Chapter 28
As Rys made small talk with the various Kinadain elders, he reflected on two facts.
First, the political situation he was in had increased in complexity. He was a king now, and his enemies weren’t a bunch of semi-competent merchants. His business was that of nations. The only people worth his time needed influence at that level, or he was better off letting Vallis handle them.
Second, he was still pretty bored.
The archipelago was a melting pot and confluence of powers, but it paled in comparison to the Infernal Empire. Rys expected elegant nobles who had several schemes on the boil at once and were still trying to butter him up in case they all failed. Or warriors capable of genuinely threatening him.
Instead, he got surly elders who would blink stupidly at him if he made even the subtlest jab. The warriors barely hid their desire to pick a fight. Rys knew he wasn’t walking away from this little gathering without breaking a few jaws.
Nobody had openly picked a fight yet, however. That was part of what made it boring. Most of the elders were easy to read. Despite his earlier words to Alsia, Rys found himself mentally cataloging everyone into boxes.
True opposition was scarce, he noticed. Most of the elders seemed wary of him, or wanted to know what they or their dain gained from war. If they felt daring, they’d even question Rys about why they should remain part of the kingdom.
Simple stuff.
Also, nobody had told him that Alsia had apparently been highly sought after. Whenever she wasn’t looking, envy poured off the faces of far too many men.
Rys stared back at the jealous gazes with a bland expression. Maybe he’d gloat later, after he dealt with the current issue.
Or maybe he’d just hold another session in a few months, once Alsia was noticeably pregnant. He had prepared his spell, and all they needed was the time.
“Enjoying the performance?” a gravelly voice asked.
Rys looked over to see Elder Jaime walk over to him. His guards were nowhere to be seen.
The wolfkin elder held his hand, and Rys gripped it. Nothing had changed since the battle against the Malus League. Jaime chuckled as he shook feeling back into his hand.
“Yes, you’re still the king,” Jaime said. “I didn’t expect you to intervene personally. Lots of us don’t appreciate you.”
“We’re going to war, and I suspect there’ll be more fighting after,” Rys said. “The elders can glare at me all they like, but I need to know that they’re willing to defend what they have.”
“Defend,” the wolfkin repeated, chewing over the word. “I’ve spent some time on Dalyros and dealt with the new crop of Slayers they’re churning out, so I’ll give you some advice.”
Jaime squared up and met Rys’s gaze. “Don’t mince words. Say what you mean. The Federation sold its heritage for power. We don’t need their smooth-talking bullshit. I recognize this”—he slapped a hand on his bicep—“and your ability to waggle your tongue.”
With a laugh, Rys gestured to the nearby elders. “You really think they’ll be happy if I tell them to go to war against their kin?”
“We used to do it all the time,” Jaime said. “The only reason we stopped is because you folks showed up.”
Rys nodded. “You had to unite against us.”
“Yup. Can’t fuck around with duels and territorial disputes when you’re facing armies pouring off boats.” Jaime’s gaze wandered west, toward the sea. “Alsia is right that we need to change and move forward. But to me, that means we are finding new ways to bring back what we lost. We were once the greatest warriors of the archipelago. Now?”
“You had Barul,” Rys pointed out.
“Only Barul. A single Slayer, and no Saints.” Jaime shook his head as he glared at the distant ocean. “The greatest bastion of the Kinadain isn’t even Kinadain anymore—they’re all demihumans in the Federation, save for the Slayers due to ‘technicalities.’ That’s what I want from you.”
The Kinadain elder jabbed a finger at Rys. A moment passed in silence.
Rys tried to puzzle out the vague statement. “You don’t care if Kinadain society changes, so long as it gets back its strength.”
“Maybe. I don’t think it’s that simple. The Federation is strong, but they changed too much. But there is a path out there that lets us be true to ourselves. We create new Slayers, new Saints, and create a place that Kinadain want to come to.”
“What about Kinaria, where Tenno Morai rules?” Rys asked.
Jaime grunted. “I don’t know enough about it. She’s a pariah. We can build a nation off the back of a martyr, but she’s not dead, is she?” A bitter laugh.
“You don’t have a problem with otherkin,” Rys said.
“No. Morai and the otherkin fought as hard as the rest of us when the ships came. If they’re Kinadain, and they bleed for the dain, what’s the issue? It’s just superstitious bullshit,” Jaime said. “You’ll have my support with Alsia. If anything, you give me hope. Even the Circle seems shit-scared of you.”
