The Hawk Lord by Amy Sumida

Chapter Eleven

Death wasn't so bad. It felt an awful lot like dreaming. But when I opened my eyes, Dalsharan's face was above me. I smiled softly and touched his cheek. His hair was loose and hung around my face like a veil. It looked as if those religious zealots were right; there was a heaven. I wondered why I got to go there. And then I wondered what Dal was doing there. And then I wondered why my cock was getting hard. Is that kind of shit allowed in heaven?

“Ravyn,” Dalsharan whispered my name. His stare slid downward, and he chuckled. “I see that you're feeling better.”

“Dalsharan!” I sat up and my momentum took me into a standing position, and then nearly back to the ground. I waved my arms as I tried to catch my balance.

Dal smoothly got to his feet and steadied me. “You've been through some changes, not the least of which is improved strength,” he said gently. “Sit down, Ravyn.”

“What the fuck?” I looked down at myself and could see every fiber in the fabric of my pants. I grabbed my pants and that's when I noticed my hands. “What the fuck?!” I held up my hands. “What the actual fuck, Dal?” I swung to face him.

And then just stared. Had he gotten more handsome?

“Sit down, Ravyn,” Dalsharan said again. He took the hand that did and didn't look like my hand, and used it to pull me down with him.

“Why is my hand glowing?” I tried to keep my voice calm.

“Your whole body is glowing.” Dal smiled softly. “It will stop soon. At least, that's what I've heard.”

“That's what you've heard?” I leapt to my feet again, and the newly improved muscles in my legs sent me tumbling backward.

Dal shot forward and caught me, going into a half-crouch with me. He sat me up and set his hands on my shoulders. “Take a breath.”

I took a breath.

“Now, let it out.” The Hawk Lord laughed.

I gaped at him again; his laughter was the most beautiful sound in the world.

“Your body will be sensitive for a little while until it grows accustomed to its new...”

“It's new what?” I lifted my hands again, the light was starting to fade, but that only made it easier to see that the scars I had earned from many years of war were gone. My skin looked brand new and as the glow settled completely, I saw that my skin was also paler than it had been. Much paler. “Why am I so damn white?” I demanded.

The Hawk Lord burst out laughing.

“This is not funny. I am not a joke, Dal!”

He stopped laughing and went serious. “No, sweetheart, you're not.”

“Stop calling me sweetheart,” I grumbled. “That's an endearment for a woman.”

Dalsharan laughed again. “Says who?”

“Me.”

“Women call men sweetheart.”

I frowned. “Yeah, that's a good point.” I thought about it. “Okay, fine, you can call me sweetheart. But not in front of the other soldiers!”

Dal lifted a hand as if to make a solemn vow. “Never.”

I nodded crisply. “Go on then.”

“You want me to call you sweetheart again?” He lifted a brow.

“No, I don't want you to call me sweetheart again,” I huffed. “Get over the fucking sweetheart thing, honey snookums. I want you to tell me why I was glowing and why all my lovely scars are gone!”

“Honey snookums?” Dalsharan lifted a brow at me.

“It's not so funny when it's done to you, is it?” I grinned at him.

“As long as you don't call me that in front of the other soldiers,” he said with twitching lips.

“Dal, will you just tell me... hold on. Are you saying what I think you're saying?”

“About what?” Dal's voice dropped to a low purr and his lips spread in a sensual smile.

“Did you make a decision?” I whispered.

“I did.” He grinned wider. “I've decided that you're mine, Ravyn.”

I swallowed with some difficulty. “I am?”

“You are,” Dalsharan said firmly. “No more Raeshal. No more anyone else. Am I clear?”

“Uh-huh,” I squeaked.

“You may keep your own tent if you wish, but you will sleep in my bed every night.”

“Yeah, okay,” I whispered as I continued to gape at him.

“And when I want you,” Dalsharan growled as he got to his knees and pushed me down onto my back, “I will take you.” He covered my body with his and brushed his lips over mine. “Is that understood, Corporal?”

“Yes.”

“Any time I want you,” his voice dropped even lower. “I don't care what you're doing, you will stop and come to me. And you will submit to whatever I wish to do to you.”

I may have whimpered.

“Or you will do whatever I tell you to do to me,” he went on. “No disobedience. Not where sex is concerned. I don't share, and I don't tolerate rebelliousness in my lovers. This is who I am. Either I dominate you completely or I won't take you at all. That's why I've waited and given you time to get to know me better. To know if you can be that for me. Now, think about it for more than a fucking second,” he growled, bit my lower lip, then pushed away from me. “Tell me when you know if that's truly what you want.” He held up a hand when I started to speak. “Think about what I've said, Ravyn. I don't want you to stop being yourself, but you will have to make adjustments. You will belong to me. Think about what that means before you answer.”

I laid there and looked at him. “Uh, I was going to ask about my stupid white hands.”

Dalsharan burst out laughing. He laughed and laughed and laughed.

I sat up and grimaced at him. “Yeah, all right, chuckles!” I shoved at his shoulder. “I'm serious! I want to know what the fuck happened to me!”

“See this”—he waved a hand at me—“this I will permit. You may continue to share this familiarity with me, but only in private. In public, you must show me the respect I'm due as your warlord.”

“Yes, Sir, Hawk Lord, Sir!” I saluted him. “Now, if you're done giving me your list of kinky rules, could you perhaps tell me what the fuck happened?!”

Dalsharan's expression dropped into sacred seriousness. “The Hawk Soul chose you. It spoke to you and helped you heal me.” He took my hand. “You wielded incredible amounts of magic and you lived, Ravyn. Your desire to save me was so great that you survived a trinity pairing of soul stones. You survived and then the Beasts accepted you. But only after I did.”

“You did something... to...” I trailed off as I remembered his soul reaching for mine. His beautiful soul pulling my hand into his body and giving me a seed of light. My hand went to my chest, right above my heart. “You gave me some of your soul, didn't you?”

Dalsharan nodded. “The Hawk Soul made it possible. Every warlord has the ability, but it's not done lightly.”

“Why did you do it for me?”

“Because you saved me when no one else could.” He lifted my hand and kissed it tenderly. “Because you refused to let me go, Ravyn. You fought for me and you nearly died for me after I had failed you. That kind of valor deserves a reward.”

“What am I?” I whispered. “What have you made me into?”

“You are something very special,” Dalsharan said softly. “You are what my people call a Valorian—a human who has shown great valor and has been honored by a faerie with a piece of our magic. But not just that. Humans have been honored with life seeds before and still remain human. Long-lived, but human. Only those who the Beasts and the Goddess deem worthy are remade into fae.”

“Remade?”

“You are one of us now, Ravyn of Varalorre.”