubbing at an old wound, Deyvid wondered what it felt like to be blessed by a god or goddess.
It must have happened to him back when he was still young, before he’d been turned into a High Harrier.
But he couldn’t remember the sensation. Was it warmth?
Was it love? Was it light? Was it a refreshing chill that spread through your body, like dipping yourself into a cool spring?
He wished he knew, but that was impossible now.
He moved on to the second pack, then the third.
That one actually might have revealed something of interest—a map, or at least he interpreted it as a map.
There were no recognizable features on it, but when Deyvid stared at the dots that decorated the piece of paper, the part of his brain that recognized patterns immediately correlated them to distances that they had traveled, and people they had fought in each location.
One group, two, three, four … and one left, just to the north.
Five blinds, five locations, where mages from Mersaighe were wreaking havoc in Riyale.
Just one group left.
“What have you found?” a cool, feminine voice asked from behind him.
Deyvid turned to look at Lise. He liked her, insofar as he could like any of these people given the ancient enmity between them.
Lise was calm and controlled, the opposite of the man who was immediately above her in rank.
Deyvid hoped that by the time this was all over, Prince Petur would have learned better what made a good second-in-command.
“I think it’s a map,” he said, holding it out to her. “Take a look.”
Her gaze was curious as she peered at it. “How so? Wait, ah, no, I see it now. It’s possible.” She got to her feet. “Let’s show this to the prince.”
“Go ahead,” Deyvid told her.
She raised one eyebrow. “You don’t wish to come with me? This is your discovery, after all.”
“Not much of a discovery,” Deyvid said with a shrug. “Anyone who had gone through these packs would have found it.”
“No one else could have gone through those packs without losing a finger, most likely,” Lise pointed out. “It’s all right for you to take ownership for doing things well, you know.”
“The prince is busy,” Deyvid hedged, and that much, at least, Lise was able to agree with.
“He’ll be done disciplining Brannan soon,” she said, “but I’ll take this over if you prefer it.”
“Thank you,” Deyvid said.
“It’s my pleasure, Sir Cleareyes,” she replied.
Deyvid watched her leave, then set about deconstructing the mage’s campsite.
He needed to trigger any of the proximity spells they’d set up that might lead to doing people harm.
Not many came this deep into the woods, but he’d feel bad if some missed spell led to a woodcutter losing an arm or a leg just because they fell into an invisible trap.
By the time he was done, a pyre had been built, and the three bodies upon it were burning steadily.
The six shifters Deyvid was traveling with, Prince Petur and his squad of five, were standing together around it when Deyvid joined them.
Brannan looked a little bit worse for wear, avoiding both Petur and Deyvid’s eyes, but the others greeted Deyvid eagerly.
“’Lise told us what she thought of the map,” Rhys said with a grin.
“There might be just one group of them left if that’s what it means,” Deyvid said.
“There’s really no knowing for sure.” Ginnie shrugged her massive shoulders.
“It’s as good a theory as any and better than some.
I’m going scouting tonight,” Lise said as she began to take off her clothes.
It still startled Deyvid, how casual these shifters were with their own nudity.
“I’ll see if I can verify their location.
If so, we can move on them as early as tomorrow. ”
“Excellent.” Petur smiled viciously. “I’m more than ready to wrap this adventure up, I think. Lise, come back as soon as you have something solid.”
“Yes, sire,” she said, then transformed into an owl and soared into the twilight sky without her talons ever touching the ground. Deyvid heard Herow murmur, “Show-off.”
“Herow and Ginnie,” Petur said, not taking his eyes off Deyvid. “Head back to camp and prep things there. I’ll be along directly.”
“Aye, sire.” They both bowed, then began the several-miles-long trek back to where their own campsite was set up, Ginnie collecting Lise’s belongings along the way.
“Brannan and Rhys?” Petur’s voice became harder as he turned to the other two members of his squad. “You’re tasked with watching these bodies burn. Make sure they’re fully consumed. I don’t want an ambush brought down upon our heads due to a lack of thoroughness from either of you.”
It was clear this was a punishment detail. Deyvid just wasn’t entirely sure what they were being punished for.
“Understood?” Petur continued.
“Yes, sire.”
“Aye, sire.”
