Kesst had briefly stopped moving, and he felt himself dragging in breath, fighting to calm his churning stomach — when he again felt that gentle, familiar hand, settling against his back. While Eft’s magic again twined deep inside him, stroking at his stomach, soothing it again.
Damn, it was good, and Kesst couldn’t seem to stop himself from leaning into that touch, into Eft’s solid body beside him. Into how Eft was shifting even closer too, almostembracinghim, good gods, his breath warm on Kesst’s cheek.
“I’ll try,” he murmured, very quiet. “Is this better?”
This. And maybe he meant Kesst’s stomach, which was indeed greatly improved, or — Kesst twitched — maybe he meant his own smile. Which was a ghastly, painted-on, sharp-toothed grimace, horribly contorting his face, and Kesst winced at the sight, even as he betrayed a bark of bright, genuine laughter.
“That isnotbetter,” he countered, under his breath. “You’ve just become the most terrifying orc in this room, you menace. Honestly, are youtryingto get yourself killed?”
Eft’s appalling grin had abruptly warmed, softened, becoming something that made Kesst’s heart skip a beat. His own smile curving with genuine warmth, too — and at that inopportune moment, Grimarr halted in front of his father and Skald, and bent into the usual low bow, his fist over his heart. Revealing Kesst and Eft behind him, and Kesst hurriedly bowed too, desperately fighting to ignore the weight of Kaugir and Skald’s combined gazes upon him.
“Ach, what trickery is this?” Skald’s harsh voice said as Kesst arose, his big hands roughly shoving a red-faced Benkt off to the side. “Our pretty wench yet lives! I was sure” — his eyes sharpened as he glanced at Eft — “you had died, to keep spurning your betters as you have. It has been what, five days, Captain, since he has come to serve us?”
Kesst attempted his most ingratiating smile down toward Skald, and again fervently sought to ignore the heaviness of Kaugir’s eyes upon him, the tension in Eft’s body beside him. “I assure you, it’s been the mostexcruciatingwait,” he said to Skald, flipping his hair over his shoulder. “Of course, I only didn’t want to risk disappointing you with my frightful indisposition, so I’ve been —”
“Getting on his knees for our useless new bewitcher, I ken,” cut in Kaugir’s deep voice, his heavy gaze now intent on Eft. “Who has not yet honoured his betters, ach?”
Kesst could feel the faint twist of Eft’s magic inside him — wait, was Eftstilltouching him? — and thankfully Grimarr had shifted on his feet, stepping a little closer. “Our gifted Ash-Kai healer is new to the mountain, and yet learns our ways,” he said, with a meaningful glance toward Eft, and another slow, purposeful bow toward his father. “It is done thus, ach?”
Eft stiffly obliged, keeping his gaze low as he bowed, his other hand still on Kesst’s back. And Kesst could have groaned at the sight of it, at the way Skald’s eyes had flicked to Eft’s hand, and instantly narrowed. And at the way he himself should have swiftly stepped away from Eft, should have knocked away the sheer wheeling peril in his touch, but somehow… couldn’t.
“Ach, our newbewitcher,” Skald sneered. “Who has dared, Captain, to disobey me, and dishonour me. Who refused to grant memywench, on my command!”
Grimarr had opened his mouth to speak again, but his father forestalled it with a curt, forceful slap of his scimitar against Grimarr’s torso. “And how did this weakling bewitcher seek to make amends for this sin against you?” Kaugir drawled at Skald. “Did he offer you his shameful innocence, mayhap? Or did he offer to show you his…healing?”
