The Hawk Lord by Amy Sumida

Chapter Eight

“One more time,” Dalsharan demanded.

We were in a cave somewhere in Alantri, halfway to the second stronghold I'd be infiltrating. I had gotten out of the first one without a problem—it had been ridiculously easily, actually—and ran back to where Dal was waiting for me. He'd already been shifted into his hawk form and had ordered me to get into the flight rig immediately. I got rigged up, and the Hawk Lord flew me across Alantri until he spotted this cave, halfway up the side of a mountain and inaccessible for anyone without wings. Only when we were secure did he shift, yank on his war robe, and start firing questions at me. He was stuck on one, in particular.

“I thought it would be safer to just wear the pendant.” I waved a hand wearily at the satchel where he had stashed the Lion Soul amulet. “So, I put it on and—”

“You put it on!” he shouted—again. As if he couldn't believe my idiocy. “Why would you put it on?!”

“Uh, I just told you that—”

“Don't you understand that these things are powerful?” Dal waved at his chest, where his own amulet gleamed. “It could have killed you! It's a fucking miracle you survived. The Great Mother must love morons!”

“No, I didn't know!” I shouted back.

Dal gaped at me. I'd bet it had been a long time since someone had shouted at him.

And I kept going. “You didn't tell me! You said you'd tell me about the stones and their fucking souls after I got the first one. So, no, I didn't think that putting a fucking necklace on could get me killed!”

Dalsharan let out a long breath. “And yet you live.”

“We'll see how long that lasts,” I muttered. “I just fucking yelled at the Hawk Lord. It seems as if I can't stop risking my ass.”

“Your ass is not at risk,” he said dryly. Then he added, “Not in that manner.”

I lifted a brow at him. “Are you trying to imply that you're so huge that—”

“Do not,” Dal cut me off, “finish that sentence.”

“You started it.” I grinned.

“Ravyn.” He shook his head. “You... what happened when you put it on?”

“I felt weird.”

“Weird.” The Hawk Lord closed his eyes and rubbed at his temples. “Weird in a... oh, I don't know, a leonine way?”

“If you're asking if I felt kind of like a lion, then yeah. Now that you mention it. I almost roared.”

Dalsharan's eyes popped open. “You almost roared?”

“Weird, right? You think the stone did some kind of lion-fae-magic on me?”

“Lion-fae-magic,” he drawled. “Yes, I think it was lion-fae-magic.”

“Don't get all patronizing with me,” I growled. “You shoved me into your kinky leather straps, flew me out here with no briefing—even though you had ample opportunity to give me one during the flight, and then sent me into a Farungal stronghold unprepared. I'm allowed some leeway with my terminology.”

“Fuck,” Dalsharan whispered and sort of crumpled onto the ground.

“Whoa, now, don't be getting your pretty robe dirty,” I said as I fumbled for the satchel.

As I mentioned, fae satchels are enchanted to hold a shitload of stuff and this one was no exception. Camping supplies came to hand as soon as I reached for them with intent. I pulled out a rolled pallet and tossed it to the Hawk Lord before bringing another out for me. Dal stared at the cylinder of cushion as if he'd never seen one before. So after I unrolled mine, I grabbed his and opened it for him. It puffed up into a fairly comfortable bed.

“Get your fine ass on that pallet, Hawk Lord,” I nudged his knee with my boot before I plopped onto mine.

Dal blinked from the pallet, to me, and back again, then moved his fine ass. He brushed some dirt off before he sat on the cushion, then lifted his stare to me. “I'm so sorry, Ravyn.”

“Well, that was unexpected,” I murmured and scratched my head.

“You're right, I didn't prepare you enough. I thought your sensitivity to magic would warn you from doing...” he waved his hand vaguely.

“Doing something stupid?” I asked and started fishing around in the satchel again. My arm disappeared to my shoulder, but I still couldn't find what I was looking for. “I think this satchel is fucking with me,” I muttered.

“Give me that damn thing,” Dal growled.

I handed it over. “I was looking for a pillow.”

“Not food?” He smirked as he pulled out two cloth-wrapped bundles and tossed one to me.

I caught it. The smell and warmth of hot food hit me. “Yes! I knew you were fucking with me earlier!” I unwrapped the bundle and found a meat pie. My face fell.

