Page 44 of The King’s Man (The Kingdom of the Krow #3)

~ JANN ~

I’d fantasized at times about taking a mate. Imagined a female who admired me. Who’d wait for me. But in all those silly dreams, I’d never once imagined that she’d be a soldier, eager to fight at my side, full of intelligent questions, and capable of astute, strategic advice.

And I’d definitely never imagined that she’d instruct me to pick her up and carry her through a war camp while she made us invisible.

The moment we walked straight through the side of the tent was so unnerving, I almost stopped on the other side and insisted that we simply sneak out like normal people.

But thankfully, there was no more need for her to pass us through physical barriers. By sticking to the paths that avoided campfires and patrols, I soon had her out to that bowl of earth where Melek had faced the challenges to take the crown. It was empty, but dark with night.

“Don’t use any more of your strength,” I murmured in her ear now that we were alone, lowering her to her feet so she stood with her back to me. “My wings are sufficient to this.”

Manifesting my wings, I snapped them wide, smiling when she turned to stare at them as I stretched and flapped twice, reminding my back muscles of their weight and strength.

She wasn’t the only one who would be tired by the time we stopped. But this magik, at least, was something I understood.

When I’d strapped her to my chest and she assured me that she was ready, I looped our bound hands in front of her belly and held her to me as I shot us into the sky.

She sucked in a breath and I felt the jolt of her fear in the bond, but it only made her cling harder to my arm, so I didn’t complain.

The next few hours were some of the most satisfying of my life.

I knew my purpose, and even if I was somewhat wary of Melek’s plan, we were at least aligned in the goal to find Gall and Istral, and prepare Melek for any potential hazards on the journey.

I turned Yilan’s surprising reassurance over in my mind more than once—did she know what had passed between Melek and I? Or had that only been a Ruler reassuring her loyal subject? I hadn’t known what to say in case she’d simply stumbled into the core of my fear.

But this was Yilan, I reminded myself. The woman did nothing without three motives unspoken.

I suspected she understood far more than she was letting on. But there was also nothing I could do but follow the orders I’d been given—and watch out for dangers that might threaten my mate.

We’d known from the beginning that there was a very serious risk Gall and Istral had been taken—or killed—by the Fallen.

It sickened me that I’d rather learn they were being tortured by our resentful enemies.

But the fact remained… it was safer for all of us if the obstacle to their freedom was mortal.

It was unlikely, but definitely possible. Which was why Melek’s unspoken warnings felt so heavy. He knew what he was asking of me if—

‘You’re quiet,’ Diadre observed. Which was when I realized we’d been flying for an hour and barely spoken.

And that this gift of hers to speak in the mind was precious.

Usually in order to communicate while we flew, we were reduced to hand signals, or shouting over the sound of rushing wings—which was fine if it was just Neph boys playing around.

But hardly conducive to hunting, or covert travel.

‘I’d forgotten we could speak this way,’ I replied honestly. ‘It’s surreal to me.’

‘There’s a lot about this that’s surreal,’ she sent, a smile in her tone. ‘Perhaps this is a good time to practice our linking, though. So we’ll be stronger when we need it.’

I frowned. ‘This link can strengthen?’

‘Like any other skill we get better at using it with practice—and the stronger our bond, the wider the distance we’ll be able to reach each other across.’

I like the idea of that. ‘So, how do we grow it?’

‘Just keep using it. Like any other muscle, it gets stronger with repetitive use.’ And then the little she-devil chuckled and arched her back, rubbing her ass against my groin.

I hissed and tightened my grip on her belly, though it wasn’t needed with the straps we’d arranged that crossed behind me and around her to keep her to me, whether I used my arms or not.

‘Careful,’ I growled in her head, grinding against her so that she gasped. ‘Two can play that game.’

She laughed lightly, but stopped teasing me.

‘Tell me about this,’ I sent, lifting my hand where our wrists were bound.

‘Melek told me it’s your tradition for marriage,’ God, that was a humbling thought.

She wasn’t just my mate, but my wife. ‘But he and I never spoke about it in detail. What else should I know? Is there magik in this? Or someway I should honor you for your people, Diadre? Whatever it means, I want to understand.’

A small shiver tracked down her spine, but the bond swelled with pleasure. I had pleased her. That made me smile.

‘The binding is a symbol,’ she sent after a few thoughtful seconds. ‘There’s no magik to it. But it… it’s intended to be a visible symbol of our souls. And leaving it in place is a show of our commitment.’

My brows rose of their own accord. ‘Some people stay tied together for the rest of their—’

‘No! No. That’s not possible, of course.’

I was relieved. As much as I wanted her to feel sure of me, I was a warrior. I needed the freedom of movement .

‘It’s only… Most of the bonds in our society are chosen, not divine. People marry and invite a bond. They aren’t divine mates. In those relationships there’s a belief that the longer you stay tied to each other, the stronger your bond will become.’

‘Then we won’t be impatient,’ I sent firmly. ‘We’ll keep the binding until our duties require us to move apart.’

She nodded, but didn’t respond otherwise. She stared at our bound hands.

