The Hawk Lord by Amy Sumida
Chapter Forty-Three
Our actions prompted the other royals to send their armies to assist us. Not just the Sidhe armies either. The Unsidhe came and set up their tents on the outskirts of the other camps, considerately putting some distance between their camp and the humans. The Hawk camp grew to the size of a prosperous city. It stretched for miles down to the coast to either side. And in the center of that madness, eleven Sidhe warlords and twelve Unsidhe commanders met with their generals to discuss one of the largest war maneuvers of their lives.
The Farungal always came to us. They crossed the Bellor Sea at night and dug into whatever toehold they could find before we could spot them. Then we'd fight. That's how it's always been, with our side ever on the defensive. Now, we talked about offense. We gathered ships as well as weapons and debated where would be best to invade Alantri—where should we land before pushing inland, toward the Queen. The number of ships alone that we'd need was staggering.
It took two weeks to get everyone prepared and our battle plans settled. Two weeks of gathering supplies, hiring ships, training the various fae to fight together, and getting the humans accustomed to the Unsidhe. That may sound like a long time but it's really not. Especially not when it comes to war. A fight goes fast and can be over in an hour, but wars drag on, and planning its strategies can be a lengthy process. Two weeks is a shockingly small amount of time to prepare a collection of armies for what we were about to do. And yet, I was tired of it. So fucking over it. As a corporal, I'd never been a party to battle planning. I just went where they told me to go and tried not to die. But this... this was fucking brutal. I understood why Dal wanted out.
“Could I speak with you?” Hadrian, the Lion Lord, asked Dalsharan as our last meeting—the very last, thank the Goddess—concluded. We'd be sailing for Alantri the next morning.
“Of course,” Dal said stiffly.
Things had been strained between them, but they were both professional soldiers and they had put aside their issues to work together. Now, however, Hadrian looked uncomfortable. I hung back as we left the neutral tent we'd been using for meetings. Dal headed for his tent just a few feet away. All the warlords camped with their armies, but since we were the army who had taken charge of the invasion, the meeting tent had been erected in our camp.
“Come in.” Dal waved the Lion Lord inside.
I hesitated near the guards on door duty, wondering if I should go for a walk and leave the warlords to it.
“Valorian, please join us,” the Lion Lord said as he held the tent flap open.
“Oh. Okay.”
Farin, one of the two knights on duty, grinned at me as I passed him. I punched his shoulder, but that only made him chuckle.
Dal was pouring us drinks when I stepped inside. He set them down on his council table and waved Hadrian toward a seat. The Lion Lord sat heavily and sighed, his hand found his glass but didn't lift it.
“I'm retiring,” Hadrian said softly.
“What?” Dalsharan growled as I sat down beside him. “Why?”
“I shouldn't have reported you.” Hadrian lifted his gaze to Dal. “You were right to investigate. I should have realized that and opened my camp to you. I should have helped you. Instead, I set your investigation back and almost cost you your post. I'm sorry, Dal.”
“I understand, Hadrian,” Dal said gently. “It's okay. I forgive you. You don't have to retire.”
“I'm getting too mired in the fight.” Hadrian shook his head. “I've lost track of who I am. Ten years ago, I would have asked myself why you found it necessary to send a man into my camp. I wouldn't have reported you to your king like a petulant child. I don't like this new me, Dal. It's time to let a younger man take over.”
Dalsharan sighed. “To tell you the truth, I feel the same way.”
“What?” Hadrian asked in surprise.
“I think I'm ready to go home, Hadrian,” Dalsharan said softly, with yearning. “I had a taste of it, and I realized how much I missed it. I've done my service.” He looked at me. “It's time for my reward.”
I grinned. “Where you go, I go.”
Dalsharan smiled broadly. “That's right. Even if I have to tie you up and carry you off.”
“Well, then,” Hadrian said in a brighter tone as he lifted his glass, “to retirement and getting our rewards.”
“To living through this last battle so we might claim them,” Dalsharan added, and we clicked glasses.
“I hope that bastard Brendallen is being tortured by the Farungal,” Hadrian muttered.
“He's probably being fucked even as we speak.” I grinned. “He said he had tried to impregnate the bitch himself. That means she's had a taste of Coyote cock.”
“I hope she uses the wild-rot on him,” Dalsharan snarled and took a long swig.
“To Brendallen getting his just desserts.” I lifted my glass. “May they be rotten.”
The warlords clicked their glasses to mine with shit-eating grins.
Dal and Hadrian ended up staying up late, talking and rebuilding their friendship, but I went to bed. I wanted to be fresh for the fight. The Hawk Lord, however, had other plans. Warm hands woke me later that night; a phantom shape loomed in the pitch dark. My eyes quickly adjusted to find my Hawk Lord lying beside me, his body naked and aroused. His mouth moved over my throat and his grip tightened with alcohol-enhanced aggression.
“Been drinking with your buddy, eh?” I drawled in my sleep-roughened voice. “And now you wanna bang.”
Dal growled, annoyed at my words. But we were in camp now, and I'd talk like a soldier for as long as I could. Especially since it sounded as if it would be a far shorter stretch than I'd expected.
