Page 21 of The Warlord’s Princess (Warlords of Tempest #3)

RAMSEY

Knowing that one day I will be reunited with the Great Princess Kasmina should have me elated.

Instead, I find I am filled with a dread so thick; it is as though a heavy shroud has been cast over me.

And there is no escape.

The sound of the wind whistling through the trees as we make our way through the forest sets me on edge in a way it never has before, even when I was guiding Amber through the rough terrain.

It feels as though I have lost a battle. That there is no hope of restoring my honor.

A small yelp up ahead alerts me to another tumble Asha narrowly avoids. She was not made for forest walking.

I should not like this quality in her.

Yet, I do.

The wind picks up, and Asha’s unrestrained hair dances, the golden strands catching in the light when the sun filters down through the canopy.

Her steps are small and careful when going across flat earth, rigid when traveling over rocks and gravel.

I sense that something is sour about her, and I wonder if she regrets the expedition.

Or maybe she mislikes being around me.

I long to taste her again, and look into her big blue eyes as she takes my length into her tiny mouth. I want to bury myself in her, feeling the heat between her thighs on my cock as I fill her with seed.

Does she, too, desire such a union? Does she desire more?

My gut roils at the feeling that I have lost control. That somehow, this weak Penticari woman has made me lose myself.

I wish I knew what she was thinking. Of why she is suddenly so icy with her temperament.

Last night, when she told me she was going with Nori and Dogan, I believed it was due to her desire for the bugs. But when I told her it would be me taking her out, she got quiet and did not look up from her weaves until she retired for the night.

When she went to sleep, I half expected her to crawl into bed with me, and I made sure to leave room for her. Instead, she chose to sleep on the floor in a pool of weaves.

I should be pleased by her distance, as I have much to think about with the arrival of the great princess, which could happen in a handful of years.

Yet all I feel is sorrow.

Since we are not moving outside of our territory, we should encounter no Veriskans, yet I cannot help but be more cautious, looking in the direction of every snapped twig. It was never like this with Amber, for at times, I wanted to forest to swallow her whole.

A few steps ahead, Asha rotates her shoulder, muttering under her breath. Since it is midday, I decide it would be a good time for first rest.

She sits on a log, fanning herself, sweat pouring down her face, giving her a most enticing aroma.

Did the princess even have a scent? If she had, I have long since forgotten it.

“Here.” I hand her a heel of bread that her own Violet baked. It lacks the flavors I enjoy, but I must admit, it is tasty to eat when topped with delicious bruntler.

“I’d thought Melgrim would be a lot more inhospitable than it is.”

“This path through the forest is typically safe to travel, as we use it so often it has our scent and animals are too smart to desire to cross our path.”

She nods, ripping off a chunk of crust and nibbling on it.

Everything she does is dainty. Her steps, her chewing, even her fingers as they weave look unnaturally graceful.

“Sometimes, when I close my eyes, it still feels like I’m in Penticar,” Asha confesses.

“And when you keep your eyes open?”

“I see the differences clearly. The color of the leaves, the feel of the dirt, those ribbons as they slice through the air.”

“I, too, miss my homeland,” I confess.

She chuckles. “I never said I missed Penticar.”

I spike a brow. “Is it not safer there? Does it not hold your family?”

“I suppose my father’s castle walls were safe enough, but I never had a real and true family.”

I remember her telling me her family sent her away, but beyond that, her life is a mystery. One I long to hear more about.

“Were you betrothed?”

“No, but I’m sure I would be by now if I hadn’t been taken.”

“Does it sadden you that you will never meet your intended?”

“Not at all, as it was likely I would have been married to an old, craggy man I’d have no interest in spending any amount of time with.”

“So you would rather be here than with the safe, old man.”

“Some days, I rather like it here. It was difficult at first, but the worst of our troubles are over, and even if my job isn’t as respected as Araelya’s, I feel it has value to my people.”

“And you could see yourself continuing with it?”

“I’m sure once I’ve properly supplied enough weaves, they’ll find something else for me to do, so it won’t grow monotonous. And, eventually, I’ll have to take a mate.”

“A mate?” I nearly growl out, startled that she would mention taking someone.

“It’s what we agreed to do, and I’m sure that over time, when the other maidens have been paired off, someone will want me.” She says the last part quieter than the rest, almost wistfully.

A part of me longs to tell her that yes, indeed someone will want her, and that someone is me.

But the princess is coming, and it would be folly to court Asha.

And yet my mind wanders to courtship gifts.

“I can only imagine what Tempest was like with the strange way you incorporate metals into your buildings, and the…never mind.”

She has listened well and not mentioned The Tomb since we took her into it, but it is clear she has not forgotten what she saw.

She finishes eating, and I grab my pack.

“We must leave if we are to make it to the bug dens before tomorrow.”

Asha groans but gets up from her seat and trudges forward at a slow, steady pace.

Back when I was moving through the forest with Amber, her leisurely pace infuriated me, but with Asha, I feel no anger.

As we walk, I mull over the princess’s words. We were never told about the planet’s chances of success before our exile, and nothing regarding it was programmed into our ship or The Tomb.

But if the great princess speaks truth, and I have no reason to believe she does not, our success on this planet is inevitable.

