Page 28 of The Storm of the Empire (Flyers Of The First Kingdom #3)

TWENTY-SEVEN

LUKA

A nother day passed, and neither Kol nor Nyx seemed to be getting any better. We moved in and out of the healer’s wing to help take care of Nyx so Zaria could get some sleep because he wouldn’t leave Kol’s bedside.

The door banged open, and an out of breath sentry stood in the opening.

“General, we’ve had word from the raid.”

Nyx picked up his head, schooling his features. “Tell me.”

“The flight found the place you spoke of, but it was completely abandoned.”

My ears rang and I didn’t feel steady. It was like I entered a surreal alternate plain. “How?” I spluttered.

“How could it be empty?” Faolan snapped, startling the sentry.

“It’s like there hasn't been anyone there in years. Totally empty. Dust over everything.” The sentry hedged his words. He didn’t want to say what he was thinking, but I already knew.

“Did they go to the wrong place?” I asked, almost accusing him, though I didn’t know of what.

“The communication said it’s as you described. The West side of Damona Island. The docks barely visible, the temple carved from stone, the tunnels.”

“I’m not making it up!” I couldn’t keep my voice down.

“We never said you did. But something happened.” Nyx rubbed a hand over his face, clearly exhausted.

I couldn’t imagine what he was going through, having to lead the army while at his brother’s bedside, but this made me feel like I was losing my mind.

“We saw it. Right, Hazel?”

“I don’t know how it could be empty. We saw what we saw,” she confirmed.

“Is it possible you were mistaken?” Nyx asked.

“Not unless there is another island exactly the same as that one.” I was at a total loss.

“It’s not another island,” Hazel backed me up. “I flew back here from there. I have been trained in navigation since I was a child.”

“I don’t like this. I don’t like any of it,” Nyx grunted.

I couldn’t believe they cleaned out the whole place in such a short amount of time. They must have noticed Kol was missing pretty quickly to have acted so fast. I pressed the heels of my hands into my eye sockets, anger pushing out all the frustration and sadness. Every part of me became rage. All the time and work I’d put in. All the leads I’d followed. The risks.

All of it had gone up in smoke.

It was worth it, of course, to rescue Kol, but it didn’t take away the loss, and the anger consumed me. Now that they knew we were on to them, we may never unravel what the priests were up to. It was tied to the war, but how were the priests involved with the undead? We’d never get those answers now, let alone bring home Alora’s egg or any of the others taken by the very fae the parents put their trust in. All over the kingdoms, there could be dragons told their eggs weren’t viable when they had been stolen and smuggled to the Goddess only knew where.

“I want to see the Flight Captain as soon as he lands.” Nyx sat back in his chair, putting his hand over his mouth. “This whole thing is fishy.”

“Of course, sir.” The sentry bowed and left.

“Fuck. I want to hear everything you two know again,” Nyx said to Hazel and me. “And Faolan. I want every detail spelled out so I can understand. This all ties back to the undead army Octavian was amassing, and we need to figure out what the big picture is, or we will just keep twisting in the wind. They’ve been too quiet, and if the priests are involved…” He rolled his neck, clearly exhausted.

Kiera went to find Jaxus, who was running point while Nyx was by Kol’s side, and through him, they found Faolan. I’d barely slept, and my mind reeled. I knew it was important to be here but all I wanted to do was go wallow in my own anger.

“Walk me through all of this again.”

We went over it and over it with Nyx. From every angle. Mine, Hazel’s and Faolan’s.

“But what were they doing there?”

“I can only assume mounting what would have turned into an attack on the First Kingdom.” Jaxus held the report from the flight commander “But something tipped them off enough to cover their tracks.”

“Could they have seen you leaving?” Nyx asked Faolan and I.

We both shrugged.

“Sure, anything could have happened. We were trying to get Kol out of there fast, not be stealthy.” Faolan sat back, hanging his head over the back of his chair, and anyone who didn’t know him would think he was fucking around, but I knew he was trying to work it through.

