Hers to Choose (7 page)

“Yes. And it is an easy guess we would return here
with Petrina.” Her teeth worried her bottom lip.

He spat out e
very vulgar oath he knew. “We cannot stay here.”

“I cannot move Petrina, Commander. We would finish what the Haarb started.”

“And you cannot stay. Krakoll is not interested in anyone but you. His plans for you threaten all of Verdantia. He will use you as a hostage, a very effective hostage. Your brother would do anything for you and the Queen and her consort will do anything for him. I say again. You. Cannot. Stay.”

Her shoulders slumped in defeat. “
Do
you
have a plan, Commander?”

Eric shook his head
. “I need a little time to think this through. Do as much for Petrina as you can and let me chew on our situation for a few minutes.” He winced as pain shot through his gut.
I need to remember not to turn so quickly.
He walked toward the opening of the cavern.

“Commander.
” Sophi’s voice halted him. “Come back. You reopened your wound. I can see the blood seep from where I stand. You can ‘chew’ on our situation while I re-bandage you. Sit here.”

He reluctantly sat where she pointed.

She winced as she attempted to peel back his clothing to get to the bandages wrapping his groin. The blood had dried black and crusty, gluing all the material to his abused flesh. She threw her hands up in disgust. “This didn’t just happen. Go get in the lake. Soak your trousers and bandages off. Then come back.”

He didn’t argue.

* * *

“Ahem. Commander?” Captain Biron’s voice interrupted
Eric’s thoughts.

Shit
. He always finds me in these awkward situations. First the dress, now I am just standing here, waist deep in a lake, freezing my balls off, for no discernible reason.
He opened his eyes to look at his second-in-command.

“The b
andages were stuck.”

“What?”

“Never mind. What is it?” Eric watched the captain struggle to maintain a serious mien.

“The men would like to organize a hunting party to supplement our rations with some fresh meat. They spotted a herd of
scythe-horned klipspringer not too far from here.” Biron dropped his head and stood with hands on hips, the toes of his boots rearranging smoothly rounded stones on the shore into a straight line.

“It’s all right,
Jon. You can laugh.”

The captain lifted his head. A grin stretched from jaw bone to jaw bone. “
Did she tell you to go jump in the lake?”

“Actually, yes. I am soaking off my bandages.”
He couldn’t stop the convulsive shiver running in a wave up his spine. He wrapped his arms around his bare chest a little tighter.

Biron grinned at him.
“You look very cold.”

Eric ignored him.
“Tell the men to organize their kits and saddle their mounts. We leave as soon as they can be ready.”
Well, that sobered him right up.
“I’ll fill you in as we ride. Oh, and, Jon, find me a dry pair of pants.”

“Yes, sir.”

It’s a good thing this water is so fucking cold. At least I won’t start out sporting an erection as she tends this wound.
He waded slowly out of the water and slopped into the cave, a wet trail of lake water marking his path.

“I am all yours,
Flight Leader
.” He stood as involuntary shivers alternated with waves of gooseflesh.

Sophi turned to face him. “You look cold, Commander.”

“So I’ve been told.”

“Stand still, please.” She knelt before him. He closed his eyes at her
position and the pleasure of her warm hands unfastening his clammy trousers, stripping them down to his ankles. He did not enjoy the waft of air that circulated around his lower parts.
I thought everything had shriveled as much as possible—apparently not.

“
Step out.” She held his soggy apparel, head down, as he stepped out of them leaving him bare but for his bandages. She lifted her head, now eye-level with his cock and balls.

“
Oh. I’ll get you a cloth to cover yourself.”

He could bare
ly blow his nose on the scrap of cloth she handed him. He dangled it by a pitiful corner. “I am supposed to cover myself with this?”

Averting her eyes, she motioned to his groin area. “It appears
it will do the job.”

“It’s the cold water
. I’m usually much—oh, hells, never mind. Just change the gods-be-dammed bandage.”

He cupped his shriveled balls and cock with the
scrap of cloth and his large hand. The heat felt inexpressibly good. He closed his eyes and imagined he and Sophi at a different time and a different place. As Sophi’s soft, warm hands gently cleaned and re-bandaged his sensitive groin the piece of cloth became, predictably, inadequate. He finally dropped his cupped hand and simply stood there with a full-blown erection.
Ignore that, Flight Leader
.

When she
finished, she stood. Abashed laughter lurked in her eyes and played with the corners of her mouth. “Next time, I’ll get you a
much
bigger cloth.”

He bent down, picked up the wet slop of his trousers and
stalked out of the cave.
Damn straight, woman. Now where in the seven hells is Biron with my pants?

Twenty-minutes later
, he walked back to the shoreline where the women suspended Petrina in the cold water.

Sophi saw him coming and clambered
to the shore. “I assume you want to speak with me?”

“Yes, get into some dry robes.
I’ll wait.”

An eerie howl
, as if the seven hells had released their damned, echoed down from the mountains surrounding the lake. Another voice answered, and another, then another, until the air resounded with the banshee wailing of lost souls.

His eyes flew to the deep
shadows of the surrounding crags.
Fell wolves. Godsbedamned unnatural creatures.

Sophi whirled around and shouted
to Adonia and Layna. “Get her out of the water. Leave her on the grass. Grab your bows and meet me at the entrance to the cavern.” She took off running in the direction of the cave mouth.

“Sophi, no! Wait!” Eric shouted at her. She never slowed.
“Damn-it-all, woman!”

