Honor Bound (9 page)

“You performed
well. We will have many youngling, Mikayla.”

He pushed up on
his elbows and rolled to the other side of the bed. A rough yank dislodged her
as he pulled the covers over his chest. Miki stared in disbelief when his
snores soon filled the now quiet room. She could think of nothing to say to his
announcement. Her first bout of sex and it didn’t last long enough for her to
determine if she liked the intimate act or not.

Miki blinked back
tears and curled to the small remaining space left on the bed. Vaan sprawled
over the majority of the mattress, leaving her enough room to wiggle along his
side. When her body came in contact with his, she sighed. Her arm tentatively
reached out to rest on his chest. Her mate. Her decision.

 ***

The next morning,
Miki descended to the lower levels. The Warlord stationed at the bottom of the
stairs reluctantly stepped aside as she approached. He sneered as she passed
and muttered under his breath. Mikayla remained calm and kept her pace steady
though she wanted to run.

The soreness
between her legs warned her from such action. Her warm bath did nothing to ease
the tenderness below. Her mate’s rough handling had her revisiting the idea of
young. Or sex for that matter.

She eyed the
subject of her moody thoughts. Vaan sat alone at the end of the table,
finishing his morning meal. Miki contemplated walking straight through to the
kitchen and ignoring him but it was not her way. She approached his end of the
table and placed a kiss on his mouth. Her tongue licked his bottom lip softly.

Vaan pulled away
sharply. “What is this?”

She took the seat
next to him and signaled a hovering Assa to bring her meal. “What is what?”

“Do you seek to
poison me?” Dark brows lowered at the thought and his mouth pressed into a firm
line. It took Miki a moment to decipher his meaning.

“The kiss? I can’t
poison you with a kiss.” Her back hunched at the rude claim and she wished she’d
followed her initial instinct to head for the kitchens to eat. Cook welcomed
her company.

“Your mouth made
contact with mine.” His fingers rubbed roughly at his lips as if he could wipe
away Miki’s touch.

“Are you jesting?”
Surely he’d been kissed before.

“No,” he growled
and shoved his empty plate away.

“Well kissing will
do you no harm. It’s a sign of affection.”

“Kabanian do not
kiss.”

Too bad for them.
“I did not know this.”

He pondered her
words. “Your venom can not release with this
kiss
?”

Assa placed a
plate of vegetables and a bowl of mashed fruit in front of Miki. She waited
until her friend headed back to the kitchens before speaking. “It could but
it’s simpler for a Raasa to bite and express our venom if we want to hurt
someone or project it in attack. It’s easier than attempting during a kiss.”

“Do you kiss
others?”

Miki wished she
hadn’t made the effort. “No,” she paused in her eating to check if he was
serious. “It’s intimate. For males and females to show care to one another.”

“Ah.” He relaxed,
his features smoothing out and stood. Her attention caught on the fine figure
of her mate.

His bare chest
tapered to a lean waist. The black studded harness containing his sword
criss-crossed his chest, defining the muscles there and leading ones eyes to
his flat stomach. Black leather leggings encased firm thighs to thick calves
and soft soled knee length boots in black completed the image. As usual, he was
completely armed. The dagger, he favored strapped to his right thigh. Another
in a small tan sheath on his lower left calf.

“It is a frivolous
gesture of affection from females and serves no purpose,” he continued. “I
understand now.” He walked away to greet the Warlord entering the hall. Miki
had yet to learn all their names. The two departed together, Miki forgotten.

“Frivolous
gesture, my backside,” Miki murmured, her appetite suddenly gone.

Sera peered around
the kitchen door. Seeing only Miki, her friend dashed over and sat in the seat
Vaan vacated. “You must tell me how it was.”

Sera’s eyes gleamed.
Assa and Vera hurried out, checked for any sign of the Kabanians and joined
them. The women were gazing at her excitedly.

“How what was?”
Miki wondered if she’d missed something, coming down late this morning.

“The sex,” Vesa
pressed, ever the bold one. “Is his toqa large? Did he fill you with pleasure?”

Miki moaned and
buried her face in her hands. She should have known.

“They are big and
fearsome but I like it.” Assa added, “I think.” And then all three giggled.

Of course they
could giggle. They had not lain under him for the whole five minutes it took
for the event to take place.

“I think I
expected it to take longer.”

Assa placed both
hands over her mouth and laughed. Her eyes danced with mirth. “Are they
different from Raasa in the bed?”

