Chains of Revenge
Authors: Keziah Hill
Chains of Revenge
Keziah Hill
A dark, violent, and devastatingly sensual erotic fantasy about the binding force of love
Lissa, Princess of Horvald, loved and lost her slave in chains ten long years ago. Then she was spoiled and selfish, thinking she could bend a warrior of Catiscal to her will. But time and adversity has changed her into a leader, prepared to give herself to the Warlord Death in order to save her people.
Will he accept her sacrifice? Or will his need for revenge blind him to the insidious chains of love wrapping around him – chains even a powerful Warlord can’t resist…or can he?
For writing mates in the Romance Writers of Australia, with gratitude
.
Excerpt from Grease Monkey Jive
Devadas, Prince of Catiscal, waited for death. But death would not take him. Instead, the black wings of oblivion left him alive on the battlefield, allowing his enemies to drag him to the living hell of The Pit.
In The Pit, he was forced to train the warriors of Horvald, once his enemies, now his conquerors. As a battle serf he was expected to have a short and pain-filled life, eventually succumbing to swords and spears after endless days of fighting. Devadas had lasted longer than most amid the dirt and grime of the slave quarters, but the smell of old blood and the despair of the battle serfs hung thick and heavy in the air, clogging his lungs and tormenting his spirit.
He didn’t deliberately beckon death even on days when the rustle of those dusty black wings seemed a blessed relief. A Prince of Catiscal did not give up. He was alive. So while death continued to taunt him, just staying out of reach, he looked for any opportunity to escape.
The shadows were lengthening when he threw down his sword after a fight with a young trainee. He’d won again, which achieved nothing but another day of life and the grudging admiration of his captors. They wanted him to win. He was useful that way, giving the soon-to-be warriors of Horvald some much-needed experience.
He stood on the edge of The Pit and exhaled forcefully while rotating his head, trying to ease the stiffness in his neck and shoulders. A small, deep cut on his shoulder blade made him hiss with pain.
Fuck it. Just my luck to die of infection in this hole
.
He filled a bucket of water from the trough and tipped it over himself, shuddering as every cut on his body screamed in agony. More than water was needed to wash away the blood and grime of the last two months of captivity.
A flicker of colour in the corner of his eye caught his attention. She stood on the edge of The Pit staring at him. Shaking himself like a dog emerging from a lake, he watched her slow, lazy smile.
Like all the women of Horvald, she was dressed in a long, narrow silk dress which clung to every curve, leaving nothing to the imagination. Her tight-fitting bodice was almost transparent and pushed her breasts up, giving her an eye-popping cleavage. Her long blonde hair hung loose, wavy and wild in the breeze. Even in his exhaustion, Devadas felt the stirrings of desire as, he’d warrant, did every other man in the vicinity.
Some vacuous, high-born lady wanting the thrill of watching men kill themselves, he assumed. He narrowed his eyes as the Pit Master stood with her and sneered at Devadas when she pointed at him. The Pit Master barked out a command. Devadas was immediately grabbed by a couple of guards.
‘What’s this? Where are you taking me?’ He struggled as they dragged him to the bath house where he was ordered to clean himself thoroughly.
‘Lucky boy,’ one of the guards crowed. ‘Being the plaything of Princess Lissa means you might just survive. And you’ll be her first. She’s looking for someone to teach her a thing or two, I wouldn’t wonder. Just turned eighteen. Going to marry some great Lord.’
‘Wouldn’t she want to keep herself for her husband?’ It seemed the shocking stories of the sexual licentiousness of the people of Horvald were true.
The guard laughed. ‘Maybe they do in your land, but in Horvald we like our women to know what they’re doing on their wedding night. And why should we have all the fun? Some rough and tumble before the big day makes everyone happy – and sometimes afterwards too. I know my Ris had a bit of fun when I was away. So did I.’
He leered as he fastened shackles to Devadas’s wrists. ‘Truth be told, we had a great time telling each other all about it when I came home. I knew the man she’d had a bit of fun with. He’s a good bloke. The baker. We get bread fresh out of the oven most days now.’ The guard pulled on the chain linking the wrist shackles, testing their strength. ‘You ever been with a woman and a man together?’
Devadas shook his head, trying not to show his shock. And fascination. In his land of Catiscal such a thing was unheard of.
The guard pulled Devadas forward by the chain. ‘I tell you, the feel of sliding in and out of my Ris’s cunny while the baker ploughs her ass is incredible. I can feel his cock. And she comes so hard she almost pushes me out.’
Not for the first time, Devadas wondered about Horvald. Its people seemed happy and carefree, but at a cost. Slaves did all the work around the settlement. Most were treated well enough, except for slaves like himself who were used harshly and expected to die. In his land, there were no slaves. And no sex before marriage. Adultery was a death sentence. People worked hard and worshiped the gods. There was little time for anything else.
The guard escorted Devadas to what seemed to be the grandest house in the settlement, shackled and dressed in a loincloth.
‘There, now,’ he said, handing Devadas over to the princess’s giant of a guard. ‘She’s a beautiful virgin. You’re bound to have a good time.’
‘I’m in chains,’ Devadas said through gritted teeth.
The guard shrugged. ‘Your cock still works doesn’t it? That’s all she’ll want.’
The princess’s guard glared at Devadas. ‘Try to escape or hurt the princess in any way and you’ll feel my sword in your gut. Understand?’
Devadas nodded. The huge guard pushed him into the chamber beyond.
He blinked, trying to adjust to the darkness of the room. Candles were lit and soon he made out the princess, reclining against a pile of jewel-coloured cushions. She smiled at him like a cat spying a trapped mouse. When she stood, he saw she was dressed in a loose shift. He could see the shadow of her nipples beneath the cloth and his mouth went dry.