We’d been over it five times.

The door banged open again.

“What now?” Nyx growled.

A sentry entered. “The King is upon us. He wants the room. Only Nyx may stay.”

The rest of us stood and filed out of the room. An entire unit of the guard stood positioned outside the room. It didn’t feel right leaving Nyx to debrief the King on the failed raid when we were all in it together, but in the King’s eyes, only Nyx’s words were worthy of his time. I wasn’t even really a member of his court. I was no one other than the fae who’d invested a year into fitting into the darkest of places only for it all to come to nothing.

“I want it all stopped until we know what in the pits of Uriel this is,” the King’s voice echoed through the walls. “Not another damn mission. Not another flight is to leave to chase ghosts until I approve it.”

“Would you have liked me to leave reports of the undead so near Amaya ignored?”

“I refuse to endanger our relationship with the Goddess’ chosen to chase phantoms. Do you understand me?”

“I do.”

We all exchanged glances.

“Now tell me what the fuck happened?” the King said at length.

“Do we wait?” I asked Jaxus after he showed us into Kiera’s tiny office.

“No, go to bed. I’ll stay with him tonight. No one’s slept, and we shouldn’t all be sleep deprived.” Jaxus exhaled sharply. “I’ll send for you if he has any more questions.”

We said our goodnights and separated to our quarters, and I found myself alone with Hazel for the first time since she leapt from the dock into the night.

We walked the corridors, towards her quarters without discussion. I would see her to her door. “Are you holding up okay?” I asked tentatively.

She dipped her head, not wanting to meet my eye. “It’s a lot to take in,” she said shakily.

I allowed myself to slip a fraction closer to her side as we walked, my fingers brushing hers lightly. “I know. But I’m here if you need to talk.”

She groaned. “All we’ve done is talk, and it hasn’t gotten us anywhere.”

“I meant about Kol or however you’re feeling,” I urged, not wanting to go our separate ways.

“I don’t even know what to say about that. Other than thank you for finding him and getting him out.” She blinked back tears. “You’ve done more for Nyx than you can ever imagine. For all of us.”

“Any one of us would have done the same thing.” I brushed it off, just glad she wasn’t furious with me like she had been when she left Damona Island.

She shook her head as she stopped in front of her door. “No, I left not even knowing he was there. You found him because you chose to stay and look for more leads.”

“Maybe the Goddess willed it. Maybe I was meant to be there doing her work after all.” I winked.

“The priests involved in whatever this is are not doing the Goddess’ work. This is the work of Uriel.”

“We saw what we saw, right?” I kept needing the reassurance.

“I’m sure of it,” she whispered. “They covered their tracks—that’s all.”

I stepped forward, not knowing if she wanted my touch but longing to give it. I just didn’t know where we stood. I opened my arms in offering, and much to my relief, she slipped into my embrace. “We will figure it out. Nyx will stop them.”

“I’m done thinking about it for tonight,” she said into my chest. “Do you want to come in?” She lifted her face to look into my eyes, and all I saw there was desire.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

She unlocked her door, and we stumbled through, our lips coming together before we even crossed the threshold. I wanted to slam her into a wall and bury myself in her delicious heat, but there was time tonight. No need for urgency, no one around to hide from or lie to. Nothing to rush off for after the fact. It was just us in a safe space with the whole night before us. I wanted to take my time and wake up with her in my arms tomorrow and then do it all again.

I just hoped as I looked in her eyes, she would want that too. This thing between us was always in the moment. I didn’t know how she would feel about me wanting to stick around once it was done.

“What is it?” she asked, noticing me deep in thought.

“Nothing,” I smiled. “I just want to take my time with you.”

A smile spread across her beautiful face. “Take all the time you want.”

My heart kicked up its rhythm, and I was sure she could sense those changes, but I couldn’t stop it. The idea of having all the time I wanted was new to me, and I wasn’t quite ready to admit that maybe I wanted all the time she had to give me.