Different how? Did
they pound on the females soft parts and leave them aching? Yes, but Miki would
not shame her mate. She’d said enough. “Not much different. I must head out to
the courtyard. The training will take place to test our males and groom them
for our defense. It fits that I be present.”

***

As soon as she
walked out, Miki wanted to head back in but too many witnessed her approach.
The Warlords fought with brutal intensity. She plastered a smile on her face
and made her way to stand by the other women clustered together. She cringed
from the sound of flesh smacking flesh but forced herself to watch. It lasted
hours. She could see why they’d won all their skirmishes. They showed no mercy
as they attacked and retreated. Even Miki could tell the Warlords were not
fully engaged, yet her men still suffered.

Vaan stood to the
side, head tilted in thought with brows lowered. His gaze never strayed from
the Warlords battling her guardsmen and the other Raasa males. Some started
with swords while others chose hand to hand combat. It didn’t matter. Her
people did not fare well and spent a lot of time on the ground. Tesai nursed a
black eye and busted lip. He’d finally stopped stepping in the ring and joined
others who stretched out on the ground moaning. Five Raasa stood on the side
with Argan, speaking to them. They were deemed worthy enough to train as
fighters.

“Halt,” Vaan
called out and every eye flew to him, Miki’s included.

Long black hair
streamed down his shoulders from the cord holding it back from his face. She
admired the flex and pull of his back as he headed toward the ring. His leather
pants cupped his round buttocks and she wished she’d been able to see him
clearly the night before. His skills in the bed may be lacking but there was no
denying her mate’s body rivaled all the men present, including the Warlords.

“Kavan, you will
guard Mikayla while I practice.” His men groaned aloud and some looked
downright ill.

Miki was stunned
that he’d noticed her arrival. Not once had he glanced in her direction. The
Warlord Kavan looked like he wanted to protest but he bit back the complaint
and stormed over to stand beside her. Mikayla flinched away but he never
glanced down at her.

“Balal, you will
stand down.”

“Yes, Overlord.”
The Warlord who’d winked at her during the circle, moved back from the fighting
about to commence and stood on Miki’s other side.

She realized the
women had disappeared when the warriors approached.

Vaan unsheathed
the large sword she’d only glimpsed. A mighty weapon capable of severe damage
by the man wielding it. “Tolan, you will stand first.”

“Yes, Overlord.”
Warlord Tolan entered the make-shift ring bravely and unsheathed his sword.

Vaan eyed him and
then nodded. “You will protect Mikayla when I can not. You will provide for her
if I am not able.”

“Yes, Overlord.”

Vaan struck
swiftly, his sword swinging out in a slashing pattern. Tolan managed to block
in time but took several steps back to defend his position. Vaan didn’t allow
him time to adjust. He moved into Tolan’s space, their blades striking again
and again.

Within minutes of
the fight, sweat soon dotted Tolan’s face. Vaan pushed his advantage until the
Warlord stumbled. “Yield,” he cried out in defense as Vaan’s blade descended
toward his vulnerable neck.

Vaan stepped back
without another glance at the defeated warrior. “Ramar, you are next.”

The Warlord didn’t
hesitate to join Vaan in the ring. “I would make amends, Overlord. First
blood.”

Miki didn’t know
what the Warlord’s words meant but Vaan did not like them. Annoyance flashed across
his features before his lips flattened into a straight line and he nodded.

“You will protect
Mikayla when I can not. You will provide for her if I am not able.”

“Yes, Overlord.”
As soon as the last word left Ramar’s lips, Vaan attacked.

This time the
fight lasted longer. Ramar seemed determine to provoke Vaan to a frenzy. Her
mate maintained his composure and the two exchanged strike for strike. Vaan
countered every move Ramar made with a dismissive twist of his sword. Ramar
rushed forward but Vaan danced back and thrust out, their swords meeting with a
loud clang. It looked as if Vaan merely toyed with him.

Frustration boiled
in Vaan’s opponent and Ramar lashed out. “Please, sire. I would make amends.”
Ramar’s sword moved left, then right, forcing Vaan to engage further.

Vaan raised his
guard and went so far as to smirk at his man as he calmly blocked each of
Ramar’s strikes. Ramar cursed, his fighting became frantic and then Vaan moved
low, his hip twisted to the side, avoiding the edge of Ramar’s blade as he
brought up his own, gripping the hilt with both hands and slid his weapon back
smoothly.

