Page 26 of War Mage (The War Brides of Adrik #4)

Adara

I jerk awake in darkness. A hand grabs my arm and I pull away and scream.

“Peace, Adara, peace,” I hear a familiar voice. “It is just me.”

“Urim,” I breathe out, sagging in relief. “How long was I out?”

“Not long,” he says. “A few hours at most, though you were deeply unconscious. I feared . . . I feared that you wouldn’t wake.”

“My head is still killing me,” I admit, dull pain throbbing in my skull. I’m almost certainly going to have a bruise on the back of my head and on my cheek where the demon backhanded me.

I feel, rather than see, Urim getting closer in the darkness. His hands come up to my face and gently pry my eyelid open further. A lumen crystal suddenly lights in front of my face, making me cringe back from the sudden change in brightness, but Urim holds me fast in place. “Your pupils are still too big. You need more healing potion.”

“ More healing potion?” I ask. “We’re in a safe place then?”

“We’re at Tevin’s in the Fabric District,” the orc tells me evenly. “I carried you here from the alley. He had a potion that I fed you while you were unconscious. Probably why you were able to regain consciousness so quickly.”

“Were we noticed?” I ask, worried. An orc carrying an unconscious woman through the streets would be a sight that people would remember if questioned.

“There weren't many on the streets. Grazrath’s rule against gathering, remember? And I stayed in the alleys as much as I could and we weren’t followed,” Urim reassures me. “We should be safe for now.”

“Any news from the palace?” I ask. “Did Malik kill Grazrath?”

“No news yet,” the orc says. “But don’t worry about that now. You require more healing before you lose consciousness again.”

Urim taps the lumen crystal with his thumb, plunging us into darkness once more.

“I want the light on,” I complain.

“Light is bad for a cerebral commotion,” he tells me firmly. “You can have light after you’ve had another healing draught and your eyes are back to normal. Until then, darkness will help your brain heal.”

Urim gets up and leaves the room, closing the door carefully behind him. I hear his voice from the other side of the door and a different male’s voice responding to him, but I can’t make out specific words. Not knowing what else to do, I sit in the darkness, too afraid to lay back down, since Urim said not to fall back asleep.

I think back to the throne room, my attack on Grazrath. I did it, I actually did it. I hit Grazrath with my soulfire and transformed part of his body to human-like. Vulnerable. Whatever happens from now on is out of my hands. I did my part and now the Mage’s Tower will be freed. I should be happy at the thought, and I am, but something about it feels hollow.

The door to the room opens again, but I can’t see who is entering.

“Urim?” I ask into the darkness.

“It’s me,” he confirms. “Tevin was able to procure another potion, but he won’t be able to get another without raising eyebrows, so let’s hope a second one is all we need.”

I hear the sound of a cork being pulled off of a vial and then feel the gentle brush of Urim’s hands over my lips before the cool glass of a potion is pressed to them. I obediently gulp down the draught, even though it is somehow both bitter and cloying. Too much honey put in to disguise the medicine, I decide.

The throbbing of my skull quiets almost immediately as I finish the last drop. I sigh in relief as the pain recedes and my thoughts clear.

“How are you feeling?” Urim asks, sounding calm and emotionless as always, but I can feel his worry in the bond and know that he truly wishes to know the answer.

Warmed by his concern, I say, “Better. The pain has lessened by quite a bit.”

“Let’s check your pupil's response again, then,” he says, and, without waiting for my reply, I find the lumen crystal shining in my eyes once more.”

“Ugh,” I wince and he pulls the lumen crystal further away so that it isn’t right in my eye anymore.

“Your pupil is reactive now,” he says evenly, but I feel that he is pleased. “You should be able to sleep now without worrying about not waking up again.”

“Well, that’s good news,” I say wryly. His bedside manner could use some work. But it is true that I am still tired after everything that has happened and now that we are safe, rest is the smart thing to do.

I lay back in bed and Urim douses the lumen crystal again, leaving us in darkness.

“Will you sit with me?” I ask. “Just until I fall asleep. I’ll feel safer with you here.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Adara,” he replies gravely. “You are safe with me. Trust me.”

And the strange thing is, I do trust him. After everything, I trust him with my life and, maybe, even my heart.

It is the last thought I have before falling asleep.

???

I wake to a gentle shaking of my shoulder.

“Wake up, Adara,” comes Urim’s voice. “There is news.”

Groggily, I climb to consciousness, shaking off the remnants of sleep at the orc’s words. My eyes open to see Urim, looking clean and refreshed, wearing a new pair of low-slung trousers. He must have bathed and changed clothes while I slept. “What news?” I ask sluggishly.