A large hand went to my cock, and Dal's annoyed growl turned into one of passion when he found me solid. He purred against my throat, stroking me as he ground himself against my hip. I reached for him, but the Hawk Lord shoved me back and rolled me, pushing me onto my belly. Strong teeth nipped at my throat as his knees spread my thighs. Dal rose onto his forearms and I pushed back with him, keeping contact with his muscular chest. My ass found his cock and caught it, hooking it beneath the curve of my cheeks. With angling hips, I tried to work it toward my hole, and Dal's groan vibrated through his chest, into my back.
“Put your head down,” Dalsharan murmured, his voice even sexier in the dark.
I pressed my face to the mattress and braced myself. Whenever he wanted my head down, it was going to be a wild ride. His broad hands roamed possessively over my ass, then spread me. He spat on me, then stretched my ass so it dripped into my hole. I groaned as his fingertips trailed down my crease, rubbing his spit into me. I twitched as he moved to my taint and tickled me there.
“Stay still!” the Hawk Lord snapped. His palm landed on my ass hard.
I made a surprised yelp, and he chuckled. Great, he really was drunk. They must have gotten into his special stash of the good stuff.
Dal's legs pressed against mine as he moved into position and the oiled-up head of his cock nudged its way into my wet hole. I sighed as it breached that tight ring of muscles and moaned as that slick rod delved deeper and deeper, slowly working me open. Eager, I pushed myself back on him and got another slap for my efforts.
“I said, be still!” Dalsharan slammed all the way in, and I cried out in pleasure. He started a savage thrusting, his primal grunts peppering the air along with the slap of his pelvis against my ass. “That's it. Take your lord's cock, Consort. Take all of it in that shaved, pretty hole.”
“Oh, fuck, yeah,” I growled. “Give it to me! Slam that dick in my ass, Hawk Lord.”
Dalsharan snarled and grabbed me suddenly. One arm went around my chest while the other went under and around my thigh. He straightened, lifting me up and back, and my body flopped in his arms. Even drunk, he was masterful, maneuvering me exactly how he wanted. He had me propped before him, my head hanging back over his shoulder, all of my weight on one knee since he had the other lifted to the side, spreading me wide for his fucking. He pumped up into me with wild growls and grunts, my cock banging against my thigh with every thrust. I reached back to grab him around his neck and the hand he had around my chest palmed my pec.
“You are not to leave my side tomorrow,” Dal growled in my ear. “Do you understand me, Corporal?”
“Yes, Hawk Lord,” I panted.
“Not for one fucking second.” He bit my neck and sucked hard. My skin stung when he released it. “You will not fly off without me. You will watch my back; that is your job. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Hawk Lord.”
“You remember the calls?” he softened his tone and kissed my throat, right over his bite.
“Yeah, babe.” I turned my head to kiss him. “I know the calls. Don't worry about me.”
Dal growled and tossed me back on the bed. “Suck your lord's cock, Consort.”
I crawled back to him and took his cock in my mouth with a moan. My lips stretched around his girth, and I tightened them as much as I could. The Hawk Lord's hands went to my head and squeezed. I grabbed the mattress; I knew what was coming next, and it made me flush with excitement. Sure enough, Dal started thrusting over my tongue, pumping deep enough to choke me as his hands held me still. I sucked even as I relaxed my throat, taking as much of him as I could.
“That's it, naughty bird, choke on that dick,” he growled. “Gag for me.”
My lips began to ache deliciously and spit dripped over my chin. Dal's fingers went to my nose and pinched it closed. I widened my eyes up at him as he continued to pump into me. The wet slaps echoing in my ears. I whimpered. I couldn't breathe. I tried to pull away. He held me there and then, at last, let go. I gasped for breath even as I went back to sucking him, my tongue twirling around that plump head.
“Your life is mine, Ravyn,” Dalsharan declared. “Mine. Don't ever forget that. I will protect you this time. You will not be saving me.”
Oh, so that's what this was about. I had saved him and it was bothering him. The shit always comes out when they get drunk.
I jerked back, off his cock, and sat up. “So, I can't save you, huh? You're the big, strong Hawk Lord who does the saving and I'm you're little fuck boy? I'm the one who should need to be saved?”
“No,” he growled. “That's not it and you know it.”
“Then what?” I licked my swollen lips. “You wanna hold my life in your hands? You wanna choke me with your thick cock and then give me back my breath when you feel like it? Why else do that unless you're pissed about me saving you?”
“Because it's fucking sexy,” Dal drawled as he grabbed my head and pulled me into a searing kiss. He leaned away to lick my lips and say, “Because I love the way your eyes roll up and fill with panic, then with faith. You know that I won't hurt you. That trust makes me ache. It makes me want to thrust deep down your throat and shove more of myself into you. It makes me want to hold you down and bite your throat as I fuck your tight ass, knowing that it's mine. That your lips and cock and sacs are mine. That your soul-stealing stare is mine and your greedy hands and your eager tongue. They're all mine. Now, get your ass in the air so I can shove my huge cock in it!”
“Yes, Hawk Lord!” I was grinning ear-to-ear when I laid my face against the mattress and presented my ass. And as he slammed that beautiful cock into me and laid a hand on the back of my head to shove my face down harder, I kept smiling. I kept smiling until I was shouting his name.