I’d lifted my palm, flattening it in the air in front of her when I asked her about the ties.

As she told me about the binding and its significance, she’d been spreading her fingers and sliding them in and out between mine.

Now, her touch became more hesitant. She watched herself trace the lines in my palm and fingers, even sliding gentle caresses over my callouses.

And that spark, that thrum between us swelled in the bond.

‘You have very… attractive hands,’ she sent breathlessly. ‘I love looking at your hands, and feeling them on me. I love how big they are.’ To demonstrate, she lined the heel of her palm up with mine and splayed her hand against it.

The tips of her fingers barely reached the first knuckle joint of each of mine.

I was struck again by how small she was.

She held such presence in my mind and in any space she entered, I often forgot how little she was.

I sighed and my cock twitched as she ran her fingers between mine, sliding them in and out.

‘God, Dee. That feels—’

‘I know.’

I was growing hard, which was not going to help my focus.

We might be flying through the night over the plains, but I still had to watch for other Neph or even archers on the ground.

It was unlikely anyone happened to take the same course as us through the skies, or that anyone with nefarious purposes happened to be searching the sky tonight…

but a good soldier knew complacency was death.

Sucking in a deep breath, I pulled our hands down to her waist and held her tighter against me, burying my nose in her neck as I fought the urge to land, throw her over a boulder and take her until she screamed.

Diadre inhaled sharply. ‘I saw that. I like that.’

I grunted and twined our fingers of those hands. ‘You aren’t helping. We have to put as much space between us and Melek as we can.’

‘Can we… I mean, in flight?’

The mental image she sent of us soaring in the sunlight, bodies entwined, and voices thrown to the empty sky was so thrilling, so erotic, I inhaled too deeply and sucked my own saliva into my throat and choked.

My flight was erratic for several moments, and she laughed as I spluttered and coughed, trying to find my way back to some semblance of control.

‘Dear God, yes,’ I snarled in her head. ‘But not now. Not with the bags and weapons and… and…’ and a need for sanity.

I felt the fire in her flare, then ease as she stifled it, nodding. ‘Well, an idea for another time when things are more peaceful, I guess?’

I growled at the disappointment in her tone, though she softened it with a smile and reached back to stroke my neck with her free hand.

‘Dee, I vow to you that before we have returned to my home, I will take you in the skies.’

‘Have you ever done that before?’ A tiny flutter of her fear reached me in the bond.

Thank God I could be honest. ‘No. But it has always been a fantasy… one I would greatly enjoy fulfilling with you.’

I felt the rush in her, the warm ache, the pinching chest. She liked that I’d said that.

‘I can’t say that I ever imagined that particular position,’ she said mischievously, ‘But… I’d like that too.’

My heart thrilled and I gripped her tighter, tempted to throw caution to the wind and do it anyway. But no… it was something that needed time and my full attention . So, instead, I blew out a breath and groaned. ‘God, now I’m aching. We need to talk about something else.’

Diadre giggled and I felt the wicked little thrust in her heart—the desire to tease me with it. Yet, like the good soldier that she was, she turned her mind to the purpose of our mission and helped me focus on something other than plunging into her during flight.

Still, I would not forget that she wanted that.

One more thing in which our hearts were united.

Thank God.

When the sun rose, the risk became much higher that we’d be spied by someone on the ground and since neither of us had slept, we’d decided to eat and sleep until the heat of the day had passed. High sun was early on the plains. We could travel again in the late afternoon.

So as the skies turned from black, to gray, edging towards pink, I looked for a suitable place to land and rest. When I caught the glint of water among the trees, I circled, relieved to drop into the shadows under the canopy of the forests in Zaryndar—well beyond the swamps.

When we finally reached the ground, after hours of the near-weightlessness of flight my body felt heavy. I was accustomed to the transition, but Diadre took a few more seconds. I steadied her with my arms until she found her balance and sighed.

For a moment we stood there together, our bound hands on her stomach.

The bond thrummed as our conversations, the sensations of her touch, her body pressed against mine, the suggestion of love in flight all ran through my head.

As my arousal simmered in the bond, I felt hers rise too, still neither of us moved.

She spoke first.

“We have to keep our strength up.”

“Agreed,” I said through my teeth, because she was right even if it made me want to swear.

Then Diadre blew out a breath and rolled her shoulders. “How about… You find wood for a fire, I’ll figure out the food. Then dessert?”

“Done.”

We quickly unbuckled her and turned to go our separate ways, only to be jerked back to each other by our tied wrists. We both looked at them for a moment, then smiled at each other.

Diadre tipped her head. “Cold rations tonight?”

“Fuck the food—I need you more. I can wait half an hour,” I growled.

“Half an hour?” she whispered, arching one brow. “Ambitious after the day we’ve had, but I’m game.”

I snorted, grabbing for her—only to freeze, my cock thickening as she sent me an image of herself, pinned against a tree, naked from the waist down and my face buried between her legs.

“Dessert first,” I croaked. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Diadre laughed—until I filled the sweet velvet of her mouth with my tongue, and kept her there, sucking and sighing, while I picked her up and carried her to the broad trunk of a nearby tree.