‘Take off his chains,’ she said to the guard. ‘Then leave us.’
Her voice was low and husky, making her sound older and more mysterious.
The guard glared at Devadas as he removed the shackles. ‘Remember what I said,’ he muttered as he departed.
Princess Lissa circled his body slowly, examining him, a small smile on her perfect face. Her blue eyes glittered with desire and something more. Something that made Devadas’s blood boil: ownership. She believed she owned him.
No one owns a warrior of Catiscal. She will find out soon enough
.
The Princess stood behind him and plastered herself against him. He swallowed and closed his eyes as her lush, warm curves rubbed against him. The feel of her tight nipples against his skin made his cock twitch.
She sighed. ‘You smell of soap. They washed you for me.’ Reaching around his waist, she loosened his loincloth then whipped it away. He jumped when her hands slid up his chest. ‘I could eat you whole,’ she said, nipping his shoulder. The sharp sting of her teeth sent a spike of lust to his cock. It stirred and lengthened.
She laughed. ‘That’s just what I’ll do.’
She moved around him once more then knelt before him taking his cock in her hand. Her touch was deft and assured as she worked him into straining hardness, all the time with a look of avid delight on her face. As his cock grew rigid and tight, he tried not to respond, tried not to open his mouth and beg her to take him between her plump, glistening lips. He was a Prince of Catiscal, not a whore.
But when she placed her mouth over his cock head and sucked, he couldn’t help groaning out loud and wrapping his hands in her hair while she took him in deeply.
‘Blessed gods, yes,’ he muttered. Her mouth was wet, hot and greedy. When he felt her curious fingers on his balls, kneading and caressing, he couldn’t stop the tingling, searing pleasure shooting up from the base of his spine. He held her head tightly and groaned out his release as he came in her mouth. He looked down at her as she wiped her mouth and smiled up at him.
‘You taste good,’ she said. ‘If you hadn’t you’d be on your way back to The Pit.’ Bitter hatred churned in his gut.
She pointed to a table full of food before turning away from him. ‘Eat. I want you recovered so you can get rid of this scrap of skin between my legs. Then we can have some fun.’
It was more food than Devadas had seen in weeks. He stared at her lush, round breasts through the transparent silk of her shift. As he watched, in a swift fluid motion that made his mouth water, she pulled her shift over her head then settled herself across the plump cushions of her bed. She kept her jewels on and her ankle bracelet glittered in the candlelight.
‘Go on, eat,’ she ordered, as she opened her legs and idly twisted her curls between her fingers. He sat at the table and ate fresh bread, spiced meat and juicy fruit all the time watching her fingers as they dipped into her wetness. She opened herself and he saw her deep pink lips, moist with her cream. With her other hand, she played with her peaked, dark nipples. His cock was rock hard but his heart pounded with both arousal and fury.
When he finished eating, she beckoned to him with a look of greedy expectation.
‘Now, let’s see what you can do. Come here and kneel between my legs.’
She opened her legs wide and smiled as he approached her. He knelt as she instructed, his cock bobbing up in front of him, a tormenting mix of lust and rage battling in his brain.
‘You know what to do, I’m sure.’ She grasped his cock, squeezing him while pulling him toward her pussy. His cock head slid against the slippery heaven of her lips.
‘Oh, yes,’ she muttered. ‘Do that some more.’
He shuddered as sudden, searing heat consumed him. Back and forth, up and down, his cock slid against her dark, pink lips. He marvelled at how every time he touched the tight peak where her lips joined at the top of her cunt she shivered and gasped.
‘Now,’ she hissed. ‘Push it in. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.’
‘It’ll hurt,’ he said, desperate to be inside her. ‘It always does the first time. I can’t help that.’
She shrugged. ‘It’s only a minute. I’ll get over it.’
Her smug smile inflamed him. He hoped she did feel pain. He gripped her legs under her knees and pushed them open wider. With a mighty thrust he entered her to the hilt, breaking the barrier of her maidenhead. She grimaced and made a noise in her throat like an animal caught in a trap.
‘Stop,’ she gasped. ‘Let me get my breath.’ She gripped the cushions tightly and panted all the time staring up at him with unseeing eyes.
Her tight, wet channel was heaven. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the sensation of his cock held tight. Soon he couldn’t resist flexing his hips, starting a slow stroke.
‘No!’ she cried. ‘I don’t think …’
‘It will be better if I move. You need to get used to it.’
The look of panic on her face dissipated as he continued to move, slowly at first and then with increasing intensity. ‘Fuck. Yes. That’s it.’
He didn’t care about her. Didn’t care about her pleasure or how she felt. She was a princess of the enemy. He just wanted to pound into her, to forget The Pit and concentrate on his cock inside her. He pushed her legs up and open, and bore down on her, thrusting, stroking, losing himself in the tight heat of her pussy. Soon he felt his balls tighten, ready to empty into her. Throwing his head back he thrust one last time and yelled as the glorious release of his seed shot into her.
He let go of her legs and collapsed onto her, gathering her soft lushness into his arms. She smelled of roses and the earthy, intoxicating scent of her pussy.
She held him close and wrapped her legs around his hips.
‘Good,’ she murmured. ‘You did well enough. I’ve instructed the Training Master to send you here every afternoon and evening for a month. That’s enough time to learn what I need to learn. And maybe you might learn a thing or two as well. Like how to pleasure a woman. I gather the good folk of Catiscal have particular views about what’s right and proper for their women, and pleasure in bed isn’t one of them.’