He turned and ran to his troop clustered
in a tight group. “Queens Guard, prepare to mount! Mount! Saber at the ready! Draw weapons! Loose formation. For gods’ sake, be mindful of the women.” He paused and looked in frustration at Petrina’s still body. He dismounted and threw his reins to Captain Biron.
Damnation, I don’t have time for this.
“Crawford!”

“Sir!”

“Take her up with you.”

“Yes, sir.”

Eric ran back to Petrina and bent, gently gathering her up, sliding her inert body into Crawford’s outstretched arms. “I don’t know what’s out there, Crawford, but if it’s more than we can handle, you ride like the demon-wolves are on your heels for
Sh’r Un Kree
. Is that understood?”

“
Yes, sir.”

“Jon! Capta
in Biron!” he called.

“Here, Commander.”
Jon rode up, leading Eric’s horse. He handed Eric the reins, then wheeled his horse and rejoined the
ride.

As
Eric swung up he ordered, “Protect
Flight Leader
DeLorion—to the last man. We are expendable. She is not. Is that clear?”

A chorus of “Yes, sir!” filled the air.

Damnation, Sophi, where have you gone?
“Queen’s Guard, to me!” Eric spurred his horse into the cavern, clattering through the twisting narrow passage and emerging at the mouth of the entrance. Sophi, Adonia, Layna and Rhea had disappeared. The light of the sun slipping beneath the horizon caught the phosphorescent glow of six sets of eyes floating thigh-level before them. The
Fell
wolves had found them.

“
Riccio
formation. Back to back,” he shouted. His
ride
formed a circle, each rider facing outward to meet the nightmare shapes that approached on four legs.

In the growing darkness, seemingly bodiless
crimson eyes slunk toward them, circling the formation of riders.

“How do we fight these things, Commander?
I’ve never faced them. Damn creatures are as big as ponies.” Captain Biron’s low voice carried from his position to Eric’s right. The horses sidled nervously, jostling each other as they caught scent of the wolves.

“
Gentlemen, listen up! Body blows won’t harm them. They heal too rapidly. Go for the brain. Run your sword through their eyes or behead them. It is the only way to ensure they die.” Eric raised his voice over the eerie growls emanating from the circling horrors. “Did you hear that, gentlemen! The Haarb have engineered them to heal unnaturally fast. You cannot hope to deliver a fatal wound to the body. You must destroy their brain.”

As the echoes o
f his voice faded, full dark descended.
Damnation, Sophi, where are you?

A dark shape detached itself from the circling shadows and he had no more time to think.
A huge, red-eyed perversion hurtled out of the darkness and landed on the shoulders of his horse, tearing into its neck with savage ferocity. His steady warhorse, a veteran of many campaigns, screamed in agony and reared skyward, then plunged down before rearing again in an effort to dislodge the great beast. It signaled the onslaught of the monstrous wolves.

The
alpha wolf’s attack on Eric’s horse saved Eric. Effortless horsemanship preserved his balance on his madly plunging animal. Holding his saber high overhead in two hands, he slammed the narrow blade through a phosphorescent eye of the great beast, leaving it stuck fast in the abomination’s skull. The animal howled like the dead come to life and fell back, pawing at and shaking its massive head.

All around him, his men engaged with the great beasts
. Without his saber, he had only his short dirk. Whirling his blood-soaked mount, he sighted Captain Biron unhorsed on the ground, desperately holding off one of the great predators. He moved to his aid, thinking to distract the snarling creature. Before he could shift, indistinct figures appeared from the hillside and the familiar
pppfffttt
of arrows releasing from bows filled the air. With banshee howls, two
Fell
wolves careened back, pawing at the arrow shafts piercing their eye sockets. Alerted by the death screams of their pack members, the remaining two wolves snarled savagely and with unnatural intelligence, retreated into the blackness of the night. Silence descended.

He watch
ed as Sophi and the remainder of her
flight
rode cautiously forward. In their pale robes, atop pale horses, they resembled otherworldly specters.

She rode up to him in silence. Her face appeared
a pale moon in the darkness. “Adonia, Layna, help Captain Biron and the other wounded back to the lake. Rhea, gather our spent shafts from those…” her head swung toward the dark, massive shapes lying motionless, “things.”

She slid off her horse and stood
beside its shoulder.

Eric shook his head in frustration
, kicked a leg over his mount’s neck and slid down to face her. He kept his voice low. “Sophi, I cannot protect you if I don’t know where the hell you are.”
I can’t erase the image of a savage wolf gorging on your bloodied corpse.

“I didn’t think.” She cleared her throat and followed him with her eyes.

Her disappearance had shaken him. He didn’t trust himself not to lay hands on her, so he crossed them over his chest. “I don’t know whether to kiss you or upend you and spank your hind until you can’t sit.”

Her eyes closed for a long moment. When she opened them he thought he might drown in their liquid depths. “
An easy choice. Kiss me.”

Her blue eyes widened as
he bent toward her—then he closed his and awareness of anything but her lips vanished.

She trembled beneath him, her mouth soft and dry. He pressed his lips to hers gently,
cupping her face in his bloody hands, restraining his need to ravish, to take, to punish her for raising a fear in him unlike any he had felt before. Coaxing her lips apart with a gentle probe of his tongue, he drew in her sweet taste and lingered with soft presses and gentle nips of teeth until he felt her relax and begin to lean into him, returning his kiss. With a soft sigh, she straightened and pulled back.

“
When that creature leaped at you…” She choked to a stop. “If we hadn’t heard your instructions to your men, we could not have killed them.” She closed her eyes with a painful grimace. “I am sorry, Eric. I panicked. I could think only that we were trapped. I would rather die than be captured again.”