The Hawk Lord by Amy Sumida

Chapter Thirty-One

I was a mess when I woke up. Black and gold paint smudged my white sheets and cum hardened them. I was tangled in all of that, my hair stuck to my face and wax coating my ass. But the Hawk Lord looked perfect.

Dalsharan came striding into my room, hair shining, combed back from his clean face, and clothes impeccable. He took one look at me and burst out laughing.

“Fuck you, dick,” I grumbled as I climbed out of bed.

I stumbled, righted myself, peeled the sheet off my thigh, and trudged to the bathroom.

“Hurry up,” he called after me. “We're expected at the Hawk Academy in half an hour.”

“Fuck you!” I shouted through the door, then grimaced at my reflection in the gold mirror. “Not lookin' so hot today, Rave.”

I shook my head at the pathetic man in the mirror, then climbed in the shower. The hot water revived me and bits of the night before came back. The Hawk Lord had made me wipe up his cum with my sheets, then held me against his chest and idly played with me—pinching my nipples and fondling my dick—as we talked. The talking didn't last long though. As soon as his cock revived, he was back inside me, making me ride him. It went on like that for hours until I was so exhausted that I passed out. That's when he must have left me in the bed we'd sullied and gone to sleep in his clean one. The prick.

“Hurry up!” his voice through the bathroom door.

“Fuck you,” I said again but not loud enough for him to hear.

I scrubbed my body, washed my hair, and even soaped inside my asshole just in case I got lucky and he decided to “prepare me to receive him” again. I sighed as I thought of having my tongue up him last night. The way he looked with his legs lifted in the air; I bet no one's ever seen the Hawk Lord like that. Not even Jaxon.

I was grinning when I came out of the bathroom with a towel around my waist.

“We're going to be late,” the Hawk Lord growled.

“Well, that's what you get for fucking me senseless last night and failing to tell me about this appointment,” I drawled and headed into my closet.

The Hawk Lord followed me. “You knew there would be training.”

“I didn't expect it to be this morning.”

Dal made a grumbling sound and sat down on the bench to watch me pick out my clothes. I casually tossed the towel aside and bent over to look at the boots. He growled as his hand swept over my ass.

“Uh-uh-uh.” I stood up and moved away from him. “We're going to be late.”

The Hawk Lord grimaced. “Get dressed or I'll harness your cock again.”

I got dressed.

We headed downstairs to a waiting carriage that took us across the city to an enormous structure perched on the edge of the mountain. Hawks flew around it in complicated patterns, shrieking at each other. A group landed on one of the numerous balconies that protruded from the towers, shifted into a bunch of Hawk Sidhe, and went inside.

Our carriage stopped before a wide set of stairs. A pair of double doors at the top of them opened and a muscular man in a leather vest, plain cotton pants, and scuffed boots strode down them toward us. He wore his black hair short like a human soldier and had a tan that spoke of hours in the sun. He reached the carriage just as we were climbing out.

“Dal,” he said with a warm smile, “it's good to see you.”

The men hugged, then Dal waved me forward.

“This is my consort, Ravyn. Ravyn, this is Master Greskal. He taught me to fly.”

“And it will be an honor to teach the Valorian too,” Greskal said.

“You're probably the only one who can,” Dal drawled. “You'll have to get past that human conditioning and his stubbornness.”

“I'm not stubborn,” I grumbled.

“And his tendency toward contentiousness,” Dal added dryly.

Master Greskal chuckled and waved us inside. “I seem to remember a certain young Hawk Lord giving me attitude over his lessons some years ago.”

I slid a smug look Dal's way.

“That's different. I was a little prick,” Dalsharan said to Greskal. “This one is a stubborn rebel—something particularly surprising since he's such a good soldier.”

“So, you haven't changed much,” I said to Dal.

Greskal burst out laughing. “This way, boys.”

He led us through a maze of corridors wide enough to accommodate giant Hawk bodies, past classrooms full of young Sidhe who gawked at us, and into an elevator.

“Do you get lazy when you learn to fly?” I asked as we surged up to the 23^rd floor.

“Excuse me?” Master Greskal asked in surprise.

“Elevators.” I waved my hand at the panel of numbers. “You guys can't walk up stairs?”

“Do you want to climb twenty-three flights of stairs?” Dalsharan asked dryly.

“Well, when you put it like that,” I grumbled.

“Think about your arguments before you present them.” Greskal smacked my shoulder as the door opened, and then he led the way out.

Dal shook his head at me as he passed by, as if I'd embarrassed him in front of his teacher. I made a face at the back of his head before I followed.