What will the Great Princess Kasmina say when she steps foot on New Tempest and sees the small Penticari? Surely, she will be furious, but would she hurt them?

Never. I will not let that happen.

She will be far from Greater Tempest, and she will not want to struggle during the early years of settling. Grixis will negotiate well on behalf of the women, with the support of our tribes. Or tribe, as by the time they come, we should be one.

My greatest worry is that I know how stubborn the princess can be.

I look over at Asha, trying to see her through the eyes of the princess. How I once saw her myself.

She would not care for her weaves, and Asha’s thin arms would make her laugh. And if the princess knew of our relations, it would not just be death she faced. It would be torture.

I feel heat rise sharply up my chest and my hands turn into two clenched fists.

Breathe out your anger, Grixis often says, which is no easy thing to do when you have good reason to be mad.

By the time the princess comes, the Penticari will have spent several cycles of the seasons with us, becoming far stronger than they are now. Even Asha, who weaves, will have proven herself by then.

Your thoughts are nonsensical, the logical voice in my head says. She is weak and was never meant for you.

I am not often in conflict with myself, because every thought I form is intentionally meant to bring honor to Tempest. Or at least that is how it was before the Penticari landed on the shore.

Before weak Asha made my hut her home.

The sway of her hips as she walks has me wondering if she is trying to entice me. I think not, as she has been stingy with her smiles, but admittedly, I understand little of Penticari courtship.

Not that I am courting her.

Maybe I will.

You belong to the princess.

Perhaps I could take two…

Blasphemous. The princess would act hotly at such a suggestion, which would not bode well for the smaller female.

It would be better if I forgot Asha and what we have done.

Yet it is all I wish to think about.

I wonder how Asha would react to a courtship gift. Would it tint her cheeks pink, extending her lips into a wide smile? Would it make her knees spread apart for me?

I think so.

There are no courtship rituals for Tempest women, but there is no shortage of gifts in the way of land, precious gems, and soft wisps of cloth which are used to make fine gowns for the noble ladies.

With each of these gifts, there was never any gratitude from the princess. Only demands.

Asha and the princess are as different as two women could be. One soft; the other hard. One warm; the other cold. One worthy…

No—both worthy.

My thoughts feel treasonous and not at all like my own, but that is the way of things when it comes to the Penticari.

It is the way I am with Asha.

I want her. The weak thing that she is. I want every part of her.

Which is why my mind is in such conflict, because she is the only thing that has ever made me question honor.

Asha stumbles over a root, nearly falling.

What quiet grace she has while she weaves is lost in the greater world, replaced with a clumsiness that should shame her more than it does.

Still, I want her more than my next breath.

Even more than I want the princess, Tempest help me.

When the sun nears the horizon, we stop for the night near a creek.

Together, we wash in the waters, as Asha is most eager to clean the sweat from her skin.

I do not tell her how intoxicating I find the aroma.

The sight of Asha’s nudity, which she does not hide, has my cock painfully hard, forcing me to look away because it would not be good for me to grow distracted.

Once we are clean, we eat smoked meat wrapped in bread, with cups of mead, which makes Asha more relaxed than I have ever seen her. When she requests more of the intoxicant, I hesitate, relenting only when I see her pretty face marred in frustration.

I have never seen Asha drink, though many of the women do, and it brings me joy to see her smiling widely with each small sip.

After our meal, we erect a tent. She giggles when she drops the rod that needs sheathing half a dozen times. If it were Amber being so careless, I would show her the sharp side of my tongue, but I much prefer a carefree Asha to a worried one.

After setting up the campsite, I uncork a vial of terragulf urine to mark where we are, so that no beasts draw near.

“What is that?” Asha asks, slurring her words ever so slightly.

“Terragulf urine.”

She scrunches her nose in detest.

“A terragulf is the largest predator on the island, so no other creature will dare bother us.”

“Will it scare away the terragulfs?”

“We need not worry about those.”

“Why?”

“They are few and hard to come by, mostly sleeping in their dens for long hours.”

“But…they could come out if they wanted to?”

“Do not worry, as your scent is sweeter when you are calm.”

“Do you like my scent?” she asks, knowing full well that I am obsessed with it.

I sigh, taking a seat on a log. “It is the death of my honor.”

She sits straight onto the earth, probably because she is likely to fall if she does not.

I drink more than I typically would, wanting to ease my burden. Wanting to forget about Tempest, honor, and all the things I cannot have.

While I drink, Asha looks at me, swaying slightly, her pretty blonde hair looking charmingly disarrayed.

Oh, how I long to taste those sweet lips again.

And lower.

She clutches her cup in both hands, looking at me intensely, her lower lip tucked between her teeth.

“Is there something on your mind, Little Vaeyark?”

She flushes with color, looking down at the earth for a moment before looking up at me again.

“Well?”

She gives a big, dreamy sigh, her impossibly large eyes widening. “I want you, Ramsey.”

I like the sound of my name on her lips, and even more, I like the hunger that overwhelms her pretty features when she looks at me.

“What is it you want, for I am right here?”

“I want you in every way I can have you, though I know it will not please me.”

Offended, I scoff, “Am I not enough for your weak, vaeyark body?”

She licks her lips, leans back against the log behind her, and spreads her legs. “You’re welcome to prove otherwise.”