“I wasn't lying to you.” Dalsharan chuckled. “I eat the same food everyone else does. The only exception is when I have guests.” He stretched out his leg and pushed at my boot. “Come on, the meat pies are good.”

“Yeah, they're not bad, and at least it's hot.” I took a bite and sighed.

Dal passed me a water flask next. Then came a pillow and a blanket. I mumbled my thanks as he ate delicately. The Hawk Lord might eat the same things his soldiers did, but he didn't eat the same way. Every movement screamed of wealth and power, from the strong but polite bites to the way he brushed crumbs off his lips. I shrugged and chowed down. Crumbs went everywhere.

“I'm sorry I yelled at you,” I said after I had a few bites in my belly. “But you were getting a little hysterical.”

“I never get hysterical,” he said in a clipped tone.

I snorted. “Uh, yeah, you do. Cause you just did. You were freaking the fuck out.”

“You did catch the part where you almost turned into a lion, right?” Dal asked dryly.

I dropped my pie. “What now?”

“That weird way you felt—it's a prelude to shifting,” he took great delight in informing me. “And if your body had tried to shift, it would not have succeeded. You would have been twisted to pieces.”

“Fuck me,” I whispered.

“I haven't decided yet.”

I blinked. “Was that a joke?”

Dalsharan chuckled. “I thought we could use a little levity.”

“We have plenty of levity; I'm as levit as they come.”

“Levit is not a word.”

“It is now. Welcome to my world, Hawk Lord, where words aren't so much about being proper, but about being properly understood.” I winked at him. Then I went serious. “You said you'd tell me about the soul stones.”

“I suppose it's better late than never,” he muttered. “Very well. TheSoul Stones are jewels imbued with the essence of our beasts—their souls. The magic within them connects directly to the kingdom of their beasts. That connection allows us warlords to draw on the magic of Varalorre in times of need.”

“The magic of an entire kingdom?” I whispered.

“Yes,” he said sternly. “Singly, they are very powerful, but they will work only for a member of the race they belong to. As they are the essence of our animal's soul, they magnify those abilities. By accessing his soul stone, a warlord can become stronger, faster, and more cunning. But if three warlords of different animal families were to unite their stones—an avian, a feline, and a canine—they would combine their power into a charm that could, at the very least, open wards.”

“And at the most?” I asked.

“I don't know. No one has ever dared to join three of them. The magic would be wild. Unpredictable. And if you merged three stones of the same color, the power would be even greater.”

“The same color?”

“There are four colors of soul stones—gold, red, blue, and green,” he explained. “Each animal family—Canine, Feline, and Avian—has four fae races within it, and each of those races has a different color of stone associated with it so that every family contains all four colors. To distinguish between the jewels of each family—”

I snorted. “Family jewels.”

Dalsharan gave me a hard look and I went quiet.

“To distinguish between the jewels of each family,” he started again, “each color has three shades—pale, neutral, and dark. This makes every soul stone unique. Now, if three warlords whose stones were of the same color, just different shades, united their soul stones, the already extraordinary power would be magnified.”

“Hold on.” I lifted a hand as something started to click in my head. “The Lion Soul Stone is a shade of gold,” I said. “And so is yours.”

“The Lion Soul is pale gold, my stone is dark.” Dalsharan nodded as if encouraging me to continue.

“What color is the Coyote Soul Stone?”

“Neutral gold,” he said in an approving tone.

“That's why you guys were so worried about getting them back! And that's why they didn't want you to go!”

“And that's why I had to,” he said softly. “Those stones are brothers to mine. I must see them safely back to their warlords.”

“Why couldn't their warlords go after them?”

“Because without them, they're weakened. I was the only one left, Ravyn. It had to be me.”

I shook my head at him. I didn't follow his reasoning, but I let it go. “You said that three merged stones could open wards at the very least. What could three merged stones of the same color do?”

“Potentially, they could do anything,” he said grimly.

He probably thought I was concerned about what the Farungal would do with that kind of power, and I was. But something else had occurred to me.

“How about stop the war?” I growled. “Could they do that?”

“You don't understand.” Dal shook his head. “Sure, a trinity of soul stones might be able to wipe out the Farungal. But they might also wipe out the rest of us along with the monsters. The risk is simply too great.”

I went still. “Oh.”