“Don't make that face at me, Consort,” Dalsharan drawled.

I gaped at him. “How did you...” then I noticed the mirror hanging on the wall directly across from the elevator. Dal was grinning at me through the reflection. “Son of a bitch,” I muttered. “For a second I thought you had some kind of fae superpower.”

“Boys,” Greskal growled.

Dal shook his head at me again and pushed me toward the teacher.

“He said, boys, as in both of us,” I pointed out.

“Yes, but I am the Hawk Lord,” Dalsharan announced as we followed Greskal into an enormous, open, rectangular room.

And I don't just mean open in the lacking furniture way. A long section of the outer wall was missing and a landing platform extended from it. The Hawk students dove and swooped past the massive archway. Along the solid walls stood shelves containing odd contraptions, and the floor was covered with padded mats.

“You're the Hawk Lord?” I asked. “What kind of argument is that?”

“The winning kind.” Dal grinned.

I snorted.

Greskal went to the nearest mat and sat down cross-legged. He cleared his throat and looked pointedly at us. The Hawk Lord and I hurried to sit before him.

“So, you have hawk magic in you,” Greskal said to me.

“It would seem so.” My gaze flicked out at the flying Hawks.

“Yep, you'll be out there soon,” Greskal said to my gaze.

“Shouldn't I learn some basic things first?” I asked.

“Such as?” Greskal cocked his head at me.

“You know, the other stuff that all faeries can do. The”—I twirled my fingers—“magic air and fire and stuff.”

“Magic air?” Greskal grinned.

“Like moving objects.” I glanced at Dal. “Say for example I wanted to pick up a candle.”

Dalsharan cleared his throat pointedly.

“Or summon oil to my hand,” I went on.

Dal closed his eyes as if in pain and shook his head.

“Why would you want to summon oil to your hand?” Greskal scowled.

“I'm just saying what comes to mind.” I shrugged.

“He's talking about nectar,” Dalsharan said in a low voice.

“Nectar?” Greskal frowned before his eyes widened. “Oh! Yes, that is... well...” He cleared his throat gruffly. “As Sidhe, we work with the magic of nature and must progress naturally into our powers. Magic that can move objects or summon things is a more advanced skill. You were right in assuming that you must start with the basics and create a foundation to work from, but your foundation is a hawk. That is your base magic. So, you must first learn to shapeshift into a hawk, then you learn to fly, and then the rest.”

“Ah, okay. So, how do I shapeshift?”

“You might actually learn something if you shut up for five minutes,” Dal said dryly.

“Ravyn's right, you're still a bit of a prick,” Greskal said.

Dal grimaced at him as I laughed my ass off.

“Now, the way to shift starts with visualization,” Greskal said to me. “You need to hold an image of a hawk in your mind. For these first attempts, it would be best to be as detailed as possible. Picture the different shades of feathers on a hawk. See the curve of the beak and the gleam in their eyes. Imagine—”

I held up my hand.

“Yes?”

“I know I've fought beside Hawks for most of my life, but I don't sit around staring at them. I know what they generally look like, but that's about it.”

“Oh, well.” Greskal looked around and then spotted the Hawks flying outside. “Take a good look at those Hawks out there. Watch them until you can picture one when you close your eyes.”

I squinted out at the flying hawks and then grimaced at Greskal.

“Yes, all right, moving objects aren't the easiest to focus on.” Greskal winced. “Hawk Sidhe are raised by Hawks so I didn't consider that you'd need a visual example right in front of you.”

The Hawk Lord got up and pulled off his boots. I looked over at him in surprise.

“You need to focus on a Hawk.” Dal shrugged. “What better Hawk to focus on than the one whose soul you have?”

“Yes! That's a good point,” Greskal exclaimed in relief. “You're likely to shift into a twin of Dal's hawk.”

“I am?”

“Mathias, the first Valorian, can shift into a tiger that's nearly identical to the old Tiger Lord's form,” Greskal said.

“The old Tiger Lord?” I asked.

“After Mathias was made Valorian, Lord Derringar retired. He came back to Varalorre to help train Mathias and never returned to the war,” Greskal explained.

I looked at Dal, who looked uncomfortable.

“We're going back, right?” I asked.

“We'll see,” Dal said gently. “It's up to the Goddess.”

“Are you saying that you might have to retire because of me?” I gaped at him.

“If I do, it will be with great honor,” Dalsharan said. “It won't be a sacrifice.”

“Yes, it will,” I growled. “You love being the Hawk Lord.”

“There are other things I love more.” Dal's gaze softened on me.