Rys wasn’t sure he’d describe things that way, but he took the support offered. Jaime seemed aware of what was likely to come of anything between Rys and Alsia.
Peeling away from the burly elder, he rejoined Alsia. She had wandered off to talk with a pair of elders.
Rys recognized one of them. The old horned Kinadain had openly scowled at Rys earlier. A necklace of bones and bestial teeth hung around his neck, and the elder looked like a warrior who had seen his peak decades ago.
The other elder barely drew Rys’s eye. A hanger-on or sycophant, if Rys had to guess.
When he was only a few steps away, a pair of men blocked his path.
Both men wore furs and carried longswords. Presumably, they were warriors attached to an elder opposing Rys. Not that it mattered.
The Kinadain glared up at Rys, their muscles tensing as they tried to make themselves appear as large as possible. While they packed plenty of muscle for a normal person, the effort didn’t work.
Rys had a few inches on the tallest person here, and almost half a foot on this pair. One of the advantages of being forged as a perfect specimen by a succubus queen is that other men couldn’t really flex physical advantages over him.
Other mortal men, Rys corrected himself as he remembered Grigor’s human form. Although Rys was probably stronger than Grigor now.
“Are we feeling daring today?” Rys asked the warriors blocking his path. All the tension had finally boiled over.
Crossing his arms, he waited for a response. Maybe they’d draw their weapons, or spit an insult that they thought he couldn’t understand. He watched carefully for some sign of hostility, or a signal from one of the elders.
Instead, he felt only glares and heard only murmurings from around him. The other attendees formed a circle.
Did they think this was entertainment? Then again, the greatest Kinadain warrior on the island had already fought Rys and died in a similar situation.
Maybe picking fights with him was going to become a Kinadain cultural tradition.
“Enough,” Alsia snapped. “His Majesty has come here by our invitation, under the same rules that govern the elders. You’re insulting all our dains.”
The warriors shifted uncomfortably, and one dropped his glare. For a moment, it looked like the situation was going to end with a simple admonishment.
“He may be here by your invitation, but he is no elder, nor is he Kinadain,” the surly horned elder said, glaring at Rys. “If this ‘King’ Talarys wishes to stand in the presence of our warriors, perhaps he should prove his strength.”
Unable to help himself, Rys laughed. His opponents bristled.
“Suit yourself,” Rys said with a wolfish grin. “I am the king, after all. Did you think that I was going to back down? Or that Barul dropped dead of exhaustion?”
The name of Kavolara’s only Slayer silenced everyone. Rys looked around with a raised eyebrow, then lifted his arms.
“Come on. I’m happy to duel anyone here. Didn’t Duchess Alsia, Elder Jaime, or one of your hundreds of warriors tell you about my strength?” In order to increase the effect of his words, Rys began to let magical energy ripple off his body in an uncontrolled manner.
The two warriors stepped away from him, their hands instinctively gripping the hilts of their swords.
A long pause.
Deciding it had been long enough, Rys said, “I’m not asking any of you to fight battles that I won’t. When Avolar marches south, I’ll be on the front line. Just like I was when the Malus League invaded. The same applies to all my enemies.”
For effect, he looked at every elder present. Most met his eyes. Those that didn’t, had warriors who were willing to.
Rys wondered how many of these elders would be present at the next meeting. Hopefully most of them. The weaker ones could make for useful enemies.
The day would come when part of the Kinadain rose in righteous rebellion. If he let pathetic rebellion leaders suck up valuable resources, they would be easier to spot and deal with when the time came. The more aggressively he and Alsia weeded, the more likely that somebody competent would find their footing.
Ariel and Malusian had treated rebellions like weeds. They had tended to their gardens constantly, trying to remove all signs of trouble as soon as possible. But Rys felt that was the wrong approach.
Rebellions were a part of nature. People naturally opposed those who had more power than they had, for a variety of reasons. Every opponent that Rys crushed would create a new one, but he might not spot this one as quickly.
Better the devil he knew, than the devil he didn’t. Ironically, Ariel and Malusian understood this approach when it came to other infernals. There was a reason their most powerful subordinates were often dangerous and ambitious rivals. Infernals merely underestimated mortals.
“Our enemies are not your enemies,” the surly elder spat. “It is not our way to fight against fellow Kinadain.”
“But it has been our way in the past,” Alsia retorted.