Ramar cried out
and when Vaan straightened, his sword down by his side, a thin stream of red
ran across the Warlord’s belly.

To Miki’s shock,
Ramar laughed and bowed low. “My thanks, Overlord.”

The other matches
went along the same vein with the Warlords demanding first blood and Vaan
accepting. Each man walked away with a wound of some sort and a ready smile. By
the end, sweat covered Vaan’s torso, yet he didn’t appear winded from the
ruthless sessions. In fact, he seemed oddly energized, his black eyes intent on
match after match.

Balal, who’d she
completely forgotten during her absorption with the spectacle taking place
leaned down and murmured, “you will want to find somewhere to hide after this,
little Raasa. He will soon fall into Fenal and when there is no one left to
battle, he will turn to bed play.”

Miki had no idea
what this meant but the Warlord’s warning sounded dire. The thought of bed play
alone when she still ached below from Vaan’s attention made her nervous. It
didn’t help that Kavan must have heard and chuckled.

Her eyes darted
around at those gathered. Twelve men on one side, each paying no heed to the
injuries they’d received. The courtyard flowed over with Raasa who managed to
stray over and witness the concentrated brutality acted out in front of them.
Full attention stayed on the last Warlord left to compete with Vaan. All that
remained was Argan. Based on their interactions, this War Lord meant the most
to Vaan. “I would make amends, Overlord. First Blood.”

“No.”

Miki’s stomach
spasmed and she was glad she hadn’t finished her morning meal. Vaan eagerly
fought all of the others. She couldn’t decipher the meaning behind his current
refusal.

She tugged on
Balal’s arm to get his attention. The fool grinned. “Yes, my lady?”

“Miki,” she
corrected and pointed at Vaan and Argan glaring at one another. Neither moved
from their fighting stance.

Balal looked
appalled. “No, my lady. I can not address you so familiar.”

Miki blew out a
breath. “Fine, but explain what’s going on. I don’t understand first blood.”

Balal offered her
a slight bow. “First Blood is a sign the warrior is open to the Overlord
striking to draw blood if he sees an opening. Overlord Vaan is our best fighter
and no man is his equal on the battle field but this is merely practice. Our
Overlord does not like us injured in these sessions.”

None of it made
sense to her. “Then why First Blood?”

“To make amends,
woman,” snapped Kavan, his rough tone interrupting their conversation. “The
Overlord is displeased with us for our actions during the Circle of Honor
yesterday.”

What? Impossible.
Miki frowned. Her mate was doing this over some imagined slight to her? Only
Kavan’s blade nicked her. Why were the others making amends? Her chest
tightened as she pondered the meaning behind it. The sensation continued until
she rubbed the pained area.

Balal shot an ugly
look at Kavan. He pulled Miki closer to his side and answered her unspoken
thoughts. “A woman need not eat all the bread in a circle. Only a bite is
needed to acknowledge the trust she bears for the warrior offering. All knew
this yet chose to force you to eat after it was clear that you sickened by the
fourth one.”

Embarrassment
flared. She’d not meant to be so obvious.

“Make amends?”

“They are ashamed,
my lady. Their actions were a reflection of the Overlord. He is all that is
honorable and has never demanded of us more than he is willing to give of
himself. When you asked to add a touch of Kaban to your True Union, Overlord
Vaan showed his respect and honor for you by demanding the circle. A woman’s
gift of trust is precious. By harming you, the trust was abused and made it
possible for you to doubt that he can keep you safe. The Overlord’s bride
should always feel safe. Especially, if she is surrounded by his most trusted
Warlords. Now he proves to you that he will keep you safe even from his
Warlords.”

Blessed One. Miki
blinked rapidly to dispel the tears forming in her eyes. She’d sensed the
importance of the ceremonial ritual but in no way comprehended its weight. But
Vaan had and now demanded that his Warlords see the error of their ways.

“We will not do
this Argan.” Vaan’s voice brought Miki’s attention back to the two men.

“Why won’t Vaan
allow Warlord Argan to apologize for his actions?”

Balal shifted his
stance and worried the hilt of his sword. “They are too evenly matched. If the
Overlord were to allow First Blood, he would need to fight harder for an
opening to draw on Warlord Argan. It could result in a severe injury.”

Argan twirled his
sword in a taunting motion at Vaan. He wore a smug smile. “If you do not allow
me First Blood, I will be forced to follow your little Raasa everywhere she
goes for the opportunity to make amends. Do not punish me so.”