“Yes. Uniting the soul stones are our very last resort. I told you, they are wild, just like our beasts, and such savage power cannot fall into the hands of the Farungal.”

“But if a single stone only works for a specific race, wouldn't the three together need members of those three races to use it?”

“Not necessarily. For a warlord aligned with one of the stones, it would, of course, be easier to wield the power; the Beasts would help him. Guide him. But if someone were strong enough—mentally strong enough—and had the will to withstand the Beasts, they could command the soul stones. They wouldn't even have to be Fae to do it.”

“So, with only two of them, the stones are useless to the Farungal, but with three, they could be united and used.”

“It's a possibility. If one of the Farungal were strong enough.”

“But on their own, they only work for faeries of a specific race.” I made a huffing sound. “No wonder you were shocked when that thing worked for me.”

“It didn't work for you; it nearly killed you. Still, you shouldn't have lived long enough to remove it. The Lion Soul should have torn through your human body and killed you instantly.” Dalsharan shook his head at me and a tone of wonder entered his voice, “Ravyn, you survived wearing a soul stone. Who are you?”

“What kind of question is that?” I scowled at him.

“I'm asking if it's possible that you have some fae blood in you. In particular, LionFae blood.”

That wasn't as crazy as it may sound. Humans and faeries have been getting down and dirty since they first met, over a thousand years ago, and sometimes—it's rare, but it happens—children are born from those unions. When those children are born to human mothers, both mother and child get whisked away to Varalorre, where the baby is raised as fae and the mother is awarded a sort of honorary fae citizenship. But some human women have been known to hide their pregnancies because they don't want to leave Stalana. I think those women are fucking crazy; I'd give anything to go to Varalorre. Maybe all those baby hormones made them nuts, but whatever the reason, there are now humans running around Stalana with fae ancestry that they don't know about.

“I don't think so,” I said and snorted.

“Why do you say it like that?”

“I come from a long line of close-minded assholes. I can't imagine any of my ancestors having sex with a faerie, much less bearing a child by one.”

“A randy fae man wouldn't have cared if your ancestor was an asshole so long as she was beautiful. And if you're any indication of the looks that run in your family, I'd say there's a good chance that was the case.”

A slow grin spread across my face.

“Don't smile at me like that,” Dal said but he smiled too.

“You think I'm pretty,” I said in a sing-song tone. “You want to kiss my pretty lips.”

“I told you, I haven't decided yet.”

“Oh, you've decided.” I tossed the meat pie aside and crawled over to him. “You just don't want to admit it yet.” I rose on my knees before him and leaned forward to whisper in his ear. “I won't tell anyone.”

Dalsharan jerked back, put a hand to my chest, and pushed me away. “This is why I don't take a lot of lovers.”

I flushed with embarrassment and sat back on my heels. “Whoa. Okay. I misjudged that situation.” I started to get up.

Dalsharan grabbed my wrist with a growl, yanked me down, and rolled me beneath him. He pinned me to his pallet with his body, and I felt him harden against my thigh. But he didn't kiss me. He glared at me.

“You're a fucking distraction!” the Hawk Lord snarled in my face. “I was so busy flirting with you that I didn't think things through. I didn't warn you about the cold in a Farungal fortress or the dangerous treasure they keep. I didn't even tell you about the soul stones. I let you go in there unprepared and you almost failed your mission because of it. Because of this!”

His mouth finally met mine, but his kiss was crushing, as if he were punishing me for his fuck-up. He ground his cock against me as he shoved that twisting, hot tongue into my mouth and grabbed a handful of my hair to angle me the way he wanted. I let him get aggressive, let him pour out his rage into me, because, frankly, it was fucking hot. I moaned into his mouth and slashed my lips over his, undulating up to rub my hard cock against his belly, brushing the tip of his mine.

Dal pulled away, breathing hard, and stared at me. His eyes had gone pure amethyst and his face twitched. But he took a deep breath and when he let it out, his eyes shifted back to their usual color. He released his hold on my hair and stroked it soothingly before rubbing a thumb across my swollen lips.

“You are a beautiful man, Ravyn, but I still haven't decided.”

I made a choking sound until I was finally able to form words. “Are you fucking kidding me? You're as hard as I am.”

I rolled him onto his back, and he let me—a little smile playing on his lips. I yanked open his robe and groaned when that magnificent cock was revealed. My mouth watered as I started to move down his body.