“Grazrath has been expelled from the palace, but he escaped before Malik could kill him. Malik has his soldiers searching for him, but there’s no sign of him yet. But we are invited to the palace as guests of Malik, as the new king.”

“New king?” I repeat, sitting up in the bed. “Malik works fast.”

“He does,” Urim replies solemnly. “He has declared an end to the war and has already sent a request for a ceasefire to King Rognar and Queen Adalind, which I am sure they will accept. This is the outcome they hoped for.”

“I’m sure they hoped Grazrath would be dead or banished back to the Nether, not just missing,” I point out. “He could still make trouble from another quarter.”

“Yes, but at least the war is over and Grazrath is off the Barakrini throne,” Urim says. “Now let us hurry. The sooner we meet with Malik, the sooner we can go back to Adrik and your Mage’s Tower.”

“My Mage’s Tower?” I ask, incredulously, but with a hint of hope. “You would come with me to the Mage’s Tower?”

“Of course,” he responds evenly. “We are mates. I must go with you.”

His words are factual, but for some reason they irk me. “And if we weren't mates, would you still come with me?” I press.

“That question is moot,” he replies, still calmly logical. “We are mates and I must go with you.”

“Not if we sever the soultie,” I bring up stubbornly. “If you don’t want to come with me, I can free you from our mating. Is that what you want?”

Urim pauses, looking at me with an expressionless face, giving nothing away. Even the bond is just that placid calm that he covers his true emotions with. Finally, he asks, “Are you asking me this because you want to break our mating, like we originally planned, or because you don’t?”

His question makes me feel vulnerable, defensive. “I asked you what you wanted first.”

“I thought I made it clear,” he says, still calm. “You are my mate. I will go where you go.”

“But I don’t want you to come with me just because we’re mates!” I burst out. “We became mates for the mission. It’s not real! If you are going to choose me, then choose me, not because of some bond that we share because of a plan that we made to kill a demon!”

“You misunderstand me, Adara,” Urim says, but his voice is more gentle than before. He picks up my hands and places them over his heart. “You are my mate. The word has meaning for me. Not because of the bite that I admittedly gave you for the mission, but because my heart has chosen you. I would not follow you to your Tower for any other reason than that you are my soul’s mate, my other half. I do not want to sever our soultie; I want to be with you for the rest of my days, however long that may be. Is that what you want?”

My heart squeezes with happiness. I impulsively lean forward and kiss his lips, capturing them with mine. “That is what I want,” I breathe. “More than anything.”

Urim’s thrum spills out as he takes my lips again. Pleasant sensation shivers across my skin at the sound and I moan at the pleasure. Urim bears me down to the mattress with a growl, making me wet with his aggressive display.

“I thought we needed to go to Malik . . .” I gasp out as his hands come up and massage my breasts, palms rubbing deliciously across my needy nipples.

“Hang Malik,” Urim snarls. “I need to be with my mate.”

He takes my lips again, his tongue dancing sensually with mine, licking into my mouth with ownership. In the bond I can feel his fierce pleasure, his joy that I agreed to be his, his triumph. His feelings answer mine, which are much the same. This stoic, impenetrable orc is mine now. His closely guarded feelings are mine to feel and protect, his heart in my keeping, his trust my treasure.

Almost reverently, Urim divests me of my clothing before pulling off his trousers. He sits across the mattress from me and with heavy-lidded eyes commands, “Crawl to me, my mate.”

His order, laden with sibilance and meaning, sends shivers down my spine. My desire to obey and make him happy wars with my desire to rebel and be punished. As if he can see my struggle, Urim raises a brow and says, “If you obey me, you’ll like your reward.”

Hmm . . . that is tempting. Enticing in its mystery. Making up my mind, I obediently crawl across the bed to him, causing him to growl in approval. When I get close to him, he strokes his fingers through my hair. “Good female. Now you earn your prize.”

In a flurry of movement, Urim is on his back, pulling me over his chest, positioning my center directly over his mouth. “Sit on me, mate, and let me feast on your nectar,” he orders.

That is an order I will gladly follow. But to torture him a little with anticipation, I lower myself slowly, staying just out of reach for a moment.

“Hellion,” he thrums, then his large hands grip my thighs and pull me down so that he can take what he wants. I gasp and moan as his clever tongue works its magic, vibrating with his sibilance , massaging and licking, finding all my weak spots and exploiting them. His nose nuzzles at my clit, while his tongue invades my channel. The vibrations feel so good and his thrum already has me on edge and I cry out as I come, a light orgasm rolling over my senses. But he doesn’t stop there. He works me over again and again, his fingers joining his tongue as he massages that secret place inside me and making me drench his face in my arousal.

Just when I feel that I can’t take more, he stops, dragging me off his face, and sits up, letting me fall boneless next to his proud, jutting cock.

