Tested by the Night (12 page)

“Suck swish swirl swallow, suck swish swirl swallow, suck swish swirl swallow, suck swish swirl swallow.”

Mia almost began chanting it with him, but something hard suddenly poked her right in the middle of her back. She quickly turned to see who had the audacity to be so rude. That was a mistake. It wasn’t another student, playing a prank, as she’d thought it would be. It was High Mystic Purrell himself. And by turning, she’d brought not only her gaze right to the level of the mystic’s saggy nut sack, but her nose as well. He smelled of dust, liniment, and—and dirty socks. She gagged.

But for being old, the man certainly had moved quickly. She could’ve sworn only a moment before he’d been behind the pedestal, close to the blowjob freaks while he chanted his suck whatever thingy.

“I have an itch, Princess Hammerstrike. Scratch it for me please.” The mystic crooned in a soft hypnotic voice.

She felt her mind begin to blur, her hands tremble, and her fingers inch toward him, as if they had a mind of their own. A memory flooded her thoughts. A recollection of her mother and her aunts telling her all about High Mystic Purrell and his infamous pointer. “Don’t let him touch you with it,” they had said. “He’ll make you do disgusting things if you do.”

Mia took a deep breath and shook her head. “I’m afraid you’ll have to scratch your own itches, sir. It’s not in my class curriculum.”

The mystic instructor’s eyes bulged, and his cheeks reddened as he poked her again with his pointer and then again for good measure. “I said I have an itch, young lady. You are cockless and, as such, do not have the capacity to refuse me. The cockless are a weak minded sex, easily led, easily influenced. Now, be a good girl and scratch.”

He made a production of grinning widely and gesturing toward the other male members of the classroom. “Let this be a lesson to you men. Females are and will always be the weaker sex, mentally and physically. It’s up to us who have cocks to control them, guide them. It’s our destiny, so to speak.” He glanced back down toward her. “Well, what are you waiting for? Scratch.”

Mia shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

High Mystic Purrell sputtered. “What do you mean you don’t think so?”

Mia shrugged her shoulders. “I mean, no. I won’t do it. You can poke me all day with that stupid pointer of yours, but I’m not scratching any part of you. Not now, not ever.”

He glared at her. “Do you by chance have a cock between your legs you’ve been hiding? Are you hermaphrodite?”

Mia shook her head again. “No.”

High Mystic Purrell slammed his pointer across her desk. “Then how are you resisting me? No female has ever been able to withstand my mystic powers.”

Mia shrugged again. “I don’t know. You’re the expert here. You tell me. I’m merely one of the cockless, remember?”

The four girls on the pedestal suddenly stopped what they were doing and looked up with dazed expressions on their faces.

High Mystic Purrell startled. “Suck, um, swallow, no wait. Swish then swallow. No, suck then swirl, yes, swirl. No, that’s not right.”

The girls hurried back to their seats.

The mystic’s face turned bright red. “Now, see what you’ve done? You…you girl. You’ve upset the balance of the universe.”

Mia chuckled. “The balance of the entire universe, really? That’s a little melodramatic, don’t you think?”

High Mystic Purrell only had one more thing to say, and that, he bellowed. “Class dismissed.”

****

Talon cringed as Mia hit the mat for the third time in as many minutes. “You sure this is a good idea, Wally? Zander’s going to have my hide if his little sister breaks so much as a nail let alone her stubborn little neck.”

Walaford Titwilder laughed. “I paired her with Pierced on purpose. For God Draka’s sake, Talon, she couldn’t be safer even if yout were her partner. The worse that’ll happen is Mia might end up with a sore bum come morning. Well, that, and possibly a bruised ego.”

The half troll, half gnome hand-to-hand combat instructor laughed again. “Anyway, what do yout care? I thought the plan was to discourage her, make her realize the bleakness of the situation? I mean, if she can’t even best her sweet little gnome cousin on a sparing mat, who loves her dearly by the way, what chance does she stand against creatures who’ll be out for her blood? And what possible chance could she have of surviving even the first part of Queen Adrina’s Challenge if she can’t take a simple hit? Give her a few days of getting knocked on her arse, and she’ll come to that same realization all on her own.”

Wally was probably right, but that didn’t make what was going on right before Talon’s eyes any easier to watch. “I’m just saying perhaps Pierced can make the same point without actually knocking her down every couple of minutes.”