She stepped toward Rys, parting the aggressive warriors. They bowed to her subserviently, before stepping away.
“Dains fought other dains for countless reasons, before the ships came,” Alsia said, raising her voice to carry across the clearing. “The reason for war has changed, but we remain warriors. The Slayers in the Federation wage war constantly. Avolar expands its own borders. Many former Kinadain serve as royal knights in the Royal Gorgrian Kingdom.”
Grimaces rose to faces as Alsia continued. Both the RGK and the Federation weren’t true Kinadain nations.
“And if we don’t fight now, when do we fight?” Alsia asked. “When the Federation crosses the sea? When the League invades again? Are we warriors, or simply hunters?”
“Warriors!” dozens of voices bellowed before any of the elders could say a word.
“Then we will answer Avolar’s aggression with our own, as our ancestors once would,” she continued. “We will unite the dains of Kavolara. Nobody will be able to question if we are truly Kinadain.”
A cheer rose up, and most of the elders joined in, regardless of their true feelings. As the gathering devoured the food and drank the booze, Rys kept a close eye on the elders. They split off into various groups.
Naturally, the surly elder’s mood didn’t improve.
“I feel you built up to that while I was with Jaime,” Rys said as he and Alsia retired to his office afterward.
“You spoke about division. So I stoked it,” she said with a grim smile. “I had made the mistake of trying to bring the elders onside, but forgot that they rule with the permission of the dains. At the moment, the warriors and hunters hold an outsized influence. They are arguably not being listened to, and haven’t been for some time.”
Rys leaned against his desk, facing the entrance. No papers had piled up today, as he instructed Vallis and Maria to keep his schedule clear today. Instead, a handful of vials sat in a rack, each containing a pale silver liquid.
“They want war?” he asked.
“They’re bored, distracted, and frustrated,” she clarified. Her fingers ran along the tops of the vials, and she licked her lips. “Labyrinth hunting is dangerous, but repetitive. At the same time, they feel strongly about where the dains are going. Imagine how it feels to hear about all the amazing feats that Kinadain and demihumans accomplish on other islands, while you fulfill a hunting quota day after day.”
“Hence the appeal to nostalgia.”
“Yes. Too many elders are focused on society and stability, which might make sense at their age. I… did not see the damage wrought by foreigners decades ago. They did, but is that any excuse?” Alsia sighed and looked at Rys. “Isn’t it foolish to retreat into our shells because of the past?”
“You should be asking a different question,” he said.
Chewing on her lip, Alsia thought for a moment. “If we can learn from our mistakes, why shouldn’t we try to reclaim our heritage? Or try to do something other than be blown around by winds we can’t control?”
“That’s a frustration I can understand,” Rys said with a nod. “The warriors are angry because they feel they’re denied something they once had, but don’t understand why. If you don’t channel that productively, and turn that frustration into a positive feeling, it will eventually turn on you.”
“Mmm. I remember Vallis talking about that with mercenaries. Maria asked why she didn’t want to hire them, now that Compagnon wasn’t able to bid up prices,” Alsia said.
“I imagine it’s because bored, greedy soldiers with no other skills become dangerous in peace time,” Rys said. “We just witnessed that with the recent assassination attempt on Vallis.”
Alsia frowned at the mention, but pressed on.
“She was much more crass about it. But yes,” she said. “You manage that with the demons, don’t you? They are rather violent and crude, but their urges are kept in check.”
“Demons are lazy bastards at heart, so they’re easy to manage. If they think they’ll get hurt fucking around, they’ll choose to do nothing instead.”
“Part of me wishes the Kinadain were so simple, but that is also why I am proud of my people,” she said. “As headstrong as my brother was, his willingness to die for his beliefs was worthy of respect.”
“I did appreciate his straightforwardness,” Rys admitted. “But I think he needed more than pride. His actions weren’t driven by desire for anyone or anything or even by duty, but a fundamental opposition to me. If he wanted to protect Maria, there were many better ways to accomplish that.”
“He believed you to be utterly evil,” Alsia mused. “Perhaps he was right. But I can’t help but feel that he ended up overlooking more banal evils in his life, that perhaps did more damage than you ever will.”
“Everybody seems to like talking about evil lately.” Rys chuckled and leaned over Alsia, running a hand through her hair. “Given the way you’re fingering those vials, I’d say you’re looking forward to something very evil.”
Alsia shuddered at his touch, her eyelids fluttering closed. “Oh, yes. I can imagine your evil filling me, Rys. Is it ready?”