“My turn, hellion,” he says, but there is affection in his voice. “Show me how well you can worship a cock.”

I take his words as a challenge and raise myself onto my knees. I hover my face over his cock, smelling his clean male scent, the scent of sweet oat soap mixing with his natural musk. I breathe on his cock, knowing that the blowing air will be a tease.

“Remember to say ‘surrender,’ if it gets to be too much,” I tease.

“Hellion,” he says, but his tone is still affectionate. Then I swallow him down, as deep as I can get him. He’s big, the biggest cock I’ve ever sucked, but I am stubborn and determined and have trained my gag reflex away years ago with other partners. So I take him into my throat and swallow around his length before bobbing up and working his cock with my mouth and throat. Urim groans and growls in approval, his hand lightly holding the back of my head encouragingly as I move over his hard length. His precum spills out of his tip, shockingly sweet and pleasant, unlike human spend at all. I hum with pleasure at the taste and his hips jerk lightly as he moans at the sensation. I feel powerful in this moment. I want to bring him to his knees, felled by my mouth on him. I move faster and faster, sucking harder and harder, my jaw aching.

He grunts, “That’s enough Adara. I’m going to come.”

But I don’t stop. I want him to come, I want to see him undone and at my mercy. He groans again. “Adara, hellion, mate, I . . .”

But I plunge him all the way down my throat at that moment and swallow again and he comes, his sweet flavor filling my mouth and throat as he reaches his climax. When he finishes I pull off him and cheekily show him my empty mouth, the evidence that I swallowed all of his spend.

“I knew it,” he growls. “An angel and a hellion all wrapped into one, just for me. Now you need correcting, hellion. You need to learn to do what you are told.”

“You like me not doing what I’m told,” I retort. “Otherwise, you couldn’t punish me.”

His hand shoots out and he drags me across his lap, his cock already hard and ready again. When my rump is in the air, he brings his hand down on my upturned bottom, the stinging rebuke sending shocks of pleasure and pain through my body as his thrum still plays in the air.

“You know what to do, hellion,” he says, raising his hand up again. “Count.”

“No,” I breathe out, just to see what he will do.

“You’ll get two more strikes for each time you refuse to count,” he warns. Then he strikes two more times, the last time hitting right on my wet cunt.

“Ah!” I cry out. “Bastard!”

“That’s not my title,” he says calmly, bringing down his hand again. When I don’t count he brings his hand down twice more, both times on my pussy.

“Fuck!” I call out. “Six! That’s six!”

“Good female,” Urim approves, stroking a finger along my seam and teasing my clit. “Four more.”

“Four?” I choke out incredulously. “Ten strokes just for sucking your cock?”

“For making me spend somewhere other than your pussy,” he confirms. Then his hand comes down twice in quick succession.

“Ugh! Seven, Eight!” I count.

“Good. You are doing well, my mate,” Urim says, his voice warm. Then his hand comes down again, right on my pussy.

I cry out again, but this time the sting of his hand stokes something deep in me, like an amalgamation of pleasure-pain coiling deep within me. Could I come just from being spanked?

“Nine,” I barely gasp out in time.

“Last one,” my mate says, his tone steady but sounding almost proud of me. The bond is alive with affection and a darker feeling of possession. Then his hand comes down, this time on my rump and I don’t know if I’m disappointed or not.

“Count,” he reminds me.

“Ten,” I breathe out, collapsing across his lap and feeling spent. But Urim isn’t done with me yet. He pulls me and I find myself on my back, covered with his strong body.

“You did so well, my mate,” he purrs out, notching his hardness at my throbbing pussy. “But you can take more can’t you?”

“Yes, commander,” I say, smiling cheekily.

“Good hellion. My hellion,” he says and then surges forward, seating himself inside me. I barely have time to adjust to the intrusion when he pulls out almost completely and then surges forward again. And again and again. Eventually, we build a rhythm and I meet him stroke for stroke, a deep orgasm building. When I get to the peak I remember to ask, “Can I come, please, commander?”

“Because you asked so prettily, mate, yes, you may come.”

At his words my back bows, my climax ripping through my body. Euphoria overtakes all my senses and for a moment I feel like I’m flying. Peripherally, I feel Urim coming inside me as well, his body going stiff above me. Then he collapses, pressing me into the mattress with delicious weight, making me feel safe and protected. He begins kissing me again, with deep searching kisses, before moving to scatter kisses all over my face.

“My hellion. My angel. My mate,” he says between kisses. “I am yours and you are mine.”

“I am yours and you are mine,” I repeat, before reaching up with my hands and pulling him back to my lips.

“Whatever happens, we will be together,” he says before kissing me. “Come what may.”

“Come what may,” I agree. And in that moment, finally, I feel totally at peace.