The little gnome tripped her, and Mia landed on the mat once more, this time with an “Ummf.”

Wally grinned. “Builds character.”

Talon clenched his hands tight behind his back so he wouldn’t be tempted to give his friend a lesson in character building. “I think I’ll go give her a few pointers. You know what I mean. I’ll show her how to side step and avoid landing so hard. That shouldn’t hurt anything.”

Wally shook his head. “Bad idea. What’s it to yout anyway? I thought this was just a job? A favor to Zander? If yout truly wish Mia to fail, then leave her to her own inadequacies. They’ll serve yout well.” The hand-to-hand combat instructor winked. “But if yout aren’t so sure, if yout are beginning to doubt yout want to see her fail in her quest to become Queen of the barbarians someday, then feel free to give her all the pointers yout wish. Just remember, though, in the end, yout are going to have to pick a side and stick with it, Mia’s or Zander’s. I doubt yout can have it both ways.”

Talon shook his head. “In my mind, I know she can’t win, and I know Zander’s right for wanting to keep his sister out of harm’s way. Queen Adrina’s Challenge is much too dangerous. But he also told me to be her friend, her bodyguard, and her self-defense instructor, so he must expect me to help her in some capacity, not just sabotage her efforts every chance I get.”

He threw up his hands. “I don’t know what to do anymore. On one hand, I have a promise to fulfill to Zander, but in my heart, I swear I can see Mia sitting upon that throne, ruling Alaria and the entire barbarian nation so plain it makes my soul ache. There’s something special about her that makes me want to believe in her, that makes me want to help her any way I can, that makes me want to bow before her and swear my allegiance, to champion her cause.”

“Please tell me yout aren’t falling in love with our little Mia,” Wally asked? “That would be a monumental mistake. She’s a princess destined for great things, and well, yout are a…a…well yout know exactly what yout are.”

Heat crept up Talon’s neck. “Don’t be ridicules. Of course I’m not falling in love with her. I just hate to see the odds stacked against anyone the way they’re stack against her. Even if I wanted to care about Princess Amelia Hammerstrike in some kind of romantic way, I know better. I don’t allow myself to forget for even a moment who and what I am. I know my place in this world, Wally, and I know hers. You don’t have to remind me.”

Wally gestured toward the mats. “Well, I suppose since Zander gave you permission to teach her self-defense, we best get her lessons started. Yout show her how to avoid getting knocked down so often, and I’ll show her how to do her own share of the knocking down.”

Talon sighed. “You don’t have to get involved in this. I can do it on my own. I won’t ask you to do something that might put you on the outs with Zander when this is all over and done with. He’s too good of a friend to you, to both of us, and if in the end, if I fail him, he’s going to need you.”

Wally shrugged. “I doubt Zander realizes exactly what it is he’s asked of yout. On one hand, yout are to help his sister and, on the other, see to it she fails. It’s an impossible task. But even if he does know, yout must first follow yout own heart, and I must follow mine. I’ve known Mia all her life, and my heart says help the lass. If she fails, she fails, and if she doesn’t, then she doesn’t. As far as Zander, he’s going to have to accept the outcome right along with the rest of us whatever it may be.”

Talon nodded. “So be it.”

****

Mia snuggled a little deeper into the hot bath and sighed. It had been a very long day, and every single inch of her body ached. Her shoulders, her arms, her belly and thighs, even the skin between her toes and the hair follicles upon the top of her head. What the VoT had she been thinking taking a hand-to-hand combat class in the first place? She was no fighter.

No, she’d never been one to use brawn and brute strength. But then, she hadn’t needed to worry about such things before deciding to take on the quest.

Mia cringed and shook her head. God Draka, what a spoiled, selfish, little, whiny diva she truly was. And though she wasn’t anywhere ready to give up, perhaps she should’ve listened to her best friend, Kitrina Dragonheart, when her human ally urged her to take at least one self-defense class along with her pretty-pretty princess curriculum.

Oh, yes, she should’ve listened to Kit about a lot of things.

If Kit had been out on that mat today, she wouldn’t have been knocked flat on her ass, by her itty-bitty gnome cousin no less. And Kit would’ve put not only Pierced, but Talon and Wally on their backsides staring up at the ceiling of the arena. And Kit would’ve knocked the lot of them right back down if they’d even dared tried to rise.