“I wouldn’t have brought these vials here if they weren’t ready,” he said. “The catch is that I need to avoid Maria and the others for a couple of days after taking each vial.”
“Because you’ll be fertile?” she gasped out.
“Yes. I don’t think I’m quite ready for that many children at once.” He paused. “But I think you still owe me something, Alsia.”
She licked her lips and looked up at him with wide, amber eyes. Her tail skittered along the floor beneath her coat.
“Rys, make me yours,” she murmured, her gaze meeting his as her eyes glazed over. “I want you to reshape me: mind, body, and soul.”
“Is that it?” he said, amused.
“Especially my body?” she added. “Maria says you’re huge, but I don’t have anything to compare to.”
Chuckling, Rys fished a vial out of the rack and downed it in one. Alsia watched him with wide eyes.
Her eyes grew even wider as he hefted her with both hands, then dropped her on top of his desk. He moved the rack of vials to a corner cabinet with magic.
Then he crushed his lips against hers, his fingers flipping her skirt as they dug into her underwear. Juices ran down his fingers as he slid over her pussy.
“You won’t need anything to compare to,” he said once he pulled away.
Alsia gave him a small nod, her tongue sticking out as she tried to follow his movements. Cute little moans escaped her as he slipped his fingers inside her. His other hand pulled her coat open and undid her buttons.
Her pale breasts spilled out in black lingerie that looked brand new. Probably bought with Maria on a shopping trip to Anceston.
“Planning something naughty?” he asked her. His fingers ran over her hardened nipples beneath the soft fabric.
“This isn’t naughty,” she said. “It’s what I want.”
Okay, dirty talk was out. Unlike Fara and Maria, Alsia was too innocent and straightforward for it to work on.
No, Rys realized. He just needed to be blunt.
“So what do you want me to do to your breasts?” he asked. “Tell me in detail.”
Alsia’s eyes widened, and her cheeks lit on fire. Which was amusing, given he was currently fingering her and had been kissing her a second ago. Her legs were soaked with her own arousal.
“Touch them, knead them, roll them around in your hands,” she said.
Rys followed along, changing action as she spoke. Alsia’s breath quickened, and she stopped speaking.
So he stopped doing anything. She pouted.
“Rys,” she whined.
“Keep going.”
She gulped. “I… I want you to bend me over and—”
“I asked about your tits, Alsia. Don’t skip steps.” Rys laughed at the expression on her face.
“I want you to remove my bra, squeeze my nipples, lick them, and one day, drink from them.” Alsia’s face was so red that she looked like she might faint.
“Well, I can’t do that part yet,” Rys said as he unhooked her bra and tossed it on the nearby sofa. “But let’s see what these cute little buttons taste like.”
He flicked her nipples and she gasped. Then he closed his mouth over them. Alsia’s hands closed over the back of his head and ran through his hair.
“I can almost imagine the next few months,” she whispered, voice loaded with heat. “What is it that Maria told me to say…”
He waited, while suckling on her pale globes and enjoying the gasps she let out every time his finger ran over her clit.
“Fuck me, Rys.”
Would he be a king if he said no to such a genuine request like that?
Rys pulled away, undid his pants, and allowed his rock-hard prick to flop out. Alsia stared at with wide eyes, and her hands almost instinctively made gestures to compare its size.
Maria must have described how large he was with her hands. How cute. Evidently, the raw magnitude hadn’t gotten across.
He pressed his cock against her abdomen, which was still covered by her skirt. Alsia had several moments to take in just how deep he would enter her, and how full she would feel.
“Fara and Maria said it would feel good,” Alsia said, voice quivering.
“Has it felt good so far?” he asked.
“Yes…”
“Then trust them, and trust me. You’ll be riding me all night long soon enough,” he told her.
She gave him an infinitesimally small nod, allowing him to proceed.
He pulled back. Her slit sat open, clit standing upright and eager for attention. Rys rubbed his cock along her entrance, and Alsia rubbed at the raw pleasure it gave her. Liquid ran down his length, lubricating him.
“Ready?” he asked.
She nodded, unable to speak.
“I’d prefer a yes,” he said.
“Yes, Rys,” she said.
“Good.”
Then he pushed forward, but gently this time. His tip spread her pink lips wide and Alsia gasped. He paused, allowing her to acclimate to the new sensation.
