Chapter 7 #2
By the Warrior. Kavon groaned, his mouth capturing hers.
Her tongue thrust into his mouth, tangling with his.
He felt the desire that had been simmering ever since he’d first seen her turn from a murmur to a roar.
Every minute spent with her, every small thing he’d learned about her, had only caused that need and want to grow.
She wound her legs around his waist and his rock-hard cock pressed between her thighs. They both groaned now, and he staggered a few steps backward. His knees hit the bed and he sat.
Aurina settled in his lap, her hands tangling in his hair.
She kissed him with a passion and enthusiasm he’d rarely experienced.
She tasted sweet and tart, of things that promised pleasure beyond reckoning.
He gripped her sunset hair and tugged her head back.
Her smooth, pale neck was bared to him and a primal wave of desire washed over him.
He pressed his mouth over her fluttering pulse, setting his teeth to the sensitive tendon.
“Kavon.” She undulated against him, her hands pulling hard on his hair.
He had to have her. He needed to quench this thirst. He was about to spin her and lay her back on the bed, when a brisk knock at the door echoed through the room.
Aurina stiffened. Then she yanked away from him and scrambled to her feet. She stood there for a second, looking a little dazed. “Whoa, that almost got out of hand.”
Frustrated, he raked a hand through his hair. “Would that have been so bad?”
She fiddled with her hair, tucking some escaped strands behind her ears. “I told you, Kavon. I’m not staying…it’s best we don’t?—”
Hearing her talk of leaving again, especially while he was so raw inside, made his jaw lock. “I decide if you stay or go.”
She bristled. “So, we’re back to square one. Orders and no thought to anyone else’s feelings.”
The knock on the door came again. Kavon pushed off the bed and strode over to it. He wrenched it open.
Chaldora stood there, and behind her were several young scholars, all holding piles of books.
“Kavon, we’ve brought the tomes you requested.” The old woman’s eyesight might not have been as good as it once had been, but she glanced at the slightly disheveled Aurina, then at Kavon—he doubted anyone could miss the hard bulge in his pants or the thick tension in the air.
“This is a bad time?” the scholar asked with a faint smile.
“No, I have to meet with my men.” He waved at Aurina. “Bring the books. Aurina, I’m sure, is eager to start.”
He strode out without looking at her. He needed a little break from the woman who set his blood—and his temper—aflame.
Aurina sat on the low couch in Kavon’s room, books spread out across the table in front of her. She’d been at it for hours, reading account after account of the First Warriors and their exploits. Scouring the text for anything to do with Durendal.
Chaldora had been incredibly helpful. The scholar had already supplied her with a list of references and where to find them.
Leaning back, Aurina rubbed her eyes. So far, she had a ton of information, but not much in the way of possible places to start searching for Durendal.
Chaldora said there was a shrine to the First Warriors in the King’s palace, and a replica of Durendal sat in there.
But it was well known not to be the actual weapon.
She got up and strode to the window. She let the curtain flap against her in the breeze. It was afternoon now, the sun slowly lowering in the sky.
She wondered where Kavon was.
Nope. Not going to go there. She wrinkled her nose. She’d successfully not thought of him or that kiss…
Kiss. She snorted. It was more like devouring each other whole. No, don’t go there. Think of the legendary sword.
Right. Well, what did she know? The First Warriors appeared and taught the primitive people, and eventually mated with them.
She’d studied the images of what the native Markarians had looked like before—taller, more muscular, with almost scale-like skin, and an elongated face with sharp teeth.
Today, all that was left of their previous form was the metallic-bronze coloring of their skin.
The First Warriors had clearly been humanoid.
What had made them want to mate with a primitive, almost animal-like species?
Curiosity? Perhaps. An interest in the science of creating a new species?
If they were advanced, why not do it in a lab?
The First Warriors were clearly more advanced than the primitive Markarians.
No need to move in with the native species and procreate.
Maybe it was love.
She made a scoffing noise. Love was a fairytale the central systems’ companies perpetuated to help them sell jewelry, fancy chocolates, and romantic getaways.
Aurina thought of her mother. Dala Veers had believed in love when she’d been seduced into bed by a handsome, charming wanderer.
She’d still believed in it long after he’d abandoned her.
She’d learned the hard way that love was a mirage.
What about Justyn and Nissa? Aurina shoved the quiet whisper in her head aside. Well, the couple just proved that love wasn’t real, because there always had to be an exception to the rule.
So, what else made an advanced humanoid race stay and mate with a primitive one?
Desperation. She froze. What if the First Warriors were stuck here and had no choice?
She raced back to the table, pushing aside the books to find the notes Chaldora had left her. The First Warriors clearly spoke English. What if they weren’t from Markaria at all? What if, like her, they’d crash-landed here, with no way off?
Heart thudding, Aurina pushed more books and papers aside. Chaldora had said the meteors were a symbol of the First Warriors, and that the first appearance of them coincided with the omen of falling stars.
She sat back. God. What if the same meteor shower had brought down the First Warriors’ ship thousands of years ago, just like it had brought down hers?
She sprang up and yanked open the door. A warrior standing guard in the hall spun to face her.
“Skyflyer?”
“I need Chaldora. Can you get her for me, please?”
The warrior nodded.
Aurina paced the room, unable to sit. She was onto something, she could feel it.
Finally, Chaldora entered with a swish of skirts. “Aurina, you needed to see me?”
“Tell me again about when the First Warriors came, please. You said there were falling stars then as well.”
The scholar nodded. “They are an omen, a symbol of luck, because they are said to have appeared when the First Warriors did.”
“Anything else about the first appearance of the warriors?”
The woman shrugged. “They are said to have come from the north. They appeared from out of the Darken Wilds.”
“The Wilds.” Hmm, that didn’t narrow anything down.
“One account, more lurid than the rest so it has often been discounted, talks about fire and light. It also says the First Warriors brought sickness. That some of the primitive Markarians were not strong enough and died.”
“Sickness?” Aurina spun away, pacing. “The First Warriors could have brought some disease from off-planet that the native Markarians weren’t immune to.”
Chaldora’s eyebrows rose. “You think the First Warriors were skyflyers?”
Aurina nodded. “You speak English, Chaldora. That is not from this planet. I think the First Warriors crash-landed here, just like I did. Maybe brought down by the meteors.”
The woman dropped into a chair, her brow creased. “I guess it is not inconceivable.”