“No.” He grabbed a handful of my hair again and pulled me up by it. “I said I haven't decided.”

“Oh, come on!” I whined. “Just let me suck your dick.”

Dalsharan burst out laughing. “You are very tempting, Corporal. But no, thank you.”

“No, thank you?” I pushed off him and went back to my pallet. “Fuck this.” I undid my belt and tossed it aside, then untied the waistband of my pants.

“What are you doing?” Dal growled as he yanked his robe closed and sat up.

“I'm taking care of myself since you're a fucking cocktease,” I muttered and yanked out my dick.

Dal's breath caught as he stared at the length of my shaft. I almost grinned. I knew I had a pretty cock. It was a good size, not veiny, and flushed a deep rose at the tip when it was hard. It had made more than a few men sigh. And this was the first time the Hawk Lord was seeing it. I licked my palm slowly. His eyes flicked up to watch my tongue. I licked my hand again and again until it was dripping, then I grabbed my dick and started stroking it.

“Ravyn,” Dal growled in warning.

“Either you can rub it or I will,” I said as I laid back and looked at him. “But if you're not going to, at least do me a favor and open that robe.”

A flush rushed over the Hawk Lord's cheeks but, with his stare locked on mine, he opened his robe and flung it back, over his hip with a sharp movement. With him lying on his side as he was, his cock laid on his thigh but was long enough to touch the mattress and hard enough to make me whimper.

“Fuck,” I whispered. “That cock would go deep.” I licked my lips and stroked faster. “And it would stretch my ass so good.”

“Yes, it would,” Dalsharan growled as his hand dropped to his shaft. That magical lubricant glistened over his flesh as he began to rub himself. “And I would fuck you so hard that you'd be sore for a week. But I wouldn't give you any rest. I'd take you, over and over again, even as you begged for mercy. I'd hold you down and slide my cock deep in your ass because it would be mine to fuck.”

I groaned and rubbed faster. “You could fuck my mouth too.”

“Oh, I would.” Dal grinned viciously, his stare latching onto my lips as the wet sounds of him stroking his massive dick became erotic music to my ears. He laid his head down on his pillow as his gaze went heavy-lidded. “I would make you kneel before me and suck me slowly, and when I grew bored with that, I would grab you by the hair and face-fuck you until you gagged. I'd come in that pretty mouth and choke you with my cock until you swallowed.”

I cried out and came, spilling across my pants.

Dalsharan avidly watched me come, then made a deep, rumbling growl as his hips bucked into his fist. “Pull down your pants and get on your hands and knees.”

Heart racing and cock limp but twitching, I hurried to comply.

“Face away from me. I want to see that thick ass.”

“Oh, fuck,” I whispered as I got into position.

“Push your pretty face into your pallet and spread your cheeks for me,” he ordered.

A flush spread across my face, and I was glad that he couldn't see it. I pulled my ass cheeks apart for him, air hitting my hole and making it pucker tighter. But then I heard him moving across the cave floor, and I prayed he had made his mind up and was coming to fuck me as hard as he'd promised. Please, whatever horny gods are listening, make that gorgeous man stick that amazing cock in me. Please!

A warm hand slid over my ass and I twitched in need. The sounds of him stroking himself were loud and feral. I angled my head to watch him. Dalsharan knelt behind me like a savage god, his hair coming loose of its braid, hanging in wild tendrils around his stunning face. His lips were parted and wet, as if he'd been licking them, and his violet stare was fastened on my ass. But he still didn't fuck me, just stared, stroked himself, and touched me.

“Fuck me,” I begged.

Dal met my gaze and made a low, growling sound. I went quiet, shivering in a strangely erotic fear. His hand worked faster and faster until he suddenly lurched to his feet and loomed over my lifted ass like a pirate king, his legs spread and his eyes burning with lust. Then the Hawk Lord snarled into his climax and came across my ass in searing ribbons. He watched with dark satisfaction as his thick cum dripped between my cheeks and over my hole.

I hadn't even realized that I was hard again. Hadn't realized that I was so turned on that when his cum hit me, I followed him into a second orgasm. I came all over my pants as my asshole clenched to suck some of his cum inside it. Then I fell forward onto my pallet in exhausted relief.

The Hawk Lord went back to his pallet and seconds later, I heard his deep, even breathing.