Once he felt that she had calmed down some, Rys thrust forward. His cock easily slid all the way inside her, and his balls bumped against her crotch.
Alsia moaned this time. Her arousal dribbled all over his balls, and down onto the desk and floor. One of the servants would need to clean this up.
“See, I told you it would feel good,” he whispered.
Leaning in, he pulled Alsia into a kiss. Her tongue surrendered to his as he conquered her mouth. Her pussy molded itself to his cock as he thrust into her. He felt her moans rumble down his mouth, and her hands pawed at his arms as he pressed his body against her bare breasts.
Alsia had nowhere near the experience as the other women he was sleeping with. Soon, she reached her climax.
“Rys, it’s coming,” Alsia gasped out.
He was nowhere close to his own climax. Maybe he should relax a little. Fire began to build up in his cock, but Alsia’s moans reached fever pitch within seconds.
She screamed and crushed him in a hug. Her legs locked up, and he felt her contract around his length. Warmth sprayed against his crotch and pants as she squirted. All he could smell and hear was Alsia.
“More,” she moaned out. “I want you to fuck me more.”
“Why don’t we change things up a little?” he suggested.
He pulled out of her. No mess poured onto the floor, as he had yet to fill her up.
After picking Alsia up and returning her to the floor, Rys led her to the sofas. She walked uncertainly and needed some support.
Rys sat down, but turned Alsia around. Slowly, he guided her to face forward, with her ass over his cock. Then he got her to sit on his lap, legs spread.
While he moved her into position, Alsia’s expression fixed itself in concentration. Her scaly tail shifted across his crotch, tickling his cock with every movement. He ignored it at first, until he realized her intentions.
Her tail looped itself loosely around his cock. Not just once, but three times. Then Alsia slowly began to reel it in, which caused it to tighten.
By the end, she had wrapped her tail around his cock multiple times. She looked at him in triumph, and the tip of her scaly tail wiggled back and forth excitedly.
“Can you move it up and down?” he asked.
She stared at him. Then she nearly bit her tongue off while concentrating. After several seconds, she deflated.
“No,” she muttered.
“It’s fine,” he said. “It’s very cute.”
And hot. Some succubi were good at this. Tailjobs were great. The foxes had fluffy tails and great to touch, but too large to fuck—or more accurately, be fucked by.
But if Alsia trained her tail, he could have some real fun with her.
“You look more excited by this than anything else we’ve done,” Alsia said, staring at him.
“Let’s just say that you’re more daring than I expected,” he said with a smirk. “Now then, let’s have some real fun.”
She released her tail’s grip on his length, and he hefted her up so that her plump ass hovered over him. Her back faced him and her legs were spread, so he had complete control over her movements.
He was going to bounce Alsia up and down on his cock and see how many times he could make her orgasm before he came himself.
Rys dropped her ass onto him, and his cock slid into her. Before Alsia could even process what he was doing, he began bouncing her.
The room filled with the wet slap of her ass against his thighs. Juices trailed along his crotch, down the sofa, and onto the floor, where they pooled into a puddle. Alsia moaned and screamed incessantly, pausing only to orgasm soundlessly. Her tongue began to loll out of her mouth at some point.
“It’s so thick,” Alsia gasped out. “Ah!”
Rys had lied. He pumped load after load into her, as she kept begging for more. White foam formed from the mixing of Alsia’s juices and his seed formed around his length. At one point, Alsia scooped it up and licked it.
“Can I—” she cut off with a moan of pleasure. “Can I drink this later?”
“Knock yourself out,” he said. Then pressed her ass against him and filled her up for the last time.
After, he didn’t so much pop out of her as slide. A thick, gooey wave of his seed oozed out and coated his cock. Alsia gasped at the sensation of air entering her gaping pussy.
He placed her on her feet and turned her around to stare at the mess she made. It continued to pour out of her, running down her legs and onto the floor.
“I’m pregnant,” she said, marveling at the mess.
Oh, right. That was why Rys was having sex with her.
Well, he had certainly put enough into her that she didn’t need to worry about what was spilled.
Alsia bent over and, just as she had wanted to, drank the gooey liquid. Her mouth closed over Rys’s cock, and he ran a hand through her silken blonde hair. Dutifully, she cleaned him up. Not a single drop was left on him.
“Can we go to the bedroom after this?” she asked.
“You’ll have plenty of time with me, Alsia,” he said.
“But I want more now.”
He had told her that she would want to ride him all night long. Maybe he had been too accurate.