But then, Kit was a rogue and Kit was a shifter. Kit could wield a knife, and Kit was smart and brave and fast and strong, and everything Mia was not.

A tear rolled unchecked down her cheek. For God Draka’s sake, what was wrong with her? She was a barbarian by birth and by blood, yet she lacked the majority of the skills most barbarians were famous for while her very human, very unbarbarian friend, Kit, had them all in abundance. Adan and Lizbeth Hammerstrike would’ve been so much better off if Kitrina Dragonheart had been born their daughter instead of becoming a daughter by marriage.

Having Kit instead of her as his sister certainly wouldn’t have made Zander happy. He’d always been in love with Kitrina, and she with him. Mia was glad they had finally stopped fighting destiny and given into that love. They deserved to be happy. They were meant for each other and always had been. Even their individual skills complimented the abilities of the other. Two peas in a pod, two halves of a whole, two equal parts of the same beating heart, that’s what they were.

That didn’t make it any easier to swallow the fact she herself was completely and totally inept at anything other than being a pretty-pretty princess.

The feel of large hands pulling her up and out of the water startled Mia. Her eyes flew open, and she almost screamed before she realized it was Talon. A very warm, very naked Talon.

“What are you doing? You scared me half to death.”

He chuckled as he wrapped her in his big, strong arms and carried her toward their bed. “Any longer in that bath and you’d look like a prune. I have something that’ll help ease the pain of your sore muscles better than hot water will.”

He dropped her face first in the middle of their bed and straddled her hips. The cool air around her and the crisp sheets below her sent chill bumps skittering along her spine and arms. The only warmth afforded her was the heat radiating from his thighs as they braced against her sides and from his cock as it nestled against her ass. It was on the tip of her tongue to complain about the cold when another glorious source of warmth chased the chills away.

The feel and fragrance of hot liquid slowly poured along the length of her spine almost had her purring, and when Talon added his big, strong hands, rubbing it deep into her sore muscles, she gave into the urge and did just that. She purred, and then she purred again.

The oil smelled of jasmine and rosehips with a hint of orange blossom perhaps. It reminded her of summer and sunshine, of long lazy days and star filled nights.

“Ohh, that’s wonderful,” she purred again. “Where ever did you get it?”

He leaned in close and nuzzled her earlobe. “Lady Briarlarn gifted it to me when I was at Castle Kuropkat.” He chuckled again. “She told me with as many bumps and bruises as I get on a daily basis, I’m sure to have need of her special liniment.”

Mia smiled. “Oh, yes, Aunt Briar truly is a very talented healer.”

Over and over, Talon kneaded her arms, her shoulders, her neck, her back, her sides, and even her ass until she was almost numb with pleasure. And when she was on the verge of drifting off, he shifted around until they were ass to ass and he faced her feet. Then he started on her thighs and calves.

“We shouldn’t have pushed you so hard today,” he grumbled.

Mia smiled again. “I’m glad you did. Don’t get me wrong, I hurt everywhere. But I know if I’m to successfully complete this quest I’m going to have to toughen up a lot. Thank you for helping me, Talon. Thank you for believing in me, and thank you for caring whether or not I succeed. I’m so glad Zander sent you to me. I really should send him a thank you missive.”

She could’ve sworn she heard him gulp, but he didn’t say another word. Instead, he flipped back around until he was once more facing her prone form. He spread her legs wide, nudged himself between them, and lifted her hips until she was positioned on her knees with him behind her. His proud, stiff cock nudged at her opening.

“Let’s forget about your quest for the time being, shall we?” Talon whispered against her skin. His voice shook. “I have a powerful need to be deep inside you, princess, and I hope you have as much of a need for me. But if you are too tender, too tired, I’ll understand. I’ll simply tuck you in close to my heart and hold you while you sleep the night away.”

“Don’t stop.” She wiggled against him. “Fuck me fast, fuck me hard. I need… Oh, Talon, you know exactly what we both need. Give it to us.”

In one powerful thrust, he filled her, retreated about half way, and then filled her once more, and then again and again.

Mia gasped as tingles of excitement pooled in her core, and her pussy contracted around him. She clenched a handful of the sheet beneath her for support, held on, and gloried in his possession as his balls rhythmically slapped her clit and his rock-hard cock kissed her womb.