This was said with a meaningful little smirk toward Skald, who was looking speculative now, a vicious grin curling at his mouth. “No, this bewitcher offerednaughtto make amends to me,” he replied coldly, as he dropped his hand to his still-wet, still-bared prick, and dragged a sharp claw down the length of it, leaving a swelling line of red behind. “Though I ken now he shall, ach? With his mouth, mayhap. And should he fail…”
His hand was reaching sideways, toying with the hilt of his own bloodstained scimitar, which was lying on the bench beside him. And Kesst was suddenly, viscerally aware of the slowly quieting room, of the increasingly watchful audience around them. Of the dark, dizzying danger that was hovering in this moment, so close, so ready to strike…
And the danger wasn’t only in Skald and Kaugir’s taunting, leering, waiting eyes, but also in the realization that Grimarr couldn’t risk sparking that mutiny here, not in a room of drunken, rioting, outwardly loyal orcs, all pinned firmly under Kaugir’s thumb. And worst of all, the danger was here in the hard press of Eft’s hand to Kesst’s back, and the reeling, overpoweringragethat was now flooding deep into Kesst’s skin. Saying no, Eft would not kneel for Skald, he would never,never.
And for that, he would die.
The sheer barrelling terror was suddenly screeching, wracking through Kesst’s chest — and somehow he lurched forward, away from Eft’s comfort and his fury, and into the wolf’s waiting mouth. Or rather, between his sprawled, waiting thighs.
“Really, Skald?” Kesst’s voice demanded, with as much high-pitched disbelief as it could possibly muster. “I haven’t seen you for five whole days, and now you’re here offering your favours to him?Him?!”
He cast his most disdainful glance back toward Eft, and then dismissed him altogether with a flippant toss of his hair over his shoulder. “That healer ishideous,” he informed Skald. “And hereeks, and clearly has no manners, and no sense. It’s no damned wonder he hasn’t been touched before — I mean,really— and now you’re just going to grant him our Left Hand’s priceless seed? Just like that?”
He snapped his fingers in front of Skald’s face, and then put his hands to his hips, and assumed his best, sultriest pout. “I have been trapped down in Ka-esh hell with this stuffy, stodgy, stubborn lout forfive endless days,” he continued, “doing all my very best healing for you, so I could come up here and properly serve you! Don’t I deservesomekind of credit for that? And if you give my rewards tohiminstead, I shall be very,veryvexed, Skald!”
Skald was watching, he was listening, that surely wasn’t anger glimmering in his eyes, was it? — so Kesst gave a ridiculous stamp of his foot, another haughty toss of his head. “Your next load ismine, you big infuriating tease,” he announced imperiously, stepping even closer, almost near enough to touch. “No matterwhatI need to do to get it!”
And yes, yes, it was working, because Skald’s hand had finally released his scimitar, and that was surely amusement — and hunger — crackling in his eyes. And next to him, Kaugir had even given an indulgent laugh, elbowing Skald in the side as he downed his goblet.
“Ach, Skald, you shall not bear your silly, spoilt wench making such a fuss, shall you?” he said. “He needs some reminding of his place, I ken.”
The bitterness choked in Kesst’s throat, but he kept that thwarted look on his face, that lofty tilt to his chin. And yes, Skald’s eyes were heavy-lidded now, leering up and down Kesst’s too-close form, while his blood-streaked hand dropped to stroke up the other waiting, leaking weapon, hovering at his groin.
“Ach, then kneel for me, foolish wench,” he growled at Kesst. “And show me how sweetly you can beg.”
9
Kesst spent the rest of the day moaning and pleading in the Ash-Kai common-room, freely offering Skald everything he damn well wanted from him. His pleasure, his pain, his hunger, his humiliation.
It didn’t stop until the party had finally quieted, and Skald had fallen asleep on the bench, snoring loudly toward the ceiling. Kaugir had thankfully left with his Skai hangers-on by that point, but Grimarr was still there, leaning back against the nearest wall, gazing blankly at the ceiling. And when he saw Kesst staggering toward the door, he lurched over to walk beside him, his hand steadying Kesst’s elbow, his eyes darkening as they flicked up and down his bared form.
“Ach, brother,” he said, under his breath, once they were a good distance down the corridor again. “You will go have Efterar look at you, ach?”
