Eros

Courtesan's Love - 50

Kaido stopped to eat and the rest stared at him expectantly. Savoring the meat, he seemed to have lost any intention to continue.

"What happened then?" Dame Ironwood spat, impatient.

"The beast was huge. Twice the size of the royal ship. It sunk it in a bite." Kaido said, put the striped chicken bone aside, and glanced down the table. "Where is the liquor?"

"Not here yet." Avina answered shortly then urged him on. "How did Julian survive?"

"He flew right off it, landed on the dock, and fought the beast."

"Fought the beast," James repeated, doubtful. "How?"

"Honestly, I have no idea. He moved his hands like a magus, but there was no fire, or wind. There was nothing, but the beast was getting smacked."

"Smacked?" Alora asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Aye, smacked, and cut all around. Even lost an eye."

"Did he kill it?"

Kaido tore out the roasted chicken's second leg, shaking his head. "He fended it off, but their fight wrecked the whole harbor. It fled into the sea, and destroyed the remains of the fleet in its wake."

Silence settled around the table. While Kaido was nibbling, Alora noticed the Paladin Lord eye him critically, and the queen and the two Paladins exchanged doubtful looks. Roxwell's face was much less expressive. He pressed his hands together before him, entwining his fingers.

"Why have you come to meet me, Blackrose?"

Kaido dropped the second bone on his plate, wiped his fingers and lips clean with a napkin, and then straightened his gaze to the King. "The harbor was collateral damage, the only Veramorian I am after is Julian. But I learnt that he is too powerful. Even if I could get past his Bloodfiends, I could never defeat him."

"And you believe I can?" Rowell asked.

Kaido shrugged. "The Black Prince, the Bladeweaver, the Dragon of Nashair, the Conqueror. Searching for power in Aros, these are the names you will hear. The Black Prince is a maniac, the Dragon and the Conqueror are far in the depth of the Empire. What hope does it leave me?"

"I see." The Bladeweaver said, holding his chin and brushing a thumb along his mustache. "And why should I help you?"

"Julian eliminated Kingmen's oppression, and won back the Twin Cities, returning both prosperity and pride to Veramor. He is awed and admired by his people. But Julian doesn't see people, he sees power. It is all happening sooner than I expected, war is already knocking on your door, King Unitor."

Kaido's lips stretched in a thin, grim smile, his dark green eyes pierced at Roxwell. "It is either you kill Julian, or he kills you."

-

"Where are you now..." Siera murmured to herself, lips pursed together, eyes scanning King's Hall.

There. She could hardly believe her own eyes when she saw him there, at the dinner table. He had grown broader and harder with muscle, his jet black hair was longer, and his features lost some of their boyishness. But it was him.

The world froze around her. Or it was she who had frozen, because he kept eating a steak, and talking to the breathtaking, elven maiden sitting beside him. Her emotions raged. A maelstrom of love, hatred, lust, and jealousy consumed her. Before she knew it, she was striding towards him.

Wait. Siera halted. I have to do it right, I have waited too long for this. She glanced back to the corridor she came from. The boys with the fruit-wine weren't in sight, but she still had no time to waste. She had to lure him out.

As she pondered her options, his gaze fell on her. His dark green eyes stole her breath. So often she had seen them in her fantasies, and now they met hers, flesh and blood. His hand with the fork froze halfway to his mouth, and his face blanked at the sight of her.

Siera gave him the tiniest of smiles, curving her ruddy lips ever so slightly. That's all it took. He got up, and walked, almost ran, to her. Oh my dear, I have missed you too.

"Kaido Blackrose." She uttered the name with a sardonic ring to her voice.

"Siera?" Kaido looked at her as if he might be hallucinating.

"Come on, don't you recognize me?" She tilted her head to the side, her silky hair spilling over her shoulder. "It's only been a few years."

"I-" He opened his mouth, and she raised the tips of her toes, and shut it with a kiss. It was a brief kiss. But tasting him, breathing in his scent, made her body shiver.

"Come," She saw the dozen questions in his eyes as she withdrew. "We can't talk here."

He followed her down the corridor, and at its end, they crossed the boys carrying the fruit-wine kegs. Her residence was close to the King's Hall, and she strode fast with impatience. They entered, and she locked the door behind him.

"Siera, hold on for a second." He clasped her wrist, but she pulled her hand free, walking away from him. She reached to her nape, tugging open the knot of her dress, and pulled down at its waistline.

The black silk slid down her slender back, exposing overlapping whip marks, streaking her skin down to the swell of her buttocks. Beneath their firm curve, cut into the tender flesh at the back of her thigh, was the crudely drawn outline of a childish heart.

She crouched and ran her hands down her smooth legs, pushing the dress to fall around her ankles. She wore nothing beneath it, only the knee-high, black leather boots. And the scars.

Siera turned, and flipped the cascade of lustrous hair off her succulent breasts, facing Kaido boldly in her nakedness. "I want you inside me, Kaido."

She prowled towards him, each clicking step of her boots accompanied with a fluent sway of her body's feminine softness. "I never felt whole without you."

She raised her hand, fingers snaking up his neck and into his hair. "Please Kaido," Her icy gaze held his, her voice a purring, pleading whisper. "Please make me whole again."

He didn't touch her.

"Siera." Kaido said. His voice was raw, as if he struggled to speak. He wasn't, at all, aroused. She knew all too well how arousal looked like. He was simply... sad.

Then she felt his strong arms around her, his calloused hands brushing over her skin. Her excitement peaked, and the humid heat between her legs flared. Finally.

She couldn't wait any longer. She yearned to feel those hands grab her, grope her flesh until it throbs. She yearned for him to kiss her, bite her, go mad with lust, lose himself inside her.

He hugged her instead. "I am sorry, Siera."

His arms covered her naked body, holding her so tight she felt the thumping of his heart. "I am sorry I wasn't there." He rested his head against hers, and whispered. "I am sorry I didn't protect you."

"You don't get to do that." Siera said quietly.

"I suffered so much, Kaido." Her head dropped against his chest, and her black hair fell over her face. She laughed, and her laughter echoed in the silence, hollow and miserable. It stopped as abruptly as it started.

"You don't get to redeem yourself." Siera crouched, pulled her dagger out of her boot, then sprang up, and stabbed.

The blade sunk in his flesh, and a tear slid down her cheek.