I went silent and stared back at him, breathless.

Greskal cleared his throat. “If you wouldn't mind shifting now, Dal?”

Dal dropped the boot he'd been holding and started on his clothes.

“Way to ruin a romantic moment there, Greskal,” I huffed.

Greskal chuckled. “You're on my time, boy. Coo over each other somewhere else.”

“Coo?” I turned to make a face at Dalsharan, but found him naked, and ended up gawking.

“You'll need to memorize his other form,” Greskal said.

“Yeah, I know,” I shot back. “I already have this one memorized but it doesn't mean I get tired of looking.”

Dalsharan winked at me and shifted. In seconds, he was a massive Hawk, his feathers settling into sleekness as he tucked his wings in.

“Very good.” Greskal got to his feet. “Now, extend your wing, Dal.”

The Hawk Lord followed orders for once.

“Note the length of the feathers,” Greskal said to me. “Note their color and design. When you have that, move on to the breast—learn the curve of it, the lift. See how it angles down toward his talons.” He slapped the dark gray, pebbled skin covering Dal's legs. “See how tough the skin is here? Note that too. And take a deep breath.” He did so as if I might need an example of how breathing worked. “Smell the feathers. Really get a feel of what a Hawk is.”

I bit my lip before I blurted out that I was already very familiar with Dalsharan's scent. Dal cocked his head at me as if he knew what I was thinking.

“Turn around Dal.” Greskal smacked his wing down. “Look at his tail feathers, Ravyn. See the spread of them?”

“Yes, Sir,” I said because he seemed to need some confirmation that I was listening. “Checking out the Hawk Lord tail right now.”

Dalsharan made a reproving kee-ah sound. I grinned.

“Take a good look at everything,” Greskal chose to ignore us. “In fact, come over here and stroke his feathers. Get a feel of him too.”

“Yes, Sir!” I said eagerly.

I got up and went to thoroughly inspect the Hawk Lord. Hey, if I was being told to gawk and feel, I was going to take the opportunity to really gawk and feel. I stepped up to my lover and laid a hand on his rounded breast. He towered over me, I could tuck my head beneath the swell of that feathered chest. His legs were about the same length as they were in his other form, but on top of them was a bird body that stood at least fifteen feet tall.

Dalsharan lowered his head to focus on me with one golden eye. “Having fun?”

“Yep.” I grinned as I stroked my way beneath a wing and then drew my hand along the underside of it.

Dalsharan shivered, his feathers rustling. “That's sensitive. It's like drawing your fingertips beneath my arm.”

“Is it?” I slipped my hand up to the top of his wing and then stepped behind him to stroke the longest feathers.

“Those are the primary feathers,” Greskal supplied. “The shorter ones just above them are the primary coverts.”

“And these?” I asked as I moved inward along his outstretched wing.

“The secondaries and above those are the greater, median, and lesser secondaries.”

Greskal continued to list the names of every bit of feather I touched as I moved down Dal's back—excuse me, his mantle and then his back—and over to the other wing. Dal's head swiveled to watch me. Was it wrong that I wanted to crawl under his wing and take a nap?

“Do you think you have it?” Greskal asked.

“Huh?” I looked at the teacher. “Ah, yeah. I think I can imagine him now.”

“Good, resume your seat.” Greskal waved a hand at the mat, then sat himself.

I sat in front of him, facing Dal so I could see him if I needed to.

“Now, close your eyes and picture the Hawk,” Greskal instructed.

I closed my eyes and saw the Hawk Lord clearly. Every feather, every color, every claw.

“Do you have him?”

“Oh, yeah. I have him,” I drawled.

Dal snorted through his beak.

“Now breathe him in. Remember the feel of his feathers. Get the whole picture settled in your mind.”

“Got it,” I said.

“Good, good. Now, all you need to do is believe that the image you're looking at is you.”

“Believe he's me?” I cracked an eye open.

“Close your eyes!” Greskal reprimanded me.

I shut my eyes.

“Picture him. Smell him. Feel him.”

“Picturing, smelling, feeling,” I muttered.

“Now, believe it's you.”

“Believing...” I squished my eyes up tightly and believed. Or at least I tried to believe. How the fuck do you believe that you're a bird? I squished my entire face.

“Keep trying. Don't force it, just feel it,” Greskal advised. “Somewhere inside you is the magic. Your hawk is just waiting for you to call it forth. To believe in it. Believe in the Hawk Lord. Believe in his magic inside you. Believe that you are now holding a piece of him and that piece will give you the sky.”

And I believed.