Rhys looked thoroughly abashed, and Brannan still wasn’t meeting his prince’s eyes. But he did glance at Deyvid this time, and his eyes were full of hatred. Deyvid would have to be careful to watch his back until he was able to bid these shifters goodbye. In the meantime—
“And Deyvid?”
Damn it. “Yes?” Deyvid said, not insolently but not obediently either. Petur nodded toward the woods to the west.
“We need to talk.”
That didn’t sound pleasant. “There are plenty of useful things I could be doing that—
“Please.” Both of the prince’s men went still, apparently astonished to hear such a nicety come out of the mouth of a man who had no reason to use it.
Deyvid froze as well. As much as he wanted any excuse to make his own company, he knew he couldn’t ignore such a moment of outreach from the prince.
“Very well,” he said. “One moment.” He picked up all three rucksacks, still full of their goods, and threw them onto the pyre. The fire turned blue for a moment, hot and flaring, before receding back to what it had been before.
“Well, that ate up a spell,” Petur said brightly. “Well done. Now come with me.” He reached out before Deyvid could evade and grabbed him by the arm. “This way.”
Deyvid was startled by how deep into the woods they went.
He tried to pull free several times, but Petur massively outmatched him when it came to strength, and he didn’t let go.
Eventually, Deyvid gave it up for a lost cause and focused more on trying to control his reaction at being so close to the other man.
It wasn’t easy. It had been a long time since anyone had touched him, much less touched him with any sort of intent, but … Almost from the moment he’d met Petur, he’d seen intent in the man’s eyes, and it wasn’t completely unwelcome.
Deyvid was very confident in his abilities.
He felt he knew himself inside and out, but that meant he also had to be honest with himself about his weaknesses.
And being around Petur, who was so irritating but so damnably lovely—his body reacted sometimes in ways he couldn’t quite control.
And Petur, damn it all, clearly knew that.
When they finally stopped in a shadowy copse of trees that was rapidly becoming darker than Deyvid was able to see within, he could still make out the sensual smirk on the other man’s face.
“Is this far enough?” Petur asked politely.
Deyvid looked at him warily. “Far enough for what?” he asked.
“Far enough to keep your sensibilities about being overheard from being offended,” Petur said.
“I can’t absolutely guarantee that none of my people are listening in, but seeing as how we’re going in a direction that none of them should be, I think we’re safe.
I can’t hear or smell anyone else around, and even the animals seem a bit shy. So, does this suffice?”
“What are you asking me for?” Deyvid demanded. He then groaned as he saw Petur’s smirk become a full-on grin.
“Oh, I think you know,” Petur said, delight clear in his voice. “I think you know all too well. You just don’t want to admit it.”
“Admit that you’re irritating me?” Deyvid asked.
“Admit that you want me,” Petur replied.
“Ha!” Deyvid shook his head. “The last thing I want is any sort of complication with you.”
“That doesn’t entirely preclude wanting, though,” Petur replied, taking a step closer.
Their chests were nearly touching now. At this distance, it was all too easy for Deyvid to remember how Petur looked when he was naked, standing so tall and confident in his own nudity.
His shifter nature had given Deyvid abundant time to become acquainted with Petur’s physical attributes, including the frankly outsized dimensions of his cock.
Deyvid’s fingers twitched traitorously as he imagined touching it, stroking it, seeing just how big it could become as the man hardened within his grasp.
“I smell it on you,” Petur murmured, his eyes glowing in the dim light thanks to the tapetum lucidum he’d kept from his animal form. It made him look animalistic and more appealing than ever. “Your lust. I know you want me.”
Deyvid took a deep, quelling breath. “So what?” he said. “I can’t control everything about my own desires, but I do have the ability not to give in to my needs, unlike some—”
Petur bared his teeth. “Unlike some what? Animals?” he demanded.
“I was going to say, unlike some spoiled royal brats. But sure, animals,” Deyvid replied casually. Petur just laughed, throwing his head back and chortling so genuinely that Deyvid had to wonder why he found being insulted so hilarious.
“This is one of the things I like about you most,” Petur said as he finally slowed his chuckles. “You’re not afraid to be honest with me. When you think I need to hear something, you tell me.”
“Speaking of that,” Deyvid interjected, “here’s something I think you need to hear. Your people are poorly trained to work with each other.”