I stripped her slowly, giving her the time to do the same to me, until we both stood naked in the moonlight filtering in through her curtains. I kissed her deeply then, lifting her into my arms and wrapping her legs around my waist. I took her to her bed and laid her out for me to behold. Her perfect skin was dark against the contrast of her sheets, and I wanted to fall to my knees and kiss every inch.

I knelt on the bed, lifting her foot and placing a kiss on her delicate toes, followed by her ankle, her calf, and her inner thigh. As I kissed my way up, I crawled between her spread thighs and hovered hungrily over her core, her scent making my mouth water. I couldn’t ignore the need to taste her any more than I could ignore the need to breathe. I loved how she tasted and how she worked herself over my tongue.

I breathed over her clit and watched her stomach quiver in anticipation before laving my tongue through her folds. She cried out, and I groaned, lapping up her arousal and losing myself to the heady taste. She clawed her hands through my hair, using my tongue for her pleasure like I knew she would, and I could have lost control right there.

I had to stop her before she peaked and pulled me over the edge with her, my cock never even having come into play. That would not do at all. I retreated from her grasp, breathing hard, and she moaned at the absence. I chuckled at the pout in her tone before placing a kiss to her hip and climbing on up her stomach towards her perfect breasts.

She sucked in a breath when I cupped her and brushed my thumb across her furled nipple. Then she moaned when I pinched the puckered flesh while I kissed a path up her throat to her mouth. Hovering over her lips, I held her gaze and watched while I notched the painfully swollen head of my dick against the heat of her pussy.

We both made sounds of pure need at the contact, and I held there, fighting the need to drive in and find my end before I had the chance to savor the beginning. Hazel’s hips tilted, trying to draw me in, and I relented, sinking forward an inch or two.

“Yes,” she encouraged, rolling her hips to try and take more.

I eased back, telling her with my eyes not to challenge me. She would have all of me, but not until I was ready to give it. I held us in a state of perfect need for long moments, giving a little then withdrawing in a languid rhythm until finally, I filled her to the root and sighed at the relief of the feeling.

When she left me on the dock, I thought our time together might be over and for the first time in my life the idea that there was someone who I couldn’t stand to spend tomorrow without was jarring. But now, I had her under me, and everything about that felt right.

“Luka?” I looked down at her, waiting, wanting, and I smiled.

“Yes, Goddess?”

She rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t disguise the desire. “Move your arse.”

I laughed. “Anything you say.” And I moved.

Deep, rolling strokes and breathless moans were all we knew as we moved together like the waves on the shore. We each drove the other on as we took what we needed from each other.

As she crashed over her peak and took me with her into oblivion, I realized that that thing I needed was her.

We lay in each other’s arms for a long time. Neither of us had anywhere to be, and it was glorious. I didn’t want to move for at least two weeks.

“I can’t believe the base was empty,” Hazel said after we cleaned ourselves up and climbed back in bed.

“It doesn’t feel possible for them to clear out that type of operation so quickly.”

“Do you think they didn’t search well?”

“Or maybe they fell back deeper into hidden tunnels?” I was just spitballing, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.

“I don’t think a full flight could have missed something so egregious.” Hazel pressed her face into my shoulder. “Or at least I don’t want to believe they could.”

“I don’t know what to believe anymore.”

She pulled back, looking into my eyes. “How long do you think it would've taken them to notice you took Kol?”

“I don’t know. The prisoners weren’t guarded, but Faolan would have been missed fairly soon since the ship was preparing to leave.” I kept talking, but I didn’t know how to tell her she was more important than all of this. That I wanted this to be more than us fucking and chasing dead ends.

“None of it makes sense. I hate it.”

“Do you think we need to go back? See for ourselves that there’s nowhere they could have hidden away” It wasn’t the time to be asking her if she’d be mine in some way, instead, I chose to engineer a way to spend more time with her. At least then I wouldn’t lose her so fast.

“I think we do.”